Sunday 26 October 2008

It's the end of the world as we know it...I feel fine!

OK. 3 months is long enough to wait for a new post.
And what a 3 months...
I have stayed in Germany this weekend for the first time in a while - half term travelling arrangements of Mrs Moose and the Mooselets cutting across the weekend. The Frankfurt marathon was today...I didn't run myself but did go to the end of my street to watch everyone run by and cheer on 3 colleagues who were running. Amazing that in a group of 12,000 runners I managed to see all 3 of them!
Thanks to Lyndyloo for passing on my message. Did my ARF get played?

Congratulations to Susan and the new mini-Susan!!!
Glad Mr Jollygit has a new job.
Loved the church announcements...crying from laughing so much!
Hi to everyone else...and come back soon anyone who's missing (I'm a fine one to talk...)

I am starting another (3rd since I got here...are they trying to tell me something?) new job soon, probably start of December now and highly politically sensitive. Always is when the person whose job you are getting doesn't know they are leaving it...oops!

I am looking forward to my next coaching session tomorrow, and to America having their first black president...there will be some serious egg on my face if McCain makes an unlikely comeback, huh?

I am looking forward to my next Personal Training session on Thursday...just signed up last week and did my first session. Already feel a couple of kilos lighter. In fact, I am considering shooting off for a swim when I have posted this.

So the financial markets are falling apart. Mrs M and I have had a difference of opinion on it and I thought I'd throw the topic open to you lot to chip in...
My view is that a global recession is actually only bad for a fairly small proportion of the population...mainly rich bankers...and that it's generally "no big deal". The media make a huge thing out of it because they have nothing else to talk about and it fills a few hours of non stop TV coverage without having to think too much. This makes everyone depressed and think about it more than necessary. Most of us will not lose our jobs. Just about everyone will survive it. We will probably all have to tighten our belts a bit, but for a lot of people in our all too well off world, I believe that's a good thing to have to endure now and again. And let's face it, for some of us mooses of a wider girth, a tightened belt is very definitely a good thing...
Mrs Moose thinks this is a selfish and narrow view. The chances are we will be OK as a family and will be almost totally unaffected. OK my shares a worth a bit less than before but that's paper money that I do not rely on for day to day food and shelter, and most likely will recover in time (and I still have some time before retirement when I might need to cash them in). But a lot of people will be seriously affected, high food and fuel prices will seriously impact people.

So what do you think? Will people really die (or even suffer) from starvation or even just a lack of food? Will people die because they can't afford fuel in the recession (but could have otherwise)? Or am I being extreme and only counting real suffering if it's of the fatal kind?