Randomize ME

What my dad said: “(Given the Napoles-Philippine Lawmakers scandal), hopefully, all £5m will reach those who were devastated by the super typhoon, and it won’t end up lining the pockets of corrupt officials!”

I concur.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) is the strongest tropical cyclone worldwide this year. It’s the 25th storm to hit the country just in 2013, and this one was a category-5 super typhoon.

I heard that in just Tacloban City (Where they were hit by storm surges up to seven meters high), the death toll may go up to 500. So sad.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

To start off, I have a twitter account, it’s @randomizemeWP. I’ve always treated the twitter like a feed, to keep up with breaking news, but also from the blog (WordPress auto-updates it on twitter).

For the past two days, I have been without my twitter since the PTB (aka the ‘Powers That Be’) decided to suspend it. I didn’t realize how dependent I was on my Twitter feed for news and entertainment until I realized that it was (horror!) NOT updating. It wasn’t until I logged on online that I saw that I had been suspended via this ugly warning box on my screen (it didn’t show up on my iPod Touch twitter app).

I was pretty shocked to learn that I was suspended since I couldn’t recall doing anything that would merit something so drastic! And without any warning or any notice even! Just out of the blue, there was this message on my Twitter (after I logged on  myPC) that my account had been suspended. No explanation, just a link for me to click on .

I kept calm (but was really upset inside), submitted a ticket (Via the link) and then waited for a response.

I received an email within a few hours that basically told me to go through Twitter’s rules and regulations to see which one I could’ve broken (They don’t give you any reason for the suspension in the email), and to reply back after. So, I read through the list (it’s pretty lengthy), couldn’t find what I did wrong, and wrote back as much.

Then waiting. And more waiting. In the meantime, I wondered what I could be missing?! Maybe there was a breaking news somewhere….

I found this link online where I could see that my application for a review was at least being processed (The email Twitter sent did NOT include this link or any way to track progress of their review).

And still more waiting…. And then, out of the blue today, my Twitter started working again. I felt very relieved, but I still don’t know why I got suspended or what I did to get un-suspended. There wasn’t any more communications from Twitter, no email, no explanation, nothing.

I’m glad that my account got reinstated, but it’s pretty upsetting that I haven’t received any explanation at all.

In the meantime, to those who follow my blog on twitter, here’s my facebook page (in case Twitter suspends me again!)

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

My dad stayed up too late following feeds on the Philippine Senate investigation on Ms Napoles (she’s alleged to have connived with Philippine legislators to steal more than PHP 10 Billion). Saw this and thought it was funny:

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

Hate it when this page on Chrome doesn’t load! Especially if it means I can’t see my feeds!

P.S. Inoreader replaced Google Reader for me. What’s your replacement?

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

It’s never going to be the right time – but now sounds about right. So, to start things off, I took a short online quiz on ‘what kind of investor I am’ (link HERE if you want to take the test yourself)

I (the financial me, that is) am best described as:

1. I do not currently need this investment to supplement my income, however this could change over the next few years. (10 points)
2. All of my investments to date have been in time deposits and bonds because I need the security of capital. (0 points)
3. Current knowledge of investments – Low: I know something about investments, but do not have an in-depth knowledge. (10 points)
4. My investment goals – Income and growth: I want my investments to produce a fairly steady stream of income and to grow without major declines in value. (20 points)
5. My attitude towards the level of risk or volatility – In general, I would feel most comfortable with investments that tend to generate a more stable return year-to-year, as opposed to those that fluctuate widely in value. (10 points)
6. My comfort level should the value of my investments fluctuate – Moderate: I could tolerate a modest decline, from 5 to 10%, in the value of my investments, provided that I receive a positive long-term return. (20 points)

Total: 70 Points

My investor profile: Score: 40+
Investor Category: Aggresive/High Growth
Risk Level: High

Apparently, I am “willing to take the risks necessary to achieve potentially above-average long-term growth in your portfolio. You accept that the total value of your portfolio may decline substantially from time to time.”

I am shocked, shocked! Because never in a million years would I have imagined myself as someone suited to be an “aggressive” investor. But my reasoning when taking the short quiz was that: since I don’t need the investment right now, it’s okay for me if the investment’s value will fluctuate, as long as the return in the long-term (for me, 10 years from now?) is in the positive side.

So, step 2 for me (I think) should be to learn some more about what kind of investments are out there (I only am really familiar with savings account,  time deposit and life insurance right now).

You know, before actually doing some “risky” investments (given my apparently “aggressive” nature- har har)

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

Have you seen the National Geographic show ‘Brain Games‘? Well, one episode I’ve seen was a battle of the sexes where boyfriends/girlfriends were tested on certain tasks, and the conclusions were:

a) Women can see more shades of color than men
b) Men were stronger when it came to Spacial Reasoning
c) Women had better Memory for Faces
d) Women Follow Directions Well (*the men were next to useless)
e) Men can Pack the Trunk of a Car Faster

The task I found super funny was the one on following directions. They were both given a long list of funny tasks, and told that the winner was the one who completed it first. Well, ALL the men jumped right into doing the tasks without reading all the directions first. Most of the women read the tasks through first, and were rewarded for that. I was chuckling along, but I realized that I would’ve jumped right in like the other men though. (More competitive than what’s good for me)

I try to be better at following directions now though. I am forever scarred by an exam I took before where I did not take note of the direction to check the back of the pages. In other words, I only answered the questions printed on the front! It was a miracle I passed (since I didn’t answer 40% of the exam)….

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.

I know that there’s a debate on the usefulness of Daylight Savings Time, which I won’t get into. But I am grateful for the extra hour I have (I have the opposite reaction during ‘spring forward’ time though!).

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by RSS Or by Email.