Recently, a woman heard that the house from the movie "A Christmas Story" was up for auction on eBay. She jokingly told her husband, who claims that it is his favorite movie. Well, he won the auction for $150,000 without even consulting her. (She is in the Navy and was at sea; he said he "didn't have time" to ask.) He didn't even see the house, which is in Cleveland (he and his wife live in California).
He then spent $200,000 restoring the house and filling it with antique furniture that exactly matches the furniture in the movie. It is open as a museum, and for $5 you can walk through it. Across the street he opened a gift shop. One of the many things that he sells are replica "leg lamps" from the movie. You can have them shipped in wooden crates that say "FRAGILE" (pronounced "frah GEE Lay") and be accompanied with a certificate that says "You've won a major award!". (I think they will also send telegrams saying the same.)
I really wanted to get one for Hyunmi and one for my brother, but the full size ones are almost $200, so I had to pass. However, last year this guy made $700,000 selling leg lamps. That is crazy. Who is buying them all?
Anyway, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Festivus, etc etc.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
'Tis the season... to turn to the Dark Side
Many of you living in NYC have probably heard about the bonuses coming out of Wall Street this year, particularly those at Goldman Sachs, who is rumored to be giving out over $16 billion in bonuses.
IF Goldman Sachs had 1 million employees, and it were divided equally, then everyone would get a $16,000 bonus (that's two-thirds of my stipend). I can promise you that Goldman Sachs does not have 1 million employees, and if they did, the janitors would not be getting a $16,000 bonus.
There is an article on ABC News that discusses, whimsically one might say, the Goldman Sachs' bonuses. It states that the average bonues will be over $600,000. The head honcho is supposedly getting a $100 million bonus. The article then goes on to say what one could do, in the holiday spirit, with $100 million. Sadly, I doubt said honcho will even partake in a fraction of that philanthropy. (You should read the article; it's crazy.)
Which brings me to the title of my post: Wall Street represents the Dark Side to me. I see no good coming out of such a place. OK, I bet someone there donates money to charity. But have you ever heard of anyone who said, "I want to work on Wall Street so that I can earn millions of dollars and use that money to fight polio." Of course not. Nobody goes to Wall Street to earn lots of money to give it away. They go because they are greedy. Plain and simple.
It doesn't have to be an all-consuming greed, though. With that qualifier, I am hereby formally announcing my plan to work on Wall Street for 1-2 years upon graduation. The way I figure it, I can easily save $100,000-200,000 in that time if I keep my lifestyle the same. Naturally, Yilin might try to throw a monkeywrench in things once we marry, with her expensive taste and all. However, I already told her that if we are going to live in NYC, it is only to save money so that we can put a down payment on a house far far away from citylife and have something saved for our retirement. Otherwise we might as well move out ASAP. (I really do not want to stay here longer than absolutely necessary.)
The second phase of my plan is to find a job that requires a maximum of 40 hours per week and gives weekends off. (That is the holy grail to grad students. Trust me.) I can already here someone saying, "But what about vacation time?" Well, at this point any vacation time is better than none, so I'll take it. Oh yeah, with weekends off I will have almost 100 days of vacation a year that I normally don't have: 52 weeks times 2 weekend days per week equals 104 days off, minus the occasional weekend day off that I take once in a while. (I bet you didn't realize that you have over 100 days off per year; what have you been doing with all that free time? I hope not wasting it...)
"But wait," you say. "That wasn't my first question. My first question was, 'You won't make as much money as you did on Wall Street.'" Well, that's not a question, but OK, I'll bite: you are correct. If I get a 40 hour per week job I will make less money (in all likelihood). That's fine by me. I value free time (to spend with Yilin, to spend with my family, to pursue my own interestes, etc) far more than I do money. Besides, after living for 7+ years in NYC on a grad student stipend, I can live anywhere off of any amount of money and not be uncomfortable.
The real question is whether or not the Dark Side will consume me...
IF Goldman Sachs had 1 million employees, and it were divided equally, then everyone would get a $16,000 bonus (that's two-thirds of my stipend). I can promise you that Goldman Sachs does not have 1 million employees, and if they did, the janitors would not be getting a $16,000 bonus.
There is an article on ABC News that discusses, whimsically one might say, the Goldman Sachs' bonuses. It states that the average bonues will be over $600,000. The head honcho is supposedly getting a $100 million bonus. The article then goes on to say what one could do, in the holiday spirit, with $100 million. Sadly, I doubt said honcho will even partake in a fraction of that philanthropy. (You should read the article; it's crazy.)
Which brings me to the title of my post: Wall Street represents the Dark Side to me. I see no good coming out of such a place. OK, I bet someone there donates money to charity. But have you ever heard of anyone who said, "I want to work on Wall Street so that I can earn millions of dollars and use that money to fight polio." Of course not. Nobody goes to Wall Street to earn lots of money to give it away. They go because they are greedy. Plain and simple.
It doesn't have to be an all-consuming greed, though. With that qualifier, I am hereby formally announcing my plan to work on Wall Street for 1-2 years upon graduation. The way I figure it, I can easily save $100,000-200,000 in that time if I keep my lifestyle the same. Naturally, Yilin might try to throw a monkeywrench in things once we marry, with her expensive taste and all. However, I already told her that if we are going to live in NYC, it is only to save money so that we can put a down payment on a house far far away from citylife and have something saved for our retirement. Otherwise we might as well move out ASAP. (I really do not want to stay here longer than absolutely necessary.)
The second phase of my plan is to find a job that requires a maximum of 40 hours per week and gives weekends off. (That is the holy grail to grad students. Trust me.) I can already here someone saying, "But what about vacation time?" Well, at this point any vacation time is better than none, so I'll take it. Oh yeah, with weekends off I will have almost 100 days of vacation a year that I normally don't have: 52 weeks times 2 weekend days per week equals 104 days off, minus the occasional weekend day off that I take once in a while. (I bet you didn't realize that you have over 100 days off per year; what have you been doing with all that free time? I hope not wasting it...)
"But wait," you say. "That wasn't my first question. My first question was, 'You won't make as much money as you did on Wall Street.'" Well, that's not a question, but OK, I'll bite: you are correct. If I get a 40 hour per week job I will make less money (in all likelihood). That's fine by me. I value free time (to spend with Yilin, to spend with my family, to pursue my own interestes, etc) far more than I do money. Besides, after living for 7+ years in NYC on a grad student stipend, I can live anywhere off of any amount of money and not be uncomfortable.
The real question is whether or not the Dark Side will consume me...
Monday, December 04, 2006
The World Beard and Moustache Championships
What do real men do in their spare time? They grow facial hair. And of those real men who like to spruce up their appearance, the "metrosexuals" amidst the real men, how do they spend their spare time? Training for the World Beard and Moustache Championships. (Well, these men would be considered metrosexual in Alaska.)
Be amazed at the fullness and luxury of what these men can do. Team USA has recently shifted their philosophy to include category specific training, and some members have begun training for categories that the team has no competitors in. Why?
An excerpt from the website:
By God, for your country grow a beard or moustache and head to Brighton!
(Note that the only category I would consider entering is "the highly competitive full beard natural category, the category many consider the marathon of the WBMC".)
Be sure to check out the gallery, and carefully read the category titles that each individual competes in.
Be amazed at the fullness and luxury of what these men can do. Team USA has recently shifted their philosophy to include category specific training, and some members have begun training for categories that the team has no competitors in. Why?
An excerpt from the website:
The German beard clubs who started the WBMC have long dominated the competition. The Germans' domination can be attributed to their superior organization and the large number of active and enthusiastic participants. At the most recent WBMC held in Berlin, Germany, in October, 2005, Germany won gold in 14 of the 17 categories. Cynics point out that the Germans made the rules, picked the venue, hosted the competition, picked the judges, defined the categories, etc.
By God, for your country grow a beard or moustache and head to Brighton!
(Note that the only category I would consider entering is "the highly competitive full beard natural category, the category many consider the marathon of the WBMC".)
Be sure to check out the gallery, and carefully read the category titles that each individual competes in.
Friday, December 01, 2006
That's it, I'm moving.
When is enough enough? When it is December 1st, I'm walking around outside in a t-shirt, and I am warm. It is in the 60's this morning in NYC and expected to reach 70F. This is an unacceptable situation.
The solutions: either move very far north (latitude 60 or higher), move to a high altitude (8000+ feet), or move to a location that is both far north and at a high elevation. I find the ideal temperature to be about 50F. Perhaps cooler. I would much prefer to live somewhere that never reaches above 60F in the heat of the summer.
Yesterday it was -21F in parts of the Colorado Rockies and they've had snow since September. That is my dreamworld. New York City is my nightmareland.
Moving to a cold rural environment is one of my highest priorities. I realize that most of you will not come visit me, and that is sad, but I'll get over it. ;P
The solutions: either move very far north (latitude 60 or higher), move to a high altitude (8000+ feet), or move to a location that is both far north and at a high elevation. I find the ideal temperature to be about 50F. Perhaps cooler. I would much prefer to live somewhere that never reaches above 60F in the heat of the summer.
Yesterday it was -21F in parts of the Colorado Rockies and they've had snow since September. That is my dreamworld. New York City is my nightmareland.
Moving to a cold rural environment is one of my highest priorities. I realize that most of you will not come visit me, and that is sad, but I'll get over it. ;P
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