Hey There, Good Looking!

Movin' On

2009-06-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my 2.5 month blogging absence - my excuse for not blogging also serves as an update:
2 dance shows, accepted into LSE, girlfriend, exams, graduation, trading.

I've decided to start a new blog that's more focused on trading and finance rather than on my personal life (it was getting too tiresome to censor all my perspectives/thoughts anyway).

If you're still interested, update your links and bookmarks and scoot on over to The Eggonomist!

Funkopoly

2009-03-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

What could possibly be my last show:

Operation Phoenix

2009-03-04T00:54:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the Pan-Asian dudes got together, packed a couple of thermal bags, visited all 14 Pan-Asian girls in their homes or in study lounges...

AND SNOWBALLED THEM!!!!

We also gave them "sorry candy" to make up for it, but those were mostly thrown back at us. Oh well.

When will I ever be able to do something as childish and get away with it again?

(Not) Just Another Manic Monday

2009-02-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

rehearsals up till midnight, dance practice that span 12 hours on weekends, not studying for anything, and all for...

Come see Pan-Asian perform what will likely be the last dance I ever choreograph.

Mad 4

2009-02-13T23:34:00.001-08:00

There is just no better way to spend a Friday the 13th night with good margaritas, boneless bbq honey chipotle chicken wings, and the excellent company of two (and I hate to admit it) lovely friends at Mad 4 Mex - with no worries about politics, putting on pretences, or leaving a good impression. Just pure, unadulterated, excellent conversation - and the numbing effects of a "Big-Azz" Margarita.

I'm not ready to graduate. :(

Things That Put Me in a Good Mood

2009-02-08T21:06:00.000-08:00

I went to Chinatown to buy a pair of fake 180s (if you don't know what they are, they're sort of like earwarmers. Like these:)
The real ones are much too expensive, so I was hoping to buy one from a random street vendor. I approached this stall run by a nice old Korean lady, and she told me they were 3 bucks each. As I was taking my money out, the conversation went like this:

Korean Lady: Are you Korean?
Me: No, I'm Singaporean.
Korean Lady: (Makes some confused noises)
Me: Oh, sort of like Chinese. I'm Chinese.
Korean Lady: (smiles and indicates she understands). Are you Christian?
Me: (Thinking that she must be trying to convert me or something) Yeah! I'm Christian, yep. (This is true - Catholics fall under the umbrella of Christianity)

At this point, I'd already paid her, so I pat her on her shoulder and said, "Have a good day!" And I walk off. She calls me back and goes: "You a good boy. Good Christian boy. Here, take this. For free." and she thrusts a black beanie into my hands.

She really made my day :)

SNOW WARRRRR

2009-02-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

It snowed really heavily for the first time in... forever. I don't think I've seen snow pile up this high at Penn since freshman year. The snow packed under my feet as I walked to Funk practice - there was a certain satisfying squish under my sneakers and I walked through the padded snow.

When I got out of practice at midnight, I made a little detour to Hamilton field.. where around a hundred people (possibly more) had decided to gather, build snowmen, and start snowball fights all over the place. Quite simply put, it was awesome. While I'd thrown snowballs before, I'd never been in an all out snow WAR: we bombed random groups of people and got bombed back, I led a classic military left flank and we owned a bunch of white guys, we chased away a couple after we bombarded them with snowballs, and we ended the night with a double quarter pounder with cheese at Mcdonald's. Tonight's definitely going into the "unforgettable college memories" section.

Pictures below of frolicking in the snow with the Pennyo/Pan-Asian people.

Ok Fine, I'm Starting to Blog Again

2009-01-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

Perhaps it would be easier for me to start blogging again if I don't feel obligated to write that -compulsory- (and long) post about Winter break spent in Morocco.

So... I won't. For now. It's such a huge ass daunting task that it takes all the fun out of blogging. Fa serious.

Hello reader! It's been a while, yes, I know. It's not as if I've been busy too. Here I am, senior semester at Penn (yes: it's been decided. I'm graduating early. I just submitted my graduate school application today and I'm scared shitless of not getting in). I decided in December that this semester needs to be my most memorable one in Penn yet. I can't have studying as the only memory I have of Penn, so hence, I have decided to do something about the following aspects of my life:

1) Academics
Am taking FOUR classes semester, one of which is pass/fail. I have so much time on my hands now it's absolutely amazing. Though granted, my three graded classes are hard-ass advanced econ/math hardcore type-ish classes, I have all the time in the world to study for them.

2) Dance
Strictly Funk is awesome as usual this semester. Yours truly just completed his 6th audition (we have to get accepted twice before becoming a full member), probably a record at this college. But getting full membership in my all-time favorite dance crew couldn't have come at a better time. I'm in as many dances as I'm happy with, and our show is going to blow you away again. March 20th and 21st. Mark your calendars.

Pan-Asian - am choreographing no less than three pieces. Hip-hop iron fan, senior dance, andd... a special sexy surprise. Keep your eyes peeled on Feburary 20th/21st.

3) Friends
Where would I be without Pan-Asian and Pennyo? Pregames and parties. 2am Mcdonald's. Beer and TV nights. and SPRING BREAK IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC YESSSSSSS.

ok, I'm done now. I promise I'll post a more literary appealing post next time. It takes time to get used to the idea of writing again.

Inter OCR Burn!

2009-01-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, I know I haven't updated in like... a month.
The mandatory Morocco post is being annoying; I'm halfway through it and I really don't feel like finishing it. But this post is short enough to justify a quick break from my hellish on-campus recruiting internship search.

Spotted on Pennlink:

"We are presently seeking an investment analyst summer intern who is creative, intellectually curious, passionate about investing and uninterested in spending 100 hours per week formatting Powerpoint presentations and IPO prospectuses."

I like them already.
Take that, i-bankers!

Moroc-Your Body

2008-12-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

Am headed to Morocco tonight, be back on the 8th. I'm actually supposed to be downstairs with my backpack now, so I'll save the Toronto updates for later!

Facebooking

2008-12-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

When you have about an hour to spare, take the time to check out all your Facebook photos. I mean ALL of them, all one thousand three hundred and twenty five of them. Lovely, amazing memories -including ones that you haven't thought of in months - will come rushing back. You'll realize that you have more friends than you thought you had, and did things that you're probably too busy/tired/lazy to do now. And you will feel extremely, absolutely, blessed.

One more semester to go. I need to make it count.

I HATE GREYHOUND

2008-12-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

Slight setback in my mojo mission. (see last post)

I got to the pick up point for my bus to Toronto with two minutes to spare, but the bus was wasn't there. Yes, it wasn't there. It also didn't help that the pick-up point was a busy intersection in Manhattan, with no desk, no sign, nothing whatsoever to indicate if I was late, the bus had been delayed, etc.

So I spent 10 minutes walking frantically round the intersection before giving up and taking the subway 8 blocks uptown to see if I could get a refund from the Greyhound desk up at Port Authority, and yes.. you guessed it. No refund.

So there I was, stuck in Manhattan, having wasted a $60 Neonbus ticket to Toronto, and the next available bus was at 8.45 the next morning, with a ticket costing 85 bucks.

So yeah, I hate you, Greyhound. (I ended up buying a plane ticket which costs the exact same amount)

The Post-Paper-Post

2008-12-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

I need to get my mojo back.

My hardest set of finals just ended 22 hours ago. Finals like these make me never want to be a student ever again. Fa sheezy. The past month has been nothing but waking up and feeling depressed that I have to study; and long unproductive hours in Rodin/Huntsman getting frustrated at not being able to understand readings/do problems, (and checking facebook and gmail every 2 minutes), and resulted in me being a grumpy, boring, and generally un-fun person to be around.

Yes, it's true. Studying has sapped my mojo. This became apparent yesterday while I watching Tropic Thunder (best movie ever, btw) and downing beers with the Pennyo dudes at Winston's place last night. A whole group of pretty Korean girls came in, stood around the kitchen table and drank beers. Then a whole bunch of other people came in, and people turned off the lights, turning it into a sort of semi-party... and I didn't even feel like getting up, let alone meet people. How sad is that? (I eventually did force myself to get up and make introductions, and engaged in a grand total of 2 minutes of small talk. Bo-oring.)

I can feel it: even when I'm making conversation with people I'm comfortable with, I lose my train of thought and diverge to pointless topics. So help me. I need to get my mojo back.

And it starts tonight. Tonight, I'm on my way to the great city of Toronto - potential migration destination and home of good Asian food and pretty Asian girls. Two of my favorite things in the world. :D And no, I'm not flying there, I'm taking a 2 hour bus to new york followed by a 9 hour bus where I can listen to music, surf the web, and psych my mojo to return. Hahaha. But seriously, it's nice to be able to choose the slower, longer option instead of rushing and paying a hundred bucks more for a flight that'll save me a couple of hours.

After Toronto, I'll be spending a sad day studying for my GREs re-test on frickin CHRISTMAS EVE. I'd better do spectacular this time, or I'd be ready to jump off a building.

And then, I'm jetsetting to Morocco on Christmas Day! Am excited, more excited than I'd been for my Mexico/Guatemala and Peru/Bolivia trips. I don't know why. Maybe Morocco sounds more exciting and less.. I dunno.. Tiring. s

It seems like life this semester is structured in such a way that I'll never get any rest. Ever. But hopefully, hopefully, when I'm sitting under the stars in the Saharan Desert, my mojo will return. Just in time for my last semester in college.

Lionel's Finals

2008-12-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Apologies for being away for so long. Finals has descended upon me. (I'm also depressed because I have to take the GREs again and actually study for the essays this time. Sighhh)

Bright side on the horizon: Toronto on the 19th and Morocco on the 25th!! :D

Something that's provided a good source of distraction in this dire time of need:

Peace outside.

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

I paid $257 to eat and sleep for 3 days in Michigan.
The only thing I spent on on Black Friday was 10 bucks to repair my watch, after which I noticed a Fossil shop around the corner, where I could've gotten it repaired for free.

When I get back to college, I would like to get drunk, attend a number of promiscuous orgies/parties and/or have a threesome. Oh, and smoke weed. (To the gahmen officials who don't understand English and are reading this and waiting for an excuse to throw me into jail after my nefarious nanchuku incident, I said "I would like to", which implies that I haven't done it. Yet.) Unfortunately, exam week is upon us.

I hope I do well in the GREs. I really don't want to go through the hell of studying for it again. Speaking of which, Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" is full of GRE vocabulary words.

I can't decide if my last undergraduate semester should be spent building long lasting friendships or living a life of moral debauchery. (Who says you can't have both?)

How to Annoy the Establishment

2008-11-23T00:17:00.000-08:00

One day, I would love to do a stupid thing like this just to see what happens.

In other news, I'm taking my GREs on tuesday. That's right, I'm actually doing something that concerns my future for the first time this semester. I spent 13 hours on a freakin Saturday memorizing 1,260 words (of which I probably only remember 30%) because I'm panicking my ass off now.

The Funk Phenomena

2008-11-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say an extremely grateful THANK YOU to everyone who showed us love this past weekend. The rave reviews have been coming: people loved everything about it, facebook is flooded with amazing photos and videos, and more than a handful said that it was the best Funk show they'd ever seen.

I particularly liked how our lighting manager described it: "It was like having sex, taking a shot, taking a dump, and picking your nose... at the same time."

But the best review by far came from Under the Button, one of Penn's many blogs.

What can I say? I've lived my dream and loved every minute of it. I've been waiting to be a part of this show for 3 years now, and now that it's here, I don't want it to end. I'm supposed to be at our weekly grueling 3-hour practice now and I'm sad that we don't have to do it for the rest of the semester. I've spent the whole of today looking at photos and watching the (amazing) videos over and over again and not doing work. (They really are the shit.)

So once again, much love to everyone who came down. And to the loves of my life Strictly Funk, thank you for letting me live my dream. Let's Funk again next semester :)

We Rise for the Funk
You Cry for the Funk
Get Wild for the Funk
We'd Die for the Funk

We Gon' Make You FUNK With Us

2008-11-10T11:54:00.001-08:00

There is nothing in the world I love more than dance:

We almost always have a sell-out show, so email me early if you'd like tickets :)
Come see the event I've been waiting to be a part of for the past 3 years.

Heart Tug

2008-11-07T23:16:00.000-08:00

A Friday night, after Chinatown dinners and dance rehearsals and dumplings and CSI with the neighbors, heart tugs come in the form of a beautifully made, poignant movie:

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

"But what she didn't realize was that there would be an end. A terribly sweet and natural end, the ones that hurt the most."

Business People Annoy Me

2008-10-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

Really, they do.

Now, I'm contradicting myself a little here because a little over a month ago I was still running off to banking presentations, clutching my leather folio, one of the masses of nervous college kids, slightly uncomfortable in their starched shirts and suits (seriously, who the hell wears a SUIT to presentations? Does anyone understand the meaning of business casual?) all crowding around and listening starry-eyed to some vice president talk about the "excellent opportunities" and "growth potential" of the company.

Seriously? It's all a damn charade. Everything is. I'm not just talking about finance. But the whole process of recruiting in general is just one big frickin' charade. I'll be willing to bet that at least 90% of the people in the room are just there because they have to be. Because they feel the need to suck up because other Whartonites are sucking up. (with the number of people sucking up, the recruiters will probably not remember them anyway) Unlike last year, I actually know what I'm talking about now because I've been there and I actually know shit.

I know of people who schedule visits to as many presentations as they can in one night (only the ones from the prestigious banks, of course), and make it their personal mission to collect as many business cards as possible. Perhaps this raises their sense of self worth, because schmoozing is probably the only skill they really have.

And how about the students who join business related clubs, like the Wharton China Asia Business Finance Consulting Enterprise Exchange? (that doesn't exist, btw, I just made that up) Is anyone a member of these clubs for reasons other than resume-building/internship-getting purposes? Does anyone really give a shit about the economy at all, or are they just telling themselves that they do? It's hard to imagine how painfully generic business titles like "Repositioning Asia to Take the Global Lead" can drum up any excitement whatsoever, yet that conference is one of the most attended events in this school. Really? Are people really excited by "repositioning Asia to take the global lead" or is it just an excuse to do even more sucking up?

What happened to going for something because of (gasp) interest, which is what college is all about anyway? (Life, on the other hand, is often quite different. Though I haven't experienced it yet). I feel really sorry for people who spend their entire college careers calling up sponsors, doing Excel models and Powerpoint presentations, all in the name of their resume. Because they're probably going to be doing it for the rest of their sorry lives. Why start now?

Fine - I concede: I too, will be one of those donning business suits and reading the Wall Street Journal and memorizing vault guides in the name of finding an internship. (And, surprise surprise, because I'm actually interested in the markets. Note that I said markets - not some company acquisition that I have to prepare an effing Excel model for) But I feel that I have one advantage over these drones. I don't have to do this. I actually have a job (which is such a valuable asset in this economy. I love you sponsors. Muack, muack.). I'm doing this because I actually want to, which makes me very clear about where my priorities lie.

They lie in (as cliched as it sounds) my passions, my real interests that will be the only things I remember from my college years: Dance practices. Game theory (I'm not kidding). Halloween costume parties. Choreographing. Late night movies with neighbors. Drunk Monopoly. 2am McDonald's club. Driving to Denny's at 4am. Whitewater rafting. Swing dancing in Chicago. And (although it's not going to happen for another 3 weeks) a cheering audience after my first Funk show.

I think I'm going to get so much more out of my college life by focusing on these, instead of how to "reposition Asia to take the global lead."

Study Ka-dunk

2008-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Dude.
I have so much work I don't even know where to start.

You know I'm starting to get a little cranky when I head to the library bathroom just to take a look at the funny graffiti scribbled on the bathroom stall:

Vote for ~~Obama~~ Stalin please.

(the word "Stalin" was written by somebody else)
and scribbled next to that:

Oh, you must mean Palin.

TWO MORE MIDTERMS AND TWO MORE ASSIGNMENTS TO GOOOOOO
I really hope I don't screw up this semester. I'm dying here.

Red Light District

2008-10-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

When the going gets depressing, the depressed go to... Chicago!

More about that in a couple of posts, (i have a midterm to study for), but I couldn't resist sharing this. While I was in the Windy City on Monday, a quick glace at a Fidelity office's ticker display showed entirely green arrows (which, for the uninitiated, means the markets went up that day). However, when I checked my Ino.com portfolio (I don't actually own these securities - thank goodness - but I follow them) today:

You cant see it too clearly, but check out all that RED in the last two columns. It looks more like Chinese New Year than Christmas.

It's in times like these that I'm glad I'm not a buy and holder. Warren Buffet investing, anyone?

Empty

2008-10-05T01:35:00.001-07:00

I'm empty inside
Unjustified
Confused and tied
The turmoil resides
Inside me

I gave you everything
But you ripped it apart
For your own selfish reasons
Now there's just
An empty picture frame
Where my happiness once lay
I'm empty
So empty.

I'll be fine.

Demand for Stability

2008-09-24T23:07:00.001-07:00

In times of uncertainty such as these, I think about what Nicholas Taleb wrote about in his book Fooled by Randomness and contemplate on how nice it would be to be a doctor or a surgeon - to have a stable, predictable, and pretty profitable job.

I look at the med students at Penn and how they seem pretty happy. Stressed, but happy. Happy that they have a nice cushy comfortable secure future ahead of them.

Then I think about what it must be like inspecting gross lumps on people's noses/toes/armpits every day, and suddenly I don't feel so jealous. :)

Hip-Hop Hooray

2008-09-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

After my first official Funk practice today, I was hit by a sudden realization:
that I haven't felt so alive for the longest time ever.

Before this, I'd settled into the routine of money, money, money - internships, research, trading, talking about the markets and charts and candlesticks and Sharpe ratios. I wanted to graduate early. I wanted to get out there and make my fifty million dollars and live. I thought I was happy.

After tonight, I realized: I don't want to graduate early. I want to continue doing what I love the most - pushing myself, popping, locking, hip-hopping, and breaking it down to thumping hip hop beats. Feeling the rush of performance, even if its just to myself. Hitting accents in time to the distinctive crack or boom in the music. I want to blow our audience away with the best show ever. I want to move in sync with the best dancers I've admired from afar for two years now.

I don't ever want this to end.
(Sigh. If only I were rich.)

Gangsta Sheet

2008-09-18T20:27:00.001-07:00

Amidst all this depression afflicting the financial markets lately (with the exception of today: a brief market surge while I was buying bonds - dammit! ##@*&^)), I found this picture on my friend's profile pic, which made me laugh:

Tha's right, homies.

The Next Wave

2008-09-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

I would like to bring to light this shameless plug by my longtime friend GLEN KOH CHER SENG to use this blog as an advertising space for The Next Wave, NUS Dance Ensemble's annual dance concert, on Friday 19 Sept and Saturday 20 Sept at the NUS UCC.

Shameless advertising aside, its an awesome show. You should go. I've been blown away by past shows before, and many of my friends are in it, and I would totally go if I wasn't 10,000 miles away.

JIAYOU GLEN!! :D Shake that white ass, ooo yeah.

The Fall of the Financial Sky

2008-09-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

So this morning bore the most exciting piece of financial news I've read (in my short history of actually following the financial news.)

Lehman Brothers, that huge i-bank where several of my friends have jobs/internships/dreams to be in, and with its impressive light-display office in midtown Manhattan not 3 blocks from where the girlfriend lives, has filed for bankruptcy after not being able to find a buyer. In my opinion, that was pretty expected.

What I totally didnt expect was to see that Merrill Lynch got bought up by Bank of America for like half the price it was worth a year ago. Merrill - where a neighbor of mine has a offer from, where a close Penn friend once remarked that I would enjoy the culture working there, once the oldest and strongest pillar of financial invulnerability - is just going be another bank. Wtf.

I can pick out two lessons from this:

1) You cant pick bottoms. I've been trying to tell this all through last week to friends who bought Lehman's stock at $7 or $3.50, that there's no telling where a top or bottom might be, no matter how well they think they know a company. If anything, I would have been short Lehman when it fell from $7 to $3.50, and perhaps made a small profit today, when the price crashed to $0.20. But I wasn't, and I didn't, because I'm (haha) risk averse.

2) Don't gloat. Having closed out my bond position on Friday and feeling very happy with myself with the small profit I'd made thanks to my trading system I developed, I had full faith in my super system. Yesterday evening, it told me to short 2 lots of bond futures, and since it had a good price - I did. Of course, had this crazy shocking news not come out today, I would probably be sitting on another pile of unrealized profit right now. Instead, I find my system being tested by the one thing traders fear/want the most: the black swan. Today's events - large magnitude, far out standard deviation events which may potentially cause my bond prices to shoot up and take away more than the profits I'd made in my last trade. So yes, I actually -do- have a stake in the markets not going to hell. On the upside, if my system survives the events following today, I may just have found a good, robust system that should be profitable in the coming years.

My professor summed up the financial crisis in class today: "On days like these, I'm glad that I'm not in Wall Street and still in academia."

Funk City

2008-09-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is the story of the guy who just kept trying and trying and trying:

Fall 06: Danced horribly, made callbacks (miraculously), rejected. Convinced he could get in the next time.
Spring 07: Another rejection, another big slap to the ego.
Fall 07: Didn't even make callbacks after a summer of dance classes.
Spring 08: Didn't expect to get in, hopes raised momentarily for a night before crashing right down again.

Fall 08: Determined to not expect anything, to just chill and have fun and dance... and made it.

Honestly, the prize is so much sweeter when you've had to wait years for it.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm (finally) ready to Funk.

Reality Hits

2008-09-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

It only struck me today that schools starts tomorrow. Tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, I have recruiting presentations, resume critiques, banking coffee chats, pan-asian rehearsals, classes, classes, classes.... oh, and my room is still a damn mess.

Filling up my schedule book today after 4 blissful months was so depressing.
Dammit, I don't wanna admit it, but I've got to be all responsible again.

Emo

2008-08-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

Things get emo when I have nothing to do.

I'm crying inside
Gotta see you tonight

Biting the Big Apple

2008-08-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the long hiatus from blogging. (I've found that blogging activity increases whenever I have reason to procrastinate - such as during my internship. :D Now that the internship's over, I actually have real stuff to do)

In case you didn't know, I've left Singapore without so much of a word to most people. Don't take it personally, I hardly told anyone. I just find it silly to go around declaring that I'm leaving and expecting people to get off a new school term/new jobs to come have dinner with me. So I spent my last week in Singapore tying up my trading research, long business meetings with the bruddas over maggie goreng and ice milo, and wistfully visiting my favorite noodle places for one last time. And now, I'm back in Manhattan, the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, whatever you wanna call it - for a last one week of doing absolutely nothing useful before going back to school. (Ok, I lie - I've had to visit T-shirt shops for business research and write a couple of reports for the proud sponsors, but that's about it. I was a little tempted to study for a math placement test but sloth overcame me.)

A sidenote: Most of you must be going "what business?" I haven't told alot of people about it, but don't worry - all will be revealed in due course :)

Because the girlfriend has started work - yes, I still find it hard to believe that I'm dating a Wall Street New Yorker Corporate Lady - I spend mornings waking up late, hours on my laptop at Starbucks, wandering the streets of midtown Manhattan, reading in Central Park. In other words - bliss. The bliss of waking up not knowing what I'm going to do today, except that it's going to be different from yesterday, that I'm not going to be facing a computer screen for most of it (well, with the exception of my laptop), and the bliss of freedom - freedom to do anything I want. There's something about America - I can't put my finger on it but it's there, even after more than 2 years of being here - that's different from Singapore. There's a sense of positivity, even a vibe, that's in the air. The positivity that Americans are in control of their lives, (even if its an illusion) and that they're free. Free to pursue what they want to pursue.

Even in choked up New York, I can still sense that freedom. It's in the small things - like the random guy taking a nap in Central Park, or the street performers/political activists making a racket in the streets, or the friendly elevator operator - that make me genuinely happy to be here. It's a different kind of happiness from Singapore - I feel like over here, I may never get comfortable, I may never see routine, but I'll never ever get bored. Then again, there is comfort in spending nights eating instant noodles and dumplings and chilli sauce beef and watching the Olympics with the girlfriend. Comfortable. And blissful :)

I meant to write a post reflecting about the past summer and how much I've grown, but seeing how long this post already is I think I'll do it later. Perhaps at a random Starbucks watching the world go by in the Capital of Capitalism. I think this is the one time I can procrastinate and not feel guilty about it. :)

Hard Fact

2008-08-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Lesson learnt: when buying expensive techie hardware, always buy brand-new.

My second-hand external harddrive zapped my computer's USB ports once, so I got it (the harddrive) repaired. After a few blissful weeks of no problems, it zapped my computer's keyboard (specifically: the delete, }, page down, and tab keys).

Only after a good half hour of frantic pressing of the said keys, shutting down and turning on, and even resorting to coaxing Marie (that's my Macbook's name) to stop being such a stubborn bitch, I finally got the keys to work.

Now all my data, including the trading systems I've built over the past 3 days, are stuck in screwed-up harddrive limbo. Incidentally, those systems were the ones that made money over the past 2 days. I guess I couldn't expect to just make free money without its own share of (f***-ed up) problems.

To You

2008-08-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

" They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I'll wait.

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday."

- "Lucky" by Jason Mraz feat Colbie Caillat

Whooopsie

2008-08-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Heard at dance class:

Choreographer: Yes, so the song I did last week was "Another Man" by Charlie Wilson. Another good song of his is "Supa Sexy"..

Student (who didnt hear his last sentence): I'm sorry, did you say the song you did last week was "Supa Sexy?"

Choreographer: Nono, last week I did Another Man. :D

The Best Advice I've Heard from a Litigator...

2008-08-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

... came when I read Adrian Tan's convocation speech for NTU.

There are so many profound (and hilarious) nuggets of advice that I found it hard to decide which one I should quote, but I finally decided on this one:

"I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work."

The Best Advice I've Heard From an Economist...

2008-08-04T23:04:00.001-07:00

...came when I attended Steven Levitt's (author of the bestselling Freakonomics) talk in April.

Taking the example from his dad, who became an expert in some obscure weird-ass/semi-disgusting yet fascinating/extremely quirky medical field (i forget what), he said:

"I've learnt that when you're not as good as everybody else in doing something, pick another thing that nobody wants to do and be the best at it."

Dr Levitt, when I'm rich and famous, I'll give you credit for that. :)

Munching Marshmellows

2008-07-31T23:13:00.000-07:00

So at the the Unnamed Company scholars' gathering yesterday, a soon-to-retire HR vp stood up and gave a speech. It was the usual schpiel on how fun and challenging the industry is, how we're different from other government scholars, how much "fun" we're going to have, etc etc. One of his anecdotes was the oft quoted "marshmellow test".

For the uninitiated, the marshmellow test was a study conducted by Stanford University psychology researcher Walter Mischel in the 1960s. Mischel placed marshmallows in front of hungry four-year-old children. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, or if they could wait several minutes, they could have two. Some children quickly grabbed the marshmallow and ate it. Others waited. Mischel followed the group and found that 14 years later, the children who eagerly devoured the first marshmallow weren't faring as well as the children who had waited for two marshmallows. Moral of the story? Be willing to delay gratification if you want to achieve financial wealth.

So the aforementioned HR vp was citing how all "his banker friends" were all "jealous" of him now because he had achieved more in terms of experiences, and surprise, surprise, materially as well. And he finished off by reminding us not to touch that first marshmellow, and to wait, wait for the second one to come, because it will.

I don't disagree. That's a basic principle of investing - forgo consumption today to enjoy more of it tomorrow.

However, the economist in me was wondering: What if the utility of consuming the first marshmellow was greater than the combined utility of consuming 2 marshmellows into the future?

Let's lay down a few assumptions for this to come true. What if: the value of the first marshmellow was much greater than the second? Say, the first one was filled with sticky gooey chocolate while the second (promised) other one was just a plain vanilla marshmellow.

To put this in numbers:
Utility of consuming the first marshmellow now = 10
Utility of consuming the second marshmellow now = 6

Further follow that your discount rate is very high, ie you place more value in consuming more now than later.

Assume that Discount rate of one period = 50%, which follows that:
Utility of consuming the first marshmellow later = 10 x 50% = 5
Utility of consuming the second marshmellow later = 6 x 50% = 3

Hence,
value of consuming 1 marshmellow now = 10
value of consuming 2 marshmellows later = 5+3 = 8

So you'd be better off consuming the first marshmellow then! The trouble with the study is that it assumes both marshmellows are equal, which may not always be applicable in life. You can draw parallels to say, a fat salary in, say, banking (ahem) vs a mediocre salary of just another paper pusher, even if he works in A Really Big Company.

Also, a discount rate of 50% (or more) isn't too hard to imagine when you think about all the amazing things young people can do which old people usually cant (or don't want to): backpack, club, skydive, run naked, have lots of crazy wild sex... you get the idea. You'd probably place more emphasis on (for lack of a better word) consuming them now than when you're 50.

Moral of my little study? Traditional wisdom is fine, but the devil is in the details.
Damn, I should write a paper about this.

And to take a leaf from Debbie's book, I know that nosey parkers/IDA, ISD officers/potential backstabbing colleagues might be reading this, let me declare that I love my proud sponsors and I am eternally grateful for them, and that I would never dream of betraying them. Muacks muacks.

Mas Be the Money (Part Dous)

2008-07-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

Two conversations in the same day revealed some contradictory perceptions I have about money.

After talking to the girlfriend, I've realized that money is still a means to an end for me. I'm disgusted by the image of the investment banker who works 100 hours a week, at the expense of a family and a real life, all for the cash and the prospect of "hookers and blow" - as described in Wall Street Oasis' forum on "what motivates you?".

I've realized that while I'd like to achieve a certain level of ambition - I'm not going to sacrifice my values, my relationships and my friends for it. The sole bottom line of work is simply money - money which could be used to fulfill further dreams ahead. If I enjoy work and make a few friends along the way, that's an added plus - but I'm sure as hell not going to work till midnight everyday, not even if I enjoy it. There's just so much more to life out there.

Then came lunch with two of my dancer friends, one who works at a bank, and the other who just started his own business.

And to my utter horror, I found myself driving the conversation to... money. What to invest in, how the economy's performing, how to run a small business. And I felt the need to explain what the difference between a bond and an index fund was. I was mortified. Six months ago, I wouldn't have dreamed that I could bore people with money talk.

And then I realized just how money-focused my entire summer was: internship at a ratings company. Trading research, programming and back-testing. Setting up an e-commerce website. Even the majority of our "bruddas' drunk night" turned into an extended business meeting that lasted till 3am (though we still drank :)) The horror: I'm turning into the soulless, money-grubbing Whartonite that I swore I wouldn't become! (no offence to Whartonites - I'm making a generalization here.)

I need help. Aiyuh, I wish I could be like you!

How ah, How ah?

2008-07-25T02:58:00.001-07:00

Speaking at the Penn booth at last week's US university Experiences fair, I came across a stunning revelation, (well, ok.. stunning to me), when I noticed that the typical questions students and parents alike fired at me included:

1) What's the SAT score required to get into Penn?
2) How do I get into Wharton?
3) What did you write for your application essay?
4) What sort of CCA background is Penn looking for?
5) What SAT II subjects should I take?
6) What sort of results is Penn looking for?
7) What CCA were YOU in in JC?
8) How many people from XYZ JC make it into Penn every year?
9) How long should my essay be?

and the annoyingly ambiguous:
10) How to get in, ah?

Aside from the fact that I was really tempted to write an FAQ sheet and shove it into their faces, my stunning revelation was this: That the majority of Singaporeans applying to these top colleges are more concerned with HOW they can get in, instead of WHY they should be applying in the first place!

Questions like "what kind of courses does Penn offer?" and "what's a typical day at Penn like?" made up less than 20% of the questions I answered. Isn't the whole point of the Experiences fair to find out more about the college itself, not just the admissions department?

Kiasu applicants, you're going to spend 4 of your best YEARS in college. Stop focusing on what your SAT score is, stop presuming that getting into Wharton is your ultimate ambition, and start worrying about choosing the best place to spend this amazing time in!

Click Here to Play

2008-07-24T09:01:00.001-07:00

Easily my favorite item in Pan-Asian's In The Game concert: tinikling!

Mas Be The Money

2008-07-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

So yesterday's front pages were plastered with an offer of 1 million dollars promised to anyone who could offer information that would lead to escaped terrorist Mas Selamat's (re)capture.

I thought it was pretty friggin hilarious.

Especially since the reward is supposedly coming from two "businessmen" who chose to remain anonymous - for fear of their safety, as reported by the papers. Now, putting aside my economic bias that all businessmen, on a purely rational basis, would never offer such a reward for this "public good", (that, and because the concept of a truly altruistic businessmen is incomprehensible to me) there are several other things wrong with this piece of news:

1) Why come forth with this reward now: when the terrorist would have likely escaped far beyond the jurisdiction of this country's law enforcement system, and when public interest in the case has dropped somewhat from its peak? (i know, because I see less and less pictures of his scowling face everywhere)

2) If they feared for their safety, why not offer it though the front of a corporation, as it had been done before? (I've heard that some corporation offered a bounty of $50,000 a few months back, with little interest from the government or the public) It's certainly good publicity for a corporation if this carrot proves successful.

3) Why has the government, from its previous adamant stance of refusing to provide rewards to citizens, suddenly turned around and praised this noble act of generosity?

4) And I still find it hard to believe that 2 people could have a combination of a) a million bucks of spare cash and b) such a deep and profound altruism and interest in the capture of the terrorist. I mean, seriously, its not like they're offering this million dollars to help bail out a dire threat to a country's system - like the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, for example. Terrorists are hardly a systemwide threat - in Singapore, all they can do is target MRT stations - a terrible consequence, but hardly the concern of these two supposed "businessmen".

Unless, of course - the reputations of these "businessmen" are directly hinging on the capture of Mas Selamat (and are on a dire free-fall because of his escape). I can think of a particular group of people who would fit into this category...

Perhaps these mysterious "businessmen" go by the names of Mr Lee and Mr Wong? (Especially Mr Wong - the slew of incidents happening in his "business" has been nothing short of embarrassing :D) Mr Lee and Mr Wong know that support for them is dropping to an all-time low - and they desperately need a dramatic, sweeping event like the capture of Mas Selamat to salvage their damaged reputations.

Again, pretty hilarious how they have to hide under the cover of being "businessmen". It'll be even funnier if a terrorist group turns him in and gets rewarded handsomely, by our noble gahmen in their desperation to do anything, anything to bring up their popularity ratings. (which I believe to be a lost cause: I doubt the capture of a terrorist could do much to change the dissatisfaction over the 23849249 ERP gantries that have just been erected :D)

Of course, I could be wrong. This is all just a hypothesis. So don't sue me for defamation. :D

Business Time

2008-07-19T10:51:00.001-07:00

Hahahahhaahah lovin' this video.

Regime Role Model

2008-07-16T01:03:00.000-07:00

I meant to blog a response to this article last week, but didn't have the time to.

From the article:

Explaining why these [human rights] groups regarded Singapore as a threat, he [MM Lee] said it was because they saw that the Russians and Chinese have been coming and studying Singapore's success story and picking up pointers.

The leaders of these countries ask 'how does this little country with so little talent keep its ruling party in place and run a tight ship, honest, and effective, and make progress?'

Interesting how he seems to be proud of the fact that Singapore is a role model for Russia and China - two oppressive, freedom-limiting Communist regimes notorious for their human rights violations.

As the Wall Street Journal Asia puts it: "Singapore is unlikely to reform its political or judicial system anytime soon. But when the country is ready to join the ranks of modern democracies, the IBA's recommendations provide a good checklist of how to do so."

Phuk-eet

2008-07-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

Headed to Phuket for 4 days for a much needed beachy holiday with the much missed girlfriend.

... I wonder if we'll see the same fake-tattoo seller who runs really fast on Patong beach that I met 6 years ago.

Fat Slap

2008-07-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

I know there's something amiss when I meet all my old Singaporean friends...
and everyone says I'm fat.

fatfatfatfatfat. Soon I'll be able to stick a remote control on my man-boobs and stuff random bits of food under my ginormous folds of belly. Oooooohhhh boy.

In other news, my water bottle smells like dog.
(specifically - it smells like Bridget! Not kidding, Hui. XD)

I-Sore Orchard

2008-07-06T07:12:00.000-07:00

The facade that lines the pathway from Orchard Road MRT towards Wisma Atria irritates the hell out of me.
It boasts a massive billboard announcing the development of retail project Ion Orchard, which, according to the website, will "re-define the retail, fashion, and lifestyle experience in Singapore."

Now if you thought THAT cliche was bad, let me draw your attention to some -extremely- annoying phrases that sprawl the rest of the billboard:

"I am a magnet, a muse, a multi-sensory miracle."
"I am style sculpted from steel."
"I will bedazzle, bewitch, be all that you're dreaming of."
"I am charisma cast in concrete."

Okay, seriously. What. the. fuck. Are they trying to prove?

The sentences comprise of several cool-sounding words recklessly strewn together in an attempt to sound avant-garde, and they're so generic that they make absolutely no sense. They just reek of a developer (CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties) trying to appear all artistic but failing miserably.

Want to appear artistic? They would've been better off putting up pictures of the art/models they were so proudly advertising without the words rather than torturing the public with these retarded phrases. Fine, if it was in some obscure mall, no one would care. But this is in the middle of Orchard Road, an "unbeatable location" as the website says, openly available for tourists with much better taste to laugh at Singapore's pathetic attempts to join the ranks of first world culture.

Update: I decided to post the above article to STOMP.com.sg to see what would happen, and surprise surprise, they uploaded it! A watered down version (watered down by the editors, not me) can be found here.
The negative comments don't bother me. The fact that Singaporeans are defending a bunch of cool-sounding words and passing them off as artistic only confirms my beliefs that Singapore's sense of style is in a sorry, sorry state.

Mean Street

2008-07-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

Why I love market panics, especially during times like these:

I can't help but feel sorry for the stressed out trader who reads the WSJ every day, follows CNBC hoping to catch the next "hot tip", and jumps every time Bernanke, Paulson, or even worse: Jim Cramer says something.

Me - I follow a much less stressful approach, as highlighted in a recent post in WSJ's Deal Journal:
Lesson #1: Nobody knows where the market bottom is
Lesson #2: Do not sell into a panic
Lesson #3: Look forward, not backward
Lesson #4: It's investing, not gambling
Lesson #5: It's only money
(Click here for the full article)

5 Years to Save the World Singapore

2008-07-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

Check out this article, posted a few days ago on the AsiaOne website.

I won't comment on what I think about the article (for obvious reasons), but I advise all readers to check out the comments from other readers.

(or you can click "view all comments" at the bottom of the article)

I loved it!

So there's hope for Singapore after all. My country isn't filled with millions of brainless, mind-numbing yes-men who are happily contented in a guilded cage. The number of politically-conscious citizens who see and read beyond the newspapers, beyond the controlled media, and beyond the cheesy speeches is steadily growing.

You can't fool us anymore.

Bliss Week

2008-06-29T08:42:00.001-07:00

"Baby you're all that I want,
when you're lying here in my arms
Finding it hard to believe,
We're in heaven.

Love is all that I need,
and I've found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see,
We're in heaven."

Foolosophy

2008-06-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

Lunch with Eugene today got me thinking about the classic logic question:

"If all As are Bs,
and all Bs are Cs,
Therefore, all As are Cs"

Its easy to see how the statement can be true, but I'm convinced that it cannot be entirely true. (I dont believe in absolutes - the black swan problem)
However, after spending the entire lunch hour pondering over it, I still can't come up with a good enough statement to counter that argument.

Hence, if anyone can give me a good statement, I'll buy you lunch. Promise.

Here's some stuff I managed to conclude over lunch:
1) The word "all" is a problem. Ie, if we were allowed to replace "all" with "some" in one or two sentences, we could do:
All cats are black
Some black things are television sets
Therefore, all cats are television sets

2) The word "are" is also a problem. If we could replace "are" with a verb, we could do:
All children like ice cream
All ice cream is nice
Therefore, all children like nice things.

3) There is a problem with sticking to the A to B to C flow. If we could do A=B, and A=C, we could do:
All terriers are dogs
All terriers are mammals
Therefore, all mammals are dogs

4) The premise has to be correct. The following isn't correct:
All dolphins are good swimmers
All good swimmers are men
Therefore, all dolphins are men.
Here: the premise "good swimmers" is invalid - but I dont know how to explain it. Perhaps someone can?

Gah, am so determined to find the one black swan statement that will contradict it!

Oops

2008-06-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

So it's pretty hilarious when something embarrassing drops out of your bag in the middle of a rush-hour train, and slides 2 feet away from you.

I scrambled to pick it up, hide it, then nonchantly listen to my iPod. I hope everyone was too sleepy to see what it was anyway. Although as I was leaving to walk up the stairs at my station this guy kept turning back and giving me weird glances. Yeah dude, that's right.

Nope, I'm not gonna tell you what it is. ;)

Retirement Plans

2008-06-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

I've found my ultimate retirement vision.

On a whim, the girlfriend and I decided to have dinner at Cafe Del Mar, Sentosa. While leaning back with the breeze in my face, lounge music in my ears and ginger ale (pathetic, I know) in my hands, I decided that this, this vision supercedes my original open-a-friendly-backpacker-hostel one.

Ah, to have a mini oasis by the sea with dim lighting, lounge music, and a lighted pool, where guests can sip champagne and bask in their own awesomeness. (yes, don't you think indulgence is such an ego trip?)

The girlfriend insists that our future classy cafe-by-the-beach needs to be entirely white though.
(and I thought: does that mean we cant hire asians?)

Why the 100-Hour Work Week Isn't For Me

2008-06-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Perhaps my disdain for the frantic-dream-job-60k-a-year-corporate-lifestyle can be summed up here:

Slow Dance
(by David L. Weatherford)

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You'd better slow down, Don't dance so fast.
Time is short, The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask: How are you? Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You'd better slow down, Don't dance so fast.
Time is short, The music won't last.

Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste, Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die,
Cause you never had time, to call and say hi?
You'd better slow down, Don't dance so fast.
Time is short, The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day
It is like an unopened gift thrown away.
Life is not a race, Do take it slower.
Hear the music, before the song is over.

The Politically Correct Newspaper Article

2008-06-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

An article in yesterday's My Paper (June 17 - How Citizens Can Do Their Part) annoyed the hell out of me.

I'm no English teacher, but I think that if something is going to be submitted as journalism, it should at least -sound- intelligent. First of all, the writing is in the style of a mediocre junior college General Paper essay. It offers sweeping, general, common sense-ical statements, all seemingly cut and pasted from a moral education textbook. It offers tidbits of information that is totally unrelated to the article, seeming like a proclamation of "Look, look! I follow the opinions of the mainstream media!"

The writer (a grassroots leader) advocates how different citizens - "our students", "the workers", "the women", and "the elderly and retirees" can "play his or her role" in cooperating with the Government so that we can "weather through this difficult period."

Let me make this clear: (especially for the political censors who are no doubt reading this right now) I don't disagree with the writer. It's nice that he tries to offer a perspective of what "the people" can do to deal with inflation, instead of passively letting the Almighty Gahmen fight it.

But honestly, he could have offered a whole host of advice more valuable than the sweeping, politically correct, general statements that took up 70% of the article. Want citizens to do their part? Give them a realistic picture: their spending power is going to fall drastically in the next year. They should be putting their money in commodities. They should stop deluding themselves that a savings account and CPF will be enough for them to retire on. Tangible, hard, valuable advice.

Instead, he offered "insightful" statements like "our students have to...gain practical employment skills and to learn the correct values", or "the workers have to be motivated to work hard and succeed in their respective organisations", or "the elderly and retirees can continue to contribute to the nation by staying active, fit and healthy." Not to mention a corny, cliched phrase like "We should also live within our means and save for rainy days."

Wow, really? In case you haven't noticed, THAT'S COMMON SENSE.

Sigh. I think we still have a long, long way to go in the area of intelligent, critical writing. Still, not all is lost: I thought the article on the previous page (Where Are The Cute Young Guys?) offered more insight.

Inflation Nation

2008-06-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

A few takes after reading Weekend Today's three articles on inflation.

I've noticed how annoyingly ignorant journalists can be:

On page 8: "...some wonder whether it's worth saving when the interest rate even on a time deposit can be 1 percent or less.. it's easy to see that there are more attractive options available. NTUC Income reports that the annual return on its money market fund through February was over 2.9 percent. Keeping more money in CPF and using less to pay the mortgage can earn 3.5 percent or more."

And barely 2 pages before: "The Government has raised its full year forecast range for inflation twice since the year started, the latest being 5 to 6 percent from 4.5 to 5.5 percent"

Hello?? 6 percent inflation, and they're advocating putting money in CPF to earn 3.5 percent??
Think people, think!

Well, granted that I write this with a huge pre-bias against a forced saving scheme like CPF, but that's another story. I still think its ridiculous that they're advocating saving during a time of inflation. I don't believe that Singaporeans are ignorant: its frickin' obvious that inflation erodes the spending power of money. I just think that we need to think critically for a moment here: Just because the government is telling you to save, save, save, save $1000 off your paycheck means that you should blindly follow it. That $12,000 you save this year will only let you buy $11,400 worth of goods next year (net inflation plus interest), and that's if you spend it all next year. Wow, losing $600 in spending power doesn't sound like a good compensation for putting off spending now.

In fact, as strange as it sounds, the article on page 6 about young people spending instead of saving during a time of inflation seems to make a whole lot more sense. Taking that $600 and spending it on toy collectibles (like Steve Carrel's character in the 40 yr old Virgin), and letting it appreciate in value seems to make more sense than putting it into a savings account.

That said, I think its amazing how little people of my generation know about financial prudence.
On page 6: "I still see people going on holidays. It's a good indication that they still have surplus funds." and somebody else mentions, "They spend as they earn, since saving is not high on their priorities now."
Are our time horizons that short? Is the entire purpose of a summer job simply for a weeklong shopping spree, a 4-day holiday or the new iPhone? (I'm actually thinking of getting one too, haha). Think, my friends, think! We may be earning more than our parents ever did, but is all that going into consumption of goods and services that expire/depreciate once it empties your wallet? Money in, money out.

It sounds like I'm contradicting myself, but it really isn't. All I'm saying is: don't follow the traditional, outdated, old wives' tales of managing your money. I'm no financial advisor, but I think there's more to life than simply working like a zombie (see previous post), saving because the gahmen told you to do so, and spending your paycheck because you feel like you deserve it since you've worked like a zombie and obediently followed what the gahmen said for the past year.

The Rat Race

2008-06-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Honestly? Corporate life sucks.

Don't get me wrong now, I think my internship's fine. Colleagues and bosses are nice, good location, prestigious firm, a huge cubicle all to myself at the back of the office, and actual, tangible, relatively challenging work. (well, more challenging than some other, ahem, internships than i've had in the past anyway, haha)

No, its not my work that I'm complaining about; it's the whole -corporate- lifestyle.

Waking up early in the mornings, putting on those light stripey pastel colored shirts and slacks and grabbing my corporate bag, and stepping onto the corporate 8am train packed with THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of corporate people, all carrying their corporate bags in their corporate striped shirts reading corporate newspapers like "My Paper" or sms-ing on their corporate handphones. Then stopping at a corporate mrt station (aka Raffles Place) and being just one particle in the ENDLESS STREAM of half-glazed, zombie-eyed corporate people quick stepping towards the corporate escalators, (stand on the left if you're trying to delay getting to the office, walk on the right if you're late). Some will stop to buy their corporate cup of coffee, while others will be fishing around for their corporate lanyards to put around their necks - kind of reminds me of a friggin' dog collar.

Then you sit down at your cubicle (the same cubicle you see every single day), power up your computer, and to take the words of something I read recently, the "overwhelming sense of hopelessness that hits you like a punch", before you sigh and start your day ploughing through income statements and Excel sheets.

Being an intern isn't half bad, because learning is my focus (and new stuff always seems fun at first when you're learning it, and there's an end in sight). But how do those full-timers do it? How do they go through the same depressing routine every day, doing the same boring jobs, in the hope that someday, someday, they'll earn enough money to enjoy that fleeting life that they envisioned themselves to have? How do you go on without any end in sight, doing meaningless tasks so the giant corporation above you can reap the profits while you get rewarded with perhaps an annual 4-day holiday (any longer and you'll probably be fired), and coming home to a drunken existence on the weekends?

Is that what we envisioned our life should be?

I retract the statement I blogged about earlier on putting off what makes you happy. (loyal readers will know that I change my opinions constantly, and I'm proud of it). I think my goal shouldn't be that cushy dream job anymore, no matter how much it pays. Because I'd probably be miserable doing 100 hour work weeks even if I was getting paid a million a year. I think the goal should be to have the ability to enjoy the best years of my life in a way that a millionaire can, but not necessarily having a million dollars. I think my immediate goal should be to not have to depend on work for survival/money, but to work because I need something to do in the day, (and because I enjoy it).

In short, I think the goal shouldn't be the job, but the lifestyle that I assumed the job could buy. The job is a facade, the stepping stone that turns out to be a deadly booby trap that prevents one from ever reaching his goal of truly living life.

Perhaps there's another way to achieve the lifestyle without falling into that trap?

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?

2008-05-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

A delightful lunch/church/coffee with Felicia yielded this picture as we were chatting at Starbucks today:

A result of unnamed-University trying to create large green spaces + long drought in Australia = policy of spray-painting the grass green!

In The Game

2008-05-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

I think I have to see trading as nothing more than a toy, a source of entertainment, if I want to do well in this. I can't be anxiously banking on each trade as if it's a life-or-death matter; each trade has to mean very little to me, so that I can rationally analyze each one. Mustn't let my emotions run my actions and ruin me, and I mustn't let my greed of the possible gains overcome all logical action.

That said, it has certainly been an enjoyable game for the week thus far. Making money is a lot of fun, and the ease of doing so is tremendous. It's also true that losing money is extremely easy, given the kind of securities I've been looking at. Still, with the proper measures in place, I think I have the ability to control the effect of randomness to some extent.

I'm excited to see where this will take me. I still have lots to learn, but at least I've finally found a game to play which is actually going to be useful in life.

On another note, I really need to get out of here. The weather/political climate is stifling me so bad.

The Best Invention in the World

2008-05-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Skype is the most awesome thing to have in a long distance relationship.
Makes me fall in love with you all over again :)

Study Slump

2008-05-27T03:14:00.000-07:00

Another reason why I feel as if my freedom of choice is oppressed in this country:

I'm not allowed to study in public, or more specifically, at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
That's right: After studying Accounting for about 1.5 hours in preparation for my internship, I'm writing this right after I got told by a waitress with a sickeningly sweet smile: "I'm sorry sir, but studying isn't allowed here"
(So I'm taking my time to use my laptop in defiance. They may be able to stop me studying, but I'm not about to give up my seat)

Isn't allowed.. Isn't allowed! So I get it when you say you don't allow smoking, drugs, or skateboards. But since when did we start disallowing virtues along with vices? I understand where they're coming from: I can imagine that during exam periods, students would flood these establishments and spend entire days studying there, leaving no room for other patrons. If a restaurant was operating at full capacity and I'd been occupying a table for longer than usual, I'd understand perfectly why I shouldn't be studying there at that time.

But honestly, it makes no sense to stop me studying when there are empty tables all around me, especially when the table next to me is full of yakking educated, rich, international school girls (as I inferred when I eavesdropped on their conversation) who have been here longer than I have.

Plus, my drink isn't even finished yet, and I think that as a paying customer I deserve to be able to do whatever the hell I want, as long as it doesn't inconvenience other patrons. Honestly, I've stayed for hours at Starbucks in the United States, and I've never been told what I should or should not do. This is just yet another example of an establishment with rules that don't make sense, stemming from an overly repressive, rule-sticking, annoying culture.

That's right, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, your stupid rules have cost you this customer, and possibly many more after they read this post. And this is probably why Starbucks is crushing you out of the business too.

The Question of Ambition

2008-05-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

A visit to Josh's yesterday provided the opportunity to interact with some old Penn friends as well as several of Josh's old schoolmates, many of them scholars. Conversations with them led me to formalize The Question that I've pondered over for the last half a semester or so:

"What do I want to do in life?"

I should re-iterate that I've been grappling with several issues of the ambitions I'd like to see fulfilled, the person I want to become, and the monetary/emotional development that I'd need to have before this is fulfilled. I used to adopt a relatively simplistic notion of "do whatever that makes you happy" all the way up till this semester. Its sounds like something that a CEO/ambassador/parent would tell you at one of those sit-down sessions where they offer you perspectives from hindsight. Up till this semester, I was carefree, easygoing, and focused purely on the present. I took the chance to pursue passions and friendships, secure in the fact that "the future" would take care of itself. If you'd asked me where I saw myself in 5 years, I wouldn't have an answer for you.

A couple of factors this semester changed this naive perception of mine. I've come to realize that doing "whatever that makes you happy" is undoubtedly an ideal strategy for the long term, but try telling that to the next batch of first-year analysts on Wall Street (who are like, 50% of my graduating friends) who will be working 100 hours a week starting July. The truth is, we're all living in the shadow of the future. And we all need to take those small steps towards that ideal career, person and life in the future, even if it means forgoing "being happy" in the present.

The future.
Does everyone suffer from a classic grass-is-greener case? I can see future gripes about opportunity costs, about environments, about forgone potential. I can also see a possible, tangible future that I can attain if I stay focused and be ambitious. I can see a possible career that I would possibly enjoy, even if I know that its just a job, and not life itself. I think I have a clearer view of what is going to make me happier, at least for the next 5 years. It's certainly going to be tougher to get there than my previous game plan, and it certainly entails me forgoing a certain amount of "doing what makes me happy" in the present.

My only fear now is being sucked into a system of mediocrity, which I mustn't allow. Even if I have to put off my eventual goal for a couple of years, I'll have to keep reminding myself that I'm better than whatever corner they threaten to box me into. Eventually, I'll show them: the rich bastards who smiled mockingly at my supposed naive ambition, and thinking that they have it easy because of their backgrounds. I'll achieve better standards of ambition, and still grow into someone so much more than they'll ever be. I think I've gotten the basics of knowledge and perspectives right, thanks to my liberal arts education, now I'll just need more technical skills and just a little bit of luck to grant me my ticket towards that bigger goal.

This summer is going to be the start of that ticket. I can feel it.

Pluto Pooper

2008-05-23T13:08:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gents, allow me to reveal:

THE MAN WHO KILLED PLUTO'S PLANETARY STATUS!

He was awarded an honorary degree in Science at the Class of 2008's graduation ceremony, but when President Amy Gutmann read out his description as "the man who questioned Pluto's planetary existence", people around me (ie my crazy friends) started booing. Ahahahahahaha

Back In Da Hoooood

2008-05-23T12:29:00.002-07:00

Hello!
So I'm back in Singapore. Still getting used to the sweltering heat and humidity, and not having my awesome altec lansig speakers and subwoofer when I play my music.

I have significant news: yours truly was DETAINED by the airport police for 2 hours like a criminal for attempting to smuggle a weapon, specifically, a nunchucku into Singapore. Omg.
But please, before you judge me:
1) It was for me to choreograph for Pan-Asian
2) I totally forgot that it was in my luggage, so I didnt declare it
3) It cost a grand total of 5 dollars
4) It was made of FOAM
For crying out loud! I'd forgotten just how paranoid this country's law enforcement system actually is. My supposed weapon could do as much harm as a kid's toy, but they still took like 3 statements from me, confiscated my nunchucku, and kept me waiting for 2 hours while my parents waited in the arrival hall wondering if I had brought in drugs or something.

Honestly, I think the police should be focusing their energies on real security issues like that terrorist who escaped from prison, instead of wasting 2 hours writing reports for toy nunchuckus. Sigh.

I was let off with a warning, (I hope this doesn't go on my record), but I'll remember to take into account the paranoia of the system here the next time I pack my luggage. I was speaking to the policemen while waiting, and apparently bringing in cigarettes and pornography is a much more serious offence than weapons like that. The former carries a fine of $200 a pack (!!) . Good thing I didnt pack my souvenir Cuban cigars.

That unpleasant surprise aside, Singapore is still the same: sweltering humidity, malls crawling with schoolkids and army boys, aunties brushing past you, ah bengs with their gaudy phones, and of course: the heavenly, yummy food. Devoured a wantan mee, a pork porridge, a nasi lemak, and 2 hard boiled eggs the moment I left the airport.

This summer looks set to be a steady, relatively mundane period of consolidation. Aside from my 10 week internship, will also be using the nights to start a steady momentum for trading. But of course, I'll die if these 3 months are dedicated solely to finance (ughhhh), so please call me out! Zouk, the Great Singapore Sale, and late night drives for prata, anyone?

Number's still the same!

Back to the Island

2008-05-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not updating everyone on senior week craziness. Its been -extremely- hectic, especially in helping the girlfriend pack her entire room into approximately 10 boxes.

Am leaving for Singapore tonight, and will be back by Friday morning.
Comecome lets go for pratazoukbanmianbarbequeshoppingdamseyroadclarkequay!

Feeling a huge bout of sadness in not being able to see the girlfriend for close to a month. :(

Intelligent GChats with the Girlfriend

2008-05-12T22:01:00.001-07:00

Ting: I squish you
me: squished.

and another chat:

Ting: I throw stuff at you
me: I squish your stuff.

Drained

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like TWO political science essay exams in one day to suck all the energy out of you.
eeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggg

And I still have to bring myself to study for Sociology tomorrow. I have three hours before midnight ARAGH.

Pho-ther more..

2008-05-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

Only my favorite Asian food in the world. Besides instant noodles (if you count that as Asian)

"Apple bottom jeans... boots with the pho... (with the phooooooooooo...)"
One exam down, four to go!!
(I really should start studying for my Econ final tomorrow)

E(u|X,D,W,Z) = E(u|D,W,Z)

2008-05-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

My hardest exam in 11 hours. I think (I hope) its also the one I'm most prepared for, considering that I spent all my time studying for it and haven't started (!!!!) studying for my other ones next week.

I think it's come to a point where I just don't care anymore. You know what I mean: when you turn to your notes for the 1000000th time, sort of understanding what they mean but not really, but too sick of reading them to actively commit them to memory? Yeah, that sort of thing.
Then you go to McDonald's and get a Chicken Selects meal. Yum yum.

So I officially have the -worst- final exam schedule ever. Not only do I have 5 finals (who the heck has finals for all their classes?), but I also end on the very last day. My girlfriend, who is taking the same number of classes as me, has NO finals. Boo.

ok ok I know: I'm such a whiner. There are probably people worse off than me out there. Not many, but some poor soul is probably holed up in a windowless room with energy drinks for a diet. (Pretty much describes me, except for the windowless room part). Just let me do my ritual "Aragh why the f*** do I have to study for 7 more days" rant.

Oh, before I forget, a piece of good news:
I'll be in Singapore from the 1st of June all the way till the end of summer, doing an equity research internship with a ratings company, so I foresee many late night drives to eat prata, Mambo nights at Zouk (oh, how I miss those!), midnight movies at Cineleisure, suppers at Lau Pa Sat, and all the activities I've missed for 9 months now, with you, my favorite Singaporean friends.

Am positively grinning at the thought of going home now. Even though I should probably be thinking of why E(u|X,D,W,Z) = E(u|D,W,Z).

The First Post

2008-05-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

And gasp. I have succumbed. I suppose that after my 5-year affair with gallantknight.blogspot.com, I need a change. Besides, it was too much of a hassle handling two different Google accounts.

So yes! No more ugly (and corny) dance themed blogs, no more self-indulgent domain names. (Alas, its been years since I've used gallantknight as a moniker. Still, it holds some sort of nostalgic value, which is why I'm keeping it as my display name here.)

Yes, my blog should reflect my life. And its only apt that as I stand on the crevice of a new, exciting, fresh-faced and ambitious future, this blog should undergo a transformation of its own as well. But I suppose that some day in the near future, when I'm rich, famous, and rolling in the cash money (perhaps drawing the line at drinking champagne out of slippers. That's just gross) I shall click back to this first post and remember one thing:

To cherish my experiences, and never take my eyes of the stars.
(which was, incidentally, my last real post on Where's the Beat Dude.)

So this post serves as a reminder to me, and a dedication to you, my good-looking reader. Yes you. I think you're immensely attractive. Really, I do. You, dear reader, are more than just a reader, you're a close personal friend, one that I can share my life, my experiences, my complaints, my rants, my joys, and my perceptions with. One that has followed my musings since 2003. And to me, that's what makes you amazingly, beautifully, absolutely good looking.

I hope this blog reminds you of how true that is. Enjoy. (: