I almost wanted to wait until New year’s Eve at 11:59 PM to compose this blog. It is a semblance of some mortgage and financial industry highlights (okay, lowlights) from the year 2017. But at the pace we’ve recently been experiencing debacle after debacle, I am nearly certain some other crisis or scandal will prevail between today and years’ end. Oh well. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines …
My next decision was how best to illustrate some eyebrow raisers from the past twelve months. I could have listed 20 or 30 or maybe even 50 events that had me wondering if I was dreaming, reading a comedy novel, or witnessing the clear end of all things logical. Instead, I limited my choices to just 12. Here we have a dozen impactful events that made me say, “HUH?”, over and over again (and occasionally while laughing out loud).
Naturally then, if I am to list 12 things and it is near the end of the year, I shall copy literally tens of thousands before me and steal the “12 Days of Christmas” presentation vehicle. Forgive me.
If you've been raised by apes in the jungle or have just recovered from long-term amnesia and are not familiar with the song, feel free to check out The 12 Days of Christmas, this time sung by animals. Okay, okay, not into animal cuteness? How about a funny version? No? Then here is a normal one! But let’s digress to a few DYK (did you know) mentions for just a moment.
DYK?
The Twelve Days of Christmas was allegedly created in England in the 16th to 18th century (just a small date range guesstimate, huh?). This was during a time of religious persecution when Catholicism was outlawed. The song was supposedly constructed as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without fear of arrest.
Business Insider estimated that the 2016 cost of the 12 Days of Christmas was $34,363.49, with no repetition. Check it out.
- According to MentalFloss.com,
“The “four calling birds” that we sing about today were, at different times, “four canary birds” and “four mockingbirds,” and before that they show up as “colly birds” or “collie birds,” which is the archaic term for blackbirds. There were however, for some reason, always four of them.”
Okay, moving onward. What 12 events, earth shaking circumstances, cataclysmic disasters or upbeat and wondrous happenings sparked my interest in 2017? Here they are, presented as a holiday gift to you. No, the gift is not returnable (but feel free to re-gift). Everybody sing!
12 Days of Mortgage Christmas
On the first day of Christmas my blogger gave (or sent -- look it up here and scroll down to “variations”) to me:
On the second day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
(so far) … no, no, don't sing the “so far” words - that's just me being snarky.
And a Cordray resignation
On the third day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
3 New huge hacks (so far … yes, more and the final bit of snarkiness)
And a Cordray resignation
On the fourth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the fifth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the sixth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the seventh day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the eighth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the ninth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the tenth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
And a Cordray resignation
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my blogger gave to me:
12 Tiny home styles
11 Risky home loans
10 Odd insurance
9 New prez shockers
8 Puppy backyards
7 Changed deductions
6 SoFi mess ups
5 Wrong forecasts
4 Wells Ut Ohs
3 New huge hacks (so far)
2 Fed rate hikes (so far)
And a Cordray resignation
To end this blog and this year, I shall leave you with the perfect Christmas gifts for the portrayed characters. Happy holidays snarky singers!
Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël or 圣诞快乐 or Frohliche Weihnachten … And for the PC among us, Joyeuses Fêtes! Felices Fiestas! 節日快樂 Masaya pista opisyal Laethanta saoire sona Trevlig Helg! … Happy HoliDAZE!!
