Random Crap

Imagine, before we were borned, we sat down at a table in Heaven together with God, over a cup of coffee, discussing how we want our future life to be. We asked for a lot of things. God let us have some, refused us some, and we bargained to and fro.

 

In the end, we reached a conclusion, with our life planned to the most minute detail. Finally, both God and us finally signed on the 'contract'. How our life will go about, from the moment we are borned to the moment we die, including when exactly we die, all fixed, predestinated.

 

There, we waved goodbye to God, to be borned on Earth. The peculiar thing is, once we are borned, we forgot our discussion with God.

 

~Adapted from Yoruba Legend

 

Wondered what happened at my conversation with God. I guessed I must have quite a lot of bargaining chips left over from my previous life. =P

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

"Everyday life is more interesting than forms of celebration when we become aware of it. That when, is when our intentions go down to zero. Then suddenly notice that the world is magical.

 

"Zen monks go in through discipline, then they get free of ego... I decided to go out. That is why I decided to use the chance operations. I used them to free myself from the ego."

 

"We are made perfect by what happens to us rather than by what we do... We should not only allow things to happen, we should encourage them to do so."

 

~ John Cage, composer of 4'33"

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Nations, Groups, Cliques... Races, Religions, Sexes... Cultures, Societies, Families... Philosophies, Theories, Concepts... Fashion, Trends, Styles ----> White Circles floating around in the midst of Black Nothingness.

 

Boundaries, Rules, Regulations ----> Lines that surrounds the Circles , separating the White from the Black.

 

White = Orderliness, Structure, Purity, Solid, Absolute, Light.

Black  = Chaoes, Mess, Impurity, Nothingness, Chances, Darkness.

 

We, our being, our thoughts, are inside some huge, established White Circles 99.999% of the time. These huge White Circles represent established forms of living, thinking, behaving. They have thick, seemingly impentratable lines surrounding it. Restricting. Engulfing. Sometimes Stifling. Oppressing. Suffocating.

 

And the thing is, most of the time, we are so accustomed, so deep inside the White Circle, that we CAN'T see the Lines. 

 

Perhaps there are NO Lines. Perhaps the Lines are imaginary, and we imagined it because we FEAR to leave the White and wandered out to the unknowning Black Nothingness. I know I do fear. Going to America. Who knows what is going to happen?

 

On the other hand, there are people who strived to break free of the barriers all the time. Thinkers, artists, trend setters etc etc. Only when they managed to break free from the old Circle into the Black Nothingness, then they realised that they are trapped in another White Circle that already existed, or one they created.

 

A very good example: There is this big 'White Circle' of Christianity. From it, Atheism broke through and formed another big 'White Circle'. These two are arguing all the time, each trying to prove or disprove whether God exists. Then I thought, it is so stupid. I don't give a damn whether God exists. Lo and behold, I am entrapped in another Circle! I can't even break out to get into the Black Nothingness!

 

And you know what? All these White Circles and Black Nothingness... are all encompassed inside one huge gigantic White Sphere !!!

 

Is it possible to break through the Sphere, with its added dimension?? What lies outside the Sphere?? More Nothingness?? Or the Light of Enlightenment?

 

P.S. If you managed to read until here, sorry to entrapped you in this crappy White Circle (of 'White Circles' and 'Black Nothingness) of my own. Perhaps it would be better if you didn't read it, or gave up halfway.  Then you will be in the Black Darkness of ignorance/unawareness/unknown, a state where creativity is at its highest, where potential is at its greatest. 

 

But it's ok, now at least you can see that Circles and Lines exist. If you still can't see them, try shouting the f word in public.

 

P.P.S. I realised one can't break through into the Black Nothingness from White Circle. One can only emerge from the Nothingness into White Circle.

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Orders, boundaries, regulations. Moral-Immoral. Heaven-Earth. Christianity-Non Christianity. Singapore-Other Countries. Chinese-Other Races. Clean-Dirty. Etc. Each have own set of rules that define themselves, differentiate themselves from others, keeping themselves pure, keeping the impurities out. 

 

'Christianity' won't be 'Christianity' if they don't keep the thoughts that 'God doesn't exist' (impurities) away. 'Heaven' won't be 'Heaven' if it isn't pure and perfect. 'Chinese' won't be 'Chinese' anymore if they don't follow the 'Chinese' culture.

 

Within every Orders there are Essences. Once the Essences are diluted, even replaced by impurities, the Order itself won't exist anymore. Hence the need of boundaries and regulation, to protect itself.

 

Perfectly understandable.

 

HOWEVER, boundaries, regulations, walls... All these prevent changes. Without changes, there will be stagnation...

 

 

The above is some loose strands of thoughts on the same topic that I penned down last night, which I wanted to throw into the rubbish bin, consign into Nothingness. 

 

Perfect days

My first 3 days of 2009 was perfect.

 

1 Jan 2009  

My parents and I ate a sumptuous buffet at Zheng Fa Huo Hai Xian at Novena, which left us full and satisfied.

 

2 Jan 2009

We had a block 54 gathering, eating at a famous zi char in Ang Mo Kio. It feels so good to see so many hall friends again. And I got a gigantic crab pincer to myself, heehee. The meal cost $36 per person.

 

Noticed the cup in front of Weitao? He was the only one who drank hot drink during the dinner while others drank cold drinks.

 

He was laughed at by all of us for being 'uncle'. Haha!

 

3 Jan 2009

Today, a friend and I discovered by chance a backlane full of hidden treasures! It is a small street, partially hidden, full of shops which sells those funny funny designer clothes, bags, shoes etc. etc. Normally I don't care much about clothes and bags, but the whole street seems so arty... walls with graffitis (not those delibrate ones by artists, but those 'ugly' ones), wierd cafe/bar/boutique which I can't classify which is which, hidden parts of shops (2nd storeys) which brings surprises... that it attracts me instantly. When you first walked into the lane, it actually feels creepy. But as you walk further in, it feels like you have reached some other exotic country.

 

Too bad we have to rush to catch a movie, leaving us no time to explore the shops. Guess I will go back tomorrow to get a suitable laptop bag for myself.

 

By the way, the lane is called Haji Lane, which you go in from Arab Street. 10 mins walk from Bugis mrt, towards Raffles Hospital direction.  

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Then we watched Seven Pounds. Will Smith's movies never disappoints me. The whole movie is one big mystery, leaving the audience dying to know the answer. The jigsaw puzzle fits nicely gradually towards the end of the show... and the complete picture shocked the audience emotionally.

 

However, after the show, there was still one little loose end that is not tied up:

 

Why is the movie named 'Seven Pounds'?

 

This, you will have to wiki it yourself.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

After the show, I reached home just in time for my favourite tv animae every Sat 9pm: Star Wars. That was followed by watching Pursuit of Happyness, which I rented just before I walked home.

 

2 good movies. 1 great street. What a great day. =)

 

 

illusion

illusion \i-ˈlü-zhən\ noun

- perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature

 

This whole world is one big massive web of illusion. Life, relationships, religion, earth, sun, solar system, universe, atoms, electrons, tables, chairs, words, blog, stories, trees, games, art, internet, money, etc etc etc.

 

It is transient, ever-changing, constantly flowing, and will eventually die.

 

But people are acting as if they will last forever. We cannot help it. Study study study. Work work work. Gather more and more money. Sometimes the illusion only seems too real. Illusions within illusions within illusions. Can we pierce it? Can we stay above it?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Imagine the future: there is a place where you can do what you want, how you want, when you want. A virtual reality. Everyone will enter this reality for 16 hours everyday, where you control your avatar, and doing whatever you want to do. However, you cannot stay in the virtual reality forever. You have to return to the real world to do real stuff for some time everyday, or you will die. When you are in the real world, your avatar will 'sleep', oblivious to what you are doing in the real world.

 

What will you do in the virtual reality?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

This is similar to Buddhist philosophy, but different. Buddists also believe that everything is illusion, but they aim to rise above the illusion to attain a peaceful, enlightened state. I believed the same thing, but I also believed that the belief is something that is almost impossible to attain. Well, it is believed to take several recarnations to fully attain Enlightenment isn't it?

 

It simply needs too MUCH effort, and it is against my Taoist belief of "无为". *chuckle*

 

No. I am not a rule breaker. But I will bend it. I want to stretch the limits of the thick wall of illusions, of my imagination. (And maybe I will break it in my next incarnation.)

 

Enjoy the moment. Do what you want, how you want, when you want!

 

As far as possible.

 

P.S. This entry is an illusion. It doesn't exist.

 

 

 

1st entry in 2009

Time passes so fast, 2008 passed with a blink of an eye. (*blink blink* Shit. Now still 2009.) Looking back, 2008 is an important milestone year in my life, just as 1983, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004.

 

Why are 'milestone years' so important?

 

Coz too often, you have to fill in those years into those stupid forms which asked the same questions over and over and over and over again.

 

Enough said. I seldom blog these days as I am extremely busy with something else (erm, see previous entry), hence, kinda lost the skill to blog/crap about the some of the most mundane and meaningless stuff in life.

 

You see, every so often, once I started working, the most meaningful goal that excites me these days is very often... a quest in some game, eg. kill the same type of monster over and over and over again until you get a rare drop. *Pause* Erm ok, not very meaningful. Haha!

 

For the pass 25 years I have been like water in a river rushing along day after day towards the ocean. Now I have finally reached the big wide ocean. Now what?

 

Suddenly a thought strikes me: there are people who are passionate about their job, and there are people who are enduring their job. When I was in hall production, I can differentiate between these people. Now... I can't. Instead, I can only see TGIFs everywhere. (Today is Friday! Heehee! )

 

Bosses can make the job more endurable for people. But how can they make people more passionate about their job? Food for thought.

 

Seems like I kept rambling about this meaningless life topic these days. Ah heck, 今朝有酒今朝醉，今天有game今天玩。Yeah!

 

 

**** Change topic ****

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

 

This year total Christmas presents received count: 3. One shirt, one t-shirt, and one set of mouse pad and wrist rest. Thanks friends! =)

 

This year total expected Christmas presents yet received count: 3 also. Haha!

 

Anwz for those who don't know, I will be leaving for United States (St Louis, Missouri) for 3.5 months training on 7 Feb. Only 5 more weeks from now. Also, for those who don't know, this month is also my birthday month. And FYI, Chinese New Year also falls in this month. So, for those who can't give me my Christmas present before I leave for the states, I will be demanding my Christmas Present + Birthday Present and New Year Ang Bao as interest when I come back.

 

DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU. *Evil laugh*

 

**** Change topic ****

 

Just now talked to 4 JC classmates simultaneously on msn. Come to think of it, the relationships between my JC classmates is one huge complicated web. A is close to B. B is close to C. But A finds it awkward to talk to C. Etc etc. And normally this kind of complicated relationships are usually between different gender. For the guys in my class, our friendships go way back to secondary school, so we don't have such complications. Although there are classmates I don't usually talk to, I will still think of them from time to time.

 

After all, we spent the best 2 years of our lifes together. 

 

00S60. Wish you all a Happy New Year!

 

 

The World Ends With You

Every once in a while, I will play some games that are so engaging, creative and fun that inspire me to want to work in the game industry, so that I would be able to work together with these genius to produce something that will provide as much enjoyment to the world.

 

The World Ends With You is such a game. 

 

There are also some games that are unique to different platforms and that, if you possessed that platform, you cannot ever miss that game.

 

The World Ends With You is such a game to NDS just as Patapon is to PSP. 

 

Anwz The World Ends With You is an RPG made by Square Enix and that says it all. (And if you don't know Square Enix, well... I would just say that you missed out on some of the best things in life. Haha!) And if anymore proof is needed, a visit to Gamespot.com should be sufficient.

 

 

 

Hmmm... the department I am in now don't make games exactly... but close enough. One day, I will ......

 

Meaning of life 2

For the 2 ENTIRE days of the past long weekend, both Sunday and Monday, I had been WORKING non-stop!

 

As you know, I am in the flight simulation industry, hence, it is part of my job to learn more about the various types of aircraft, their performance, and different flying maneuvers and combat tactics (so as to create good AIs). And, lo and behold, I had been doing just that during the past long weekend!

 

Flying and fighting against different aircrafts, such as F-16, F-5E, F-22, MIG-31, SU-37 etc etc, practicing maneuvers such as split-s, immelman, lead pursuit etc etc, aiming and firing missiles and gun... on my old PSP. Work had and will never been this much fun!

 

Suddenly I had an epiphany regarding why I had been feeling so depressed and felt the meaning of life missing:

 

'COS I HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYING GAMES FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS!

 

Last Friday I met up with Jiahong and Soonguan, two of my best friends. Our conversation gradually shifted from work to games. When Soonguan asked me what games I had been playing and I told him I don't play games anymore, he paused for a brief second. Soonguan, though he didn't say anything in this brief second of silence, loudly 'exclaimed' something that abruptly woke me up:

 

"Bro, what the f*** happened to you man?!? You are not you anymore! You are losing yourself!"

 

His 'words' led to me to my PSP, and the MEANING OF LIFE.

 

Meaning of Life is nothing more that the latest distraction that makes you stop finding the non-existent meaning of life for the moment.

 

Damn. life is so God-Damnned empty. Well, gonna play more games...

 

In my search for the meaning of life for the past week, I have heard some interesting answers - Singying's "Role in life", Jiahong's "Girlfriend", a friend I know will say "God", and lastly a colleague told me "Still need to ask?? Of course is to reproduce la!" (WTF)

 

Thanks everyone for your answers, but I have found mine...

 

"Fun and GAME."

 

... at least for the moment. LOL!

 

PS. My Macbook spoiled and I can't find my reciept on Sunday. I took a cab from AMK to NTU (work purpose) and forget to take receipt yesterday.

 

"When shit happens, it sometimes comes as an unrelenting case of bad diahorrea."

 

Well said, Jiahong. But who cares anyway, now that I found my meaning of life. Haha!

 

 

Random

Felt damn down these days -

Two friends who tried to release aeroplane on the same day, people who take forever to reply sms, program which simply refuse to compile successfully, a friend who rejected job offer by my department, etc etc etc.

Somehow, when you are feeling down, your resistance to everyday's bad news is abnormally low. Even little things that usually don't have an effect hit you twice as hard. It sucks.

A saying: "When life hands you lemons, you make lemonades. When life hands you peanuts, you don't have to work for the rest of the year!" (The second part I add myself, by right should be "...you make peanut butter". A stupid joke. Haha.)

I guess I shouldn't be feeling so down. After all I am much more fortunate than most people. Most of my friends around me are working like hell. Two are already thinking of or had already changed job in a period of less than 6 months after graduation. My job may not be the best job around, but at least I don't have to work like hell. What's more I just took a leave last Wednesday to rest and coming Monday is a holiday. Then I got good friends who tried to cheer me up (by suggesting I get a girlfriend).

What more do I want??

I guess I am just tired. Hopefully my mood will be like the background of my blog after these few day's rest - bright and sunny.

Cheers!

P.S. Yeah! I finally got used to using my Macbook!

Meaning of Life

This is my nth entry on the elusive meaning of life. To a student, meaning of life may be getting good grades and having good fun. To others, meaning of life may be neverending pursuing of more power or more money or both, either for material wants or survival needs.

 

I am fortunate. I am well provided for throughout my life. I live within my means and have little wants. I don't have to struggle to make my ends meet. Power is something I think I might enjoy, but it comes with so MUCH hussle that I never thought it is worth the effort to go after it. And I am not a student anymore, so having a goal of getting good grades is also not an options anymore.

 

This leaves me with a little problem: What is my meaning of life???

 

That is actually a rhetorical question. I have already concluded to myself long ago that there is no inherent meaning to life. But having no meaningful goals in life actually really make life super empty, boring. Imagine every week's routine: Weekdays work until 6; surf net, watch tv until 11, sleep. Weekends meet friends, go out, read comics, watch movies, shop, write blog. Repeat this until the end of your life.

 

It is a good life, I admit. At least I can still do, and capable of doing, (most of) whatever I want, unlike some other less fortunate people. But it is boring! I figured it won't help even if I go Europe or some other very fun countries for a long holidays. It won't help if I watch a very good movie or read a very good book or comic (and I read plenty of good books and watch plenty of good shows these days). The empty feeling will still be there, cos

 

There. Is. No. Meaning. In. Life!

 

......

 

Perhaps, just perhaps, the meaning of life is to search for the ultimate Meaning of Life!

 

Yeah! I will go and seek my meaning of life! Yeah!

 

......

 

Another stupid and meaningless entry. *Yawn*

 

 

Future

Today, a friend asked me, "If you know a guy has a history of being playboy, will you let your daughter marry him?"

 

I said, "I will let my daughter make her own decision. Maybe he will change and be true to my daughter? One never know what the future may bring anyway."  

 

Future.

 

Now thinking back, "One never know what the future may bring anyway"  may not be so correct. Is it really true that we can't predict the future?

 

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next minute? Of course!

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next day? To a large extent.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next week? Most probably.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next month? To a certain extent.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next year? Roughly.

 

What about things not around you, the things you don't know about?

 

 

We can all predict the future to a certain extent. The accuracy is determined by only 2 factors : Time and Knowledge.

 

We predict the future all the time. Our actions now are all determined by our prediction of the future.

 

 

But when we predict the future, we often do not factor the actions we take now. By 'we', I mean me and all the people around me. Of course, to factor in all the actions people may take, we also have to factor in how people predict the future.

 

Psychology. Sociology. Economics. Etc.

 

 

Remember? Accuracy is directly proportional to Knowledge/Time. Knowledge may includes Psychology, Sociology, Economics and others.

 

 

Sounds difficult? No. It is pretty easy to predict the future. Imagine you can't predict the future. Everything that happens to you is unexpected. Floor that is under you this minute is not there the next! That would be fun. But you will go mad.

 

 

Time.

 

The shorter the time frame, the more accurate it is. The floor is more likely to be under you the next minute compared to hundred thousand years later. Who says long term equals less risk??

 

 

Play chess. A game of prediction. What your opponent might do next determine what you will do now. Lay a vicious trap for him! 

 

Stock market. 

 

Can you predict what I am going to write next? 

 

 

A famous poker player once said, 

 

"Five minutes into a poker game, if you don't know which sucker you can earn money from, then that sucker is you."   

 

 

I want to be a Forecaster.

 

Daughter marry a playboy?? Will I have a daughter in the first place? Lol!

 

 

Random Ramblings.

 

Stupid

This week has been pretty peaceful so far. Except for the fact that I lost 7 days worth of salary within a few minutes on Monday night.

It was on impulse, based on nothing but the news that AIG received a larger amount of bailout funds. The stock gapped open at $2.77 from Friday's close of $2.11 and shot up to $2.84 a within few minutes after it opens. Then it come down and fluctuate around $2.60s. I bought 4000 shares at $2.68. A few minutes after I bought, the stock plummeted straight down to $2.50s region.

I cannot believe my eyes. This is way more than I was prepared to lose. I quickly sold my shares at $2.53 while recovering from my shock. A quick calculation factoring in US exchange rate and brokerage fees told me that I lost about a third of my salary. I went to sleep wondering if I should quit trading.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I don't mind telling everyone my fiasco. You all can think I am stupid if you want.

I admit I am stupid.

You may think I am even more stupid than stupid if I am not going to quit trading. And yup, I am NOT going to give up trading.

Go on, think what you want.

I have come to terms with my loss. Now I know what my mistake is - I trade impulsively. I am really gambling! Hence this crushing defeat. Now I VOW I will follow my own trading system to the letter and never make any impulsive trades again!

Tomorrow will be better! =)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I have been pondering long and hard on this strategy that many common investors have been using - "Buy and Hold". Everyone adopt this strategy these days - friends, my mom, and even me. "Buy and Hold" works pretty good when the market is good, but led you to Hell when the market crash, as many of you will have experienced now if you did some investing of you own.

Talking about my own experience, 6 months after I bought my China fund, I have a whooping 90% profit! But now, not only the profit was all gone, 30% of my capital has vanished! All thanks to the "Buy and Hold" strategy. I wondered, what could be done to prevent this from happening and even keep the profits. Market timing (as stated in my previous post) , perhaps?

Yesterday I have a flash of insight after reading books on stocks trading! The answer is surprisingly simple! It involves nothing about market timing, chart reading or complicated technical indicators. No rocket science.

It is a simple money management technique called Trailing Stop Loss!

Simply put, it is to constantly set a maximum amount of money you will allow yourself to lose / eat into your profits. A rough example: when I first buy my fund, I should set my stop loss at -10%. That is to say, if the fund loses 10% of its value, I sell. (Rationale behind being, if I lose 10%, that means I am WRONG to invest in it! Better correct it before it become more 'wrong'!)

Then as the fund goes up, my stop loss level go up. Eg. when my fund goes up +20%, my stop loss will be increased to +10%, when my fund goes up 30%, my stop loss will be increased to +20% and so on.

Back to my China fund example: Hence when my fund reach +90%, my stop loss level will be +80%. So when my fund price drop to +80%, I should have sold, keeping 80% of my profit! This is much better compared to the situation now, where I loses 30% of my capital!

Of course, discipline plays a large part - you MUST sell when your stop loss is reached. But the Trailing Stop Loss concept isn't too hard to understand, isn't it?

Now then I think of it, damn! I am so stupid. Some lessons in life are so goddamn expensive!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Change topic: Gundam 00 Season 2 is out! Woohoo!

Intellectually cool. Explosive actions. Emotionally engaging. Wow graphics. Intriguing plot. What more do you want?

 

Oh ya, Madagascar 2 is damn funny! "I like to move it move it!"

 

A LIGHTER LOOK AT MARRIAGE

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes I am, I married the wrong man."

Man is incomplete until he is married. Then he is really finished.

Marriage is an institution in which a man loses his bachelor's degree and the woman gets her master's.

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?" And the father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."

Young Son: Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa a man doesn't know his wife until he marries her? Dad: That happens in most countries, son.

Then there was a man who said, "I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; and then it was too late.

When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy - we wonder why.

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, "You know, I was a fool when I married you." And the husband replied, "Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice it."

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done free.

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe.

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

 

Life

"Hi, I am JF, and I am a gambler."

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Weekends. Whenever I didn't go out to meet friends, I love to sit alone in somewhere quiet, a cafe or foodcourt, to drink and read, and to think about life. Btw, I just had a cup of coffee.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Life. Work. Money... Gambling.

 

On 22/10, I lost $168 in stocks market (SGX).

On 23/10, I earned $180 (St Engg).

On 24/10, I lost $527 (CapitaComm & ST Engg).

On 31/10, I earned $455 (St Engg).

On 03/11, I earned $70 (SMRT).

On 04/11, I lost $120 (Alcatel Lucent).

Yesterday, I earned $300 (AIG). 

 

Money. Easy come, easy go. People say life is full of ups and downs.

 

How true.

 

(I can happily say that I learnt this without having to pay school fee, yet. Hee.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Risk. People think: short term trading = high risk, long term investment = low risk.

 

Bullshit. (Financial planners, ahem...)

 

Investing blindly, OR, not watching your investment, OR, invest but don't know when to exit = HIGH RISK.

 

Nothing goes up forever... Nothing.

 

Ups and downs. Remember?

 

(The school fees for learning this is VERY expensive.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I read one article on Weekend Today a few weeks ago. It goes something like this.

 

"Don't sell now. If you sell now, you are doing what is called 'Market Timing'. By doing this, not only you are assuming you know when to sell, but also when to buy. It is ok if you don't want to invest anymore after you sell. But If you do want to invest again, how do you know when to enter the market?"

 

At that time, I thought it quite make sense, so I hold. But since then, the loss of my Unit Trust has escalated from hundreds to thousand plus. I am trapped. Then I realised something:

 

Ignorance costs A LOT (...and will cost alot more in the future).

 

My philosophy: If I don't know something I need to know, I figure it out.

 

'Market Timing'?? Doesn't sound too difficult, does it?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I have some very professional colleagues at work. When I asked them what do they do when they go home after work, they reply they read books on technical knowledge. I am impressed, and a little guilty.

 

I also like to read. Nowadays I read analysis reports, news, stock charts, books on trading, and Batman graphic novels.

 

My mind can never be too focus on one thing. I can never be a truely professional professional.

 

I am fated to be a jack of all trades. (trades... haha!) Sad.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Feel, a sense that many neglect.

 

In art exhibitions, I feel the place's atmosphere and the artists' motives. In nature, I feel the life of the trees and the wind on my skin. In stock market, I feel the pulse and emotions of the players in the market.

 

Greed, fear, uncertainty.

 

I realise, I also feel exactly what the market is feeling.

 

Greed, fear, uncertainty. (Ups and downs... and sideways.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

No one comments these days (except for some stupid people who advertise on selling WOW gold, f***). Is it because I can't relate to people anymore?

 

I know I have friends. I meet up with people.

 

But I am in a world of my own.

 

 

Ha! Effects of coffee.

 

Update

Went to the remaining Singapore Biennale place, South Beach Development, today with 2 jc friends. Photo here. (Oh btw, if anyone wants to go can jio me... I may want to go again. =)

 

I know I sound very arty-farty in recent my blog entries. But nope. I am not seriously an arts person. I am not art-trained. As a result, I cannot understand 100% the meaning behind the exhibitions. But I like these exhibits, simply because these are creative things that no one else will even dream of doing. I heard that people comment in exhibitions - "I can also do this!" No. The point is not whether you can do this or not. The point is whether you can think of doing this, and actually do it. This is what differentiate people who can only talk from real artists.

 

I admit I am not an artist.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The way I "appreciate" the exhibits -

 

First I read the caption, then I look at the exhibit, think a bit... 'hmmm'... read the caption again, look at the exhibit again, and think a bit again... 'Wa sibei chim, good good, very interesting (but I don't really understand)'... then I walk off. Most prob the entire process won't take more than 5 minutes.

 

Time.

 

Inside the exhibition hall, be it City Hall, South Beach Development, Central Promontory Site (at Raffles Place), or any other museum, you will feel that you entered another world, another time-space. At the site itself, time moves slower. Not everyone can adjust himself or herself in the space at first -

 

Some still walk pretty fast around the exhibits and miss lots of tiny details. (I am guilty of that.) Some still keep punching or talking on their handphone/PDA phone, unable to unplug themselves from the real world outside. Some complain that they don't understand what the hell is the artist trying to do and quickly move on to the next exhibit. (I am guilty of that too!)

 

But sooner or later, everyone will slow down their pace, sometimes stop and sit down, to listen to what these exhibits are trying to tell us. To appreciate. Time slows... stop.

 

Peace.

 

Then, you will find that you don't really need to conciously understand what the exhibit is trying to tell you.

 

Your heart already understood.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Anwz for updates. These days my world have been revolving around stocks trading. Most of the time after work was spent on reading books on stocks trading and analysing stocks and stocks markets. For years I have been trying different ways to predict the future - Palmistry, Tarots, I-Ching etc etc. Now I have decided to put my future-predicting obsession to good practical use -

 

Predict the Stock Market.

 

I will find the secret, the key, the Holy Grail, to unlock this huge treasure trove that is the stock market, one day. MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

 

Oh btw, I have started another blog on stock trading in Blogspot, consolidating all the knowledge I scraped from the many many different books and websites that I read in one place before I forgot. (Some of the books cost hundreds of dollars in bookstores!) My knowledge repository.

 

Currently it is only for invited readers (as there are lots of copyrighted contents, sshhhh...), and there is only one invited reader - ME. Haha! But if anyone who is also interested, no matter you really want to trade stocks or not, feel free to ask me for invitation. It is hard to find friends who shared the same interest as me to discuss such things...

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Sing to the Dawn

 

      

 

I LOVE this song! It is beautiful!

 

"You never know, if you never try, you will make it a long long way, if you believe..." 

 

 

(But the movie sucks.)

 

 

Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ City Hall

Went for the Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition in another venue (City Hall) today. Here are some of the photos -

 

 

Did you see a gourd with human face that holds a camera?

 

 

 

I love the caption - "...Tractatus Logico-Philoscophicus... floats about in the middle of the tank kept buoyant by the undercurrents of philosophical obscurity"

 

 

 

This place is damn spooky...

 

 

 

Seems ordinary household items at first sight. But, look carefully at the words.

 

 

This installation is named Teratoma II: War of the Worlds. Notice the "flying saucer" behind?

 

There are others exhibits that are also very interesting, many in the form of short films, hence no pictures. Really worth the trip down. Next will be the one at South Beach Development. =)

 

 

Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ Raffles Place

Had been wanting to go to see these exhibitions around Singapore but was too lazy to find out where they are, until today, when I saw one the exhibition in a very wulu part of Raffles Place by chance. Quite nice. Art cleanses the soul. That is why I loved them. Anwz here are the photos 

 

"...there was an exact identical city that was clearly discernable during certain days of the year, only this one hovered in the sky. Hence the "earthly" Manas was an exact copy of the "heavenly" Manas." 

 

close ups of one of the towers and the caption

 

 

 

An igloo like structure and the long walkway to....

 

... a different world.

 

 

Ex-prisoners' slippers on sticks - Singapore Prisoners 

 

 

Battle between the Bulls and the Bears

Last night I just laid on the bed for while at 9pm, and I fell asleep. I fell asleep, and dreamt...

 

It was a chaotic battlefield. Two medival armies were fighting fiercely. One was raising a flag with a symbol of Bull, the other was raising a flag with a symbol of a Bear - The Enemy. I joined the Bulls as a newly recruit, and had been fighting fiercely since morning. At my front of the battlefield, the fighting was very intense, one inch gained in this minute was lost in the next minute. I don't know why. I picked my 'front' properly, it shouldn't be such a difficult battle...

 

In the afternoon, more and more warriors from my side fell tragically, and we were steadily losing more and more territory. Seeing that the situation was very wrong, I turned tail and exit the battlefield, hurting my finger severely as a result. From outside the battlefield, I surveyed the battle. To my surprise, ALL other fronts had already suffered a crashing defeat and had retreated hastily... and that is why my front faltered! I lost track of the entire battle, that was why this happened. Lesson learnt.

 

I woke up today. The dream was fiction. But did it really happen?

 

(The battle was fun. Hahahaha!)

 

 

The Moon

Swing Trader.

 

This is what I am learning to be currently. Every morning and evening, during my trip on the MRT to and from my work place for the past 2 weeks, I have sacrificed my time for reading comics or playing NDS, to read books on stocks trading. To date, I have devoured 2.25 stocks trading books, and still going strong. I planned to read at least another 2.75 books more. It really takes effort to study trading during 2 of the sleepier periods of the day. How many times I wished I had bring my NDS instead.

 

It will worth it. I hope.

 

 

Swing trading, in which the position is held on the average of two to five days... Swing traders strive to ride up or down price "swings" made by stocks... Many hold full-time jobs and complete their research before or after work, or on the weekends.

 

-Short Term Trading in the New Stock Market by Toni Turner

 

 

A friend, Jiahong, told me to stop keeping on thinking about getting rich. I am NOT thinking about getting rich. I just want to 'work' my money myself, instead of leaving them in the hands of financial planners, or even worse, leaving them to rot in the bank. (Ermm. Given the financial situation now, actually I dunno which is worse, paiseh.) And of course, I want to supplement my income!

 

I chatted with a friend about marriage. I told my friend that next time, I will be staying at home looking after baby while my wife will go out to work. She gave me the 'down' look, as in, looked down. Upon seeing her reaction, I quickly added, "I stay at home to trade stocks la. Haha!" Come to think of it, it really might work! In fact, maybe 3 or 4 years later, I might quit my job and become a full time trader. I really might!

 

Future. Wonder what will it bring... =)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The same friend above told me that by reading my blog, one can know that I am a "thinking" person. Yup, I am a thinking person.

 

Think...

 

My job requries me to think a lot everyday. 'Where can I find out how this program should work?'  I can feel my brain flashing through the tens and hundreds and thousands of possibilities. Swish! 'How to implement this feature into my program?' Swishh!

 

'Why THE HELL is this program NOT working as it should?!?'  SWISHHHHHHHH!

 

Besides job related stuff, I also think about other things. 'If S&P Futures is the leading indicator of the US stock market, what is the leading indicator of the Singapore Stock Market?' 'The US stock market has crashed last night, will Singapore stock market crash today?' 'STI crashed through the support line at 1900 points today. Will in bounce back on Monday or crash further? *' Swish! Swish! Swish!

 

Think...  

 

I think... I think too much.

 

How do I know that? Cos I suffered from minor headaches in office almost everyday for the past week. I leave at 6pm almost everyday, not because I don't want to work OT, but because I CAN'T work even if I continued to stay.

 

I know I like to think. And my job provides me with lots of thinking 'opportunities'. It suits me very well. But today, while I am walking back home after a dinner with Jiahong and Chintau, I asked myself, 'Am I happy?' The only answer is

 

'I am tired.'

 

I guessed I must have lost my soul somewhere along the way through the 4+ months I am working, leaving only an empty souless body. Just like a computer. Where had my soul disappeared to??? I walked and walked, until I was about to reach my home, then, I saw the moon in the sky. Its brilliance shining through, even though it was behind the clouds. 

 

It was beautiful.

 

I went home and took out my camera and attempted to capture its beauty. At that moment, 

 

I think... I am happy??  

   

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

   

 

My best 2 attempts out of 10+ photos. =P One with flash and one without.

 

 

* My prediction of coming Monday's Singapore Market (just for fun, hehe) - It all depends on tonight's US stock market. If US stock market continue to go down, Singapore market will go down too. Vice versa. And the movement will be big, in terms of 100 points and above. - 18 Oct 12.24 a.m.

 

Damned... I am thinking again.

 

 

Some life tips for my studying and working friends

 

 

Cheat and Never get caught

How to cheat on any test

How to do nothing at work and still get paid

Videos

Two amazing videos I found on the net. Too bad MSN Spaces cant embed Google Videos.

 

Mr Mario Frustration - This video shows how one person clear (or din clear) the hardest Mr Mario game in history. Damn funny! (WARNING: Full of coarse language... But can't blame him. Hahaha! )

 

Incredible Machine - This shows the creativity and ingenuity of Japanese. It is mesmerising!

 

 

FAT!!!

My troubles started 4 months ago. T_T

 

These days, I have been snacking away happily while sitting in front my computer screen, working. Bug cannot solve. EAT. Bug solved. EAT. Hungry. EAT. Twisties, biskets, tapioca chips etc. 

 

Next are the tea breaks. Mac ice-creams, Old-Chang-Kee curry puff etc.

 

The first signs that I had put on weight started when my mum commented that my tummy is SOOO big. After which friends start commenting one after another. Here are my testimonials:

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

"You looked fatter! (Opps) Errmmm... you had been very thin all along la, fatter looked better. Haha!" -Peifang

 

(Just moments after we met) "Hmmm... I think you had grown fatter..." -Shiying

 

"Your company must be not bad... cause you have grown fatter! Haha!" -Sufang, Hall 11 ex-JCRC chairperson, know each other but seldom talk one. EVEN SHE OSO SAY I FAT!!!

 

"Fat meh? No la... just face become rounder only. Last time is sharper." -Yuting, yesterday

 

"HIYO! You see your tummy so fat! Breasts also so big! Exercise more!" -Mum, just now.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Hahaha! Thanks friends for straight forward comments! You all will spur me towards greater THINNESS! I am going to exercise 2 times a week! One day to the gym. One day to jog.

 

I GOTTA TO BE THIN!

 

......

 

Who the hell is fat anwz?? I am NOT fat, and I know it! I just became "fatter". Haha! I exercise cos I want to pass my IPPT... and my window is closing! T_T Who will want to exercise if there is no IPPT???? Siao!

 

I think by Nov I gotta step up to 3 exercise sessions a week. Who else wanna go gym? =)

 

 

Survey

Doing a short survey - Assuming you are working now and earning a monthly income that let you live comfortably, your official knock off timing is 6pm, and there is no deadline to meet the next day.

 

Rank the following afterwork activities that you will most PROBABLY do (note: NOT you like to do most) on an EVERY NIGHT basis, from most probable to least:

 

A. Stay in the office and do work until 7-8+.

B. Go jogging or gym or other exercise.

C. Trade stocks the whole night for a profit of at least $50-$200 per night.

D. Pursue own hobby, eg. practice drawing, singing, taichi, calligraphy, musical instruments etc etc. 

E. Play PC/Xbox/PS3/PS2/PSP/NDS games until sleep.

F. Watch TV until sleep.

G. Study more about profession/work related topics OR doing additional masters/diplomas.

H. Chit chat with family.

I. Surf net/ blog.

J. Others. Eg?

 

There can be activities of equal ranking - That means you are doing these 2/few activities every night... or you will NEVER do these activities at all.

 

Just wondering what do people do every night. Will most people stay in office to work voluntarily until 7-8pm? Or will people willing to sacrifice time learning and playing with stocks to earn a few hundreds dollar every night? Will you do it? Or you will spend the time doing more meaningful things?

 

What should I do?

 

Wondering...

 

 

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!!!

It has been quite a while since I update. Not that I am very busy. Still knocking off on average 6.10pm. I am VERY grateful for this. From what I heard, not many of my friends, be it engineers or auditors, are allowed to knock off on time. Oh well, seems like I made the right career choice. Haha!

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Anwz, for the updates: These days I had been devoting quite some time writing macros on MS Excel to help simplify my dad's accounting process. Now at a click of a button, the things my father keyed in the Invoice meant for the customer will magically appeared on the Invoice and Delivery Order records. Cool huh? Haha!

 

I just finished this project a few days ago. Next one I am going to write a script to pluck stocks infomation automatically from the net into my excel sheet and do some number crunching. The result will be which stocks are the BEST buy. My colleague once mentioned that it can be done, plucking infomation from the net automatically, but... I don't know how... Well, there are 2 things we do most often in my profession -

 

Solving bugs (Arrrghhhh! *pulling hair*) and FIGURE OUT!

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Besides the project, another percent of my time, perhaps 1%, is devoted to monitoring the market... and financial planning (Arrrrghhh! Those financial agents!!! Stop coming after my blood!!!). *Calm down* No offence to financial planner / insurance agent friends. Just my hyperactive imagination acting wild. Hee. Actually talking to them is quite enriching. They possess knowledge that EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW. But, just keep in mind that...

 

While they are sharing knowledge, they are also trying to earn a living. 

 

Enough about financial agents. Anwz I had just bought my insurance. Unless you have ways to earn money, DO NOT approach me anymore. Anwz now is an exciting time, and it will get more exciting in the future. Latest news: US Senate to vote on revised bailout package on Wednesday. I just submitted a form that allows my to trade US stocks last sat. Better faster finish processing!!! (And maybe you will see me blogged about me becoming bankrupt in my next entry. =P)

 

Craps aside. If you take a few steps back from the turmoil and look at the overall global economy, you can see that everything is corelated and interlinked. Different forces are at work. The Bailout Package failed, but the market didn't crash as much as expected. Why? If you can see through the smoke, you will come out ahead. Too bad I didn't study Business and Economy, but I thought they are quite interesting. Anwz this will be where my professional habit kicks in...

 

I will Figure Out.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Pardon me for talking me abt such boring stuff above. Today is CHILDREN'S DAY! Let's talk about comics and games! Yeah! (This is where I spent 90% of my free time on. =P)

 

But on the down side, comics are so adult orientated these days. =(

 

Marvel Universe - The US Government approved a legislation which forces all super powered people, including all heroes, to register. This divides the Super Hero community right in the center - Ironman, Mr Fantastic, Spiderman etc on one side (pro-registration),  and Captain America, Daredevil, Punisher etc on the other (anti-registration). The Civil War ended with Captain America's surrender and assasination. Yes, the beloved Captain died.

 

DC Universe - Gotham was totally abandoned by the US Government (I am not sure for what reason) and the city descends into a dark age resembling warring states. Batman, the Police, Penguin, Poison Ivy etc all control a part of the city, fighting each other. After this story arc, when the city was rebuilt, Bruce Wayne was thrown in jail for killing his girlfriend. Even Oracle and Nightwing had doubts about his innocence...

 

Naruto - The long awaited truth of why Itachi killed his entire clan except his brother Sasuke is revealed. Sasuke vows to destroy the Fire Village.

 

D Gray Man - The Exorcists' Headquarters were invaded by one of the Noah's clan members. Akuma Level 4 was borned and kill everything in its way in the headquarters. 

 

One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh R Series - Still reading. Haha! 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

One of the first major items I bought after I start working is Nintendo DS. In my opinion its games are more interesting than PSP, which made use of touch screen and mic. Played Pokemon Pearl, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, FF III, Super Mario Kart (who wants to challenge? Haha!) etc. Now playing FF IV. One major reason why I seldom blog anymore. Games.

 

 

Ahhh! Life is Great!

 

(Oops, I advertised for the company I bought insurance from. Haha!)

 

Happy Children's Day! =)

 

 

Mamma Mia

 

 

Crappy and absurb story. Haphazard and loosely connected plotline. Mostly old actors and actresses. BUT... for all the wonderful classics you will hear in this musical, and the joyous energy you will experience from the songs and the cast, Mamma Mia is highly recommended! (Especially so for ABBA fans.)

 

Nice movie!

 

 

MAF

 

 

People say Mid Autumn Festival is a night of Reunion. How true it felt on HwaChong's MAF!

 

"...the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

 

A quote from Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen). I strongly believe it. These are the people I knew when I were young. The girls for 8 years. The guys for 10 years or more. How good it feels to see them! =)

 

As for the place... Our class bench had disappeared to God knows where over the years, but the one we were sitting in the picture holds alot of memories too! We had all sat here outside the Chinese Society Club Room at one point or another during our 2 years in HC. 8 years ago Chinese Society is our Class CCA, almost everyone joined. You are looking at ex-Huang Cheng director, actor, actress, script writer, props head, publicity head (<- me me, haha!) and subcoms here.  

 

Anwz after eight years it is quite surprising to see quite a lot of my batch people still going back for MAF. First time I exchange namecards! Most of us have finally step out into the society now. This is our Age. It is finally our turn to make a difference in this World. Let the World tremble!

 

I FEEL THE POWER (of youth, compared to those working for years) !!!

 

(This is a crappy entry, I know. Haha!)

 

 

Science, Art, Engineering

Science is like Fire. Constantly expanding the technology frontier, cutting edges, making breakthroughs. Reseach and the burning urge for new knowledge. Scientists advance the World. 

 

Art is like Air. Ever up there. Elusive. You can't see it, but you need it. Art cleanses your soul, quenches your thirst for beauty. Artists make the World more interesting.

 

Engineering is like Earth. Down below your feet, providing the foundation, the infrastructure, the basic needs. Engineers are down to earth, but they keep the World running.

 

~ Some thoughts from a colleague

 

P.S. I guess he left out Business.

 

Business is like water. Water = wealth. Wealth = money. Money is business. Without money is like without water. Can die! Businessmen and accountants are the lubricant of the World.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I quite admire some of the engineers in my office. They possess God-like mastery over machines. I guess to them, writing codes is like creating art master pieces.    

 

I wonder when can I be like them?

 

Or is it better to be a Jack-of-All-Trades?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

My colleagues and I agreed that ADM girls generally look more chio than girls from other faculties, partly due to the fact that they have good dress sense.

 

One of my colleagues raised a question:

 

Will ADM gals prefer ADM guys who are just as hip, or down to earth engineers, like us?

 

Disclaimer: This question doesn't apply to me. I am an engineer in training, an artist in spirit, a scientist at heart. But out of curiosity, I would like to know the answer. Hahahaha! 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

There are three major genres that are defined by how they affect the audience emotionally, namely: Comedy, Tragedy and Horror. Think about the different combinations for those three. Tragi-Comedies, Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies.  

 

Why only Tragi-Comedies are successful? What about Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies?

 

I never seen any Horror related plays in plays. Why? Is it possible to scare people in plays? Actually horror is a very powerful emotion. Combined with a good story you will get a very powerful film/play.

 

Just some ponderings when some colleagues and friends recommended that the movie 4-bia is very nice.