[I might as well give it a go, eh?
]
Dear Family,
Yes, even though I've just joined as a site member thanks to Kerry's and Bill's generous decision to waive the membership fee, I consider you all a family as I've been a site lurker literally since day 1! Simply put, I want to thank you sincerely for all of the kind sharing and spirited debating by offering my own story in the mix:
I graduated from "the elite" NE institution a few years ago, took a job in corporate consulting (like probably better than half of my graduating class--amazing, eh?), set on the B-school path. One could not find a better example of conformity in terms of expectations, career path, and performance. Until a year into my tenure at my firm, that is. Like my friends at other consulting houses and banks, I found myself utterly miserable. Yes, the aggregate pay was great (though stretched over the hours we worked, not so much), the work was engaging (in the sense that it was thrilling to outsmart regulators, lawmakers, and competitors), but the mind/skillset that made us good at what we did necessarily made for a toxic culture [amazing how companies coopted that word as if to compare themselves to the functioning societies/grand civilizations to which it used to apply] and an ever-vexing question: just how many people am I screwing in doing what I'm doing? While I won't get into specifics as to just what my firm did, I figured it was time for me to transition out.
I spent the next year or so building an online business that was gaining some traction until the sky nearly fell down last fall/winter. Since then, I became something of a markets/newshound to try to understand just what happened and how I could possibly parlay that into saving my parents' retirement as well as my tattered grad school fund. Good news is that the assets have recovered (in nominal dollar terms, so maybe not really) and hedged against another storm. "Bad" news, at least in the eyes of my friends, is that I've become somewhat probing (paranoid in their eyes) in the process. I beg to differ, naturally. :-P
An examination of the goings on of the last year (and indeed, continuing through today) would be superficial if one took the standard line as Gospel. In fact, articles by writers published in mainstream publications like those by Matt Taibbi and Nomi Prins illustrate an in-plain-view coordination of financial intrigue. While delving further beyond that can take us into the realm of so-called secret societies and global agendas and suppressed technologies and extra-planetary life, it was somewhat hard for me, at least in the first place, not to crack a condescendingly smile when I took a step back and reexamined such topics with a fresh view, divorced from the connections that took me there, in logical steps, in the first place. So I appreciate the fact that woo-woo topics and the veracity of what certain figures/whistleblowers say are respectfully qualified as a "possibility" in this community and not necessarily as outright truth. You guys are the true scientists: in possession of critical faculties and a healthy skepticism, but not willing to dismiss anything outright without a fair hearing.
But consider the various odd news of the last quarter alone: Mussolini was MI-5. Karzai's brother is on the CIA payroll, along with the CEO of Blackwater/XE. Wasserstein and other bankers are dropping dead in plain view. The man holding the Office of the President of the United States is bowing to monarchs and winning international peace awards while expanding military presence abroad. Top Goldman brass are using curious language about God and morality and are applying for NY gun permits. Nobel prize-winning economist/intellectual heavyweight Paul Krugman curiously dismisses the very clear implications of the emails at the center of the Climategate scandal as merely illustrative of the fact that "that scientists are human, but never mind." What, exactly, isn't in the realm of intrigue and possibility at the moment?
Given that the above seems a bit more geared toward econo-political subjects, why did I not join some other forum instead of running with the Avalon community? Because, well, I'm open to other possibilities given personal experiences and dissatisfaction with what is given as the current big picture. Besides, other online communities seem to devolve into offputting negativity and closemindedness in the exploration of all possible angles to a story. As you can imagine, I enjoy listening to the likes of Cliff High/George Ure/Catherine Fitts.
And so there you have it, a brief introduction to your hidden man. I look forward to sharing and experiencing and with all of you!
With kind regards,
HM