Diary

Sun Jan 29 '89

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LA 70

Write in here about last night.

9:45 My conclusion is that I still don't feel any sense of close friendship or even gay sense of depth, which I'd want to feel if I spent more time here. Little respect. Little warmth. Little affection.

Anthony - young, short, too cute

Peter - too short, smoker

John with abs - dull.

Bob well maybe a possible friend.

Anyway none of these appear to be material for close friends, let alone love. But is that what I want? Or just some fun once in awhile. But I still like some "natural" facility to the depth of conversation. And all of it just seems a bit too superficial.

10:00 -----

I want to be in Seattle tomorrow morn, so pack up now to check out today. Checkout.

Try several restaurants for lunch. All closed, or lines waiting outside. So do spag at Big Boy. Start Chap 9 of Bonfire.

Return car. High clouds, but I still feel like going. However, I don't have the feeling "I've got to get out of here" as I do after a few days in SF. Wouldn't mind staying in LA, but ok to go for now.

9/89: But wouldn't I have had that old "bored on Sunday in LA" feeling, had I stayed?

More Chap 9.

On plane, finish last week's Barrons. Realize there are only several 100 stocks that have options trading. Trendline ad says 400. Counting options trading companies => 515. Also look at NYSE short interest in Barrons. Looks like about 750 companies. Dinner on plane. Pretty good salmon fettucine. Finish Bonfire Ch 9

Land.

6:00 Get car. Go home. No serious phone msgs. Put stuff away. Laundry.

Use VL data disk to see how many of its stocks have options listing: 577. Most of them are the old big companies - so that's another reason to prefer shorting over options. You can short anything, even small stocks with [?] Clean up & prepare calendar for this week.

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10:00 To bed, since so little sleep last night. No Amit.

Mon Jan 30 '89

Cloudy, mild

7:00 ----

Call Mom + Dad: trip, mag, my work a bit.

10:30 Errands.

Called NWAF & Aids Housing of WA. See notes. Called several lighting fixture places, about full spectrum lighting.

12:00 Lunch. SNL.

1:00 Go to U Dist to look at full spectrum lights. The bright white light made me feel good. Talk about halide vs flourescent. See notes. Go to Lighting Supply Inc. Tacky. Smokers. To gym. Pickup mail.

2:30 Good arms workout. Feeling ok, but not enthusiastic. But at least not confused, as last Thurs or Fri at gym in LA.

Go home.

Go over mail. Sort it. Look at a few. Look at Muni Vanguard Money Fund. $3k min! So just do regular Money Fund. Only $1000. Cannot do via Schwab since income report would be a month after it's timely.

5:00 Consider how I would hang sunbox...How can I find the support beams?

5:15 Call Mom & Dad ~ Tewell letter. Got invited for dinner Thursday.

5:30 Quick look to see if anything at Mut Funds shorting stocks. Nope.

5:45 To Library for Jan 23 Infoworld, Jan 20 VL, and also results of Group 1 vs Group 5. Lots of copying. Dinner at Pasta & Co. At home, leave msg for Bob

9:15 Do mail a bit more. Much less than last year at this time. Much less junk...

Bob calls back. 90 people going to Whistler.

10:15 Read Bonfire of Vanities. Chap 10. How to tell a child what investment banker does! Can anyone under 20 (or 30) conceive of it?

11:00 To bed. One Amit.

Tues Jan 31 '89

7:30 -----

Think about what IG Bond Fund should pay to:

To me via check, but so inefficient

To Schwab, but reports are a month old.

Can't get income for Pers Acct

To Vanguard Money Reserves, but another Pers Acct.

Of the three, the last is the best.

So order info on Vang MM Res & current IG Bond Fund.

9:00 Do "real" mail. Pay phone bills.

Decide to postpone full spec light a bit. I don't know how to hang it...

More mail. Windsor IRA news.

I think I have all the tax reports I need to do taxes.

Other financial mail. Finish it up.

10:45 To mail box. Bank for cash, and tell 'em to just roll over interest on CD. Make post-it note for CD certificate.

11:15 Film stop. Errands. Lunch. Cannot just by it & deliver & take loss.

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12:45 Put away yesterday's Infoworld & VL.

1:30 -----

Look at Schwab stuff on margin & shorts. Call York ~ shorts (taxation of exercised call) & role as market maker. Why do I pay commissions instead of spread. Can do it either way...comes out the same.

3:00 Go to Schwab for up-to-date brochure of short selling. Got two kinds. To Fed Bldg for tax publications. Got a bunch more than what I need now. Got one on taxation of stocks, short sales. To library for last Friday's VL. In case it snows!

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At home, think about reasonableness of not getting interest in cash from short sale. Put stuff away

5:45 Start writing note on shorting. Check CMA for computation of borrowing power & auth limit. BP is 70% of priced portfolio. Auth is money funds & BP. And it's much greater now that legend is lifted. Also write note on unlikeliness of funding some I'd want for a close buddy.

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Add some notes to "Routine" and its prmise that I must spend most of my time by my records. Why go to LA if

Write note on todays revelations about shorting and VL Groups 1 vs 5.

9:30 Read over what I write. Put it aside for a few days, while I do taxes & contribution index cards.

9:45 WSJ. Make new daily price sheet.

10:15 -----

Start Chap 11 of Bonfire.

Snowing quite hard, so go to QFC.

Read up to 268, about 2/3 thru Ch 11

12:00 To bed. One Amit.

Wed Feb 1 '89

8:00 -----

Mom & dad call.

Call Gulf & Western for Annual report. In light of yesterday's conclusions ~ shorts, reread Barron's last week Roundtable, and other notes on it written. Put away. Yesterday's mail.

10:45 Pay monthly bills. Renew Eagles Club pledge. Am Exp, TCI Cable, Mut Fund Forecaster Renewal.

Out to mail 'em. It's so cold.

12:00 Lunch. SNL. Hour of Power.

1:15 Ben calls. Got my card. Outside to look at roads. Go to gym? Reward vs Risk? Just shoulders & declines today. Just do shoulder exercises at home tonite.

2:00 Read Market Logic. Study seasonality portfolios. More return (over L.T) with less volatility.

3:00 Enter biweekly Big Pic & Industry # into Mac. Print. Examine computed columns.

3:45 Add Barron's weekly Industry Prices to new printout.

4:00 Decide not to start taxes or contributions.

4:15 Reread Part I of "After Trade is Made" highlighting what I've learned. Actually theres quite a bit.

Dinner

Finish Part I & II of ATIM.

6:45 ----

7:00 work on New Style Net Worth with Muni bonds priced with YTM of purchase with no Microsoft. Print out Oct 1 Asset Statement from Pers Acct.

10:30 Bonfire: Finish Ch 11, reach Ch 12.

12:00 To bed. One Amit.

Thu Feb 2 '89

Sunny, cold, white

7:45 -----

Think about what it means to add up the numbers I've computed for bend PV. Each is just what I would pay now to attain the YTM I accepted at purchase. Add comment. Also to disco from H&O calls with IPO, but it is for sale tomorrow, so I can't get prospectus & lock at "After Trade is Made" to check that broker can't offer till registered. Sort of stupid since it leaves no time to buy IPO. But it still makes no sense to add together each of these since the purchase times differ and so market cnv't weren't the same. Apples & oranges.

So once again note disadvantages of NW

- it takes time to create

- it shows little beyond Pers Acct

- pinning down Market Prices at one point in time is so subjective, ethereal.

- leaving MSFT is conspicuously by absence, and yet everything else is so small comparison.

And financial net worth is just one kind. What about skills, friends, memories...But since I've worked awhile on this, at least take it up to a solid breakpoint. It feels good to have this info even if it's not everything I'd hoped. But it encapsulates my concerns well.

11:45 Call Mom & Dad. Lunch & Schuller. Back up big pic & net worth.

12:45 -----

1:15 Review Part III of ATIM, up to options. Great to see part on munis being thinly traded!

2:00 -----

Drop some stuff at Shurgard. Look again at options stuff....

2:45 At Princeton Ath Club...Legs...the tape!

4:30 Head home. Look at options premiums on MSFT. Do todays WSJ.

5:45 To Mom & Dad's. Spaghetti. Good dinner. Read "IRS Investment Inc & Exp" a bit. Watch NUTS. Pretty dramatic. Good. Sit & talk.

11:00 Drive home. So cold. Call Mom & Dad to let 'em know I'm home

12:00 To bed. One Amit.

Fri Feb 3 '89

7:30 -----

8:45 Do 1988 1040 Form. No problems. Good agreement w/pers acct! Decide not to contrib to Windsor until I know for sure I won't be covered by an employers 401K in '89. Lunch. 2 loads laundry. Finish taxes. No CMA problems this year! Refund is only a few grand, so just apply to 89 est tax, because by the time they refund it, it'll be March and I've got to make first est in Apr. Did accrued interest for the first time, this year.

1:30 Look through instructions again for stuff I may need to know