Look, I’m a patient man. In fact, I consider myself to be very patient. You’d have to be in this household w/ a constant hormonal mother, and by hormonal I meant that as a euphemism for psycho. If my mother had been an alcoholic or has Alzheimer it would’ve been easier. It would at least help us explain the crazy mood swings she has. Sad thing is, whenever things aren’t going perfectly her way or she sense a little bit of stress she takes it out on the rest of us. So in fact, you’d either have to be very patient in order to survive in this family or you’d have to be insane just like her…
The thing is that I don’t get angry hardly ever at all, but when I do you’d better watch out. I don’t like it when I’m angry, and you sure as hell won’t like it when I’m angry. No, it’s not like I turn green with raging muscle from my head down to my purple shorts but every man has his limits. My boiling point is a lot higher than most but that also means that when I reach that point it’s going to be hotter and burn much more. Right now, I’m being tested. Ever since I’ve been on board this stupid ship I’ve been tested. First they tell us the excursion to Granada and Alhambra is full and we can’t go, now they’re telling us that we can’t go on shore to Morocco b/c of visa problems while the agents back in the States told us that we’d be able to if we go w/ an excursion group. I don’t know if it’s b/c of the international staff they have on board here but the way they say no is very hard to take or maybe I just have my heart set on going to Alhambra and Marakech and the rest of Morocco. They don’t just tell you “I’m sorry, no.” They like rip your heart out and directly shoot you down. It feels ten times worse than a girl breaking up with you I swear.
I really don’t like to complain. I don’t. But sometimes you really just gotta puke and let it all out. Unfortunately the blog-sphere becomes an easy outlet for puking.
Anyway, the Alhambra situation was eventually resolved since there were so many people on board wanted to go. I estimated about 7 tour buses with 40 people on each bus, or about 300 people. However, right now we’re docking at Casablanca and I can see the King Hassan II Mosque no more than a couple of miles from me but I’m stuck on this god awful ship filled w/ old people. It really makes me want to go berserk and burn this ship down.
I’ve been on a cruise couple of years back in the Caribbean’s but this ship just seems to be filled w/ old people. It’s as if the entire baby boomer generation from across the globe decided to book this cruise. This cruise is fully booked… makes me wonder if the global economy slowdown and credit crisis we hear in the news so routinely is just a joke. **memo to self: find companies that profit from baby boomers other than ISRG… something related to hip replacement or diabetes. I joked w/ Sarah the other day that the distribution curve for age on board if severely skewed to the right and if you run a t-test or z-test for my age I’d fall outside of even two standard deviations (if you are unfamiliar with statistics lingo, 2 standard deviations, at least in a normal distribution bell curve includes roughly 95% of the entire population)
I’m quite possibly the worst target customer for cruises. It’s like dying of a slow death for me. The only difference between prison and this is that there’s a poker table on this ship. Even the internet on board is slow. I don’t do slow. There are very few exceptions, like dancing and kissing. I should’ve been a New Yorker, really. I cannot stand the pace these people are moving and there’s no way to pass them in the hallways b/c other than the fact it’s narrower than usually, these old people travel in groups. Now I know what the scene you see in movies or commercials where a flock of sheep walk out onto the highway while you’re driving your jeep around in Ireland feels like. I am really considering running around the ship and put those slow moving vehicle signs on people’s ass, you know, the ones they have for like farming vehicles traveling on the highways. It’s not just mind-numbingly slow. I can feel a lot of other body parts going numb… no wonder there’s a demand for Viagra.
Dow cracked the 8,000 resistance and I really want to trade. My worst fear is that it's going to crack during the two weeks I'm gone. At first it looked like it was going to hold. I have no idea what's going to happen. It looks like Asia is up overnight so who knows.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
My Vacation
So I'm going on vacation this weekend for the rest of November. I hope nothing too significant happens while I'm gone. We've already tested the October low yesterday. I was afraid that's going to happen next week and possibly break and I'm going to miss out on the action. There's a G20 meeting which I don't think in the short run it'll be that significant but will have a longer term impact. Since I'm a bit obsessive about schedules, I'm trying to plan out what to do each day while researching the cities we're going and you get an idea of my route.
Saturday, 11/15 - flight to Barcelona, arrive late close to midnight I think. Maybe roam around the hotel, scout out food places.
11/16 ~ 18 - ship leaves at 7pm on the 18th. From what Oliver told me, the Olympic Hill is cool and Picaso Museum, Sagrada Familia, La Rambla and Park Guell (and other Gaudi architectures) are all good places to go.
11/19 - At sea
11/20 - Granada/Malaga. We're here almost 11 hrs. I don't know if we have enough time for both places but I'm leaning more towards Granada if I have to choose. Malaga I heard is cool b/c it's right on the ocean and it's the birth place of Picasso. People have told me that La Alhambra is a can't miss... it's like part fortress, part garden, and part garden.
11/21 - Casablanca. 9 hrs in Casablanca and Rabat. I think we can taken an overnight excursion to Marrakech. If this means we can skip Agadir I'm totally for it. Casablanca has the King Hassan Mosque and Rabat has the Kasbah of the Oudaias, Chellah, and Old Medina to see. If we get to go into Marrakech I'm going to try to go to Djemma El Fna, The Souks Market and Koutoubia Mosque.
11/22 - Agadir. From my research this is just a tourist resort. Disappointing...
11/23 - Arrecife/Lanzarote. Timanfaya Park, volcanic mountains and supposedly we can ride camels along the mountain side. I'm all over riding camels, man. But I feel sorry for the one that's having to carry my fat ass around.
11/24 - Las Palmas. 9 hrs here... I don't really care about this place. Beach and hiking? who knows.
11/25 - At sea
11/26 - Lisbon. We're here for about 9 hrs. Oliver told me to go to Monasterio de San Gerronimo and Torre de Belem. I think they're close together in this monument area but I could be wrong.
11/27 - Sevilla/Cadiz. We have almost 12 hrs at Cadiz and Sevilla. My impression is that Cadiz is not that interesting. If it's possible I'd like to go see a bull fight (Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza). I think someone told me this was along the river. The Cathedral of Seville, Real Alcazar, and the Jewish Quarter have all been mentioned as places to go and see.
11/28 - Gibraltar. 6 hours here more or less. Dolphin watching, St. Michael's cave and the Europa Point are all good options here I guess.
11/29 - Palma. We only have about 6 hrs or less again at Palmas, I think we can go to Castell de Bellver (some Muslim fortress with a good view of the bay) or the Pueblo Espanol (I think this is built like a small village with classical Spanish architectural work).
11/30 - dock back in Barcelona at 5am. Don't remember what time the departing flight is at the moment...
I'm excited about the food. I'm done w/ my diet and I lost about 12 lbs. Obviously it'd be stupid to gain it all back but I'm comfortable w/ indulging a little bit. I want to get some paella, tapas, gazpacho, kabobs, schwarma, falafael, some Moroccan tea, and just good sea food in general. I love the fact that they ran an episode of Bourdain's No Reservation on Monday when he went to Spain.
Saturday, 11/15 - flight to Barcelona, arrive late close to midnight I think. Maybe roam around the hotel, scout out food places.
11/16 ~ 18 - ship leaves at 7pm on the 18th. From what Oliver told me, the Olympic Hill is cool and Picaso Museum, Sagrada Familia, La Rambla and Park Guell (and other Gaudi architectures) are all good places to go.
11/19 - At sea
11/20 - Granada/Malaga. We're here almost 11 hrs. I don't know if we have enough time for both places but I'm leaning more towards Granada if I have to choose. Malaga I heard is cool b/c it's right on the ocean and it's the birth place of Picasso. People have told me that La Alhambra is a can't miss... it's like part fortress, part garden, and part garden.
11/21 - Casablanca. 9 hrs in Casablanca and Rabat. I think we can taken an overnight excursion to Marrakech. If this means we can skip Agadir I'm totally for it. Casablanca has the King Hassan Mosque and Rabat has the Kasbah of the Oudaias, Chellah, and Old Medina to see. If we get to go into Marrakech I'm going to try to go to Djemma El Fna, The Souks Market and Koutoubia Mosque.
11/22 - Agadir. From my research this is just a tourist resort. Disappointing...
11/23 - Arrecife/Lanzarote. Timanfaya Park, volcanic mountains and supposedly we can ride camels along the mountain side. I'm all over riding camels, man. But I feel sorry for the one that's having to carry my fat ass around.
11/24 - Las Palmas. 9 hrs here... I don't really care about this place. Beach and hiking? who knows.
11/25 - At sea
11/26 - Lisbon. We're here for about 9 hrs. Oliver told me to go to Monasterio de San Gerronimo and Torre de Belem. I think they're close together in this monument area but I could be wrong.
11/27 - Sevilla/Cadiz. We have almost 12 hrs at Cadiz and Sevilla. My impression is that Cadiz is not that interesting. If it's possible I'd like to go see a bull fight (Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza). I think someone told me this was along the river. The Cathedral of Seville, Real Alcazar, and the Jewish Quarter have all been mentioned as places to go and see.
11/28 - Gibraltar. 6 hours here more or less. Dolphin watching, St. Michael's cave and the Europa Point are all good options here I guess.
11/29 - Palma. We only have about 6 hrs or less again at Palmas, I think we can go to Castell de Bellver (some Muslim fortress with a good view of the bay) or the Pueblo Espanol (I think this is built like a small village with classical Spanish architectural work).
11/30 - dock back in Barcelona at 5am. Don't remember what time the departing flight is at the moment...
I'm excited about the food. I'm done w/ my diet and I lost about 12 lbs. Obviously it'd be stupid to gain it all back but I'm comfortable w/ indulging a little bit. I want to get some paella, tapas, gazpacho, kabobs, schwarma, falafael, some Moroccan tea, and just good sea food in general. I love the fact that they ran an episode of Bourdain's No Reservation on Monday when he went to Spain.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My Weekend Review
So... I didn't beat my September. Disappointing... I actually got in a REIT and tried to hedge it with another except I got in a really bad price and too much size on the hedge. They ended up getting really out of wack and I lost a lotttt of money. Andy, our CEO, is back in Austin and he stopped by my desk to chat a little and see my progress.
I got my braces in on Monday. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would at first. Toward the end of my appointment I asked Jeff, my orthodontist, if this is the part that's going to hurt and he joked that "yeah, this is the part where we probably have to hold you down for" except I didn't know he was joking... Can't you see that I'm very nervous here!? The pain didn't quite kick in until Thursday and Friday. Along with my diet the only thing I could eat was beans and this chicken chili I found.
Speaking of the diet, I've lost about 8 or 9 lbs after 3 weeks. I haven't worked out as much as I'd like because sometimes it feels like I need a longer recovery period than normal. I do have to say though that I'm doing better in my weekly volleyball games as well. If nothing else I feel better. I'm not huffing and puffing as much and I'm more agile. I might deviate from my workout plans when it comes to leg exercises. You're suppose to have 5 second contraction and 5 second extension for each rep and for leg exercises that puts a lot of pressure on my knees. The first week was a pain to get through. I'd feel hungry all the time but as soon as I start eating I'd lose my appetite. Not able to have milk really sucks.
The house is a done deal. Closed the house and got the keys on Tuesday. Unfortunately a lot of my energy is spend on the new place right now, more specifically deciding about what to keep from the old place and what to move and what I need to buy. There is a set of living room furniture that's been in the family for I'd say 20 years and my parents and I just can't really find a good spot for it in the new place at the same time we definitely don't want to throw it away. I just spent a good part of today debating with my parents whether I should keep my old bed or get a Tempur-Pedic one, if I should stay with full or queen size, how to position my bed, where to put the rest of the furniture. If it's my room I should get to make the decisions and if I'm willing to pay for a better mattress what's wrong with that?
This is my standpoint: there are things in a house that you SHOULD spend more money on and there are other parts that you can get by a lot cheaper. A good bed is a good investment. Meanwhile my parents want to spend about 10 times the amount of a Tempur-Pedic bed on just a marble breakfast table. I think that's ridiculous. To me that's like buying a piece of crap car and you end up spending a whole lot more on rims and speakers to pimp out your ride. I'm all about simple, elegance, comfort, and affordable. Of course, if you want all four you are going to do a bit of leg work. Judging by all the just butt fugly couches my dad has purchased over the years I am really hesitant on having my parents buy the furniture. Being a Libra, I'm bless with style. Us Libras we appreciate beauty and we know it when we see it. I firmly believe it's also a big reason why I'm so good at these Project Runway, Top Design, Top Chef betting games or whatever reality TV show Bravo has on b/c we know what is beautiful and fierce and what is fugly.
I got my braces in on Monday. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would at first. Toward the end of my appointment I asked Jeff, my orthodontist, if this is the part that's going to hurt and he joked that "yeah, this is the part where we probably have to hold you down for" except I didn't know he was joking... Can't you see that I'm very nervous here!? The pain didn't quite kick in until Thursday and Friday. Along with my diet the only thing I could eat was beans and this chicken chili I found.
Speaking of the diet, I've lost about 8 or 9 lbs after 3 weeks. I haven't worked out as much as I'd like because sometimes it feels like I need a longer recovery period than normal. I do have to say though that I'm doing better in my weekly volleyball games as well. If nothing else I feel better. I'm not huffing and puffing as much and I'm more agile. I might deviate from my workout plans when it comes to leg exercises. You're suppose to have 5 second contraction and 5 second extension for each rep and for leg exercises that puts a lot of pressure on my knees. The first week was a pain to get through. I'd feel hungry all the time but as soon as I start eating I'd lose my appetite. Not able to have milk really sucks.
The house is a done deal. Closed the house and got the keys on Tuesday. Unfortunately a lot of my energy is spend on the new place right now, more specifically deciding about what to keep from the old place and what to move and what I need to buy. There is a set of living room furniture that's been in the family for I'd say 20 years and my parents and I just can't really find a good spot for it in the new place at the same time we definitely don't want to throw it away. I just spent a good part of today debating with my parents whether I should keep my old bed or get a Tempur-Pedic one, if I should stay with full or queen size, how to position my bed, where to put the rest of the furniture. If it's my room I should get to make the decisions and if I'm willing to pay for a better mattress what's wrong with that?
This is my standpoint: there are things in a house that you SHOULD spend more money on and there are other parts that you can get by a lot cheaper. A good bed is a good investment. Meanwhile my parents want to spend about 10 times the amount of a Tempur-Pedic bed on just a marble breakfast table. I think that's ridiculous. To me that's like buying a piece of crap car and you end up spending a whole lot more on rims and speakers to pimp out your ride. I'm all about simple, elegance, comfort, and affordable. Of course, if you want all four you are going to do a bit of leg work. Judging by all the just butt fugly couches my dad has purchased over the years I am really hesitant on having my parents buy the furniture. Being a Libra, I'm bless with style. Us Libras we appreciate beauty and we know it when we see it. I firmly believe it's also a big reason why I'm so good at these Project Runway, Top Design, Top Chef betting games or whatever reality TV show Bravo has on b/c we know what is beautiful and fierce and what is fugly.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
My End of Month Rally
Tomorrow is Halloween, it's also the end of the month, which I'm hoping lots of action happen because I'm trying to beat my September record.
Anyway, I noticed sometime around the middle of this month while I was trying to make some adjustments that it was within the realm of possibilities. I've been consistently having these smaller big up days compared to the few huge up days I had in September and I'm at a good pace to beat it. I had a pretty good day yesterday with the FOMC rate cut, which actually I have to say that for some reason I heard a 25 basis point cut so I went heavily short when it was in fact the expected 50 basis point. Whatever, I made quite a bit on that big dip after the announcement came out. After Wednesday it started to feel real that I actually beat my September record.
I had to make a decision earlier this week whether to miss Thursday or Friday to go to the Spanish Consulate in Houston to get my tourist visa for the cruise I'm not going on around Thanksgiving time. Thursday being the day after Fed announcement, could have lots of action. Friday is the end of the month... tough choice. Because of the fact that I'm only permanent resident status (my family's paper has been filed since 1997... seriously, don't ever try to tell me that gov't is efficient) it makes it a little difficult when traveling abroad. We have to obtain a visa, which is usually not a problem, it's just annoying that they make you jump through a lot of hoops. It's also almost comical when we return to the country they question us at customs why has it been taking so long. Gee, I was wondering if you could shed some light on that.
I drove all the way back from Houston this morning after I got done at the Spanish Consulate to try to make some money at the close. Unfortunately, I got into this UNT that came out with a huge sell imbalance, I'm talking about over 100% and I got some decent size. It started working but then it reversed on me. There was news about it being removed from one S&P index into the other (out of the 600 but into the 400 I think) but I felt comfortable with the huge imbalance. I gave it quite a bit of wiggle room and actually even added into it. Let's just say that I eventually covered it for a loss. I put some orders out up top at the close because of its ridiculous strong up move and he in fact did print up. I got out of about a third of my position but I ended up having to hold the rest over night. Let's hope that I get some help tomorrow. By my rough calculation I need a little over couple thousand dollars to beat my September. I think it's totally possible. Wish me luck!
I'm glad I didn't get too upset over the UNT trade. I mean, yeah, it sucks that I drove all the way back from Houston to lose money. But hey, we play the probabilities and it just didn't work out this time and I think I did let it work against a little too much.
On a side note, there was a little scare in our office risk management wise about a week ago so everybody has been more cautious. Unfortunately I've also been wanting to get my capital raised so I can send out more and bigger orders. Thankfully it's been approved and my buying power is being doubled tomorrow.
Anyway, I noticed sometime around the middle of this month while I was trying to make some adjustments that it was within the realm of possibilities. I've been consistently having these smaller big up days compared to the few huge up days I had in September and I'm at a good pace to beat it. I had a pretty good day yesterday with the FOMC rate cut, which actually I have to say that for some reason I heard a 25 basis point cut so I went heavily short when it was in fact the expected 50 basis point. Whatever, I made quite a bit on that big dip after the announcement came out. After Wednesday it started to feel real that I actually beat my September record.
I had to make a decision earlier this week whether to miss Thursday or Friday to go to the Spanish Consulate in Houston to get my tourist visa for the cruise I'm not going on around Thanksgiving time. Thursday being the day after Fed announcement, could have lots of action. Friday is the end of the month... tough choice. Because of the fact that I'm only permanent resident status (my family's paper has been filed since 1997... seriously, don't ever try to tell me that gov't is efficient) it makes it a little difficult when traveling abroad. We have to obtain a visa, which is usually not a problem, it's just annoying that they make you jump through a lot of hoops. It's also almost comical when we return to the country they question us at customs why has it been taking so long. Gee, I was wondering if you could shed some light on that.
I drove all the way back from Houston this morning after I got done at the Spanish Consulate to try to make some money at the close. Unfortunately, I got into this UNT that came out with a huge sell imbalance, I'm talking about over 100% and I got some decent size. It started working but then it reversed on me. There was news about it being removed from one S&P index into the other (out of the 600 but into the 400 I think) but I felt comfortable with the huge imbalance. I gave it quite a bit of wiggle room and actually even added into it. Let's just say that I eventually covered it for a loss. I put some orders out up top at the close because of its ridiculous strong up move and he in fact did print up. I got out of about a third of my position but I ended up having to hold the rest over night. Let's hope that I get some help tomorrow. By my rough calculation I need a little over couple thousand dollars to beat my September. I think it's totally possible. Wish me luck!
I'm glad I didn't get too upset over the UNT trade. I mean, yeah, it sucks that I drove all the way back from Houston to lose money. But hey, we play the probabilities and it just didn't work out this time and I think I did let it work against a little too much.
On a side note, there was a little scare in our office risk management wise about a week ago so everybody has been more cautious. Unfortunately I've also been wanting to get my capital raised so I can send out more and bigger orders. Thankfully it's been approved and my buying power is being doubled tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My Obama Rally
Michelle Obama that is.
Apparently Michelle was on Leno Tuesday night and they got to talking about wardrobe since there's this big brouhaha over Sarah Palin dropping couple hundred thousand dollars at Neiman Marcus. Michelle talks about how she got her yellow ensemble online at J. Crew and that actually generated a surge in online traffic for specifically what she was wearing. CNBC reported this this morning and we all thought it was funny since it did have a moderate strength. I shorted it a little bit just as a joke really. Well, 2:40 rolls around and imbalance orders came out and JCG had a strong buy imbalance. Seriously, WTF... JCG's previous close was 17.52 and it reached a high of 19.90. That's almost a 13.6% bounce.
I just find the whole thing a bit humorous.
Apparently Michelle was on Leno Tuesday night and they got to talking about wardrobe since there's this big brouhaha over Sarah Palin dropping couple hundred thousand dollars at Neiman Marcus. Michelle talks about how she got her yellow ensemble online at J. Crew and that actually generated a surge in online traffic for specifically what she was wearing. CNBC reported this this morning and we all thought it was funny since it did have a moderate strength. I shorted it a little bit just as a joke really. Well, 2:40 rolls around and imbalance orders came out and JCG had a strong buy imbalance. Seriously, WTF... JCG's previous close was 17.52 and it reached a high of 19.90. That's almost a 13.6% bounce.
I just find the whole thing a bit humorous.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My Two-Million-Dollar Trade
Some stock was acting wacko today and I went out to put a ridiculous high offer and see what happens. I didn't think I would get filled and I knew if I get filled it was not going to stand. This particular stock trades around $40, $50 but when I got my short sell order filled I got filled at $10,000 for 200 shares, basically I made about $1,990,000. Yeah, obviously it's an erroneous trade and it got broken. You can see from my P&L chart for the day... the money I made today barely show up as a blip. Oh well, at least it was fun to see $2 million in my account.
My Metal Mouth
It's been in the talks for a while but I'm finally taking the steps to get braces. Yeah, I know most people get them while they're younger. What can I say? I don't like dentists or orthodontists. The first musical I've ever seen is Little Shop of Horror. Let's just say that the man-eating plant didn't help my young impression of the dental industry. The upper half of my teeth are really good, it's the bottom row that I'm worried about. My lower left canine is fighting space w/ the pre-molar and causing a cross bite.
My orthodontist is someone that my brother-in-law friends with from dental school. I'm just really concerned about the pain. I thought it might help me with my diet but I'm starting to think that I won't be able to eat anything at all the first few days after I get them. I had the separators in on Tuesday to prepare for next Monday's appointment. Yes, in three days I will have metal in my mouth for the next two years. So far I'm already having trouble chewing.
Somebody just tell me that everything is going to be ok.
My orthodontist is someone that my brother-in-law friends with from dental school. I'm just really concerned about the pain. I thought it might help me with my diet but I'm starting to think that I won't be able to eat anything at all the first few days after I get them. I had the separators in on Tuesday to prepare for next Monday's appointment. Yes, in three days I will have metal in my mouth for the next two years. So far I'm already having trouble chewing.
Somebody just tell me that everything is going to be ok.
Monday, October 20, 2008
My Diet
I'm on a diet/work out regimen. I purposely timed it so it would start after my birthday but ends before thanksgiving. Couple of other guys at work has tried it and each of them lost about 10-15 lbs within the one month period.
We saw this from Timothy Ferriss's blog, the author of the 4-Hour Work Week. You can read the details yourself, but roughly you're doing this for a month, with two 30-minute workouts each week and you don't eat any carbs, especially white carbs, or red meat for 6 days of the week. The work out is a little different, too. Instead of doing 3 sets of 10 like usual, you're doing one set to failure with a 5 seconds up, 5 seconds dow cadence. Basically you're lifting less than your normal load, go freakishingly slow and lift until you can't anymore.
I've been on it for a week now. It's really tough the first week. I found out that milk has a lot of carbs therefore it's banned from my diet which sucks b/c I love milk. It's also a problem since so much of Asian cuisine revolves around rice and noodle. So far there hasn't been a dramatic difference yet. I've only dropped about 3-4 lbs and that could be just water weight. However, I do feel fitter and things are looser---like my pants and watch (yipee, I'm losing the stubborn wrist fat that I've always wanted to lose).
There was a young alumni happy hour last week and I've already planned to have my off day on Friday so it was excruciating for me to just sip on a glass of wine and pass on the free cookies they had at the events. Of course my friends would wolf down the cookies right in front of me to tease me, but somehow I made through it.
We saw this from Timothy Ferriss's blog, the author of the 4-Hour Work Week. You can read the details yourself, but roughly you're doing this for a month, with two 30-minute workouts each week and you don't eat any carbs, especially white carbs, or red meat for 6 days of the week. The work out is a little different, too. Instead of doing 3 sets of 10 like usual, you're doing one set to failure with a 5 seconds up, 5 seconds dow cadence. Basically you're lifting less than your normal load, go freakishingly slow and lift until you can't anymore.
I've been on it for a week now. It's really tough the first week. I found out that milk has a lot of carbs therefore it's banned from my diet which sucks b/c I love milk. It's also a problem since so much of Asian cuisine revolves around rice and noodle. So far there hasn't been a dramatic difference yet. I've only dropped about 3-4 lbs and that could be just water weight. However, I do feel fitter and things are looser---like my pants and watch (yipee, I'm losing the stubborn wrist fat that I've always wanted to lose).
There was a young alumni happy hour last week and I've already planned to have my off day on Friday so it was excruciating for me to just sip on a glass of wine and pass on the free cookies they had at the events. Of course my friends would wolf down the cookies right in front of me to tease me, but somehow I made through it.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
My Giant Douche and Turd Sandwich
Some people have said that I watch too much The Daily Show... some straight out call me a cynic. You know what? They're right.
I try to stay away from political talks and what not b/c it just annoys me. Nobody really gives a damn what the other side thinks. All they're hearing is how the other side disagrees with them and all they're thinking in their head is how they're going to poke holes in their arguments or how to rip their opponents a new one with some trivial statistic. I don't want to impose my political views on anyone. If this post bores you or upsets you, feel free to stop reading anytime.
I still remember this episode of South Park from the 2004 election. It was called "Douche and Turd." I don't watch South Park that often. I do think it's funny and they hit it right on the mark when the episode is some kind of social satire like the Douche and Turd episode. It's a lot like The Simpson in a way. It's just gross and crude sometimes and I don't necessary like the means they try to achieve comedy all the time. This episode aired in late October in 2004, just right before the election.
The main plot is that PETA is protesting the South Park Elementary School's usage of cow as its mascot so to appease PETA the school is voting between a Giant Douche or a Turd Sandwich for its new mascot. Dividing opinions form; conflicts ensue. Stan, one of the main characters didn't see the point of voting between the two joke candidates and there's a whole bunch of other stuff that happens in that episode including an appearance by P.Diddy and his Vote or Die campaign. At the end of the episode, Stan's dad tells Stan at the dinner table that all votes matter even if it's for a losing cause, because "you see, it's always going to be between a giant douche and a turd sandwich."
That's kind of how I feel. It's easy to be cynical. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
In case you feel I have the wrong attitude, I have to let you know about my experience with politics growing up. This is not to justify my attitude (b/c I don't feel I'm wrong in the first place); this is just so you can gain some understanding, which is what we should all do regardless in politics or not. Growing up in Taiwan, I have seen plenty of bribery that went on to get business deals done, straight up buying votes, and just simply a joke of a government. I have seen friends of my dad throwing dinner parties and make under the table deals in order to secure votes. In the US, it exist as well, just not in such obvious forms. I just simply cannot trust the people in power are making decisions with OUR best interest in mind. It wasn't that George Bush doesn't care about black people. George Bush doesn't care period. Barbara Bush and 90% of Republicans in Washington is surprise to find that we still have poor people in America when Katrina hit. "I thought we got rid of them when Reagan was in office."
It's just all a big joke to me now. I remember when I believe in all this "democratic process." In high school I believed people could make a difference and I got involved in Student Council but I quickly saw that there's no such thing as leadership in that organization. Everybody was just using that to pad their college application. Every year we fight to be able to have lunches off campus, at least maybe for the senior or freshman and each year the administrators shut us down. Eventually we quit trying and just go on eating our cookies during StuCo meetings.
My freshman year in college I got involved w/ Student Government again. I thought this was going to be different. This is college. People care and there are real issues to take care of. Well, I was half right. There are real issues but instead they waste 3 hours each Tuesday night in the SSG building promoting and debating agendas of no real interest to us students. It's still a popularity contest. Which tickets has more cool people from different greek organizations ends up sweeping the votes. Each year we want lower tuition and more benefits for the students and each year administrators shut us down. Eventually we quit trying and go on fighting about things that look like we're making a difference, like the Cesar Chavez statue. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not some anti-Cesar Chavez asshole or I don't think he deserves a statue. Each student ended up contributing I believe $2 out of their student fees to build that statue and did it provide a better student life for us? I guess you could make the argument that now you walk by the West Mall you feel slightly more inspired instead of the urge of going up the Main Tower and sniper-rifle all the people that are trying to hand you a flyer.
Now that in the real government, I'm inclined to have the same feeling I did in high school and college. I've been to Young Democrats AND Young Republicans meetings. Quite honestly, they're both just about equally clueless. The last time I engaged in an actual talk about politics with a friend he said he was voting for McCain and I probed "Why?" "No reason; mostly because I can't stand Obama." Again, I'm not here to impose my view on who I think is the better candidate or fit to lead our country. I just feel like in this YouTube/MTV era it's not about leadership or the policies anymore. It's just all about who's cool or funny. Whatever happen to leaders like FDR and Lincoln? It seems like starting with Nixon we just have these likable guys with questionable leadership skills, or as I'd like to call it, Ron Paul clones (I do have some reservations about putting Reagan in this category though). You can even make arguments against JFK and LBJ. I blame this on the invention of television :-P
I guess the next time someone says to me "how can you be so cynical" I have to respond "how can you be so naive." I don't know what to do from now on. I'm trying to remember how I coped when I found out Santa wasn't real and use that same methodology.
I try to stay away from political talks and what not b/c it just annoys me. Nobody really gives a damn what the other side thinks. All they're hearing is how the other side disagrees with them and all they're thinking in their head is how they're going to poke holes in their arguments or how to rip their opponents a new one with some trivial statistic. I don't want to impose my political views on anyone. If this post bores you or upsets you, feel free to stop reading anytime.
I still remember this episode of South Park from the 2004 election. It was called "Douche and Turd." I don't watch South Park that often. I do think it's funny and they hit it right on the mark when the episode is some kind of social satire like the Douche and Turd episode. It's a lot like The Simpson in a way. It's just gross and crude sometimes and I don't necessary like the means they try to achieve comedy all the time. This episode aired in late October in 2004, just right before the election.
The main plot is that PETA is protesting the South Park Elementary School's usage of cow as its mascot so to appease PETA the school is voting between a Giant Douche or a Turd Sandwich for its new mascot. Dividing opinions form; conflicts ensue. Stan, one of the main characters didn't see the point of voting between the two joke candidates and there's a whole bunch of other stuff that happens in that episode including an appearance by P.Diddy and his Vote or Die campaign. At the end of the episode, Stan's dad tells Stan at the dinner table that all votes matter even if it's for a losing cause, because "you see, it's always going to be between a giant douche and a turd sandwich."
That's kind of how I feel. It's easy to be cynical. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
In case you feel I have the wrong attitude, I have to let you know about my experience with politics growing up. This is not to justify my attitude (b/c I don't feel I'm wrong in the first place); this is just so you can gain some understanding, which is what we should all do regardless in politics or not. Growing up in Taiwan, I have seen plenty of bribery that went on to get business deals done, straight up buying votes, and just simply a joke of a government. I have seen friends of my dad throwing dinner parties and make under the table deals in order to secure votes. In the US, it exist as well, just not in such obvious forms. I just simply cannot trust the people in power are making decisions with OUR best interest in mind. It wasn't that George Bush doesn't care about black people. George Bush doesn't care period. Barbara Bush and 90% of Republicans in Washington is surprise to find that we still have poor people in America when Katrina hit. "I thought we got rid of them when Reagan was in office."
It's just all a big joke to me now. I remember when I believe in all this "democratic process." In high school I believed people could make a difference and I got involved in Student Council but I quickly saw that there's no such thing as leadership in that organization. Everybody was just using that to pad their college application. Every year we fight to be able to have lunches off campus, at least maybe for the senior or freshman and each year the administrators shut us down. Eventually we quit trying and just go on eating our cookies during StuCo meetings.
My freshman year in college I got involved w/ Student Government again. I thought this was going to be different. This is college. People care and there are real issues to take care of. Well, I was half right. There are real issues but instead they waste 3 hours each Tuesday night in the SSG building promoting and debating agendas of no real interest to us students. It's still a popularity contest. Which tickets has more cool people from different greek organizations ends up sweeping the votes. Each year we want lower tuition and more benefits for the students and each year administrators shut us down. Eventually we quit trying and go on fighting about things that look like we're making a difference, like the Cesar Chavez statue. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not some anti-Cesar Chavez asshole or I don't think he deserves a statue. Each student ended up contributing I believe $2 out of their student fees to build that statue and did it provide a better student life for us? I guess you could make the argument that now you walk by the West Mall you feel slightly more inspired instead of the urge of going up the Main Tower and sniper-rifle all the people that are trying to hand you a flyer.
Now that in the real government, I'm inclined to have the same feeling I did in high school and college. I've been to Young Democrats AND Young Republicans meetings. Quite honestly, they're both just about equally clueless. The last time I engaged in an actual talk about politics with a friend he said he was voting for McCain and I probed "Why?" "No reason; mostly because I can't stand Obama." Again, I'm not here to impose my view on who I think is the better candidate or fit to lead our country. I just feel like in this YouTube/MTV era it's not about leadership or the policies anymore. It's just all about who's cool or funny. Whatever happen to leaders like FDR and Lincoln? It seems like starting with Nixon we just have these likable guys with questionable leadership skills, or as I'd like to call it, Ron Paul clones (I do have some reservations about putting Reagan in this category though). You can even make arguments against JFK and LBJ. I blame this on the invention of television :-P
I guess the next time someone says to me "how can you be so cynical" I have to respond "how can you be so naive." I don't know what to do from now on. I'm trying to remember how I coped when I found out Santa wasn't real and use that same methodology.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
My "What's Next?"
I'm at a place right now where I'm showing pretty good consistency and it's not rare for me to show up in the company's top performer report. Although, the market has been active and it's been good for us the past month and a half or so. I'm a little concerned regarding how I'm going to hit my numbers when a slow month comes along. I know still have the tendency to churn a little bit and that's what I need to work on. Jane, my coach, and our Managing Director have all said that my P&L will be a lot higher than before even if a slow month does come. Theoretically I am making better decisions and managing my size better as well.
So what's next? I definitely want to become an HP trader and take on students myself but that seems to be further out in the time line. Jason, my MD (managing director), thought I was impatient. It's really just that I don't know what to shoot for now. I'm happy with the check I'm getting but I want to get to the next level. From my conversation with Jason yesterday, here's what I think I can to grow even more:
As I went along I think people found out about it somehow. I know someone posted the link to my blog in a discussion board out there. The guy that sits next me that started in March moved from San Francisco area read my blog before he took the offer. It makes me wonder how many new traders have read my blog and if that actually had any influence on their decision. If it does than I'm missing out some serious referral checks. Let me just say that this is not a recruiting tool for Kershner. HR and management has no control on what I say on here and whatever ends up here is just my personal opinion, not that of Kershner Trading. I've been thinking about posting more stuff about trading and technical stuff, but I decided against that. There's plenty of other blogs out there that do a good job providing market commentary and technical analysis. I'll update my links sections the ones I read regularly in my Google Reader. I'll just post on the trades that worked out really well or disastrous for me. I'm going to lean more on the personal style. This is blog is for me to read and review in the future like I said and any other friends or family that want to know what I'm up to, mixed in with a few funny posts and what not.
So what's next? I definitely want to become an HP trader and take on students myself but that seems to be further out in the time line. Jason, my MD (managing director), thought I was impatient. It's really just that I don't know what to shoot for now. I'm happy with the check I'm getting but I want to get to the next level. From my conversation with Jason yesterday, here's what I think I can to grow even more:
- Take bigger size when it's appropriate and stretch myself a little bit maybe once or twice a week where I'm a little nervous or uncomfortable with the size I'm in.
- Analyze strengths and weakness--there's no need to be good at everything is what Jason told me, which is completely the opposite of my inherent personality. I'm like Skylar from Heroes. I have this hunger of wanting everybody's powers. X Trader is good trading off of IBD data? I want that. Y trader is the best pre-market traders? Great, I need to get his power, too. There are also plays revolving around high dollar stocks, penny stocks, and pair trades.
- I'm doing great right at the close or post market. Take more shares and for the iShares that I play, know exactly what I need to hedge it with if it looks like I can't get out.
- I have some trouble in the middle of the day (much like the rest of the company); dial back the shares and more selective with trades after 10:30am. I think also a lot of times I should be playing the reversals when a stock is up or down huge but being the momentum trader that I am I go short those bounces or long the retracement. Those happen a little earlier than 10:30 though. The other stuff is probably just churning. (all time in CST)
- Wednesday is just terrible for me relative to other days for some reason... It used to be I would get burned sometimes when oil numbers came out but not anymore. Still, I'm not doing as well on Wednesdays compared to the rest of the week. It could be a lack of focus in mid week or that I just have some predisposed belief that I suck on Wednesdays.
- I'm sucking it up on certain oil stocks like PBR and HK... and the banking ETFs and stocks I'm not doing too well either. Adjustment is needed or don't trade it at all.
- I'm doing well with EWZ. EEM and FXI kind of sucked after the split. Jason recommends that I find another ETF that I can hone in and trade well.
- I have pretty high winning percentage, about 60%, but my risk reward could be better, aka stretching out my winners and cutting the losers quicker, and I'd like my duration to be longer as well. I do believe though that if I've establish a trading style that works for me I don't need to do any heavy adjusting. Why try to be someone I am not, right?
As I went along I think people found out about it somehow. I know someone posted the link to my blog in a discussion board out there. The guy that sits next me that started in March moved from San Francisco area read my blog before he took the offer. It makes me wonder how many new traders have read my blog and if that actually had any influence on their decision. If it does than I'm missing out some serious referral checks. Let me just say that this is not a recruiting tool for Kershner. HR and management has no control on what I say on here and whatever ends up here is just my personal opinion, not that of Kershner Trading. I've been thinking about posting more stuff about trading and technical stuff, but I decided against that. There's plenty of other blogs out there that do a good job providing market commentary and technical analysis. I'll update my links sections the ones I read regularly in my Google Reader. I'll just post on the trades that worked out really well or disastrous for me. I'm going to lean more on the personal style. This is blog is for me to read and review in the future like I said and any other friends or family that want to know what I'm up to, mixed in with a few funny posts and what not.
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