Buffet's Wisdom

SL and I are big fans of Warren Buffet, as some friends know. In the midst of the gyrating share prices and economic news, I need and thrive on his wise words. This is an article recently on him.

NEW YORK: Legendary investor Warren Buffett has said he is buying American stocks and feels that fears regarding long-term prosperity of country's many sound companies 'makes no sense'. In an opinion column written in the New York Times, the billionaire investor said he "cannot predict the short-term movements of the stock market". "...I've been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds," said Chief Executive of Berkshire Hathaway Buffett.

"A simple rule dictates my buying: be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors," he pointed out. According to Buffett, the financial world is in a mess, unemployment would rise in the near term and business activity would falter.

Writing in the New York Times, Buffett said "to be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions". "But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nations many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now," he asserted.

Pointing out that he does not have 'faintest idea' whether stocks would be higher or lower, Buffet noted, "what is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or economy turns up." He felt equities would almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade.

To heed his words is one thing.
To act on his words, well, let's just say it really takes nerves....

Osmanthus = Kwai

The weather's turning cool nowadays -- perfect weather for the fragrant osmanthus flowers to bloom.

KT - your namesake is permeating the air with a sweet smell that reminds me of Wrigley's spearmint chewing gum. Remember that smell?

Writing again...

Been busy writing again and my article appeared in an expats magazine. It was one of those meet-with-editor-and-the-article-got-accepted type of thing. Seemed like a breeze compared to what I had to go through in Singapore.

Speaking of Singapore, Jerome and Li Lian - hope you're reading this blog. Never thought I'd say this but I kind of missed those days fighting deadlines and working on the nth re-write. Maybe it's because I had you guys to take the brunt from the customers!
If I have never said this before, let me say it now,"It was a privilege to work with you guys...hang in there!"

Visit me someday...before I leave Suzhou for good. Ha.

Golden week

The National Day Golden week started on 29th Sep. We were regularly greeted by thunderous rumblings at 8 o'clock sharp.

When Suzhou celebrates, they spare no expense on fireworks and water/light laser displays...and they had this 3 days in a row! I remember in Singapore, one fireworks display for National Day was already quite an event.

It is quite a privilege, I think, to have a bird's eye view of the performances. After all, thousands of people fight jams and crowds simply to have a glimpse of it. Just look at the snaking traffic/people jams...

For us though, the novelty wears off and it's back to DVDs. Here're the boys (young and old) munching on their potato chips transfixed on their "Ironman" movie...

Gardening

Shifting in, the boys and I (mostly me) decided to start our little indoor garden. It has since grown from a few small plants to include mint, cacti, gloxinia, and even chilly plants.

It's lovely to see things grow...the trick is to just discreetly discard or replace the dead plants...nothing to do with green thumbs actually. It also helps to have friends give you plants that have already learnt to survive in the indoor environment!

Recently, the big chilly plant that we grew from seed has started to develop flower buds. The boys love to check everyday if any of the white droopy buds bloom.

The mint shoots we got from Auntie BL are growing very well, long enough to twine around the wire rack. The orphaned spiky leaf plant left behind by Auntie C is is also growing baby shoots.

Wondering whether the garden will survive when the cold sets in. But again, I have learnt in Suzhou to just do what you think is right and then. If not, nothing ever gets done :P.

Happy 9th Anniversary!

To my dear friends BL & KM (and their product J)

Nine years of wedded bliss

Many more to come!

It's great sharing this day with you...

From us, your Suzhou "extended family"

Thousand Island Lake

During the mid-autumn long weekend, we took a self-drive trip to Thousand Island Lake.

It was a long 5-hour drive to reach there and our first in China - one of those trips where the journey mattered more than the destination.

You see, SL and I missed those days back home when we would drive for hours to destinations in Malaysia. The sense of freedom we used to have was just too irresistible.

The drive there was quite easy. The drive back...well, let's just say a certain someone misplaced (or lost) the toll station card. In China, the toll card says which entry point you started and determines how much you pay for highway tolls. We looked and looked, couldn't find it and had to do some explaining. We were let off with a RMB20 fine.

Oh yes..back to Thousand Island Lake. It's a relaxing place. Yes, there are over a thousand islands, I understand. Kinda reminds me of Lake Kenyir in Malaysia.

We also took a day trip to some islands, but their offerings are mainly man-made really.

Nothing much in terms of places of interest, so we spent most of our time reading, gaming, munching on sunflower seeds, relaxing, talking, eating.

And of course, gazing at the lake with its hues of blue and green. It helped that our hotel was just overlooking the lake. Yes, that's what we were there for. And exactly what we needed.

Snapshots of Lijiang

I hope a picture can paint a thousand words, because I've decided to simply put up photos we took of Lijiang. I figured that my one Lijiang entry thus far simply doesn't do it justice, but I'm too lazy to write more. So, here's a quick photo tour of LiJiang:

Gaga over Yoga

It's funny how it took me so long to discover Yoga. "Re-discover" is probably the better word.

I remember several years ago, SL and I signed up for a basic Yoga course. We just had Zern then and it was really tough keeping up with weekly lessons. My only impression of Yoga was of the instructor - quite an old Chinese man - who was much more flexible than I was.

My image of him is very fuzzy, not so much because of the years that have passed, but because he was always too far away during the lessons for us to get a close look. You see, we were always kind of late and had to be at the back of the room most of the time.

I had almost given up on the idea of ever doing Yoga again. Until last year. I signed up for a gym membership then (yes yes, another trapping of Tai Tai life, I admit) and as fate would have it, my first class was one on Yoga. I didn't quite like it. I couldn't balance. I couldn't stretch. It was embarassing to fall down. I thought I would just stick to Aerobics. Then, very slowly, I could feel the usual aches and pains (literally that "pain in the neck" sensation) dissolving away as I perservered. It was enlightening.

I'm glad I held on to the practice. Nowadays, I cannot do without Yoga for too long. Even on holidays like the recent one to Li Jiang, I would do yoga. It doesn't need props, the right shoes etc, and SL joins in too. One of those rare "sports" we both like. He even suggested putting up pix of Yoga at Li Jiang.

Next time you feel age is catching up on you, give Yoga a shot. Maybe all you need is just a good long s-t-r-e-t-c-h....

Back to school

The boys headed back to school yesterday.


Zern's moving to the so-called Key Stage 2 in a British International School. His enthusiasm is infectious (big yawn). Actually, all 3 of us found it a bit tough to wake up early yesterday. After all, we had been sleeping in late almost every day of the summer hols!

Keane is eager to get back to school not for anything else but the school library! We all miss books in English and are suffering from "literary deprivation". Wishing that somehow the Woodlands Library would land in Suzhou.


I for one am glad to get some time of my own in the day. (Finally time for catching up with yoga and reading.)