Who Owns the US Debt?

Greg Bocquet at Yahoo!Finance released some number today on who actually owns the US debt. Mainland China ranks first, which is not surprising to many Americans. An average American would most likely be able to guess that China was the number one owner. However, more surprising is the number two ranking, Japan, which is only 0.2% away from the #1 spot. Combined, the top 3 own over 50% of the debt.

1. Mainland China
Amount of U.S. debt: $891.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 20.4%

2. Japan
Amount of U.S. debt: $883.6 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 20.2%

3. United Kingdom
Amount of U.S. debt: $541.3 billion
Share of total foreign debt: 12.4%

Click Here to See the Top 10

Spousonomics: Using Economics in a Marriage

So I saw this video on Yahoo! and now I want to get it and see what it has to say. It's got some good tips for young couples on how to use economics in a relationship. Here's a video:

Q: What do you call a Doctor who makes B's and C's in all their classes?

So I've come to the realization, finally, that economics is all about assumptions. Literally, each branch of economics has it's own assumptions that other branches think are wrong, and that's why their branch is "superior." It's really no different with my life outside of school.  I assume my officemates will help me if I get stuck, I assume Spencer will help me when I get stressed, and I assume that I will be able to finish all my homework before it's due. Yea....., I assume a little too much.

I'm not saying all that stuff isn't true, but it's gotten to the point where I feel SUPER lazy because I just assume I can get it done later on down the road. In fact, sometimes I feel like everyone around me is better prepared and works harder, and that I'm just a bum. Oh well. I don't care.

Let me rephrase that, I care about the program, I don't care what other people think about me. If I want to sit in my office and watch an episode of American Pickers while eating a cupcake, I'm going to do it. If I want to watch a movie one night instead of working on group homework that isn't due for another week, that should be fine too. Some people in my program have forgotten what it's like to be human beings with social and entertainment needs. Some people are just go, go, go, all the time, and never realize there are more important things in life then finishing your homework a week and a half early, which honestly, I don't know how they do it.

My mom told me a story once about school, and I'll always remember it; I also think it applies to this situation as well:

Q: What do you call a Doctor who makes B's and C's in all their classes?
A: Doctor

That's going to be my motto from now till I get that piece of paper that says you have to call me Dr. Wooten. I don't care if I failed a test. I don't care if I don't get my homework done till the day before. All that matters at the end of the semester is that I have a 3.0 average. All that matters at the end of this year is that I pass those three core exams. All that matters at the end of the next 3 years is that I come up with a kick-ass research idea. Bust your butt all you want, but at the end of these 4 years, we'll both be called doctors. 

So it's been a While... Part Deux

Yea, so much for that idea of  updating my blog at least once a week =/ Sorry about that. I had the best intentions of doing that, but life just got in the way. If you're reading this because you want to know how my life is going, then, I would suggest talking to me on the phone, or even Facebook, because I would probably like to talk to you as well. I've come to the realization that if it wasn't for Facebook, I wouldn't know about 95% of my "friends." My closest friends, however, I do chat with on a regular basis, so I still know about them, but the rest... I wish I could talk to more.

If I've learned one thing about Grad School, it's how to balance life. Yea, I've learned about Hamiltonians, positive definite matrices, gamma family of distributions, and consumer theory, but those haven't really impacted my day-to-day life. What I've really learned is how to balance my time with school, personal time, friends, and relationships. That's been the biggest challenge for me since moving to Washington. I've always been go, go, go and find time for myself in-between everything else. Only now am I physically saying "No" to work in place of personal time with friends. It's made my life SOOOOOO much better. If you ever feel like you don't have time for friends, then you really do need to just stop everything you're doing and take a break. Trust me, you'll come back to your work more motivated, more productive, and in an overall better mood. I guarantee it.