Soapbox Time

What is this? A post midweek. Yeah. I figured, "What the heck".

Not much new trading-wise. Monday and Today were lame. I made some big mistakes each day that cost me hundreds of dollars. I guess that is the nature of the game. I ended up around $150 each day, though, so I will take it. Yesterday, I made some good money with the Fed announcement. At first after the announcement, the market took off, so I was able to get in a couple of stocks long. Then about 5 minutes later, it went straight down. I was able to sell for a profit and reverse my position short. All in all, I made around $700 yesterday. Not bad considering that I was in the hole at lunch time. I am still trying to find a way to break out though and consistently profit $500/day. That is my goal. Stay tuned for the progress.

So, the title of this post is "Soapbox Time". I figured I would rant a little about schools and education. For those of you who don't know, my wife decided to coach and teach again this year. NO ... she is not quitting real estate, but considering the market was slowing down, and I switched jobs, the decision was the best one for us. At least we would have 1 stable income in the family :-). She is still going to maintain her real estate license and practice in her spare time for family and friends, so in case anyone is in need for a realtor ... hint, hint ... just let me know. Anyway, I digress.

One of the things my wife is very good at is motivation. She definitely has kept me going through my hard times with my former employer and early on with my trading. She always seems to know the right thing to say to make me want to do better, and for that, I am greatful. This year, the motto she created for her volleyball team was "Army of One". She had some camouflage shirts printed up with several of the lines from the Army's "Soldier's Creed". All the girls were really pumped up about it, but ... guess what? The administration got wind of it, and nixed the idea of the girls every wearing the shirts when representing the school. The excuse: " Given the current conditions in the world, we feel it would be inappropriate to have our kids representing the school in such attire."

Honestly, give me a break!

What is the school's mascot? Crusaders

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The Crusades were expeditions undertaken, in fulfilment of a solemn vow, to deliver the Holy Places from Mohammedan tyranny. Since the Middle Ages the meaning of the word crusade has been extended to include all wars undertaken in pursuance of a vow, and directed against infidels, i.e. against Mohammedans, pagans, heretics, or those under the ban of excommunication.

The crusades themselves were wars, and by having such a mascot, is the school not glorifying violence and war (allbeit for the sake of Christ)? Seems like a little bit of hypocrisy to me.

And as for the shirts potentially mocking the current situation in the world. Sure I could see that. I can also see that it is a constant reminder of what we are facing and the everyday struggles that exist in the world. It totally depends on how you spin it. It could have given the girls on her team a new respect for the freedom they have and the sacrifices others are making to protect those freedoms. But, instead, like almost everything that is presented to ANY school administrations, the worst possible scenario is always played out and good ideas are always suppressed. ALWAYS.

We wonder why our school systems underperform? Simple, it is because administrations stifle creativity in order to be politically correct. As a result, innovation is discouraged. You can only be told "NO" so many times before you quit bringing up ideas anymore, and then you become part of the system. I tried to be a teacher, but it didn't work. I got sick of all the B.S. which is 10 times worse than what exists in Corporate America. Not only do you have to answer to the administration, but you are also a servant to the parents. Often times, the best interests of the two are conflicting. Oh ... and don't forget the kids because that is who you are really doing this for ... yeah right. That is who you should be focusing on, but the administration will rarely ever let you. Maybe this is another reason deep down inside that I don't want to have kids ... I have no faith in America's education system. Public or Private.

If I ever had to leave trading and I had to choose between returning to my former employer and going back to teaching, the decision would be easy! Hands down! The tech job ... because of situations like I described above.

OK ... that is enough preaching from me this evening. I will leave it at that.