today i was chatting with my friend ho (yes.. his name is HO)... in times like these, recession, deflation, 'crisis', or whatever you wish to term it, i think we are 2 contrarians stuck amidst a wave of momentum driven sentiment. from an investment standpoint, this is great stuff - i mean, look how cheap asset prices are in corea??? go mr. roh (notice the rhymn)! - keep up w/u'r myopic banter and drive down markets to even further cheaper prices (oh wait, roh flaming was yesterday). from a personal standpoint - it's hard for a thinker to accept what is. just when things are seemingly going good, the contrarian kicks in. the cynic comes out and scrutinizes all, and soon nuthing seems right. something so difficult to contain, yet it is this very mechanism that safeguards us from the taking of yet another bite out of the forbidden fruit from the tree of life. i can't help but wonder where that will lead in the long run.. but hey - it makes for a more interesting and fun life. what that all means - i really don't know - but it just sounded good in my head. what i'm trying to say is that we are similar in that we will play the devil's advocate to the pain (to the pain!! in my best british drawl) - never once accepting that the red fire engine is red. and that.... is the root of our troubles... *sigh*....

you knew it had to happen... so - another 4 dead in HK, bringing the total to 109. another 30 ill brings that total to 1488. i'm sorry - but every nite at 7:45 - some yutz (yes, i said yutz) comes on and gives this number like the freakin mark 6 lotto. he's all smiles and happily reads the idiot cards in front of him "and YES, we have another 4 dead from sars!"...


so funny - went to see this manulife guy today - and at the end of the meeting, i motion to shake his hand, and he looks at me like i'm some kinda freak (ok... that is NOT open to comments). anyway - he very reluctantly shook my hand. then after, he tells me 'we don't do that in hk anymore'.... apparantly, handshaking has become taboo! then, he suggests i quickly go wash my hands! i was somewhat surprised that this is what has become of the hongkies, but at the same time, it was pretty amusing. then he says... "i'm serious"... as if i didn't believe he was a freak the first time around...