Just The 3 of Us

The Best People in my Office

2010-08-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

2nd August 2010 marks a beginning of a new journey in my life, or should I say new changes that I have to get used to in my current journey.

The maid has left and that means Joshua is fully under our care, excluding the time he is at day care. We need to worry about his new adjustments too. Things like taking noon naps without the "yoyo" bed, making new friends at the centre, we don't know if he likes the food prepared there, and many other little and huge issues combined together. Surely, there are a few of them thats gonna give Penny and I headaches, on top of getting household chores done and attending my night classes which I have started just a month ago.

I believe in praying to God and having them answered by the Almighty. That leads me to mention how I started my job 10 years ago and how it ended just last Thursday. I'm still working for the same organisation, just that my work place and colleagues have changed. A nasty start compared to a reluctant-to-leave ending in my work place which I have gone through for the last 10 years. Those people in my work place especially my office brothers which I hate to say goodbye. I actually had a choice to stay, circumstances changed and it really doesnt matter if I leave or not. Because I planned to leave the organisation once I have completed my studies. But well, I cant just revoke this job posting.
I'm not boasting, but praising God. What I've mentioned just now about a nasty start on my job 10 years ago, somehow its the exact opposite now. People in my work place dislike me when I first started work. Now, no one in my office wanted me to leave. I have actually made real friends and brotherhood, and workwise, I have made myself indispensable.
This is a testimony on how God answered my prayers 10 years ago when I prayed for people who disliked me, gaining favour, and work itself.

Vincent Lai, Alex Li, Belinda Lim, Sam Ngiam, Wendy Leong, Koh Hwee Chong, Mavis Tan, the late Mr. Koh Wee Kiat, Tiffany Lee, Lin Qingyuan, Mickey, Lim Teow Lee, and those who I have not mentioned but worked with me for the supply office. You guys are the best people and I'm going to salute to you for your support for the period 2001 to 2010.

2010-04-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Amazing Thailand

and so I just came back from a holiday in Bangkok, a city in the midst of political distress, dangerous, and a time where tourists avoid visiting. Nevertheless, my wife, Joshua, my Sister-in-law, brother-in-law and his fiancee had a great time shopping and eating. Although major shopping malls were closed, the ones we usually go to were still open to customers: Mah Boon Krong, Suan Lum Night Bazzaar, JJ Market and Platinum Mall.

ACCA

This is it. Professional, promising career prospects, pays good money, and quite importantly, international. I choose this path over Logistics and Supply Chain after giving some thoughts. I have to work hard when classes commence, I had to. This time, its not just for me. I wouldnt want to disappoint my wife, my son and my supportive Grandpa, who gave me an interest-free loan, by failing the exams. Heard that papers are tough. Thats what it takes to be a professional isnt it?

C Jan11 7.5 Call

Took a small step to get started with options. Bought a long call for 11 bucks(0.11 X 100) before broker commissions, an insignificant amount which will be forgotten. Citigroup was trading between 4 - 5 bucks just for the past couple of days and hope that it gets nearer ITM in the coming months.

I was quite interested to use the long Iron Condor, a little similar to the I mentioned in the previous post since expiry date is just 1 day away and letting it expire worthless, but just realised I didnt have enough in my trading account yet to meet the Options Buying Power requirement.

I plan to purchase C shares with the little amount of money that I have.( I have been saving up to this for a long time) once my money is in from the transfer. Let this money work harder instead of staying in my savings account. And at the same time purchase put options to protect them. This way, I'm in a winning position. Unless C got stucked sideways for long periods of time(which is unlikely), I'm quite certain its going to perform well for the coming months.

2010-04-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Long Iron Butterfly

This is a strategy that can be used in a sideways market. It combines basic option strategies: the Bear Call Spread (short lower call and long higher call) and the Bull Put Spread (long lower put and short higher put).
Using an example, we can create a long iron butterfly by going
- long 1 Dec Gold Futures 350 Call @ 7.5,
- short 1 Dec Gold Futures 340 Call @ 12.6,
- short 1 Dec Gold Futures 330 Put @ 9.8, and
- long 1 Dec Gold Futures 320 Put @ 7.2

Maximum reward is simply the net credit of the spread. In this example, the maximum reward is $770, [(12.6 + 9.8) - (7.2 + 7.5) = 22.4 - 14.7 = 7.7 X $100 = $770 ]

Maximum risk is equal to the difference between strikes times the value per point minus the net credit received. In this case, the maximum risk is $230 [(350 - 340) X $100 ] - $770 = $1000 - $770 = $230 ]

The upside break-even is equal to the middle call option strike price plus the net credit received. In this example, the upside break-even is 347.70 (340 + 7.7).
The downside break-even is equal to the middle put strike price minus the net credit received, or 322.30 (330-7.7 = 322.30).
Therefore, the profit range for this trade is between 322.30 and 347.70.

This trade is preferred because of its higher reward-to-risk ratio. This often happens when the puts and calls have different implied volatilities. This difference can make one trade better than the other.

Summary

Risk: Limited
Profit: Limited
Time Decay Effect: Mixed
Situation: Look for a sideways market that you expect to close between the wings of the iron butterfly.
Profit: Limited to the net credit received.
Risk: Limited (difference between long and short strikes times value per point, minus net credit received).
Upside Break-even : Strike price of middle short call plus the net credit received.
Downside Break-even: Strike price of middle short put minus net credit received.

The Very Senior Primary School Teacher

2010-03-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

I asked Daphne, a Primary 4 student, why her words were written so big in her workbooks, something like font size 40 on the monitor. She said that her teacher is so old and his glasses so big to be able to read anything small. Well, I believed her. How's that for respecting your teacher eh? lol...

Dying To Myself

My Sunday was not a typical one, in fact, things happened that day that were uncalled for.
People who know me would say that I'm a quiet person, acts cool, dull expression, can't tell whether I'm stern or just a sleepy look on my face. They are quite right, and I don't really like confrontation, or anything like that. Sometimes I avoid being in crowds, and needless to say, stage frights I have. Or perhaps I'm just shy and sometimes afraid to look at someone in the eye and say what I mean.
So I had to die to these traits on Sunday, get out of my comfort zone and do what I had to do. Anger did give a little push and some help.
Heated exchange of words, shouting, things that I said on Sunday, though I was not proud of it, had to be said to let the other party know what I feel and what I want all these years. I'd like to add, that I wasn't a blaming person. But that very day I pointed out all the wrongs.
Perhaps it was due to pressure which brings me to mention a little bit on the content, it was all for my son Joshua. I was desperate because I might face a time where no one could look after him while Penny and I got our day jobs to attend to. And to take leave is temporary measure, which is only like what? few days?

If anyone reads this post. I'd like to point out that my intent of this post is not to vent anger, gossip, talking behind people's back or anything like that. I am sharing my life, and what happened. There are take-aways to every story, something we can learn and seek to improve.

Till now, I am glad to say that Joshua will be given care and that's all that I had wished for.

I'll end off by saying that being anti-social or an introvert might give you problems in your relationships. If you are one, or little like that.. work on it, it goes a long way.

Paper Trade

2010-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Options Course, a recommended read, was borrowed from the library for me to learn from the expert and to keep my daily commuting time occupied.

One of the advice given was to paper trade.(using a demo account to trade without the use of real money).
Already I have bought a couple of call options and sold them way before they expire.(using Virtual Account)

Bought: - Call Options
- 1 Contract of RUT at $26.80 and sold one day later at $32.10. (profit of $500 after deducting brokerage fees)

- 1 Contract of C at $0.59 and sold 3 days later at $1.20 (profit of about $30)

- 1 Contract of SPY at $2.66 and sold 10 days later at $4.56 (profit of about $160)

Sold: - Naked Put
- 1 Contract of SPY Mar10 116 Put to receive premium of $186

I'm waiting for the Put Options to expire worthless.(effective today 3rd Friday of the month) If SPY drops big time before today, it would be exercised and I would be obligated to buy the shares. Since my virtual account has a lot of money, lol, I wouldn't consider this to be a naked put since I have the margin to actually purchase actual 100 shares of SPY. Correct me I'm wrong.

Learning points:

- if the call option contract is bought cheap(e.g $0.59), I have to make sure that the price goes up to a point where it is profitable after factoring in brokerage fees.
- I should plan an exit for both profitable and losing trades.
- Sell the call contract at least more 30 days before it expires as it still has time value, as advised.
- I should start to read charts and ratios before committing future trades(I did not do so for the above mentioned)

the words that come out from the mouth

2010-03-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

I just realised that the date is stamped after every new post in the blog. I didnt need to put the date as the title. Creative juice needs to be squeezed to think of a suitable title.

What I meant was Words have life and also have the power to influence and create. Sounds like the Bible eh? Now my emphasis is that Words can also damage and pierce through one's heart deadlier than a 2-edged sword. I have encountered the negative side of it, and those poisonous words that came out from a person that I never knew have the capability to do so. Very dangerous...nobody would believe me even if i reveal who that person was. I'd better not. Because its gonna stir trouble. Trouble from where?
Sorry for all these suspense..I usually do not talk or write about such things..because I think its really not worth one's time. But for the above, take it as a learning point about Words, things that you talk about..check yourselves..are you gossipping? putting another person down? talking behind one's back? Remember, what you say to a person can change his/her life, depending on the impact. So speak good things, seek to enrich, build up, and encourage.

So again, I am writing more ideas and infomation i discovered which could be put into good use later.
One of them would be Megadroid, a software robot operating with AI specialised in trading Forex. The official website looks like another scam or just another website created hoping people would buy their useless products. I have my doubts, however the people in Babypips forum seem to have good reviews and making pips constantly trading with the use of this MD.
They at first had their doubts too, but had them cleared when demo accounts are doing great when tried with MD. I would be saving cash to buy this product.

Optionsxpress Education Centre

I took more than an hour figuring out the first few strategies explained in great detail. That was under Trading Level 4. A long one. Mainly the spreads,both bearish and bullish ones were introduced.

Canada

I have aspirations to live and work in Canada. My wife supported the idea and thats probably all I need to go ahead and plan for it.
Reasons? of course they are the many good things you and I have already heard about that country.
What does it take? This is the challenging part. One of them is skills and education. The rest I'll share later.
Which brings me to mention that I would need to upgrade myself and acquire skills to contribute to those who needs them. Its a give and take thingy.
Money? I need to clear debts and at the same time find financial support(I got someone in mind to loan me interest free) to fund a Degree programme. Now take note, its LOAN. not sponsor nor free help. If I kick start study, the earliest time would be the start of next year.
What programme? I actually havent decided, to go ahead continuing Logistics(My diploma is in this area), or choose something that interest me like Accounting and Finance offered by UOL. If I choose the latter, I have to decide whether to take the degree or ACCA.

to be cont..

The Thirteen of March 2010

2010-03-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

It has been ages since the last update. Reason? Lazy. So what brings me here again? I actually need to pen down my thoughts and ideas as I am afraid I may forget them although they are still very fresh in my head.
This afternoon, after breakfast at Serangoon North at our favourite stall in one of the coffee-shops, Joshua was walking around the living room, trying to destroy anything he got his hands on.
So I had no choice but to leave the computer to attend to him. I came across this AIA calendar/journal in Joshua's toy box, and thought that maybe I could just write something down while keeping an eye on Joshua.
For starters, I had actually terminated all my AIA policies except one hospital shield plan that I bought for Josh. Penny and I have ours covered by Aviva. I also got three of us group term insurance, paying around 30 bucks monthly. This one is not a bad deal because SAF tied up with Aviva to give soldiers affordable basic insurance. Now my son is actually disturbing me by grabbing my pen(how rude) haha. Maybe this could be an example for him to learn since he likes to imitate what Penny and I do.

Investment and Trading

One day I was playing my PSP when I suddenly felt like I had enough of these things and wasting my life. Everyday for me is like going to work, looking forward to weekends, looking forward to blockbuster movies, looking forward to the next pay day, or bonus pay-out, playing Facebook games, looking after my son, spending time with my wife and having tea with her. That's about it. I'm not saying that doing all these things are a waste of time, and I should continue doing these things because they mean quality time spent with my family. But, I felt that I need to wake up from restlessness and "sleep". There seems to be no longer any purpose in my life.

I chanced upon a book from my drawer, one which I took from my brother-in-law, and started reading. Its about investment and making money from the stock markets. I did not stop. I read everything, except on the portion on "how to make money using options". Because I didn't understand how it works.

A lot of things to mention, but i try to bring up them slowly, one at a time.
The book actually introduced not only investment and trading, but financial habits that we should adopt in order to retire comfortably and not get in debt.
One which I am convicted to do is to put away 100 bucks monthly to buy 31 shares of STI ETF(that was in January 2010 when it was trading at 2,900).

That was after I went to Poems to open a trading account and signed up for the SBplan. A goal which I set up for myself and intended to keep to it or increase the amounts if I have the means to in future.

I read a lot these few months. Going to the library to borrow financial books, like those "Trading for Dummies" and etc. Websites like investopedia and optionsxpress became my "must-visit" sites daily.

I was very impressed and even more determined and "charged up" to get my feet wet in Investment, until a point where I realised that one would need money to make money. I haven't actually pumped in cash for trading except for the one mentioned above, basically because I still have a substantial amount of debt which needs to lowered, and close to zero amount of cash in my savings account.

And so I plan to clear those debt asap and also continue to learn about investing and trading.
One of the very important things mentioned by those books and websites is that we should always try trading using a demo or virtual account for 6 months before we actually commit real cash in to the market.

Currently I have several positions in my Virtual account using optionsxpress. to be cont.

2009-08-25T01:04:00.000-07:00

My new favourite stand-up comedian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qtrAMK7_Qk

the seventeenth of july 2009

2009-07-18T03:45:00.000-07:00

too many thoughts to be expressed in this blog, so i think i'll just go with the flow. Thank God its friday, but weekends pass you by just like that. Now, Harry Potter, most talked about movie these few days, and unfortunately, my wife loves the series although she doesnt read the novels. And so we went to AMK hub to watch the movie instead of the usual cineplexes in town. A little tight for our pockets, if we had to take a cab after midnight, at least the trip from AMK to our home is nearer. I didnt expect the movie was so hot that all 4-5 theatres showing Harry Potter were full. Lucky for us, we manage to get 11:20pm tickets, 3rd row seats from the front. We had some time to grab a bite before the movie starts and so we went to the most popular diner in AMK, Mcdonalds. LOL. At least for me, i like the french fries and fillet'o'fish.

and its true, at around 10pm, this is the kind of crowd you'd see at AMK Mcdonalds. You will see the young, old, ah lians, ah bengs, students who hadnt change out of their uniform, noisy idiots...

Would you like to give this burger a try? I did not, because it looked awful.

and there she was, my lovely wife...

They cant live without the world wide web, go home then use lah!

Surprisingly, Mcdonalds now accepts credit card payment! I dont know if the other outlets have already installed the machines. and you know what the coolest thing is? you just self-swipe your card, and there is no need for signatures unless your orders are above 35 bucks! Outstanding Mcdonalds, my favourite fast food restaurant...

HP and the Half-blood prince was quite alright. Im not a fan, but at least I didnt doze off in the theatre, the woman sitting beside my wife did...haha..and snoring...

Oh yeah, Piglet was at my in-laws, i'd probably get the whole series of Harry Potter movies for him when he is older. nah, better not, its all crap. He should watch movies like Lord of the Rings.

here's a picture of Piglet, his first time in a Fairprice Trolley.

"the dark side" of Piglet, didnt know how my wife manage to capture this shot.

“It's a little like the Mafia. A friend of mine is a friend of yours.” Jared Paul Stern

2009-07-15T00:38:00.000-07:00

Mafia Wars, over 4 million facebook users use this application game. I have been playing this since December 2008, everyday... If only I could faithfully read a book for an hour a day or practise the guitar just like the way I play Mafia. This is no warcraft or CABALsea, just a simple game like the popular Dope Wars. It kills time. If you are on levels 100 and above, lets say, you could easily spend like 30mins or so by using up all your 'energy' and 'stamina'.

If you are with me, I have a few tips on striving to be one of the top mafias.
1.) Use Loot Items for taking on other mafias - Weapons, Armour and Vehicles to maximise the potential of winning a fight. How? with the introduction of Cuba jobs, aim to do those jobs that can give you the best attack loot items. For Vehicles, try to get Hu-9 Helicopters. For Armour, Guerrilla Squads, Weapons, TNTs.

2.) Defence - Get loot items, Guerrilla Squads, Gaff Hooks and Armoured State Cars/Private Jets.

3.) Double up your Attack and Defence points in your profile against your Game Level. What do I mean? For Instance, if your current level now is 100, your profile attack points should be 200. it goes the same for defence.

Just my 2 cents.

My friends told me that they are getting tired of this.. for me? Same sentiments...but what are we doing now? we are trying to 'up' our level in Mafia Wars..

Most games are like that. They establish a goal for the players...and we play for hours to reach that goal. Finish already, the game gives us another one... its never ending. Ever heard cases where people drop dead by playing too much?

Baldness Experience

2009-07-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

I have pictures of Joshua's first haircut. Both Penny and I just love the close-up shots of the before-and-after shaving experience. The bad thing is, I wasn't there to share those moments with my family. It didn't quite bother me until my colleague at work shared with me that we should never miss those 'first-time' experiences with your loved ones..THAT IS SO TRUE! and I started to think back why I was at work during Piglet's first hair-shave. Must be the damned clerk duties i was scheduled for. Something which requires me to be at work before everyone else and be the last to leave the god-forsaken place. I would be punished if I didn't reach there in time. And you know what they would give me? More duties...yes....more duties...what if you are late for the next time....you shall have more duties also...
I have mentioned in my very first post on the habit of late nights. And that's not too deep for any fool to guess why I have a weakness for getting out of bed on time. OK, that's my problem actually. But I still hate those damned duties. I gotta leave that place asap for greener pastures.
Oh yeah, back to Piglet. I'm gonna attach his pictures. Really cute.

the thirteen of july 2009

2009-07-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

I was wondering how many blogs there are in this crazy WWW. Too many maybe to be viewed in a lifetime. So here I am, just joined the list, and hopefully my wife, Penny, and Joshua, our 5-month old baby, would be entertaining you with their daily activities.As always, late nights, not because I have to stay up, probably my mind works better during these hours. Joshua was put to bed a few hours ago by Penny, with much difficulty. Why? He stays at my in-laws' every weekend. Its quite tough for this baby to establish a sleep routine as my mother-in-law has her own ways in getting Josh to sleep. And now he's back, he has to get used to the surroundings (our bedroom, his cot). I, will be taking over this duty once I have the opportunity. I want to prove that I can take care of babies single-handedly. Not that I did not do so or contribute in taking care of Josh for the past 5 months, I didnt quite do as good a job as Penny did. I think most women are born to take care of babies and kids. Its not like a job or task you do at work. Its an art. Period.