Feel the wrath

"My son ... the very day you were born, the very forest of lordaeron whispered the name ... ARTHAS ..."

Raised as the prince and destined to be king, Arthas was trained as a paladin with wisdom and strength. He was blessed with Light and taught to embody Righteousness. His famous weapon ... Might of Menethil ... was bestowed upon him to fight against all evil and unjust. But ... alas ... his greed for power and rage for anger shall alter his destiny ... forever ...

Now, back as the Lich King and with his army of undead - the Death Knight - Arthas reigns with terror in Northrend. And that is not the end, he is waging a war against the rest of Azeroth.

But all is not lost, as the Knight of the Silver Hand has been resurrected and led by their new leader Tirion Fordring, wielding the legendary and ever elusive mighty blade of the Paladin ... ASHBRINGER ... (sword of the thousand troops ;p)

... I just ordered my copy ... and it will arrive exactly on launch date this thursday. I have already respec my paladin as a Retribution Paladin ... and I will see some crazy action this winter ;p

In anticipation

Sunday, November 2nd 2008, marks the first day of daylight time saving. Whenever it comes to this day, I always love that extra 1 hour gain in sleep.
More so especially when I am back in school because normally, at this time of the year, my schedule will be moving at full steam, packed with assignments, commitments and exams. So 1 extra hour means a lot, when I have a quiz coming up tomorrow.

Halloween ...

Halloween to me is really just a party and occasion to hang out with friends. Sure, I dressed up to go to those events and parties but I don't go the extra mile to do the costume thing.
However, this year, seeing that I will be graduating soon and be done with school forever, I decided to relive the true spirit of Halloween one last time. So, I set out to a costume store yesterday to look for something freaky to wear. I almost bought the pimp suit - dark suit with bright purple stripes (... yeah would be nice) and that typical pimping hat.
As I was about to pay for the suit, one particular thing caught my attention. It is this thing called the Light Sabre ... hahahah. So, I dumped off everything and picked up the sabre. Coincidentally, that was Obiwan's blue sabre. I looked around and found a nice, long and flowing robe - yes, those with hoods and make you look very very shady in the dark. That's it!
So, I put on that robe and hid my sabre inside. I started to head out to my friends' houses. We did a total of 3 stops. The parties were freaking awesome. At one point, we were kicked out of a house by 2 policemen ... hahah. (We actually thought those guys were in costumes as well)
The finale for the night came in the form of a costume show. So, everybody in costume had to do a walkdown and strut his/her stuff. It turned out that another couple decided to dress as ... guess what - Darth Vader and Leia! So as that dude glided down the walkway to show off his costume and red sabre, I decided to throw in some element of surprise and jumped into the ground. The next thing you know was 2 light sabres crossing in the air ... oh yeah.

Shit ... I still have even more homework to do

Well, I am taking a break from my valuation homework. So, I was browsing through Youtube checking out Jay Chou's new album named Capricorn. How interesting ... Capricorn in Chinese is called Mo Jie Zhuo. The Jie is the same as Jay's name.

Anyway, I find the new songs just alright, very typical of his style. Then I saw one of his songs from a previous album called The Longest Cinema. I have listened to that song before but I have never watched the MTV. Its chorus goes something like this ... " ... zhai gei wo liang fen zhong ..." (give me 2 more minutes). I decided to watch it and man, it was quite a touching story.

About a boy and a blind girl who were good friends since young. And then she went off ... but she gave the boy a little gift before they lost touch. So, the boy grew up and became a professional bodyguard. While the girl ... she actually regained her sight and became a professional skater. Then one day, the guy saw a lady being harassed by a bunch of thugs and he went over and saved her. He then offerred her a ride and they started chatting. The guy recognized her but didn't tell the lady. However, when the lady saw that little trinket, she knew that the guy was her childhood friend ... but those thugs who got beaten up earlier came back ... and ... the story ended right there. So, I supposed it was a sad ending ... :(

Anyway ... ok, enough of distractions. Getting back to work.

I still have to do my homework

Today has been very busy. I was trying to catch up on school. The shuttling between HKS and MIT has been time consuming, not to mention that I am taking six classes this semester.

I figured that my self-imposed break is more than half way through. The 2 years I plan to take off have only slightly less than 1 left. So I told myself that I am going to enjoy the remaining 8 months to the max. Because once I am done, I am probably done with formal education and I will be reentering the workforce. Life will then move at a pace determined by the routines of my career.

Anyway, enough of forward projection for now. I just read my buddy's blog, HH. One thing that caught my eyes was his entry on JK Rowling's speech. I completely missed that since I was in SF during that time hanging out with another buddy of mine, Ah Bao. Man ... that was June. Now is end of September. Summer ended about a week or two ago. Fall is here and the weather starts to get cranky.

Rowling's speech was a bit dry for me since I am very used to the American fast pace, humor laced kind of speech. But still, there are parts which I truly enjoy. And the every best is no doubt the quotes from Seneca:

As is a tale, so is life; not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

It gives me a very rustic, soft and touching feeling. I close my eyes and see myself standing in a middle of a grass field, with falling maple leaves of orange, red, brown, yellow and green colors - the kind of scene you will find in New England during the fall season. This makes me treasure every best moments of my life.

This fall, I am going to take some time and explore the region, catching up what I am been missing over the past year.

So I see, the past of me;
treasured moments, memorable times;
never forget what lies ahead;
in life we live, with no regrets

I love my iphone

I got the iphone. Yes ... and it is fucking awesome. I am not a supporter of Mac but this is one thing that Apple and Steve Jobs got it right.

So today, I cycled to MIT from my school listening to Tiesto on my phone. And the feeling is just superb. Sunshine, wind and Tiesto - what else can I ask for. And if I get lost, I just press the google map button on my phone and it will locate me using GPS telling me my exact location. Man, I haven't lived technology for so long and I am starting to believe in the power of mobile computing again.

When I reached MIT for my finance class, I just clicked on the stock button and it automatically showed me the latest stock prices and market trend. I can follow the market on the go. Reply to messages, emails and smses - anytime, anywhere ... 3G

Got iphone?

Double or Nothing

This week has been especially crazy from a market standpoint. First, you have the demise of 2 great firms - Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. Well, technically speaking, Merrill is merging with BoA or rather forced to. We don't know yet if BoA is going to retain any of Merrill's brand name. My guest is probably not and even if they do, there will be some BoA's brand attached to it. Years ago, no one could ever imagined this to happen. Morgan is next in line for merger talks even though it is a very well run firm. The only strong survivor that will emerge from this mess is Goldman Sachs - the king of all investment banks.

The market tanked for 2 days and then has a great run for the next 2 days. Dow is up 400 points yesterday and today is up as of now. Given this volatility, it is a trader's heaven especially if you dare to bet. I picked up GE 2 days ago and flipped it today. If you had flipped Morgan, Citi and Goldman just over 1 day, you would have doubled your money ;p

So, a few stocks I would recommend for the next run (from highest risk/reward ratio):
AIG (if you are risk loving), MS, C, GS, GE

... and depending on your risk appetite, your return is determined by the stock you pick.

Have you forgotten to eat your humble pie?

Time and again, history reminds mankind to not be overconfident to the extent of being arrogant. Men are imperfect and as such, have weaknesses. One of the classics is none other than arrogance and pride.

Of late, I have noticed some people around me being drawn endlessly into this trap. Trap? I don't know, it may be one if unintentional but it may be not if it is self motivated and condoned. What causes them to become big headed? I don't know. May be the taste of success ... well, success which may have inflated their egos and made them feel all powerful, rich and being so ahead of the game than they begin to treat everyone and everything else as second class.

These folks are so drunk that they begin to ignore the very basic building block of their initial success. The very support system that carries them through the times - good or bad, through thin and thick. May be they feel that they don't need anything now, anybody or any support - for they are the new champions and almighty heroes.

But take heed my friends - what floats you, can also sink you and your corner stones may very soon become your biggest stumbling blocks.

So, watch out ... for you never know when you are going to fall or when someone is going to take you down.

Remember your pie and remember your humble beginnings.

Lofty Waters Verdant Bow

Don't ask me what it means ... it is just a direct translation of this cantonese tvb drama that I am catching on Youtube. I have been watching this almost non-stop, yes, if you see me online at 5 am EST, that means I am "busy". Ahhh ... it is so nice to finally have the time to watch these dramas. I missed them for sure.

So, I just watched this particular one called Lofty Waters Verdant Bow by Raymond Lam, Michelle Yip and Rain Lee. It was good, the martial arts and the fighting scenes are up to my expectation ;p. However, the ending is so sad. Well, as with any tvb series, they have a few themes running concurrently. The comedy is pretty good, the action is not bad ... but the love story behind it is so touching in the end.

I really pity Michelle. She loves Raymond so dearly and he doesn't understand it. But when he finally does, she is dead. So, he decides to stay alone as the invincible but lone ranger. Well, most martial arts drama ends sort of this way. Still, watch the last episode. I didn't give anything away here of course ;p

What am I gonna do next? Catch another one maybe.

Spring Formal

We had our Spring Formal recently. Every semester there is at least one formal party for sure. In the Fall, it was the KSG Dean's Formal and followed by the Winter Ball. This semester, we had the Vienna Ball and the Spring Formal.

It was great and turned out to be very entertaining. It started with live jazz performances and free desserts and drinks. Mainly mingling around with classmates and friends. Everybody was clearly having a good time taking a break from finals. It was held right in downtown Boston at the Colonnade Hotel. Some of my friends were really dancing away that night. I arrived a little late but it was ok because when I got there, the party was just getting into motion.

I didn't know my classmates can really party so hard. After the party ended at 2 am, there was an afterparty! A bunch of them actually headed over to a house party held in the basement. Wow ... however, I had enough that night and went back home to zzzz. Definitely fantastic and I am looking forward to the next one.

Wind

If you have read Storm Riders, you will know this character called Wind.

Wind is a happy, carefree and good natured person originally. In order to defeat his enemy, he has to tap into the dark side of the blade martial arts. However, because Wind is good by nature, this causes a constant conflict of good and evil within him. He suffered tremendous instability because of the constant bouts and changes in emotions and personality.

Wind tries very hard to use his kindness and rationality to suppress his darker self. However, it is not easy. Whenever the dark side takes over, his power will increase many many times and he will turn into a heartless warrior. He becomes invincible and destroys his enemies with no mercy. However, when he regains his original self, he will regret his cruelty.

It is very tough to constantly grapple with such conflicting states of mind. How long can a character endure? And what might happen when the dark side of force takes over? Pain turns into anger. Anger turns into rage. Rage turns into fury. Fury turns into vengence. Vengence will deliver the retribution.

Rise a dark knight.

New York Trip

New York, New York. The city that never sleeps. Big Apple, Wall Street, Broadway and Liberty. I made a short trip to New York over the weekend. Hitched a ride from Boston bus station and arrived in the city just in time for a birthday dinner celebration with my buddy Jason. Of course, I also got the chance to hang out with my other 2 buddies - Gene and Jay. Not mention, the after dinner party at K lounge, where I met Naj and Mendel. Both are friends of friends. It was a fun evening.

As always, New York is the party town. People tend to engage in merry making endlessly, as if there is no tomorrow. At K lounge, the girls were just throwing themselves all over the places. Every once in a while, you will get a random girl coming up to you throwing you a hug and taking photos for whatever reason. For us, they claimed since it was my friend's birthday, they need a picture. Hmmm ... nice claim.

I also had the nicest cake I have eaten so far. I never knew that crepes cake are sooooo goood. This one which Gene got for Jason was is filled with cream ... some very tasty cream. Next time, I want one that is filled with Durian cream ... mmmmmm yummy yummy.

Before the sunrise

I fell asleep early tonight. Being lack of sleep for the past week due to heavy workload, I dozed off at around 8.30 pm. Only to wake up at around 2.30 am feeling rather homesick. In the midst of the night, I sat here quietly appreciating the peace and calmness of this town called Cambridge. Sometimes, I do enjoy this kind of moment because it is really soothing for my mind, which otherwise is preoccupied with all the thought activities during daytime.

When I was young, I asked my parents naively, "What do people do when they grow up?" They told me that a responsible adult will do something productive like getting a meaningful job and support his family. I then continued, "How do I make money?" ... hahahah. I was 5 years old then and didn't understand the complexity of life.

When I was a teenager, people tend to tell me, "Enjoy your school years. Enjoy your carefree time. When you grow up, there will be many things to worry about. So, have fun now." I always thought at that time, "What is the big deal? I have my equal share of worries as a teenager."

Then, I reached adolescence. 1998. 20 years old. Many things changed. Financial crisis, the ulgy truth of inequality, the menace of absolute power and the unforgiving selfishness of human greed. I saw that all my life through personal and public lenses. But it reached the peak that year. I became resolved and decided to be who I am to be.

The recollection of all these events makes me cherish my memories. People who have come and gone in my life. My grandfather, my best friend, my loved ones.

Friends who know me know that I am a big Solvil Titus ads fan. The one by Chow Yun Fatt & Wu Chien Lien (fighter pilot), Andy Lau in Indonesia (Bengawan Solo), Anita Mui and Wang Chieh. I think Solvil Titus made a very special effort to capture the very essence of the human nature, spirit and love. One of the best is no doubt this short story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV1_AYLtpl0&feature=related


And good night again, as I am going to bed before the sunrise.

Talk by Ecuador President

On the past Monday, former President Jamil of Ecuador gave my class a private talk. He shared many meaningful experiences with us during his years in the politics and his short but eventful presidency. Through his experiences, I got an impression of how delicate it is to be the head of state of a country during crisis time.

Whatever was portrayed in the media and perceived by the people can be so different by what was actually faced by him. Towards the end, a classmate of mine asked him to provide some advice on how to achieve our goals.

To this, he decided to tell us a story he learned. So he began:

Long time ago, in a rural village in China, there was a farmer. He had a very beautiful horse. One day, his neighbor came by and said:

"Wow, you have a very beautiful horse. You must be a very lucky man! How do you feel?"

The farmer simply replied, "Hmm ... it is just a horse. I don't feel anything"

A week later, his neighbor came by but did not see the horse. So he asked" What happened to your horse?" The farmer said, "A few days a go, my horse ran away". His neighbor, feeling sorry for him added on, "I am sorry. You must be very sad now." But to his surprise, the farmer told him, "Well, it is just it is. I don't feel anything."

Some time has passed by and his neightbor stopped by again. The farmer told him, "Guess what? My horse returned! ... and he brought with him a female horse. Now, I have 13 horses altogether." Upon hearing this, his neighbor said, "Wow, you must be very lucky. How do you feel?"

The farmer gave the same answer, "Well ... I don't feel anything. It is just the same." Feeling puzzled, his neighbor left. Then, a week later, his neighbor came by for dinner. This time the farmer told him, "You know ... my only son was trying to train the new horses. Yesterday, while training, he fell from a horse and broke his leg." Upon hearing this, the neighbor said, "You must be sad ... he is your only son." The farmer calmly replied again, "Well, it is just it is."

Soon, China went to war with Mongolia. The farmer met his neighbor again and told him. "Hey guess what, the Imperial came over and took all young men to war ... but when they saw my son lying in the bed with his leg broken, they left him alone."

So ... after my classmates and I listened to this story. We were thinking ... why did he tell us this story. To this ... shortly, President Jamil replied ... "In life, many things are what they turn out to be. We can give our best but in the end, nature has its say."

My main takeaway from this privileged interaction is:

Do our best and have no regrets.

HKS Talent Show

I just came back from our school's annual Talent Show. It was awesome, hilarious and classy for some performance. I never knew some of my schoolmates are so talented. The performance by the MPAs on the musical "Chicago" is fantastic. The girls ... are sexxxxyyy ... and elegant. The guys ... man, they sure look kinky lol ...

But, personally, I like the solo performances. One guy managed to turn Outkast's song into a classy rendition with his classical guitar. That was simply amazing! Another pretty lady gave a wonderful opera performance.

I do pity the Mid-Career folks. They got hammered down by the MPPs so much that I think to it is a little overboard. But they took it in good faith. They funniest part is no doubt the video on bottled water. And Christian's performance really had me cracking and laughing. His rollerblading around the undergrad yard and hugging and kissing his bottled water is so damn funny ... especially with the song Dancing Queen being played in the background. The undergrads must be wondering "who the heck is this kuku?" ... hahaha ...

Of cause, talking about the undergrads, we had lots of laugh making fun of them ... imitating the way they usually ask questions in our regular Forum. Last but not least, the video coverage on the Business school was one of the best piece of the night. I pity those unassuming folks in HBS who were interviewed but not knowing what they were getting themselves into. Hahaha ... well, well, what else can I say? I am definitely going for it again next year.

A saturday night quest

I have been yearning for some nice Japanese food lately. However, the Harvard Square area is particularly boring in this area and lacks good Japanese food. Sure, we have Takemura, Wagamama and Cafe Sushi. But, they are all not up to par. Sorry to say this but after living for 6 years in the bay area, it is just hard to give really high marks to these Cambridge joints.

Takemura serves passable Jap food but it is not really really Jap. It is opened by Koreans. Wagamama, as you know, is a fusion place. Even far off the traditional style. Cafe Sushi is ok. But it lacks a complete menu. (I know I sound very picky ;p ... but that's me, I love to eat)

So tonight, I decided to venture to Porter Square. It is about 1.4 miles away from my studio. Took me about 15 to 20 minues to walk there => good workout before and after dinner. But nevermind, with my iPod as my companion, the walk seems relatively short. I took a nice evening stroll down Mass Ave. Well, I have to say Spring in Cambridge is really nice. It is sunny and the air is crisp and refreshing, not cold at all. And the nice thing is the weather will stay nice and warm until October ... yeah ...for next 6 months.

Back to food. So I reached Porter Square and I sought out 2 places. Sapporo Ramen and Ittyo. I was deciding which should I choose - Ramen ... which I haven't had in Cambridge before or curryyyyy!!! ... hmmm you know which I ate ... hahaha. I ordered Tonkatsu curry rice ... and man ... I downed it in like less than 20 minutes. I haven't had Tonkatsu curry rice in so long. Although not as good as the one I used to go in Sunnyvale/Saratoga with my buddies ... I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Next time (maybe tomorrow?) ... I will try Sapporo Ramen ;p ... yum yum.

I was about to leave but ... as I turned around, I saw a Japanese bakery ... hahah. I stopped by and started asking the girl about all the different types of cakes and pastries she has. (pretty Jap girl ... ;)) Seeing me asking so many questions, the lady boss came over. I thought ... shit was she unhappy that I was asking these questions? ... but no ... turned out that she was very friendly. And when she found out that I moved from SF, California to Boston, she was even friendlier because her son is working in SF. (I dunno maybe I remind her of her son ... since she started telling me which cake her son likes and keep asking me to try ;p) We chatted for a while and she even told me where to get authentic Jap food and gave me the chef name - Hiro san.

So in the end, I bought a fruit tart and a strawberry short cakes. I just finished the tart and I am looking at the cake now ... heh heh ... but I will probably leave that to tomorrow. Still feeling well fed and happy from my curry rice ;p

Mary says

Wang LeeHom had an ex-girlfriend called Mary Bai ... I was randomly browsing videos through YouTube and I discovered this video. It is a heart warming song, attributed to his relationship with her.

"Mary says" - enjoy the song ;p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je0e3OetPgw

三十而立

I was told this recently. At 30, I am independent.

I spent my teenage years learning and mastering skills. In my twenties, I graduated with different skill sets, started wondering around the world, building my experience. Looking back, I am happy to say my adventures have been very meaningful. I have tasted all flavors of life in the past 10 years. I would say more 甜 than anything else, which is great! The twenties was a time of carefree lifestyle, formless and aimless in the sense. I didn't worry about my lifelong goals too much, I didn't have the responsibility and burden of carrying a family and I wasn't expected to play a significant role in most things. So, being a yuppie in California, I had the best time.

However, time keeps moving forward and eventually, every human being has to face his aspirations and challenges. At which point, he has to make a decision whether to continue with life as it has been or move forward to the next phase.

I have arrived at this point in my life. I am at a stage where I have gained substantial experience and capability to navigate on my own. I am no longer dependant of the established or fearful of the establishment. I am able to defy irrational traditions and say "no" to anyone deemed incorrect or insensible, no longer succumbing to the pressure of inexperience.

So, 三十而立 ... indeed, very true. It is time to assume the rightful place and role in this society. It is time to take charge and be in control. It is time to take over and lead.

[子 日] : 三十而立
[虎 日] : 三十以後 全力而進

Should be sunny soon

Sunday, here am I at the Taubman building at the Kennedy School sitting anxiously waiting for my CA to arrive. I have a few questions on Game Theory that I need clarify. It is drizzling outside but the weather forecast says the next few days will be very sunny and warm.

See, I am not a Lee Hom fan but somehow I stumbled into this this morning and I find it really nice. Those who know me, know that I am a big fan of nostalgic, sentimental Mandarin songs ... especially those which resemble that "lost era" of early modern China (Think of songs like Shanghai 1943 - Jay Chou, 千里之外 - Jay Chou) ... ie. when China is capitalist, unique and has its own cultural charm. Maybe it is due to my upbringing but nevertheless, these songs never fail to bring me back to that era and allow me to see things from my grandparents' visions.

Anyway, back to Lee Hom ... this song 花田錯 is nice and soothing to listen to. And I like the part when he blends the Peking (or rather Beijing) opera style into the mandarin hip hop. Ahhh ... I couldn't wait for summer to come. Maybe I will try to spend my summer in Taipei or Beijing this time ... learn some mandarin ... travel to Tainan or southern China to experience the "ben du feng wei" and deepen my language and understanding of the culture.

Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDSHNJRlXk&feature=related

I will march on

I find it pointless to deliberate on things. After 3 weeks, I have finally restabilized and rediscovered the perspective. So, it will be back to business for me. Looking forward to my summer time.

Vienna Teng

I remembered I first heard of Vienna in bay area. That was around 2003, probably after she cut her first album. If memory didn't fail me, I was reading a blog from a Stanford dude and somehow it alluded to her. Being curious, I clicked on that link and learned about this girl who was a Stanford CS major and decided to pursue music. Impressive and bold ... as I thought, since she was my age, dared to quit Cisco and took the move of venturing into something totally different while I was still slogging away at Oracle.

Fast forward 5 years. I was at the Asian American Conference on Politics and Policy at Harvard Law. Sitting at the dinner table anxiously waiting for food ;p ... as I turned, I saw Vienna, in person, right at the table behind me. She was the guest performer that night.

So, I had this opportunity to listen to her voice that evening. I only have one word to describe it - Amazing

If you want a few more words, I would say rich, beautiful and rare. She is no doubt a very talented singer. The funny thing is when she doesn't sing, she speaks in a very mature and reassuring tone.

Being the enterprising southeast asian, I took the opportunity to chat with her towards the end of dinner. Off stage, she is pleasant, down to earth and just like you and me. In fact, she easily passed off as a student, blending into the crowd just like a rogue who stealthed into the night unnoticed. You might not even have realized that there is this little celebrity chatting and laughing away among the people.

What is in store?

This semester:

1. Advanced Macro - Deriving all the models from first principles. Dynamic optimization etc
2. Advanced Micro - General equilibrium and then it is Game Theory in all its glorious details
3. Advanced Quant Methods - all those betas, GMMs, LIE, CLT, LLN, instrumental var
4. Economic Development - with Prof Dani Rodrik
5. Options and Futures Markets - with Prof John Cox, inventor of the Cox model.

So, it is a pretty loaded semester, a continuation of my 1st year journey to complete the core requirements for my program. It will probably contain a lot of pain, agony and resistance but I hope that I can emerge enlightened and transformed.

Really looking into the 2nd year because that is when all the fun and flexibility begins. And the kind of classes I will be taking will be very very different such as:

1. Negotiations
2. Competitive Strategy
3. To Be a Leader
4. How to Become a Politician
5. Growth Strategy
6. Investment Management
7. Managing Campaigns and Running for Offices
8. Public Communications

The Year 2008

Happy New Year to all. What does 2008 bring for us? Let's hope that everything is smooth and we will have a productive and wonderful year.

I spent the last day of 2007 in Singapore celebrating with a few close friends. Although I am still recovering from jet lag, I did enjoy the night. It was hilarous, given that few incidents which happened. If they are of any indication of things to come, then it would be interesting ;p