Universal Studios Singapore and a lesson in investment.

I spent a whole day in Universal Studios Singapore with my family today. It was my first time there and I was pretty impressed.

We went in at about 10am and left at 8.20pm after watching the fireworks. We got our money's worth, I guess.

One thing we did quite a bit of was waiting for our turns to get on the rides. One particular ride made us wait for more than an hour for our turn. It was the Transformers ride. After the ride, I told my mom that it was worth the wait. I think it was even better than the Jurassic Park ride which we got on after a pretty short wait in the morning.

I told myself that some things are worth waiting for. We just need patience.

Now, some people tell me that they feel silly holding on to cash waiting for a crash. Some people tell me that the opportunity cost is too high to maintain a war chest.

I won't tell them that they have to maintain a war chest. I mean the choice is theirs to make, isn't it? However, I would ask them if they are very sure that the stock market would not experience a crash.

If they think that it is only a matter of time that we see a bad crash, then, what is wrong with having a war chest ready? The opportunity cost of not having a war chest ready could be really high then. Don't you agree?

My souvnenir from Universal Studios Singapore!
I hope you don't get too freaked out by my hairy legs. -.-"

When people ask me how I manage to do so well in the stock market, I usually tell them that most of my big winners were purchased during severe market downturns. I could do this because I had a war chest or two ready.

During the GFC, my war chests were filled to the brim. Friends were amazed as I pushed out war chest after war chest to buy battered down dividend paying counters then.

"If you took our top 15% decisions out, we'd have a pretty average record. It wasn't hyperactivity but a hell of a lot of patience. You stuck to your principles, and when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigour." Charlie Munger.

So, be 100% invested now or have a war chest ready? The decision is yours, of course.

"Patience is sometimes the hardest part ..."
Source: Little Book of Value Investing.

Related posts:
1. If we want peace, be prepared for war.
2. Get paid more while waiting for war.
3. Revisiting AK's simple strategy.

If you think I broke the law, why not call the police?

Have you ever been told that you are not allowed to take photos of the facade of a condominium? Well, it happened to me last evening.

I ate too much and decided to go for a walk to work off some calories in the evening. I walked past a condominium with a nice water feature at the entrance. I took out my phone to take a photo of the water feature and suddenly felt a strong beam of white light in my eyes.

Then, I heard someone shouting but I couldn't make out the words. I looked around and saw a fat, Indian lady wearing a security guard uniform in the guard house which was set probably about 20 meters from the entrance. She was shouting something at me and waving a strong light in my direction.

I cupped one of my ears and said loudly, "I can't hear you!"

She walked out of the guard house and came closer. I had the presence of mind not to walk towards her. I wouldn't want to be accused of trespassing on private property, after all. I remained standing on the public pavement. When she was closer to me, she spoke in an authoritative voice, "No photo taking of condo allowed!"

That gave me a shock largely because it was such an outlandish demand. I have never been stopped by anyone from taking photos of a building's facade in Singapore before. Anyway, I recovered quickly and asked her where was the sign to say photo taking was prohibited? She said there was no sign but she was telling me that I was not allowed to take photos.

I told her that the demand was unreasonable and that it would never stand in a court of law. If I felt like it, I could take as many photos as I liked. I was standing on public land taking photo of the condo's facade. I did not trespass on private property.

Then, she warned me that the condo CCTV was recording the encounter. That got to me and I told her that she could call the police, if she felt like it, since she obviously thought I did something wrong. I think she got a surprise when I said that. She challenged me to call the police instead, turned around and walked away.

怪事每年有, 今年特别多!

As I was walking away, I wondered what kind of MCST would issue such an order since I supposed the guards were following instructions? Maybe, I should call my realtor and arrange for a viewing of some of the units which have been put up for sale or rental. A quick check online revealed quite a few units available.

Would the guards stop me from taking photos of the grounds, the facade or even the guardhouse then? I wonder.

Related post:
Can't think of any... -.-"