Jan 2019: Arriving in Hawaii https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835183%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-iZmnA1n0bDZ&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Audio: Henry’s version of Air Canada’s safety video theme song - stuck with me the entire flight. Neutral about the safety video, loved the music. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIePCtyDBMZKp086ZHRUKw_iQNGoMBLBOUf9G6o3XOvOv40rorHyAdgERCDw0cI7lWbKd98SNjAFJQTdhvgJyrU7iU5YsQTKh2thf3t1ay5Ym1Phxx1o-zSVzg1JgyKPy1KXrHt4kV3lV/s1600/R0011435_20190112180327.JPG Hawaii: First Trip of the Year By the end of 2018, I sold almost all of my real estate portfolio. It wasn’t a hard decision. It was rather obvious to me that by mid 2018, price was over inflated thanks to cheap credit. When this happens, any black swan event - events with seemingly small likelihood of happening yet with devastating effect - could cripple the market overnight. I took the trip mostly to reorganize myself, as well as plan for the upcoming year. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNcZiaV7TWNQ8eUVakcQ8keoaaHUtX4LXnAtJgRvlAZH_OZ2DT_6ARl2PrV5O040iqTe4kcBsYuzZUd3w1fRJtOkvevwGqS0bORcmYfhayQB-ITuyBWylMG4t-McAc1SuQBuJN0sDJEo/s1600/R0011427_20190111130006.JPG Betting the Opposite I spent the majority of my trip driving around Hawaii, admiring breathtaking vista while just thinking by myself. It seemed like the world was telling me I made a mistake of selling. For one - the latest headline was how severe of a real estate shortage there was in the US. Many experts predicted that the US market could only go up, not down. On top of that, I learnt that one of my former partners bet on the opposite by leveraging a lot more and purchased several large offices since my exit. One of us must be horribly wrong - I thought. Time would tell. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4IoSBnhnVLPxr7IrpRjN3XovdsYJ1rCCWrBsLkPRi7ecHgtHvIsto7JlXlgG7qRmBpMfqepBPJXmjMhf-h_LWk__chCKj5qZwKnVhWvIu9owiHjnCqvxpmbM2LQD8-bGf8uW7QfVjz9E/s1600/R0011447_20190114171552.JPG Shifting Priorities Towards the end of my trip, my belief on exit was firmer than before. History showed that black swan events happened more routinely than people think. While I was definitely a lone voice on this, I didn’t mind that. I decided that instead of real estate, I would spend majorities of my 2019 working on few nonprofits that I cared deeply about. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialxxFeJ90ySgVp77U-cENMq-mZySZ3KRCyKnT5NGBtN2o0Jodah9zYApBgACIKqYfk-EgdE3Qsoj8bFsVsdgLS8qkEcqXDELZoj_VAL6uxoMeiwuuDn_aZi7U9xKTDBafTgIY1TPSW74/s1600/R0011443_20190114094431.JPG Philadelphia Futures https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835732%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-MRdDr1fktrs&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Audio from Michael’s 2019 Philadelphia Futures’ Graduation https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAOw-IyfDuV2Wav7WcycEKJygCYw9ldThZ74P1NAYBlJz-DFc8cTOuhAGHxcKt1z9oEp2uwb0KuD_750ozRnV4zTmIkQCvWjWZZ0Kgcch-Jo3jLO7a__EztLDDfxkIS1k354IqCFH3nM/s1600/IMG_20190105_125944.jpg 2019 Philadelphia Futures’ Annual Conference Jan 5, 2019. Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA Working With Michael I joined Philadelphia Futures as a mentor shortly after my own college graduation. I was paired up with Michael ride away. Sure - there were some speed bumps here and there, but I was truly lucky because Michael was incredibly easy to work with. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZ_w8pRacpICc-g4UhJMUBmebxNsyVYc_CsXNm1854s7VtxylHZE_AgNUxbPNHc_MN-ofmt9sKuyjdIdtbQ-7pUA3H1mxq_y-_Bq_aCCUXb7UOKl8hFRtHwueqH70JdwuChl5heZH8l0/s1600/fullsizeoutput_289c.jpeg 2019 Love Your Park Cleanup May 11, 2019. Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA College Application 2019 2019 was an important year for Michael because he was a senior applying for colleges - a true test to see if Michael’s past few years of hard work paid off. I was afraid that Michael wouldn’t get into any colleges he wanted to go to. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWpXQdfHDGds6ye9E7yLmF8RSoPifNivO76dWgD179-wuna17fmJr0UCvFyxXQi5yknPLxE8cel5LOFzdezvl0lRyNOQwDLEqHVqQryeV-Z0nxz2Bm15H-FqZvJ1D8UP0RbZs9OX0U04/s1600/DSC06179.JPG 2019 Philadelphia Futures Graduation June 5, 2019. Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania “I’m So Proud of You” Turned out, I was flat wrong - and happily so. Michael not only got into schools he initially wanted to go to, he actually got accepted to every single school he applied to. All with generous offers. I remember at the Futures’ graduation I gave him a big hug, and tried to hold back my tears... I told him that I was so proud of him. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEzCX1sOiuW9A7Qas-qY6G7Dui-l0MqOfJjYMmiQlN9B9ZmOPMbOCPbBVD9k2UDUGgkfeVybZWX2RhSc34upQ6r7In_1dny_hcVk2wSVPcMz4KQ-cY3hvuHoFG7DI0CmiEUaC6i_IfAM/s1600/IMG_20191129_181757.jpg Michael After His First Semester in College Nov 29, 2019. Philadelphia, PA NYU Philadelphia Alumni Club https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835153%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-e9nbs1okEuA&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Audio: Henry’s version of Empire State of Mind (Jay-Z, 2009) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_Jj_8VgymHiJleJV45Hq5j-FC1srRE0mXtQ8lvC9d6KHdg4mgwhskcA2eqqxly3Uxt_S-7JtZYG2AdsBforuLU2HymlIwEr6y8QkmUgE4WLOpbzQQMHX4dGMw4Kft2wwmD3gTuNmF3A1/s1600/IMG_20200105_221946.jpg Joining Alumni Club Partly because I missed my college days and still wanted to be a part of the NYU community. I joined the Philadelphia chapter of NYU alumni club and became the president of the club around the middle of 2018. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGgFLeVtmgv8sKnReC5iVaoC3v4TUoTccoiOYHFdDpCqyKUkpoz_k_OqVBu0GQfJHmjpqyE7YPYsDo9beb7PAtdmnhPUs77exF9_DkNd7uptNM9RxsnIxOZ-EbZQmw5XQXn7zc-4MgBI/s1600/49686442_2861971547150019_7198684785202429952_o.jpg Alumni Club Skating Event Dec 23, 2018. Dilworth Park, Philadelphia, PA Initial Hard Start At first, it was difficult to run the club because I didn’t know what would be the right format for an alumni event. I had to do many trials and errors. Take the above photo for example - still prominently displayed on our Facebook page - vast majorities of participants were my friends, not NYU alumni. I had to drag my friends last minute due to so little interest in the event. Turned out skating wasn’t popular - who knew. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmmlU3bVWIWjG0JO8ynhSFIxUk5KmdjYdjpCKJo8nCWxlBrpsRe7d5F7bvvGIGnYp7QJYVO40ciGm5ZsitkRXoLovL6lb1G5JK-xGa0qjQCqnvuPVuIxy-9XEa1avWBtqR1Fvyk_f84Q/s1600/IMG_20190126_133521.jpg Alumni Club Ski Trip Jan 26, 2019. Spring Mountain Adventure Growth in 2019 We finally settled on a happy hour format in 2019, and we saw participation grow steadily from there. From just a few people initially, we began to see 6 people, 9 people… to eventually consistently getting 30+ sign ups for every event. And of course, I had to thank my fellow Philadelphia Alumni Club leaders for this - they made my life as the president easy. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NVxx66xikXKNhlQeN9N21A9g5hBxv2QWMaBiUWlD4CSpAOW-Ef8dQAoi5S_gZC8QVAxJQm9MxaHsoOU2maOLnNyoz_FigOdckwpkNa7ULtQFAupRjXYhJ6g5fNryQ9-l0F8SUjYAfMQC/s1600/DSC06498.JPG Walnut Street Theatre https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835096%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-QOOlQgf3zfz&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Audio: Henry’s version of What I Did for Love (A Chorus Line, 1975) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUIZsBfMYaSNegt3zfXv7mfydKIykavv3u0pX8kRQ_LrKGgKqSWdxzbAsN5fWSMkDmmxxauF4fJLFqTQ1NyHZcOr3ftDsvwOLyJ51NDEUSpcCa6vUXr9z8NixpHpIRGmvNE74UMWRYj0/s1600/DSC06487.JPG A Dream Come True I got involved with the Walnut Street Theatre by the end of 2018. It was truly a dream come true because growing up in the Philadelphia region, I would always take the train downtown to see Walnut shows. As someone who has seen hundreds of Broadway shows, I could say without hesitation that a Walnut show would be on par, if not above a Broadway equivalent. In terms of production value in the Philadelphia region, Walnut was definitely in a league of its own. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTRXonCqcoT1Dd9JGiGOiQdgLxEOGtEPhv6VV66CEi4hVtzUOrBz1UHPIeMICJscaFy4jRr04vaF0xYlbcUUb2H8PEyyybpax5W_895GY08R-SuZoOe0iFvH3HAcBkRY1T-94aaVkg-w/s1600/DSC06486.JPG A Full Workout in a Suit There were many perks I enjoyed while being involved with the Walnut. The occasional last minute center orchestra seats or the occasional “Hi Henry! Nice to see you again” greetings as I walked into a Walnut show. But I think I’ll forever remember helping out during Walnut’s 2019 auction wearing a suit while running around the entire theatre. It was a full workout, and - lesson of the year - suits definitely weren’t designed for this. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPgDd-4hbVRxL9GO4MXfL7-xqTfhcCaovnLcGk92c_IaZvchlBs4bT66qa_cvQj4DaA65JQaUtck2k7c_LLXiB4z5FKzZRIIQysP8HiN_kcWe439vfcqxgwsuprvHVMWgF-tcYXLvWQI/s1600/DSC06428.JPG Walnut Young Leaders But the main project I worked on was the Walnut Young Leaders. The program was created a long time ago, but hasn’t been active in recent years. The theatre was interested in reviving it. We spent many hours and many emails discussing what the revived Young Leaders should be. Finally, we launched the revived Young Leaders towards the end of 2019. Only time would tell how sucessful the program would be. But I do have something to show for - my name is now on the last page of every Walnut’s main production playbill. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6kxbtfeMe1xDueYdTnr4jsP2XZkQ-Rok2Uy46HHwA1ocWfuNitkZzRdxhXT0zAekz0YKIVlcbISB09usHVyXacbYWDF8M-836G2_witwVzm1lYhXOWB1_RqdZOKrzXrYrw_lB_gciSk/s1600/IMG_20191003_182450.jpg Walnut Young Leaders Council Oct 3, 2019. Walnut Street Theatre Rehearsal Studio, Philadelphia, PA Dec 2019: Arriving in Asia https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835108%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-BIVVjX2ouH2&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Audio: Henry’s version of Tonight (Kumiko Yamashita, 1991) from an inflight movie Dance With Me (2019). The tune stuck in my head during the entire trip. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInRMH4l0e3Pv62LgYKSWY8HDc4QzSMABrMusHHA6_cAy_HGGH6E9nc6YCReoXw5DH6g0V4lAlHd5oxiSViitHP8BoBJeZc4GmfjeGq0UPhOuqWn6I49aQJqtSnMw2xA9rRlKzFCrSGRNz/s1600/R0011738_20191218005231.JPG iREX 2019 Dec 18, 2019. Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan. Asia: Last Trip of the Year My last trip of the year was Asia. Partly thanks to jet lag, I spent most of my time walking around Tokyo and Taipei by myself, reflecting on my past year. While I was happy that many of my hard work in nonprofits had come into fruition, what was on my mind - similar to the Hawaii trip I took at the beginning of the year - was still the real estate market. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqC_t9ubCR-Kikm7mVpNYtyZElwVD49UnZ71_07BODbwGB4Kcl4tZ_C6ER0cubww0WH-ZJsUaYBE6q9Tu9yXSegJdlHj4jvclep2Yi6BMilNigoEC-FyyAFtmvg64X-mnrOqAyNjl1vc/s1600/R0011743_20191218054827.JPG Tokyo Stock Exchange Dec 18, 2019. Tokyo, Japan Still a Lone Voice Since my Hawaii trip at the beginning of the year, the US real estate market value has only gotten higher, as people from all walks of life have joined the craze. Even my gym started playing HGTV (ughhhh) in the background. Airport lounges began filled with newly minted house flipping paper millionaires. But as soon as they heard my view on the current market, “no disrespect to you” said one such millionaire to me bluntly, “but your thought on the market was flat wrong - things could only get better from here. I see absolutely nothing that could possibly derail this market.” https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMS1lwFtSIl-PStJWjvFThDrBBrETGFBXW-UjhSxTbwdHKHJWK8Ks1CTqfWT5stxc_FnpSydYOC3ZCi9ShOOHLZ07yx7x8dMkMNIDsxwmtyXw-aLDUG1X0D8_8K3Mj8tmvSihW47xrX8E/s1600/R0011809_20191223211050.JPG Taipei 101 Dec 23, 2019. Taipei, Taiwan Looking Into the Future On my return flight from Taipei, I thought hard about what my 2020 would look like. It was a hard question, but I knew two things for certain. I knew that black swan events happened frequently throughout history. Investing always has been more of a philosophy than a science. While I would never know what the next such event would be, I knew following the event, when the opportunity came - and only the right opportunity came - I knew I’d be ready. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZ_J05uJS-FRO1I5E28S3CcxExr9RtBP00gFaPpE7MA7txgZBcC3d-b-e0uH_VPCvaCPeg_XFou2rDLPfb6AYYxFBjSkHdR6UqSv6Gw0uh9UAQc8FJZtbCUvDg-sjUVm1XqQ_Wmt4pvPm/s1600/IMG_20200104_072355.jpg Misty With Low Visibility: First Photo I Took in 2020 Jan 4, 2020. Philadelphia, PA “...There Are Known Knowns…” https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/861835132%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-o0AnIAb8N6H&color=%233a3a3a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=false&single_active=true Feb 12, 2002. United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Transcript: “...because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know... And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones…”