I Need Sleep

I desperately need to sleep. Where am I up to? Nothing much but just that I've had 15 hours of sleep in the past 4 days... I had to stay up that late because I procrastinated before, but this time it's a totally different story. I just can't give you the exact number of how often my brain freezes in an hour... Pff... I should still be working on the one-out-of-three group projects but no man I really need a break, or 2-3 hours nap in order to go on. I really can't think properly and yeah wish me live long as I can already foresee my bald look within 10 years.

Okay I'll be back soon...

I Am Fat

Really, I'm getting fatter and fatter. I usually didn't care because it wasn't shown on my face but my belly only, but damn, now it's getting worse and worse. Frick.

Super nice weather lately and this is what the Canadian summer should be like, it's so nice. I'm loving it. Soccer in about 10 minutes and I really need some fun like this to keep myself away from school. I can't believe my life has already started to separate from soccer at my age of 19. This sucks.

But isn't it what life should be when we grow up? Anyways that can't be helped much. Work hard, play hard, people.

Effort Has To Pay Off

I find it a lot more efficient while asking my students to do the math corrections right away in front of me instead of bringing them home and doing them wrong and wrong over and over. Now I am kind of feeling bad for my tutees who were taught by me in last half year as I was so chill to them and I really do think I should start learning to control my teaching tempo. I know I was so hyper at all times and that made them start talking a lot but not working at all. Oppsie... my bad, but again, live to learn - what a fine reason.

But I'm really surprised when Judy offered me to work for a Saturday class as it would be really demanding and "there wouldn't be any other capable tutors available". This will really encourage me to start working hard as a real mature tutor and pushing the students to the top of the list of the annual academic standings. Yeah man, watch my students to get onto that fricking list.

Anyways starting from today to a month later, my routine will be stuffed with assignments, projects and preparations for final exams. I really have to sustain pulling all-nighters and maintain my not-so-bad progress for this semester. Darn, I really need 48 hours a day!

Sir John Templeton (1912-2008)

Sir John Templeton, the billionaire U.S. philanthropist who made his fortune as the pioneer of global investing in the postwar boom, has died. He was 95.

Mr. Templeton died Tuesday at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, the Bahamian island that was his home, his spokesman, Don Lehr, said in a statement. The cause was pneumonia.

The Templeton Growth Fund was one of the first mutual funds to give Americans access to investments in companies abroad. Since it was founded in 1954, the fund has returned about 14.5% a year on average.

Like Warren Buffett, Mr. Templeton developed a cult following, with fund investors flocking to annual meetings to hear his pronouncements. Money magazine in 1999 called him "arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century."

A devout Presbyterian, Mr. Templeton may be remembered as much for financing the study of spirituality as for his canny investments. In 1972, he set up the US$1-million-plus Templeton Prize. Mother Teresa was the first recipient, six years before she collected the Nobel Peace Prize. He always made sure that his award offered more money than the Nobel Prizes.

"What we say about investments isn't as lasting as what we say about spiritual matters," Mr. Templeton, who was a board member of the American Bible Society, said in a 1993 interview from his home in the Bahamas.

Investing took a back seat to his religious and charitable endeavours, particularly after he sold his mutual fund empire for US$913-million to Franklin Resources Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., a month before his 80th birthday in 1992.

Mr. Templeton, who became a British subject after moving to the Bahamas, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1987, the year he set up the John Templeton Foundation.

The award, officially named the Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities, mirrors Mr. Templeton's investment strategy: Diversification yields the greatest return in the long run.

"I am still an enthusiastic Christian," Mr. Templeton once said, explaining his commitment to what he called religious progress. "But why shouldn't I try to learn more? Why shouldn't I go to Hindu services? Why shouldn't I go to Muslim services? If you are not egotistical, you will welcome the opportunity to learn more."

The foundation's mission is to "pursue new insights at the boundary between theology and science," according to its Web site. It grants more than US$60-million annually for research into religion and the sciences. The foundation has also supported Republican political causes, contributing US$1-million to encourage conservatives to vote in 2004.

John Marks Templeton was born Nov. 29, 1912, in Winchester in rural Tennessee. Ever industrious, at age 12 he purchased a broken-down Ford from a local farmer and rebuilt it with some friends using spare parts he took from another old car. He drove it until the end of high school, when he became the first person in his town to attend college.

He graduated first in his class at Yale University, all while paying his own tuition during the Depression by earning scholarships, doing administrative work for the university and beating his classmates in poker, according to a 1999 profile in Wired magazine.

He earned a law degree at Oxford University in the U.K., having been named a Rhodes Scholar. Though the law school there was known for its socialist leanings at the time, Mr. Templeton remained uncritical of capitalism as a student.

At 24, he set off on a seven-month tour of 35 countries with fellow Oxford Christian James Inksetter. They slept on ship decks and ate vegetables, fruit and day-old bread to conserve their money.

"This education in thrift prepared me for a career of selling advice to wealthy families by searching for stocks whose basic value seemed to be many times greater than the market price," he said in 2004.

Before he left for his travels he had written to 100 investment firms, letting them know he'd be available for hire when he got back. When he returned, there was a job waiting for him at the Wall Street firm Fenner and Beane.

He married his first wife, Judith Folk, when he was 25. Before Mr. Templeton made his fortune, the two pinched pennies to save enough money to open an independent counseling firm. He later said they made a game of it by vowing to save 50% of their income by finding the most frugal deals.

The couple had three children -- John, Anne and Christopher -- before Judith died in 1951. Mr. Templeton married Irene Reynolds Butler seven years later. She died in 1993.

When the Second World War began in 1939, Mr. Templeton borrowed money to buy 100 shares in each of the 104 companies selling for US$1 a share or less, including 34 that were in bankruptcy, according to a biography on his foundation's Web site. Only four turned out to be worthless after Mr. Templeton held each for an average of four years.

Later, the Templeton Growth Fund was designed to invest in companies worldwide with the prospect of returns based on future earnings growth, a so-called bottom-up, value-investing style.

"We must remain patient, flexible in our outlook, and always aware that eventually all securities and assets will be priced according to their future earnings," Mr. Templeton wrote in the foreword to the 2002 book Engines That Move Markets by Scottish money manager Alasdair Nairn.

Mr. Templeton attributed much of his success to his ability to maintain an elevated mood, avoid anxiety and stay disciplined. Uninterested in consumerism, he drove his own car, never flew first class and lived year-round in his peaceful ocean-side home in the Bahamas.

In 1998, he estimated that, apart from spiritual programs, he had watched fewer than 84 hours of television in his life, according to Investor's Business Daily.

By the time he sold the business to Franklin, it managed about US$20-billion for clients and had money managers such as Mark Mobius, a prominent emerging-markets investor.

He wrote, edited or contributed to at least 10 books from The Humble Approach: Scientists Discover God in 1982 to Faithful Finances 101: From the Poverty of Fear and Greed to the Riches of Spiritual Investing in 2005.

Templeton is survived by two sons, a stepdaughter, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. One son, John Jr., retired as a pediatric surgeon in 1995 to become president of the foundation.

Bloomberg.com

It is not long ago when I first heard of his name, his achievements and his story from The Intelligent Investor. He was simply a paragon who can practically execute the principles of value investment. Even though he is no longer with the changing market, he's no doubt a model that I'll learn a lot from in the future. Thank you for building and leaving us an invaluable literature of a successful investor's journey, sir.

"The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell."

Young Adulthood Politics

I eat because I am hungry. I sleep because I am tired. I behave in the former way because I expect for the latter response. In general, I give for being paid back. It sounds very simple but stupid, but the nature of this principle can be interpreted in other very nasty ways.

Many of the girls at my high school were scums. They held hands when they were in a group, and they ferociously stabbed each other's back when I talked to them individually. I was the very lucky one to know all the bads in each of them; and I was the only one that could say they were filthy liars. Yesterday I received an Email from one of the girls, and she is in one of my summer courses. Neglecting the fact that she loves talking crap about her "best buddies", she is a good looking girl with great personalities, and she is always really helpful and nice, but there is something else in her that I don't appreciate at all. She only gives people a hand when she can perceive possible future returns. She told me she would try her very best to maintain the relationship with her boyfriend at least until university graduation because she didn't want to give up the concrete "A's" in her writing courses.

So let's get back to what happened yesterday. The Email I got was some answers of a randomized online quiz. We have been trying to gather all the answers and develop an answer database, so everyone will get 100% eventually; though, she is the only one sharing. At the end of the Email, her signature was "Super Duper Nice Joyce".

I believe it is not necessary even if you are intrinsically nice, or... super duper nice, or we are jerks because we haven't put in any effort at all. Or probably I'm being fussy and trying to pick on something tiny just to keep my blog running. Well anything works for me, but I'm just reminding myself not to behave in the ways that I don't like others' to do it to me.

Sorry Joyce, I still like you a lot, but that really fed me up.

Small Change, Big Difference

Everyone has their own ways to make their lives easier. It will be interesting and useful to jot some of the unintentional but helpful behaviors down just to remind myself to work in the ways that help me to live more efficient and effective.

1. Bring Hand-Written Task Chart: Keep a hand-written task chart in wallet and cross off whatever is done.
2. Find A Suitable Workplace: Work at a quiet and isolated corner to start off the feminine 30.
3. Email And Call For Questions: Email to ask or give a long-distance call in any means.
4. Carry A Paper And A Pen: Write down anything interesting or inspirational that comes across the mind.
   
5. Blog To Systematize And Know More: Analyze and fully understand the concern, and be able to retell in general. Listen up to controversies and accept criticisms to think and concern in different angles.
6. Half-Day-Off Before Reviewing and Editing: Review and edit essay or analysis after a few hours of sleep.
   
7. Learn From Bads: Learn from self and other's failures and defects.
8. Email Subscription: Subscribe via Email rather than RSS or any feed readers.

Last Updated: July 08, 2008 | 1:12AM

Addiction

Before I started writing my first entry, I thought I would never ever care about the comments anymore because by the time I had made up my mind of moving away from Xanga, I knew the inconvenience would stop people to come. But it was such a great moment when I woke up and turned on my computer, and I saw two Email notifications... seemingly it is just something hi-and-bye and not a big deal to my daily routine, but it is such a great appetizer for me in the sunny day.

Everyone and even I myself thought I would study engineering because I had been talking about it for so long. But I made up my mind of going with business after returning from Hong Kong last summer as I realized I had a better analytical mind with the market rather than numbers. Thus in the past a year and half, I have been bathing with numerous investment books and financial news. I'm glad that I don't find them boring or burdensome. I'm proud of myself of making a change even though it was just on time. Video games are then no longer a part of my life, at all, and I find a lot more joy in reading, and I enjoy it. It is lovely to see myself turning a into finance-addict or geek-wannabe, really, nothing pathetic.

So, it is about time to record my thoughts on anything about investment as I don't want to again miss anything important that can possibly polish my understanding and interpretation in the changing market. Time is so precious and I can't afford to regret in any means again. I feel so dumb of not doing this as early as I could, anyways, it is never too late. Live to learn, right?

The Truth

It has been a while.

I've always been hiding and restraining myself from revealing my actual living situation here in Canada. I just want friends around the world to have a sense of security for me, instead of messaging me once in a while just to cheer me up... considering this is already my fourth year here and I am supposed to have accommodated everything long ago. This makes me a big loser. Probably I just want to act cool and let everyone know I have been having a happy life, indeed.

I really don't know where I should start from, and it is really painful just to begin this. But hey, at least I've just learned to tell the truth and not to act like an unbeatable man who never moans. By the way, I'm starting this right after I've finished reading Richard's blog... so, thanks bro. This blog is born because of you - giving me a chance to say what I really want to say, and mainly, providing me an opportunity to prove what I used to persist is right.

Four years ago, things started off fine. A year later, the most importantly, my social life was even better because of an emergence of growing accumulation of more and more playful people. In my group of friends, I'd say I could maintain the friendship with two or three of them for long. Just like what I used to do: I treated all the people wholeheartedly because I fully believed the pay and gain are always equalled; even if not, real friends should be grateful to devote for each other, no matter what. This is always my philosophy but Canada proved me wrong. Betrayal and slander fed me up. I felt like I was totally an idiot and had been wanting to return to where I should belong, with buddies who were fighting for the Hong Kong public examination day and night; however, I had no choice but to stay and smile with my mask on. In return, I did something really bad and filthy that I can never forgive myself - "Sorry again, Kevin.", if you can read this somehow. The ultimate year of my high school life turned out to be a disaster. It ended in a Pandora's box particularly filled with slander and lying.

Things have turned out to be better after high school graduation. People who I have met at university are generally nice, but I can start to smell a full load of lies from this chunk of smiling adults. This seems like a must-go-through stage of life everyone will once be in it. Desires for added authority and GPA have overruled the morale that a normal person should possess. Unfortunately, I know I am heading to be one of those, but I will definitely keep my ethical values right. I know I can't afford to regret for being a jerk once again.

There are a lot more I'd love to tell, but off the top of my head, these are what I think I have been struggling and was ashamed to tell. I'm really sorry to all the friends whom I have been hiding my thoughts to. I really didn't mean to do it. But what I am sure for now is that I will say anything straight ahead like what I used to do, be as truthful as I was and be the person that you all used to uplift all the way.

I hope there will be a change in a year. This change will most likely be the very last big move for me as a student. I wish it could come true but I won't tell it until things are set because I don't want to again be an ostrich-wannabe and disappoint anyone over and over.

Oh and there is one last thing: "HKnese" = "HongKong-nese"... HKer is taken, dang it. I just miss my motherland too much haha.

Anyways, this should be the end for now. I'm really grateful for what I've just done in the last half an hour. Peace.