Tuesday 3 December 2013

Go stand outside the classroom!

I am not naughty as a child; just playful.

And forgetful. And mind drifter (sitting next to class window how not to wander off?).

So during my primary school days from primary 1 to 3 at Hua Yi Primary School (torn down for HDB BTO), it's a common sight to see me standing on chairs, tables, or outside the classroom as "penitence".

Forgot to bring textbook - stand on your chair!

Forgot to do homework - you go stand on the table!

Mind wander off while teacher talking - chalk got thrown to my head!

Draw cartoon during class - Jared! You again! You go stand outside the class!

The worst is when teacher you like (she cared about me as a real person) walked past.... 

"What now Jared?"

"I draw funny picture of Ms Ong (old maid in her 50s; like to slap people. I don't like her). Got caught..." 

"You har!"


And during the 70s, we have to brush teeth at the drains every Monday. Of course I would forget to bring my brush and mug once in a while. This time power!

Those who forget will get "invited" on the school's stage.

There I am, standing on top overlooking the whole school down below. Every school mate kneeling (squatting) by the drains with foams spewing from their mouths.

That's not a punishment! That's the closest I've come to feeling almighty and all powerful!


But strangely, after primary 3, I don't get into such punishments anymore...

I think that's when I discovered shame. LOL!

Or may be that's when I started noticing girls....


You know what?

When I got my first standing ovation after giving a speech to my hundred odd co-workers in Shanghai, my mind suddenly flashed back to my primary school days standing on the stage...

Steve Jobs is right.

It only made sense connecting the dots looking back.

Little did I knew then I was getting "practice" on overcoming stage fright, how to give presentations without the audience's mind wandering off, and how to read people (try drawing caricatures of people you love/hate, you be surprised what you see). 

Hey! I did learn something from school afterall!


84 comments:

  1. i remember i was hand pick to do a story telling (competition) in front of the school which i object with death ear, so i did the next best thing i could, i went AWOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i have no stage fright, i got no problem at all standing on the stage.

      just don't ask me to open my mouth!

      Delete
    2. just flash off my mind, i wonder knowing i have speech problem, my teacher had choosen me cos he wants to encourage me. he certainly got back fire haha.

      Delete
    3. coconut,

      At school plays, you'll be great as the tree. Wave your arms when there's wind!

      My first school play was primary 1. I was one of the 7 little Indians.

      One little Indian, two, little Indian, three little Indian...

      I sacrificed for Art!

      We were half-naked ;)

      Ah! The age of innocence...

      We were changing together and I pointed out to my female classmate and exclaimed: "Your one different!"

      I remember the 2 female teachers laughing at me.

      Like I say, children just say what's on their mind! No filtering!

      LOL!

      Delete
  2. haha, that one i'm in a mess, but when comes to sports, i'm the champ!

    i was given sole possession of the key to our sport facilities room where they kept all the balls and equipment! thats a prevalage. you name it, i can play it.

    however, my favourate sport was actually an unofficial sport call "hantam bola", thats when you can really hantam someone with a little ball without panishment! we even invite the girls to joint in haha.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi SMOL,

    I guess school had the opposite effect on me.

    Almost whenever I got attention and had to speak up in school, it wasn't something positive.

    Still trying to overcome this "fear of shame" at work nowadays.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 15 HWW,

      Nature and nurture.

      I am INFP when I am alone. But when I put my mask on (trained myself), I am ENFP.

      Just as long we don't "lose ourselves" as we try to "fit in"; there is no harm in stretching ourselves a bit.

      But when we "prostitute ourselves" (that you have to figure out on your own), I've seen quite a few cases of deep regrets and psychological damage....

      My motto is: If it's not fun, don't do it!

      Delete
  4. Hi SMOL,

    I was so amused reading your post. Reminds me of my naughty classmates and a bit of myself! I learnt to be street smart in school - pretend to listen when I was day dreaming. I also learnt about networking. Don't always borrow homework from one person to copy. Must cast the net wide and make a few friends who would generously lend you their homework! LOL~

    Actually, I suspect I have attention deficit and was a bit hyper active. I couldn't sit still and would rock the chair as I did my work. And I behaved like a monkey after class! Till this day, I need to focus very hard to concentrate. Lucky last time the teachers didn''t anyhow suggest parents to send kids to test whether they had ADHD. Otherwise I wld be 'sedated'!

    Hey, I'm an ENTJ! More nasty than sweet, obviously! Hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Endrene,

      We make good partners if we worked together in the police force.

      I play good cop; you play bad cop.

      We play mind games and run circles around the criminals! LOL!

      Thank goodness I missed the (well intentioned) streaming policy at that time.

      Looking at my Pri 3 sea of red, I would have been streamed to Pri 8...

      Hello! I not stupid OK? Just a tad slow, a little bit obtuse, and a dash "tood tood".

      If I sat in front of you in class, I would turn my head back: "Endrene! Stop playing with my hair!"

      Delete
  5. "If I sat in front of you in class, I would turn my head back: "Endrene! Stop playing with my hair!"

    Ha! Ha! SMOL,
    You just reminded me why i had to stand outside the class for those few times. i think i was in primary 2 or 3.
    Or even detention after school in the principle office for fighting in recess time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. temperament,

      Pinafold, braids, pony-tails... Ah... Good memories!

      Hmm. Compared to coconut and you, damn! I am sissy :(

      I never got into fights at school... How could I?

      Skinny underweight monkey like me?

      I remember they gave us under-nourished kids some kind of malt drink every Friday. When I studied Literature in secondary school, I discovered we were like Oliver Twist!

      "Sir, may I have more?"

      We do that at our school canteen. After finishing the noodles or mee rubus, we would ask for free soup or gravy.

      Those were bygone times. Now I would feel so "malu" (shame) doing it...

      LOL! Now I am trying to back to my original no ego state as a child.

      Delete
    2. guess how old when i got into a fight? you will never believe it, so am i!

      i went into the room of my neighber house and got into a "fight" with a little boy and leave a scratch mark on his face.

      i was 2 and he was 1 year old so i was told.

      Delete
    3. Bully!

      Story would be better if you were 1 and the neighbour's boy 2 ;)

      Delete
    4. hey, don't look at me! i was "accuse" by my neighber and a few others including my mom!

      i can't remember, i wasn't there!

      Delete
    5. a far as i'm concern, that story wasn't true haha..

      Delete
    6. what bully!?

      have you heard of a brave little boy, 3 or 4 years old fight against a giant german what what dog?

      that little boy was me! even though i lost the fight haha..... this story i believe, got scar to prove one.

      Delete
    7. don't get the wrong impression ok! the dog didn't go after me, i'm the one who was going after him!

      ofcos they were saying that i was playing with that stupid dog.

      Delete
    8. ya, got to punish that dog!

      but the dog has long been dead. i was told the owner put it to death cos of similar attack!

      Delete
    9. Just admit lah!

      You are "pie kia" (ganster) and local terror in your neighbourhood.

      Eh? Got "ang kong" (tatoo) on your body?

      Delete
    10. haha, is that the impression you have. you got it!

      100% wrong!

      Delete
    11. if you take the word "gangster", you have to substract the "gang" out and then you have it.

      Delete
    12. you know why gangster put tattoo on their body?

      long time ago, gangster use to fight and ended up lots of scar on their body, a prove that they are tough. now no scar, so tattoo can also.

      Delete
    13. but now the mainstream also want tattoo on their body, look so tough for what?

      Delete
    14. Tattoo last time so that after body being chopped up in fights, family can recognise which body to claim in morgue.

      Now it's more a fashion statement.

      I remember watching the real life photos of gangsters cut up by parangs and water-melon knives. I think it's by Police road show to scare us not to join gangs. Really scary...

      Queenstown in the 70s power. Got Redhill, Mei Ling Street, Tanglin Halt... Black flags every where.

      Delete
    15. so if you talking about olden days "tattoo", i do have some on my body, natural one, mostly self inflated haha.

      Delete
    16. Eh...

      Please remember to take your medication.

      Delete
    17. so the word "gang" simply (that word again) means bound or come together as one unity.

      there are good gang and there are bad gang, bad one they all lump together call gangster, good one wow, so many names, they are everywhere!

      Delete
    18. and if you look at the universe as a whole, not just human, everything (matters) behave the same way, they like to bound together like attraction. same goes to market participents too. but market has its own dynamic to pull them apart just like the universe did.

      Delete
    19. Ah! The 4 fundamental forces of nature:

      Gravity
      Strong
      Electromagnetic
      Weak

      Delete
    20. your foot!

      gravity is the weakest of all the force! go and study now!

      Delete
    21. Not in any particular order lah.

      LOL!

      Delete
    22. just kidding.

      thanks i had a great day today.

      Delete
    23. Glad you had fun!

      Today STI finally got some action. I'll wait for the Non-Farm Payroll this Friday to better judge whether to join the taper on or taper off trade ;)

      Delete
  6. its been a few months after the Blumont, Asiasons and LionGold saga and people still talk about it. they come out all kind of suggestion how not to let it happen again.

    investors ah investors, what are you thinking? you probably don't understand what are the risk you are getting into, if you don't know your risk how are you going to control it? instead of manage your own risk, you try and get the authority to do it for you?

    don't let the word "limited company" fool you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. there is no boundary in the market place, anything can happen and will happen, its a matter of time.

      whether you are a trader or an investor, a total lost is always a possibility.

      Delete
    2. coconut,

      I am with you.

      The Pan-Electric is the big daddy of them all.

      Then came S-chips and Singapore''s very own ACCS, Citiraya, Informatics, etc.

      People have short memories.

      I feel sorry for the retiree who lost his CPF life savings ($350,000) playing shares. Guess what? He is giving feedback to Big Daddy not to allow CPF withdrawal for investment?

      Now that's lame. Indirectly blaming Big Daddy for his state; and trying to limit those of us who are perfectly happy with the CPF investment scheme.

      You think investing is like buying durians? You want "pao chiak"; go for capital guaranteed products...

      Delete
  7. "investors ah investors, what are you thinking? you probably don't understand what are the risk you are getting into, if you don't know your risk how are you going to control it? instead of manage your own risk, you try and get the authority to do it for you?"
    Unquote:-
    Ha! Ha!
    coconut, very well put.
    i am sure SMOL agrees with you too.
    If we don't know or understand what you said, then we should not be in the market.
    And this apply to our daily living too.
    Basically don't take the risk if you don't have to.
    If you have to take the risk, try to make sure you can take the consequence no matter what happens. If you can not take the consequence and yet have to take the risk, i pray GOD or Luck is on your side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh haha temperament, read my post above, hehe...

      you know, its very hard to put into context, my point is we are all at risk, its a matter of probability. even people who are not in the market are at risk let alone people who are.

      risk taking is individual but taking or not we got to know what are the risk or event that can happen, if you take the risk, then its a matter of knowing the probability of that event happening.

      Delete
    2. if you watch CNBC or bloomberg, you hear the phase "end of the world" all the time, why do some of these highly respectable people say that? to frighten people?

      no, it is just in the back of their mind and usually when they put the money down, what is the worst sinaro that can happen to them.

      can it happen to the entire market place? ofcos it can! just like a commet (of 10km in size or bigger) hit the earth, its a possibility but very very slim.

      Delete
    3. so to my friend who are into investing, ofcos we keep on invest, just like we keep on living our lives, but we cannot ignore the risk that are present and pretend they are not there and gotta finds ways of minimizing it, nutralising it, based on not the market but on your portfolio, aka risk management.

      Delete
  8. AH...............!
    For Christians, we believe this present world of ours will end one day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I die, that's the end of the world for me.

      How's that for "I am the centre of the universe" delusional thinking of typical Singaporean me?

      OK, OK. I now go outside the class room, kneel, and chant: Mea Culpa...

      Delete
    2. thats how a person who have no children thinking like that. but the idea is correct somehow haha.

      most will be thinking of their children or children's children when on the dying bed.

      Delete
  9. at last, selling pressure is on.

    smol, i had shorted the Emin on friday and last night, its game on, i'll try and add on and follow through. stops at recent historical high.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if you are negative on the stock market, its better to short our local index (SIMSCI) future or emerging market indexes, be it hedging or short positions. i can't cos i'm already net short my current stocks positions, i'm not willing to add more shorts onto it!

      Delete
    2. alternatively, you can choose to short the US tresury or bond if you think interest rate is going to spike up and cause market to tumble as it should be the case.

      pound for pound, bond market is just too slow for me, so i select my favourate, the S&P500 index.

      Delete
  10. Coconuts where are you now? I see you are very busy shorting S & P 500 Index. How you go about shorting S&P 500? DIY through INT. Trading or through Local Brokers? Margin trading with CFD?

    ReplyDelete
  11. 11:24pm i was out in town may be on the way back haha.

    shorting s&p index is very free one, just need to check once in a while as compare to my day job which need to sit right in front of my computer.

    temperament, you don't know what is futures trading?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. all you need is look at smol, he also trade futures, whole day do nothing can go shopping and swimming.

      Delete
  12. Future tradings (to me) is a guessing games. Something like betting in a casino.
    i know NICK LEESON is one of the most famous UTD besides others who work in this line.
    To tell the truth i still have no "feels" for futures trading.
    Even though when i was 20+ i had worked for a HK's Commodities Futures Trading Bucket Shop in Singapore.
    Maybe that's the psychology trauma this HK Bucket Shop gives to me till this day.
    i have never believe in shorting anything since then. But i like to learn if i can overcome the HK's Bucket Shop trauma.
    Ha! Ha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! Ha!
      i am sorry to say, but i do "short" in another way. When i think or feel the market is too high for my liking, i sell most of my shares. And then buy again when i think the market has market "MOS" stocks.
      Another words i am a B&H&S, B&H&S.... chapalang investors. Value Investors? What's that? Oops..... No offence mean.

      Delete
    2. ya i remember there is this one HK bucket shop that went bust in the 90s, i forgot the name.

      i suggest you read up more about market machanism, what are the exchanges (SGX is one of them) around the world, what are the different types of broker giving what type of services etc etc.

      today there is no more bucket shop, replace by CFD provider or market maker. they are popular for FX trading cos all FX trades are over the counter (no fix exchanges) trades. and perhapes stock trading as well cos they have stocks pile for you to go short easily.

      Delete
    3. all markets are like casinos, not just futures trading.

      there are so much veriety of markets and exchanges today with all sort of products and counters, an experience trader can use all these to his advantage.

      Delete
    4. temperament, if you go short, you must cover eventually, its an obligation. but when you sell your shares, do you have an obligation to cover? will you willing to force buy your shares even if the price is much higher?

      you don't, so you are not shorting.

      Delete
    5. Agreed to a certain extend whether you are trader or investor in the market. That's why you need Miss Lady Luck or God's Blessings. You can do all the homework you want, still anything can happens in the Market.

      Delete
    6. You are right, of course. After shorting order have to put in a buy order. This is the tricky part. This buy order can be structured in more than one way. i suppose. Maybe coconut with your experience, you can find a new type of order one day. And don't forget us then. No joke lah. Serious. Anything can happen in the Market.

      Delete
  13. Ha! Ha!
    coconut, actually i think i like to learn how to short the S&P 500 in the best way only, if i think the Market going to tank. I have been thinking all these while, why can't i also make some money when the market tank but only watching in horror.
    When the Market tank in the beginning, there are usually a lot of Short Selling. Right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ofcos there are, but majority are people who cover their long position.

      i suggest you don't learn to trade futures. like you said, its a casino. but again, there is not much different from stock trading.

      Delete
    2. and if you really into stocks trading, then i suggest you learn to short stocks or futures as well.

      and i think CFD brokers can provide most of the products that are similar to futures trading. you can start from there instead of opening a future account.

      Delete
    3. temperament,

      I think trading around a core position like what you do for stocks is a humble way to approach the market.

      If I think the market is "toppish", I take some money off the table.

      If I right, I have some cash to take advantage of the dips.

      If I wrong, I still have some positions to enjoy the ride up further (make less that's all).

      I've learnt from my past hubris going 100% all in and 100% all out. Ouch!


      I hedge (short) the Simsci when I can't sell my shares that are going ex-dividend soon,

      For eg, for shareholders of Singtel and SPH, if they had shorted the SImsci at 370, they would have offset the Simsci profit with the "unrealised loss" of their Singtel and SPH counters recently ;)

      But if you "investor" for the long term, you don't care about such "squiggles".

      I not so "garang" as coconut. He is pure directional play when he shorts the S&P futures AND short SGX stocks!

      If Non-Farm Payroll tonight below expectations and taper off, risk management must be in place to minimise the short squeeze.

      If taper on, coconut huat big big as S&P and STI will gap down again next week.

      Now who wants to be a trader? You need baxxs of steel!

      LOL!

      Delete
    4. choi! choi! choi!

      i no need tapper or no tapper, i don't care whats comes out. but yesterday if i'm not wrong, the data was very good yet the market up a little then down again. good news is sometime bad and bad is sometime good, to hell with fundalmantal haha.

      Delete
    5. smol actually i don't want to huat quick quick you know, i rather the market go slow on the down side! ya slow!

      too quick i might need to cover my short already.

      Delete
    6. and i don't get it when you say can't sell cos of ex-dividend soon, why?

      cum-dividend is already build into the share price and will be discounted once its ex-dividend immediately. so i don't see why you can't sell cos of dividend.

      Delete
    7. coconut,

      It's not about the price drop of ex-div. This the market has discounted like you say.

      It's when my stock is going ex-div in 2 or 3 days time and I am bearish on the market. That's when selling the Simsci makes more sense to me than simply trading around a core position by selling some of my shares ;)

      Most SGX retail "investors" once we mention CFD or futures will immediately turn off... Too risky they say.

      Risk is not knowing what you are doing.

      Derivatives have a role in hedging out risks - a bit like buying insurance?

      Delete
  14. i was actually thinking if you think the market is going to tank, it's better to short with a no long position. Am i right?
    Actually if i have a long position, i should liquidate the long first (while my stock holding is still profitable) then short, then long. if i can pull it over, then i will be net, net cash.
    Ha! Ha!
    Sound like crystal ball or tea leaves reading, lol.
    But i am talking about strategy?
    Can it be "mechanized"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if, only if you think the market is going down, ofcos you short la, if you think its going to rain with thunder, still want to go swimming mah?

      you can't be thinking one way and do the other way right? sound so illogical. but most of the time you don't know where the market is going so you go to have some strategy put in place just in case.

      Delete
    2. and if you have a long position on stocks, like what smol says, you can just short the indexes, partially to hedge your long position and partially to go net short.

      Delete
    3. and one more very, i mean very important thing, why must be profitable then can sell? why can't you sell if you lose?

      this idea cost most of the traders to get clean out!

      you sell when you think market is going down and you buy when you think its going up, plain and simple. don't look at your position profit or loss, got nothing to do with market movement!

      Delete
    4. coconut,

      This is very high level Zen trading stuff!

      Sunk cost fallacy is easy to understand; but very difficult to execute as we are "human" :(

      Money losing veterans who jump from one trading course to another often in denial it is not the Method that let's them down.... It's the Mind and the Money Management part.

      Delete
  15. O.K. Plain and Simple. for buying and selling. But then there are 101 reasons for market movements. Your guess or "calculation" is as good as anybody else. Ah i remember you said "pattern recognition" and mechanized your strategy.
    But i have not profited before when the market tanks. i must find a way to do so.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i prefer to short (trade) S&P 500 because it's not easy too "hanky panky" with her. And she should never suddenly just jump down the cliff-Suicidal tendency some individual stock may threaten you with.

      Delete
    2. temperament,

      May the force be with you.

      Practice with a small position first. Once battle tested, take off the gloves ;)

      Delete
    3. temperament, people who never profited when market drop, they also never lost when market "chong", please bare it in mind.

      Delete
  16. My older sibling working in China has come back to Singapore for a week.

    This afternoon we went out to Gardens by the Bay. Flower Dome and Cloud Forest very interesting! My first time there.

    Money is important. But free time is just as important. Good to slow down and smell the flower once in a while.





    ReplyDelete
  17. it's almost one week now. write more soon. otherwise the punishment is to stand on a chair outside your house. haha .... just joking. don't keep your fans wait too long, hoping to see your next posting soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Money Honey,

      My sibling left yesterday.

      Now got time to think what to write... The weather?

      Delete
  18. wow wow wow what a morning!!!

    still nigesting the news, i was only a few km away when the riot started, i was at middle road, should have go over and see but i heard nothing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. and the Emini, the only console i have is,

      its Emini!

      haha, knn!

      Delete
    2. and smol, please don't use the word squeeze when i trade ok!

      Delete
    3. coconut,

      I almost shorted the Simsci Friday night when the NFP numbers came out.

      Saw the reversal and shut of the PC and quickly went to bed hiding under the blanket. Fight or flee? I flee!

      Now good news is good news? Trading can be %##$*&$!!@$$ at times ;)

      coconut, Fat made a new post about a trader. Go take a look. This trader can hold 100 Simsci one time !!!??? Wow!

      Delete
    4. heard of kamakazi? why not!

      Delete
    5. don't get dispare just yet, things like that can also help a trader to profit, remember the asiason? this time i'm on the wrong side, so be it.

      the harder it is actually can be a better thing in the long run, for the experience one ofcos.

      Delete
    6. about this trader, he holds 100 lots, thats 360 x 200 x 100 = 7 millions worth of underlying stocks, thats crazy for an account less than 5 millions in my opinion.

      Delete

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