Sometimes I can't get over being a multimillionaire. In Korean currency, that is: there are about 1000 KRW to each dollar – so my Korean bank account has millions at the moment. It seems like so much, with all those zeros!
But actually, I'm living quite modestly, of course. And the stock market hasn't been my friend, either. Since my last comment on investments, some months back, things have been pretty level for me, but there's been no leap forward either. Ah well – it's all a bit like gambling, I suppose.
The point is (as I explained to my accountant): I'm kind of living a "vow of poverty" in a weird, nonreligious way. A secular monk. And I'm cool with that – I find money issues generally annoying if not downright depressing.
I did finally buy a new MP3 player yesterday. I got a tiny 2GB Samsung product called "Yepp." I knew I wanted to go "generic" – to avoid the greater and lesser Satans. Microsoft is the greater Satan, of course - and this requires no explanation. But many people don't understand why I consider Apple (and iStuff) to be the lesser Satan. I guess it's a matter of content over hype – I still harbor this old feeling of betrayal when the transparent, essentially "open source" hardware known as Apple II was replaced by the hyped-black-box concept called Mac. Apple II was my first computer. And I learned 6502 Assembly language on it, and how to hack Apple's DOS. It was a great learning experience and converted me, for ever and ever, to the open-box philosophy, vis-a-vis computers, anyway.
The weather has been steamy and summery lately, but today the humidity is lower and it's quite pleasant. I'm going to work at having a positive attitude, a la "The Secret" – so hyped by Oprah and on the internet.