So far, the book has been interesting. Despite its technical nature, its conclusions and lessons are pretty straightforward, almost to the degree of what some would call common sense. The author, Benjamin Graham, passed away in 1976, so this book is his most recent edition with updated commentary from Jason Zwieg after each chapter.

The overall lesson seems rather straightforward: Regard investing as investing and you’ll be okay. Everything seems to support that. Be disciplined so that speculation doesn’t do you in, and avoid being drawn into the speculative world of day trading through watching tickers constantly. Remember to regard these as actual investments in a company and not to let the abstractions of ticker symbols and stock prices hide that.

I only just finished the third chapter, so it’ll be interesting what other lessons can be gained.

I’ve completed my income tax return for 2009. This return was more complicated than in the past since a portion of my work has been in a self-employed situation. For that reason, I opted to have a professional tax preparer review it before submitting it. The experience does help me understand better how to manage financial information in the case of the business we’re looking to create. There’s basically two types of business arrangements: informal and formal. The informal arrangements are sole proprietorship and general partnership. The taxation of both arrangements is part of your typical income tax return. On the other hand, formal arrangements like corporations get taxed separately in addition to being taxed on your income from the corporation.

Baishia at the Playground

 Baishia and I first talked in approximately April of 2008. We started talking online. She was from near Chicago. At the time, she was in a relationship with somebody else.

In the middle of that summer, I took a leap my mom certainly did not like. I purchased a ticket for a day trip to Chicago through Greyhound to meet Dianna. Dianna picked me up at the Greyhound station, and we spent about six hours together. For much of that time, we were on Navy Pier. We held hands, and I thought that was a wonderful feeling. In this trip, she was bashful in various ways, and that lead to my name for her: Baishia. Our relationship has since been such that it’s a bit awkward calling her Dianna for both of us.

Baishia and I were then apart until December of that year. In that month, I went to visit at the beginning of the break from school. This trip was a bit more interesting in various ways. I was a bit more nervous since I needed to figure out the Metra train system in Chicago to get from downtown Chicago closer to where she lives in the suburbs. At the time of this trip, she was still in a relationship with somebody else.

Though I felt that our relationship was going somewhere, I’ve never sought to break up another couple. We talked often about that, and I did my best to remain more of a good friend to her at the time. I did what I could to help her through the struggles of the relationship with the boyfriend at that time.

In January, some truths came out that confirmed some suspicions we had about her boyfriend, so that relationship ended. Since then, I have gone to see Baishia at least four times. Each trip is a unique experience. For a brief period, Baishia understandably tried being with someone closer to her. That relationship did not go anywhere, and Baishia has been with me ever since.

Baishia is very special. She doesn’t give up. I have never seen her give up. Life can certainly get her down, but she does not let life stop her. I don’t think I’ve been able to say that of any other person.

I am new to experiencing romantic relationships, but in all I have read about relationships and all I have seen of relationships, good communication is perhaps the most important factor. As part of that communication, honesty, openness, patience, and understanding are also necessary. Talking about issues is hard. Admitting faults is hard. I believe Baishia and I have a similar understanding regarding communication. Neither of us are the greatest of communicators, but we have the patience and understanding to make the conversation happen and to do our best to improve ourselves based on it.

I love Baishia, and I hope our relationship lasts and grows closer.

To go into more specifics, I started my checking account at Chase. I started with a regular Chase Checking account. However, as I gained the funds to do so, I openned a Chase Savings account. As my cash in those accounts accumulated, I upgraded them to the Chase Better Banking Checking and  Chase Money Market Savings accounts respectively. Briefly, I had a Chase Certificate of Deposit as well. Outside of Chase, I have an E*TRADE Complete Savings account that has a little money in it that I openned to get a promotional offer. More usefully, I have an ING Direct Electric Orange Checking account and an Orange Savings Account. The nice thing about the ING Direct accounts is that they give some of the highest interest rates and don’t have as many stupid fees.

In the credit card world, I started out with an Amazon.com Credit card. It was nice, but I really don’t do much purchasing on Amazon.com for the rewards to be very beneficial. When I openned my Chase banking accounts, I got a Chase Freedom Credit Card. It is nice because I can use it for both points rewards and cashback rewards. Additionally, because I have a Chase checking account associated with it, I get increased rewards. This is my primary credit card. I also have a few other cards openned for one reason or another, but my Chase Freedom card is the only one I regularly use. I just have all the accounts to automatically pay off in full.

Moving along, one of several unique account I have is a TreasuryDirect account. This allows me to purchase and redeem treasury securities as well as US Savings Bonds. I just have a few securities here as well as some treasury bills that just get repurchased. I also have an account through MicroPlace. MicroPlace enables me to effectively loan small amounts of money to individuals in developing countries for a small return. I also have a small amount with Kiva, but Kiva has not taken the steps to be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, so they do not provide returns.

As a perk of my credit card, many of my purchases have their warranties effectively doubled through the Visa Warranty Manager Service. This is without any cost from me. There is also accidental death insurance when I travel via public transportation paid for by the credit card. Beyond this, I also was able to receive a small accidental death policy through The Hartford via the credit card with nothing paid by me. I also have a Gerber Grow Up Plan that is now in my ownernship. Mom started it for both my sister and I when we were younger. Last year, I also got a term life policy from Genworth Financial.

The last things are the most recent. I have an individual account as well as a Roth IRA with ShareBuilder. Through these, I’ve purchased stock in Microsoft, Walmart, Chase, ING Direct, and a few mutual funds and other companies. These have done surprisingly well so far.

One of the first ways was through online surveys. Several companies are in the business of paying small amounts of money to answer surveys. The amounts depend on whether you qualify for the survey. The actual incentive varies between a small check, points toward prizes, and entries into sweepstakes toward larger prizes.

Besides surveys, there are companies that offer incentives for people to try various offers. In my case, I was able to spend about $200 toward completing ten trial offers. Not only did I benefit from the trials such as free movies through Netflix, I received $1000 in the end.

When I held an internship at Microsoft, one of Redmond, Washington’s incentives not to drive alone was to self-report how you went to work each day for two months. As long as they were not driving alone, you received a $50 gift card. Additionally, there was another incentive where I was able to get a free t-shirt along with free bus passes.

When I openned my bank account with Chase bank, I was able to get $125 for openning the account. Similarly, I was able to get $25 for openning an ING Direct Electric Orange checking account. I can get further money from them for referring others to open accounts, but I have yet to do so. Through my Chase Freedom credit card, I was offered $2000 in accidental death insurance with the option to pay to purchase more. I declined purchasing the extra coverage but took the free coverage.

I have yet to get a payout from them, but I have earned some credit with Upromise on top of any cashback I otherwise get through my credit card. I also have some credit with Bing Cashback, but I have yet to reach a threshold to get a payout.

Additional opportunies to get things for free include signing up for the mailing lists or e-clubs online for your favorite restaurants. Many of the offer a free appetizer just for signing up.

I am not a particularly social guy. I do not go to bars. I don’t even have much in the way of clubs. I generally don’t go to church either. The people I am generally around are my family, my coworkers, and my classmates. However, being a geek, I have found other ways to be social. Through sites like Facebook, I have made some wonderful friends. I met my current girlfriend online through facebook. I’ve come to realize that I’ve neglected those friendships lately.

My friends, even if they are online and I’ve not met some in person, are important to me. It is important to me that I am a good friend to them. For the past day and hopefully continuing on, I’ve tried to make more efforts to be in contact with friends.

I have journaled in some form at various times in life. Each time has benefited me in some way, and that in itself is a reason to do it. I have some inspirations for why I write though. In my experience of writing, I learned to type. This was at a time late in high school as I recall. Something had always appealed to me about the idea of journaling. I had recently learned about the logging feature of Notepad in Windows. That feature is that if you start a text file with .LOG, Notepad will append the date each time you open the file making it ready for a new entry. I had also been learning to type. I set my mind to keeping a journal for a while, and I would write it using correct typing technique. The result is that I now type rather quickly and with fewer errors.

I recall from my last time I was keeping a blog that getting my thoughts out can help me sleep better. I think that still has merit, especially when done regularly.

Beyond those benefits, I think there is value in reflecting on the events of a day or the thoughts about an idea. How often do most people stop to take a look back? I don’t think it happens as often as it should. In writing, you also have to take the chaotic and disorganized thoughts and put them out in a more linear form. This helps to better organize thoughts and helps to better understand what actually is and is not known and felt about an idea.

I have one other inspiration to journal though. Those are in the form of the Myst series of video games and books. Throught that series, you find yourself reading the journals of various characters. Through them, you see how the character grew and developed. You see how the character felt about others. Just as I find it enlightening and entertaining to read those journals, I have found it interesting whenever I have looked back to read a journal entry I have written somewhere.

The tasks I was managing to do during the summer on a satisfactorily regular basis include exercise and hygiene. I was consistently bathing and brushing my teeth each day. Prior to the summer, I had gone a long time without taking good care of my teeth and had gotten back on a good track. Since starting my current job, that has lapsed.

With each week, I get the week started good for a day or two, but by the end of the week, things have lapsed once more.

Exercise has lapsed as well, though weather has a part to play in that. I wake each day somewhere around 6:30 AM and have some bit of breakfast. Sometimes though, I don’t even feel like breakfast is worth eating. Shortly after 7:00 AM, my ride picks me up. It takes anywhere from a half hour to an hour to get to work. I usually eat pretty decent for lunch while at work. Then beween 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, I get picked up and it takes another hour to get home. Throw in eating and a shower and that puts you into the evening when you just want to lay down.

Where do I fit in exercise? How do I keep myself motivated during the week?