this week seems to have gone by so fast. its already Friday, and it sorta feels like we just got back from Thredbo. I guess sleeping a lot does help the time go by faster :)

I went for my xray & ultrasound yesterday. what a waste of money. aihs. I should have gone to the clinic that does bulk billing (i.e. don't need to pay anything), which was the one I was suppose to go to. Instead, I opted to go to the one in the city, which ended up costing me about $100 extra. I really don't get the medicare claim system. A bit fucked up imo. Go to a clinic that bulk bills and you don't pay anything, go to a clinic that doesnt, and you fork out extra money for it. Aihs.

Anyway, the imaging didn't turn out much. I have a medial collateral ligament injury. Apparently one of the better ligaments to stuff up. The doc didn't say it was torn or anything. Its just swelled up pretty badly. Should take about a month to get better. I didn't get tested for cartilage damage, cuz that will take an MRI to detect, but it doesn't seem to be the case. It doesn't really hurt unless i move the knee in a funny angle or try to straighten it, so i guess the damage isn't too bad. I'm still limping around though. Kinda hard to walk if one of your legs can' straighten up.

Apart from doing my checkups and stuff, I've been searching for work as well. Getting quite demotivated. I've applied for a couple on Seek, and also googled for some consultancies that I may be interested in working for. Haven't heard from any of them though. Sigh... I think I'll just apply to do some data entry for a month or so. I should think about earning some money, instead of getting a job I want.

when your luck is down, its really down. aihs. the job offer i had from Acctek was rescinded. Salary negotiations didn't go that well, rather it didn't happen at all. The boss figured he wouldn't be able to offer me a salary that I would be happy with, so thats that.

Now I have to start looking for a job again. Guess I'm gonna be spending more than a 1/4 year being unemployed. This sucks... I'm starting to get depressed.

omg. i'm in fuckin agony now. twisted my knee really bad yesterday. came off a skilift, my board caught in the snow, and my knee went *pop* after it crashed into the ground and my leg went in an unnatural direction. worst pain i ever felt at that instant. it subsided after a minute or so but that felt like an eternity. The lady with the ski patrol was saying its a common injury in the sport, and the popping sound isn't a good sign. Might even need reconstructive surgery. I guess it didn't really sink in at that point in time. I didn't really feel anything about it. I was just "oh, ok!". They strapped me in to a sled and I got a ride down to the medical center. That was pretty cool :) I wanted Thos to snap a picture, but I think he was pretty freaked out.

Anyway, the doc said it wasn't so bad. I could move my leg reasonably freely when he diagnosed me, so nothing was broken. Most likely a tear of the meniscus cartilage. Can't tell at that moment anyway. Its pretty bad now though. Its swelled up a fair bit, and I can't straighten my leg at all. I need to get an xray done, and get the doc to prescribe me some stronger medicine. But don't know how man. The medical centre I go to is pretty far from here, and I can barely shuffle around the house. Plus I need to return the rental gear as well. Not a promising day...

To top it off, my whole body is absolutely buggered. I feel bruised and sore all over. My neck is the worst off though. If I'm lying down, I can't get up unless I use my hands to support my head. Or roll myself up. But I can't roll now cuz of my knee. Tried that this morning when I woke up. Fuckin hell... knee hurt so much I cried out. I'm cringing just thinking about it.

Kla. Have to shuffle back to the kitchen. I'm using a pack of mixed vegetables to ice my knee. Starting to melt already. Gonna put it back in the freezer.

Got another 3 hours to kill b4 I set off for Thredbo. And then its a 5-6 hour bus ride. The one aspect of the trip I ain't exactly looking forward to. I wanna get out of the house as soon as I can. Mainly cuz the smoke detector is driving me nuts. Its giving a very audible beep every 30 seconds or so. Soooooo damn annoying.

I went to see the chinese doc this morn as well. My ankle is still acting up. I did manage to go for a short job the other day. It didn't really get sore apart from occasional spikes of pain. I can't figure it out... it some particular angle that brings that pain. But when I was at the doc, couldn't replicate it. Theres no locations on my ankle that is particular sore. I dunno, maybe its just mine and the doc's definition of soreness. Not understanding mandarin that well doesn't exactly help. It didn't hurt when the doc massaged certain areas, but then he applied pressure at certain points. Good gawd... it bloody hurts. Don't know if its part of the treatment...but my ankle does feel better after the whole thing. Problem seems to be still there though, but I'm just gonna wait and see la. Gonna start going for regular jogs or something to see if it becomse worse.

Thats it. Wish me luck up on the slopse. I don't need to injure another joint. The only leg joint I have left thats in good working condition is my right ankle. I wanna try keep it that way at the very least...

5 minutes after I blog about not receiving a call regarding a job, I get a call offering me the position. Cool! The base salary is quite sad, but overall I might be able to earn $60K over. That depends on the hours I can charge out to clients. So it depends on how much business the company has.

I'm trying to negotiate the pay now. $35K base salary seems just too little. If all goes well, I'll probably start beginning of July, which would make it what? 3 months of unemployment? Or was it 2? I lost track of time already. Hope for the best. I'll still take the job even if I can't get the improvement on the salary. Thinking about it, its really a good opportunity. Its a really small company, so I don't have to work from the bottom of the food chain to become a consultant. I can start visiting clients once I feel I'm up to speed on my knowledge. 1 year is more than enough time for me to become an expert in the applications I'll be supporting. I might even be able to play a part in expanding the company! How cool will that be?!

Putting the job aside...We'r going to Thredbo tomorrow!!!! Woohoo! Picking up the gear today. Can't wait to see what kind of boards we get to use. Hope its something cool ^_^ Apart from that, have to start planning for our NZ trip already. Need to go down city and get some quotes later. Maybe I'll go visit the chinese doc if I remember later. And also check out some medical insurance stuff. Hmmm... quite a number of errands to do now that I think about it.

Ah well. Lunch comes first. I'm gonna go have a mushroom mozzarella melt. Won't have much chance to eat that during the week once I start working.

exactly a year ago, a blazing inferno started in my bed and almost took my foot off :) Okla..slight exaggeration, but if you wake up to the smells of burning upholstery and with flames dancing a meter away from your face, I reckon I can classify it as a blazing inferno :p

I didn't do much today. I got lots of loot in the mail, none of which are birthday presents unfortunately :p I received the stock charting software I ordered, so I spent some time reading & setting it up. I also got a new sim card! I'm going for a prepaid service, iSim. Its purported pretty good. Its owned by Optus anway, so you can't really go wrong service-wise. And the greatest thing about it? Absolutely the best rates in Australia as far as I know. 39c per minute, per second billing. NO flagfall. Thats zero, nil, nein flagfall. And 19c sms as well. Theres obviously no fancy stuff like wap, mms (not sure about this), and other frills, but honestly... all that stuff is nothing more than gimmicks. I'm transferring my old number over, so just hope it doesn't stuff up or anything.

I also finally received the application form for another stockbroker that I wanted to use. Each trade is about $10 cheapr...but I am soooo not impressed with them. Being budget is one thing...being unprofessional is a different matter. I requested their forms about what? 2-3 weeks ago, and I only just got it. Not only are the disclosure statements and application forms an in-house hack job. Its very sloppy as well. I don't mind photocopied booklets, but if theres streaks and black marks strewn over every single page, it ain't something I would want to show a potential client. It doesn't exactly generate confidence in their services. Terrible. Its no wonder they only have about 1% market share as a discount broker.

I didn't receive a call in regards to the job. Never a good sign. Guess I have to ring him up tomorrow morning. On another note, I'm gonna be getting a SE w810i phone. A gift from my mum n sis. I should get it when Andy comes back in about 2 weeks. Can't wait... Finally! A new phone.

its my birthday today! woop dee do :p I should be more excited that I'm 25 now (should I?), but every day this week is being overshadowed by the fact that we'r finally going up to Thredbo this weekend. Just can't wait for it to come. Shouldn't get so hyped up... I don't want to get disappointed.

My interview yesterday went pretty well. Scott (the boss) seems pretty ok with having me on board, but he still has to go through some other candidates. I should find out by Wednesday. Its a small establishment la. Just him, an older lady and I think he is hiring 2 more ppl (including my position). Its an entry level (in other words, low pay) Customer Support Consultant. Jobwise... its pretty ideal to what I want. I provide application support, travel to sites and fix problems and maybe even source out new contracts eventually. Not a lot of companies uses a junior for this type of position.

The problem? The place is pretty far. It'll take between 1 to 1 1/2 hours to get there. Thats still closer than my previous company though. I don't know the pay details yet, but he wouldn't be able to pay my $45K p.a base salary like Favco. And with Favco... I get away with more than that cuz my transport expenses were taken care of. It'll cost me $2K+ annually to get to work, excluding the time wasted on travel. So if the pay for this job is less than $40K... I really don't know. If its possible for me to bring my take home pay up to $50K+ by sourcing new contracts and stuff then thats ok la. I don't mind being paid for performance.

Other than the distance, the pay, and the fact that there are no chiqs at the company... its a pretty good opportunity for me. I should be able to learn a lot by working at this place. In 1-2 years, I should be able to become a proper consultant. At any rate, I'll just mull over it when I get the call tomorrow.

I can't wake up in the mornings, and I can't sleep at night. Just what the kuku is wrong with me. Aihs. Plus my ankle is acting up again. Cold nights are not good for me. I think I might go to the chinese doc again later in the day. Probably need to manipulate my joints again. I really want to get my ankle fixed... perhaps I should go for an MRI. Wonder how much that would set me back.

I guess I should take up private medical insurance. If only for the extra benefits. You can claim up to $350 for stuff like physiotherapy or chiro. Even acupuncture is included. Don't know how much the cover is though. Probably more than $350 a year. I've just cancelled my death & tpd (total & permanent disability) insurance from my superannuation. Eating up my superannuation for no good reason. The $1/week account maintenance fees are bad enough. I don't even know how much interest the super will be able to earn.

I don't believe in all this compulsory savings crap. Its not my problem if some people aren't smart enough to manage their money for retirement. I'd rather employers pay me the extra 8% superannuation contribution or so directly to me. I'll decide what to do with my own money, thank you very much. At any rate, I don't think the money an average worker gets from superannuation is enough in the first place. Some people still have to scrimp and save, or come out of retirement to survive. Those that don't have to... don't rely on superannuation in the 1st place.

Weeeee. I'm going on a spending spree. Having a credit card of your own can really let someone throw caution to the wind. I just placed an order for a sharemarket charting software. Thats $695. Ouch... I bought some books off Amazon last night as well. About $100 in total. The books come in about $20 cheaper than buying locally. Only thing is that I'd have to wait for 2 weeks or so. They've already shipped 2 of the books though. I hope they come in good condition, but so far its been excellent. The books I've gotten off Amazon so far doesn't have any crease, dogears or dubious stains.

We rented our boarding gear yesterday. $139 for the lot. Board, boots, parka, pants and a carry bag. We haven't actually seen the boards cuz they haven't been prepped, but the rest of the stuff are all new. We'r picking them up next Thursday, so I'll get to take some happy shots of it :)

I'm at a loss this weekend. I don't know what to do. Especially after having spent so much money. I already mentioned I have sort of an interview on Monday right? Hopefully I'll luck out and he already has an open position for me. Or maybe I'll work for minimum wage and pour coffee and stuff just to get my foot in the door. Hmmm. I think I'm too uppity for my own good. That kind of work feels so degrading... Ok la... I did work as a waiter/bartender/glassie, but thats different from being an office gopher.

Ah well. I feel like a mushroom mozzarella melt today. Gonna go pick up a magazine, and lame at the local cafe for a bit.

I haven't been looking for jobs this week. Getting sick of it. I'm meeting up with the boss of a consultancy company that I met from when I was at Favco. He knows about what I've done so far and was interested in my resume. He didn't have anything suitable for me back then la. His company does have a support position open, but he said that its too low level for me. Anyway, I forwarded him an updated copy of my resume, and he asked me to drop by on Monday for a chat. I'm not expecting much, but its better than nothing. I haven't even been for a single interview in the past month despite my applications.

Not gonna do much today. I ran out of market related books to read. Theres another one I want to pick up, but Kino doesn't have the paperback copy. And Amazon is actually cheaper even after factoring in the delivery cost. Haihs. I reckon Aussie bookstores really make a killing... Theres barely any price competition. Most books sell for the same price at Dymocks as they do at Kino. Only difference is when theres a Sale on or membership benefits.

I'm reading the book Jacq bought for me. The Rules of Work by Richard Templar. Its one of those tips to succeed at work books. Dress smart, have a firm handshake, etc etc. Makes for an interesting read. Oh! I've also re-discovered internet radio yesterday! :) I used to listen to them when working in the computer labs in uni. Its a good change from the mp3s I have on my drive. I've been sitting in front of my com so much, I'm starting to get sick of the music I play.

Oooo... gonna go look at boarding stuff today though! We might rent our stuff from a store in the city instead of up in Thredbo. Might have better stuff to choose from. I've still got stuff to buy though. I decided that I probably won't get new gloves yet. No current designs that I like. But I still nede to get thermals.

Blearrghh. Been having absolutely horrible mornings. Firstly its bloody difficult to get out of bed. I think my entire body can make that knuckle popping sound when I move. Is that normal? Secondly... I've been waking up with a congested nose the past few days. Its so damn annoying. And I can't even blow my nose to clear it...its just clogged up. It becomes ok after a few hours, but at the moment its bothering the heck out of me.

I'm sick of applying for work already. It just serves only to annoy me. Not only am I underqualified the positions I want...I'm also overqualified for them o_O what the fook man... Haihs. Like fatts put it. A noob > Kiangs. Sadness...

Isn't the 1st time actually. An application I did earlier on said the same thing. They only wanted recent graduates. Either that or they needed citizenship. I don't mind being rejected because I don't have enough technical knowledge... cuz thats partly true. But to be cut from a tech support position when I'm more knowledgeable than them is ridiculous. I know that for a fact because I used to deal with that department when I was working. They provided the Australian support for the accounting package I was implementing at the company. Bloody morons I tell you. They coudln't answer most of my questions satisfactorily. Alwez have to go back to the developers in South Africa.

I can still remember some 'solutions' they provided me. One was in regards to a button that didn't do what it was suppose to. I think it was meant to import a file or something, but it doesn't respond. The solution? Keep clicking on it till it works... o_O Another was an error message that keeps popping up when you start the program. Solution? Keep reinstalling the program until the message goes away... o_O

Very elegant...

p.s. to cut them some slack, the solutions do in fact work, which in all honesty is what businesses want. it doesn't have to be perfect or even efficient, just as long as it works. I really dislike this attitude though, although I've been prone to it on several occasions as well. Thats life I guess...

its been 1 1/2 months since i've been voluntarily unemployed. I'm kinda in a paradox. Time passes by so slowly...and yet so quickly at the same time. You can also say that I have so much friggin time on my hand since I'm not working, but I feel that I have no time as well because I'm not working. Aihs. What a muddle.

I wish I can just take off and travel around the world. Technically... I can certainly pay for it now. Although that doesn't mean I can afford it. Such a pain. I wonder when I'll be able to travel to Japan and the South Americas. Europe would be nice as well. They have such impressive architecture. Like the Sagrada Familia in Catalonia

from wiki

Coordinates are 41°24′13″N, 2°10′28″E if you want to check it out on Google Earth ^_ I'm not an architecture fan, but I still appreciate the beauty and effort that is poured into this structure. Seeing these kind of buildings are among my list of things to do before I croak. The Machu Picchu in Peru is another place I want to see with my own eyes. My friends who've been there (and SA in general) absolutely loved it. Incidently, Google Earth has Machu Picchu as well, but you can't see nuts since theres no lights in that area.

courtesy of wiki

Honestly speaking though, its not like you need super a lot of money to see all of this. Its a huge amount if you want to sleep in 5 star hotels, snack on beluga caviar and wash it down with foie gras. Round the world trips on statravel starts from $1500 to $3000. I guess it kinda depends though. One of my friends travelled around Europe and spent $20K. She did spend a whole month there... but it still seems like a pretty hefty amount. Ah well. No point thinking about that now since I don't even have a job to fund any escapades. At least I still have my ski trip next week, and New Zealand in September.

i just spent the most part of the long weekend playing Wild Arms 4. Feeling so stoned now... spent a bit too much time holding on to the joypad. I managed to complete the game, so its out of the way now :) I seem to finish an average of 1 game per week. I finished playing Rise of Legends last week as well. Or was that the week before? Can't remember...my timing is screwed up.

Andy's off to Spain for his brother's wedding. So cool. I need to decide on what phone I really want b4 he gets back. Mom n sis gonna chip in to get a new mobile phone for me. Initially I wanted the SE 810i, but after thinking about it. I probably wouldn't use the music feature much. So its kinda moot getting it. The K800 is a better choice. Its music capabilities probably aren't as good, but its a Cybershot! 3.2 mpx camera as well. Pretty darn good.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be out yet. No idea when as well. I saw a post on gsmarena.com that mentiones 26th June, but you really can't put much faith into what those random comments say. Aihs... I'm at a loss. Not that its a super big deal... can always get my mom to courier it over, but dunno how much that would cost. Oh... and just fyi, the phone is much cheaper back home (the 810i). It retails for about $700+ here, but its only rm1450 according to my mom. ZZzzz.. how how how?? Can't make up my mind. Dunno how much the k800 will be also in the first place. Probably not going to be worth buying it especially since if its so new.

Meh...I'll mull over it while munching on my Coles Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies.

i wanna go to bed, but i'm feeling too full! Aihs. Went to a nice spanish restaurant for dinner. One of the waitresses had really big ermm...assets :) Oh. The food was good too. Ate a bit too much in fact. Its kinda expensive though. The tapas are like $10 each serving...and its not much more than a single dish when you go yumcha. We (me, thos, andy) ordered 4 different types of tapas: tortila, mushroom, chorizo sausage & chicken wings. They sound a lot exotic on the menu obviously :p ermm.. A chicken & seafood paella (risotto in a wok?), which I think didn't have any chicken in it. And dessert too. So yeah...feeling quite fat at the moment.

I have to go to work tomorrow too. Arrrrghhhh! I'm so use to bludging at home now. Too used to sleeping late and not having any early morning commitments. Oh well. I guess I do need the money after a month of not working. Somehow... it seems like I'm spending a fair bit even though I'm not working. And thats not counting my losses in the market so far. I keep those expenses separate from my records.

Oh...its actually only $1,580.38. Not $2,180.38 like I originally thought :) Had to pay rent twice last month. Thats not too bad since the $1500 is inclusive of my ski trip. But haven't factored in lift passes and rental. That would fall under this month. Exactly 2 more weeks before Thredbo!!! Woohoo!

So so soooo tired this morning. Its been getting more difficult to get out of bed. I usually attribute that to my diet. Don't know if its psychological or not, but when I go through the South Beach or Atkins diet... I seem to feel more refreshed in the mornings. Now wake up, stone in bed for about 5 minutes deciding if I should go back to sleep or get up. When I do get up, I sit on my chair in front of the com for another 5 minutes deciding if getting out of bed was the right choice. Aihs... I wonder if its cuz I don't have to wake up to get to work.

Jez like this morning. I wake up at 8.30, take my multi vits, and then crawl back into bed :) I would probably still be sleeping if my ex-workplace didn't call me up. They having problems doing some setup for the accounting software, so called me up for help. Maybe I should get myself an ABN and start charging them for $150/hour for every 5 minute block. Thats what the consultants do. Hmmm.... So far I've received an average of 2 calls a week since I've left work.

I'm going back to work tmr to fix things up. It shouldn't take me long. I think I know whats the problem. Should be able to fix it in a few minutes...and then I can charge them for 4 hours worth of work :) Kekekek. Sweet deal huh? I backcharge my travel time :)

My trades are a losing proposition at the moment. Its all still unrealised losses, but with the the US markets are performing, it doesn't bode well. I'm not exiting till the share prices hit my stop, but if they do... I will lose up to $500. Sounds like a small amount, but thats more than a weeks expenditure for me. Oh well. Live and learn.

I really need to think ahead more and not let my emotions get involved when trying to trade. Thinking "Oh man... if I don't pull this trade, I'm gonna miss out!" is probably among one of the worst things you can do to yourself as a trader. And I always just realise my mistake AFTER the trade goes through... sheesh.

Just like the day before... I placed an order of about $4K plus for some shares which I figure are going to breakout (basically prices going up). I put the order in about midnight after reading up just a little bit about it. BUTTT, prices dropped instead o_O 2 things I could have done to prevent that. 1st was to look at the US market, which I believe was the pressure behind the recent downturn in the Aussie market. At the time I placed the order, the US market was already in a pretty bad decline. If I had known that, I would have 2nd thoughts since the stock I bought is essentially a US company too. Mistake #1.

Mistake #2. I didn't want to miss the rally...so I placed the order the night before instead of waiting for the market to open and observing the prices. I was too eager and ended up becoming one of the punters who gets raped by the markets. What I should have done is be patient, and wait for a point in which I can enter the market confidently. Prices go up, but they always come down too. I shouldn't have been so anxious to jump in at the start.

What ticks me off is that the stuff I just wrote...is also mentioned in the books that I've been reading to a certain extent. It just shows how noobish I am in trading. A lesson well learnt indeed. I won't be making the same mistakes twice. Oh. I've decided that I won't disclose or discuss the actual stocks that I buy. A reflection on my purchases in general is ok. Its basically to prevent me from developing an ego regarding my purchases.

I like this:

God loves everybody, but I think what he does with fat people is stick them on a skewer and roasts them over hell.

From Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins.

With that said, I'm slightly less than 81kgs today :p Then again, I haven't had lunch...so my real weight is probably around 82kgs.

the trouble with knowing how to fix computers...is that ppl tend to call you up to troubleshoot their computer. Aihs. not referring to you jacq :p I left work last month, but I still get calls occasionally in regards to the stuff that I've set up. I really charge them for the advice. I got a wake up call this morning from the ex-production manager as well cuz he couldn't log in his computer o_O Haihs...

I don't mind it so much... but its bothersome when I was enjoying sleeping in. Its a cold morning after all. Its been raining the whole morning, and I think I caught a cold as well. My nose is leaking almost as much as the tap in the kitchen, which I really need to get fixed. The dripping is bloody annoying me, applies to both the tap n my nose.

I love the fact that its starting to get cold. Its a nice feeling to go out and be able to blow mist when u breathe :) And you get to wear jackets and scarves too! I still got a leather jacket that I haven't worn out. Can't wait to be able to use it. On the other hand... it sucks when you get out of a hot shower and into the cold. Or when my nose is constantly runny. Or that you can't go out without wrapping yourself up, which kinda contradicts what I said earlier :p Its a love/hate relationship. Sydney isn't too bad though. Doesn't get as cold as Melbourne, so its been bearable.

And best thing about winter... snow!!! I'll be hitting the slopes in just 3 more weekends! I'm soooo looking forward to it. I hope it snows when I'm there. I still haven't seen it snow... feel so jakun. Aihs.

K then... off to job hunt.

ZZzzz... its been a damn quiet weekend. Thos is in NZ, so no kaki at home. Can't be stuffed going out as well since theres nothing to do. And since it was a weekend, I didn't have the inclination to do anything productive. Thats kinda bad, I spend my unemployed weekdays laming around, and then I spend the weekends laming around even more. Must stop this pattern (watch me do the same thing next week!)

I think I ate a lot this weekend, even though I didn't go out and my larder is almost bare. I think I made some pasta on Friday night, and had it for lunch the next day too. Made a baked beans omelette, toppped with baked beans for dinner. Ended up ordering a large pizza with garlic bread and drink 2 hours later cuz I wasn't satisfied. Left half a pizza for lunch today, and then I made pasta for dinner again.

Hmmm. Doesn't really sound like a lot now that I wrote it out. Just sounds like a really sad diet o_O I think I better go grocery shopping tomorrow... I've been reflecting on some stuff that Jacq mentioned when she returned my call on Friday, but don't feel like writing too long a post. Maybe tmr if I remember.

p.s. Chun Li and Cammy have been more active over the weekend. I didn't take them out to play, but just stick my hand in the cage and muck around a bit. Quite nice to let them crawl all over your hand and sniff/gnaw your fingers ^_^ Oh..those are the names of the rats in case I haven't mentioned them.

I've got nothing planned today. Except for reading the book I got yesterday. Kinokuniya seems to be kinda lousy when it comes to investment books. Makes me kinda regret paying $15 to join the membership. They didn't have the book I wanted as well, would have take 2 weeks to order it in. And thats from a local distributor as well. Thats a really really crappy lead time. I might as well order it from Amazon. Sheesh.

I got the book from Dymocks in the end. $76.95, sigh. If I could have bought from Kino, it would have been 10% off. Its really bugging me... I hate buying stuff when I could have gotten it cheaper somewhere else. I would have gotten another book as well, but then Kino didn't even have it. And its a bloody classic investment book too. "The Warren Buffett Way" by Robert Hagstrom. I think anyone whos serious in the sharemarket would have read this book, and they don't bloody have it! So dissappointing. Made me pay $7.695 extra for a book. Ish!!

And to top it off, I didn't have to buy a new book to read after all! Jacq ordered one from Amazon for me. Supposedly an early birthday present :p (which is the 20th June!! In case anyone has forgotten. Thats 18 days away ^_^) Thanks again for the book babes! *muaks*

Just another 3 weeks before we hit the slopes! Nice!! I'm still excited about it. Still gotta buy some stuff. I didn't get my thermals yet, and I MIGHT buy a new pair of gloves. Gonna be about $100+ for that. Aihs...truly an expensive sport. Probably will go get them the next weekend. Thos left of NZ today. His fight is on Sunday, so hopefully he won't come back too battered. ^_^ Who knows... he might even win all his fights. He is aiming to win his first fight though, since he might not have enough gas to win his 2nd fight and beyond. Ah well, all the best to him. Its all good to me as long as he doesn't break any limbs.

81kg today! Woohoo. Its nice to weigh yourself early in the morning after taking a leak :) Makes you feel good about yourself. Heheheh

I'm off for an appointment in the city today. With soem business consultants, for lack of a better term. Its a small business advisory service. I wanted to find out what kind of services they can offer me, and maybe if they can help me find out some stuff in regards to my business idea.

After that, I might try to looking for the Billabong hoodie that I really want a 2nd time. The store clerk might have made a mistake when he couldn't find the size. Then I've got a book that I want to get, and after that I'll probably lame at Gloria Jeans or a while with a cappucino and a cookies 'n' cream cheesecake :) Mmmmm... sounds like a nice day so far. A bit tired of being cooped up at home during the week. Its been ok though, I'm occupied during the day with reading and just checking on the stockmarket.

A book that I'd fully recommend to anyone when starting out in the market is "The Aggressive Investor", by Colin Nicholson. Its based on the Aussie market, but his model can be applied to any investor. Its a great starting point if you don't know how to write an investment plan. Apparently its not that suitable if you don't have around $50K to invest in. It might still work out if you have enough capital, but you'd just have to take on higher risks, and the brokerage fees will eat into your portfolio as well. Even so, I'd still recommend the book to those without the recommended to start with.

Colin recommends "Come into my Trading Room", by Alexander Elder for those without the recommended starting capital. Incidently, this is the book I'm going to buy today. Not because I'm a lemming and want to buy it because he recommended it. It was already my intention to pick up this book after finishing with Aggressive Investor. So its a bonus that Colin recommended it as well.

I'm off then. Don't want to miss my bus.