Out of touch

After 2 weeks in Mexico, i felt completely out of touch with financial news and stuff. Not having a fully functional laptop does not help.

Read and re-read Buffett's latest shareholder letter. Nothing calms me down better than reading his letters. In a world where everyone seems to be anxious over when will we hit the next low or when are we going to recover, Buffett timeless approach to business seems idiosyncratic. Find great company run be great manager, buy at fair price, repeat. Find mis-priced securities (stocks, bonds, insurance contracts, or derivatives) wait for mis-pricing to correct, repeat. Build a impreganable balance sheet, hold ample liquidity, minimise counter party risk.

Keynes wrote about liquidity crises years ago, "...the professional investor is forced to concern himself with the anticipation of impending changes, in the news or in the atmosphere, of the kind by which experience shows that the mass psychology of the market is most influenced. This is the inevitable result of investment markets organised with a view to so-called “liquidity”. Of the maxims of orthodox finance none, surely, is more anti-social than the fetish of liquidity, the doctrine that it is a positive virtue on the part of investment institutions to concentrate their resources upon the holding of “liquid” securities. It forgets that there is no such thing as liquidity of investment for the community as a whole. The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelop our future."

I'm simply glad that i've followed simple asset allocation plan for managing my parents portfolio by following simple strategies put forth by David Swensen. When i lose my own money, i sleep reasonably well....but when i lose money that has been entrusted to me, i felt that i had let others down. Reviewing the investment policy, i believe that it is still sound and the portfolio should do relatively well over the next 5 years despite the recent calamity. However, 5 years seem like an eternity if u are fretting over the next market meltdown and thinking about how much the market has to rebound for you just to breakeven. Find great company run be great manager, buy at fair price, repeat....sounds easy, but will take me the rest of my life to master.

Mexico Trip

My 2 weeks mexico trip was the most amazing trip i've taken so far. Within the short span of 2 weeks, we covered a HUGE distance, and visited some of the most amazing ancient ruins, beautiful cities untainted by macdonalds and starbucks....and tourists, and some of the very beautiful natural wonders of the world.

This trip across mexico was organised by GAP Adventures and led by our very competent tour leader - Rebecca. Our group consists of pple from Australia, Denmark, Switzerland, UK, New Zealand, Czech, France, Brazil and Slovenia. My tour group is simply fantastic. I miss them already. haha.

My arrival at Mexico is pretty exciting. My flight from Toronto to Washington was overbooked, so we waited for people to be bumped around to other time slots. Then in Washington, the plane that we are supposed to take had one control panel down, the pilot is not willing to take off (phew...) so we waited 4 hrs for another plane. Finally arrived at Mexico City near mid night and guess what? my luggage didn't arrive. It was still in Washington. Lukily, i have all my important stuff with me with 2 days worth of clothes. See, diversification is super important. The airline promised to deliver it to mexico on the next flight in from Washington. Haha. One of my tour mates joked that it is possible that my bag will always be one day behind me as we move around every 1-2 days. Luckily it arrived on the following night.

One of the most breathtaking ruins that we visit is the one at Teotihuacan. The scale of the city and the Till this day, we don't know who built this city and why was it abandoned. There are thesis, but none could be verified.

The abv pix is the Pyramid of the Sun (viewed from the Pyramid of the Moon).

There no wonder why the view from the Pyramid of Sun is breathtaking. You could see every one trying to catch their breath after getting all the way to the top of the pyramid.

I would really love to write more about my trip and this amazing experience. But my left eye (ya. the sleepy one) is closing on its own now.

I've uploaded my pics in Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca on Facebook.

Does anyone know how to let people view pictures on Facebook without account?

Reading week...aka Spring Break

Its been one and a half month since i left Singapore. The NYC trip was awesome and was truly an eye opener. Great that i finally get to 'see' broadway and times square and all that glitters...only regret was that we weren't able to catch either Wicked or Spring Awakening.

I'm very very glad that i'm here at exchange at Ivey. Got to see how class participation can be meaningful, get to experience different environment and social dynamics. Learning new academic stuff, and learnt new things about myself. And having days that you 'do nothing' is very important for me. I recharge on these days. I also realised that being polite and nice to everyone is tiring. Not that i'm a really mean person...but it feels good to sometimes 'suan' people and know that they will not be offended.

This exchange further re-affirms my previous suspicion that my need to show people that I know my stuff stems from my deep insecurity. In Ivey I have no ‘previous’ reputation – smart, stupid, arrogant or otherwise, and yet I subconsciously cultivated the image that I know my stuff. Haha. Who truly know their stuff at this point in their life? Self defense mechanism.

On the rather sensitive issue of race and cultural inclusion, this is the first time I’m the ‘minority’ in the community. Had fun interacting with people from all over the world, but still gravitated towards the Asian community. There are of course no ‘discrimination’ – but “Everyone’s a little bit racist” - How True!

I’m leaving Toronto for Mexico City this Sat. Over the next 2 weeks I’ll be traveling from Mexico City down to Cancun. Joined G.A.P adventures for this trip as I wanted to travel to the out-of-place historical sites. I was inspired by the ‘Central American’ display at New York Metropolitan Museum. Hopefully the tour the will be fun and I don’t fall sick. Haha.

Finally, SUN + WARMTH + HUMIDITY = wearing berms (with boots cuz i brought no sandals) and no long johns !!!

For my break from Apl to mid May, may enthusiasm (and budget) for traveling in the West Coast of USA has been dwindling. In my mind, attending Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting and seeing (albeit at a distance) Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger would trump going to Las Vegas any day. I’m still trying to figure out a way to attend without being a shareholder. Haha. If any one know ANYTHING please let me know.

Will be back in London, Ontario, Canada on 1st March. Promise that I will post pictures and stuffs from my trip :)

To my dear family and friends – take care!

Almost there...

1 project due tmrw, another due within the week, and one mid term.

then Spring Break!!!! 

Loh Wei is going to Mexico :)

Random...Oppsss

2 more weeks to the end of my first half in Ivey. In feb there will be a 3 weeks break before school starts again in March - MEXICO!!!!

Dejected....as much as i want to think that i am a 'rational' being, i'm not. I'm easily affected by the behaviour or moods of pple around me. I kind of suck in the mood and emotions around me. I hate working with phony pple, those that overpromise and underdeliver. Gosh, and i can't help feeling disgusted by them...and close friends will say that what i feel is often written all over my face in BIG BOLD LETTERS.

Amazed that i'm having pimple outbreak now! I thought i kissed pimple goodbye 10 years ago! haha. Still young eh? Not the greatest week. 2 projects (done), 1 exam on fri - havnt started revising yet, 1 case due on thus, 1 write up due on weds, 1 exam next week, 1 more project due next tues...phone interview on fri...rejected by another firm....had a bad and expensive haircut....pimples....indigestions....running out of cash due to stupid OCBC atm card....feeling feverish....need my Ma Guang medicine, but 铁牙didn't bring any over. Too much coffee too little sleep. Miss the warmth of the sun and the great wonderful pple back in Singapore. I'm so lucky to have a great bunch of 'energizers' around me back home that cheer me up and help diminish my apparent flaws. Haha. Guess overprotected by friends and family ba.

Damages (with Glenn Close) is the best show on TV now. 30 Rock on NBC is the next best thing that happened after Will and Grace and Friends.

This post doesnt make sense. Senseless...

Lost Generation

This is amazing. Thanks Jeremy!

Being Happy and Successful...

When people ask Warren Buffett 'do u think u are successful', he often reply with a 'i dun know what successful means, but i sure know i'm happy.' Success is getting what you want, happiness is wantng what you get. How true! But how many of us truly know what we want?

Its like we spend our whole life climbing a mountain but to realise that at the peak, what we truly love is the river that flows at the bottom of the mountain (maybe because there's a Tim Hortons nearby).

Read a article by David Maister who specialises in professional service firms (law, acct, invesment banking, consulting, etc). His articles are easy to read, insightful and highly relevant even after 20 years. Went to google him and this guy blogs! haha. It was the following speech that's on his blog that's really impactful.

If u have the time, please read the full article.

----------------------------------------------

Stephen C. Ellis - the managing partner at the law firm of Tucker, Ellis & West.

What follows is the commencement address he gave at Case Western reserve School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio on May 19, 2008.

The title of his remarks is "On Being a Happy(and Successful) Lawyer

Now we’re going to do a ten second experiment. Take a moment and reflect on the occasions when you felt truly happy - and please don’t name ‘listening to this talk”. [8 seconds of silence]

I submit that not one of you is thinking about money or material things. Our best times are always with people we care about, doing things that bring us closer together. But knowing that, we let ourselves climb on this treadmill, running harder and harder, like that donkey trying to catch the carrot on a stick.

I believe this is beginning to change, at least in the arena where lawyers have to keep increasing the hours they devote to work. Hours are being recognized as an irrational measure of value. Nobody calls a lawyer asking them to please spend twenty hours on a project. Clients want to pay us for what we do, not how long it takes us to do it.

If you’ve decided to become a lawyer solely to make money if to you it’s simply a job I fear you’ll hate it. As a career and a calling it’s great, and unbelievably interesting, but as simply a job, it’s way too hard and stressful. It’s the people, the pace and the endless puzzles of the law that make being a lawyer fulfilling. If you want tons of money for working twenty hours a day and nausea-inducing stress, Wall Street investment banking may be just the thing . In that business the grand old men are burnt out at 45.

Over the past few years I’ve come to some conclusions on finding guideposts that will give us lawyers the best chance of being successful, in the sense of truly enjoying our lives and careers as lawyers. They are simple, some might say “trite”. But 36 years of listening to happy and desperately unhappy lawyers and watching colleagues succeed as lawyers and people, and some fail, I know that these may be cliché’s, but I also know they are true.

First, be someone others count on. Most folks talk a good game; very few come through. Clients come to you because they have a situation they cannot solve on their own. Most are not looking for an analysis of the law. Most want you to solve a problem. So solve it, don’t add to their problem by being hard to find, by missing deadlines, or by simply describing their problem back to them. It’s like going to the dentist when you have a toothache. You want it fixed and you want it fixed now. That’s what a client wants every time they talk to you. Walk in with a problem, walk out with a solution.

What they want is someone they can count on to make their lives simpler, to accomplish what they want accomplished. If you can simply do that, you’ll be sought out as an extraordinarily effective lawyer. And there is a real difference in your sense of self between being simply a resource; somebody who knows the law, and the person that people count on to solve their problems.

Second - be an interesting person, for your own good and so that clients think of you as more than a lawyer. A decent definition of hell is a dinner party companion who is a first year lawyer on the day after his or her first trial. Law stuff is interesting mostly to lawyers. In fact, it’s real interesting to lawyers, so that’s what we talk about all the time, just like you talk about law school all the time.

Force yourself to do be able to talk about more than law - read books, go to movies, be part of politics, go to lectures. You’ll meet people, you’ll be able to talk about things that other people find interesting, and you won’t burn out on your job.

The horror stories you hear about associates working 2500 hours a year? You will be surprised when you see how much of that is self imposed. These young lawyers get caught up in the chase and find that what they’re doing more interesting than anything else- so they become that boring self absorbed dining companion. The world’s full of great people with jobs and hobbies that are just as demanding and just as fascinating as yours, (assuming you make yourself get a hobby). Learn about them. You’ll be happier and much more fun to be with.

The toughest lawyer is not the one who is the most obnoxious. Clients will say they want a tough son of a gun to make somebody life’s miserable, a real bulldog, etc.
Don’t be that person. It’s been my 100% uniform experience that the bulldog only adds time, expense, stress and confusion to an otherwise inevitable result. Even clients can’t stand them after a couple of months.

And finally and hands down most importantly, and please pass this on to your friends and your children, because it’s really important — Be nice and have fun. Just doing that makes life better for everybody, mostly you.