Kagurazaka

I found an apartment in the same aread the very next day knowing that my application of my first choice has been rejected because I cannot produce a Japanese guarantor. It is so true that when one door is close, the other door would be open! I am a bit stressed but never despaired. It is indeed very xenophobia for the Japanese landlord, but what can I do? I am living on the Japanese soil.

Work is still easy going on my part as I am in the transiting period. It is not yet very demanding. At the same time, I am beginning to lose faith in what I am doing. Risk management seems like a biggest scam in financial history. Credit derivatives allows traders to transfer credit risk form one institue to another, and, how to assess the fair value of the credit risk is still unknow to most practicioners. The vendor and the bank's risk management are still bragging about how well we can help investors to figure out how much the credit risk is supposed to worth. This is just pure bullshit. No one ever predicted the sub-prime market was going to crumble when the central bank is tightening the monetary policy. However, it takes no brain to see when private equity firm gets easy money, they invested in almost everything. Does the risk assessment models tell people how risky it is? Yes, to some extend but people buy the risky assets? Oh yes, for the sake of quick bucks.

The private equity firms and others invested crazily on risky assets because the fundings were so easy, so cheap. If they lose out, no harm is done since the money were borrowed anyways. In this haydays, small fishes like me are swimming between the waves and lies to make livings. But I feel disguised.

Talking to the big guy of professional service from San Francisco, he has been bred and raised in technology since long ago. He mentioned Steve Job who has the miraculous charisma to his followers. As a example, Steve once lured the CEO from Pepsi (or Coca Cola? Don't remember) to work for him "Do you want to change the world or selling soda water?"

Are we changing the world? Or we just convince ourselves that we are?