Bee Stung Lips

I was driving home yesterday when the radio played a popular song by Wilson Phillips back in the 1990s. It was one of my favourites and I still find the lyrics meaningful and inspiring, especially when life is filled with challenges, excitement, stress and disappointments.

So I dedicate this song (lyrics below) to all of you and to anyone who needs some positive encouragement to hang in there a little longer to see the fruit of your labour. Enjoy!

[Chorus]

I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and
Break free the chains
Yeah I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and you
Break free, break from the chains

Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to
Turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don’t you know?
Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day yeah
If you hold on

Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day,
If you hold on
Can you hold on
Hold on baby
Won’t you tell me now
Hold on for one more day ‘Cause
It’s gonna go your way

Don’t you know things can change
Things’ll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can’t you change it this time

Today Apple Inc launches their latest iPhone 3G across many countries in the world. Check it out:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

http://www.apple.com/sg/iphone/features/

http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/

But what pisses me off is, after waiting for about a year, this phone remains elusive to Malaysians. Even our neighbour Singapore will get the iPhone “soon”.

I want one and I want it NOW!!!

We all know how the story goes. Tony Fernandes and a bunch of friends/associates bought over AirAsia and they managed to create such a significant impact in the local and regional aviation industry so much so that foreign me-too low-cost carriers are mushrooming in almost every regional airport, big and small.

In order to stay alive and afloat and have hands in all pies, big brother MH decided to launch similar warfare tactics even though we’re now comparing apples with oranges. And recently big brother launched ‘MH = Malaysian Hospitality”.

Here’s what I think… it really takes one bad apple to spoil the whole basket. I’m a frequent traveller who knows the consequences of arriving at KLIA less than 1 hours from departure time.

This morning as I queued at the counter for check-in bags (express machine doesn’t issue boarding passess once it’s less than 1 hours from departure time), this fat Indian MH employee came over and asked me for my boarding pass. I told her I’m late and I needed to check in asap. She took my e-ticket and asked me what time is my flight. Hello? You’re already holding and seem to be reading what’s printed on paper! Then she calmly told me to get into the normal queue. When I protested by saying I’m already late… she coolly said, “they will announce when the gate is about to close, then you can head to counter B18 or B19 for late check-in”.

Isn’t it more logical when your customer tells you the obvious = already late, need to check in now? Why ask the customer to wait till the last minute then run to the gate like a mad woman?

If I had the choice, I’d rather fly any other airline other than MH. The in-flight food sucks, the ground customer service sucks. So what if MH wins a category year after year, it’s the LOWER category… try competing with SIA or Thai Airways.

New blog posts coming soon. Sorry for being missing in action for the past few months.

Ah Beng and his wife Ah Lian were watching a tv drama about a man who lost consciousness and slipped into a coma with no possibility of recovery.

Ah Beng turns and says to Ah Lian, “In case this ever happens to me, I want you to know I never ever want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine. So just go ahead and pull the plug.”

Ah Lian gets up and unplugs the tv.

:-p

Last year I attended Clemen Chiang’s Freely Business School Options Trading seminar and got involved in the world of options trading. It was a very highly charged event, from which many participants (including yours truly) left with high anticipation of making our first millions.

It’s always exciting to learn something new especially when it comes with a promise of making big bucks at the end of the day. Novices like me went directly into live trading with real, hard-earned money. The lucky ones made fantastic profits, the not-so-lucky ones (yours truly again!) lost even more.

So what happened to my 1st million $$$ which was supposed to come within 5 years? 1 year has almost passed me by. Many people have asked me this question in my old blog. And I sincerely apologise for not answering you earlier, which is why I’m writing this post.

My initial capital of US$5,000.00 is currently down 72%. Matters were made worse since I forgot the username & password to my virtual account in IB. How to practise trading strategies without sacrificing real money? 

So my current sifu, Ronald Lee, repeatedly advised me to be more careful in my trades. I admit last time I don’t follow all the rules all the time. Don’t care whose rules, I sometimes follow my gut feeling. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose… all because of gut feeling. But now, after almost 1 year trading in limbo, I decided it’s better for my trading account (and present state of mind) to trade the ’safer’ way.

In case you’re wondering, ’safer’ does not mean ‘guaranteed’. ’Safer’ means using your head to analyse the necessary info (stock price, charts, options price, instrinsic value, time value, implied volatility, etc) before executing a trade. Stay away if there’s nothing to trade on any particular trade.

And I’m proud to say I’ve beaten my demon three times consecutively. Ever since last August, I have lost money during Expiration Fridays. Using Ronald’s strategies, I have made profits in Jan 08, Feb 08 and Mar 08 Expiration Fridays…. better yet, I let my options expire worthless.

Huh? Did you get that right? You bet!

Wanna know how? Check him out. The next options trading workshop is this May. It’ll be worth your money spent on the latest mobile phone/Nintendo Wii/PSP3/handbag/slimming treatment, whatever.

My main trading resolution for year 2008 is to at least get my trading account back to square one by 31 Dec 2008. Remind me to check my status at the end of the year.

Many have seen it coming, and it’s finally happened! International gold price hit US$1,000 an ounce. This steady increase in gold price is due to a weakening US dollar as well as an increase in crude oil price. There is no gold bubble, but a signal of a economy downturn. The higher the gold price, the more severe the downturn.

I first got interested in gold investments when I read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad series back in 2004. At that time, gold price was hovering around US$350 an ounce. I followed Paul Van Eeden’s daily gold commentary for a couple of years, where he kept analysing how gold will perform in the coming years.

I like gold for the security it provides as a hedge against inflation. Cash in any currency may devalue (remember the banana notes during the Japanese occupation of Malaya?). But gold’s intrinsic value is recognised through the ages and is still widely accepted as an alternative to cash. Other commodities such as crude oil is just too out of reach for the rdinary Joe’s and Jane’s.

People from the olden days like to buy gold to be given away as gifts. Today it’s just too expensive… so treasure all the gold jewellery anyone has given you. Don’t pawn it away unless it’s a matter of life and death.

But if you’re thinking of buying some gold as investments, don’t buy gold jewellery - up to 30% is deducted from its resale value. Buy pure gold (999 or 99.99%) wafers, bullion coins or bars where only 5% is deducted during resale. If you can spare a few hundred ringgit every month (to put aside as savings), why not consider buying some gold? Think about it…

I’m proud to say I exercised my right to vote last March 8, 2008. This was my third time voting in the constituency where a famous opposition leader’s daughter was contesting for the first time ever.

Not only did my family vote for a change, the entire nation basically did the same. The rakyat’s choice was formidable enough to unlock the iron-clad grip the ruling party had on the country.

Waiting for the general elections results was as exciting as watching Arsenal defeat AC Milan during the recent Champions League match. We had our first taste of the change in directions when we heard big names tumbling down one by one. Before we know it, the ruling party lost state after state. If not for Sabah and Sarawak, the ruling party would be the opposition today.

So now it’s time for the newly elected (opposition) leaders to prove their worth. All these years they have asked for a chance to serve us better… they’ve gotten their wish this time. Don’t fail us, or it’s bye bye in 5 years’ time.

Here are my top ten wishlist for the new leaders:

1. Lower income tax for individuals without business income

2. All deserving students should receive full scholarships to local institutions of higher learning. Only exceptionally bright & well-deserving students should receive full scholarships to foreign institutions of higher learning

3. Lower price of petrol, lower toll rates across all major highways, lower electricity rates

4. Build more child-care centres for working patients (model after Singapore’s community child-care centres)

5. Enforce the criminal law - more police officers to nab hardcore criminals rather than traffic offenders (Sharlinie is still missing!)

6. Freedom of speech in all media

7. Complete all public projects - I hope the half-built flyover near my place will not remain as it is until the next elections

8. Transparency in everything - abolishing Official Secrets Act?

9. Un-peg the ringgit… we can survive the global market

10. Replace underperforming national athletes - Olympics 2008 is just around the corner

Malaysia is a great muhibbah country, so much so that we celebrate all festive seasons together regardless of ethnicity, beliefs and social ranks.

It wasn’t that long ago when shopping mall decors comprised of Hari Raya > Deepavali > Christmas elements. Now we have the traditional red festive decorative items like lanterns, posters, lightings, etc - all ready for Chinese New Year (next week!).

My Lunar New Year resolutions are:

1. Make more time for myself

2. Make more time for family

3. Work smarter - get more work done with less effort & time

4. Time to use Osim uZap to zap zap away my Michelin tyre

5. Pray harder - market don’t crash till I get my capital back!

6. Buy new car? - market don’t crash please…!

Here’s wishing all of you GONG HEI FATT CHOY, may CHOY SAN (God of Wealth) bestow tonnes of $$$ on you.

He worked for France’s 2nd largest bank - Societe Generale, and he knew how the bank’s internal trading control system worked. Nothing extraordinary about that… until a few days ago when the world found out how Jerome Kerviel lost SocGen USD 7.18 billion betting on futures with the hope that market will rise in 2008.

 The man who might have spooked the US Feds into a suprise rate cut between sessions.

This amount surpassed the previous phenomenal figure involved when Nick Leeson brought down Barings Bank through risky trades back in the 1990s.

Here’s the mystery: he didn’t pocket even a cent for all his trades. So why did he do it?