Much better schools for the kids

Photo by Vasily Koloda on Unsplash

 

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

I visited the primary school my son was attending for the first time yesterday. 

And I could not help appreciating the fact that the schools nowadays are so much better!

Take sports facilitates for example:

• 3 basket ball courts, two outdoors and one indoors
• 1 football court, with real grass!
• 6–8 indoor badminton/valley ball courts
• Buckets of sports instruments: balls, rackets, protection gears etc etc
• …

And all in one Primary school!

Photo by Constantin Shimonenko on Unsplash

It is probably normal nowadays in Singapore because the school is just a neighborhood school. 

But the “luxury” would be so apparent if compared to my school life.

When I was in Primary school, all I had was some bare ground, muddy when raining and dusty when dry. The ground were full of pits and small pieces of rocks/bricks some of which were very sharp. So it was very common that students got injured while playing.

The sports instruments were limited to a few balls, one or two each of basketballs/footballs etc and they were locked up usually. Even PE teachers did not have access to bring them to PE classes, if the PE lessons were not eaten up by other subjects already. 

I still recall the PE teacher was also the guard of the school and the operator of the only small shop on campus.

I was a big fun of football growing up. But I did not get to see a proper football field until I got to university and that was “false” grass. 

Having a “real” grass football field was not imaginable in any primary school.

Let alone all those facilities and instruments all together!

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I was happy! 

Because my son is receiving much better education.

Because the world is a better place.

We should defend all this and work to make it even better!

 

Till next time!

My Market Transactions — Wk47 2022

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

 

 

 

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

Transaction for past week: Nil

 

Again, I am warming up. But it seems that the warm up will continue. I am just not sure about the market now.

Have a great week!!!

I am a slow reader and it is ok!

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Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

I read very slowly. 

Despite several trainings, I still read every word (pronounce it silently) and I still keep going back to re-read the paragraph I just finished.

It used to bother me a lot.

Time is scarce and there are too much to read. Why cannot I read more effectively?

But when I consciously increased my reading speed, I felt tired and I did not feel that I had read and understood the book.

After a few tries, I gave up and settled with my current speed.

But from time to time, I am still angry with myself for not being able to read faster.

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Recently I got to know that a senior who I admire a lot also reads slowly.

That gives me much comfort, not only because he shares the same problem, but also because of his 3 attitudes towards reading.

1. Reading should not cause anxiety. If we read slowly, so be it. Do not feel the anxiety or need to read faster. We should feel peace while reading.
2. Reading should be continuous. The key is to keep reading. We need to get into a habit of reading — find good books, read at our own paces and keep at it. Even if we only read a few pages per day, we will experience the benefits.
3. Reading should involve thinking. This is not only about extracting the content of the book, e.g. by making a mind map. We have to connect the content of the book to our reality. Only when the book deals a blow to our perspectives and beliefs, do we get connected with the book and author. This is how we learn and improve.

This applies not only to books, but also to blogs, magazines, research papers etc.

To us all readers!

 

Till next time!

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Nov 2022

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Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

So 2nd last month in the year!

Here is the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Nov 2022.

 

Net-Worth increase from last month: 10K SGD, -0.41KG Gold

The increase was totally due to the stock portfolio rebound. This has not happened for a long time!

Gold price increased enough to eat up the small increment in monetary value and give us a negative increase in Gold weight.

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -13.89% annualized return, incl. dividend

This is pretty big improvement compared to last month. Hope this will continue.

 

Till next time!

My Market Transactions — Wk46 2022

 

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

 

 

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

Transaction for past week: Nil

 

Again, I am warming up. But it seems that the warm up will continue. I am just not sure about the market now.

Have a great week!!!

Lessons from Shattered Door

 

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

The wind was so strong that it shattered my glass kitchen door in the middle of the night.

It woke us up for sure and took us more than 2 hours to clean it up, vacuuming the floor over and over again, worrying that the small pieces will hurt our sons who would always run around bare-footed.

But on the other hand, luckily it was in the middle of the night. If it were during the day, probably someone would have gotten hurt. The shattered glass spread everywhere!

Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

I remember that we discussed other options during renovation, but decided on the frameless glass door for two reasons:

1. It looks nicer
2. Our old flat had the same door and never caused any problem

And I think our decision process outlines two common pitfalls for renovation and many other things.

1. Prioritize looks over usefulness or durability — a lot of times, due to not fully realizing what that thing we pick needs to go through over time
2. Borrow from experiences, without considering the difference in circumstances

Photo by Tony Marinescu on Unsplash

The world is a cold place as it will teach us lessons if we make wrong decisions.

For us, it is waking up in the middle of the night, spending more than 2 hours cleaning up, searching and paying for a replacement, and waiting for it to be installed while suffering from strong smells from the kitchen while cooking.

Of course, this time, we picked a door with strong frames and we are also more mindful of closing the balcony window before going to bed.

See? We learn from our mistakes!

 

Till next time!

Attitude towards life is a choice

 

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

Dear readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

My wife has a much more positive attitude towards life.

She would cook, water the plants, exercise during the weekend, feeling happy and refreshed, while I sleep, read, play games, feeling angry, disappointed, unfair, bored etc etc.

She views things more positively as well.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

I used to think that she can do that because

1. She does not bear as much responsibility and pressure as I do.
2. She has not experienced as many frustrations and powerless moments as I do

But she made me realize that it is actually a choice.

And one fact convinced me about it: I know people who bear bigger responsibilities and have suffered bigger setbacks and still have much better attitude towards life.

So all in all, we decide how worth living our lives are. 

And bear in mind, life only happens once to us and it is worth living.

 

Till next time!

My Market Transactions — Wk45 2022

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

 

 

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

Transaction for past week: Nil

 

Again, I am warming up. But it seems that the warm up will continue. I am just not sure about the market now.

Have a great week!!!

The formula never fades!

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Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

 

I am hooked again by Total War Series. This time, the Three Kingdoms.

When I was in school, I was dying to get a Three Kingdom Total War game. Who does not want to unify China through all those blood, diplomacy and conspiracy?

To get a somewhat close experience, I tried so many mods which was never good enough for sure.

Therefore, when the Three Kingdoms were announced, I was so excited. 

However, when it finally came out, my interest was simply gone. 

On one hand, life was getting tough for me just about that time.

On the other, I was losing interest in the formula: build, battle, build, repeat and repeat…

So I installed it, played for 20 mins and never picked it up again, till this week.

Photo by Artur Shamsutdinov on Unsplash

Maybe I was too bored.

But the formula worked for me again. I was again playing for 10 hours plus a day..haha

When not playing, it is still clear to me that the whole game is just repeating over and over, many times even with the exact same map and terrain. 

But I still cannot stop thinking about the next steps — go north or south, another army or more income-generating settlements, vanguard or strategist…

Let alone the fact that I will totally forget the gaming is repeating itself, while playing.

The result? Good fun and a huge amount of time consumed.

Trust me, I continuously question myself whether this is something I want to do or whether the time can be better spent. But for now, I intent to complete at least one campaign.

So a unified China, I am coming!

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

Till next time!

It is all about perspectives

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

Very often, something happens and we feel a particular emotion.

That emotion is triggered by change which is brought to us by that something that happened.

When talking about change, there is always “before” and “after”.

“Before” is our baseline if nothing had happened.

“After” is what things are now because that something did happen.

And of course, there is “how” we react to the change. The same change can trigger totally opposite reactions and emotions to different people.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Typically, to improve our emotional happiness, we are asked to examine our “how”, because that seems to be the only thing we can influence, while “Before” and “After” are facts. There is a book on this.

However, “Before” and “After” can also be “influenced”, because what they are is entirely in our perspectives.

In other words, it cannot be taken for granted that people will see “Before” and “After” as what they really are.

Hitler still commanded armies that did not exist to defend the red army at the door step of Berlin, up to his last moments.

As commoners, we probably make more mistakes in that regard.

Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash

So before we rush to change our “How”, do take a few moments to think over the “Before” and “After” to make sure that we see them as what they are.

“How” actually originates from our beliefs and mechanism how our brain works. If we force changes to our “How” based on wrong facts, we might cause damage to what we are as a person.

Just imagine someone who “really feels” happy upon something terrible. That is close to insanity.

And last but not least, it is ok to feel emotions, even the “bad” ones. Just be mindful when compelled to act by them.

Till next time!

My Market Transactions — Wk44 2022 - Yes, Got!

 

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

 

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

Below are the transactions for last week.

Capital injection: ~18KSGD

1.SSB - 10k SGD
2. T-bills - 8K SGD

Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash

Capital outflow: 0

 

Till next time!