NevBlog

Neville's Digital Surrogate Brain

Archives for January 2005

How To Get "Stuff" Done

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Sometimes I will find myself with a great business idea and never carry it through. These ideas are put on the back burner when things get busy and then lose their steam. This is common among people who are busy or have other ideas to pursue….and unsuccessful people. I will not let myself land up unsuccessful in the longrun.

I’ve noticed what happens:

The stages go:

-Great idea pops into my head.

-Getting excited about it.

-Working out the details.

-Only partially following through.

-Putting the project on a temporary hiatus.

-Never completing the project.

-Regretting never completing the project.

What I do now is FORCE myself to get the project done. I should have fully designed Resumite’s over 2 weeks ago, but haven’t. So on Monday morning I will put up all my flyers around the UT campus, and be “forced” to design the rest of the site so people will not see a shody website.

I also did this to learn about stock. I simply bought some stocks, and since my own money was on the line, I learned VERY quickly how to valuate a company, read financial statements etc.

Writing NevBlog greatly helps. When I post my goals, everyone can see them and question if I have completed them in time. When people mention my name, I want to be known as some who can GET THE JOB DONE.

Desperate for Ca$h?

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College students always need more money. They will do anything for a few bucks. After I’ve blown all the money I set aside for spending and I need more (without wanting to touch my spending account), I go to the psychology building on campus.

Why you ask? Because they regularly hold experiments there on a daily basis which you can walk into, and an hour later come out $7 – $10 richer! I generally have an hour break each day, so if there is a 45 minute experiment, I can participate and collect my reward (in cash) just in time for class!

The experiments are generally very easy and sometimes include free food. It’s just one easy way of making a few bucks during a break!

Risky Business

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I went to my first day of motorcycle safety class today! In two more sessions I will have an ‘M’ license!

The people you meet at random things like this are amazing. Sitting next to me happened to be a full time lobbyist at the capitol (which is two blocks from my campus) who knows all sorts of senators and congressmen. Powerful contacts can surprise you at any time!

The picture is of me on a Suzuki Hayabusa, the fastest production motorcycle in the world.

As for business progress: I am formatting flyers for Resumite to comply with campus standards, updating my own resume and updating my website: Neville Medhora

University Investors Association

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On Tuesday I joined the UT University Investors Association. I went to the info session, met a lot of intelligent, like-minded people and liked what they do.

I am also a member of Texas Entrepreneurs, a very active entrepreneurial society at UT.

The best part about these organizations is the people they attract. In a university of 50,000+ students, only the most motivated come to these meetings. They are not mandatory like classes, which automatically weeds out non-motivated people and they facilitate real world learning.

Stock Portfolio Update

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I am at a loss in my longterm portfolio right now. Just a few months ago I had a nice profit, but things went awry for the Syntel (SYNT) and Dynegy (DYN) stocks. I’m not worried, because I’m holding all of these (except for Syntel) for 3+ years.

Here is a snapshot as of 01-24-2005 of my longterm portfolio:

Bought GE

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I bought 30 shares of General Electric (GE) at $35.50 for my longterm portfolio. This was only a $1,075 purchase of stock, but I’ve learned to place several smaller orders at different times rather than one big order.

This purchase was slightly before GE reported earnnings, stating an 18% increase in revenue.

Looking back at this post, it is clear why I want this company in my longterm portfolio. GE is involved in everything from MRI machines to jet engines.

I will add to this position as the market dictates.

Fortune Finds Fortune

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I bought Fortune Brands (FO) at $76 yesterday, in light of recent earnings, it has jumped to the $79 range.

I plan to hold onto this stock for years to come, and add to my position at times…so far it is off to a great start!

The price will slightly drop after all the earnnings hype goes away, but in the longrun I have a lot of faith in Fortune Brands.

Here is a one week chart of FO:


Getting Nothing Done

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I’d like it to be publicly known that my 3 hours of work today were COMPLETELY WASTED.

I work the night shift at the UT Law School computer lab for a few reasons:

-Very cool boss (who I only see on Friday)

-At night no one is there, so I have very little actual work to do (basically none).

-All the free computers, scanners, office supplies, printing etc. I ever need.

-Get a couple of rooms to myself with an enclosed office for talking on the phone.

-Flexible hours, but I usually keep them routine so I can work at nights.

-I get to do whatever I want and get paid at the same time. I usually get all my homework done, along with any web design etc. at work.

I get paid a paltry $7.32 an hour, but considering I get to do whatever I want while on the job, it is a perfect job for a student that needs the time!

The point of this post is: I am graduating in 5 months, and I need to UTILIZE EVERY SECOND to be financially stable by then! So these wasted hours need to stop!

Stock Update

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Today I woke up to place an order for Fortune Brands (FO), and Ameritrade had changed it’s site layout!

I struggled for a few minutes to put in a quick order at a low price, but it didn’t happen. NOW I know how to use the system properly.

I ended up buying 20 shares of FO @ $76. This is a long term position I will be holding for several years. I plan to hold FO and GE for 5+ years, adding to the positions if they are strong.

I still have a limit order open to buy 30 shares of GE @ $35.

Server Screwup

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I’m still not sure how or why, but NevBlog DNS entries on my server changed, thus leaving the website inaccessible for a few days.

Since then, school has started, I’ve spent over $300 on books…grrr.

Some entrepreneurial adventures will start next week for me.

Speaking of entrepreneurship, my old roommate started a small company called Grade-A-Books. He basically buys back old college text books, then sells them cheaper than the University Co-Op (The bookstore which has a complete monopoly in the area). With a decent investment amount and a lot of organizing and time, he has successfully become a book dealer. Congrats to him! Not many other college students will rake in a couple thousand dollars in a few days!

As for now, I have to get back to reading. It seems this last semester will be my most work intensive yet….but there is ALWAYS time for making some more money!