Gold Medal Bonuses

 

Now that's cool!

Instant millionaire in Sing dollars if we win an Olympic gold medal.

It's nice to know besides minister salaries, we are also one of the best when it comes to "incentives" for sports men and women.

Singapore good, better, best!

Back to eating sandwiches in the park

 

OK, back to eating sandwiches in the park during my weekend sales gig.

We'll treasure it when we lose it.

During the previous phase 2 (heightened alert), I did the "ang moh" thing during my meal breaks - have a sandwich and a soft drink/coffee. 

Its a lot easier to handle (and less messy) than trying to navigate a plastic bowl of dried noodles or packet of chicken rice out in the open...

Why in the park?

Tell me where can retail workers eat when we can only "da bao" from this Thursday onwards?

Oh! But you'll be surprised!

I often find myself as the lone Singaporean out there.

Saturdays its mainly foreign workers from South Asia working in the vicinity like me.

Sundays of course will be mainly foreign maids.

Then there's this one time where there's a Japanese couple in their early 30s having ice cream on the park bench next to me. 

You can verify yourself as you walk around your neighbourhood shopping centres. 

Try spotting any Singaporeans enjoying the parks or green corners during the day!

I guess East Coast may be the only place where we can find Singaporeans enjoying our parks during the day...

I know what you gonna say.

Too hot right?

I know!

No, most retail workers no choice have to "da bao" and eat at their own working place. At least got air-con!!!

I know its not very presentable or professional, but do be understanding when you walk into a retail shop to find the staff having their meals at the sales counters. Especially at those small retail outlets.

As for bigger retail stores like the one I'm working in, the only approved place to have our meals is the claustrophobic storeroom where at max. we can have only 2 persons having meals there.

I don't know about you, but to me, that's the most dangerous place!!! 

I rather brave the heat and eat out in the open. I haven't given back all my science to my teacher yet!

What' about the heat?

I just pretend I'm still working in Shanghai or Athens where after a long blistering cold winter, the warmth of summer air caressing my face and having a sandwich in the open is heavenly!

This secondary clusters spreading thing is not play play.

Most of us will soon know someone who are in close contact with these clusters...

I have.

Over this weekend, I found out why a sales colleague was on "MC" during the previous weekend. 

He got sent to hospital for mandatory check-up for 3 days. Mercifully after all the testing, he got released and declared as healthy.

Eh, this colleague is not working on another sales floor or other departments. He's in the same department as me. Standing next to me.

Guess what?

There's this small retail store next to ours (as in just the next unit) that's closed this weekend after all 3 staff have come into close contact with one of the clusters.

Me concerned?

Yes.

Paralysed by fear?

No.

I guess there's some benefits in taking the craftsmanship route.

Critical thinking on our own.

Base decisions on science (facts); not voodoo (remember coconut water?)

And taking responsibility for ourselves and our love ones. (Sick don't go to work and see a doctor lah!)

Let's hope we all can pull through this Wuhan virus challenge together.

Oh! Can we do our best NOT to have conversations on trains and buses?

 

Disappointments and Frustrations

 

I can fully empathise with big daddy's recent disappointments and frustrations.

I still remember cheering with my mom, the declining local cases of Wuhan virus transmission last week.

Its vested interests.

There was this Bukit Merah View cluster. OK, close, but not that close.

Then it moved to Henderson. Getting closer to Tanglin Halt...

  

So it was a sign of relive when these 2 clusters were contained.

Then the KTV cluster broke....

Sigh...

How would you feel if you were big daddy? 

To say you were disappointed and frustrated is an understatement....

This is not new to those who have embarked on the path of Earn More.

Some days it can be blue skies and sunny, some days it can rain so hard that you feel like drowning... 

Then you realised the "flood" is only knee high. Its not life threatening.

Don't be such a cry baby!

You pick up the pieces; write off those that have been washed away; and start anew when the sun comes out again.

We are like weeds.

We keep coming back. 

(Its never about the destination; its the journey.)

 

Theory and Practice

 

IT guys can be funny!

I must say there are days in trading and investing that felt like programming!!!

Eating Humble Pie on Earn More

 

First read this:

Nickle Trading's 1 Billion Fraud

When I first read about "earn more" lawyers being scammed, I initially dismissed it as a simple case of highly paid professionals working 60-hour work week that have no time for picking up the craft of investing.

So you do the next best thing.

Outsource the investing to others. Leverage on Other People's Talents (OPT)!

If you have not done investing yourself, you would probably had no idea that a 15% return per quarter (or 75% annualised) is already beating Temasek, Warren Buffett, and Peter Lynch!

Wait. Wouldn't you know it if you were working in Temasek? Even if you not on the investment side of the team?

That's until I read the article further...

Investing professionals were scammed too!? And they are not bei kambings!

Could it be their track record were so good, earning multi-baggers every other year, hence a "mere" 75% annual return is nothing out of the ordinary?

So dealing with a firm that on the MAS Investor Alert list is no source for concern?

No licence from MAS for asset management some more?

Look, I don't care about others; I care about myself.

The humble pie question to myself is, will I exercise independent thinking and have conviction enough to walk away if a snake oil offered the same 75% returns to me?

Especially if the snake oil revealed the who's and who's on his client's list?

How many of you invest in a company because some famous investors have done so? 

Like Temasek is a shareholder... So you invest too! 

Thinking it must be safe for how will Temasek let the company go bankrupt right?

Timing the Market versus Time in the Market

 

As a stay-at-home bum son during weekdays, I'm the man Friday when it comes to the heavy lifting.

And one such task is to hang out our "United Nations" laundry using the bamboo poles at the rear of the kitchen. 

Now that quite a lot of you are working from home, I believe most can appreciate what I have to say...

Have you noticed the weather these few weeks can get very temperamental? 

I see dark clouds approaching so I bring the laundry in. Then nothing happens... The sky turns all sunny on me.... Hey! What happened to the dark clouds? Making me look like a fool...

The next time I switched to just-in-time. See dark clouds? Ignore. Tell myself when it actually rains, then I'll bring my laundry in. I smart or what? Plan was sound; execution sucks... 

Instead of drizzling lightly first, the sky just opened up and jumped to torrent mode from the get go!? By the time I managed to bring my laundry in... they were all drenched...

I'm so angry with myself! Laundry almost dried... Now they're completely drenched again! 

Then there were times I managed to pull just-in-time perfectly! Happy. But the drizzle instead of turning into a downpour, just fizzled out... 

I mean when I finally get it right, it turned out to be false alarm.  $@@#%&&^!!!

So I hang out the laundry again. Go out.

Yup, you've guessed it! 

It pours when I not at home...

I'm so tempted to give up. 

No need to bring the laundry in when dark clouds approaches. Even when it pours, let the laundry be wet. 

Look, the rain will stop right? If not today, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the day after. 

So if my laundry is already out, it will catch the sun again right?

What's the point of me bringing my laundry in and out based on the weather outside?

P.S.   This post draws its inspiration from CW's post and Spur's comment at:

Time in the Market > Timing the Market???

Noticed something interesting?

3 people.

One use visual aids.

One use numbers.

One use words.

All 3 tell the same story ;)

 

Chasing Rainbows

 

I don't know about you, but I always prefer reading stories about chasing rainbows. (In case you forgot, Lao Lee endorses it!)

I'm not an entrepreneur by any stretch of the imagination, but my ancestors were landowners...

So I guess there's some cultural DNA in me that makes me see things from a landowner perspective ever since I was in school. 

Which maybe explains why I was quite blase about leaving school at 16, when I can go on to pre-U to do my A' levels. 

I mean school is meant to produce shepherds and sheep for landowners. 

A bit like the Army. Officers are shepherds, while the fighting men are the sheep (or cannon fodder).

Schools don't produce landowners. 

Its the other way. Landowners setup schools to... (Shh,,,)

You know what's better than being a crypto wannebe millionaire? 

Or seeking FIRE for that matter?

Secretlab founder buys $51 million Penthouse and Good Class Bungalow

I was definitely not a good student

Have you ever driven pass our ITE schools where they displayed, in big banners. their successful graduates who became business owners?

Cool right?

Everyone is different. 

Its different strokes for different folks.

Not trolling anyone. 

But I'm just not turned on by stories about how we can gain an extra 1-2% if we bank with this bank; spend at least X amount with that credit card; gain some extra miles here and there; save 0.X% switching to that discount broker; or try to squeeze some extra blood from the CPF stone... 

I mean I do enjoy making dogs perform tricks and jumping through hoops in my former life as a snake oil, but ask me to do so myself?

No thanks. I pass.

Meow,