These days, the side of my cubicle is better known as Wall Street. The other day, after a group speculative purchase of the stock F, we calculated that we were holding nearly close to half a million dollars of the stock itself. We said in jest that we could hold our own AGM here.
Yes, I have been speculating. Grand aim is to make enough to bring the old folks to the other side of the world and donate some to my faith.
The other day, R made $19,000 from the stock U alone and though I only made a fraction, there was nothing to complain about. This was free money after all!
I am so totally obsessed with the streaming quotes of the stock screen, flashing at me and each bid signals the way to more wealth or less. '
Hilarious affair. All of us were given $50 to rent costumes. Most of the bank went on the theme of Chinese dynasty wear but my group were made to dress like Cowboys! which is really the better of the two. So here are the pictures.
2006 is easily the best year I've had since 2001. I can't remember much of the years between 2001 to 2003 except the fact that I was denied my place in the honours program (on hindsight, getting out of school earlier was a really good thing) and the prolonged emotional mess I was in, which I must add was absolutely unnecessary for personal growth.
But back to 2006, this has been a good year. I am living out the life I think I would have wanted when I was 21. Finally, I'm promoted to assistant vice president in the bank (which of course turned out to be no big deal because of the scores of vice presidents strutting around the office each day) but it was a corporate title that sounded a little more glamorous and got me some respect from the rich ass clients. I've gotten myself out of the worst world's local bank and am handling much bigger accounts. I've acquired toys that I have craved for like PSP, Palm phone, laptop with horsepower, bicycle, skateboard. I'm finally exercising and after 5 years of second guessing and sofa lounging, amazingly, I am actually able to complete 6 km in one breath!
At the home front, I'm staying in an apartment 10 minutes from town which means I don't have to drag my sorry ass to and from office to Boon Lay (the Boondocks) each day. I've a cute little yelpy dog that has sort of figured out where to pee before the year was up. Of course, I couldn't have done it without baby. She really helped to make the house feel like a home (insane laughter - check, christmas tree & decor - check, housework - check, clear dog poo - check). My parents are also much more emotionally stable than they were years ago. My mum has finally accepted the fact that being retired is a good thing and has shown a new zest for life by her constant trips to Taiwan. My dad isn't as angsty as before and I hear that the fight count at home has gone down a fair bit.
So life has mellowed and is that how the pre-30s period should be like? Hmm.
I'm going to be 27 next year. When I was 16, I could never have imagined myself being 27. Just like now, I wouldn't have been able to imagine myself being 40 but that would be a story for another day. But still, 27! My god, life is really passing me by. And something tells me I should stop waiting around to be the next youngest vice president of the Bank because at the end of the day, so what? (check bank account and see if I could afford to say what I've just said)
Another day of mulling over my stock losses. It has been like this for the last few weeks. The $50 loss has by now ballooned into a $5000 deficit and I wonder if I have learnt anything new.
Sold too early, bought too late. Either ways, I seem to be always on the wrong side of things. My colleague, B, said "maybe you should be my reference point. Next time when you buy, let me know because I'd sell" Man, this sucks. I know E, my friend turned dealer, can't be feeling too good either. Her recommendations hadn't been able to pull me out of the red.
I guess it's consoling to know that even the world's greatest investor such as W. Buffet, don't have a 100% track record but well, at least whatever amount his losses were in the past, look where he ended up!
I just don't understand why it seemed to easy for some people. Like J who quit her job last year for the sake of being with her 2 shih tzus and currently sustaining her lifestyle by trading stock options on the US stock market. She had attended the seminar by Freely.com to learn the art of options trading and according to her, she makes around US$1000-2000 per month which in her words "is not a lot of money " Or like RK, who has punching his fist in the air the whole day because he was jubilant that his portfolio has rose by another $14k. Why the f*** are there so many annoying success stories around me?
People around me have been telling me to get off the market but I didn't simply lose 5 grand just to learn that I shouldn't invest. Hallo?!?
Anyway, for the benefit of anyone who dabbles in warrants, or rather, the badass Hang Seng Warrants, here's a few unreliable observations:
1. Monday is mostly a down day.
In the last 1 month, 3 out of 4 Mondays were bad days to long on stocks
2. Do not enter the market till 9.50 am until the ding-donging of warrants have subsided
3. The trend is your friend until the end
Do not go against the trend. It doesn't pay to be contrarian.
4. Do not chase after rising warrant prices.
When that little voice in you say "BUY!!!!" that's when you should not. It's just your greed talking. On the flip side, don't let fear grip you when you see the prices tumbling downwards
5. 10 out of 10 people who punt on warrants lose money
This is a very accurate polling result. People polled include seasoned investors and technical chartists and myself of course.
6. What goes up must come down and the reverse applies.
Nothing can go up or down forever so ignore Point 3 at your own risk.
I straightened up and looked out of the window at the dark clouds hanging over the North Sea, thinking of all I had lost in the course of my life: times gone for ever, friends who had died or disappeared, feelings I would never know again
We did an impromptu photoshoot that morning. Baby had a new haircut and she looked as ruffled as Peking. As Baby is born in the year of the dog, I've always joked that I have two puppies in the house. On the other hand, Baby would say that she has two Leos in the house as Peking is born in the month of August as well.
Predator and Prey: Peking discovers the wonders of her new chewing toy
I've been thinking a lot lately about the direction of the global markets. Just where are we heading and how long will this euphoria last?
The day before the stock market crashed in 2000, did no one see it coming? Or was everyone simply delirious from blowing the tech bubble? Even secretaries owned million dollar stock options portfolio in those days.
You know it's the end when financial headlines starts exalting the new highs of the Dow Jones. As V puts it, when you see the uncles and aunties starting to invest, you know it's time to get out.
Yes, it's really about time. We are in a time when there is more fools than money and we should really head for the door before everyone starts paying attention to the numbers.
History loves to repeat itself and it won't be long before the market is brought to its knees. The bulls may be winning the battles these days but it's the bears that will have the last laugh.
contemplative
