Capital Restructuring

Arguably, we are in the worst recession since WWII; at least it’s the worst of our generation. The S&P 500 was recently down over 50% from its peak in 2007 only to recover a bit in the last few weeks. My 401K is literally, a 201K now. Unemployment in the US is creeping to 10% and Cisco is not stocking free sodas nor bottled water in the break room anymore; and I can no longer expense my DSL line or my ATT cell phone service.

If every company is “downsizing” or “realigning resources”, I think it’s time for my very own capital restructuring!

Here’s an attempt at breaking down my daily spending with an objective to cut down costs and minimize an effective budget.This is my personal budget and does not include my wife’s. Tao and I have daily philosophical debates on whether searching for alternative transportation in lieu of settling on taxi service is maximizing value. Often we end up agreeing to disagree but truthfully, these conversations leave me in a state of confusion, especially when she throws out MBA jargon like “You have to evaluate the Cost Benefit.” And what usually shuts me down is her favorite rebuttal “You have to figure out how to make more money instead of spending time figuring out how to save money.”

Here goes…Let me know what you recommend. I am taking a poll!

Getting to work at 4:30 AM

Options:

1. Walk to work ($0). Disadvantage – 15/20 minutes less sleep
2. Walk down hill behind the apt building and take taxi ($18HKD). Disadvantage – 3 minutes to walk down 10 flights of stairs and to the street where I could find more taxi cabs
   
3. Take taxi right outside the building ($26HKD). Disadvantage – High cost and not many taxi cabs pass by the front door of the building
   

Breakfast at 7 AM

1. Eat at Cisco HK ($0). Apparently, there’s no cost cutting in the HK office. Disadvantage – Only cookies, fruit and coffee/sodas are available
2. Eat at nearby HK cafes ($10-20). Disadvantage – High cost
3. Not eat ($0)
   

Getting off work at 11 AM

1. Walk home ($0). Disadvantage – Breathe in toxic smog, deal with the humidity, and the risk of getting trampled by the crowds.
2. Take taxi ($26HKD). Disadvantage - High cost
3. Buy a car ($1000000HKD). Disadvantage – Highest cost. People who can afford a car AND a parking space in HK usually buy at least a Maserati

Getting to the gym at 11:30 AM

1. Walk to the gym ($0). Disadvantage – Takes 15 minutes but I have to breathe in toxic smog, deal with the humidity, and the risk of getting trampled by the crowds.
2. Take taxi ($20HKD). Disadvantage - High cost
3. Walk down 10 flights of stairs and take HK Bus and walk to gym ($3.40HKD). Disadvantage – Bus arrival time is variable
4. Walk down 10 flights of stairs and take Tram and walk to to gym ($2HKD). Disadvantage – Tram is very slow, stops often and is open air which means toxic smog
5. Stay home and nap ($0)
   

Lunch at 1 PM

1. Eat on my own ($20-$30). Disadvantage – Usually not a balanced diet
2. Eat with friends/wife ($50-$100). Disadvantage – High cost
3. Walk to Cisco and eat more snacks/fruit/top ramen ($0, arguably this is a positive expense). Disadvantage – Have to figure out how to get back home.

Work again around 4 PM

1. Work at home ($0). Disadvantage – Not very exciting
2. Work at Starbucks or Pacific Coast Coffee ($18-22HKD). Disadvantage – A regular cup of joe costs $3 USD here!
3. Not work

Note: The remainder of the day is spent w/ my wife or friends so that budget is not as easy to control.

My choices are highlighted in blue. What do you think?

Cisco Hong Kong

Exactly two months ago, I went back home to Milpitas. Obviously, life back in the bay area is a lot more tranquil and easy, though life is borderline monotonous and repetitive. But it's home and nothing is better than having the opportunity to waste time playing cards with close friends, spending quality time with the family, watching the NCAA basketball tournament, and above all, joining the rat race at "normal" hours in the morning.

Now that I'm back in Hong Kong, I really appreciate everything back home has to offer. With that said, there are many advantages to living in Hong Kong. For one thing, working in the Hong Kong office is much more refreshing than working in San Jose . Back home, my view out of our 2-story building on Tasman Drive is Tasman Drive and the parking lot! Sometimes, on a lucky day, I get a glimpse of the Lightrail train.

In Hong Kong, my view out of our 50-story building on Harbour Road is a panorama Hong Kong harbor with all of its docked vacation cruise ships and cross-harbor ferries transporting visitors and locals alike between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.


Cisco has 3 floors in the Great Eagle center. It's the building with the Allianz sign on the top, right behind the Hong Kong Exhibition Center (the short dome sports arena looking building in the middle of the picture). See those two similar buildings, left of center? It's the one on the right. I work on the 28th floor, in an open work space.


This is the entrance to the main office. I think it's on the 30th floor.


This is the dining area. Notice the basket of fruits (In San Jose, this basket would be empty by 12pm!). There are lots of cookies, candies, even seaweed packages in the cabinets. There's an espresso machine (not pictured). The maids start cleaning at 7am in the morning (I know because I'm there 2-3 hours before they get there). The maids go around to every cube/office and collect the tea mugs for cleaning. That's pretty cool.


The first time I saw the vending machine, I thought I had to put in coins to get a drink. The only thing I get from here is Coke Light (aka...Diet Coke). Sometimes, I get Activ Water, which is water with electrolytes.


These are assigned cubicles for the local work force.


This is a typical HK breakfast. It's called Chan Dan Tone, Nai Cha, which is short for spam, egg, and macaroni soup with milk tea. All of that for a few cents over $2 USD. That milk tea is scrumptous...hmm mmm hmm. Not sure if the spam is healthy on a daily basis so I try to get it once a week at the most.


This is the view from the open work space. The building on the left will be HK's tallest building called the ICC.


Similar view but from a conference room. It's pretty peaceful sitting in the office alone at 7am in the morning, enjoying what's outside the window. Hard to beat this in San Jose don't you think?