Added Alpine Global Dynamic Fund to Portfolio

During the recent market crash, I managed to buy into Alpine Global Dynamic Fund (AGD listed on the NYSE) for a price of US$5.64. This is one of those monthly dividend stocks and the dividends for the next few months is at US$0.06 per share. Not a bad yield considering my purchase price. This should add to my passive income stream quite a fair bit over the next few months.

I am Powerful Beyond Measure

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure"

How powerful am I? Beyond measure? The sense of inadequacy tends to set in especially when I am day-dreaming. Or sometimes, it hits when I am reflecting on life as a whole and I see where my peers are at and where I am compared to them. It is then that I feel entirely inadequate.

But I know deep down inside that I am powerful beyond measure. I know that I can change the world , one word at a time, one action at a time and one step at a time. And that is my deepest fear. That I am actually powerful enough to move the world and make it a different and perhaps a better place.

But how can this be? I am a nobody. If you saw me walking down the street, you will not recognise me. Even though you read this blog day in and out, you do not even know me. I am a nobody and yet I am a somebody. How amazing and ironical is that?

Today, I decided that there are areas in my life that I want to do more. And I know that I can do and contribute in so many ways. Here is my list of things that I hope to accomplish or contribute:

Giving to NUS

If you have found this blog useful in one way or another, you could donate to a few organisations of my choice. (Of course, you can donate it to me too) Ha..ha..

Well, the first organisation that you can make a contribution to is the National University of Singapore. Visit the website for more information. Any donation no matter how big or small will help in ways that you cannot imagine. Remember, our actions can change the world. One bit at a time. So do donate.

http://giving.nus.edu.sg/

Club Rainbow and Straits Times Pocket Money

Well, if donating to NUS is not something that you had in mind. Then may I recommend you another 2 options. They are Club Rainbow and the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund. I learnt about Club Rainbow when I ran a $10 donation contest to ask people to pick their favorite charity. That was when I heard about the charity Club Rainbow. Club Rainbow basically helps children who suffers from various chronic diseases.

You can learn more about this 2 organisations/funds in the links below:

http://www.clubrainbow.org/Web/main.aspx?ID=,ff5b5272-18ab-4937-87ca-2acf8e72b0a6

http://www.straitstimes.com/spmf/School+Pocket+Money+Fund.html

So do visit those sites and make a donation today. No matter how small the amount, it is the thought that counts.

Thanks.

Tiredness Sets In and US Dancing with Debt

Phew... it has been a busy week. I have been doing some of my own research on REITs in Singapore but was too frightened to enter into the market during the recent weeks due the US "debt crisis". On hindsight, I guess we should have all figured that the Republicans and Democrats would have struck a deal in the end. But hindsight is always 20/20 and I guess at that point in time, no one could really tell.

Regardless of the "good" news that the debt default is no longer a worry, the next concern will be the potential downgrade of US credit rating by the various rating agencies from AAA to something probably lower.

Somehow deep inside me, I know that the US debt crisis is actually a time bomb waiting to occur. There must be seriously a lot of wastage in terms of public spending when a government starts to rely on debt to finance its spending.

I wonder what will the impact and how the markets will look like in the near future with the less than optimistic forecasts ahead. Dark clouds perhaps?

US Likely to Avoid Debt Default

It seems that the US will avoid a potential debt default. After weeks of following this issue on and off, I was quite amazed at the amount of politics at play here. It seems that congressional leaders will most likely approve a deal to raise America's debt ceiling. And somehow I don't think the deal was what President Barack Obama wanted as he was initially calling for one, broad debt agreement that included cuts, entitlements and also taxes.

The final deal that will go before Congress this week seems to be a compromise which includes cuts of about $1 trillion and also relying on a bipartisan congressional committee (I will take that to mean comprising both Democrats and Republicans) to propose by November another $1.5 trillion in other deficit reductions that could range from cuts, entitlements or tax increase. This new dealwill pave the way for US to avoid the Aug 2 default.

With this good news, gold prices decline from their record prices while oil prices continue to climb. Will the Singapore stock market also respond positively to the news once the final agreement is reached? It is scary to think that one day away from the deadline, the most powerful nation in the world is leaving it really till the last minute to finalise something as important as this.

Singapore's 40 Richest

Singapore's 40 richest are now apparently worth a collective total of US$54.4 billion based on a Straits Times report that cites the rich list published by Forbes Asia. It somehow shows that the wealthy have managed to increased their networth despite a turbulent economy and a very weak stock market.

At the top of the list with US$8.9billion is the family of the late Ng Teng Fong. This was up by US$1.1 billion. Their wealth is tied closely to their 2 largest property holdings - Far East Organisation and another Hong Kong listed property firm.

Second on the list is family of the late Khoo Teck Puat at US$6.7 billion. They are invested in Goodwood Park Hotel.

There were also newcomers to the billionaire list.

Wide Awake at 12:52AM & Random Thoughts

Why Scrambled Eggs Matter and What They Tell

What a weekend! Was really looking forward to Saturday after a hectic week in the office. (Well, work is always hectic for me in a sense..) Breakfast was nicely done at SimplyBread. Had the delicious ham steak served with scrambled eggs. Felt that the toast was sort of burnt but the scrambled eggs were really good. Anyone who can cook scrambled eggs better than me definitely deserves praise. And there are really not many places in Singapore that serves good scrambled eggs.

I am not really a foodie. But when it comes to discerning good food - especially "Western style" breakfasts, scrambled eggs is the sole criterion by which I judge whether a certain cafe or stuff deserves a second visit. Scrambled eggs is like fried rice. If you can find a good zi char stall that sells good fried rice, its other dishes ought to be pretty good as well. It is really the basic dishes that sets the good apart from the rest. And when it comes to breakfast, it is really the SCRAMBLED EGGS.

You see, I am not much of a cook myself. I hardly step into the kitchen. But one dish that I think I can cook pretty well is scrambled eggs. I am not sure where I picked up the recipe for scrambled eggs but I guess it must be my mum or something. Of course, watching Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver must have added some of its influences on me as well. Of course, eating scrambled eggs at Bill Granger's restaurant in Sydney must really be THE MOMENT for me in realising how a simple dish really tells so much about a place.

And the fact is that scrambled eggs needs to be cooked with butter and of course, "stirred" continously. It should never be cooked like an omelette where you literally fry it (I have witnessed some egg counters in certain hotels/resorts do just that) !! That is a strict No-No for scrambled eggs. It needs to be continously stirred under low heat in the most loving manner. And that is what makes it scrambled if you ask me.

After Breakfast Happenings

Well, that is so much for breakfast. There wasn't really much that I wanted to do afterwards and there wasn't really much to do after a satisfying breakfast. Went to Hort Park for a walk to soak in some nature. It didn't help that the weather was almost scorching hot. In short, it was a bit too hot for my liking. Lunch was at Burger King. Pretty simple fare and I somehow realised that I don't enjoy fastfood as much as I used too in the past. I used to love fastfood - like I thought it was really yummy- even though I know it was unhealthy and stuff. Nowadays, I don't really like it so much anymore. Perhaps it is just changing tastes. I very much prefer my chicken rice or wanton mee than Macs or KFC or Burger King.

Wasn't able to get an afternoon nap as the little one was kind of cranky the whole day. We ended up eating a really really early dinner if you ask me. I wasn't too hungry but ate anyway. End up taking a nap at like 7pm and woke up at around 10pm only to find that I could no longer put myself to sleep...

TV and the Latin Epic Poem

Watched a bit of NatGeo Wild and it was quite silly to spend an entire hour seeing some person try to figure out whether sharks were inhabiting some part of some river in some part of South Africa. It was really quite a waste of time since they could have easily cut the chase and went straight to the findings.. Got a bit irritated just waiting for them to reveal WHICH shark was actually inhabiting the river...

When one is wide awake at this hour, there isn't really much to do. I don't Facebook as often as I used to and I don't really get much time to hang out with friends nowadays. It is really just me and the internet or me and my books. Have been struggling to complete Virgil's The Aeneid. Yes, I have been spending my time on such frivolous readings - books which really just delight me and which I do not really spend to much time to analyse or think about.

After reading the Iliad, I decided that I was really quite fascinated with all these ancient epic poems and stuff. These were definitely books that I would not consider reading in the past but now...I actually enjoy them... it is really weird. Maybe I am growing more "artsy fartsy".. hahah...or maybe it just gives me a sense of accomplishment to read this supposed classics. The wife sniggers at me when she sees me reading them . She thinks that I am reading them because of their cover and their title. Well, she might be correct to a certain extent but the truth is, I actually do quite like the stories (or maybe the translator's story since most of these were written in Greek and Latin so I am probably reading a translator's interpretation of it).

Random Thoughts

Well, lots of random thoughts. I just spent a good hour of my time watching magic on youtube. I never really liked magic. Or perhaps it was my exposure to David Copperfield kind of magic in my early days. I could never quite tell whether it was clever film editing or stuff. Besides, I don't really like the parts where they put their lives on the line to saw their bodies in half.

But lately, I have been quite interested and intrigued with the simpler magic tricks. Those involving the simple cups and balls, cards, coins, rope and stuff. And if one must watch any magician, I recommend Slydini. Wonderful sleight of hand techniques and misdirection. I can't even tell how he does some of his tricks. Ricky Jay is also pretty good with cards (not to say being a very entertaining comedian at the same time). Bebel is quite slick too even though I don't understand French. But I could serioulsy spend hours just watching them perform their tricks over and over again. Even though I know how some parts of it are done, it is really amazing to watch this people perform it in such an artistic manner. The sheer amount of practice required is truly amazing.

Song of the week in my head: Hope of all Hearts by PlanetShakers
Mood : Uncertain about the future

Stop Letting Work Define Who You Are

We often fall into the habit of letting our work define our entire being. And it is difficult to get out of this mindset. Sometimes, I wish I were a little braver.. That I will be able to stop living life the way others have defined it for me, break out of the moulds, get out of the silly rat race, and start truly living life.

But then, there are bills to pay. And someone has to feed the family. So I put off all my wildest dreams of like travelling the world (on a really shoe string budget), or setting off to some far flung place and anchoring myself there for like the rest of eternity...

And i know that slowly the bright spark in me is dying and slowly fading. I am very much less cheerful nowadays. I prefer to be left alone. I desire for something more than this seemingly mundane life. I am not making a living. I am making a "dying" literally.

Don't get me wrong. It is not that I am not happy at my job. But sometimes, I just get the sense that this isn't what I should be doing. Reaching home past seven pm on each weekday is not something that I desire. (Of course, i know there are those of you who reach home much later than I do).

I need to find new inspiration, set new priorities, find my purpose and live my life with passion.

So my dear friend: Please don't let your work define who you are. I am trying hard to do that. We deserve so much more than all these.