Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 17, 2020 4:52:34 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home]
Judy chuckled. "Why, it's for administration, bureaucracy, meetings, coffee breaks - the foundations of modern civilization," she explained. "You have to remember, our society is only about 10% actual work, at most. The other 90% is administration, regulation, oversight, comfort, things we don't necessarily need, but which make it all run smoother, and that's what the physical location is all about." "Well, my love, you can keep explaining on the train," Max pointed out, as he began to take the plates. Judy, naturally, began to follow suit.
"What was that call about?" Anna asked Sven, as both her parents went inside.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 17, 2020 15:54:52 GMT
Eastman-Williams home
The large man nodded as Judy and Max began to clean up. "I'm glad you are going. The last time I was on the mass transit system I got lost."
Anna than asked the question that had been bugging her.
"My recently made ex." he began to explain. "I broke up with him a week ago, and he isn't moving on."
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 17, 2020 16:13:57 GMT
[Eastman-Williams Family Home -> Streets, Summit, NJ]
"Oh, I see," Anna answered. "Mom still talks about her ex sometimes, usually telling us what not to do. She says if a relationship isn't equal, fair, and honest, it isn't real."
Being a Middle-Schooler, Anna didn't really have any understanding or experience in relationships, but she could tell that her parents were doing it well. They were so affectionate and good towards each other, towards herself and her siblings (whole- and half-siblings), and towards everyone around them.
"Alright, let's go," Judy hollered, having cleared out the last of the plates. Armed with prescription sunglasses and her handbag, she and Max led the group onto the streets of wealthy, suburban Summit, New Jersey. On both sides of the street were single-family homes on large lots, with wheeled- and hover-cars in the driveways.
"What you're looking at here is very much the late-20th-century American Dream. The single-family home, backyard, open spaces, quiet, automobiles. North America is full of these suburban communities, that just sprang up en masse after the Second World War. You know I'm more of a big-city girl myself, but Max and I had figured we want to raise free-range kids, out here."
It would only be a short walk from the Eastman-Williams home to the train station, where the old-fashioned, contact rail system (as opposed to maglev, anti-grav hovertrains, or pressure tubes) connected to the City.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 18, 2020 22:00:19 GMT
Eastman-Williams home |Sven Aune|
"That's wise advice. Relationships are about two people committed to a life time of conflict resolution. And that only happens when both people are fair and equal with each other." he advised.
Judy had begun to talk about suburbia. He found it odd that she equated a back yard to a free range. He grew up on almost 2000 acres of farming land. That was free range.
"I'll have to take your word for that. Free range, for me at least, was growing up on a farm with acres of land to run around, explore and get into trouble in. So, what are we expecting in the city?"
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 18, 2020 22:57:45 GMT
[Summit, NJ]
Judy held back her thoughts on rural life. She wasn't the kind to buy into being that far removed from culture events (Broadway), sports, and other people, but she didn't see a need to denigrate it. "Well, it's peak tourism season, so we'd be wise to avoid all the big sites - Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and so on. The correct time for that tour is November," she explained instead, as she steadily led them to the station, and then down to the platform. "I think I'll just lead you on a walk in the Financial District, and then see where we go from there. If I know me, probably an ice cream parlor."
Judy sat down on a bench at the platform, crossing her legs at the knee. Max and Anna joined her and followed suit.
"Are you ready for a primer on the fiendishly-complicated, centuries-old, and yet top-notch transit system of this great city?" she asked.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 19, 2020 3:01:55 GMT
Summit NJ | Sven Aune |
“The last time I was here I got hopelessly lost on the Metro, so I’m glad you are here to guide me. Literally and figuratively. So when and why did you get into investing?” Sven asked as they waited on the platform.
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 19, 2020 4:03:01 GMT
[Summit, NJ -> Train]
Judy chuckled "Born into it," she answered. "When your family has the kind of sums that the Eastmans do, it's really an inevitability."
Judy stopped talking as a train pulled up. Sleek, clean, and quiet, it nevertheless shared much with its 19th-century ancestor - wheeled coaches coupled together to a single locomotive.
Judy noted the headboard reading "Hoboken".
"This one's ours," she commented, as she led them onto a coach, the second from the front, and up to some seats on the top floor.
"In my opinion, it's immensely reckless not to invest money that you save. It's a deliberate choice to leave your future self, and your heirs, with less."
The heir in question was at the front-facing window seat, with Judy at the aisle. Max allowed Sven the other window seat, so he could sit across from his wife.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 20, 2020 0:53:19 GMT
| Train departing to Hoboken | Sven Aune
Sven was surprised to see, despite Judy already talking him, a contact rail train. Odd that they still used them considering that mag-lets were so much faster, and smoother of a ride. But he was excited to ride the modernized antique.
He took the seat offered. The seat was firm, but comfortable enough, if not a bit too small for his huge frame, but that was his problem. Came with the territory.
“That’s what I want to do. Secure my future. I do t want to work serving drinks at some Ferangi bar in my golden year. Unless I want to. And that’s the difference. That’s why I’m asking you for your advice and help.”
He paused for a moment as the train began to lurch forward. The coach stutter-stepped as the engine provided torque which transmitted into momentum.
“And, I want something on the side to my Star Fleet career. Something that I can fall back on if I decide to leave. I’ll be honest. I’m tired of being shuffled around.” he explained.
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 20, 2020 1:06:23 GMT
[Train]
"Well, those sound like two, even three, different goals," Judy commented, placing her forearms on the table. "There's the goal of having money around for retirement, beyond the Starfleet pension. There's the goal of having a little extra money on the side now. Then there's the goal of becoming independently wealthy fast. There are different strategies for all three of these."
Judy leaned slightly forward before continuing.
"If you're aiming to build a nice nest egg for later, you want to slant your portfolio towards longer-term investments, like real estate, bonds, and so on. If you want more side income now, you want more higher-growth, more liquid items - which tend to be riskier - like stocks. If you want to build wealth fast, then you have to make certain lifestyle changes to gain the investment capital needed for that - slashing your spending, including subscriptions and eating out, which is painful; no gym membership and no holidays isn't exactly a fun lifestyle. You, as an investor, have to decide which way you're aiming."
Max also leaned forward, placing one hand on his wife's.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 24, 2020 21:14:49 GMT
|Train| Sven Aune |
"Well, I'd like to have both retirement set aside, and some side income. So I'm not relying totally upon my salary I draw from Star Fleet. And what I don't use from the side income, I think I can reinvest into the longer term goals."
He shrugged thinking that this was a pretty good idea. The train cruised along with gentile sways and lurches.
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 24, 2020 21:45:43 GMT
[Train]
Judy thought for a moment. "So it sounds like you'd want more of a moderate growth strategy, at least at this juncture," she prescribed. "You might want to find a professional to advise you, but I'd say you want a mix of higher-gain, higher-risk assets, that is to say more speculative stocks, as well as safer investments like the house, bonds, and blue-chip stocks."
The train continued on its route, as she thought a bit longer on other advice to offer.
"Mind you, an investment strategy is only as good as the capital being invested, which is to say that you need to budget on your spending at home to work out how much you're investing. We have, on our computer at home, an absolutely immense, color-coded spreadsheet, tracking my paychecks, Max's cookbook royalties, and the returns on our portfolio on the one hand, and all the things we need to set aside money to spend on on the other: fancy meals, vacations, raising the kids, spoiling the grandkids, maintenance on the house, more glasses, and so on. A good budget can help you work out how much you can save, invest, and spend, and without it, most people will end up just spending," she explained. "If left to our own devices, we'd spend everything on the model railroad we've started building," Max shared humorously. "We'd bought Michael, the eldest grandson, a toy train set, and Judy enjoyed playing with it so much that we decided to try the adult version."
All three smiled at that thought. With 4 children between them, Gerald and Lawrence had made very busy, happy, and enthusiastic grandparents out of Judy and Max, and a richly-rewarded babysitter and young aunt out of Anna.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 26, 2020 20:21:59 GMT
|Train | Sven Aune |
"Model trains? That does sound like fun. I've seen some absolutely immense systems back in Charlotte North Caroline. They have a museum and clubs galore. It's really neat." he commented.
"Ya, I'm mixing both because I'm young but I want to make sure that I can live well after retirement. There are things that I want to do now as well."
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 26, 2020 22:18:37 GMT
[Train]
"Well, there's always a balancing act between different goals, targets, everything. That's the very nature of having finite resources," Judy remarked, as she then leaned back.
The ride went on, and after a bit the train was past Newark, approaching a complex intersection of tracks at the Kearny Meadows.
"And on the topic of trade-offs, this is a large-scale one. Here we have the 22nd-century Mag-Lev system for the Boston-Washington corridor, the pressure tubes of the PATH system, both of which used to run as old-school rail, mind you, and then there's all of us, riding on the same old tracks," she explained, seemingly relishing in the description of all this infrastructure. "Now, for as long as I've been alive, around the time we figured out transporters weren't going to replace all our infrastructure, the region has been arguing about which system to convert all the Jersey commuter lines to, or whether to rebuild everything with a graviton system like they use over in Germany. My mother actually shot down a big initiative to go to gravitons, back when she was Mayor. Thanks, mom!"
The train left the intersection as fast as it had entered, heading into a tunnel towards the ancient, above-ground terminal at Hoboken.
|
|
Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
|
Post by Sven Aune on Mar 27, 2020 3:19:55 GMT
| Train | Sven Aune |
Sven listened to his financial mentor. It was true he didn’t know much about the transit systems of the larger systems. But the idea that the graviton system was shot down was confusing.
“Why? What’s wrong with the graviton system?” He inquired.
|
|
Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
|
Post by Judith Eastman on Mar 27, 2020 15:12:35 GMT
[Train -> Hoboken Terminal]
"Well, it's expensive. They'd need to dig under the Hudson, under Manhattan, build a new station, develop new maintenance facilities, yada yada yada. That's the classic trade-off: cost vs. efficacy," Judy explained, as the train cruised out of the tunnel and came to a stop at the large station. "You'll be up against similar trade-offs in your life, though on a much smaller scale. Do you buy the shiny new treadmill that might end up being a clothes hanger, or do you keep jogging outdoors?"
"For the record, mom does hang clothes on the treadmill," Anna pointed out, as they began to climb out of their seats and the train. "Only because we have the neighborhood to jog in with the dogs," Judy countered. "Anyway, we have to decide now how we'll get across the Hudson, another trade-off: taking the PATH, the pressure tube underground, is faster, but the ferry will give us a better view going into the city."
|
|