The Year of Heavy Metal

新年快樂 2020!

Happy Lunar New Year of the White Metal Rat 2020!

This year marks new beginnings, both as the zodiac sign (The Rat is the 1st of 12) and as the dawn of a new decade.  We will be entering new terrain; meaning new opportunities mixed with new challenges.

Now, I'm not an astrology expert or a fortune teller.  But I do think that astrology is an empirical study worth looking into.  All I know that when it comes to anything new, there are great possibilities: both good and bad.  But like a successful person once said, "The wind blows on us all.  What makes the difference is the set of the sail.".

In other words, it depends on our mindset.  I've recently adopted a term from stoic philosophy "Amor Fati".  It means to embrace change, as it is a part of life.  Did the computer gobble a manuscript that took hours to write?  Amor Fati.  Was there a business deal that went wrong?  Amor Fati.  Passed up for a promotion?  Amor Fati.

For me, Amor Fati was nearly impossible in the beginning to accept.  With the death of my beloved Lupa, among many personal things going terribly wrong in my life, the concept seemed to be for those whose lives didn't face real tragedy but minor inconveniences.  However, as I came to look for the lesson in each seeming misfortune, the idea made more sense.

It has now been a supportive mantra of mine every time something bad happens.  When life seems bleak, I say, "Amor Fati"; not because I want it to happen but because there is within it something that will make me stronger.  Of course, I'm still learning this, so it's not easy.  Overall, I feel I'm getting better at it.  It keeps me prepared for any stormy seas that might be ahead.

We can choose to remember that
with every challenge, there is a lesson;
with every lesson, there is a solution;
with every solution, there is always hope;
with hope there is certainly joy;
and with joy there is definitely a better life and a better world.

恭喜發財!

Happy Olympic New Year 2020!

"You can leave life right now.  Let that determine
what you do and say and think." 

-Marcus Aurelius 

Happy Olympic New Year!

This year is extra special:

1. It's the beginning of a new decade.
2. It's an Olympic year.
3. Come the Lunar New Year on the 25th (Gregorian calendar), it's the Year of the Rat; my mom's sign.
4. The Lunar New Year happens to fall on my brother's birthday.
5. It's the only year that when said as "twenty, twenty" also means perfect vision.
6. 2020 is a symmetrical number; repeating twice.  We'll have to wait until 3030 for another.
7. 2020 just sounds cool to say; seems for futuristic, right?
8. We can make this year extra special for ourselves, if we want.

While I may add more here, I'll update on how the year is going to so far (I bookmarked this entry on January 1st and written it on January 18th).

I'd say thus far, things have been going well over all.  Of course, I have my own personal demons and dragons to slay but in the aggregate, I have never felt more aligned than I do now (and this is coming from someone who tends to be more on the pessimistic side).  I can actually feel I can get things moving for real this time.

Below are just a few pictures, including a couple of successful trades (the 1st pict, the T-Bond trade, is my current personal best.  Not the big bucks yet but I'm working to get there).  The last two photos probably need a little explaining...

So here it goes.  At the end of last year and practically everyday since, I've been seeing with great frequency repeating numbers like 11 11, 111, 222, 333, 444, 555, etc.  I've also seen other kinds of sequences, like 911, 411 and 1212.  I see them not just on a thing that tells time, but see them on signs, TV, license plates, etc.  I even saw the number 3 repeated on a banner hanging over the stadium rails of a basketball game by one of the spectators (I think it was Purdue vs. Michigan State on TV, while I was at the gym last Sunday, 1/12/20).

I'm not exactly sure what it means but I'm guessing it's a sign to pay attention and remain focused on the task at hand.

To prove that I did indeed see these repeating numbers, I've posted those last two picts here.  You can see that on January 4th, I saw 444 and on January 11th, I saw 11 11.  Any one of these sequences can repeatedly reveal themselves several times a day (e.g. today I saw 111, 411, 1212, among others).  Referring to the final pict, I had a trade on the S&P 500 E-Mini (trade symbol ES, here @ESH20) last week on the 15th with a reward to risk ratio of 4:44 to 1.  I swear I did NOT plan that.  I'm just glad that it worked, so I have a cool story to share.  I find the whole thing a bit bizarre; all while welcoming these occurrences at the same time.

Looking to have a great year, a great decade and, of course, a great day.  It won't be easy, though I'm going to put my best effort forward to see if these repeating numbers pan out to be anything.  I have a feeling it will.