Tuesday, September 30, 2008
I Got Nothing
Any comments or words of inspiration would be helpful. Or maybe I just need a week to recuperate from such a high level of blogging.
Anyway, here are some upcoming events for C/K Pagano:
Thursday: Neil Diamond concert; recording the Biden/Palin debate because that is sure to be train-wreck caliber television
Friday: dinner at Capo to celebrate our first anniversary, and if you can extend us some credit, we'll be needing it
Saturday: USC vs. Oregon, where Cheryl and John owe me one bacon-wrapped hotdog from a street vendor
Sunday: Looks like Michael and Christina (my brother and sister-in-law) are in town with little Nicholas. Looks like the little man is already a Notre Dame fan. Well, I can tell you this: No Christmas present for him!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tonight's Presidential Debate
A Solid Investment in a Shaky Financial World
Here is my friend Mike Yen:
Greetings Loyal Readers,
First of all, I must say that it's quite an honor to be the first guest writer on such an esteemed blog. However, I think he's asked me to step in for one of three reasons:
1) He's too lazy to write
2) Kristin's too lazy to write
3) I've been dubbed the Asian Pagano
How did I get such a moniker, you ask? Apparently, we both share the same anal-retentiveness and obsessive compulsiveness which we discovered while going to business school together. But I digress.
While I've could have posted random pictures from Hawaii or random USC - Texas ranking bets I have with my non-existent wife (Pagano, I sure hope that +8 spread cuts both way), he's asked me to write about this mess we call the financial markets.
So, in a time when billions of dollars in shareholder value disappear literally overnight and so-called financial bedrocks crumble before our very eyes, where is an investor to turn? I'm not going to lie, the investment landscape looks pretty grim. While the traditional fund advisors would suggest purchasing shares while they're cheap (and historically the stock market has returned around 8%), the game has significantly changed from those quaint historical times. Investors today dream of a 10% return and would settle for not losing any capital.
Now, I've thought about it long and hard, did many hours of research, and consulted with the finest investing minds. After much discussion, I've found one asset class that should appreciate in value over time - handbags. Not just any handbags - Birkins, to be precise.
DEAD GATOR
Now before you poo-poo the idea, hear me out. For those of you unfamiliar with the Birkin, it is a piece of (most of the times) dead cow with some 17th century saddle maker logo on it. I don't really understand the appeal, but hey, girls have bags, boys have fantasy sports. Whatever. Regardless, pure economics are at play. There's a limited supply and a virtually limitless demand. This indicates a premium pricing opportunity and hence, high returns.
Now, how does one make money from such an asset? 1) through an outright sale or 2) by renting the asset. Based on the increase in retail price (so my friends tell me) and the fact that you’re buying a bag from the 1960s, it seems like the Birkin market is generally robust. So you could potentially flip the bag for a quick buck.
The second option, renting present a potentially more difficult valuation. Based on the market rental rate, the net present value (“NPV”) is significantly positive while the internal rate of return (“IRR”) is an astounding 92.5%! Aside from drug dealing, where else can you find a 90+% return? Both valuation indicators dictate that a purchase should be made.
NPV
IRR
With that, I'm announcing that opening of the Birkin Fund. The objective of the Birkin Fund is to (duh) purchase as many Birkins as possible with an eye towards the renting and eventual resale. Investment horizon is 3-5 years. Best case scenario - a compound annual growth return of 100% (based on the increase in Birkin retail value from 2002 through 2007 and the IRR). Worst case scenario - we liquidate inventory. Which would you rather have, a piece of Lehman Brothers shares or a Birkin?
Signing off,
Mike Yen
Weekend of Pags
Today, Kristin is off to Las Vegas for Kristin Jefferson’s bachelorette party. While they will all be cavorting around town, I will be enjoying the “Weekend of Pags,” which is derived from the “Summer of George” (from Seinfeld): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Summer_of_George
Anyway, these action-packed bachelor weekends for me started in good old Santa Clara. I’d have a weekend to myself when Kristin was gone. I’d get all excited to be on my own, only to be bored by about 11am on Saturday. This is my first weekend alone in Santa Monica, and it is going to be action packed. Here’s the schedule:
Friday: Pick up some good cheap pizza for dinner; I’m carb-loading, of course. Watch the presidential debates. I’m guessing that John McCain completely overwhelms an overmatched Obama due to McCain’s total awesomeness, his being a POW, and Obama being a Muslim terrorist. (I’ll have commentary after the debate tomorrow.) After that, I’ll go to bed early.
Saturday: Go running, take a nap, clean the apartment, watch some episodes of “Lost” (season 4), then go to my old roommate’s birthday party.
Sunday: Watch the Formula1 race from Singapore, go to lunch with my cousin, then watch some football.
So clearly, I’m a big loser. But whatever, since I’m on my own, I get to eat pizza and hamburgers for every meal, so I’m really the big winner here. Anyway, the Weekend of Pags starts in just a day!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Long Time Reader, First Time Blogger
I just thought I'd do a post, since Chris has been asking me to do so for quite some time. So I really wanted to concentrate this post on Chris, my utterly brilliant husband who came up with the genius idea to start the best blog ever in the world.
Chris is just an amazing individual. He's super smart, a phenomenal athlete, possibly the funniest person I've ever met, and selflessly charitable. Really, what more is there to say? I'm just speechless thinking about him.
Anyway, I'm glad you're all enjoying the blog. Chris' intent was to bring joy and happiness to the world through his words, and it seems like he's making a difference, one reader at a time.
Since I am very busy playing video games at work all day, I will not be able to post all that often. But I leave you in the very capable hands of Chris. So please, enjoy.
Kristin
**This post may not have been written by Kristin.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Pictures from Hawaii
We stayed in a house in Poipu on the southern coast of Kauai. Here's the view from the patio.
On our first day, we made an "adventurous" trip onto the rocks to look for sea life. We didn't see much. Of course, we didn't look that hard.
On day 2, we took a monumental hike - six hours to cover just eight miles.
Here's the beach at the halfway mark (2 miles in).And here's the waterfall at 4 miles in. It took us 3+ hours to get here; it was beautiful. And we stayed for about ten minutes.
Then on Wednesday, we took a boat ride to the other side of the island. We saw some dolphins, went into some caves, and did some snorkeling. The first picture is of our boat running over some dolphins. These dolphins may now be in the tuna you are eating at home.
And here are some pictures that Kristin and I took together. We took about 50 of these, so that Kristin could get the perfect Christmas card picture.
And finally, here are some action shots of Kristin's brother Garrett and his girlfriend Elizabeth. They serve no purpose at all other than that I find them amusing.
Someday, when I stop being so lazy and take the film from the underwater camera to the store, we'll put up some pictures from the innertube ride down the irrigation ditches.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Missing Blogger
Please send your comments directly to kristin.pagano@yahoo.com and encourage her to contribute to this blog.
Thank you for your support.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sports Commentary
1. Football
2. Auto racing - everyone makes fun of me for this
3. Ultimate fighting - Kristin doesn't let me watch this whenever she's within a 10-mile radius.
This post will therefore reflect this weekend's events in the world of football.
Ohio State vs. USC: While everyone is talking about USC's dominating performance over the Buckeyes and all the Trojans fans are again talking about another national championship, I am fretting over #7 Texas. As some of you may know, Kristin is a proud alum of the Unversity of Texas. As such, we made a bet. Because USC started 8 spots ahead of Texas in both polls, 8 spots is the handicap for our bet. If Texas finishes 8 spots or less in the rankings behind USC, then Kristin gets to buy a new pair of jeans. If USC finishes 8 spots or more ahead of Texas, then I get a whole carrot cake for myself (I don't have to share, and I can eat it in as many or as few sittings as I so desire). But based on the current rankings, I am losing this bet. I need an improvement of three spots to be in the money on this one. I hope the cake gods are on my side on this one.
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos: As a Broncos fan, I was happy to see my team pull one out yesterday. Of course, they won because of an erroneous call by the referee in their favor. Now, I do feel bad that the Broncos didn't deserve to win, but Chargers QB Phillip Rivers is a dick, so whatever.
Back From Vacation
1. Vacation eating - Kristin gave me a minor reprieve on my poor eating habits, and I increased my caloric intake by about 200%.
2. The 8-mile round-trip hike to the waterfall (I'd write out the name, but I don't know it, and I don't want to look it up). This hike was not for the faint for heart, and Kristin and I turned in a dominating performance.
3. The innertube ride down the irrigation dicthes which supply water to the sugar mills. It was kind of like riding in the lazy river at the Mandalay Bay, except the lazy river at the Mandalay Bay sucks. This trip took us about an hour; we went through five tunnels that were pitch black, and one of them a half mile long.
4. Kristin and I took about 50 pictures so that she could get the perfect picture for a christmas card photo. Absurd!
We got back this morning into LAX at 4:30am. Kristin went into work; I stayed home and recuperated.
Pictures to follow once Kristin uploads the pictures onto the computer and figure out how to get them onto the blog.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Housekeeping Note
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tears of Happiness
And much to my delight, I have at least five readers. When I started this long and hard journey to write my own blog, I could never have dreamed of such monumental success so early. I can only hope the trend continues.
Tonight's topic of conversation: the Republican National Convention. The following is what I have to say about these Republicans: [redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted][redacted].**
**The prior paragraph was redacted at the request of Kristin Pagano because she believes certain people from San Marino may not appreciate what Chris has to say.
Also, I would like to apologize to Jennifer, whom I inadvertently accused of starting her blog after Reece was born. As a man of the highest integrity, I offer my sincerest apologies. Jennifer, you may guest-blog any time.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
First Post
Most couples wait until they have a baby before they start a blog. Seriously, how lazy is that? But Kristin and I typically go the extra mile. So we (really I) have decided to start a blog. The content of this blog is still to be decided. We'll make it up on the fly. Possible topics include sports, philosophy, literature, politics, and the ins and out of microsoft excel. And for all we really know, this could be both the first and last blog post.
However, the goal is to build up our readership now. That way, when little junior comes out someday (TBD), we'll already have corporate sponsorship in place, and the kid will have a chance to go to college.
Also, from time to time, we will have guest bloggers (Kristin). I don't know what they'll say, but since this is America and freedom of speech lives on, they can say whatever they want.
By now, you've probably realized that this blog is shaping up to be one of the best blogs of all time. And if you're thinking that, you're probably right. There's also a very good possibility that you'll become smarter just by reading this blog.
Anyway, that's it for now. Hope y'all come back.
Chris