"[on talking about being a prostitution] This wasn't any different than going on a date with someone you barely knew and hooking up with them." - Ashley Alexandra Dupre, hooker, writer, singer superstar. [link]
-k
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Catching a falling knife...
Monday was
one of those days that come as part of the business. I had a terrible day,
repeatedly made several cardinal sins of trading and ended up gave back every
single pennies I made this month. The money is one thing, but psychologically I
was hit hard. It was so traumatic that I couldn’t pick myself up until today. A
week off the market to clear my mind, lick my wound and perhaps try to get back
on Monday again.
Increasing
your position size (a.k.a: your bet) because you were winning big and
feeling almighty about your ‘superior’ skills is very much like being
in a relationship that is going tremendously well. Everything is good. You are
happy, she is happy. The conversations are about big issues and deep
questions blended with little jokes here and there. You definitely want more
of this. How? Double up, have another girlfriend. A good idea in theory, but it can turn out one way only. And it is very bad.
A while
back, I went to D.C to visit a certain young lady. I remember once while we
were driving to a mall, she asked me what is the problem with men and
commitment. Why are we so scared of it. An answer came to me today when I was
on my way back from New York (I went to NY yesterday). If you
think of love as a highway and a man is driving down that road, then a woman he
is involved with is like an exit. The woman is “Here, stop now. I have gas,
food, lodging, …everything you need for the rest of your life is here”, but a
man is looking at the letters underneath “Next exit, few more years 30
miles”, and thinks “of course, I can make it”. Sometimes, he makes it to the
next exit. Sometimes, he ends up alone in the middle of nowhere with smoke
pouring out of the engine, “perhaps, I should have exited”.
Originally,
this part was my response to some comments in the post “The difference”, but
after completion, I decided to put it here.
As I mentioned, Obama’s
victory is a convergence of forces that had little to do with his ability,
experience, political affiliation and/or any specific roadmap for America. If
you ask anyone who voted Obama “why him?”, nine out of ten, the answer will be
“because I want change”. Yet, if you pressed another question, “what change?”, I
doubt you will get a very well thought answer. I suspect, there are people who
voted just so that later in their lifetime, they can tell their grandchildren
“I was part of history, I voted for the first black president of the United
States”.
That said,
I think we are turning ourselves into a world where in it is words and not
deeds that have power. Everyone thinks success spells M-B-A and the mastery of
language is the ultimate skill. This, however, is against our primitive
nature in every aspects. We are wired to eat, sleep, reproduce, conquer,
and those who are good at that, those that can produce usually end up at the
bottom of the food chain, get screwed by the others – the fine talkers despite
these latter being incapable of changing a tire or fixing a bicycle.
Nick
Cannon is probably the current champion of stupidest man on Earth.
Mariah
Carey exclusive: Why I made my husband wait for sex
The singer
has confessed that she kept the rap star waiting until they were married
before, well, you know…they got down to the intimate side of their
relationship.
….
if there is one thing I wish you get out of this post, it is that not-having-sex before marriage is the stupidest idea in the history of mankind. It is like not eating your last meal before you go into the electric chair.
I just came back from NY. A 24-hours trip, exhausted and well-worn.
How is your weekend, friends?
-k
A tip in time of financial downturn..
This is hilarious...
Post-election thoughts....
So the U.S has got a new president, and I immediately felt $50 poorer. I had $50 on McCain at www.bet365.com on election day.
Although I were mentally prepared, I were still disappointed. I admit Obama is the strongest Democratic candidate I know in my life time. Mr. Change is a perfect messenger. His words are inspiring and “presidential”, but I have never been a fan of messengers – I am more a fan of the message. And if the message is flawed, then the great messenger is irrelevant. Politics isn’t music. In music, a good singer can practically sing about dying rats and his/her album still sells. In politics, however, the message is the key, and you shouldn’t let the charm of the messenger distort your judgment.
Obama is an extraordinary rhetorician, and as Aristotle once said, rhetoric is one of the foundations of political power. Rhetoric along with the tremendous unpopularity of his predecessor and a financial crisis have raised Obama to the presidency. Hence, his victory was a matter of rhetoric, and according to Machiavelli, luck.
Soon, Obama will have to start disappointing people all over the world, a task that is naturally built into his new job. This might come as a surprise to some of my liberal friends, but East Asia (include Vietnam) will be among the first populations that Obama will disappoint. Export-dependent countries (read East Asia) are always wary of a Democratic executive and legislative, particularly during an economic recession. The Democrats historically has tended to favor protectionist measures, which would tighten the U.S’s otherwise open trade policies. Nevertheless, a bright spot in the election was the prevail of Proposition 8. Its success showed that while Americans are blind, they still aren’t fond of gay people, even in California. Similar propositions in Florida and Arizona also succeeded. These are the reasons I decided not to move back to Vietnam.
In January, I am expecting a memorable, and perhaps historic speech when Obama takes his oath on TV. There will be high expectations of his presidency. He will enjoy the traditional presidential honeymoon during which everyone except his opponents (read: me) will give him the benefit of the doubt. The media will be cheering him from now on, but also will start to write about the promises he hasn’t fulfilled, his choice of cabinet members, etc… Starting April, things will begin to get interesting. We will see. I do hope he will prove me wrong.
Question of the day: Do women use boobs for good or evil?
-k
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