The Transamerica Pyramid has the tightest security I've seen in a San Francisco commercial office building. When I visited my friend today, Clement had to call down to the guard in advance and leave my name. After I signed the visitor's log, the guard matched me to my drivers license, snapped my photo which I then affixed to my shirt, and issued me a numbered electronic key that enabled me to pass through the turnstile. At least I didn't have to remove my shoes.
Clement works for a mutual fund that specializes in gold and natural resources. It's done well recently, now that inflation is beginning to awaken from its long slumber. Precious metals and energy stocks comprise a small part of my portfolio, and I should probably increase their allocation. I've always had an instinctive aversion to buying hard assets such as gold and land ("they're not making any more of it") because I view them as defensive investments meant to protect against inflation. I prefer to invest in technology, health care, even consumer products--anything that increases the overall well-being of society. I wish I could say I've been successful, but I lack the discipline characteristic of hard-nosed investors. How am I doing? Let's put it this way--on our tax return we have a capital loss carryforward.
The view from the Pyramid
We strolled one block to a fresh-Mex restaurant and grabbed an outdoor table. While Clement ate his burrito, I feasted on the shrimp fajita special, our pleasure dimmed only by the dozens of feral pigeons greedily eyeing our food. When a patron left his seat, five of these flying rodents immediately landed on his platter about ten feet away from us. A primitive emotion upwelled from my brain's reptilian remnant. I remembered how my grandfather used to kill chickens in his backyard, and my fingers curled in sympathetic memory as I watched the beating gray mass of feathers nearby. Our lunch was over.
© 2004 Stephen Yuen
No comments:
Post a Comment