Hoping for a PSE rally today!

Feds cuts rates by half a point!

DJ was up 300+ points, which just means the Philippine stock market will make a bull run today. If I had loads of cash, I would've bought a lot of stocks yesterday or the past weeks. Unfortunately, given the small money I have (including the money stuck on some lagging stocks), I wasn't able to buy some good stocks. I guess the only consolation for me then is that my laggard stocks will hopefully ease up, to my break even level (if not, at least close to it anyway).

I always get this feeling of "damn, I should've sold early, cut loss, get in once the market stabilizes or has hit bottom". Then again, who wants to cut loss? But I guess that's a new strategy that I have to work on to prevent stuck stocks, and be able to take advantage of other opportunities that come by.

Regardless, no regrets. I'm still looking at a very very happy PSE market today!

Makati Shang Circles Buffet!

Rach has been having a string of blessings these past weeks, and so she decided to share those blessings by treating us to Circles Buffet at Makati Shangrila. None of us have tried it there so it was truly a treat!



We were there for practically three hours. I really enjoyed the Lechon. It was so good. And the tortilla soup! Tiramisu tasted so good, although a bit too liquid for me. BA enjoyed the prime rib, Chase enjoyed the salmon, Rach.... tried out practically every dish!

But I have to say, EDSA Shang's Heat buffet had more choices, and better food. I particularly noticed that Heat had a way bigger desert area than that of Circles.

We were talking about trying Spiral's next. Hopefully by end of the year? :)

Development Inspiration

I've been blog hopping for a whole full hour when I came upon a blog that talked about Software Development in the Philippines. The blogger himself is a Sun Certified Enterprise Architect. I love how he has this vision of creating true blue programmers and engineers in the Philippines. I can see that he's just a guy who wants his company to make it to the top, not by just adding clients, getting new hires, increasing income, but instead, want his company to make it to the top simply because they are excellent people with skills who deserve to be make it in the business.

Third World Software... Development

I got so inspired, that I just opened my Spring in Action ebook and continued where I left off a couple of days back. If my company can't provide a good enough project for me to learn something new, then I better start on my own. At least when time's right (which is a couple of months from now), I will be ready for the next big challenge out there. For me, programming is not just programming, it's an art. And I want to I want to work with people who really loves and knows what they're doing and talking about. That way, I can learn some more everyday.

Get Rich Slowly's "What if the Stock Market Makes You Nervous?" Article

Let me share to anyone reading my blog an article I stumbled upon regarding the stock market these days: What if the Stock Market Makes You Nervous?

I want vacation!

After the three day weekend, I want another long vacation, but this time, a really long vacation and not just at home, but somewhere else! This November, we'll be going to Cagayan de Oro for a fun filled 4 days. I haven't really gotten into it as it's still three months away.

But I want something else. I am restless. However, another long vacation somewhere else is really not part of my travel budget this year. Which just means, I have to wait for next year, to plan up a long vacation. How about a long vacation right after I resign?

Haha

If I get a better opportunity elsewhere that is.

Subprime woes

The recent subprime problems in the US has hit its toll in the Philippine market as well. The PSEi has been down too big, too fast, which is creating panic out of our investors.

Inquirer's Money Smarts explained this subprime issue quite clearly. Now I finally have an idea why this "subprime" terminology has caused so much pain to us investors, especially to small investors like me.

Currently, I'm stuck with a big purchase I recently made, before the whole subprime issue came into the picture. I wasn't able to cut loss at an earlier time, thus, the value of my portfolio has continually slipped for the past week. Since I'm already in a major negative position, I've decided to ride through this outrageous and volatile market, and look at this whole investment as a long term ordeal. After all, I still believe in the fundamentals of this company I've invested in. I'm still looking at a very good market run for the next few years. In case market continues to drop, or market recovery is very slow, I'd just wait it out. Good thing that what I've invested is pretty much extra extra money I have, which I won't be needing anytime soon (hopefully).

Good luck to us all!

Photography at Trinoma

Yesteday, we had an impromptu trip to Trinoma. Chase wanted to try out his top of the line camera and see if we can get some nice outdoor and indoor shots. Unfortunately, we only got a couple of nice shots, the others were grainy and blurry. It probably just means that he needs a whole lot of practice to get the photography going for him as a hobby.