I am gonna make a bold prediction...

that the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie will be one of the better movies out this summer. I'm not sure why I feel this way, but it looks like a good ol' fashioned rollickin' time at the cinema. Mark my words. As for Superman, well, not so sure about that. Will probably see it of course, but not terribly excited. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane is a bit of uninspired casting. Lois Lane has spunk. And she's sexy. I can see sexy on Bosworth, but I can't see spunky.

In other news, I had a soft-serve ice-cream around 3:45pm today during a break, from the ice -cream man in his ice-cream truck, and it brightened up my day. Never underestimate the power of a good ice cream.

lord I'm tired.

I'll keep this brief...

...since I am trying to get to bed earlier and earlier. Waking up at 6:30am will take some getting used to after many months of 4am poker. I had a good weekend, a strong weekend, filled with the things I love to do. Celebrating with family, celebrating with friends, watching soccer, playing soccer, lots of food and lots of drink, cold beer on warm patios, and plenty of ladies dressed to impress and easy to talk to. Here's to more of these weekends. I hope your weekends were brilliant. Whether they were spent in Edinburgh or Toronto, Egypt or Amsterdam...

Asi es la vida...

A good start....

I spent the last few days gathering leads, i.e. information on companies I think would be a viable client for my firm. Today I actually manned the telephone and tried to get in touch with senior level executives at some extremely large firms. The first guy I got a hold of (getting by their PA's is as easy as getting by a pitbull while smeared with steak sauce) told me he'd heard of my product before, and wasn't interested this year. Fine. Rejection comes with the territory. The next call was a lead I was excited about - I thought their business would be perfectly suited for us. And it went perfectly. I went through the entire pitch and did quite well - the only problem was the guy was so impressed and interested I couldn't believe it. Our training kept drilling us on handling objections but this guy had none. I kept asking "is this something your firm might be interested in?" When the affirmative reply came, I almost didn't know what to do. Luckily I got my act together and finished strongly. I should know by Friday whether I got the sale or not - if yes, it would probably be one of the fastest sales ever by a recent hire. Wish me luck.

welcome

Well the regulars finally chimed in on yesterday's post after a long absence. Welcome back. Spent the day at work doing research, i.e. finding leads, or companies that I think will be interested in my "product". I say "product" because the product is actually intangible. I say intangible because one it's a fairly big word, and two, SAJ will potentially be jazzed about the liberal use of accounting terms. I came up with 50 companies that I will try to pitch tomorrow. When I listen to them talk about their services, you can rest assured that I'll understand less than 20% of what they're saying. If I'm lucky I'll interject with a well-timed "oh really?" or a"that's interesting" at some point during the convo. Maybe I'll toss in an "uh huh" or a "fantastic" or two. Hopefully this will show I'm hip to their company and am really listening to the techno-mambo-jumbo they're spewing in copious amounts. And then maybe they'll want to spend $60K on something intangible. I'll use my company's much heralded pitching techniques and see what the results are. Dale Carnegie might finally come in useful.

Wish me luck.

Heating up

I have paid scant attention to this blog in the last couple of weeks... I hope that'll change, but work means I have much fewer hours to dedicate to puff piece blog buffoonery. Good news is that my soccer injury seems to have healed, so I can finally get back out there - like I did today in the 37C mid-afternoon heat. Problem is after all the time off I am looking more like Ronaldo than Ronaldinho. I'm really enjoying the World Cup - as far as sports tournaments go you can't beat it for pure spectacle. It's also nice to discuss soccer with people and not feel like a total outcast.

Pretty busy weekend...went out Friday to a friend's graduation party, lots of food and drink and good company. Saturday went out to watch the hockey playoffs (I feigned interest), then did a bit of bar hopping mid-town. As for now - well I'm off to braai (BBQ) some boerewors for Father's Day. Shit that stuff is lekker china. On a side note, since my new job involves phone sales, I may just bring back the SA accent. Chicks dig it, and should be something linguistically different for these bored CEO's who I'm cold-calling!

Cheers.

Oh, one perk of the job is that I can make international calls as often as I want for free...so if you live abroad beware.

tired

I haven't had time for posting this week, work is taking up more than a little of my time. However, I will update you all this weekend on my worklife. Enjoy the footie, drink a little less alcohol, smell the roses.

Music of the moment...
Our Lady Peace - Angels Losing Sleep
Our Lady Peace - Innocent
Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
Keane.....

have a good one peeps.

oh and before I forget, a big B-day shout out to SAJ this weekend...happy happy boychik. I hope the boys showed you a good time in NYC. All the best.

working stiff

well I started the new job today...well, I'm looking at it more as paid training than anything else. Being downtown again is nice, especially in the summer, but the commute is a bitch, and I have to dress up in a suit everyday, which sucks. Waking up early also sucks. But there might be some opportunity to make some cash...I will let you know how that goes. As for the office, picture the office from "Boiler Room" and you'll get an idea of it. Come to think of it, my boss kind of acts like an Australian Ben Affleck. I feel like running around yelling "reco!" and "don't pitch the bitch!"

En-ger-land! En-ger-land! (England! England!)

The World Cup starts today; it is the world's most watched sports event, and one thing I look forward to every four years. Nothing beats the World Cup for drama, excitement and sheer authentic passion. For the players, the tournament can turn you into a hero or a villain, a god or a goat. One magical moment can immortalize you forever in the memories of your countrymen and indeed the entire world. Just ask Maradona and his fist. The fate of nations lies on the shoulders of 11 men, whose actions are broadcast to the great majority of the TV-watching world. Some say that the World Cup has replaced war in the modern era - it's a way for countries to safely release the primal urge to attack and conquer. The fierce nationalism exhibited by supporters might give this silly notion some credence. I'm an England supporter, and I hope this is the year they finally reclaim the Cup. All in all, this should be a great month.

In other news, I found a job. Sales. Truthfully, I'd rather I had the month off to watch the WC, but heck I guess it's time to get off the old arse and make some coin. Check out the company here.

Song of the moment: Jay Z and Linkin Park - Numb Encore. This is the song featured in the Miami Vice trailer - it's awesome!

peace.

X-cellent.

I've just seen the first movie of the summer that surpassed my expectations: X-Men 3. I know, I was surprised too. For a guy who really liked the previous 2 movies in the series, I had almost no interest in seeing the 3rd. And perhaps that's why I enjoyed it. Some parts were lame, as were some lines, but that is to be expected from a summer comic book action movie. The action was ok, the plot was serviceable. What really made an impact were ********spoiler alert******* the deaths of a few main characters, and a couple of interesting story lines. Over 3 movies, you become attached to these characters, and I was surprised with the impact that their deaths had. They added dramatic weight to the story. I think Xavier's final scene was really quite excellently done. Halle Berry and Famke Janssen were clearly given beefier roles, and both were more impressive for it. The story of the Phoenix wasn't quite as powerful as it could have been, but it was interesting nonetheless. ****no more spoilers******.

Overall, a decent ending to the series. If you're planning on seeing it, make sure you wait until the end of the credits for a surprise scene.

Return to form.

No blog today. Sorry to disappoint. I have an interview to prepare for. Shady job, but baby's got to eat ya know? However, I've finally thought of a great blog topic. It'll razzle, it'll dazzle. It'll be both cool and hot and sick and sweet. It'll be something you hide from your girlfriends, for should they read a word of it, they'll want the Marto right then and there. On the fucking spot. Down and dirty. G-d bless Marto.

Somebody's buying me drinks this weekend. I have a sinking suspicion it might just be you.

Arrivederci.

Done...and done.

So, the CFA is done (hopefully, hold your thumbs). The exam was tough, as expected, but I think I did enough to scrape through. Went to the local watering hole for a couple brewski's with the lads (and lass), and had a great time. A couple brews and a couple of friends is never a bad thing. I want more of this. Bring on the summer. And the good times.

Peace.

Thailand contd...

I awoke the next morning with a broad grin across my face. The bright sunshine that broke in waves through the tiny holes in the shutters meant the morning had come and gone. The thundering surf crashed not far off. My hut had begun its daily attempt to become a sauna. The thin bed sheet clung to my body, soaked in sweat. I looked around at my empty hut, and for a second thought the previous night was a dream. Arjen, prostitutes, thai noodles...then I noticed. My sandy floor was swept clean of sand. My clothes, previously sprawled across the hut, were folded neatly in a pile. I heard the sound of running water from my shower. It stopped, and seconds later she entered, smiling. She carried a small plate of fruit, which she had just washed. And the first thought that jumped into my mind was, shit, if I had known that in addition to the sex I would get a clean hut and breakfast in bed, I would have decided so much quicker.





And ahem, mom, in case you decide to read this: the above is a total fabrication.
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Have a good weekend folks!

Random thoughts.

This is what I've been thinking about for the last 3 months, and especially in the last week, 24hrs a day, every day.

"LOS: The candidate should be able to
“Managing Institutional Investor Portfolios” (Study Session 10)
k) compare and contrast the asset/liability management needs of life and nonlife insurance
companies;
l) formulate the overall portfolio management process leading to an investment policy
statement and an asset allocation decision for an institutional investor, including developing
objectives and constraints and analyzing capital market expectations.
Guideline Answer:
A. The shortcoming with respect to the critical goal of asset/liability management is that the
bond portfolio duration (5.2) is mismatched in relation to the estimated duration of liabilities
(1.8).
The recommended changes in the asset allocation are to:
• decrease the allocations to longer duration assets such as U.S. long-term government
bonds, U.S. investment grade corporate bonds, and U.S. intermediate-term government
bonds
• increase the allocation to shorter duration assets such as cash equivalents.

Recommendation of Portfolio B is justified by the following:
• Portfolio B has a before-tax expected return of 6.74%, which meets the Trust's return
requirement of 6.71% (see Question 10A for explanation of the return requirement).
• Portfolio B has an anticipated downside risk of –8.68% [measured by the expected return
minus two standard deviations, (6.74% – (2 × 7.71%) = –8.68%)], which falls within the
downside risk tolerance criterion of no worse than –10%.
• Portfolio B has cash equivalents equal to 4.00% of assets, which meets the Trust’s
liquidity requirement of nine months’ living expenses [($78,000 / 0.7) × (9 / 12) =
$83,571 or 2.79% of the $3,000,000 in assets].

Come Saturday night this is what I will be thinking about:

" ".


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