Crossrods? Bah. First-quarter-life crisis.

Son of a bitch. When I gripe to my mother about missing the boat after not topping up after the CNY market opening, she says that I shouldn't worry, and that there'll be another opportunity.

Well, I tell her that markets are cyclical, and if you don't prepare by injecting capital in a bear market, you will never be able to fully gain from the upcoming bull market coming soon.

PLUS, markets have gained 10%, for which I have no stake in, which I missed because of her tardiness.

So she says, "If you know so much, your initial investments won't be at a loss."

Touche, mother.

Sorry, you joined the non-believers. Anyway, I have learnt much since my August foray into the markets. I have since picked up technical analysis, now I sort of know what to look out for and stuff like that. So I KNEW that there was nothing but a high probability of gain after the CNY markets opened. DAMN IT!

Shit man. No point crying over spilt milk, I know.

I guess I'm having a first-quarter life crisis.

Why? Cos I'm going to reach the big 2-0 soon. And what do I have to show for it?

I'm still oppressed. Can't go out till late at night, can't ride a bike outside East Coast park (or so she thinks).

But I don't give a shit to all this anymore. Hah. I just come back late nowadays, cycle till past midnight on the roads, I don't care.

I earn a relatively high income for my age, and I'm well on my way to becoming an Audi-driving adult, I hope, in at least 15 years time. And this excludes future dividends and long term capital gains form my so-called 'failed investments'.

But don't get me wrong la, I won't be an ungrateful son. I will contribute and repay the enormous debt I owe my parents. I'm just saying that they cannot control all aspects of my life anymore.

And you know what, rebellion is quite fun. Heh. Now I know why people actually form political parties against our garmen. They know they will never win anything, but I suppose its all in the name of fun.

Woohoo. Upgrading my bike soon.

Motorbike license in 2 years time? Nah. Rebellion doesn't need to end up in my untimely demise.

F%%%! HSI rebounded so strongly these past few days.

NVM. US GDP is below analysts' projections. Momentum will be low in the first quarter of next FY. Good for bargain hunting.

Ben Bernanke says he's going to cut the Fed rates to prop up the economy. Hoho. I sense a rally next week after tmw's inevitable fall in the SnP and DOW.

Its going to be another volatile week for the HSI. Let's hope I can buy correctly.

Corporate Governance at its Best

Hoho. I'm so happy that I broke my Oakleys. ( Refer to the entry 'Lip Service')

My specs were the most snug and comfy specs I've ever owned, and despite some heathens saying its not 'me', I loved them. May they rest in peace, cos the service centre said I smashed it beyond repair.

Haha. Beyond repair. So they gave me a NEW PAIR!

Yay! But those specs were not only aesthetically pleasing, but it saved my face when I smashed myself against the wall.

No doubt after crashing into the wall, I split my lip into two, like what Jack the Ripper did to Geylang escorts; the glasses left a deep 2 cm cut next to my eye, but it was all fine and dandy.

I remember the WHUMP sound of my face hitting the wall, and my face sliding off my specs, hence the cut.

So I guess if i had been wearing cheapskate brittle specs, I would have cracked my cheek bone. Cool.

So what has Oakley got to gain by giving fatboy a free frame? It just ensured that my next frames will be Oakley also. I'm thinking of either buying sunglasses or converting my current ones to sunglasses and getting new ones.

After much thought, I will never switch to contacts. They're more expensive in the long run, more risky ( due to infections), but the main gripe I have about them is that you need to wake up earlier to put them on and sleep later after you clean them.

So specs are they way to go.

Ok, enough boring ME talk.

Let's talk about something everyone can relate to: MONEY.

You know what? I told my mum to forward me money so I can invest. its just a temp loan, after I pay off my driving, I can pay her loan back with my tuition money.

So she agreed, and I told her to give the money the week bofore CNY.

She was late. Damn. When markets opened after CNY, it was so low, now the markets gained 8% even during this bearish times.

I knew it would be low, aiyoh, I could have made around $75 per $1000 invested after sales charge. Wah leow. Now the loaned money is sitting in a cash storage fund. It generated $1.25 interest during this time. WAH! My mother shortchanged me of $150+ these 3 weeks. Wah leow. All because she was too lazy to go to the bank. I could have bought my hubs.

Ok, enough about money. Bike time.

I know that my bike is really in a bad shape, because its my first serious bike, so its taken all the hits and falls and face-smashing-on-wall action, all part and parcel of being a better cyclist.

So I decided if I want to upgrade my bike, I'm going to buy a new bike. I'll stick to a hardtail bike, cos I don't think I'm brave enough for downhill riding and jumping. But I'm willing to spend around $1k. That'll get me a full Deore LX gearset, good XC suspension, shiny disk brakes (OOOOO!) and a GT Avalanche 1.0 frame. Good buy.

But I'm not going to buy it now of course, I'm not Bill Gates. I'll buy it after the first year of uni, to see whether I even have the time to cycle, cos NS allows me to live life without working hard to pass any exam or other responsibilities that will crop up in uni.

So why am I talking about end 2009 now? Cos what I notice is that high end hubs aren't provided in the $1k++ bikes. So I can upgrade my hubs now, then I can transfer them to my new bike later down the road.

Yay! Cos there's a BikeAsia Expo in april. Its a Regional trade show for bikes and motorcycles. I can buy my hubs cheap (I hope) then.

So finally, my bike will have something non-stock on it besides the metal pedals I bought recently. Yay! I'm like a japanese schoolgirl when it comes to my 'Yay!'.

But now all I need is to dig out $250+ to afford my hubs and wheel set. Damn. If only I had the $150 that I knew I could make after the CNY market opening. If only she wasn't too late to go to the bank or write me a check. Argh!!!

Life Sucks. But at least it doesn't suck as much as yours. Cos if you read this whole entry start to finish, you must really have no life. HAHAHAHAHA!

No la, I treasure readers. I too read other people's long long entries. It sometimes makes me thankful I'm not them, while other times I feel like I really am quite pathetic when it comes to accruing accomplishments.

Bah, there's always time to become successful in life. I have dibs on a silver Audi R8 ok?

Oh when, oh when will i break even?

Wah leow. SOB!

Every weekday, I pray, I wait, I endure and slog through the week so that the weekend can come.

Why?

So i can sit my ass on my GT and go cycling. Yes, folks, I can't wait to exercise. But no, I'm not clearing my choked arteries just yet, cos almost everywhere I go on that damn bike, I eat lotsa lotsa good food. Yummy!

But anyways, i'm damn pissed that I'm sick now. Its a friday night, I should be happily greasing my chain now, anticipating the pre-planned bike ride to tamp mountain bike park tmw, and Ubin on sunday again, with Isyraf and my CD colleagues.

Shit, man. I guess no chicken rice and nasi lemak on the shores of Ubin on sunday for me. Damn it! I'm so bored.

Anyways, I'm eagerly watching the markets now, waiting for the damn market to bottom out before I start buying. Haha. But I think all the losses I've made so far have not dampened my risk appetite, but has more so, increased it. I can't wait to inject more fresh capital, wait for the next bull run, and ride it through. Hopefully the bull run happens before i ORD, to show those non-believers that I'm not a douche who just blew 28% of my portfolio in 3 months.

And, lastly, a note to Tat Chung, and a few other readers, my entries on money are entirely entries on money. No hidden meaning, no code, no innuendo. Haha. In 2006, I guess this could have been a form of coded entries, but not now. I'm really talking about money, not other non-fiduciary happenings like last time. Heh.

The sad thing is, the money lost is real. Haha.

Lip Service

Sorry for the lack of updates. Been kinda busy lately.

Finance news:

I've come to terms with my portfolio disaster. Pumed in 1k fresh capital to lower down average costs and take advantage of current economic downturn.

The biggest automobile scam (CDC) has currently swallowed 2k+ of my cash. Hope they actually will give me a license at the end of their con.

I've sunked further in debt as the fiscal responsiblities of driving and the need for fresh capital for DCA in my unit trusts over this short period has made me a borrower from the Ma-Pa bank. Thank god its no interest.

Can't afford to lose my tuition clients.

Will be debt free and hopefully have a return of -28% on my portfolio by Jun and a return of 25% by next Feb.

"Why do you invest if its so risky?", my colleaguge asked, citing the fact that he didn't make any money, but he didn't lose a single cent either. My answer is, yes I did come in at the wrong time, but in the long term of 3-5 yrs, that cash will make more money than your fixed deposit can make in 20 years. And my injection of fresh capital in this current recession which ended a bull cycle all so suddenly will yield far better returns of about 20-45% in 2 yrs or less. So laugh, make fun now, but when I'm driving my Audi R8 past your house in 25 yrs time, I''ll make sure I'll horn real loud, ok?

Oh, and READER BEWARE!

Cycling is fucking dangerous if you're a fat sod who goes speeding at 12 a.m. on a weekday night without replacing the flat batteries in your headlight.

As the TP says: SPEEDING KILLS, DON'T PAY THE PRICE

What was my price for my moment of folly:

6 stitches on my upper lip, my $600 specs split into two and damage to the front suspension on my GT.

Thank god I didn't break any teeth and that my medical is covered under SCDF.

Lol. Cooked up an excuse that I fell while running at night around my estate to my mother, so she wouldn't ask any questions. She still doesn't know about the bike. LOL.

But seriously, the 2 weeks after the incident, I was damn scared of cycling. Cycled like a scared girl on training wheels.

But as Isyraf says, "Every fall makes you a better rider."

This wasn't a fall its a collision, but anyways that's not the point. haha. The point is today I went to Ubin again with Muhd. Fucking fun. Speeding down the gravel trails, climbing up never ending hills then speeding down a rocky path, with no helmet, has restored my confidence in my skills.

Long live my Aggressor and most of all my lips, which have since completely healed after 5 weeks without any visble scarring.

Yay!

Going Ubin next Sat / Sun. Anyone wants to follow? You must be a beginner so you don't leave me behind, haha. But not so green until you can't do a downhill gravel.

Sorry la for the fragmented update, but I'm pressed for time. See you guys next time.