Erik’s Blog

If you’re in need of a uCsimm, Dallas Semiconductor Java TINI, HP 48G graphic calculator, one-button Apple mouse or a Logitech TrackMan Marble 3-button PS/2 mouse, head on over to eBay and buy, buy, BUY…

(Update, 3/22: So sad, it’s all gone. The grand total ended up being about $140 for the five items I sold. I should do this more often.)

It’s been the wildest ride of all the investments I’ve made.

Summer 2003, I bought $600 of Apple stock. The average price per share was somewhere around $18. Then I forgot about it.

Then it began to go up. And up. And up.

Then it split 2:1 (you know the drill, double the shares, halve the price). Then it went up more. And more. And more.

Over the past few years I’ve milked the stock for many thousands (with an S) of dollars. Recently I sold all but $650 of the stuff to help pay down some school credit debt. I figured eventually even that $650 may go up. I was right.

However, I think Apple’s stock may have peaked. It’s a great company, but it’s officially overvalued in my opinion. I’m an Apple fan through and through, but investments need to be practical, not emotional. So, I just sold the last of my stock at — gasp — $93/share. I don’t recall the final amount, but after commissions I’m getting somewhere around $750 out of that last $650.

Total increase in my investment: somewhere in the ball park of 850%-900%. Try that with a savings account… Wow.

“Scholarshipos” was a typo. It sounded funny for some reason, like it should be followed by “The Freshmaker” or something. Whatever.

Just a few quickies:

1. I was one out of six graphic design students at the U of U to be nominated for the first ever Antista Fairclough scholarship. Then I was one of the three who the faculty at the U of U narrowed down and sent to Antista Fairclough for final review. Then I lost. I’m not bitter about it, but whenever stuff like this happens I re-question why I’m busting my ass in school when, really, grades don’t mean a damn thing in graphic design. I’ll ponder that some more.

2. Oops, I guess I addressed grades in #1. Zoot.

3. I’m in the process of finding an internship in the SLC area. I’ve contacted a number of companies (one of which is Richter7. Matt, if you’re reading this, Kendal and I chatted and I’m sending a portfolio next week. Thanks for the tip!). I’m a bit worried about the level of MTV/skateboard culture/grunginess that local design companies will expect from me. I’m a bit grungy (more indie than grunge, but hey, a popular term is a popular term) but I’m nowhere near the other two. I’m sure there will be a place for me somewhere. I’m good, I know it, I just need to be specific about where I want to go.

4. Now that I’ve derailed you from thinking about contests, here’s another one: the SLC AIGA100. I submitted my “Block U” fundraising campaign logo, the one I did for the U of U advancement office. Who knows if I’ll win anything, but it’s not always about winning right? If you don’t play the game, blah blah blah. We’ll see.

‘Kay, that’s all for now. I’m in no mood to do school work so I’ll dink with the new Wordpress version of this blog for a while and see what I can come up with. Why this blog endlessly reloads on my desktop system is a mystery. I’m ready for a change.