After a Few Hours On Board
In just a few hours, I had dinner at a nice restaurant, went to a salsa class, broke out into being the only couple salsa dancing (between class stages, the instructor let us keep going, two levels of people were cheering), and sang Bohemian Rhapsody karaoke (people didn’t just cheer, but people came up to me after and said it was awesome). Note I’m changing for a dance party.
This was an awesome decision!
A blog FYI
If you were looking for stories from travels and ones that are not random, the latest one is here:
Enjoy!
Parisian Goal
Device Drama for the Year (Why I Love Verizon)
Anyone who knows me knows that my phone selection is usually a carefully made decision based on CNET reviews, other reviews, going to the store, and hours of diligence online. Of course, anyone who really knows me knows that my selection is based on two things-price and size.
This strategy has usually done me adequately in the past. I mean, sure, I wound up with a Windows Phone once, but I quickly paid my $35 restocking fee and returned it. Generally, I haven’t gone wrong.
Enter the Motorola Droid Mini. It was a fine device, generally, for the first 5 months. But when the battery would give me the 15% warning after breakfast with some moderate use, I knew it was time for a change. Combine that with the fact that the device had limited options for customization and control, I was dissatisfied and generally didn’t like me phone. I know, it’s an Android, so I could’ve downloaded an app to do anything I wanted, but who has the time or patience?
Plus, the camera was terrible, and I wanted an awesome camera for my up and coming European tour. But this phone was purchased 100% for business purposes, I assure you.
I decided to get the Samsung Galaxy S7. It’s bigger. It’s not too big for my pocket, though. It’s camera received unmatched support in all the reviews, and it’s battery is the best on the market.
I ordered it at at my local Verizon store, which I’ll call the “Verizon Corporate Store”. They were all out of the device at the store, so being the cool cat that I am, I just said, “No problem. I’m in not hurry, so you can just ship it to my house.” So they did.
Shortly after I ordered it (literally 10 minutes later), I saw the same Verizon phone for sale in Target. The price was the same (Verizon now sells their phones in monthly installments, so it was also $28 per month). Well, the same price except for the fact that buying it at Target would get me a $100 Target gift card. Awesome! Following my Target run, I went back to the Verizon store and cancelled my order. If you didn’t know, the Verizon store is literally across the non-major street (for my local fans, I’m talking the Midway Target).
I cancelled my order, and they completely understood. Well, the shipping process already started in my half hour at Target, so they just told me to refuse the package. I was never able to do so, because the phone returned in mid-shipment.
Fast forward two weeks to April 30. This was the last day of the Target promo. I went to Verizon, and they verified nothing was on my account regarding the phone I never received.
I went to Target. The phone comes in gold and black. After explaining that all my accessories are silver, the Target Mobile associate understood completely why I couldn’t have silver and gold together. It’s like wearing black and brown! Ladies understand (yes, there are probably exceptions to the rule, but I don’t understand them, so I avoid it all together). Guys are thinking, “Huh?”
The black models were in a different Target store. They had some in the new Target Highland store. “Cool,” I thought. I was meaning to check out thatTarget Express anyways, so I there.
Target has limited capabilities in the Verizon system as it’s a multi-platform system (Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, etc.). They weren’t able to pay off the $180 that was left Droid Mini. No problem, there is a Verizon store on Ford Parkway. It’s just a small store with less experienced associates. No problem. I easily could have paid off my device there and freed up my account.
It turns out that my payment wasn’t $180. It was $730!
The payment plan for the phone I never received was on my account! Ridiculous! There was nothing the associate could do. So I called Verizon support from the store’s phone. I talked to a help desk person and quickly escalated it to the Manager level for phone support (anyone who’s called any support lines knows that if you want to get off of the script and solve problems, you need to get a manager. Seriously, if the first level person can solve my problem, I should have been able to solve it myself).
The manager, Anna, finally set all the gears in motion and cleared up my account. She moved the upgrade date forward to today, so there was no payment needed to buy out my phone.
I went back to the Target Express. They tried it on their system, and it still didn’t work.
So I went back to the Verizon Corporate Store to ask them more questions. I’m pretty sure all of the associates at that store know me by now, because I actually did some due diligence on this phone before selecting it. Also, I checked in with them a couple times in the last week or so, waiting for the phone I never received to by returned. I still have to get back the $72 sales tax I paid on the device, but that can be done later.
I finally talked to a guy there who helped me out. He called the corporate line (at the smaller store, the associate just called support and handed the phone to me). He quickly explained the situation with the returned phone. He knew exactly what to do and asked for and received an override. “Override” was exactly what I wanted to hear. Nothing says “Solutions” more that “disregarding corporate controls.” So my balance on the phone I never received was gone.
The balance on the Droid Mini was gone. My account was free and clear.
I went to the close, bigger Target store, the one that only had the gold phones, just to see if they could upgrade before I drove to the Highland store.
It worked!
So I went to the Highland store where they finally were able to set me up right.
“What a waste of time!” you’re probably thinking. It’s true, it was. Especially for only $100, right? Let’s review what my day’s activities got me:
100 Target gift card
180 + Balance on old device I didn’t have to pay for
75 + A free wireless charger I’ll eventually use (wasn’t offered at big Target)
———
355 = Total gain I received because I bought a new phone
Point is, I love my new phone, and I saved money.
That’s the story as to why I mostly love Verizon. I’ve been a Verizon customer since 2004. They’re pretty awesome.
Why My Random-ass Investing Strategy is Better than Experience, Research, and Skill
Because I believe I should improve the world and finances of my friends, so I’m telling you all about my awesome investing strategy*:
A lot of people know what’s going on in the stock market. Me? I just don’t care, because it doesn’t matter. I mean, sure, I know things like “we’re in a rescission,” “we’re in a boom period,” and “Europe/China/Japan/Russia is doing great/terrible/having some civil unrest or other irrelevant event that’s making the Euro tank,” but most of that stuff only matters today.
I don’t invest for today. I invest for the long-term, like next week.
Many of you know that for the last several years, my investing strategy was pretty simple and static, “Buy the IPO of Tesla and hold it.”
As fun as it was watching the stock go up when Tesla has a great idea that it will do in 2025, it was also ridiculous watching the stock tank because Elon has a big mouth and bashed something not related to his industry, which just obviously makes the stock tank.
Either way, it was a good 1000% ROI. That story is done.
With all this cash from selling all of Tesla, I’m back to my “normal” investing strategy. It’s not so much normal or a strategy as it is a belief system and a set of concepts. Basically, the efficient market hypothesis, knowing that Wall Street is a spaz, the market is cyclical, and macro trends guide my investing. Let me explain:
Efficient Market Hypothesis
In short, the Efficient Market Hypothesis says that for all of the research you do, all of the things you “uncover” that is public information, is already known by Wall Street, and the stock price has already adjusted to reflect that information. Everything you learned about investing from college or that book doesn’t matter.
In Investopedia terms:
The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) is an investment theory that states it is impossible to “beat the market” because stock market efficiency causes existing share prices to always incorporate and reflect all relevant information.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/efficientmarkethypothesis.asp
Obviously this is questionable as a big-wig investor will publish their opinion, and the market responds, at least in the short-term (the opinion, I guess, is new information).
That brings me to my second concept:
Wall Street Is a Spaz
Wall Street responds to everything, usually pessimistically. Sure, everyone thinks it would be great to make money, but no one wants to lose money. Ever.
Therefore, whenever there’s news that isn’t fully-awesome good, the market will go down, if even for a bit. As a conservative, yet optimistic, Midwestern investor, I know everything in the Big City is just smoke and mirrors, but the reality is that a company is working hard to, um, enhance the return for its stockholders. Really, they’re all just trying to make it, to get bigger, and to make our world a better place.
So when I invest, I’m above the influence of a little neutral news here and there. Because remember, if it’s not great news, it’s probably bad news…. right?
Not really, and that brings me to my third concept:
The Market is Cyclical
When a stock goes up, it will go down. When a stock is down on it’s luck, it’ll get back on track. Obviously, there are a lot of exceptions to this rule, but it is the general trend. Unless there’s a Macro Trend or some really bad company-specific news, stock prices rise and fall. If you can’t deal with it, buy muni-bonds backed by a T-note.
Considering Macro Trends is important, and also brings me to my fourth concept:
Macro Trends
Macro Trends is basically the concept that means, “don’t do anything stupid.”
For example, don’t buy Blockbuster stock just because it is super cheap.
While Macro Trends can easily be a reason for inaction, they can also be reason for action.
An example of this which is just the opposite. During The Great Recession, bank stocks were cheap. Well, obviously, a good investment wasn’t all those banks that were having problems. While it’s true, you would’ve had a 5 year return that was 100%, why would you want an investment with such a low and slow return?
I invested in a lot of small banks. Mostly ones in the Midwest or the Confederate South. I’m not sure why that geographic choice–that’s just where the companies were located. But they were all down. I figured everyone was hard on banks, but these little banks didn’t do anything mean, so I bought them.
Generally, if I buy a stock, once it hits 20% gain, I sell it.
Weren’t you reading earlier? The market is cyclical. It might go up more, but I have just found that it takes a lot longer to go significantly above 20% than it does to get there. It’s a random stock: get in, make your buck, get out.
Superior By the Numbers
So let’s suppose you buy a stock, hold it for a month, and sell it for 20% gain. That’s pretty cool, since annualized, your ROI is 240%. Yay!
I am a conservative Midwestern bloke, so I do invest in small lots to keep it diversified. And I wait until I find a reasonable stock.
There is still some risk. The risk isn’t that your company will go under, but the risk is that your stock won’t move and you’ll be stuck with an ROI of 0% for a while. You need to be patient and wait for the price to move, and sometimes this takes a while.
Why wouldn’t you sell? Because the price could move tomorrow.
The Best Part
The best part of this investing strategy is that it’s incredibly low maintenance.
By telling you all about it, I’ve just spent more time than I do actually paying attention to my brokerage account in a month.
Check in the morning, sell your big gainers, check in the afternoon, see if you had any movements, possibly sell.
Boom – you’re done.
That’s my strategy. You’re welcome. Happy Friday!
*I am not a financial adviser and do not render financial advice
The Story When I Saved a Lady & Brought Justice to the Situation
Tonight there were two big tough guys pushing around a lady in downtown Minneapolis. She wasn’t pushing back. It was angry and getting worse, and like a fool, I decided to rescue the woman.
Tonight was a great night. I hosted an event at the Alibi, a bar in Minneapolis I’ve been scouting for a while. I met a woman I’ve been talking to some January. She was pretty cool, and we got along well. I met another woman who likes me, too. I was on. We were dancing and talking, and just having a good time.
Knowing that I am Mr. Subtle, and I was quite subtle with them both, which they were both really liking it. But I know I can’t maintain that for more than a couple hours. Until you know him, Justin in small doses is best for everyone!
I left Alibi. When I was nearing my ramp, I decided to write an email. I forgot to close my tab. So I emailed them asking them to close it and to tip everyone (I had my card). As I was emailing, two guys and a woman were walking down 7th Street.
The two guys were pushing around the woman. I put my phone away, walked over to them and said, “Sarah, there you are. We’re late for our reservations!” I grabbed her arm to coaxed her to come. Site couldn’t get free, though.
The bigger of the guys, who we’ll call Biggy because he was a big, fat, angry guy, asked me who I was. I said a friend. We’ll call the medium-but-bigger-than-me guy “Middy.”
Now I’m not dumb. I was staying out of Biggy’s reach, and Middy wasn’t the angry one. And I’m very good at steering attention in a conversation, in this case, away from me. And I assume I can outrun a big fat guy, because everyone knows fat people are slow and honestly just don’t want to run…. it’s a lot of work!
Biggy kept urging me to fight him or whatever specific phrase he used. He wanted me to step out (go backwards) and fight him.
I almost did. Ha. Just kidding. Biggy’s right arm probably weighted as much as my right leg. I kept telling him, “No thank you. Keep coming this week way.”
90% of the time, there’s a Minneapolis police officer in the parking ramp. My plan was to bring him to the situation…..
Tonight was a 10% night. Crap ….
Luckily Biggy went back to the other two. I was too far away, so his attention was gone. I kept an eye on the trio. Perhaps they all knew each other. I don’t know.
Finally I saw what I was looking for – a police SUV. I ran up to then and told them there’s two big guys pushing a small woman about a half a block ahead. When they couldn’t see then, I just beckoned for them to follow me.
I’m glad they did. Their SUV was creeping down the street. The time the cop SUV was close enough to see the trio was right before Biggy had a fully wound-up punch that sent Middy on the ground, crumpled in a doorway.
The cops were there now. I just glared at Biggy as to say “Ha!” One cop was trying to keep me out of it.
“I’m just sbystander,” I said. “I did my job.”
The lady was comforting Middy, who was coherent.
Her eyes were saying, “Thank you.”
I reached out and grabbed her hand and said, “You’re welcome.”
“My name is Kelly. Thank you.”
Who knows where things would have gone if I was passive like I’m supposed to be. I love being me, making a difference.
The Story of Unique Ladies
Anyone who knows me, or is friends with me, sees me a lot, or let’s be honest, anyone who sees me talk to people ever, know that I like the ladies.
To be honest, despite what most people think, I don’t want to date anyone. I like people, and I want to get to know them. And yes, the possibility of dating is always on the back burner, but it’s definitely not the primary consideration or goal. Anyone will notice that I talk really well (and more often, with more enthusiasm, and with more energy) with ladies. There’s just a higher probability that my efforts will result in a friend with a lady than a guy, so it’s much more efficient to befriend lady. Women are open and talk about not just clichés.
I have dated some awesome people. Some were simply angels and the nicest people I’ve ever known. I’m still great friends with them. The whole relationship thing didn’t work out for both of us. We were awesome and had a ton of fun.
There’s another story about women who I’d consider to be a life partner. It’s something else that I can’t define. It’s just a knowledge of compatibility. Kind of weird to explain.
I have “high standards,” but they’re only guiding principles, since, if I get that feeling, I’d go with it. My standard are just because I know the traits that generally lead to that feeling.
To be honest, that feeling is very, very rare. I’ve only had it a few times.
Granted, when it happens, I usually don’t know how to handle it because it never happens, and I get kind of excited. Or, there’s a timing issue (Toto).
I tend to really like incredibly intelligent women. They can hold great conversation. It’s important that their intelligence in a way similar to my intelligi.
Four years ago, I met an incredibly smart attorney.
Recently, I met a neurologist about whom I’m really excited.
Also, ladies about whom I become super excited tend to not be born in the States, or at least not in Minnesota.
They also tend to be absolutely beautiful. And they like to laugh with awesome conversation.
I’m pretty excited.
Point is, I’m happy.
Still Not a Fan of Dicks
Tonight I hosted an event. The event was to go to a theater production, but I said, “Join me for Green Mill before the event.”
I had two people who did so.
The first one was named M. She was a young lady who worked in a nursing home. I didn’t want to date her, per se, but like most nice people, I wanted to know her better.
The second one was named Dick. Now, this is not the same Dick as in the post I Don’t Like Dicks from almost a year ago, but all Dicks are pretty similar.
Instead of joining in the conversation, he pretty much just talked about himself. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate these guys, just trying to get in the good with the girl. Immediately, he sat next to her, and there was physical contact. Because he was ‘joking around’ (‘playing her’).
Unfortunately for me, I can’t stand these people because I really respect women. But it goes on. He kept on talking and talking about himself. Well, M studied abroad, and Dick wasn’t really saying anything relevant, so I asked M more about her job. Nothing big – just cliche Minnesota-nice subjects. Non-threatening.
So when M was telling me about her job, Dick interrupted laughing boisterously. Obviously, M & I stopped our conversation to see what was so funny, and Dick said, “On the way over here, I was thinking about a hilarious story that happened 2 years ago.”
It was a story about when he was doing valet in Saint Paul, dropped keys in a storm drain, and had to ask the neighbors for help. A lady gave him a coat hanger, which he “MacGyvered” (meaning bent) to get the keys.
“Okay. Cool. Decent Story,” thought I.
I asked M more about her international experience, as she studied abroad.
She quickly said it was in Scotland, and she didn’t have much of a chance to go elsewhere. I honestly wanted to hear about Scotland, but she asked, “What about you guys, have you traveled anywhere internationally?”
Naturally, I told her about my upcoming cruise in the Med and my trip last August to Paris, and listed my other European Trips.
At this point, Dick said to me, “You know, man, I’ve seen you around, and I thought you were cool, but you’re not…” He then proceeded to leave.
All I did was shift the focus away from him. Just like the last story about a Dick, he couldn’t handle someone interrupting his game. Instead of taking a shot of hot sauce, he just left.
Unfortunately, since it was only the three of us, the only way I could diffuse Dick is by shifting the focus to M or myself. This made M uncomfortable, and she left soon thereafter.
She missed a really good show.
She thought I was there to meet ladies, and I assure you I was not. Usually, there are more people one which to diffuse the spotlight. But she was uncomfortable after Dick left in a super pissed off mood.
I simply can’t stand Dicks because they are not respectful to anyone else in the conversation and only talk about themselves. Perhaps he had no international experience, but rather than saying, “I travel all over the US, but no where international,” he just left like a guy who couldn’t roll with it.
I will stand by my actions. It’s unfortunate that M felt uncomfortable, but it meant not letting Dick be a Dick, and to me that’s more important. I don’t like that Dicks try to play the ladies.
I’m not smooth like Dicks, but I am genuine, and I know how to treat people and do more than talk about myself. Dicks seem to get upset whenever I ask the lady about herself. This was exactly the same as the last time I wrote about a Dick.
I can spot a Dick from a mile away. Apparently ladies can’t.I feel like it’s my job to diffuse and call it the fact that he’s acting like, well, a Dick.