It’s Buddha’s Birthday here in Seoul. National holiday.
Awesome. Got some time to get some of my thoughts down on paper.
Here is a little mix to read this article too (for all my hip-hoppers)

People used to tell me that time flew once you are out of school. Couldn’t agree more.  One night too many and already half the year is over. My last post was 6 months ago—which means I have been very lazy with blogging. Thanks Hui for telling me to get back on it! Appreciate it~

I think I will have to start the post with this thought. I was on the subway back home when I just had this very random thought. If I was a bird and I was looking down on society from a macro-perspective view, what would I see? I would see the same thing a human would see when they see an ant colony. Everyone on a path (a process) to fulfill a goal.

Some ants on a hurried path trying to report that water is clogging sector 4. Others carrying some leftover chicken on their backs back to the colony. & So on and so forth. Everyone is on some path (susceptible to randomness and unknown) except for one: The Queen Ant. Her life purpose is known: to occasionally pop out eggs when the time of the year comes.

As I started to dwell more on this thought, I asked which group would be more happy? The Queen A or the workers? I immediately concluded the workers.  The reason being that the workers are on a path—a path that is susceptible to randomness and new experiences. A worker whose job it is to be on the lookout is able to experience the change in seasons, the wild emotions when a child accidentally drops some sweets right next to him, and able to find excitement in the randomness of being on a uncertain path. The Queen, however, is “confined” into the same routine and surroundings for eternity.

I then connected this thought of happiness in randomness and the unknown into the thoughts that I had before on happiness in process vs. goal. I’ll explain further. As for the example above, just take it lightly (every analogy can be picked apart if you look deeply enough)

What is money? I’ve traveled many countries and seen currency in many different forms. Most of them have a fat bald guy on it. Some are shiny, some are smaller than others, and certainly they are always coveted by the people holding them. What do you do with money. Most people deposit it in a bank and see their account value get bigger and bigger. If you take that bird’s eye view of it, you will see what humans see when they play monopoly. Some go to jail, some collect $200 and others own green and red houses? Which player is the happiest?

Is it the player with the most amount of red and green houses? Not necessarily. I think the process involved in achieving a goal determines how happy a person is. Happiness is in the process and not necessarily the goal.  This is the moment of clarity I had while I was coming back home on the train. That thought hit me so hard.

Think about someone who gets lucky and wins . That person would be estatic and the amount of happiness he has in that moment would be uncomparable to any other moment in his life. However, humans become adjusted to everything. In other words, that big amount of happiness will eventually dissipate and your happiness will come back down to the level it was before you won the house (maybe a little bit higher).  You were given the goal…

However, the process involved in achieving something is where happiness is found. Lets say your dream is to get into Harvard Law. There is a lot of happiness in the process to be found: The nights you stay up in undergrad with your friends talking nonsense. Roadtrips. Eating out with your friends. Dating around. Getting rejected. Bar-hopping. Interning. Failing your first interview. Jumping into a cop car thinking it’s a taxi.. (ahem*).

Some people are so blinded by the fact that they think happiness is in the goal itself. Getting that Harvard law degree may seem like it will turn you into a happy person but like the example above, you grow accustomed to it. You will be an unhappy person.. but now with a (Harvard degree). Find happiness in the process!

As I am on the process of building a personal empire  (of businesses, networks, brands, identities) through multiple entrepreneurial ventures, I am finding much satisfaction in this thought. If I could be handed Starbucks, McDonalds, Samsung or any other global franchise I wouldn’t think twice.. to politely refuse. You would be robbing me of my process in experiences and throught that my. Walking down the path of the unknown and the uncertainty is the beauty of it. If you are in school and stressing out everyday & thinking that after graduation everything will change… it won’t. Fix your attitude and try to find happiness in the process of graduating. Word up.

I start military bootcamp next Thursday. Will be there for a month. I am excited to get some military training and some humility through it! Ehh. who am I kidding– I just want to shoot guns & throw some grenades! See you in June. Keep it funky yall~~

P.s. Just got an article in my email from a friend: Share it with yall’

If you are in a reading mode.. here is an article on what happens to over-achieving Asian Americans after graduation. Very interesting article.

My personal goal in 2010 was to “stay hungry” In the presence of achievements and changes, keep resetting the bar higher and higher.  The idea to never settle or be fully content in the present moment. To ask what’s next or what more? Reminding myself of this goal constantly throughout 2010 has brought about big opportunities and big changes as well as its fair share of fatigue and self-criticism But as the year comes to a close and I see the sun set behind the Tokyo backdrop, I can’t help but smirk and think that this was a good year…

In 2010, I think I am most thankful for two things: my circle of friends/family and for some of the opportunities that have come my way. From black-eyed bar fights to late-night ranting to learning how to cook to the double dates to those who have treated me as extended family, man… it’s been a pleasure—everything.  Thank you friends & family!

Secondly, I am thankful for opportunities that have come my way. People say that opportunities come to those who work hard (self-made opportunities). I would agree and these are often the most fulfilling. But there are also another type of opportunities that open through randomness and luck. I would be a fool to think some of these latter-opportunities were opened through self-merit. In 2010, I have realized this and am very thankful for this “luck” that has occasionally come my way.

One other thing that I have realized in 2010 are my sources of happiness (currently in my 20’s):  1) New Experiences 2) Learning new things  (achievement oriented) 3) Helping others (create opportunities or motivate). 2010 has been driven by #1 & #2.  Been chasing the exciting as if it were my job. It’s been a journey~ This year has allowed me live in four different cities and country hop as if it were an award tour.  #3 I hope to get on par with the rest in 2011.

2011 will have alot in store. I can already feel it… Getting anxious haha. One things I know will drive my 2011 year: Republic of Korea Army Service. I am actually really looking forward to enter the armed forces.  Get military training and get back to tip-top shape.  It’s going to be a bit tough listening to all the drill instructors yell their lungs out at me in Korean but… I think it will be worthwhile~ I have yet to make some sort of motto for myself in 2010 but it is going to have to do something related to productivity.  I waste too much time. Great place to start is probably limiting my time on Facebook and monitoring stocks—Nothing really changes.

I am looking forward to finish 2010 snowboarding in the mountains of Japan!
Peace yall and let’s enter 2011 loudly!

haha just been messing around with some rhymes while on the subways through Seoul~Real easy AABB or ABAB rhyme structure but i dig it. Check this rough draft out. But before you read it… you got to get in the right type of vibe. Gotta feel it. Click on either one of the beats below and then read.

or like this…

On our way

Chorus:

What more can I say?
With the he say (she say) and back to the (he say)
Funny we came back just like (she say)

Verse 1

Walking the simple green mile/
She told me to close my eyes and think twice/
Got me feeling all juvenile/
trying to sneak a peak like them three blind mice/
Asking me to look you in your eyes (remind me that I luh…)/
(a-heh) already got me jaded… with kisses like why?

Verse 2

My lady far from a ruff ryder/
Differences like a ginuwine ryder/
Cashmere thoughts inside her/
She the working girl type… (my hype)/
Mature enough to do without the city sass/
and yet down enough to do another glass/
Girl was right but timing was tight/
So carpe diem- love him when you see him (uh huh)/
Naturally at peace in the streets/
So instinctively~ a tease in the sheets

Verse 3

3 seconds she whispered to pop the strap/
Keeping thing interesting. A queen for a king/
Red bull stirred like all-nighter/
But be simple. easy as 1 2 pop../
Quiz me for some C’s and mayB an A/
Cool calm and collected but aye/
Caressing that ass with subtle hands and be conscience/
Her covering her chest saying a scar from surgery had left her self-conscience/
Casual silence with eyes like lightworks/
Seeing booty(beauty) like god works (uh huh)/

Outro

thinking back… retrospect they say/
something about mutual respect they say/

Chorus fade out

I’m still trying to figure out the right beat for this. Something like the one’s above but they might be too ambitious.

haha ill try to blend it somehow~ How much I regret not mailing my turntables out here to korea!!!!!!!!

Late for boxing practice! Gots to go…Adios~

In light of Korea hosting this years G20 Summit, I wanted to highlight some points I found in an article a friend forwarded to me about Korea’s economic future. (This is not original research, just wanted to share). I will add the link to the article at the end. This article was dead-on point with some of my personal opinions about Korea’s economy.

South Korea, a country that is half the size of Minnesota, is currently the 15th largest economy in the world ~ a testament to the miracle economic plan that it has enjoyed over the last fifty years. Within less than fifty years, a country that mostly subsisted on rural farming is now home to some of the world’s largest industrial companies (i.e. Samsung, Hyundai).

The author warns that Korea is in a time in which this “stunningly successful economic strategy” is nearing the end of its life.  Here’s why? Most of the success found in the economic plan came from a solid manufacturing sector that relied heavily on exports for GDP growth. In other words, exporting items to other nations have been the primary driver for Korea’s aggressive growth.  Currently, Korea has reached the level of wealth it can attain by relying on exports. 43% of its GDP comes from exporting goods–more than any other advanced industrialized nation.

Here are some #’s for Korea’s economic growth:

Economic growth from roughly 1990-1999: 6.2% (rapid growth from economic plan)
Economic growth in the past 10 years (2000-2009): 4.3%
Economic growth this year: (around 6%- pretty high and better than most advanced countries)
Economic growth 2011: expected around 3-4.5%

The Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun believes that “the country is at an inflection point” and “there is a limit for export industries to create new jobs and added value.”

Can Korea make the necessary changes (political, economical, social) to achieve or maintain growth? Or will it face a similar situation like Japan Inc?

Here are some areas of problem & suggestions:

Economic:

-South Korea’s economic health is too closely dependent on few major conglomerates (i.e. Samsung, Hyundai)
-What other sector other than manufacturing/exporting can drive the S. Korean economy?

Political:

-Govt has to stop micro-managing the economy
-Capital intensive construction projects remain a major tool of influence for S. Korean political leaders and crowds out private investments

Cultural:

-Bring more women into the workplace (South Korea 53%… all over developed nation over 57%)
-Avg Salary for S. Korea Women ($16,931) vs. Avg Salary for S. Korean Men ($32,668) -> Biggest wage gap difference among developed countries
-Encourage innovation and entrepreneurship (don’t let the conglomerates eat up every successful shoes string budgeted entrepreneur)
-Welcome more foreign workers and immigrants! (Korea has 557,000 foreign workers = 2% of its entire workforce)

Many of the things suggested above are definitely feasible and achievable as Korea and other developed nation become more interconnected and globalized through technology and trade. Click here to read the article

I believe the US has a similar yet reversed problem for the near future as well. It’s economy has fallen far from its manufacturing base. The US manufacturing sector is being gradually replaced by higher value added services (i.e. banks, consulting). Just look at dismal Detroit. Without focusing on creating good (or cheaper products) to export, its going to be hard for the US to lead the economic wolfpack. The govt. can’t just keep financing deficits with tax payer’s money while sleeping with the big boy investment banks. But as 2008 showed the world, everybody plays their own part in creating an economic bubble. Though the era of being able to borrow up to $90 with $10 is finished, I know banks are going to jump on the chance to start pulling out those derivatives again–especially with Goldman Sachs reporting that China could become the largest economy as early as 2020…

Orange chicken replacing Mcnuggets? … oh ****!   get them chopsticks rehdi~

If this is the case, I wouldn’t be opposed to try working out in Hong Kong or Shanghai in the future.

OTHER THAN THAT

December is going to be a good one. Take my CFA & then bounce on over to Tokyo to have some fun~ I’ve been re-watching alot of stand-up comedy to cool out right before I sleep. Here are a couple clips that I enjoyed:

slow build-up humor

richard pryor–his command of the audience

dave chapelle- my all-time favorite (his timing is genius)

Keep it funky yall~

Appropriately titled, it is about 2 am in the morning in Seoul~ & this is a long post (so prepare…)

I think winter is creeping up a little early here… it is very very cold here.  Weather.com is telling me it is currently 34 degrees F/ 1 degree C. I wonder when it will be appropriate to bring out the snowboarding jackets and goggles? haha be real nice to ride the subway with them snowboard goggles on… which brings up thoughts up snowboarding

Korean Classes

Lately, I’ve signed up for Korean classes at Yonsei University. I enrolled in the evening class with alot of older working individuals [30-40 year olds]. The class is filled with foreigners including: Korean-Americans, Korea-Russians, Korean-Switzerlanders, Thai, Japanese & Uzbekistanis. It blows my mind to hear Russians and Swizz speak Korean… just like what is going on–Have you ever heard Korean spoken with a Russian accent or a french undertone? me neither. Most of the “students” if I can call them that… are professionals in various industries ranging from university professors to bankers. I really enjoy the fact that most of the people in my class are very outspoken and share their thoughts very freely. Plus they are very enthusiastic to learn Korean… so it is a very vibrant learning atmostphere… However, as you know, grammar & vocabulary only goes so far. Real learning comes with a glass of sippy sippy and excitement~

During the last month, I have grown close with a couple of individuals in my class.

With initial thoughts of practicing my Japanese, I started talking alot with this Japanese business man in my class. It just killed me (trying not to laugh) when he would try to say explain something in Korean to the class but he would get fed up and curse in Japanese under his breath. I would understand what he says in Japanese so I am just thinking this is just too funny.

Another individual in the class that peaked my interest was a Korean born but Switzerland raised individual who worked in the Swiss banking industry for over 10 years. The interesting thing is he speaks fluent French, German, and English. So what do you do when you meet interesting people? You find a suitable environment… & drink and “practice” Korean.

A bottle of soju each and everyone… all of a sudden became native speakers. I guess… liquor is a universal teacher. I remember when I was in Japan, everytime I would drink sake I would speak Japanese so naturally without pauses and reservation~ Well this was a very similar case for the two. Even if you don’t understand, you nod and you pretend to.. Keeps things smooth. I am not sure if all of us understood even 70% about what the other person was really trying to say… but you understood~ haha.

Well at the end of the night, both of them and another individual who joined us later really wanted to… Karoake! Our banker friend, given the fact that there our group consisted of 3 middle aged men and me in my 20′s, wanted the karaoke host to bring some very young beautiful women to accompany us in singing through the night. I think his accent was a bit thick cause… in came like 4 fifty-year old looking women. I guess one of the more “plump” woman out of the bunch was very fond of french because she parked herself right next to our Swiss banker. He looked at me like… “help me out… use your Korean.” I am like… “my Korean ain’t that good.” haha~ Note that none of this was said in words of course… just through eye movement.  The expression that he gave me still cracks me up.

Yesterday night, we went out and did some after school-learning again. I guess Round 2. I think both of them are becoming very fond of Sinchon… or maybe I am bringing them down memory lane… helping them live their mid 20′s again. As I become more acquainted with these individuals, it is very interesting to listen to how they describe who they are– “their identity.”  One of the individuals  was an adoptee and was raised in a different country but came back as an adult to find their birthplace in Korea. It raises an interesting point on the (Korean) immigrant experience and identity. If you speak, breathe, and know nothing but a certain language, but your blood is from (Korea) or a different country… where do you hold roots? Is it determined by a legal document i.e. your visa, passport, green card? How do you raise your kids? It was an interesting debate that led to many rounds of 첨처름 (soju).

I would be very interested in reading studies of the Korean-immigrant experience. I am sure there are some out there.

Korean Financial Corporate Ladder

(If you are not interested in corporate life, please skip this section) In having fun and just freely talking with these individuals, I gained some insight in the corporate structure of Samsung Securities as well as other general Korean finance firms… To any fresh graduates, climbing the corporate ladder is the next step. Here is how the corporate ladder at Samsung Securities (leading Securities Firm in Korea) is…

Korea Corporate Firm Structure (From Top-Down)

사장 (CEO)
부사장 (Vice- President)
전무 (Executive Managing Director)
이사  (Executive Standing Director)
상무 (Executive Director)

——————————————–

담당  (Regional Head)
부장 (Department Head)
차장 (Deputy Department Head)
과장 (Head Section Chief)
대리 (Deputy Chief)
사원 (Entry Level)

(Note. The english definitions are not exact. Just given to give you a general idea)

Now that’s what you call a coporate ladder! For ambitious student who wants to get into an executive position, lets say you’re a go-getter (or don’t really know what you want to do) and got a top 5 five MBA (i.e. Harvard) and other qualifications (i.e. CFA, CPA, CAIA), if you are good enough AND have foreign industry work experience you will come into the firm at either the 과장 or 차장.  The next question is how many years does it take to go up one level… Well it takes usually 4-5 years. Overwhelming to think huh? They say the skys the limit… but uhhh here is where reality hits you if you want to take this route…

I am told that most individuals leave firms around mid 30′s. The reason: You have put in roughly 10 years into the firm and know the work, but is around then you will realize whether you can reach an executive position or not… Out comes the entrepreneur in most salary men.

In my life:

As I previously posted, I planned to take a snowboarding trip to Japan in December… Has been my main motivation to study for my CFA test that I am supposed to take on Dec 5th. But but just a week ago, I got a memo from the Korean government saying that I have to enter the military on Nov 25th..?!?! Aint that a bitch! It would be truly a drain on my soul if I didn’t have the chance to take a test that I have been so diligently studying for that last 6 months not to mention the wasted Tokyo travel expenses (airplane tickets, lift tickets…) I have tried my all to tell them to postpone just one month… The final verdict comes out tomorrow~ We shall wait & see.

Other than that, I’ve been spending alot of time boxing and…. writing rhymes~ haha. I think I found myself another very absorbing new interest. Here’s the inspiration: I always cruise the subway or other public transportation with music in my ears. Always bobbing my head to some type of beat relative to my mood. One day, when I was on the subway with music in my ears, I thought I saw my ex-girl on the train. I only saw her side profile but the way she walked…it was her~ I was convinced. So I started having all these crazy thoughts like should I say something… should I be bittersweet? happy to see her? Like what the hell am I gonna say? Mixed bag of nuts but I had to approach her…&  it turned out naturally to be someone else. But for the rest of the night when I was out with some of my friends, I couldn’t get that scenario out of my mind. The thought of what if it was her? On my way back home… this song by drizzy Drake came out on my ipod.

The beat was just right and the chorus was just hitting me so hard. I kept replaying up till 1:50 of the song. I had a pen and impulsively I started writing a couple of rhymes on a grocery receipt that I found in my pocket. When I finished writing like 4 bars, I looked up and I was at my exit. I really liked how fast time when by when you’re fully absorbed in something. Reading the 4 bars over, I also couldnt help thinking that this is probably why artists write lyrics–therapeutic and its a good feeling to have created something. I got to keep doing this~ haha

So check out this beat… How does it make you feel?

What does the beat tell you? Try writing a verse to this beat or maybe even just 2 bars? stimulate your mind… You’re going to appreciate artist’s music alot more~

peace yall~
KEEP IT INTERESTING!

As you can tell… I’ve switched up the layout on this blog. I wanted to have a real clean and easy on the eye type layout. However, I realized that this layout I am using does not let me fully customize lot of the things that I want to do (i.e. main picture, tagline, quote of the week, video hosting, etc). As I am a very impulsive buyer, I decided to buy the files for this layout from a design company without checking out all the fine print in integrating this into my website. After doing so, I realized that these files require me to build my own site and require a separate hosting service (instead of blogging from the wordpress platform). I would have to build my own site and then incorporate the wordpress blog function. I am thinking whether its worth the time & $ to do so? I might just switch out ClimbEntertainment.com and use the hosting services I have on that.

What I wanted to do with this site was three things. I wanted to 1) publicly track my equity portfolio 2) give resources and contacts that have been helpful to me in past startup projects such as design companies, affiliate networks, and help bring exposure to new projects, artists, events 3) Post experiences/recommendations from my travel excursions abroad.

I think I am leaning on the side of developing this site… give me some time though :]
I have to also weigh whether I want to shoot for mass appeal or just keep this thing personal… Is a mix of both possible?
I guess it all comes down to CONTENT and my marketing channels~

But given the fact that the concept/direction of this still under construction… I’ll keep posting on some of my thoughtz:

Fall is here. I always really enjoyed being in chilly weather. I said chilly–not 5 ft. stacked-Chicago-kill-you-type-of-early-fall-snow. Thank God I don’t have to spend another fall/winter in the Chicago area. It feels real good to me to walk around Seoul… layered up so you’re body is real warm but the fall breezy keeps your face nice & chilly. Not only that, the small things also start improving: street food starts tasting better~ coffee becomes a necessity~ music starts sounding more personal~

I think I got to cut this post short. There are two mosquitos in my room that are just feasting on me. Got bit 3x writing this already.  Anyways, next time I hope to expand on some research I’ve been doing on the financing behind North Korea. (It’s going to be interesting to see international relations with North Korea adjust as Kim Jong Il’s son begins to takeover)

"You are what you eat..."

I don’t know who made that quote but i still think that’s a very odd quote.

Anyway, lately I’ve trying to spice things up a little in my mini kitchen…
The first month consisted mainly of instant foods such as ramen, 짜짜명, eggs, grilled meat, sausages, and tofu. However, you can only do that for so long~

I turned to my #1 source of all practical information… youtube… for some inspiration. However, every video of “simple cooking” required like 50 spices, a hint of truffles, and a dash of some exotic herbs… nahhhh~ something easier

After clicking on “related links/recommeded videos” many times, I came across some real easy to cook Japanese food tutorials. Here’s what I came across:

First off, I think this guy is pretty hilarious. I don’t know if it’s his personality or his demeanor, but I was sold ~ Gotta give this Nikujaga recipe a green light. Well… here’s the outcome (photo below). Looks Similar? muhaha~ tasted pretty great… probably cause I accidentally put in wayyyy to much brown sugar. I really despise trying to measure ingredients with those betty-crocker type measuring spoons. Very time-consuming…I figure just go with your instinct- grab a hand full & toss it in and if you feel uncomfortable… scoop some more in. The old fashioned way haha’

What’s next for my culinary experiments? I believe I will continue on with runny’s menu–and try to make some comfort food. Gotta get back to chicken though. Here’s what I’m thinking:

I don’t know about eating it with wonder bread like he does… haha but we’ll see what happens. If ya’ll want to dip your feet into the culinary world, I think these recipes are a good stepping stone.

On another note, this week is 추석 Korea’s Thanksgiving. Looking forward to going down to grandma’s place and get me some real good grubbin’

Good eats y’all~adios!

Today, I was trying to buy a train ticket to come back up to Seoul from Daejeon after a long day of managing family property. At the ticket counter, I tried to pay for a ticket with my debit card. Denied. Denied. Denied. Denied. (4x) I was like… what? Went to go check my account balance very confused~ like 7 bucks left… and the cheapest standing ticket cost like $20 Pretty humbling feeling.

I forgot that my monthly rent went out automatically yesterday and I had budgeted very liberally, esp with boxing fees.. haha enough to the point where I couldn’t get me a seat on a train. After scrapping through my pockets and backpack, I ended up bargaining a standing-only ticket for a 2.5 hour ride back to Seoul…

As I was standing on the train, I couldn’t help but realize how draining a life without some degree of financial freedom would be for the average individual. On that thought, I wonder why the educational system never built in requirements to teach a personal finance course? For example, in high school, wouldn’t it make sense or be very valuable to make a basic finance and/or legal course a prerequisite for graduation? I am not talking about some advanced finance course but something basic like how to utilize 401k’s, how to budget, how to raise your credit score…etc. The power of compounding interest or using money to make more money is not an obvious idea to the general public. It would be of much more practical value to young children to learn at a small age the basics of a capitalist society. I think schools should focus on teaching life- skills. On that note, what if students took a course on the legal system? Probably have a more productive impact on youth~ Want to expand on this in the future.

Given the fact that it was a fairly long train ride, I also recollected an event one of my very close friends confided to me when I was in college. (Friend, If you reading this, now I understand your experience*)

“On a rainy NY night, my friend was starving after hours of work. Knowing that savings were a bit tight, the friend went to a cheap pizza parlor for a slice of pizza. As the friend went to pay, the friend realized he/she was a couple cents short. The friend was very embarrassed and the cashier didn’t believe in a discount. Pretty pissed and now really hungry, the friend told the cashier to hold the food and sprinted to a nearby ATM. As the friend saw his/her balance, the friend started to choke up with tears.. The city life had finally caught up to him.. He told me his/her remaining balance could not even cover a slice of pizza… The friend told me that his soul aged that night sleeping on a empty stomach~”

I always remember that story when I get stressed out.

As I was standing on the train and thinking about this story, I couldn’t help but think~ that my former student life in getting grades and living off my parents $ so comfortably was truly an blessing in disguise. But this year, the motto is to “to stay hungry.” The idea of not getting too comfortable and to hustle with passion, whether its work or hobbies. In staying hungry, I told myself that I would make myself and this process would be tainted if I asked my parents for any type of funding or $ after graduation. So here I am trying to captain this ship in Seoul with toothpicks! The process forced me to find work quickly doing part-times to make rent. I can’t really jump into any career-related positions until I finish my military duties. Given this restriction, I hope the next part-time I pick up will give me some breathing room in terms of everyday expenses. I think 2009′s theme of “Go Big or Go Home” was a bit more fun. Friends, how many times did we say that before another bottle opened? haha! Good times. Though its only been a month out here, I feel like I am aging quickly…growing up?

But you know me… I gots to keep a little interesting right

THE IDEA:

I decided this month to tap into my personal equity portfolio  and use it as a discretionary travel fund. Originally, I started this portfolio about 5 years ago without any real tangible benchmarks or long-term goals other than the illusion that I would add many zeroes to my account. Reality kicked in… and then the effects of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis hit my portfolio (cot damn.. did anyone forsee how extensive the fallout would be?)… After then, I stayed out of the market for some time because the market was too irrrational. Nowadays, I realized part of my lackadaisical management was due to never setting an appropriate incentive/benchmark to evaluate my performance. There was no push to realize gains and execute positions when markets were good. I would try to time the market and ride the ups for way too long, which is never very consistent. So to realize and spend some short-term profits, I am going to try to set tangible gains in this portfolio for excursions. If my performance now is linked to my fun later… you know there’s a big push to make some things happen~

After some thinking and watching to many videos of snowboarding, I decided its about time to go international!

First goal: Fund a week long winter snowboard trip to Japan (Mt. Niseko?!).
I really want to make a personal snowboard video with some good j-dilla tracks in the back… ya dig?

Expected Costs: $800 ($350 Plane + $50 Lift ticket + $50 Board rental + $50 Transportation costs + $200 Food & Liquor + $100 Misc… Mt. Fuji monkey spa? you know i gotta get down with the monkeys. see photo below)

BULLS (or Noise Traders) take this market HIGH!

LETS GET IT BABY!

Decided to start boxing again…
I trained for about 5 months while I was in Tokyo and fell in love with it. Finally made up my mind on the gym that I wanted to join out here. There were many selections-ranging from trendy weight loss boxing to upscale gyms. However, I found an ol’ school boxing gym with old tymers’ running the place. Got that whole Million Dollar Baby sorta feel to the place with pictures of the multi-champions they coached. I was reminded today after practice why I enjoy this sport so much. There’s no other sport that I’ve tried so far that gets me “zoned” as quickly as boxing does…  For those who play sports, I’m talking about that tunnel vision mode: where all surrounding noise around you becomes irrelevant and you’re focused on one thing. As soon as you put on those gloves and hit the pads or spar, you zone in. All unnecessary thoughts of this & that just fly over your head. Ain’t no time to think about the 99 problems in your life. Just the one right in front of you~ Ahh. I love it.

The trainers were very intense. The trainers wouldnt let me drink water for 2 hours. Were strict on the 3 minute timer. Got work to do baby. Let’s get it!

FYI for those who are interested: Boxing Costs in Seoul~ about 300,000W for 3 months (roughly about $100/month) Should be comparable prices in the States. I leave this post with a short video clip of one of my favorite athletes of all time. IRON MIKE!

The left hook to the kidney (1:00) makes me cringe… Probably the worst pain you will ever feel. I remember in Japan I get knocked real good in the kidney by this Hawaiian fella…  your entire body goes numb~ …. bring the ruckus!

& for my hip-hoppers. here’s that rapper with the mike tyson flow…

Its been a minute since I’ve wrote in this blog. As many as you know, I have moved out here to Seoul. Before I left, I had a discussion with my dad on how I wanted to approach this move to Seoul.  The obvious & easy way was to contact my extended family in Seoul and have things catered to me until I found appropriate living arrangements. The other way (the way he was insisting on) was taking some cash & my luggage bags and go “make yourself”: Whatever plans you make, how you spend the seed money, where you decide to live, is all up to you. Simply put, go do it your way~ I agreed (he knows my personality well…) The thrill of adventure and mystery of “not knowing” was most appealing.

MAKE YOURSELF

So here I am about 5 weeks in “making myself.” The 1^st week was probably the toughest.  I touched down in Seoul with no living arrangements with three huge suitcases. I still remembering trying to board and exit the subway trains with three HUGE suitcases, thinking ain’t this a bitch? But at the end of the day, I ended up getting off at Sinchon (신촌), which is the hub of four major universities. I needed a place to drop my stuff off desperately and I ended up finding shelter at a cheap love hotel… haha. I remember waking up in the middle of the night [in the love hotel] and somehow spotted a real secretly placed button near my bed.  Being my curious self, I was thinking either the bed is going to shake or something real shady is going to happen… I pushed the button & all the night lights turned off and these real shady ass neon lights flickered on… I was thinking cot damn… this is pretty funny. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself… but realized I need to find me a real place asap.

Luckily, I found a real estate agent the next day and I settled in a newly built studio/office-tel about 20 seconds from the subway entrance. I moved within 3 days.

Here are some pics of the place. Ain’t exactly my dream playboy studio but it’ll do for now…

THE BUSINESS

After moving in, I’ve been more than busy taking care of family business & property. Been making day trips down to Daejeon & Busan to meet with father’s property managers, tenants, etc etc. Learning how to make Korean contracts, signing, & the whole nine yards. Makes me nauseous when I think of all the hours I’ve spent commuting for those purposes. Trying to get 20 years of past paperwork up to date has been quite a burden. But family business is family business. In between this, I’ve been registering for military service. I had my physical last week and (surprise!) I came out as being capable of military service!!… haha I’ve yet to pick my start date, but intend to do soon. On a side note, there was a kid during the physical who was explaining to the officer that his elbows make a slight noise when he extends them. The officer’s look was priceless.  I thought the kid was going to get tae bo’d in the forehead.

CASHMERE THOUGHTS

Korea = everyday a learning experience. I think that is the best way to summarize it thus far. From learning how to surf the web in Korean to bus-hopping to comedic humor to the dating culture, everything is a bit different. Not different in that it is for better or worse, but just different. I’m going to just sponge it & soak everything in. We’ll see where it leads me.  I’ve had time to visit the banking firm I used to work with here in Seoul. It was nice to reunite with them and small talk about this & that. Kinda crazy how many things have changed within 2 years. Futhermore, I’ve been doing some research on government finance-related jobs.  Though the pay is not comparable to the private sector, I still feel that there are many hidden benefits –including political connections for when you need that iron fist behind initiatives. I will try to see if I could eventually make my way into the Bank of Korea (similar to the Federal Reserve of US).  Exciting to believe so… go big or go home right?

In the meanwhile before I enter military service, I’m currently working a part-time job as a tutor. I know I know… boring. But it pays well & I need to make rent. I’m thinking of switching it up soon though. Maybe teach tennis out here or do bartending? Something more exciting. Anyone got some good suggestions or past experiences they could recommend for a quick part-time job?

The other pressing issue on my mind is this CFA level 1 test coming up in December. Didn’t realize the breadth of this test till a couple weeks ago. It’s not particularly too hard but the amount of material is quite challenging.  About 25 lbs of material. However, everytime I go to café’s to study, I do the wrong type of “studying”: everytime i look up to rest my eyes, a girl with sleek beautiful black hair strolls by. I’m like cot damn girl… you a beauty~ i wanna get to know you… 하하

To be real, sometimes I spot like a real beautiful girl in the corner of the café.  When I do I usually flip it to this song (press play):

Once you hear that rhythm going (not too quick! you gotta give the beat a sec), I like to give my imagination a little run. I look at the girl and play that guessing game- start trying to figure her out— try to predict her personality based on her image. Like she MUST be the stay-at-home type. She is definitely the career type. She probably ain’t into the outdoors. She… haha keep the guesses interesting.  a quick study break I guess.

I leave this post with this quote:

“There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, its hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.’ Either way, nothing happens”—Yvon Chouinard

translate thoughts into actions.