26++

I turned Twenty Six this week! No excitement. More worries. Hairline receding. Career path moving forward. And this trip back home will be confrontation with parents. And I am trying innovative ways to push the discussion as backward as possible.

I think I have best set of close friends! Last year Shreya was here in lah-land to celebrate my birthday! and this year it was Khyati! Wonderful gift! Nothing more to ask! And of course the customary 12 o clock cutting ensured by friends here despite having to suffer early monday morning blues on sunday night!

In less than 13 days, I will be in Mumbai. All I can think of Dheeraj's Grilled Sandwich, open cheese mysore  masala and sahkari bhandar pani puri! Atttttacckkk!!!!!

And Goaaaa!!! Been more than 8 years since I went to Goa. That was the first time! I had not even attained legal drinking age. And was with parents. This time it will be different. It HAS to be different! Gooonde ensured the trip! Super stuff! Excited!

My pjs are getting lamer.. my cooking (and bit of bartending now) skills are getting sharper... not that a lot of people care about either!

2010 has been very kind to me for travelling! I hope 2011 is as kind if not more. I just want to learn to start travelling alone. Bagpacking! Be on my own! This social animal deserves to break out for that! Will try one trip in 2011 - on my to do list for 2011! (the only other thing on my to do for 2011 is being to understand Mandarin to ensure I get jokes management crack on their roadshows - these serious interpreters dont share the laugh x-[ )

More I see markets, more I know its more psychology than finance. My PhD thesis will be on behavioral finance! Decided! I dont want to be Buffet or Jim Simons. Soros is more like it! No, I wont bore you more on markets!

Sad that I have ran out of topics to write.. will need to add some zing to life! How about Gold Spot? (Bad one) May be Mumbai trip would be good one!

Update and Random Musings

I dont want this blog to die - I started this one thing and have been regular (not lately though) but these days its just gone dormant. I am not sure why people are interested in stuff I write but the hits dont lie I assume.

So what do I have to update?

Off one thing I know, that tomorrow I complete 9 months in my current job and not even faced Monday Blues once. Achievement? Or as Anshul put the other day, I may not be having enough fun on weekends.. I'd say my job is really awesome but Anshul ain't so wrong either.. weekends have been liability and sometimes we have planned stuff on two separate days only to make sure both days went off well.. sad stuff, I know.. but Bhushan Ben, now you are back and you better rock!!! 1-Altitude this Friday for SURE!! (Mr. Charan will laugh on this - we have planning this since his birthday)

On other things, good insights on earlier post - the post became too heated and I just avoided to get into soup there. But now, I got a fund manager to support - so profits shall come before religion. May be not when I manage my own fund, I'll form my own rules - listen you tobacco cos, you ain't getting money when I become a fund manager. Nor is AAPL.

I also found that no job is perfect. One thing I hate about my job is lunch meetings. Bloody I have to sit through hardly edible bland food while my other fund managers manage to clean their plates with chopsticks. I have started to detest them but then I have realised its a small price to pay (but frequently with atleast 3 days a week) if I have to survive in this industry. Or we will need to need more money to play with.. Anyone with spare few hundred thousand dollars, contact me..

Also realized that efficient market hypothesis is dead. Period. They should ban that from teaching that to new generation.

Has this happened to you? A day you crack a generic joke and the next day YOU are the joke?

This year I have been to Changi more than I have been to Clementi MRT. I'd say good year indeed.

I have become more active on twitter - thanks to @Purpleturple #likes #enjoytweeting

Btw, there is one post which I had started writing since April and I have just finished two points there. Lets hope I finish that before it becomes obsolete.

What MBA does NOT teach you?

We have always heard stories about how employee has to deal with ethical dilemma... and MBA cannot, and will never be, able to teach you how to get out of such situations..

now, thats happening to me.. after doing some prelim research on softs, I think best place to be in for next 6 months is meat industry.. but I am personally a hardcore vegetarian who does not even eat eggs (even in confectionery) but I am in love with the business model and macro factors and the whole industry dynamics.. how do I deal with this? I know I am not buying stock for simple reason I am not trading at all..  but should I pitch a stock which pushes meat consumption whereas I believe in spreading vegetarianism? Rather, should I chase profits by selling my religion and soul? Or should I restrict myself by not making my investor (hypothetically, if I were a fund manager) good returns just because I do not believe in the lifestyle?

Alums, Students and Aspirants, here you go with practical situation... leave the class, help me to face reality... winner shall get the right to receive my next best idea in their inbox..