Getting Lost in Books and Work

Apologies for the super long "blackout" in terms of blogging. I have been too consumed with reading that I did not get a chance to sit down and write anything for sometime.

I have been reading Homer's Iliad - a book that I never thought I would or could read. But surprisingly, the translation that I am reading seems fairly simple and apart from Googling here and there for the various terms/names that I wasn't familiar with, I managed to finish the book in roughly 1.5 weeks. I don't declare to understand everything that Homer is saying but I do appreciate the story and its account of events about the Trojan War. It makes me realise the number of deviations that the movie Troy has from the actual book!

Work has also been busy and it does not help that I have had little free time to read. So all my free time that I had was spent reading. Somehow, reading seems to be a great way to relax after a stressful day at work.

I have been contemplating lately about what it means to have an education and be educated. This thoughts and reflection led me to read a book titled "How to Read a Book". Though not entirely convinced by the list of Great Books that was suggested by the author, I still decided that life is too short to leave my reading list by chance/whim/fancy. I thus decided to at least read some of the more well known classics and books that have been recognised as Great Books. Homer's Iliad is one of these great books. Now that I have read it finish, I hope to read through the next book on my list soon.

Elections, Royal Wedding and Osama is Dead

So many historical events seem to be taking place over the past few days.

Singapore General Elections 2011.

Yes. By now, most people are probably suffering from an overdose of election news and trivia ranging from Kate Spade to Nicole Seah. In fact, facebook seems to be flooded with so much election news that I am suddenly surprised at how politically charged so many of my friends are. Well, this is a once in five years event and I am keenly keeping watch on the elections since 82 out of 87 seats are being contested. My predictions? I think the opposition party will only keep one seat - Hougang.

Royal Wedding

So while we were suffering from an overdose of election news, the royal wedding was really a good break. Spent quite some time in front of the TV watching the live footages of the royal wedding even as I remarked to myself the fact that I have visited those places in London a very long time ago. I think the royal couple look really sweet.

Osama is Dead (Latest News)

With a wedding, there needs to be a funeral. Well, the news is out that Osama bin Laden is dead. Shot in the head. After 2 wars, and an entire US army hunting him down, it took almost a decade just to kill this man. And he was in Pakistan. Not Iraq or Afghanistan where the wars took place. Scroll below for a gruesome picture of Osama.

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Jim Rogers Sighted at Video Rental Shop

I spotted the legendary Jim Rogers at a video rental shop just yesterday with his 2 daughters. For those who don't know, Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund and retired at the age of 37. He now lives in Singapore after moving from New York. He studied in Yale and Oxford too.

Anyway, it was great seeing the man in action bargaining at a video rental store in Singapore. Yes, bargaining! He wanted to buy some videos and asked his daughter to bargain the price down by a few dollars actually. And the surprising thing was that he did managed to bargain down the price - through his daughter of course. What is even more amazing was him asking his daughter to bargain down the price using Mandarin!!

I was completely floored. Jim Roger's daughter speaks almost perfect mandarin. If she was speaking on the phone to you, there would almost be no way that you could tell she was a little American girl! She speaks perfect Mandarin!

Another thing that surprised me was that this rich guy who managed to retire at age 37 would actually bother to bargain down a few dollars. I am pretty sure that few dollars meant nothing to him but that he was actually trying to teach his daughters a lesson or two in bargaining. And his daughter actually did it without protesting! Amazing amazing.

IMF Warns About Perils Ahead for World Economy

The IMF warned that there are perils ahead for the world economy if certain issues continue unanswered. This includes:

1. Rising Food Prices

2. Joblessness

3. Middle East turmoil

4. Weak finances in advanced economies.

All these could possibly derail the current economic recovery. Regarding the surge in food prices, World Bank President said that "We are one shock away from a full-blown crisis".

In addition, new ailments like overheating in emerging economies could also add to the existing list of problems.

Some other comments from IMF includes the following:

"There was a sense around the table... that we are still in a fairly fragile situation," said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, chairman of the IMF's policy-setting monetary and financial committee.

"We have to be extremely watchful, but we also need to develop the capabilities... to anticipate scenarios that could turn out to be ugly, and require that countries, including especially systemically significant countries, take actions early to prevent another crisis."

Time to be cautious in investing?

Driving away the Monday Blues

I would like to think that I successfully drove away the Monday blues. It did not help that was feeling slightly depressed on Sunday night but a good dose of coffee, reading the various comments on mt previous post and just thinking about the good things that have happened to me in my life thus far made me slightly more thankful and happier today. I wouldn't claim that I am not feeling depressed anymore but I am sure feeling much much better. How did I do it?

Firstly, I spent a good two hours watching lots of mindless standup comedy by Chris rock and Russell peters. Super funny. Chris rock is really vulgar but I guess I am actually immune to swear words and stuff so i am able to take his jokes. I know some people who cannot stand swear words and thus cannot bring themselves to watch it. But the two hours of watching mindless standup comedy really made my Sunday night much bearable. At least it got my mind off the things that were bothering me.

Secondly, I spent some time sharing online my thoughts through this blog. Even though I did not reveal what was causing my sadness, just blogging about it made me feel a little lighter. Just knowing that somebody else knows about my bad mood was comfort by itself. I don't know why this is so really since most of my readers are really strangers to me in a certain sense-I won't recognize them if I saw them on the streets. Yet, they know a part of me and my struggles that even some of my closer friends know nothing about. So I guess I can call these people my Internet buddies. It is almost as if they are on the same journey as I am. Some of them are also much older and are also able to give me a better perspective of things.

Thirdly, I took a new route to work today. Just felt like doing something different today so I took a new route to work today. And I guess with a new route brings new sights and sounds. I might even start using this route for the next few months. Oh well, guess I will just wait and see.

Fourth, I ate something different for breakfast. I usually frequent this stall for breakfast during weekdays but this time, I ate at some fast food for breakfast. And fast food I guess makes one feel happy because of the sugar rush that comes along with it. I sat there quietly and ate my meal slowly. Truly enjoyed every bit of it. Perhaps another reason why I should switch to this new route.

Lastly, I pampered myself and bought a new shirt. It was not expensive or anything but I just felt like I needed some pampering.

And that was what helped me drive away the Monday blues. Like I said, I am still abit moody but as a whole, feeling much better already!

Am I afraid?

The past few days have been difficult for me. There have been many things that I feel passionately about but which I do not feel comfortable writing about. Am I afraid? What am I afraid of? These are the few questions that cross my mind. And sometimes it is just the fear of certain repercussions that will result from blogging too honestly about my personal life. Cos there are days when things do not go well and I feel like spewing vulgarities into the Internet. But I restrain myself because I know I will regret it one day and that I will end up revealing a side of me that readers might not be familiar with.

I need to admit that beneath a lot of happiness and good times are sometimes lots of heartaches, failures and angst. And sometimes, a happy weekend can soon turn into a deep bout of depression for me. I start to turn depressive and moody. The world suddenly seems a lot bleaker. The future is no longer bright. And I wallow in self-pity. It does not help that I cannot tell anyone what I truly feel. For if I do so, I might end up cursing and swearing under my breath. And that I know I will regret I'm due time. So I am afraid that I will destroy the image that I have been projecting all long. But somedays, I really feel like I need to get it off my chest.

So tomorrow is a brand new day. And I must remember that I live a life more fortunate than others. Be contented with what I have. One day the light will come. And hopefully I will have the courage to tell of my struggles and life in an honest manner. And perhaps I could share my deepest regret with all one day. But in the mean time, I need to get out of this depressive mood! Perhaps the best way is to not think about it. But then that is just ignoring the problem. Perhaps it is time I confront the problem head on.

$790 Dividends for March 2011

March 2011 is gone. April is here. A new month. Collected almost $800 worth of dividends for March 2011. That has perhaps been my highest thus far for the year. Have been looking to add more dividend stocks lately but also wary about the market conditions now.

I have been toying with this concept for the longest time but have always put it off and procrastinated. What happens if I manage to invest a large percentage of my monthly salary into REITs or dividend paying stocks and then reinvest the dividends that I receive? Will I become financially free within 10 years?