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We welcome the year of the Fire Rooster today, happy Chinese new year everyone!

It is a time of get-togethers, quality family time and lotsa eating and drinking in excess. I look forward to the reunion dinners and I usually have 3 every year. Last night, we had it at our place with my parents, my in-laws and my sister, as we have been doing for a number of years. We did something different this year and I prepared a traditional steamboat dinner. Took me a few weeks to prepare, to buy the required ingredients. As usual, I overdid it and created the mother of all steamboats. I think we had enough food to feed twice the number of people we had last night. Nevermind, the balance of the remaining food can be used for a delicious porridge meal in the following days.

I cherish these elaborate dinners because it is a means for the extended families to get connected again in a very deep way, where 3 generations come together over a meal. As the 2nd generation, I pay respect to my parents as they age another year while we instill in our children the need to respect our elders and cherish the valuable moments.

The first 3 days of CNY is more of the same, house visitations and getting to meet people who you may only see once a year, usually at such occasions as we all congregate at the home of the eldest relative to pay our respect to her. Thanks to social media, we can now record all our group photos to share with everyone and record the event.

Here’s to many more of such meetups and merry-making!

 

Well, we had Trump finally taking over last night. Will come back to that.

It’s been a strange Déjà vu kind of week for me. Into my 9th week of the new job and a bombshell was dropped on me on Thursday. My boss, the one that made it happened and hired me, announced that due to expense cuts, his team and another one will be merged. Hence his role is made redundant and he has been let go. This was a veteran of the bank, having spent 29 years here since graduation. He seems to have taken the sudden news pretty well, considering that he was told about it only 24 hours ago.

I empathize with him as it happened to me too, as I was given the pink slip and let go because of expense cuts on 01 Dec 2011 after 19 years with the bank and given an hour to clear the desk. C’est La Vie, that’s life… Need to move forward and engage with the new boss asap, I guess.

Anyway, back to my favourite topic of the moment, the impending start of the Trump presidency. Someone seems to have figured out the reason for his vigorous nightly tweets. It is to divert attention away from other more serious matters, to create a distraction. As the master of Twitter and deflection, and being someone who does not even trust emails, the social media has provided him with a perfect channel to satisfy his penned up needs to get instant gratification from adoring fans. A recent study has concluded that in the past 12 years, the candidate with the stronger social media always wins the presidential elections (ie. Obama’s 2 terms and now Trump). Before that, we had no Facebook as social media is only a recent phenomenon.

It will be interesting how historians will record and explain social media many years from now. It is still evolving, a new virtual eco-system that is constantly changing. It makes the world a smaller place for all individuals.

 

 

Yes, we are 2 weeks into the new year and everyone does not really know what to expect for 2017 – most economists are simply just saying that we should expect more of the unexpected and that anything can happen from here. More of this later.

Came across the article below which I can really identify with as I cross my half time. It talks about a study to identify Superagers and why they remain sharp. By constantly working hard at something, one can have a better quality of life. Life is a constant journey of learning new things, new skills. If we stop actively doing this, our brain deteriorates rapidly. Though the process can be painful at times, the results are worth it.

It was like that when I stopped working last Apr and decided that I need to learn new skills in order to qualify for new jobs. I did a lot of eLearning into the latest programming languages, new internet technologies and web based jobs that did not exist a few years ago. The more I attacked my areas of interest in earnest, the more I felt that I was learning and absorbing new knowledge and feeling more fulfilled.

It was also the same in my new job. I was told that I had to retake 7 external exams again to qualify for a rep license as I have left the industry for more than 3 years. I literally had to spend a few hours each night preparing for a new exam every 2 weeks. So far, I managed to pass 4 within 2 months, 3 more to go. Son was so worried that I was studying every night and asked: “Dad, are you ok?”. Getting the hang of it now and it feels good that I am learning new things as well as having a refresher training on topics that I have been practicing in the Treasury sector for the last 26 years.

The article also mentioned about a marine corps motto that says “Pain is weakness leaving the body”. It spoke to me, both from the experience of studying again now for the exams and also of my running experience, to sign up for a half marathon every 3 months. The pain is worth it and the pot of gold is at the finishing line.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/31/opinion/sunday/how-to-become-a-superager.html

Finally, the first Trump press conference fiasco. What a crazy show it was… Just like a reality show, he thinks that everyone can be fooled by what you can present with “authority” at the conference (A pile of files = hard work doing your tax returns? Come on!).

So laughable that the inventor of fake news is calling the media fake… You win the elections via this means and after you win, you turn around and accuse everyone else that they are doing what you had done and condemns it??? A strange new world indeed. When he officially takes over this Friday, it will be volatility galore. He will probably tweet a few companies to death soon too… Real and Reel life are the same nowadays.

 

 

 

 

Day 7 into 2017, so far so good.

Have had a nice December with a great family vacation, settling into my new job and catching up with friends for the year-end celebrations.

First four days of my job was better than I expected. Made progress in a few things that I wanted to accomplish and excited that the business game plan for 2017 is slowing coming together, looking forward to the next few weeks where the strategy will play out and facing the unexpected challenges that may come my way. Nothing is too big or too hard for me nowadays. I have seen the bottom of my career, had 26 years of working experience to be able to say “been there, done that”.

I have the maturity to not sweat the small stuff and focus on the big picture, to never give up and to be comforted that there is always something new out there for me to do and experience.

I have done almost everything I wanted to accomplish on my to-do list during my 7 months of in-between jobs. Tried to reinvent myself and learn new things.

As I crossed my 50th into the next half of my life, there is an urgency to want to make the most of my remaining life, knowing that each and every day ahead is precious and should be cherished to its maximum as we count our blessings along the way.

Look forward to each day as if it is the last day of your life. Tomorrow will always be a better day!

Staying Happy & Healthy.

Today is the last day of a crazy year. 2016 was also the hottest year on record.

This year was where we see the world turned upside down on its head, where norms were destroyed and the new world order comes to the fore. We had voter revolts everywhere, from PHP, UK to USA. Enough is enough, the people shouted. To be replaced by new unknowns based on false truths and the promise of a brave new world where everything is possible and the impossible comes true. This is priming for a volatile 2017.

Over at the home front, the economy is looking to get weaker into next year as retrenchments happen across all industries. The bright spots were the achievements of individual citizens that propelled the little red dot to the world stage – Olympics medals and being a runner-up in a China singing contest made us all proud.

On a personal front, it has been a journey of discovery for me. To be brave enough to quit my job to seek new adventures, learn new things and then was lucky enough to embark on a new career path at year-end.

What new year resolutions should I make for 2017? One obvious one would be to never give up on what I set my mind to do. Another would be to work very hard to make my new job a success – work hard and play hard, to also enjoy the ride. My basic motto in life has always been to stay healthy and happy.

Onwards fellow friends, the future’s so bright, I’ve gotta wear shades…

 

Sorry for not blogging for a while. Took a break and had a family vacation with the in-laws to Taiwan. A lovely trip where we chillax with lotsa food at every meal (at least 10 dishes at each sitting) and everyone slept a lot – in the coach (6 pax in a 30 seater) and at night (almost 8 hours every night!).  Though short (8 days), it felt like we were away for a while, changing hotels every night…

It has been a crazy and amazing 2016 overall, not just for me but for everyone too. The world turned upside down with old norms being swept aside as the people revolted and new impossible to predict winners coming to the front and center. Brexit and Trump shocked the world and more to come next year.

Personally, it was a year of reflection for me too. Quit my old shitty job in Apr gave myself 6 months to try to pursue business opportunities that did not materialize (F&B and Retirement Village), tried hard to reinvent myself (started this blog, did a number of eLearning courses on social media and programming) and basically completed most of my To-Do list items. I was fortunate enough to eventually get a job in Nov with the help of a good friend. It was totally unexpected and it has been an exciting new journey in a global bank so far.

Anyway, back to my favourite topic for the year end. Before Trump, there was the Governator. There was an interesting article that caught my eye a few weeks ago (link below). If you think Trump was original, think again! I have a strong suspicion that he is modeling himself after The Arnold, Mr. Terminator himself who ran California in the 1990s. He took no shit from anyone and anything was possible. If there was a political brick wall in front of him, he will try to break it.

The biggest irony of it all? The new Apprentice series will start next week. Trump will be replaced by Arnold as the boss. Stay tuned for more mayhem in the real and reality world folks!

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/before-trump-there-was-governator

 

 

I was in Hong Kong for 4 days this week for a business trip. The last time I was there, it was 2 years ago for a family vacation where we ate our way through all the great eating places over 4 days.

For this trip, I stayed at Marco Polo in Harbour City/Kowloon and took a daily ferry ride across the waters to the business district every day to reach the office. It was a nice way to get to work and the ride was incredibly cheap at HKD 2 only (USD 1 = HKD 7.76).

Other than the ferry ride, I was amazed that things in HK were so expensive now! One good indicator was the cost of food. Every meal I had was at least HKD 100. Even in the cheap run down mom and pop, hole in the ground eating places that I like to frequent in Kowloon had all jack up prices in general. We had a corporate rate for the hotel and it was already HKD 1,500/night. I was told that the sandwich shop Pret-A-Manger (at the IFC mall where I grabbed lunch during my time in HK) had  a monthly rental of at least HKD 500,000 per month! Can you imagine the number of sandwiches you have to sell?

It seems that HK property prices since 2009 had doubled and only 50% of the population owns a property. Public housing is almost impossible to find and this sector has been controlled by the big 4 firms over the years. No wonder the general population is unhappy and protests are getting more common. The younger generation is disillusioned and most are contemplating leaving the country, a feeling of desperation and hopelessness being felt. The opposition parties are trying to have their voice in parliament, though I disagree with their methods.

I thought that S’pore was already expensive nowadays, but my short trip to HK this week made me realize that it was worse in other countries like HK. The developed countries may say that their economy is in a deflationary cycle, but their loose monetary policies are wrecking havoc on the rest of the world, causing asset bubbles in emerging market and exporting inflation to all the developing economies. How all this will end is anybody’s guess. Will it end badly with a bang or will it again be swept under the carpet for the next generation to worry about as we kick the can down the road???

 

 

Time flies and we are into the year-end holiday mood again. While everyone is planning to go for their block leave and celebrating Christmas/New Year parties soon, this December feels a bit different…

Global banks are still retrenching people last week to cut expenses and save on bonuses. Mostly European banks as the EU environment is going to get worst and we have not seen a bottom yet.

Come Monday morning, we will see the Italian referendum results. If it is a no, Renzi will resign and we might get a Brexit reaction again. All hell may break loose in an illiquid month as banks close their books for the year. My dealer friends are resigned to the fact that bonus will be bad and what is the point of making money now if you are not going to get paid? Get it wrong and your job is on the line.

The following week, we will have the much anticipated US FOMC meeting. Thanks to Trump winning, bond yield have shot up on expectations of a crazy fiscal expansion coming which will be inflationary. The Fed last hiked in Dec 2015 and most economists are certain that Yellen will increase rates by another 25 bps now.

After Trump and Brexit so far, investors are hard pressed to try to figure out what is a sure thing nowadays. The 2 events above could have totally unexpected outcomes, damn the polls. We seem to be going into a really choppy December where the brakes of the running train will malfunction and volatility skyrockets.

I came across an interesting article this week on why social media got things so wrong for the Trump/Clinton elections. It cited Facebook as a prime example. FB’s algo is able to learn from your likes and then it will show you more of the same, the things that you prefer. Hence if you support Clinton, the FB machine will likely show you only pro-Clinton news. The opposite is true for a Trump fan – he will be directed to a pro-Trump news feed. This inherent FB social media situation prevents one side from knowing about the existence of the other side. Hence Clinton was never aware of how big a following Trump had. And the polls got it wrong too, as they were looking at all the wrong places.

Food for thought today…  Social media is changing and we learn new things every day as the eco-system is evolving.