Weekend Rain

It was raining very hard on Saturday but the climate cleared up on Sunday. I had planned to go to the nearby flea market but no one wanted to go. So I stayed home in the weekend although I drove my son to school on Saturday morning and to his football game in the afternoon. But the rains came down hard and the game had to stop. We went back home, and later went to church at 5:30pm. Afterwards we went to the gym and had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant on the way back home. I did not like the food much because it seemed to be made from those Asian easy-mix packages one can buy in the supermarket. We ordered Thai Red Curry Chicken, Penang Curry Chicken, Poh noodles with beef and meat balls. For appetizers, we ordered spring rolls and dumplings.


I think I need to plan these night outs every month to break the routine. My kids spend too much time in their rooms except when going to school or foot ball practice. I try to make sure they go to the gym every week so they can exercise and get out of their rooms. I still need to plan more activities to widen their social activities. This weekend I spent most of the time reading the books I borrowed and the watching the DVDs I borrowed. On Saturday morning, I went to the library close by and borrowed more movies. I think I borrow too much and have no time for researching the stocks I want to buy or start working on my novel.


I also took care of payments to my credit card account and realized that I need to fund most of my expenses from my salary. I still have some money and I think I will use a minor portion to fund some travels to California and Washington, DC. I think these trips will be good for my kids to hasten their acclimatization here. Strange that I always wanted to travel around, but now that I have the opportunity to do so, I seemed to have lacked the urge. I have more urges to start writing as if the cloud in my mind has been lifted so I can focus on the novel. I guess it is the zeitgeist here as well where every effort needs to have a productive outcome. Being idle is not something that is practiced here as everyone seems to be on the move.


I have installed the Nick Daws writing course and I plan to start going through the studies in the coming weeks. I think the seriousness of the writing craft is getting to me know and it’s only now that I appreciate all those books I have borrowed about the writing craft. I have audio copies of Ayn Rand’s ‘The Art of Writing’ and Stephen King’s writing memoirs. I understood these works on an intellectual level but I still need to practice them and understand the actual writing process. I think my main problem is my lack of confidence being my own worst inner critic and once I throw these restrictions away I will do well. In the back of my mind, I think that the writing process is not a difficult job after all considering all the things that I now know.

I think the most important effort is to control one’s mind into having a minimum structure or method to write. Once the mind is disciplined will it be able to move forward. I think I am starting to understand the type of discipline that is needed with my experience, readings and reflections. I think finally I have read the minimum required number of books and traveled the minimum number of countries plus having the appropriate minimum experience to have the confidence to write. I know there is still a lot of things to learn but I guess I have the appropriate equipment to start writing a novel. There will be many more years before one can become a good writer but at least I have the experience enough to start a first novel. I think the self-publishing website in the Internet has matured enough to provide a good spring board for a first novel.

Emotional Intelligence

There is a monthly forum scheduled by management where all analyst or project managers can meet and exchange views. There was one session where I attended this morning. It’s an interesting meeting where everyone is expected to share their views and experiences. I have been attending for past few months sometime remotely by phone. I like the meetings because I can speak and share my thoughts. I think I can express my ideas better now after my experiences in Toastmasters. I can also relate my experiences with the topic at hand because of the many challenges I had faced in the past. I am afraid that I may come across as a ‘know-it-all’ if I am not careful.

I like the whole idea of having these forums as a place to meet and exchange ideas. We never had this opportunity in the past. Oftentimes these meetings in Asia result in political battles where everyone draws his sword and fights. I can never shake out that feeling so I often come into the offensive, looking for other people’s faults and mistakes and striking at the jugular. But in fact, it’s a friendly meeting and I am afraid that I would say the wrong thing. In fact I kind of mocked the lady who was working on the business process. I liked her and I made a cheap comment just to get a laugh. I should not have done it for cheap thrills. I guess I am a marked man because of this statement as she is well-liked.

In fact, I liked her and she is often the person I can turn to because she is open and friendly. I have attended a lot of her classes and learned a lot from her. I realized that ones comments and actions are really taken into consideration by the people here. So one must be very careful in making statements or in doing things in the office. This is a rural place after all although someone from Asia may not think so. So I have to lower my profile and keep my head down. I think my intention is to make myself known and show my intelligence. But I have to be careful because it maybe mistaken for arrogance instead of a desire not to appear dumb.

I guess I am trying to say that the company did not make a mistake in investing in my transfer. I am trying to portray myself as being intelligent and competent perhaps at the expense of others as I have done in the forum. I guess that is the natural inclination. But I think the right strategy is to speak simply and not to make an effort to impress. I guess this is the normal challenge in trying to adapt. Most of the people freely express their opinions and I guess I try to analyze and make a smart answer or analysis. I guess I should stick to the expressing one’s experiences. The forum is a good exercise for me to express myself better though as I said, I should restrain my tendency to grand stand and dominate.

There is a difference between speaking freely and trying to grand stand and I often mistake the two and tread into the wrong line. I realize that this is what is perhaps called emotional intelligence and I should increase this intelligence plus the ability to express this skill correctly. For instance, I should have made a public apology to the lady just to acknowledge my mistake and assuage her feelings. I guess these are the social graces that indicate one’s emotional intelligence. This can only be made known by expressing oneself correctly. Perhaps this is the facet that I need to develop instead of speaking skills because I wonder if I still need to attend Toastmaster when I now speak well but lack the ability to express my EQ.

Group Think

I attended 2 seminars today in the office, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Yesterday, I attended another one on improving one’s project management skills. In all these training seminars, I attended them from my cubicle via phone conference and shared screens via the Internet or the company Intranet. I like the environment here where learning is actively encouraged and pursued. There also forums where employees can meet and network. Of course, there is Toastmasters as well in the company to develop ones speaking skills.


This is the main difference from my work in Asia. Although there are many opportunities for learning, it is not as well organized in a professional manner. One can attend much training in a month and it’s only ones ability to absorb the information that will inhibit you. With so much input and incoming information, the task of absorbing and synthesizing it into usable skills is the challenge. Once can easily lose his perspective and bearing. As my manager would say, it’s like drinking from a firehouse. He used that expression when he compared my challenge to absorbing all the information to be competent in my job.


There is a training plan devised for me which is supposed to make me competent in 6 months. The fact that there is a structured plan is a big departure from where I came from. Although not all the training opportunities will be seminars, one can use the guide to do ones own learning by looking for the presentations and Wikis that inhabit the company Intranet. Everything is made available in the net that one can easily educate himself on the job. For my example, I need to learn about the project, the application, the process and tools, the people involved and contributors. Learning all these in the space of a few months is really like drinking from a fire hose.


The best tools to synthesize all this knowledge is mind-mapping and also journaling. The first tool one gets to understand the relationships and the association of ideas. It helps one clarify the thoughts and concepts. The second tool allows one to reflect and focus and articulate ones thoughts in a structured manner. This helps in making one accept the incoming data. I guess my strengths identified by the Strength Finder are the right mix in these circumstances: Input, Learner and Ideation. Mind-mapping and journal writing are good aids to keep my mind working under properly. Otherwise, the result will be bewilderment and stress.

The greatest challenge for me is improving my emotional intelligence. I need to empathize more with the people here. I am afraid I may come across as being arrogant. for instance, I think my choice of words may not be appropriate and I often like to dominate the meeting and conversation. I need to listen more and respect other’s opinions. It’s a strange feeling because it’s like understanding the mind of the crowd. It is not the individual person that needs to be understood but the crowd being a collective but singular unit. I think there is a ‘crowd think’ and one needs to cater one’s response to the crowd. This is where great politicians excel and the challenge is to understand ‘group think’ in a new environment.

This is where Toastmaster may help me. Hopefully it will give me an opportunity to practice my empathy towards ‘group think’. In other words, to practice my skills to communicate empathy and understanding of ‘group think’ situations. By ‘group think’ I may mean the essence of democracy where every one has his own say but respects the rule of the majority. Perhaps majority rule is the so-called ‘group think’ and one should understand the synchronicity of thought. Oftentimes, I find myself in the opposite end of the prevailing wisdom so I have to be careful otherwise it maybe interpreted as aloofness and arrogance.

Adapting To a Different Work Place

At work, we are getting into the design phase. I am under pressure to complete the design document. I guess I am being tested to produce because I am the analyst assigned to this project. I have been here for about 6 months and I think I have achieved a small measure of respect with the tasks I am assigned to. I still have a lot of catching up to do but I feel that I have staked out my position and competence. It’s not really a difficult challenge as the folks around here are not demanding. One just needs to be present to achieve success. I guess some one famous mentioned that success is just showing up.


I like that because it connotes a very kind and forgiving work environment. One is given a chance to speak up and contribute. But I noticed the patience as well that everyone gives to each participant. They pause and wait and consider the other’s opinion. So sometimes I have to really control myself and let everyone speak. I have to keep silent and wait a few seconds more for others to express their opinion. Unlike in Asia, where everyone rattles off like a machine gun and every one should speak their piece immediately in case some one would utter a statement that would undercut you.


It’s different here because there is no cut throat urgency that I sometime feel back in Asia. Maybe it was because of the fast pace of life over in Asia or perhaps the easy going way of life here. I really like the atmosphere where there is no rush to get things done. People take their time not because they are slow but because there is virtue in not rushing to do things. Everything is well thought out and considered with everyone expressing their opinion. So there is a consensus that is reached instead of one making isolated decisions. I guess this is the correct way of working which I did not practice back in Asia and resulted in misunderstanding and arguments.


I guess I did not do what I am doing now because I did not feel that I had the support and encouragement back then. Somehow I seem to feel that I had to define the solution myself instead of asking contributions from everyone else. I failed in this respect especially in my projects with the boss man. I did not feel prepared to organize sessions with other contributors. Perhaps it’s because the segregation of work or maybe the roles or assignments are much clearer and well defined over here. It felt like a race then to get things done or one will lose credit. So other people would be doing your job instead of you. But here the roles are much clearer and I guess so is the pressure.


This is what it means to adapt to the work culture here. There is exhilaration along with the patience and respect but there is also pressure that one should contribute and deliver one’s assigned task. I still have trouble getting myself understood mainly because I talk too fast and jump to conclusions which the others have not reached yet. So the trick is to prepare the others to move along your flow of thought. So the challenge is to express your line of thinking so they can understand where you are coming from. I only realize it now because people here try to help you and make you understand how you can adjust. Empathizing with them is also a way of adapting to the local culture successfully.

Another challenge is to be included into the team who has been working together for a few years. So I guess it is a challenge of gaining credibility by showing one’s experience and competence. I am glad that my past experiences are helping now and I have reached an age where I can detach myself from my emotions and respond appropriately to the culture. But there is still a lot of self improvement and awareness for me to achieve but at least I am conscious of the situation and its challenges. Perhaps my coming experiences in the local Toastmaster will help me adapt better.

Spiritual Literacy

Last weekend I read an excellent article in The Economist about the failure of traditional economic theory to handle and manage the modern economy in it’s advance state. The failure seems to be in 2 areas namely, macroeconomics and financial engineering. It’s a good summary of the recent problems and a refreshing supplement to the recent book by the Wall Street Journal. I guess its good to know these things but not really helpful when one wants to know where to invest. So another article in Vanity Fair by the noted writer Niall Ferguson offers a good perspective on the crisis which may help one decide on where to invest. I always liked his books especially on the British Empire. He provides a unique historical view of the economic crisis with some insights on investment decisions.


It’s interesting to note that Ferguson seem to be implying that real estate investment is not a good alternative. He cites the works of Yale professor Robert Shiller which states that the value of real estate did not really rise dramatically when observed over a long period and when taken as an aggregate. Of course this may not be true for individual examples especially if one did not invest in places like California, Florida and Phoenix where most of the crises in mortgages occurred. The conclusion seems to be that real estate may not be a good investment when considering other options like stocks. One should only invest in real estate if one knows what one is doing.


Buying a house for living is another thing and I think one should own the house that one is living in. But to treat it like an investment, for instance, borrowing against rising equity may not be a good move. For instance, re-mortgaging ones’ loan does not remove the loan but increases it although one can make the argument that the extra money can be used to pay off credit card debt and used in other investments like the stock market. But at the end of the day this plan does not solve the root of the problem I think which is living beyond one’s means and living a materialistic lifestyle. I guess that is the main problem now where people may really need spiritual literacy instead of financial literacy.


I guess it goes back to the original investment vehicle of buying stocks. I guess real estate can be used if one earns rental income which can be looked upon as having one’s own business. But stocks seems to provide the more reliable return although the recent decline places doubt on this move. Here is where a new branch of economics comes into play the so-called behavioral finance. So I guess the best option is to invest in ETFs or mutual funds instead of stock picking if one is not an expert like Warren Buffet. Rounding out the picture I guess is one’s spiritual literacy. So the best investment advice maybe: to live simply (i.e. don’t overspend), live within your means, live in your own modest house and invest in ETFs or mutual funds.


The best investment solution of course is to own one’s business so there is a separate source of income aside from one’s job. Robert Kiyosaki’s advise leans towards buying real estate to rent to others or sold once the real estate value increases. But some forecast that property values will remain stagnant or will not increase in coming years unlike in the past. The Japan scenario is the frequently cited example. So my remaining strategy is to be a writer so I could try to earn money by writing books that hopefully earn money. I think I may have reached the stage that my journal writing and blogging have settled the issues of developing the proper writer’s psychology. Of course, blogging serves both goals of practicing creative writing and as a psychological outlet. Perhaps blogging maybe a bridge towards the next writing stage.

Initially I was driven to write to settle my thoughts, express myself and to handle stress. I never thought of writing in a structured way towards a creative output like a novel. It was a mystical experience (ha ha) at times and that I really did not develop a proper writing craft. So writing as a psychological release has now been distinguished from the craft of creative writing. I guess the psychological release can be addressed by other means which I have learned and practice like mind-mapping or visual thinking (to clarify and settle thoughts), tai-chi and exercise (to handle stress), and Toastmaster (to express oneself). So what is left is maybe a writing experience that can be leveraged towards the process of writing as a craft. I think this maybe the best chance to earn an alternative source of income.

Planning Ahead

The network is down this morning so I decided to write an entry. I played golf with my dad yesterday but he did not complete the last 9 holes. We started at the wrong time at about 11 am so we did not have a full lunch. My wife cooked us a burger sandwich but it was not enough. I continued the game with the 2 golfers who were paired with us at the start. They were young guys in their late twenties or early thirties and they were drinking beer the whole time. It was a nice game even though my dad was not able to finish. He is not his old self and he was moving slow in the course. I should have scheduled the game better taking his age into consideration. But I guess he enjoyed the clubhouse, sleeping in the porch watching the golfers while drinking beer.


We looked at some houses with the agent since Friday and I think it was a good experience. I wanted them to see the houses and the prices so they have an idea on the cost. It was a good chance for them to meet the property agent and realtor who are both lively and warm persons. There were some great properties especially the houses we saw yesterday. Perhaps I would have bought the property if my wife was in better shape last May. But I still think the townhouse was a good purchase and perhaps I will consider purchasing a property some 2-3 years down the road. My investment plan is still in place and according to my brother the property market would take until 2012 to full recover. He may be right because it seems to me that a lot of surplus properties still exist in the market.


We also went to my son’s soccer match on Saturday afternoon. It was a nice game although their team lost 4-1. There where parent who brought along their folding chairs and tents. My mom came with us and watched the game too. We all went except my dad who wanted to stay home and watch television. I got an extended basic program for cable TV so he can watch the golf channel. He also bought a lot of things from the television sales network like vitamins and gym stuff. I can’t help but think that he is spending too much in their situation being retirees. My younger brother has been critical of him and he is also here in US for a few weeks. He stayed with our eldest brother and they seemed to have reached an understanding regarding our dad.


The issue is that my dad wants to sell the old house where we all grew up and buy a townhouse in Tagaytay city where the weather is good and the food is cheap. But my mom, sister and younger brother don’t like the idea. My eldest brother and I were neutral although I think now my elder brother tends to agree with them. I guess it’s my father’s way of trying to have a new life in his twilight years. I don’t know if it’s too late with their health condition and so on. I am so detached from the situation in the Philippines that I am mildly interested only. I guess I am at a ‘great adventure’ at this point in my life. After the soccer game I bought a folding chair at Wal-Mart to be like the other parents who watch ball games at the park. I guess I am settling down to the local customs.

It’s hard to see one’s parent’s health decline in their twilight years. I wish we had the resources and the conditions to take care of them. This is one reason I am thinking of buying a house to take care of them in their old age. But I think they are still strong and vigorous for at least 5-7 more years before they need assistance. I hope that would give me time to save and prepare for any costs. At the end of the day, it will likely be in the Philippines where the care needs to be provided. So it will give us time to plan for any eventuality here. Hopefully my kids will have finished college while on the way to living their own independent lives.

Back to Work

The project manager was back to work today after resting from his assignment in Canada. He was sick for a few days after arriving last week. There were a few questions on his location in the past few days. Some speculated that he was out of the country, perhaps on vacation. Others speculated that he was really sick and could not be reached over the phone. I spoke to him on Tuesday morning when he called me. He asked me to set-up the meeting room for a session he scheduled at 9am. He attended remotely from his house I assumed. He was absent again the next day which forced us to cancel a meeting we had scheduled with another contributor.


Rumors can really fly when one does not inform others of their location. My other boss was wondering why the project manager was not yet at the office when his initial plan was to be back last week. So that may have triggered a lot of speculation especially when my other boss was asking some questions on certain purchases he made. I guess my mind went into ‘conspiracy’ mode again as I tried to decipher the meaning of the absences and queries. After a while, the business leader came around and suggested to cancel the scheduled meeting with the contributor due to the absence. When I saw the project manager back in the office this morning he apologized and wished we did not cancel the meeting on his account. What a merry go round!


We also had a meeting this morning with the team in France. We are now in the midst of the design phase and a series of meetings are needed to flesh out the details. I find myself leading the other small project due to the other large ones that my boss is focusing on. I find that all the lessons I have learned are now important. Most especially the manner in which projects are conducted that my good friend taught me long ago in the Philippines. He is now way up in the organization and he, in fact, delayed the major project we are working on here. But he eventually approved it last Tuesday to move forward (in fact during the meeting that my boss asked me to arrange). Everything is truly connected like a circle.


I guess I am also being put to the test. At least to try and lead the project considering the scarcity of resources and the focus on too many project by the team. The skills that are lacking here are leadership, functional and technical skills. I guess leadership also includes a slew of complementary skills like coordination, communication, clarity and other such interpersonal skills. I am comfortable in this role and I find that my training on the new company process is bearing fruit as well. In Asia, I was maybe middle to low specialist but now I find myself near the top of the field. I guess the old adage is correct wherein one should always strive to be prepared. I am now in a situation where all my skills and experience are being put to the test.


Strangely moving here to the US has also required me to exercise all my knowledge. for example, buying and driving a car, going about using GPS or maps, working with different agencies to get things done (from my sons college requirements, to selling a house, etc.), looking for and buying a new house, learning all the software applications that is needed here at work and life, going around seeing the places and so on. Modesty aside, I think it needed a virtuoso performance to move ones family here and prepare the groundwork to gently adapt them to the local environment. A soft landing as I would describe it not only for my family but also for myself when working with my new colleagues and work environment. I guess it is still too early to tell and I guess the pressure and the challenges will soon increase as more work comes my way in the coming months.

Financial Literacy

I just joined the local Toastmaster club in my company. Their meetings are held in the company auditorium. It’s a small club but the quality of the speeches and evaluations are not bad. The club president is the district governor or something and she is the chair person for the conference to be held in nearby Spartanburg. I think it will be a challenging experience for me. I cannot say enough of the benefit that one gets in Toastmaster. The transformation is subtle and the skill and confidence that one gets is not available anywhere else.

Yesterday I started studying the investment options for me. Normally, for people where investing is not a profession, the usual recommendation is to buy Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs. It’s the safest option with the less risk. I did some research by just searching via Goggle the best of the best ETF’s. I got the prices of these ETFs and got a short list by picking the ETFs that seem to be on a few experts lists. The popular ETFs are: ETFs based on overseas stock, ETFs based on GOLD and ETF’s based on preferred stock of financial firms. I took the prices of these ETFs from Yahoo and they are not cheap. Some ETFs based on Japanese and Chinese stocks are cheap though and maybe an attractive choice.


Next I compared the stock prices of stocks that met my criteria. I used Yahoo Finance screener which is quite a powerful tool. These types of tools exist in private or fee-based features of banks or brokerages in Singapore. But it is readily available to the public here in the US. The prices of some stocks here are more reasonable as compared to the ETFs. For instance, blue chip stocks (high cap, low P/E ratios, high dividend yields) like Comcast or Disney or even Microsoft seem to be at relatively attractive levels as compared to ETFs. So I am now at a quandary on what investment option to choose. From my experience, I have been modestly successful in price appreciation of m mutual fund investment, while I have done poorly on my stock investments, although I have had a good dividend yield.

I guess in the recent years, most investors would have done poorly considering the recent global economic problems. I had chosen this stock traded in the Singapore exchange using the same data mining tools existing in Yahoo Finance. I had chosen the stocks that where high caps, good dividend yields and at a cheap price, i.e. below SGD $ 5.00. These stocks have given a modest dividend yield when compared to a savings or money market account. But the stock prices have disastrously tumbled along with the rest of the world. So I guess the decline in stock values was not a problem in my choice but phenomena experienced across the board in world wide markets. On the other hand, my mutual fund investments have struck out evenly despite the decline though the jury is still out.

So I will do a little more reading, researching and studying before I finally proceed. Other questions still need to be ironed out: how to I invest, where do I invest and in what amounts. These days the USD $ dollar is declining and the price of Gold is skyrocketing. The oil price is also going up. Usually Gold and oil price increase mean that money is leaving the stock market and moving into commodities especially with the decline of the USD $ dollar as more articles predict. So the bearish sentiment in the stock market may indicate that it’s a good time to go in and buy now. So the choice is either ETFs or picking stocks which I need to determine soon.

I am glad I have increased my financial literacy for me to understand these things. Aside from a natural inclination as well as my academic degree, reading books my Robert Kiyosaki, Benjamin Graham (mentor of Warren Buffet) and George Soros have been helpful. Now it’s all about action and the implementation of one’s training and knowledge. I guess this will be the major themes for me for the short to medium term: increasing my financial literacy towards the US market and increasing my speaking skills with an American audience. Other themes I would continue to pursue are project management and writing although I did not join any local PMI chapter but instead just start reading the magazines.

Festival of Apples

Yesterday, Labor Day holiday, I brought my folks to Hendersonville. It was the annual Apple festival. Main Street was closed off with lots of stalls offering local food for sale. There were also stalls offering some local artifacts. An office mate of mine lives in Hendersonville and I now understand why. I always thought that Asheville was a better city to live in but Hendersonville offers a more pleasant environment. Main Street was lined with a lot of interesting shops and I bought a few sweaters for my kids. I liked the crowd here than in Asheville because they seemed to be more down to earth and homey. I guess Asheville is a more lively and seductive place.

My folks also bought some shirts, shoes in the General Store. It was a large store which also offered some hiking gear. During the weekend I watched a 2 DVD film called ‘Appalachian Impressions’ which was a good feature on the hiking life. It satisfied my curiosity of hiking the Appalachian trail from end to end. If I was younger, I would have planned to travel the whole breadth of the trail but I would need to get myself to a more fit level. I liked the section in the film where the hikers would go to the small towns along the trail and have breakfast or dinner at the local accommodation offered to hikers. Small towns quite like Hendersonville and Asheville.

I like these small towns and the interesting festivals that they have like ‘Belle Cherie’ or ‘Festival of Apples’. There was a parade in the afternoon and my folks and I had a nice time watching it. We had lunch at the Japanese and Thai restaurant where my dad ordered stir fried pork while I had Green Chicken curry. The parade started at 2:30 pm a few minutes after we finished our lunch. It was a nice view of local American life. Both Hendersonville and Asheville don’t give out a vibe of the South but more about mountain life like in Colorado or Montana. It was the cold air and the surrounding mountains that gave out this feeling. The first place where we stopped was the sweater store with some surplus US military stuff which was why some of the items were cheap.

Veterans of past wars like Korea, Vietnam and I think World War II participated in the parade and people would stand up and applaud which was touching. One could feel the respect and admiration from the people when these old soldiers walk past. The veterans were grateful for the applause. There was less applause from the soldiers of recent wars and from the local political parties although there was some response from the crowd for the local Republican Party. I liked the old cars, motorcycles and tractors that joined the parade as well as the local high school bands and cheer leaders. It was a touching display of local life.

Last Sunday, we played golf at Willow Creek and joined another flight of 2 folks who where also beginning golfers like me. It was a nice pleasant course and we finished at about 8 pm in the evening. A day earlier we went to the driving range also at the course and hit a few balls. After wards we went to the local flea market nearby at highway 101 and saw a few interesting stuff. I wanted to buy a golf set being sold at about $100 but I hesitated because it was an unknown brand made in China. But it fit my needs because it was all hybrid clubs with graphite shafts. After exploring the rest of the warehouse I walked back to buy it but saw a young kid who had already purchased it. I guess that type of club fits seniors, kids or ladies so maybe I was right not to buy it after all.