Every day here I read the International Herald Tribune, a paper which bills itself as “the global edition of The New York Times“. After shelling out $4 for a tiny 20-page paper, I am treated to the increasingly panicked reports about the economic crisis. (And, boy howdy, I sure am glad I didn’t end up going to Iceland this month like I had been considering!) Somehow all this news seems so wonderfully far away and unimportant to us, though. Carissa and I have managed to turn the phrase “global financial system” into a silly inside joke.

“Oh, by the way, Carissa, I heard something interesting and I keep meaning to tell you: apparently the Global Financial System is failing and the world economy is in a state of ruin,” I’ll say in my most casual tone. “Oh, okay, thanks, good to know!” And then we giggle while we lounge on the beach with a beer. A little later, after a fit of coughing, Carissa says “maybe I caught this cough from the Global Financial System.” And I reply “yes, maybe! I heard it is suffering from a bad case of FAILURE, so maybe you got that!” And on and on for days.

We also had a good conversation about what currencies countries can adopt once their respective economies collapse. I’m not sure why, but we decided Iceland will use pancakes, the US swaps Beanie Babies, and apparently Carissa and I will trade jokes about the Global Financial System.