One morning into our office in Hawaii walked a sweet, petite young Korean woman. She could not have been more than 22 or 23, and her name was Kim. She had two Krugerrands she wanted to sell. I told her we were not in that part of the gold business.
Two Krugerrands
David, our local gold dealer, looked at the coins and pronounced them authentic. “I would buy them, but I do not carry that kind of cash unless I have a pending transaction.” He suggested she try the foreign exchange company across the street and down the block. She spoke perfect English but seemed confused by all of it.
I confirmed that they do buy and sell cash gold, and offered to walk her over and see the transaction completed. She thanked me and we left together. On the way I learned she was a hostess at one of the Korean bars and had been in Hawaii about a year. At the exchange, the man at the cash counter again declared the Krugerrands authentic and quoted the day’s price. She agreed, signed a short document affirming the coins were hers to sell, and he counted out six hundred and odd dollars.
Dinner at Kewalo Bay
Outside, she offered to pay me a commission. I declined, but suggested she let me buy her dinner some night. She smiled and admitted she had not eaten out much, preferring to stay home and cook Korean dishes. I said those sounded great, as I like Korean food and my favorite is naeng myeon, the cold noodles. She giggled, and we decided to dine at John Dominis on Kewalo Bay on Friday.
We had a nice dinner. I learned she had a degree in psychology and played the violin “at a near professional level,” but had not yet found a way to earn a living at either. She invited me to her apartment sometime to try her naeng myeon. I gave her my business card and said to call any time, and we parted company.
Ryan Has News
Two or three days later Ryan came into the office. I had met Ryan my first week in Hawaii and we became friends quickly. He was a local boy, a native of Hawaii, who seemed to know everyone and kept his ear to the ground for local news and happenings. He had helped me many times when local ways and means had me stymied.
This day he fast-stepped back to my desk and leaned over with his hands on it. “Did you date a Korean girl named Kim?”
I said I did. She was very nice, and I was hoping to see her again for homemade Korean food.
“No, bra!” he shouted. “She is someone else’s girl, and he is not a man you want to meet!” Ryan went on to describe a local fellow with a fearsome reputation, and it was plain that I should not be sitting across a table from his girlfriend.
I gulped and thanked Ryan for the great advice. Kim never called, but I would certainly have declined an invitation. I do like naeng myeon, but I would not want it for my last meal.
Good Trading!
Michael Duane Archer
Related Reading
- Here To-Day, Gone To-Maui: A Hong Kong Buyout Offer
- When No Means No: A Honolulu Commodity Office Story
- Goodmanisms: Charlie Goodman’s Sayings on Trading, Explained
Keep Learning the Goodman Way
If this article was useful, these are the next steps:
- The Method: propagation, intersection and the 3-C Principle, drawn plate by plate.
- The Goodman Library: the books, from Goodman for Grasshoppers to The Goodman 6 & 6.
- The Trader’s Playbook: the Molokai setup in one printed, numbered volume.
- Mentoring: work one-on-one with the authors.