Not just another day

Our final shipment of household goods arrived today, shattering the peace and quiet we’d been enjoying.  If you’ve been reading about our adventures in Korea, you might be wondering, "Wait, how many shipments are coming?  You must have a lot of stuff."  The answer is, yes, we shipped ourselves too much stuff.  Our household goods from Seattle that had been in storage left via cargo ship in early January, and our air freight soon followed.  Our car arrived last week, and we just received our final shipment from our temporary home in Washington, D.C.  That shipment left just before we moved to Korea.  One and a half months in transit is very fast.  Many of my colleagues around the world who left the states last year still have not received their household goods.  Unfortunately, now we have to figure out how to consolidate two households, our Seattle and Washington, D.C. households, and find places to store items we don’t need.  When I put in the orders to ship our stuff abroad, I had the crazy idea of shipping as much as possible so we didn’t miss anything important.  Living abroad however is much like traveling abroad–don’t take more than you need.  Now we have to figure out what to do with all of our stuff without unnecessarily cluttering up our home.

At lunchtime I joined my conversation partner for lunch.  Although she is Korean, she suggested having lunch at Burger King.  I was surprised by her choice, but I obliged.  She explained that Koreans love American fast food, especially McDonald’s and Burger King.  I have not yet seen a Mickie D’s in Korea, but I’ve seen at least three Burger King restaurants in Seoul.  Downtown Seoul has many American fast food restaurants, and they’re all packed at lunchtime.  The clientele appears to be generally younger than customers at Korean restaurants.  She mentioned that Koreans love also love American-style barbeques.  This summer I’m hoping to buy a grill (I love to grill).  If I do I will invite Koreans over for American-style barbeque.  It’s a great way to get to know Koreans and share American culture.

Tonight, amidst our unpacking, we ate dinner with a coworker and his wife.  He is American, and she is Korean.  They came bearing a housewarming gift–three boxes of Kleenex tissue.  I thought this odd until they explained that Koreans traditionally come to house warmings with a gift of tissue.  I appreciate the gesture, but I now have seven boxes of tissue to use up.  We are very well supplied now.  The Chinese meal my wife cooked was delicious, and I played host and cleaned up afterwards.  The conversation was great.  Although we could have spent the time unpacking, we enjoyed the company immensely.  We haven’t done as much entertaining as we could.  Life in Seoul is very conducive to getting together with friends, and our circle of friends and coworkers is ample.

Can't buy a market

The U.S. stock markets’ performance has been lousy this year.  All the major indexes are off this year.  They’ve been negatively affected by news from Iraq and underperforming U.S. economic indicators such as the U.S. GDP growth rate and unemployment rate.  The price of oil is up to around $54/barrel.  The dollar has strengthened, but it is still very weak.  The trade deficit and federal budget deficits continue to grow.  Interest rates keep going up because the Fed is still mildly worried about inflation (of course, the price of crude doesn’t help–gas prices affect the entire economy).  Stalwarts like AIG and HP and formerly darling stocks such as Krispy Kreme have fallen in financial and regulatory trouble. There have been several large market losses this year and only a few modest gains.  What’s a small investor to do? 

I think now might be right time to begin investing again.  A down market cheapens stocks that should rise when the market rebounds.  It’s a simple fact that stock markets are cyclical.  During the doldrums of summer last year the markets tanked, and then 2004 ended with a bang following the presidential election.  2004’s market momentum unpredictably ground to a halt just days after 2005 started.  (The market usually has a good year after an incumbent president wins reelection.)  It’s important when investing not to focus too much on market peaks and valleys, because they tend to lead to irrational investing decisions.  At the end of last year, for example, I bought into (literally) the hype that Overstock.com will becomes a potent competitor to eBay.  Perhaps someday, it’s much too small now to become the next eBay.  Fortunately, I didn’t buy much, but I bought it at a very high price and the share price has since decreased by almost one-third since then.  The stock price might eventually recover, but I will likely sell it at a loss to recoup my loss.  On the other hand, I did not follow the crowd and buy DreamWorks Animation at IPO last year; I waited until its share price had decreased to a reasonable level and bought once the IPO euphoria subsided.  I sold it at a profit once other investors saw the value of the Shrek franchise and the fact that DreamWorks Animation is now a serious competitor to Pixar, a darling stock five years running. 

Although the depressed market is discouraging, I believe that now may be the time to assess what stocks, mutual funds, and bonds may be more attractive to buy (or sell).  Here’s a few suggestions if you’re interested in investing:

  1. Set a target price for both buying and selling investments. 
  2. Buy what you know.
  3. Choose investments you believe are undervalued and will outperform.
  4. Be patient; don’t panic when the investment rises out of reach or dips unexpectedly. 
  5. Do not day trade or buy and hold indefinitely.  
  6. Set a high and low target selling price and sell on schedule. 
  7. Don’t worry too much if the stock price of the stock you sold keeps going up; what goes up can and often will go down.
  8. Diversify equity holdings by buying mutual funds and bonds.
  9. It is preferable to sell individual investments prior to major announcements; don’t buy after an earnings announcement if the price swing is substantial (e.g. when Merck pulled Vioxx off the market last year). 

It is easy to get burned if you hold onto a stock indefinitely and continue to hold on to it while it tanks.  Too many people bought worthless investments and held onto them too long during the dot.com bust (2000-03).  For example, Infospace shares spiked in March 2000 at the equivalent of $1,300/share; today a share of Infospace costs $38/share.  Get in and out of a stock while you can.  Don’t waste your money buying at an exuberantly irrational market peak, and don’t watch your investment tank just because you think it will rebound.  Invest wisely.  Buy low at a target price and sell at a target price.

Paul Harvey eases the Monday blues

It’s Monday today.  Nothing significant happened today, which I suppose is a good way to start the week.  I now have four more days to look forward to until next weekend.  I woke up this morning to the sound of Paul Harvey‘s voice on the radio.  The Armed Forces Network (AFN) carries Paul Harvey’s broadcasts every morning.  Paul Harvey is like an old friend to me.  He’s been on the air for ages.  He’s a broadcasting icon in the same pantheon as Dick Clark, Kasey Kasem, and Garrison Keillor ("Prairie Home Companion").  I used to listen to Paul Harvey faithfully at lunchtime while I was a college student many years ago.  He has a wry voice and reads the news as if he’s reading a newspaper to his listeners.  He starts the news with "Page (insert page)…" and ends each broadcast with "Paul Harvey…good day!"  No one can make advertisements entertaining like Paul Harvey can.  His voice has weathered over the years, and it’s easy to tell that he isn’t as young as he used to be.  Still, his voice is clear and a welcome change from what the rest of the mainstream media has become.  He actually shared an Easter message this morning in honor of Easter (it was Easter Sunday in the U.S. this morning).  Can you imagine that?  No news about Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton, or Martha Stewart.  I must be getting old, because the media’s incessant focus on famous people’s trials and tribulations and on human interest pieces (e.g. Laci Peterson or Terry Schiavo) too often supplant news.  Paul Harvey is different.  It’s easier to face Monday waking up to his familiar voice and easy-to-listen-to broadcast.

All in all, life wasn’t too bad today.  I was in a zone at work and was extremely productive.  I ate my favorite kimchi, a sweeter spicy cabbage kimchi, at restaurant downtown with a friend.  My poor coworkers survived the kimchi breath I had after lunch.  I went home intending to go to a board meeting for our local association and instead stayed home and spent time with my son so my wife could go to a resume review session.  The day was sunny and the atmosphere here was upbeat, although the temperature cooled from the balmy 50’s we enjoyed yesterday.  My son got his latest "Thomas the Tank Engine" toy, a battery-powered engine that can two his other train cars. 

I’ll try to end the day tonight by tackling a few ongoing action items I never can seem to complete.  If I can’t finish something immediately, I tend to put it off until I have time finish it.  This has been especially true since I arrived in Seoul.  I really want life to slow down, and I’ve done my utmost not to get caught up in the perpetual busy mode I was in while I was in Washington, D.C.  Thankfully, life here in Seoul feels much more relaxed and slower paced than it has for me in the past three years.  Seoul is not a slow-paced city by any means, but our life here allows us to decide for ourselves how hectic life should be.  Right now, peace and quiet is what I crave.