Today the weather is 27C in London!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Looks like the winter is finally over.  Oh my god... this has to be the hardest and longest winter ever in my life...  I hate winter... I can't stand the cold weather...  maybe that explains my recent desire to move to Singpapore during an April (!!) snowstorm in London.  Chrismas in the tropics.  Now that's way to live your life.   

I saw the Olympic Torch Relay in London today.  After waiting around for 20 min in freezing cold and snow, I saw the runner (a small blonde, who is she?) for a grand total of 5 seconds. 

I moved to my new apartment.  It is so nice!  I love it!! 

March 30, 2008

Another lazy weekend.  My good friend Tom and his gf came over to visit me.  We had really good Sichuan food at Bar Shu Saturday night.  Otherwise, getting ready to move to my new place.  I don't mind moving once every two years or so.  I tend to accumulate a lot of junk over time and it is always good to get rid of them when moving houses.  I have had a really good time at my current place!!

Back from Prague safe and sound.  It is a very nice city indeed - I highly recommend it!! 

Flights - took British Airways and everything went smoothly.  We had a early morning flight and forgot to book a car.  Luckily, there are many 'unofficial cabs' roaming the streets of London early in the morning and they are usually quite good.  Twenty-five quid to Heathrow.  Arrived in 30 minute!  Terminal One is quite nice and the BA at T1 is quite comfortable.  (Good thing we missed all the chaos of Terminal 5! )

Hotel - The Mandarin Oriental in Prague is very nice indeed.  The room is not very big but it is very nicely decorated.  The bed is very large and very very comfortable.  I spent more than half of the trip sleeping so a nice bed made all the difference.  Breakfast is free and has a good selection of fruits, meats, drinks, breads, etc.  My only complaint is that the buffet is the same everyday, but you can order items of the menu for free so it's not bad.  We had lunch once at the hotel, very nice food and great value.  The Spa - I had a 50 euro coupon for the spa so I had an Oriental Foot Massage.  The therapist was a nice Czech girl - I enjoyed it immensely. 

Food - Czech food consists a lot of meat and I have to say I am not a super fan.  However, the dining experience in Prague is quite enjoyable. We went to one of the top Czech restaurants called the Blue Ducklings and enjoyed the entire dining experience very much - good decor, good food, live music.  Yum.  Read Frommer's review here.   On another night, we checked out one of Prague's hip restaurants called Kampa Park which serves modern cuisine.  We liked the view of the Charles Bridge and the Old Town.  The food is so so - the desert Chocolate Surprise is quite good.  Read Frommer's review here.  Other than these two restaurants, we also tried Chinese food one night (ok quality), and Czech food near the Old Town Square (a big rip-off and low quality food). 

 Sightseeing - We spent most of the time in 3 places: Prague Castle, the Old Town and the Little Quarter near the hotel.  Needless to say, Prague is a very nice town.  A lot of history, a lot of churches, beautiful river, nice people (everyone seems to speak English well!).  I was very impressed by the buildings in Prague - they all seem to be in great shape and meticulously maintained.  Well, you will have to experience the city yourself!! 

At the British Airways Lounge in Terminal One waiting for our flight to Prague. 

Feeling very sleepy...yawn! 

It's gonna be snowing in Prague.  A white Easter!! 

Saturday Sunrise 06:00 (CET) Sunset 18:18 (CET)		7°C	1°C	14	very good	986	61
Sunday Sunrise 05:58 (CET) Sunset 18:19 (CET)		2°C	-4°C	7	good	998	86
Monday Sunrise 05:56 (CET) Sunset 18:20 (CET)		5°C	-2°C	6	good	994	74
Tuesday Sunrise 05:54 (CET) Sunset 18:21 (CET)		5°C	-3°C	14	good	996	72
Wednesday Sunrise 05:52 (CET) Sunset 18:23 (CET)		5°C	-3°C	11	very good	999	68

Stock Market, Part 2

Breaking news on NYTimes - "Bear Stearns, the smallest of the top 5 US investment banks, was sold to JP Morgan at $2 a share!!" 

Just to give you an idea of how crazy things have gotten - Bear was trading at $160 a share less than a year ago, at $100 three months ago, at $70 five days ago, at $57 two days ago, at $30 last Friday, and now at $2.

Wthe stock was crashing from $57 to $30, I thought about buying some shares - bargain hunting is one of my hobbies.  Can you imagine?  That would be the worse purchase in the history of the stock market!!  In one day, I would have lost 94% of my investment.  In one day!!!  Try to calculate the IRR on that investment.  

So here is an important stock market lesson:  DO NOT catch a falling knife!!  Lesson #2 (which I personally found very hard to follow), sometimes it is much better to cut your loss early and admit defeat.  I, like most investors, hate to sell my stocks at a loss.  I am still trying to figure that one out.  The stock market is such a bitch!!   

Finance is so exciting!!