Usher and Swedish House Mafia!

Usher and Swedish House Mafia at the AMA's. SO GOOD!

Mashups - Umbrella (Glee)

Sickest Glee moment ever.

Mashups - Love the Way You Lie (Sam Tsui)

Over the past year, I have found a new appreciation for music overall, and I was just surfing some Youtube and came across this one mashup. If you have any others, share!

The Buffett Way of Life

I started reading Warren Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein around March of this year. Nearly eight months later, I just finished it. During that time, I had gone through my own process of change, as I moved to a new city, experienced training on the east coast, and began working at a bank, something that was never part of my career aspirations in college.

To structure this blog post, I will first summarize what I believe were key points in The Buffett Way of doing things, which do have merit, but should not be seen as a concrete scripture to live by. Although he does have very successful practices, it is not best to copy another's path to success because that may not be the path for you. I believe that everyone has their own path that they need to discover for themselves and can use others' ideas as a framework or a foundation, but still tweak it to fit their own personal situations.

The Buffett Way
Warren Buffett's entire life's purpose was to accumulate capital. As a young boy, he scoured horse tracks for dropped winning tickets and even made entrepreneurial businesses such as a newspaper route and a pinball machine business. With this capital, he used it to start his investment fund following the principles of Graham and Dodd. He saw each investment as a long-term investment and invested in businesses, not stocks. He was able to evaluate these different businesses by reading through publicly available information such as annual reports and analyzing their financial statements. He treated his family members the same rational way, not wanting to spoil his children and living a very plain and austere life for himself as well. Buffett is greatly scared of death, and despite his brilliance in investing does have oddities and externalities in his social behavior (he is charismatically weird).

My Interpretations
Buffett does have some great strategies to life and investing that many people overlook today. So much of investing can come from simply reading the annual reports of companies, of those that you are interested in investing in and of its competitors, but most people are too lazy nowadays to look through all the pages in a document. Instead, they settle for EBITDA and projected EBITDA as being the main representation of what a business' prospects will look like in the future.

On his accumulation of capital, Buffett is indeed an extreme case. The book is clearly biased in its glorification of Buffett because they overlook the fact that Buffett did come from a family of great means, as his father was a United States Senator. It would be interesting to hear of a story of an individual who came from the means of an average middle-class family and see the strides that they can make besides the rare success stories that involve not only great skill, but also tremendous luck: the Michael Dells of the world. In all reality, the world is full of great ideas, and it does take some luck to get the right pieces into place for a great success such as these.

Finally, the most disagreeable aspect of The Buffett Way that I have found is the way he dealt with his personal matters. Buffett is so scared of change and death that he seemingly did not embrace or live life. He did mention in his book that being rich lead him to be in "certainly interesting environments" such as playing golf with Bill Clinton and being friends with Bill Gates, but life can be even made much simpler than that. The sheer thrills of trying a new restaurant, bringing a smile to a close family member or a friend, or even accomplishing the small feat of losing five pounds here and there are small joys that life can offer anyone at anytime. This is something that Buffett has probably overlooked. Thus, although he will be remembered as one of the most successful people in history, I can see people more successful than him on a daily basis in terms of daily living.

Just as I prefaced this opinion in my introductions of this post, I do welcome people to offer their own opinions to this theory, and I welcome those that are differences to mine. I am far away from being near Buffett's net worth and may never reach such a level, but I will certainly try to live my life as best as it can be lived, which is all I can ask for at this moment.

Two Black Friday Deals!

Let Black Friday shopping begin! I have started it off by buying two items, and will continue to update this list as time passes:

1.) Bowflex Dumbbells
Original: $399.99
Now: $261.38 (with tax)

2.) Creative Rec Shoes
70% off

Here is the link to the Bowflex deal and the Creative Rec deal should just be on the website. Good luck and post any comments on any good deals that you guys can find!

Go to Mars!

Usually to make history, you need to accomplish something that you have been working on diligently for a great period of your life. Here is an opportunity to make history in less than 30 seconds! You can put your name on a microchip that is going to be sent toward Mars! NASA is trying to market this program and their free marketing efforts means that you will be a part of space history!

I LOVE GWYNETH PALTROW

I thought Gwyneth Paltrow was going to be old and ancient, but after I just saw her on GLEE, man I think I'm in love...

How to Become a Yelp Elite Member

People have been asking me to describe my long journey to becoming a Yelp Elite Member, but everyone's journey will be different. Some people said it took 2 weeks, for me it took 6 months. However, I wanted to attach a list of criteria that you could follow that will help you get to that status. It's pretty sweet!

Yelp Elite At Last!

After 6 long months of Yelping in San Francisco, Dallas, and New York, I have finally made it to Yelp Elite status! Victory!!!

It was a tough journey and actually required much dedication and effort toward accomplishing this task. It is just one of another things in life that represent that life is a 'turtle race' and not a race won by rabbits. Just take things slowly one day at a time rather than try and accomplish everything all at once!

DEADMAU5 - Right this Second

Reactions to the Contrarian Theory

I just wanted to gain as much feedback as possible on this theory and so far it has a 100% positive rating. I posted this question on a different forum and someone even flagged my post down because the guy did not want me to give away his trade secrets in the field. All the female responses so far have also validated this theory to be true. That's very interesting.

Contrarian Theory

Since the beginning of time, males have tried to figure out what is going on in the minds of girls. Adam tried to do it with Eve and he eventually got screwed. Every romantic movie ever made is simply trying to depict the impossible struggle that guys have in chasing after girls with a fake Hollywood ending where it works out. This isn't Hollywood and most of us are doomed to the same fate as Adam if we keep going down our current paths. However, I was able to gain some insight and wanted to pass it on to my fellow brothers who are going through the same struggles as myself.

I am going to call this the Contrarian Theory, after the investor theory that invests in stocks that are plummeting and plays against the general market.

Have you ever wondered why girls that you don't like have feelings for you, but that special girl that you like won't give you the time of day? The rationale to this is that girls are different from guys toward what they perceive as the friend zone. If a guy is going after a girl, and the girl puts him in the friend zone, the guy will instantly give up his pursuit and move on toward the next girl. However, when a girl is placed in the friend zone by the guy, it makes the girl more interested in the guy because she is craving that guy's attention. Of course, you still have to be a guy of some romantic value, i.e. clean, nice, a bit charming, etc., but the trick is to not shower the girl with kindness. Instead, you are friends with her and treat her just like you would treat one of your guy friends. Then, when the girl starts to really convey some interest in you, that is when you shower her with niceness. (One additional note: you have to be of close proximity to the girl and see her often for this strategy to work correctly.)

I thought this was a very interesting theory because I was always taught that by showering the girl with niceness from the beginning is the way to go. But, in the girl perspective, that just conveys weakness and a bit annoyance, as they have seen the same routine too many times. For that reason, you can now see why girls are always dating that douchebag or how that girl is dating THAT guy. After dating several girls over my lifetime, I have come to the conclusion that girls don't actually know what they want. If they say they want a nice guy that treats them right, they are in reality attracted to the opposite.

I just wanted to share this tidbit of information with you guys, as I found it to be a very interesting approach.

New Goals

I am going to set some new goals with my newfound time:

1.) Keep going through with P90X and being healthy.
2.) Read 5 books before the end of the year (I already have 2 in progress!)
3.) Figure out and implement at least 2 more additional income projects.

Finally, I just wanted to also note that I just learned that girls just can't eat as much as they want and stay skinny. Thanks Carolyn Wu and Wendy Wong for showing me the light!

2 Suits for $235

I had to include this deal because I just got it. I just started working for a bank, which is definitely more professional, so I just bought two suits for $235! Slickdeals always gets me so good.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day. At this time last year, I was probably working 6 days a week and 12 hour days, which completely sucked. I kept wondering how I got myself into such a bad situation and really learned the meaning of working for a sweatshop. Since then, some fortunate circumstances have landed me at Citi and I really could not have asked for a better outcome. Thus, today, I was reminded of one of the best monologues in movie history: (2 points if you can actually guess which movie this speech is from as I made some changes to key parts)


The President: Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind.

Mankind -- that word should have new meaning for all of us today.

We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore.

We will be united in our common interests.

Perhaps its fate that today is the 11th of November, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution -- but from annihilation.

We're fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 11th of November will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice:

"We will not go quietly into the night!

We will not vanish without a fight!

We're going to live on!

We're going to survive!"

Today, we celebrate our Veteran's Day!


Now that I do have some more time, I will legitimately try and update this a few times a week. I have never really been good at keeping a daily journal besides those mandated by my elementary school teacher, but I will attempt to do so because I see a great transformation happening. It's like the Juggernaut, once it starts, you just can't stop it, and it's happening to not only myself, but for everyone around me!

NY Day 13

So, it has been almost two weeks since I got to NY, and I just wanted to provide an update on what has happened so far.

1.) I passed my accounting test so I won't be fired.
2.) I learned that when I come to New York again in January for additional training, I have more tests where I can get fired.
3.) My coworkers are pretty nice and awesome
4.) The buzz of the 'welcome week' feel is dying down for myself and everyone else working.
5.) I have just been by myself and independent for the first time in a long time (without parents, the same group of friends, etc.) and I think it is really a growing experience that I like.

Usually, I try to not cause any waves and just go along with the group. It is harder to compromise than to argue and be selfish because you sometimes have to sacrifice what you want to do in order to have the group be harmonious. But, in New York, I like just being able to do everything that I want to be able to do. It is a brand new feeling and I really enjoy it, having seemingly complete control over my outlook.

Another outlook that I am having is that there has to be an additional way of making money. I met this guy at this bar that was an actor who was on the other extreme of myself, living paycheck to paycheck, but claiming that he was 'living and loving' life. That is a bit too extreme, but he did have a point, you can't get stuck in the same cycle of just working a job, paying your bills, and repeat. It is indeed important to make the capital at the beginning and young in your career like I am doing right now, but at the same time, you need to not fall into the cycle and break out of it.

Since moving to SF, I went from about 40k to 15k in terms of capital. The majority of which, came helping my parents put a down payment on their house. Essentially starting over in terms of raising capital, it has taught me some more lessons. I really need to save for big expenditures later. Also, spending money on family is money well spent. Finally, I need to make more in order to be able to help out not only those I care about, but also myself.

My final revelation while I have been in New York is the awareness of my inefficiencies back in SF and at home. I need to become more proactive and a go-getter. Before going to Cal, I was a very diligent person and because of that due diligence, I was able to reach some successes that were pretty awesome. However, I fell out of that pattern, and have become quite lazy in certain situations. I need to become that diligent person again because life isn't easy and only rewards those who work hard. So many times, I just do the bare minimum to get by, and cheat myself out of experiences for that reason. I will be changing that and following the principle of the Jim Carrey movie, "Yes, Man", and say 'yes' to more opportunities that come in my direction.

Juanda Hooker

I retract everything that I said about Juanda Hooker previously. She was a great HR representative that did everything she could to help me.

NY DAY 1

I am pretty tired because I have traveled all day to get here and I have to wake up pretty early tomorrow, so I am going to keep it short.

I flew to NY today, it takes about 5 1/2 hours non-stop and you get this meal/snack on the airplane that consists of a turkey hot dog, salad, and milano cookies. You can get DirecTV for $6 ($4 if you have Chase). That's not too bad.

The bad is the cab ride from Newark was $90 because the bridge tolls here are ridiculous.

All the buildings here are really tall.

I ate some New York pizza, which is really tasty. I am trying to be a connoisseur of pizza and after having Chicago, LA, SF, and NY pizza, NY takes the cake on that one.

The streets are so dirty. People put their trash on the street and the garbage men pick up the trash on the street at midnight everyday. SOO DIRTY.

Everything in NY is really expensive except for gas. There are no grocery stores where I live and I am guessing I will have to take the subway to just get some freaking groceries. A one-serving size of Silk milk was $2.99, and at Costco it's 3 big ones for $6. Ridic.

All the people here are really young. My building is full of all young people from what I have seen so far, and man, it seems like a party here everynight.

My view from my bed every night is pretty awesome. When I am home alone, I can leave the bathroom door open and also see an equally awesome view.

End of the Summer in July

Throughout life, I think people have the tendency to dwell on some of the bad moments in life too much. The speeding tickets that you get, the car accident that you had, or the time when you try to rush onto a field and you lose your wallet.

I admit that when these ill-timed events occur to me, I feel sad, too.

However, this year has taught me that there are so many great things about life that you shouldn't waste your time dwelling with the bad, but instead, should just focus on getting to the next great thing in life. My friends and family have truly taught me that there is so much more happiness to be gained from surrounding yourself with people that you really care about and that care about you.

I am going to be going to New York for six weeks starting tomorrow. It usually would be just a normal business trip, but the timing just came when one of my friends, Jimmy, will be heading off to medical school, and another friend, Cliff, will just be leaving our area due to the ending of his internship. At first, I was pretty sad because it will be weird to not have them around and just be able to hang out with them so easily. But, this transition has really taught me the importance of building strong friendships and really enjoying the time you spend with people you want to.

For that reason, I really want to thank Jimmy, Cliff, Jlau, Truman, Carolyn, Jason Wang, John Chiang, Jing, Jessica Chen, Ruben, Davis, Mark Mi, Kristina Shen, and everyone else that I have spent time with this year for really making it a great time.

Tiger's Apology

I am trying to update my blog on a daily basis. To start off, I will have shorter entries to mark important events of the day. Hopefully, this will help me just get in the practice of writing in the blog everyday ... baby steps.

Tiger Woods' Apology was today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs8nseNP4s0

Man, it is weird to see someone with so much money and fame brought to reality. He used the words 'entitled' in a way that I have never seen celebrities admit to before.

I also watched Good Luck Chuck. I have not seen that movie since recruiting for internships my junior year. It is another weird thing to think about the first time that you do things and when you next do them. If you realize how much you have changed as a person since using a specific moment as a benchmark, it is really interesting to see the distance you have grown since then.

2010!

It is a new year and it has been a while since my last post. Thus far, 2010 has been awesome. Beginning the year in Las Vegas was a great way to kick it off and the random SF weekends along with my recent trip to Dallas at the All-Star game has just made it even better. My goal for this year is to start writing in this blog more and recording more of the adventures that we have been able to have so we can remember and laugh about them later.

Currently, I will list some new changes in my life this year:

• Reading more!
• Found a new love for something that I used to hate with a passion: trance music
• Traveling! I used to hate traveling because I am so impatient I can't wait to get from one destination to another, but now I really enjoy it.
• SF

Here are some changes that I hope are coming in the future:

• Move to SF
• Work in SF at a new job
• Go to the gym regularly