Friday, April 12, 2019

The leaf on the branch

Yesterday, after sending my boy to childcare, I was brisk walking along East coast park with my wife. It was when I am enjoying the breeze and the smells of the sea when the childcare center called me that my boy had a fall and his nose is bleeding. The teacher asked if we would like to take him back home. We asked if he is still alright and if he is still bleeding, and the teacher said the bleeding had stopped and he is okay.

So, we continued walking.

I told my wife that this behavior is likely not normal at all. From the way the teacher speaks to us, apprehensively, I guess she was quite used to getting scolded by parents. She was quite apologetic and was genuinely sorry for what she interpreted as neglect, because it happened on her watch while she was distracted by other kids. Well, it could have happened to anyone, and as long as there isn't any major and permanent damage, I think it's a good lesson for everyone, including and especially my boy.

When a leaf falls, whose fault is it? The tree that let it go, the wind that blew it away, or the leaf that got tired of hanging on?




I don't think I ever mentioned that I am one of the Hyflux 6% cumulative preference shares holder. I got in at $98, while the par value is $100, thinking that it is a good deal. Well, it was, for a time being, until it wasn't. I could have cut loss when it started plunging lower but I didn't. Conversely, I could have bought more while it fell, but I also didn't do it and that's something I can be grateful about. It can always be worse. When I suspect that the saga is going to drag and there's a possibility that I could get nothing back, I immediately wrote down the value of that investment to $0. That's a write down of close to $9.2k net.

When a leaf falls, whose fault is it? The tree that let it go, the wind that blew it away, or the leaf that got tired of hanging on?

I never participated in any of the town-hall meetings nor the Hong Lim park's protest, or any of the myriad online vitriol about what could be, should be, must be. It's a have-been now, and I thought I should just suck it up and focus on making better mistakes next time.

I think I handled this whole saga pretty well, meaning I was not at all bothered. Why? I remember a decade or more ago, when s-shares are hot and fashionable, I was embroiled in a s-share company called Longcheer. I bought and bought and finally capitulated, losing about 12 to 15k? I can't remember. And that episode sank me deep to depression. Not the oh-I-am-so-angsty type. The suicidal type. Looking back, it was quite serious, but I didn't seek help and I just sort it out myself in about a month or two. Essentially, my work brought me back. That was such a educational and enlightening experience, mainly to know about myself. That was a great mistake, and I learned from it to never to average down, or to catch a falling knife. I didn't repeat it anymore, but it would be better if I had cut loss instead of holding it till kingdom come. I guess it takes one solid painful incident, instead of many insignificant ones, to remove the shitty directive inside my mind of being a 'long term investor', or that 'in the long run, things will be fine'.

If you're a Hyflux bond or pref shares holder, whether you're happy or unhappy, I doubt there's much things you can control at this point in time. What you can control is your emotional landscape, so try to make the best out of the whole situation.

Make better mistakes next time.

Thursday, April 04, 2019

Can smell be captured like a photograph?

We can take pictures to freeze a memory at a single instant in time. We use a camera for that purpose. But memories aren't just made up of lights and colours, they consist of smell and tactile sensation too. How come there isn't a device to capture the smell at any particular instance? Or the warmth of the sunlight hitting your face? Or the gentle caressing of the breeze that tussles your hair?

I guess that's why looking at pictures feels like the copy of a copy to me. It's like eating aspartame - your tastebud feels the sweetness but it is ultimately empty in calories.

There are a few things in the future that I'm looking out for:


1) A transparent metallic material

I'm in the market looking for a water bottle, but whenever my wife asks me what sort of water bottle I'm looking out for, I'll reply it must be made of metal (so that it's more durable and doesn't have chemicals leaking into the water) and transparent (so that I can know how much water is left). I'm still searching for one, so let me know if you know one lol

2) A device that can change the size of things

Whenever I'm tired of walking in the shopping centre, I told my wife to shrink me and put me into her pocket and carry me around. I guess the device can also be used to shrink a car and save everyone more land space instead of building car parks. I'll be willing to buy such a device.

3) A 'camera' take captures smell

Imagine taking a picture of the sea, and looking at the pictures will immediately trigger smells of the salty breeze. The best I can think of are those scratch-and-sniff stickers, that is said to take over the gaming world (imagine in a first-person shooter game, you walk in a sewer so you scratch a sewer sticker and sniff it for the atmospheric immersive experience) but ultimately became as extinct as a technological dodo. That'll be something to look forward to.




I'm sure in the 1800s, there'll be someone wishing for a list of things like these too. And when it happens, a lot of the old ways of doing things are disrupted. Gone like the buggy whips companies used for horse carriages. If I can imagine this wishlist, I'm sure it'll become a reality one day. Perhaps not in my lifetime but it'll be possible in somebody's lifetime.

Are there any investments now that you have that are on the cusps of extinction? The closest one that I have is perhaps Singtel. We all say that the fall in price for Singtel is due to the competition locally and worldwide...but what if it's the beginning of the fall of traditional telco business? How about banks? Will banks be obsolete in the future? Is there truly any business that you can guarantee that will stand the test of time?

I can't answer that, hence I will invest accordingly to my lack of knowledge. I will never be able to concentrate my stock holdings, and can never be able to sleep well with just 8 stocks in my pocket. This company might be so good and I'll whack 80% of my networth inside? Some people might be able to do so, but I'm quite sure I'm not one of them.

Wednesday, April 03, 2019

Personal updates

Haven't been blogging for a while, so I thought it's time to give some news about what is happening in my life in case there are still readers following me haha!


Wars are fought by two sides who thinks they are right. When we argue with someone else, we always think the other party is an idiot. I'm trying to practice not thinking the other party is an idiot. The disadvantage of doing that is that it's hard to blog on anything or give an opinion on anything, not because I don't know anything, but because I think of too many repercussions and the repercussions of the repercussions. It tends to develop into some sort of a writer's block, which is what I think I am having now. I've been blogging since 2003, and I've had such years before, so I know I'll get through them. It just takes time.




The other significant reason/excuse for not blogging is because there are higher priorities now. Since I've bought the fitbit charge 3, I've been exercising almost daily and it's been more than a month now. If I'm not doing interval training, I'll be walking. Damn, I didn't know walking feels so good. In the past, whenever there is rain, I'll be coming up with excuses not to exercise. But it's different now - I am thinking of how to continue exercising even when there is rain. It did rain this morning, so I decided I'm still going to walk, hence I carried an umbrella. I've never done something like that before. I always said that the removal of a structured test on fitness (because I've done my time in National Service) is going to be boon for my health. I am shocked by my sudden enthusiasm for exercising. Why do middle aged men wear tight pants and go cycling? Or buff themselves in the gym? Or join marathons? Is it a sudden realization that time is running out? Or the onset of mid life crisis? I've no answers.


I can't be exercising for 24 hrs right? The other time-soaker is reading. It's the beginning of April, and I've read 21 books. My yearly quota is only 30...so I'm two thirds done. I stopped checking my phone so often for the social media apps (I deleted them), so whenever I use my phone, I'll just read a little. It's amazing how those little minutes here and there add up. So, if you find that you have no time, really, just delete youtube/facebook/instagram and see how free you are.


That's it from me, till the next article.