Re: Sensei's account talk
By the way, I love baseball, and live in Okinawa - the home to Japan's spring training camps. This month I can go watch the Hiroshima Carp practice any day during my lunch break. Today I saw former Diamondback Chad Tracy trying to get back into shape. He's got some work to do. Here's to recoveries - physical and economic!
Re: Sensei's account talk
Welcome aboard Sensei. Good to hear that you have an idea what is going on early in you TSP development. There are some great minds on the board. Good luck.
Re: Sensei's account talk
Thanks Nasa!
I'm hoping the dollar goes up against the yen today. I have to pay my rent. One of the drawbacks of working for Uncle Sam overseas is that I'm forced to play the currency exchange game.:(
Re: Sensei's account talk
relcome most honorable Teacher!
Re: Sensei's account talk
sensei
i noticed your in okinawa, what a beautiful place!!! i was there with my pops(air force) back in 1970-1974. we were at kadena afb. i have such fond memories of that place and wonder what its like now. when i was there it was 360 yen to the dollar. the beaches were fantastic and living was cheap. i remember getting tailor made suits(double knit of course) on the cheap at age 12. i remember going down to bc street where all the action was. we used to find spent and live shells everywhere like picking up a rock. and geckos running around inside your house. how is the housing costs there, would it be good for one to retire there? anyway good talking with you and enjoy those bath houses!!!
john
Re: Sensei's account talk
Good to hear from you! Wow, you were here when Oki reverted back to Japan in 1972. Was that when they had the Koza riots? Things have changed quite a bit, I'm sure. It's 80 yen to the dollar now, so your money doesn't take you very far off base. That doesn't stop me though - that's why we get COLA.
Housing is pretty overpriced for those of us here under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). If you're not SOFA, though, you can get a Japanese place fairly cheaply. Real estate in Japan hasn't increased in value for over 15 years, and I read that 10% of existing houses are sitting vacant. It's a population in decline. That could be good if you're looking to buy to retire, but it's probably not the best place to invest.
One thing that hasn't changed is it's still beautiful here. The water is still crystal clear, and the winters are short (I can feel spring in the air already this week). Soon enough, I'll be chasing geckos out of my house again - I have a special tupperware container just for that purpose!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
GUCHI
sensei
i noticed your in okinawa, what a beautiful place!!! i was there with my pops(air force) back in 1970-1974. we were at kadena afb. i have such fond memories of that place and wonder what its like now. when i was there it was 360 yen to the dollar. the beaches were fantastic and living was cheap. i remember getting tailor made suits(double knit of course) on the cheap at age 12. i remember going down to bc street where all the action was. we used to find spent and live shells everywhere like picking up a rock. and geckos running around inside your house. how is the housing costs there, would it be good for one to retire there? anyway good talking with you and enjoy those bath houses!!!
john
Re: Sensei's account talk
i was there during the revision, but as a young kid at 12 all i was worried about was getting my seymores, pinapple candy, and milk candy. i used to love that stuff . i would go downtown in route to school and spend 25 cents and get a brown bag full of candy. good to hear that the water is crystal clear still, so you can still see all the brightly colored fish and sea life with the glass bottom boats. do they still have the akadami wine? this reminescing is wonderful, makes me feel like a kid for the brief moment.
Re: Sensei's account talk
Another week starts, and I am staying in the S-Fund. I'm somewhat pessimistic about how the market will react to Obama's budget proposal. Increased taxes on the rich, deep cuts in public spending, and still pervasive criticism from the GOP that he's not doing enough. It's a lose-lose situation, and I think we'll see a sell off on Monday. However, I'd bet that Tuesday and Wednesday will show a rebound, as investors on the sidelines jump in on the dip. Looking forward to watching the upward trend continue.
Re: Sensei's account talk
I guess the proposed budget cuts didn't have any effect on the market. Another half-percent gain for the S-fund. I'll take it, and hope we don't see a big drop to follow.
Meanwhile, here in Oki the Carp broke camp and headed back up to mainland, which means I don't have any spring training baseball to sneak off to during my prep period:cheesy:. However, the rest of the teams are still here on the island (just too far away to see during my break). There is a kid named Yuki Saito who is a huge sensation over here right now. He is a starting pitcher who won the national high school tournament 4 years ago, then the college tournament last year. He's a name to remember the next time the World Baseball Classic rolls around (2012!).
I see pitchers and catchers have reported to the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues. Long distance as it may be, I'll be rooting for the Dodgers. Go Blue!
Re: Sensei's account talk
The Sentiment Survey stays in S for another week, so I will too. The trend keeps pushing up, and I'm a little nervous with the tenuous situations in Bahrain, Libya, etc. But the S-fund has already taken us up 7% this year, so even if a 5% pullback were to come along, I figure I've already beaten the G-fund for the year. What scares me is the prospect of a 10% correction...:eek:
Re: Sensei's account talk
We had a painful correction of 16% from April to July 2010. Since 1940 there has never been more than one 10% (or more) correction in an ongoing bull market. This bull started in March '09.