All that's happened thus far
Coming to the end of June...the end of Q2 09.
Work sucks although it's still slightly better than my last at Kaplan and Zouk. At least I know I am moulding our next generation. Hopefully, it's more the good than the bad.
The way I have been treated by the system has provided more motivation for me to plan the next move. The way I see it, the system needs a lot more thought into making teachers more effective in the classroom rather than out of it. Clearly, there are way too many fat cats in the upper echelons trying to conjure "changes" so they may justify their pay when quite simply, the basics are all that's needed to be done. For starters, how about having data entry personnel so we can just move on quickly to the analysis part?
Yet the next move does not seem so obvious to me. A MBA will help in greasing my way into banking but then I don't have the prerequisite experience. Finishing my bond at the age of 31 or 32 (if I so wish to take the bait of an extra year and the bonus that comes with it) is not quite the time to start at the bottom but that's more likely where I will end up if I want to pursue my interest in the dynamics of the financial world. Must I really? :(
The question then is how do I ensure a less painful transition? For sure, I would prefer to do my Masters on a full-time basis because I saw first-hand how tough it is to juggle work and a rigorous study program at the same time. What should I do while I am not busying myself with business school? There are thoughts of giving tuition and/or working part-time in a bank but the specifics e.g. which area of banking and how to manage my time remain unfilled.
As for driving, I am confident I am not the worst driver after seeing how Andy drives. But I just can't seem to pass! In fact, I did worse for the 2nd attempt! The first attempt was all good except for my fatalistic fear of "throwing" the clutch. That translated in a slow move-off which the tester took to be failing to look out for traffic because by the time I actually move, there was an oncoming vehicle already. The 2nd attempt was a slight deviation from the drill I have been taught. That brought my car scraping against the kerb...and my mind scrabbling to determine just how bad a score I was going to get.
I lost focus and confidence and thus the fight for my license.
It's coming to a point where I really got to stop spending on this driving thing cos my total expenditure has already exceeded my initial budget by 50%! It's crazy the amount of money I pay to be made to constantly check for slots, like you would if you are paying peanuts. And still get nowhere.
I feel like a loser.
Then I made a small profit off the stock market. I did not catch the bottom that was in March (it's impossible unless you were lucky or you have nerves of steel) but I did buy low enough (19% higher) and sold into maximum strength. The return was a nice near 40% for 4 months work.
Which only reinforces the point that if you buy low enough, everyday after is pay day.
Then again, my unit trusts are still in the red.
Which only reinforces the rule: "never buy because you have to but because you want to". I was pressed to buy because of the impending rule change to CPF investible limits last year which incidentally runs foul of the 1st point that I just made...
Another lesson I have learnt from unit trust investing - it may be good for the long-term investor (even this is contentious in such volatile times. A recent article by William Cai has further convinced that run-of-the-mill advice about buying and holding may be flawed) but not for the investor who likes to stay on the ball and evaluates his options reqularly. Like me. For one, unbiased analyses relating to individual trusts are not very forthcoming nor detailed enough. Most time, they are already in need of an update by the time they are released because things can change so fast. Especially in these turbulent times.
Work sucks although it's still slightly better than my last at Kaplan and Zouk. At least I know I am moulding our next generation. Hopefully, it's more the good than the bad.
The way I have been treated by the system has provided more motivation for me to plan the next move. The way I see it, the system needs a lot more thought into making teachers more effective in the classroom rather than out of it. Clearly, there are way too many fat cats in the upper echelons trying to conjure "changes" so they may justify their pay when quite simply, the basics are all that's needed to be done. For starters, how about having data entry personnel so we can just move on quickly to the analysis part?
Yet the next move does not seem so obvious to me. A MBA will help in greasing my way into banking but then I don't have the prerequisite experience. Finishing my bond at the age of 31 or 32 (if I so wish to take the bait of an extra year and the bonus that comes with it) is not quite the time to start at the bottom but that's more likely where I will end up if I want to pursue my interest in the dynamics of the financial world. Must I really? :(
The question then is how do I ensure a less painful transition? For sure, I would prefer to do my Masters on a full-time basis because I saw first-hand how tough it is to juggle work and a rigorous study program at the same time. What should I do while I am not busying myself with business school? There are thoughts of giving tuition and/or working part-time in a bank but the specifics e.g. which area of banking and how to manage my time remain unfilled.
As for driving, I am confident I am not the worst driver after seeing how Andy drives. But I just can't seem to pass! In fact, I did worse for the 2nd attempt! The first attempt was all good except for my fatalistic fear of "throwing" the clutch. That translated in a slow move-off which the tester took to be failing to look out for traffic because by the time I actually move, there was an oncoming vehicle already. The 2nd attempt was a slight deviation from the drill I have been taught. That brought my car scraping against the kerb...and my mind scrabbling to determine just how bad a score I was going to get.
I lost focus and confidence and thus the fight for my license.
It's coming to a point where I really got to stop spending on this driving thing cos my total expenditure has already exceeded my initial budget by 50%! It's crazy the amount of money I pay to be made to constantly check for slots, like you would if you are paying peanuts. And still get nowhere.
I feel like a loser.
Then I made a small profit off the stock market. I did not catch the bottom that was in March (it's impossible unless you were lucky or you have nerves of steel) but I did buy low enough (19% higher) and sold into maximum strength. The return was a nice near 40% for 4 months work.
Which only reinforces the point that if you buy low enough, everyday after is pay day.
Then again, my unit trusts are still in the red.
Which only reinforces the rule: "never buy because you have to but because you want to". I was pressed to buy because of the impending rule change to CPF investible limits last year which incidentally runs foul of the 1st point that I just made...
Another lesson I have learnt from unit trust investing - it may be good for the long-term investor (even this is contentious in such volatile times. A recent article by William Cai has further convinced that run-of-the-mill advice about buying and holding may be flawed) but not for the investor who likes to stay on the ball and evaluates his options reqularly. Like me. For one, unbiased analyses relating to individual trusts are not very forthcoming nor detailed enough. Most time, they are already in need of an update by the time they are released because things can change so fast. Especially in these turbulent times.
posted by Ming at 12:36 AM
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