vacation

I decided to take the first week off in january to help to recouperate my body, spirit, and mind. It was the most unproductive week in history, except for the fact that I got caught up on a lot of sleep and played a ton of zelda which I got on tuesday. By that time, I surmised that the week simply wasn't going to be productive at all, so I decided to take one of my four weeks that I normally take off during the year. If I must comment, the new zelda game has been fabulous so far. The people that make Zelda decided to return to the format of a longer game with bigger areas, something that was incredibly successful in Link to the Past(first Zelda game for GameBoy) and Ocarina of Time. I haven't gotten too far in the game yet, but it also appears that they have brought back the game in a 3/5/final boss format, which is a great format if you ask me. The graphics are stunning and the only thing that I don't like about the new game is the increased cinematic time(scenes where you stand there and the action passes you by without you doing anything). It might turn out to be good by the end of the game, but the game feels very Final Fantasy-ish with that.

Besides doing mostly nothing for a week, I did read Jim Cramer's Confessions of a Street Addict which was a Christmas present from my grandparents. Also, they got me Sane Investing in an Insane World. First though, I'll get to my thoughts on Confessions. By no means does the book start slow, as Cramer gives a very brief account of his childhood(notably how his addiction to stocks began in the fourth grade). The thing that I like about the beginning is Cramer doesn't make it out like during his childhood he was already on the course to fame and that with every step he took he grew closer to his destiny: being one of the greatest traders in Wall Street history. The book begins to get very boring in the middle as he describes in detail(in my opinion, too much detail) his early career working as a journalist and finally getting his first big break investing marty perez's money. After crushing the averages for marty for about two years, cramer lands a position at Goldman Sachs, a leading investment company. Next, after learning many good lessons there, he decides to open his own hedge fund with his wife(also a former broker) and with the help of a man named Jeff Berkowitz and other investors. The book doesn't really start getting good until he talks about his record year in 1997 where he smashed every record and handed out huge bonuses to all his employees. However, in 1998 the book turns from a walk in the park to a ten month stint in hell as he painfully describes his inability to read the market. By the beginning of October, he has lost 35% of his company's net worth, and by October 8th, his hell finally ends when the Fed lowers interest rates and the market begins to rebound. By the end of 1998, Cramer and his hedge fund turn a 100 million dollar year in the red to a 6 million dollar gain for the year. In the closing pages of the book, Cramer describes how twenty years in the market has worn down his body and severed ties with his family to the point of him leaving five family vacations in a row to fly back and help the fund. At the end of the book, he begins to reconcile with his family and realizes just how much he has overworked himself and strained his ties with others. All in all, it was an extremely well written book. Cramer doesn't fall into the trap of getting too verbose(as many people writing about their lives do). His humility bleeds through the pages and it turns out to be a quality read when all is said and done.

That is that, that's my life right now. This poem that I'm giving you has a funny title and you should remember that when reading the poem. Enjoy as always.

The Emperor of Ice-Cream
By: Wallace Stevens

Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Take from the dresser of deal.
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.



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