UltraCrepidate

Part of the series Environment upgrade.

The change wasn’t some foster child of a sudden revelation, but rather, a habit adapted as a way to retain values of objects. I am talking about my new condo. I feel more considerate as a whole. Thinking through the consequences of my actions instead of jumping into the moment. “Will it cause any damage?” became permanently embedded in my awareness.

I realized that it is the situation which puts me in this state and not my own evolution as a humble human seeking enlightenment. This is not something I can achieve by myself because I never had anything precious enough that I need to protect. The lifestyle to this point has been geared towards a worry free existence. I never purchase anything that can’t be replaced instantly to maximize the efficiency of my pursuits. I didn’t care when I practiced dancing on the wooden floor at the rental apartments nor did I care when the corck pot might be too heavy for the cupboards. They are all replaceable.

Even though I am impatient at having to put life on hold for the move, I am, at the same time, grateful of the unforseen learning experiences and changes. I look forward to the next lesson.

Part of the series Environment upgrade.

I wasn’t infuriated or anything. I just felt let down by people and sad at the fact that it’ll be even harder for me to trust strangers in the future. Part of the reason why I decided to take this place was because she works for the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), the Canadian equivalent of the FBI agency. I figured that I could trust her word more given her status as the public’s protector. So the deal went through despite the nagging sensation at the back of my head.
The deal was, she leaves the washer, dryer, dish washer, stove and fridge. The reality is that the key opened a door that led to a completely empty condo. I expected normal people to be this sneaky, but not an RCMP. She just destroyed my trust in any fucking authority figure in the world. Thanks a lot, now I have to figure out what legal course I can take and if the cost in time is worth the few items that are gone. Which, I am sure, she is counting on.

What a great way to come back to my vacation, no? That and the fact that during my few days of absence, despite my warning that I am on vacation. People still sent me 89 emails (16 of which are some kind of new malfunctions in their development/manufacturing/processing equipment). PEOPLE! VACATION means I AM NOT HERE!

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That was the heat talking. I am missing BC’s heavenly temperature. I later combed through the deed of sale and realized how badly my ass got owned. The trick is in cluases 7.4, 7.5 and 8.1 where the Inclusions and Exclusions are mentioned. The moment I realized it, I sat still for a long time remembering the techniques which both my agent and the seller used to distract me from noticing the details. I noticed how my agent quickly flipped through that page to preventing me from reading too much in detail, to the way she presents the place. Able to say something without actually confirming it, to talk, as if the items are mine without actually saying so.

It goes to show how young I am in this world of hidden daggers and suggestive wordings. I am glad this happened on my first house, when the stakes are lower and not during an exchange for a million dollar home.

Nuit blanche sur tableau noir is an annually recurring festival on the first weekend of June. Located on the famous Mont-Royal avenue, the mixture of drunk party goers, sober/stoned artists along with in-your-face photographers present visitors with a most interesting twist.Organizers of this event changes the theme every year so it’s never the same. This year’s comic book take is one of the harder ones to do on asphalt. Some of the artists struggled to supersize their comic cells, but most are just happy to draw. I am content with watching.

The night gave me with a second try at low light photography, which in turn, netted me a very important lesson. NEVER use zoom unless you have a tripod and never use tripod unless you are taking a static scenic shot. It explains why, the other more experienced photographers at the event are taking the shots just inches from the artists themselves. My jaw dropped at the invasion of private space at first, then slowly, I started to see like their ways. It is the only way to get a full spectrum high resolution unblurred image.

The event lasted 3 days and you get street performers alongside a big street-wide sale of wares on Mont-Royal Avenue.

I’ve been reading and following the smith maneuver strategy ever since I read about it on the site: milliondollarjourney. I had my suspicion at first so I followed all the debates on the pros and cons of this maneuver. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not your investment can outperform a certain percentage point or if you have enough cash flow to initiate it. So I decided to do a spreadsheet analysis to see exactly how much I am gaining or losing.

Exhibit 1 shows the loan’s principle plus interest. In the smith maneuver, I will be paying the interest with cash first and then take out a loan of the same amount. This is provided that I have enough initial cash to pay the initial interest.

Exhibit 2 shows the result if I use this loan to invest in a dividend paying stock which has a special tax rule. The lower your tax bracket, the better your tax deduction.

Exhibit 3 shows the result if I use this loan to invest in a pure capital gain stock which is 50% taxable.

Exhibit 4 simulates the path where if I were to invest just with my money (same amount as the loan interest), what I will get out of it in the same amount of time.

I am still half believing it, but since full belief requires an actual success, I am going to go ahead and try this maneuver with the new condo I bought. If you see some asian guy begging on the streets of Montreal in 3 years, you know that’s me.

Alexandra will be the first person in my circle of friends to have a baby. Being a single mom with no family in Canada to fall back to, her future seems very uncertain. This is the reason that the bunch of us immigrants who are better positioned in life decided to throw this baby shower for her. At least she won’t have to worry about buying all the tools that the baby need. Nordia reunited for a final get together before everyone heads off to chase after their own dreams.

The shots are time lapsed every 5 minutes. The event started from 10AM in the morning and ended at 4AM the next day for me. It’s a day of firsts, so it’s only fair that I present it as my first video production. Done with the simple windows movie maker.

Finally have a weekend that isn’t booked a month ahead… I will sit down and do some good writing.  Then again, there’s Nuit blanche sur tableau noir and Formula one festivals to attend, so I might not have the time.

I am caught in a strange predicament. That is, the long wait to taking over my condo. Most of my projects are on hold because whatever I accomplish will have to be reassembled at the new place. Procurements of tools for projects and financial maneuvering are on hold because I am waiting to see if I can actually shoulder the bi-monthly payment without too much modification to my lifestyle. Applications and any activities that requires an address is also put on hold because I will soon change that. Basically I am stuck in the mud in terms of improving my life.

The upside is that it forces me to amuse myself with everything BUT improving my life. Here are some of the things that I did or will do to keep the boredom away.

• Throw a baby shower
• Rearrange my digital files
• Exercise a lot
• Attend parties
• Attend city events
• Camping
• Watch movies
• Fix my bike
• Take a vacation

They may sound ordinary, but these are the things that usually I put at the bottom of the list so I can streamline them with another event.

November 1st is the deadline for DARPA urban challenge. I’ve probably spent my last 3 weeks dedicated to getting the kinks out of their hardware. Hopefully the team can pass the preliminary run starting June 11th. I only wish that I can be more directly involved in the actual challenge. I guess, my job is done. The rest is up to them.

Our journey often brings us back to where we started, to show us that where we started is actually the end of the journey that we’ve always wanted. The only difference lies in the fact that we’ve gained the ability to see what we want to see because of the journey. While writing a previous entry, I felt a bit of a surprise at how it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would.

This is when I realized that I have created a 3rd filter in order to facilitate the lifestyle I want to have. It can be seen as an answer to my 1st and 2nd filters in terms of the why. The third filter is to ensure the most diverse life experience possible. This, actually eliminates the need to constantly prove and make sure that I am better in terms of any particular skills. Making losing as good as winning and changes a lot of my previous positions on life because they are irrelevant.

I wish you can feel what I feel.