by Kingsley on January 1, 2009
It’s a new year. A new day. Though 2008 was a year of losses, I’m still thankful for the much that I have left. I am also thankful the global crisis hit early in my life, where I can still recover, and learn the signs to stay away from the next one. Not so lucky are those who are near or at retirement age.
Finally, I am thankful that my losses are only financial, which are not nearly as important as losses that are personal and dear to my heart. To put things in perspective, 2008 was a year of big losses, but also a year of big personal growth and gain. I am forever wiser for it.
Happy New Year! Happy 2009!
by Kingsley on December 31, 2008
2008 has been a year of big losses for me, at least financially. I lost big on my properties, and even bigger on my stocks. Yet, I am only one of the many casualties of the global economic crisis. Never have I experienced anything that hit so swiftly, so hard. Sure, I read about it in books, and heard from elders who lived through it, but it never registered, as though it could never happen to me.
Now that I have experienced it first-hand, I can learn to respect its ferocity, its impartialness. Everyone is a target. We can’t stop it when it hits, but we can try to get out of the way early, to cut our losses.
Patience is a virtue, not a cliché. Don’t rush into decisions when they are money decisions. If you spend more time picking clothes than you do stocks, then that says a lot about your lack of taste in stocks.
Love your investments but don’t fall in love with them. It clouds good judgement. It makes you hang on when it’s time to let go.
Those are the rules I shall live by to prevent myself from becoming a casualty again when the next crisis hits.
by Kingsley on November 9, 2008
It’s windy in Hong Kong today. It feels like Autumn is finally here. Only problem is it’s November and we’ll already be entering Winter next month. Scary.
by Kingsley on September 24, 2008
by Kingsley on September 23, 2008
Wow, another Category 8 Typhoon is hoisted. This is like the 5th this year, including a Category 9 last month. What’s with the crazy weather? Interestingly, it seems also the only time I’m blogging. Weather and blogging, must be some weird correlation there.
by Kingsley on September 22, 2008
It’s well into the Fall, but the weather in Hong Kong is reaching record highs, rising above 34 degrees in the afternoon. It’s currently 33-degree at 15 minutes to midnight. Also, a Typhoon warning is hoisted. In the four months I moved to my new home, there were multiple typhoons. The once luscious plants on my balcony are now withered to a few leaves on a dying stump. They barely recovered from one typhoon before another one hit. If this one rises to a Signal No. 8 or above, it will be the final nail to the coffin for my plants for sure.
by Kingsley on August 23, 2008
The typhoon in Hong Kong has been lowered from Category 9 to 8, and is expected to weaken even further by morning. That means I have to set the alarm to wake me up in time for work. Still, it was an unexpected yet relaxing one day off. I will check on my withering plants in the morning.
by Kingsley on August 22, 2008
A Category 9 Typhoon is hitting Hong Kong right now. Only two weeks ago we had a Category 8. My huge plants sitting on the balcony were still trying to recover from the last typhoon, and already another one is here. I doubt they’ll survive after this.
I found out that the last time we had a Cat. 9 Typhoon in Hong Kong was 5 years ago, on Sept. 2nd of 2003. I remember the exact date, because it was on my birthday.
It’s near Chinese New Year, and if you think the global recession is affecting consumers and businesses in Hong Kong, you’d be wrong. Everywhere I go, there are tons of people. I’ve been trying to get tickets to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for two days in a row, but they’re sold out, even for a matinée. I have to wait to be served to buy underwear at Calvin Klein, and it’s not even on sale. Even Pacific Coffee at Festival Walk was full when I walked in, and this place is huge. To be fair, I read that fewer people are traveling during CNY because of the economy, so that could account for the crowds at home. Anyway, it’s great to see that things look booming during the new year, and I hope it can keep it that way throughout.