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| Date: Sept 28, 2003 | |
| I'm sick! Been sick since last Tuesday. I suspect my brother brought it back from staying at his cottage over the weekend last week. One of his friends was sick and his girlfriend also caught something. Symptoms - runny nose, sore throat, mild headache. | |
Saw 8 Miles last night. It was actually pretty good. Eminem is lucky to have worked with a good script on his first film. Most entertainers in other areas of the industry settle for crappy scripts on their films just to make a quick buck and capitalize on their fame and end up making a stinker. J Lo (Gigli) and Britney (Roadtrip) can learn something from this. |
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. My successful stock picks over the past few years: P&G (Oct. 2001), Pepsico (Mar. 2002), Royal Bank (Feb. 2003). My not so successful picks: QQQ (NASDAQ index, Jan. 2001). Things not to buy: Ballard Power (company value based on venture capital; no marketable product), RIM (focus on limited market for exclusive products; need strategic change of direction). |
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| Date: June 9, 2003 | |
Booked my seat for going back to TO on Saturday morning. I'll be off on the 29th of June. Level I CFA is officially over! I have begun my shopping spree. Bought four shirts yesterday. I'm continuing the process of constructing my identity. |
Busfare to Warner Village - $12 Four shirts from Takashiyama - $7500 Dinner with three other friends who haven't seen each other in three years - Priceless I'm gonna miss you Maggie, Queena, and Jessica.*sniff* |
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Breaking news: My laptop arrived just now (10:45am). I've got a new toy to play with now. I promise (at least for the immediate future) there'll be more frequent updates. |
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| Date: May 27, 2003 | ||
In recognition of the educators who've had a profound impact on my life (in no particular order): Mrs. Newman, Ms. Ann Dugal, Mr. Lougheed, Ms. Wheeler, Mr. Seshadri, Mr. Rice, Mr. Garach, Dr. Bowerbank, Dr. Rangachari. Hate to say this, but as a result of SARS, a lot of businesses are closing down in Taiwan, which means massive discounts for going-out-of-business sales. And since I'll be leaving on a permenant basis (at least in the foreseeable future), that means no restrictions on spendings since I won't get this opportunity again for quite a while. As soon as CFA is over, can you say "SHOPPING SPREE"? | ||
| Date: May 24, 2003 | |
Saw Matrix Reloaded last Saturday. I can't say I was disappointed (mostly because I didn't have that much expectations in the first place). The plot, as per expected, was convoluted, confusing, self-contradictory, and contrived. Then again, I didn't sit through Shawshank Redemption for its sense of humour either, so I ain't gonna diss the Matrix for its plot (or lack thereof). I must say, though, the "twins" were pretty cool, and the motorcycle stunt scene is very impressive. Hope Matrix Revolutions makes more sense. Oh...and the Hulk trailer looks damn amazing. |
Saw the Chinese flick "Hero". Liked it a lot better than Crouching Position, Hidden Blowjob. Dunno why some people said Hero was dull. I thought it rocked. Much better representation of a Chinese "wu sia (ªZ«L)" film. That's the genre, for those of you who dunno. CFA countdown: 7 days. *shivers* |
| Date: May 16, 2003 | ||
There are only approximately 20,000 followers of the Jedi in Canada. Damnit we're too conservative. Too bad they can't use the Force to change the minds of the followers of all the other religions. In Britain, there are more Jedis than Jews.... |
CFA Countdown: 14 days. Current topic: Chapter 4 - Understanding Yield Spreads. Status: Panicking. *shivers* | 16 years after the fact, I still dream of her. Could she be the reason I've adopted my attitude regarding keeping in touch with friends? And is she also the cause for my reluctance to get involved in a relationship? I think I need closure, when it's obvious I'm never going to get it. |
| Date: May 9, 2003 | |
You know what? Some of the ppl actually appear a lot more attractive with their mouth masks on. Maybe they should have it permenantly fused to their face. 27 years later, I'm finally able to begin constructing my identity, one tiny piece at a time. I think back at some of the things I've done when I was a lot younger and I think "What the heck was I thinking?!?" |
CFA countdown: 22 days. Currently on Chapter 7 - Efficient Capital Markets. I am so repulsed by those that are actively trying to profit off the SARS situation in Taiwan. I have no problems with businesses increasing production and jacking up prices to meet demand. But when advertisers make false claims and spread rumours and inneundos to play off ppl's fears, I find it immoral and irresponsible. I just saw someone on TV promoting health spas and scented oils as preventative combatants against SARS! |
| Date: May 05, 2003 | ||
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| Date: Apr 28, 2003 | |
Wanna know the origins of kissing underneath the mistletoe? Go here. |
While the SARS scare should not be construed as much ado about nothing, don't anyone else think it's a bit blown out of proportion? Here's another perspective. |
| Date: Apr 25, 2003 | ||
Happy birthday Joan and Maggie. CFA countdown: 35 days.*shivers* |
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I've felt some of these emotions in various ppl that I've known over the years. I've never felt all of these in one person. |
| Date: Apr 24, 2003 | |
Okay...I know this is kinda ludicrous and very unlikely, but ever entertained the possibility that SARS is a biological weapon into which the Chinese government was secretly conducting research and it subsequently went airborne by accident? That would explain all the secrecy and denials by China. |
Toronto Maple Leafs bowed out to Phillidelphia in the first round of the playoffs. Being in Taiwan and having a job now, I just don't feel as bad about it as I used to when I was in Canada. |
| Date: Apr 23, 2003 | |
It only took two days before my aunt seriously got under my skin. Last night, at 4 FRICKIN' AM, I woke up to a loud crash and bang! Apparently, not only does my aunt have physical jet-lag, her brain was functioning on Toronto time as well (her brains seems to take two days before she realizes which time zone she's in). For some mysterious reason, she felt the urge to cook breakfast at 4 FRICKIN' AM! So there the dishes were going, the pots and pans were going, and the stove top was going...at 4 FRICKIN' AM! Then, when I woke up, I found her in front the computer doing her daily securities day-trading. Now wouldn't it make more sense to be trading AT 4 FRICKEN' AM when everyone else is ASLEEP instead and cooking at 7AM for a warm breakfast instead? Besides, the market isn't even open at 4 FRICKEN' AM! | |
Reality check for all the whiners out there: "You come into this world with nothing. Everything else is pure profit." Gotta love that attitude. |
| Date: Apr 21, 2003 | |
Eating has officially become a chore. I don't have time to eat. Noticed how I still haven't frickin' gotten away from the order that I'm used to? All my entries occur in 3's. I never learn. |
Supply of mouth masks arrived from TO today. I will be decorating it with facial expressions. If I can get my hands on a webcam, I'll post it up. It'll be the latest fashion trend. |
| Date: Apr 20, 2003 | |
SARS is killing the domestic airline industry. Business on our most profitable line (Transasia Airways - Taipei and Kaoshuang to Macau) is down 70%. Death toll for SARS in Taiwan is zero, though, while in Toronto it's already at 14. I guess the typical bacteria in our polluted air is already 10 times more deadly than anything SARS can throw at us. | |
Got a haircut on Wednesday and wore contacts to work on Thursday and Friday and bought 4 new neckties Friday evening. I'm so vein. |
Went jogging with my uncle at National Taiwan University's tracks today. Did 6 laps without stopping and sprint the last 100 meters. Total of around 2500 meters. Not bad for someone who hasn't exercised in about a year. |
| Date: Apr 15, 2003 | |
Penny Dai's newest album: No Penn, No Gain. |
I have not gone out to socialize in 3 fricken weeks. My life consisted of work, study, cooking and eating, and Internet or TV when I need a break. The last few days, I even cut out cooking, but instead of eating out, I had one package of instant noodle for dinner tonight! I swear once I get outta that examination, I'm getting drunk! |
GO LEAFS GO
| Date: Apr 14, 2003 | |
Called a friend long-D last night. Reminded again of why I was attracted to her in the first place. Of course, after some serious contemplation later on, I also realized why it made perfect, logical sense when I gave up on it later on. Funny how attraction can make one blind to common sense and irreconcilable differences. |
Scam man called again today. I wonder at what point do I call the phone company and the cops to report him for harssment? CFA studying is stressing me out. I swear, someone's really gotta convince me to study efficently instead of comprehensively. My nature is to study EVERYTHING, even when I know I don't need it all on the exam. |
| Date: Apr 13, 2003 | |
Okay. I admit it. *hangs head in shame* I watch professional wrestling. As a result of work overload and CFA studying, I forgot the birthdays of the following people (in no particular order): Alice Huang, Cathy Yu, Lisa Chen, Yuki Osawa, and Mary Chung. I'm sorry. |
Update on the scam: They finally got desperate. Friday, someone else called claiming to be the other guy's friend. Over a drinking session, he claimed the other dude informed him I was giving up my prize so he asked me to give it to him. But in order to claim the prize, he'll need my co-operation blah blah blah. The point is, I still have to go to the first guy and give him my personal info. He even told me he'd share some of the winnings with me and he played the pity card by saying he's in debt and need that cash. I cried out "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" in hard cash first before I'll go along with him and it was rude of his friend to give out my number without my permission, to which he got frustrated and called me all sorts of names. Sucker. He eventually hung up on me since I wouldn't hang up on him. Not to mention all the time I've wasted, but I'm estimating in phone bills, overhead and administration, I've got to have costed them between TWD $100~$200. |
| Date: Apr 11, 2003 | |
| Damn insomnia! Woke up at around 3:30am and couldn't go back to sleep. All this work- and study-related stress has finally gotten to me! Find myself blogging at 4 fricken AM! Damn it, I'm gonna leave work on-time today! You know its time to take a breather when it's causing insomnia. I'm surprised it did't happen sooner, though. Took almost a month and a half. | Buying lunch instead of packing my own today. Been packing my own meals the last four days, 2 of which caused me to be late for work due to preparing it in the mornings. This'll give me more time to bum around before heading to work...except for this damn insomnia! |
| Latest fraud-scheme in Taiwan: Some company calls you for a survey using an unlisted, private #, asks a simple question, and claims they'll send you a thank-you gift plus enter you into a draw to promote their company that's trying to go IPO domestically. To be realistic, they tell you the draw is for charity and invite you to attend...while reporting the location in another city knowing you won't attend. You'll inevitably win 3rd or 4th prize, which is the money prize (as oppose to gifts that they can send you by mail) and they'll ask for your bank account # to forward the money directly. But in one way or another, they'll ask you to pay for the lottery tax. Gets even better, they even sent me written notification of my prize, by registered mail, on glossy stock with a company brochure. Suspicious areas: dates for the conventions on the brochure are in July/August (nothing recent and only at one location), there's no contact info for registration, you can't find any company info online even though they claim to be the largest investment consultation service in HK, and they still HAVE NOT SENT ME MY THANK-YOU GIFT! Estimated cost of me to company: TWD $100. Estimated cost paid to company: TWD 0. I win! | |
| Date: Apr 06, 2003 |
| There's too much order in my life. From now on this section will more closely resemble the style of Rosie's. I'm jacking the style of your weblog, babe. Tough luck if you don't like it. |
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Dating and Love - Jan 24, 2003 Saw some advice today from AskMen.com that I really like, so here it is: "But what you never hear about on Sally and Oprah, is that there are just as many women as men out there who have intimacy and commitment issues -- it's just politically correct to blame men for all our relationship problems. As every good Feminista tells us: "All men want to do is use and abuse women."...Unfortunately, too many guys will put up with all kinds of abuse, just because the girl is gorgeous. It's dis-empowering to do that. Guys, you must learn to not be willing to do anything for you know what. Just keep in mind that a girl who rates a 10 will sink to a 1 after she's nagged and badgered you for 2 months." I don't really wanna rag on the opposite gender, but I think there're a few thing both of us sexes can learn from these lines. |
| Show Time - Oct 15, 2002 Bad plot, unrealistic situations, oversimplification and mockery of the entire justice system, and the criminals, while pretending to be calculated and intelligent, have all the IQs of a toaster oven. Those guys couldn't rob a 7-11 that's being managed by a blind clerk. There is a few half decent laughs, but I don't think I'm willing to pay five bucks per laugh. If I really want a cheap laugh that badly, I'll stick to watching professional wrestling. I used to respect Robert De Niro a lot as an actor, but unfortunately, I haven't seen a high quality film from him in a while. |
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Spiderman - Oct 15, 2002 Personally, I didn't really care for either film, although I was preferable to Spiderman. However, this is a test entry to get the ball rolling. The plot remained fairly true to the comic. In addition, they tried to make the storyline plausible. The fact that Peter had to experiment a few times to figure out how to shoot his web and that he crashed into a wall in his first attempt to swing added realism to the situation. Of course the focus of the film, its special effects, are well done. The movements, while often appearing digitized, remains |