Remnants of Subconsciousness

Witnessing a celebration of love

Attended K&Z's wedding today, it was the first wedding I've attended in quite some time.  The wedding had a rather fun start with a strong traditional Chinese flavor, and the reception and banquet was quite festive as well.  But what really touched me was when Z told the guests their story, about how they met by chance, and how they soon realized that they had so much in common and were obviously meant for each other.

I suppose I am always going to remain a romantic at heart.  When I heard K utter "I will love you more each day" at the end of her wedding vows, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the love between them that they've shared with us.  

I've known Z for over 10 years now, and have seen him grow and mature.  Although today was the first time I met K in person, and didn't really get a chance to speak to her, my instincts told me that she is what has been missing in his life, and he is what she has been looking for in hers.  They are such a sweet couple standing next to each other, not just as husband and wife, but as partners in a journey of a lifetime.

The romantic in me certainly hasn't disappeared, and I am glad that it's still there.  To witness this celebration of love certainly made it a very worthwhile Sunday.

Financial Markets

As much as being a financial services professional (a euphamism for an i-banker) has lost some of its luster lately, there is no denying that I still get a big kick out of keeping myself up to date with just about everything capital market related.  I guess the excitement and dynamic nature of the capital markets is not something I am able to live without.

Read an interesting quote by the economist John Kenneth Galbraith that said that the world of finance  "hails the invention of the wheel over and over again, often in a slightly more unstable form."

Numerous articles (and books) have been written (and many more are being written every day) about the financial crisis, and how we could learn from mistakes made.  Yet it would be awfully unfortunate if regulators around the world could not resist the urge to unilaterally tighten regulation for the sake of risk aversion.  Instead, this financial crisis should be seen as an opportunity to examine the products and services that have been invented and developed as a result of innovation, and assess the relationships among key financial institutions, their impact on the overall market, and how to best develop a system where the risks inherent in the financial system are managed.

Certainly the world of finance and the capital markets will undergo some drastic changes, the future is still somewhat uncertain, but as the backbone of capitalism and market economies, financial institutions, whether they are commercial banks creating credit vital to the real economy, or investment banks that help companies raise capital and maintain market liquidity, will remain important players in the economy.  Perhaps it's time to shift the focus from looking for scapegoats to finding effective solutions that will move the capital markets in a positive direction.

First post in Beijing?!

It occurred to me that I actually haven't posted on this blog since I came back to Beijing nearly five months ago.  The excuses can run for quite a while, getting used to a new job, a new city, and figuring out just what I am supposed to do at work all could be quite overwhelming, but I should be the first to admit that I did get a bit lazy as well.

Of course, I pretty spent most of my weekends since I got back studying for the CFA Level III Exam, which I finally took a week ago.  Now at least I will likely see some variations in the way I spend my weekends, although I expect myself to be no less busy.

At least I can try to find some time to read the few books I've been meaning to read, watch some TV or films with Lisha and in general let some weight off my shoulders, so to speak.

Lately I've been quite stressed, I must admit, and staying optimistic has been difficult at times, but perhaps this is a case where my resilience is going to be tested.  Obviously there is a difference between perseverance and pig-headed stubbornness, but at least I have to have some patience and see what happens.

Amidst all the somewhat annoying things recently, there are a few bright spots as well.  Often it's these little things that keep my spirits from going totally down the drain, and serve as subtle yet powerful reminders that optimism shall triumph in the long term.

a few days to go

The Chinese New Year of the Ox is just around the corner, and I am just a few days away from my departure from London.  Amidst all the packing, cancellation of phone and broadband contracts, and other errands, I haven't really spent much time, nor had the desire to ponder about the changes I will be facing, and the adjustments I will inevitably have to make.

Working in China has always been a part of my plans, albeit the details have always been somewhat vague.  The recent events have only truncated the time frame and expedited my move, yet I must admit I wish I could feel more assured about what awaits.

It seems only when I begin to examine my habits do I realize how much they have been shaped by my past experiences, both professionally and culturally.  Certainly I have always felt comfortable living in Beijing, and the quality of life there is no doubt quite good, yet having never actually worked in China, I wonder how large a gap over which I will need to leap in order to feel comfortable as a resident and professional there.  

I suppose I am going to approach this as yet another challenge, one that will test my abilities to quickly learn and to adapt. I guess patience is going to be a much needed virtue, and I hope I will not fail to remember this. 

Hopefully this blog site will be accessible in Beijing, and I will continue to use this medium to chronicle my musings in Beijing. 

Happy the Year of the Ox everyone!

A Time of Many Changes

It's been quite some time since my last post, an announcement of the birth of Jessica. As every new parent knows (or if you are not yet a new parent, then you will soon find out), the first few months of parenthood is a mixture of fatigue, chaos, and lots of learning.  While it's a time of nervousness and lots of anxiety, it is also quite rewarding to see your child grow right before your eyes.

Of course this is hardest on my wife, who is the only irreplaceable person, from a practical perspective, to say the least.  

In a few weeks, I'll also be joining my wife and daughter in Beijing, amidst the unprecedented changes in the global financial services industry, it's certainly a time of great changes in my life and the lives of many others.  

Perhaps it is a good time to pause and reassess our priorities, our place in the societies in which we live, and determine what roles each of us will play in this changing environment.

More updates to come, but I think the next year or two will continue to be full of changes, perhaps surprises, challenges, but definitely opportunities.

I wish every one of you the best of luck in your present and future endeavors, happiness and love with those people in your lives, and a peaceful and joyous holiday season!

Long Overdue Update

Baby Jessica was born at 2:23am, BST, on 3 October 2008, at The Portland Hospital for Women and Children in London, weighing 3.315kg.

Photos here (will try to keep this updated): http://picasaweb.google.com/geoffrey.zhao/Jessica

CFA Exam - done for this year

Finally, done with this year's CFA exam. 7,500 people rushing to go home. Quite a sight.

The Road to Heaven

It has been eleven days since the Wenchuan Earthquakestruck at 2:28 PM CST on May 12.  Much has been written about the aftermath of this tragic disaster, about the relief efforts and the outpouring of sympathy and support from people around the world.  In today's interconnected world where information is transmitted almost instantaneously, there certainly has been no shortage of heart wrenching images and stories.

The poem below captures this tragedy in his poem.  It has been translated into English by a Toronto-based earthquake engineer.  I've made some revisions.  More poems on this blog.

去天堂的路
The Road to Heaven

孩子 （Child)
快 (Hurry up)

抓紧妈妈的手 (Tightly hold on to Mom’s hand)

去天堂的路 (The road to heaven)
太黑了 (is too dark)

妈妈怕你 (Mom is afraid that)
碰了头 (you would hit your head)

快 (Hurry up)

抓紧妈妈的手 (Tightly hold your Mom’s hand)

让妈妈陪你走 (Let Mom keep you company)

妈妈 (Mom)
怕 (I am afraid)

天堂的路 (The road to heaven)
太黑 (is too dark)

我看不见你的手 (I cannot see your hand)
自从 (since)
倒塌的墙 (the wall collapsed)

把阳光夺走 (it took the sunlight away)

我再也看不见 (I can no longer see )
你柔情的眸 (your lovely eyes)

孩子 (Child)
你走吧 (Go)

前面的路 (the road in front of you)
再也没有忧愁 (has no more sorrow)

没有读不完的课本 (there are no books that you cannot finish reading)

和爸爸的拳头 (nor your father’s fist)

你要记住 (you have to remember)
我和爸爸的模样 (what your Dad and I look like)

来生还要一起走 (let’s finish walking this road together in our next life)

妈妈 (Mom)
别担忧 (do not worry)

天堂的路有些挤 (the road to heaven is a bit crowded)

有很多同学朋友 (I have lots of classmates and friends)
我们说 (we all say)

不哭 (don’t cry)

哪一个人的妈妈都是我们的妈妈 (anyone’s Mom is our Mom)

哪一个孩子都是妈妈的孩子 (any child is Mom’s child)

没有我的日子 (the days without me)

你把爱给活着的孩子吧 (give your love to the children alive)

妈妈 (Mom)

你别哭 (don’t cry)
泪光照亮不了 (tears cannot light up the road)
我们的路 (our road)

让我们自己 (let us)
慢慢的走 (walk slowly ourselves)

妈妈 (Mom)

我会记住你和爸爸的模样 (I will remember your face and Dad's)
记住我们的约定 (remember our promise)
来生一起走 (to walk together in our next life)

iBlog?

This is my first post using the iPhone-customized version of typepad. Actually, I wrote the first sentence in an email on the iPhone and then emailed it to a pre-assigned email address which then posts it to my blog. Now I can literally blog on the go, perhaps even write while I'm bored sitting on the Tube. Since I won't need an Internet connection to draft an email, all I have to do is to send the email once I come above ground.

Lately the capital markets are still very much trying to recover from the wild volatility brought on by the subprime debacle and the ensuing, far more serious credit liquidity crisis. The US had gone into a recession and as we've seen, the world's financial markets have become quite integrated, so the contagion effects are also a lot more severe than otherwise would have been the case.

It looks like there has been some mild signs of recovery in the new issues market in recent weeks, but the conditions are still quite a bit worse. Then again, I don't think they will ever be quite as lax as they had been during the last few years. There will be quite some systematic adjustments in the financial markets as a result of all this turmoil.

More thoughts later, sleep is precious.

new look

Since it's been 233 days since I moved to London, and spring is (sort of) upon us, I thought it would be a good time to try a new theme template for this blog.

More to come later, now that I've realized (a bit late) that typepad has an iPhone-optimized interface, I can now blog while waiting for the train or wherever I find a wifi/EDGE signal.