Shooting Film

Maybe it’s not even about taking pictures, with film there is nothing else you can do, especially using a simple camera like the Olympus trip 35, there are no focus to fuss with, no exposure settings to worry about, no lens to should have packed. Just point and shoot.

Out of focus, who cares!

It’s freeing, not knowing. It doesn’t matter. Who cares anyway? In our minds it was and will always be fantastic. It’s a moment we enjoyed enough to think to put on film. No need to fuss about, perfecting every little detail. No worries.

It’s not what film gives you, it’s what it takes away that truly makes it quite unique in this day and age. with everything offering more and more, film takes away just about everything except for the ability to take pictures you can’t even see right away. It is truly a different experience.

Tourist shot

What was most important to me was the freedom from the limitation of film. There is nothing else you can do other than make photographs with film cameras, limitation is the very best thing about it. You can’t take videos so you don’t even think about it. No panorama mode, no selfie mode, and none of those fake film simulation stuff because you got the real deal.

With the XPro2, digital is great!

I also feel with shooting my 5 dollar value village film camera I have a less of a “omg this is serious” kind of mentality. Maybe because I can’t and don’t control everything with the camera so it provides me with some excuses if the shot didn’t turn out well. With that comes with the freedom to do many things, take photos of things I normally wouldn’t. The best part is when I see the film it’s all a surprise for me.

It is so much fun to shoot film, the freedom provided by the nature of film, that surprise when the film is developed, makes it a fun and enjoyable experience. Of course I’m not ditching my digital camera for a film one but I am carrying both everywhere I go. Try a roll, you will get hooked.

 

Printshop with Marku

Had the opportunity to visit the print shop my friend Markus is doing some silkscreening over the christmas break over six months ago, finally processed the pictures. 

It took so long to process these is because I was trying to get the pictures to show off the nice rainbow inks he was printing with. It never felt right. There was too many colours, too many different colours to make the pictures come together as a whole.

Soon as I converted to black and white however it clicked, the light was surprisingly good thanks to the window and the work lights, but it was really hard to see with all the colours getting in the way. I think these pictures are much better served in black and white than in colour despite my initial thought of the importance of showing off the colours.

I wanted the black to be really dark to accentuate the window and work light on the work surface, he’s arms and occasionally he’s face. Trying to emulate the look of tri-x but not recreate it.

Through doing this set of images I learned for me colour could get in the way of seeing the light. I had a hard time seeing through the mix of window light, artificial lights with both soft white and blue-ish, not quite daylight colours, perhaps in these sort of situations black and white really is our friend. Throwing away all the colour reduces distraction leaving us pure light.

Centre Island

Sometimes the closer you are to something the less it is appreciated.

Last time i went to centre island was when i was just a wee lad. With my parents and can barely remember what had happened.

For most tourists it’s a must go, for the barbecue and the view of the city.

A few tips:

• skip the line by purchasing your ferry ticket online. We did it on our phone while we queued up for normal ticket purchase. Once you have your e-ticket they just scan it at the booth and you are through.
• Bike rental is not cheap, they will take debit for deposit if you are cashless.
• Wear comfortable shoes and pack some snacks, you are in for a long walk.
• Pack a jacket, it can get cold at night.

New lens!

I usually talk about how to save money however we all have our hobbies. I did buy this second hand and saved at least $300, so perhaps the money saving tip for the day would be to look on kijiji or craigslist or any second hand classified of your choice before heading to the store for your money burning exercises!

I have a 35mm which sometimes I feel is too close, something wider would be very nice to have so I picked up an 18mm, and I went shooting.

I enjoy this lens quite a bit, some have mentioned the sluggish autofocus due to being an older lens but I had great experience with the autofocus, it hunts a bit during close focus situations.

 

 

Words in Old Books

I like buying old books, one reason is they are cheap, another reason is sometimes they come with interesting inscriptions.

Here are a few I have found so far:

I enjoy reading them, it gives a book history, a bit of story behind it.

Budget is for losers

Every personal finance guru suggest the best thing for your bank account is a budget, I think not. Let me explain why.

It takes, in my opinion, a lot of willpower and effort to adhere to the budget, it takes up mental real estate. Consult the budget each time something needs to buy, did we go over the budget for weekly grocery? Do we have budget for that nice jacket? Any money left in entertainment budget for us to go to the movies? Questions like these becomes constant nagging, perhaps drive you to less consumption or, I think, more likely to rocket you away from even pretending to care about the budget.

Build a habit of responsible spending instead of a budget. It will not be as easy to having a budget, but will result in a much healthier financial future, and reduce the stress and anxiety associated with strict budgets, and the best part is it can be done one step at a time.

Knowing how much money coming in and fixed cost is important for what I am proposing, that is all the “budgeting” you will do.

What is responsible spending? It is a spending behaviour that will create the most amount of good for us and the people we care about in the long run. An extreme example would be spending money on illegal drugs would be very high on the detrimental scale while the same money spent on a MBA course would be very beneficial.

We can take a few steps to help us along.

First “Did I do my best to make sure this purchase is necessary?”, evaluate the necessity of an expenditure. For example paying electricity bill is high up on the necessary list. If you are not sure then it’s not essential. Once the bills, mortgages, maybe student loans has been paid most of our purchases are in the “want” category, and these bears a little bit more consideration.

Next “Did I do my best to make sure this is the best use of my money?”. This is a tough question because it is often hard to know what is the best decision. We make decisions based on the information we have, take time to research, explore as many options as we possibly could. We often spend time to find the best deal but rarely pause to figure out if this is what we should spend money on. For example buying a new TV, many hours spent reading about 4K, HDR, 120fps or curved. Little or no time thinking if the money would be better spent invested in retirement fund, save up for that vacation, or spent it on gas for road trips during the weekend, or perhaps the money could go to build a family library. You decide how best to use your money, sometimes we are so set in spending money a certain way we fail to see better alternatives. We have limited funds, explore all the options.

Then “Did I do my best to make sure this purchase will make a positive impact?”. That new car you’ve always wanted will surely make a positive impact in life right? Perhaps not, it will definitely increase monthly car payment, more expensive insurance, maybe more on gas, a huge cost in depreciation, not to mention jealous coworkers asking “You got a raise or something?”. What about that 4500 sqft house? Perhaps you can afford it but how much of a strain would that put on your finances? Other costs like home insurance, possible renovations, heating and cooling bills and property taxes could become unbearable in the long run. Think beyond just the purchase cost, many major expenditures come with many strings attached.

Lastly “Did I make the best decision for the long run?”. When we buy a house we consider all sorts of things, thinking about all decision in terms of longer time helps us avoid decisions that only generate short term or immediate gratification. Like buying a piece of clothing that will be worn once then stashed away never to see daylight again, not the best decision, but if we spend money on high quality clothing and with good care will last us many years and will make us feel great each time we wear it, it may end up saving us money by reducing future purchases. Being cheap usually doesn’t save money, it might end up costing more in the long run. Buy for what it is worth to you, not the number on the price tag.

Did I do my best to make sure the purchase is necessary? Did I do my best to make sure this is the best use of my money? Did I do my best to make sure this purchase will have a positive impact? Did I do my best to make the best decision for the long run? These questions are designed not only to help with spending habits but also to tell us a bit more about ourselves. If we don’t know ourselves how could we be expected to now how to best use our limited wealth.

These are just a few things I find useful and helpful in my life, try them out for yourself see if it helps you. Remember also we are not our own slaves and nothing good comes from forcing ourselves to do things we do not want. We strive for balance for spending habits just like everywhere else in life.

Nickle and Dime

I asked my coworker today, who makes decent wage, pays little mortgage and doesn’t have car payments how much money he’s saving he said almost none.

It’s not uncommon, despite making a good wage very few of us end up with a steadily increasing saving. Why is it so hard to save?

“I would rather make more money than save more money!”

You have probably thought about that many raises ago and yet still have not find the money to save despite making twice as much or more than when you started. It is hard to save because our spending keeps up with our earning.

The hardest part is keep spending low even while earning increases, that is the only way to save. Surely we need some material goods to reward ourselves for a job well done, that is no problem on it’s own but becomes one when we make a habit of it.

Eating out once in awhile is a fantastic way to spend time with family or friends, but eating out three or four days a week it comes a huge drain on the good old wallet. Each meal averages out to about $60, three times a week is $200 per week and $800 a month, $9600 a year, almost $10,000 a year just by eating out three times a week.

Entertain at home is such a great way to have a fantastic time with friends and family without breaking the bank. While it does take more time and effort, but for me it is better. Not only does it cost much less, in my experience we always have a better time because we are in complete control of the environment, no noisy customers, no music that is too loud for you to hear yourself talk, and no waiting for the waiters to ask “would you like another round?”

The other thing is pack lunches, it seems like a bit of a hassle, but if you ever make dinner just make some extra and you have a packed lunch. Or try meal prep, I personally don’t do it. My wife and I make food for lunch about twice week, once on Sunday and once on Wednesday. If you can pack lunch 4 days a week, that’s anywhere from $40 to $80 saved, that’s $2000 to $4000 a year.

I like to buy whatever is on sale at the grocery store and build my meals based on that. For some people it’s hard, I think you can buy whatever you want from the grocery store as long as there is no eating out, cutting out restaurant would save a lot more than saving a dollar or two at the grocery store. At my local supermarket they clear out the unsold prepared foods by the end of the day around 8pm, that is usually when I go to the supermarket, lucky me. Sometimes I find meals with rice, vegetable and chicken for $3, that is pretty hard to beat.

Buy second hand stuff. Not everything is good for buying second hand, don’t buy underwear, or toothbrushes second hand. However just about everything else you can buy second hand. I won’t mention cars for now because I think that is a huge topic all on it’s own.

Books are the best thing you can buy second hand, not only do you get a deal, you can feel good about recycling, and sometimes there might even be a nice note on the first page or a bookmark. Another thing I love to buy second hand is electronics such as cameras, monitors, TVs, or even lights. it won’t be the latest and greatest but the hefty discount is totally worth it. Home decor and furniture are great to buy from your local thrift store or craigslist/kijiji.

I’m not suggesting not to spend money, just a bit of attention and care before spending will result in a much more responsible buying behaviour, saving money and reduce financial woes.

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Armed with these few tips you will sure to keep money in your bank account working for you and not working for someone else, you can also read about how to get your money working here: https://covertzebra.com/2018/02/17/116/

The Right to Write

I found this book on the shelf at my favorite lunchtime escape: value village. The title peaked my interest. “Right to write” it said on the yellow cover.

I’m not sure what made me want to read this book, but I like all the words in the title: right, I love my rights; write, I would love to write!

The idea of right to write is we all have the innate ability and desire to write, to express our thoughts and ideas. It doesn’t really matter if anyone else is going to read it, it’s about getting thoughts out of our heads, in the process we are able to examine, digest and re-evaluate these words being written.

I liked to write, I also had the feeling I don’t know what I am doing. I wasn’t trained as a writer but I enjoy writing, expressing my ideas. I picked up the book in part hoping to have some of my own opinions validated and to learn from someone who has been in the trade for more than 30 years.

She provide tools at the end of each chapter for the reader can work on, like writing morning pages as she calls them, which I think is a fantastic idea I plan to implement into my daily schedule. If these tools are the only things I got out of the book I would be happy with my purchase, but the book has much more to offer. It’s written in a very casual and candid tone, feeling like chatting with a friend, the feeling I get from the book is the author wants readers to write with complete disregard for the outcome, the act of writing is the desired outcome.

We like people who are eloquent, same goes for writing, especially those write write well. I wish to write and maybe even write well, however the desire to write flawlessly sometimes hinders the act of writing, the feeling of “I’m not gonna write perfectly I might as well not start.” is also addressed quite nicely in the book, she suggest to write imperfectly, perfection is for later, but first, imperfection. It seems like such a simple thing, just like we don’t expect anyone to perform anything perfectly the first try, we shouldn’t expect first drafts to be perfect. This frees the mind up to write, instead of trying to consider how the writing is not perfect and how to fix it, write first, fix later.

I also like her approach of get started by writing about something mundane, the weather, what your surrounding looks like and that might lead to more interesting writings. Getting started is all the motivation you need, once started stopping becomes the hard part. It is something I have thought about myself but confirmation from an “expert” is always reassuring. Now I just write down whatever is on my mind, make sense or not doesn’t matter because I’m trying to get started or to record something in my mind for later use.

In the book she made another point I find very helpful. I always thought it requires large chunks of uninterrupted time to write, like taking a year off to work on a novel or more romantic version of that: locking oneself away in a cabin middle of nowhere. Julia wrote that this is not the case, she said to “steal” time to write. A lot of her own writing are done on stolen time, a few minutes here between chores, an hour there while baby sleeps. It may not seem like much but a few minutes here, an hour there adds up over time. I have benefited greatly from this, I had the same romantic idea of all writers must have vast uninterrupted time dedicated to writing, while this is true for some, but it seems for most, stolen time is the best and most practical way to lay down a few lines.

Whenever there is enthusiasm there is the chance for snobbery especially if there’s money to be made. People gets turned off by snobbery and think it’s not for them but for someone who is truly passionate snobbery is the worst enemy. Like pompous and condescending audiophiles or whiskey/wine sommeliers driving off people who want to participate because of a slightly twisted sense of superiority Julia, in the book, despises those writers who make it their mission to keep “normal” people away from writing.

Not everyone can be a great writer but everyone should write. Writing help us find out more about ourselves. It can also be an enjoyable activity, with your favorite beverage and some music it could be your zen and escape. We may never get a book published, but we all have the right to write.

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The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life
by Julia Cameron
Permalink: http://a.co/hCCpVoZ

Have a written plan

Why bother writing this down, it’s not like we would forget about our financial assets.

From going through the process myself not only have I learned more about myself, what do I want with my future, about different funds and investment option, but the most important is how much more I have still to learn.

The reason we need an IPS (Investment Policy Statement) is to have directions, thinkings and ideas on paper where it’s plain to see and easy to revisit and/or revise. When the ideas are just floating in our heads it’s impossible to scrutinize in detail because there is nothing solid. Once written down we can refer back to it when we need guidance and never have to run into any “I think that sounds about right.” or “I can’t recall but it might be part of the plan.”.

Directions and Targets

The first we should do is set up short term, medium term and long term directions, and set some realistic goals without which we would be lost.

I decided for me short term is 1-2 years, medium term is 5-8 years and long term is 10-15 years, this is entirely up to you, only you can decide the ranges that work best for you.

For my short term I want to buy another cheaper car, currently we have a lease (bad) that is coming to an end this year, it’s time to switch to a much more reliable and cheaper car. Medium term would be to have a kid or kids, maybe move, but that’s merely just a thought. The long term of course is to save enough money work becomes optional.

Financial Information

Once we know where we are going it’s time to decide what are we willing to do, by that I mean how much and how often are we going to contribute. I personally have decided to put aside $500 per pay towards investing, something you need to think about is of course the more you save, the more it grows the better it is for the nest but also it would limit your ability to have a disposable income. It is up to you to decide what is the number you are comfortable with. The idea is: invest early, and invest often.

Asset Allocation

Once we have decided where we are going and speed, we have to pick the vehicle that will help us get there and ones to avoid. It is also important to know the best investment you could make is to pay off high interest loans, such as credit cards, payday loans or any short term loans that have exceedingly high interests. Most investment “gurus” would tell us use low fee index funds and hold.

Also we have to decide what is our risk tolerance and what are we willing to be exposed to. With lower risk tolerance we would favor more bonds and money markets rather than equity. Exposure means are we looking for US market or global market? Do we want to invest in oil and gas, tech, manufacturing, consumer staples or financial services, there are many many areas to choose from, it is up to to us to decide what we are most comfortable with. I have chosen for myself a 100% equity portfolio including total market of US, Canada, europe and emerging markets, with an emphasis on US and Canada.

I picked 100% equity because I don’t have short term need for this money, I can afford to be a bit more risky. With total market funds I get diversity. Geographical diversity was considered as well, although Canada and the US is closely linked together, I might chose in the future markets that are not so closed linked.

Canadians it’s also important to consider RRSP, TFSA or taxable accounts. I have decided it is paramount to max out TFSA and then RRSP, you on the other hand might be in different situations and would adjust accordingly.

Review and Rebalance

For the average home gamer investor there is no need to pay attention to the market, make changes yearly or every six months, do not try to time the market or predict the market, many have tried, many have failed.

I have gone for a six month review and yearly rebalance regiment. It seems to make the most sense to me, reviewing every six month would give me a good idea of how my investments are doing and catch it fairly early if i made a bad call. Yearly rebalance would give me enough time to let the investments settle down a bit before i make any changes.

Final Thoughts

I am certain the document will be modified as I learn more.

We are all different, with different situations, it is up to us to add and subtract things as we see fit. The important thing is to have a written document with clear plan for our financial future so we have something solid to fall back on when the going gets tough. If the first iteration wasn’t as successful as we had hoped we can modify and change instead of starting again from nothing, keeping what works and throw away what didn’t.

This is the guide I followed (and general good resources): https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_policy_statement

Ask yourself

I came by the idea of active question in the book Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith.

Active questions are questions that put you in the driver seats, questions like “Did I do my best to define a career goal?” instead of questions like “Do I have a career goal?” that puts you in the passenger seat instead, making you someone going along for a ride with no control over where you end up.
When “Do I have a career goal?” is asked it sets in our mind a black and white situation with no shades of grey in between. What if I’m just setting up a goal or I don’t have a goal and is working on one? “Did I do my best to define a career goal?” is a much more involving question, it makes you think about your career goal, not only whether or not you have one but to think even if you have one is it the best for you? Could you improve on it? Is it time to change it? What’s the current situation with your career? It is a question that provokes and promotes active participation instead of a passive yes or no.
I’ve always thought and told myself that I have the power to change my situation because I can change the way I act in different situations and control the way I respond to the world.
Active question is a great way to have me ask myself or rather, remind myself that I am in the driving seat of my own life. Sometimes, maybe very often times it’s hard to realized you are actually the master of your own destiny. The world overwhelms us, could be too much to bare and it’s just easy to go with the flow and let the world take you wherever it decides. Active question is a good way to tell yourself “I may not be able to control the world but I can do something to get closer to the desired outcome.”.
I want to from now to set up a series of active questions to ask myself at the end of each day and I could score how well I did on each one. I don’t expect myself to be able to ace each question everyday, just trying, however, isn’t enough, not only would I have to try have to try hard, effort counts here.
I will score myself on how much effort I put in to each category and overtime I should be able to see if I’m heading in the right direction. The hard part would be to be honest with myself, and face the harsh reality that I may not be putting in as much efforts as I had hoped.
The questions:
“Did I do my best to eat healthy today?”
“Did I do my best to write today?”
“Did I do my best to be a better husband?”
“Did I do my best to learn something today?”
“Did I do my best to exercise?”
Start with the basics, I will be adding more as I find out more about myself and gain more experience. I am scared of these questions in part because I might not end up liking the answers I’ll have to give and in part am worried if I had just wasted my life before this. It is never too late to start, journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.