Fireworks

Finance is like one big movie. There are times when all is snug and cozy, and everyone is smiles and giggles. However, the most anticipated and fun parts of any movie are the action sequences. Well, we have good blow ups around here, albeit a trite expensive. In what might be the most expensive fireworks display ever, trader Brian Hunter blew up hedge fund Amaranth. Cost = $6 Billion. Newspapers expand out the number and multiply with the local currency to get a really big scary number, but you can do that yourself e.g. (6,000,000,000*45.53 Rs). Here is the story! Go to news.google.com, and search for "Amaranth" for more juice.

FAQ :
Whats a hedge fund?
Its a firm that trades the financial markets for a profit. Unlike a mutual fund which cannot do whatever it wants with investors money, a hedge fund can take huge risks. Thus, it has a potential to make a lot of money. As has been seen, it can also lose a tonne!

Power and Presence

So, the whole of last week was spent improving my "Power" and "Prescence". It is one of the many steps on my way to become slick and insinc..errm..smooth and sophisticated. There were 2 sets of people who came in -

1) Firstly, there were actors from The Actors Institute who came in to give us a quick image makeover. We were bundled into groups and made to do some role playing. Then, each and every little thing I said or did or appeared to say or appeared to do, was analyzed, dissected and basically torn apart. I was told that I use a lot of filler words - I feel, I think, basically, essentially, the point is etc. etc. At a deeper psychoanalytic level it appears that I don't like silence. From now on, I have to practice just saying a couple of words, and then staring intently at the other persons face.

2) Secondly, there was this marketing woman who used to work with "The Pitchdoctor", a guy who helps doctor sales pitches, so that countries can win rights to host Olympics and stuff like that. So, she imparted us gyan on how to ace "touchpoints", i.e. situations where there is potential to have your ass on fire if you don't talk and walk properly. I got imparted all kinds of vague fundas about body language, eye contact, tone of voice, gesturing and movement.

Its scary how subtle changes in tone and body language can drastically alter the context and meaning of a message. Sarcasm, anger, agitation, enthusiasm, friendlines are all incorporated at a subtle subconscious level, and much of the message is this stuff. Your actual words do not really matter that much! We had these examples where we had to say the same sentence in 2-3 different ways, with variations in tone, gesture and eye contact, and they came out so differently.

I somehow feel that all girls figure out this stuff almost as soon as they are born. So, they are free to wreak emotional havoc on poor guys, who have almost no idea what is going on. Its only after courses like this do they realize the true nature of their situation. That melting voice. Those soft eyes. Those fleeting looks. You dont fool me now!

Anyway, moving on. Quite interestingly, it also turns out that there are 4 types of people.

Type 1 : The Expressive - Like me. Keeps talking. Thinks in vivid descriptive form. Hates detail. Loves big fancy dreams.

Type 2 : The Driver - Get the job done. Type A heart attack case. Obsessed with closure.

Type 3 : The Feeler - Very relationship oriented. Hates conflict. Loves emotion. All those people who say "I don't feel the same way about you now, like I did", and go into high drama.

Type 4 : The Analytic - The detail obsessed person. All those people who describe holidays like this - Day 1 Place A Did XYZ Day 2 Place B Did X1Y1Z1 Day 3 Place C Did X2Y2Z2.

And, there was a lot more. You have to pay me for that. Nah, just kidding, I just dont want to type any more.

Anyhow, it was fun. A lot better than sitting in the office and reading 300 page annual reports of companies that make caskets and medical equipment (yes, there is one that makes both!!), and looking for 'misvaluations' (thats like the most misused term ever in Finance. Oh, there is another one 'alpha'. Which means 'risk free returns' a.k.a. free money, of which there is none obviously. Of course, none of my readers are likely to have got the context, but its ok. :). Just trust me.)

Elevators

One of the most interesting things about working in a high-rise are the elevators. It actually makes you feel very 'wall street-ish' to scramble into one and zap up to the 37th floor. However, the problem with an elevator is that its a confined space from which there is no polite escape. That basically means that if you are with a specific person X in the elevator, you will have to remain with X for the next minute or two.

This creates a weird problem for people such as me. Every once in a while I end up getting stuck with some super-senior member of the firm. Its one of those situations where its very hard to find anything relevant to say. My eyes suddenly start finding very interesting patterns on the floor and ceiling.

This is what I want to say :

"Errm, do you think I could keep my job. I know I am an insignificant ant, but I will improve. You know, I really am not as bad as the HR people might think...."

Obviously I cannot say that.

"So how are things going ?"

I mean, innocous as it may sound, how could he reply in a manner which is in any way relevant to me. So thats out.

"Rainy day huh?!"

Might work but sounds lame. I hate discussing the weather. Its information both parties already know, so why dish it out all over again.

So, you get the picture. I need to think of something deep, meaningful and very appropriate to say over my 2 minute journey on the elevator. See today I was stuck with a senior partner, and he asked me a couple of questions and I spewed total crap. Embarassing! Why can't I be a more confident, composed, poised, a male miss-universe-ish version of myself under these situations and get as many brownie anti-firing points as I can?? Bah!

Wah

I couldn't think of anything more meaningful, so pardon me for the title.

• Last week finished last week. I had 3 exams in 1 week. Believe it or not, I did accounting! If you even remotely know me, you will know that such things were anathema to me till even very recently. Accounting, as many of you may know, is complicated. It has the same consistency, desirableness (and general effect on health) as a large bowl of spaghetti into which has been poured half a bucket of sticky melted cheese.
• That brings me to an interesting question. Why is accounting so complicated? A more general question would be, why are law and accounting so complicated? An even more general question would be, why are all these things that control the behaviour of people so complicated? Thats simple. Thats because, people do bad things. Some of the bad things break rules so those people go to jail. However, some of the bad things don't. So, you need to change the rules so that those bad things do. But, there will be still some bad things that don't. So, you need to create more rules so that those bad things do. Its like this whole cat and mouse game. In the end you are left with one psychotic mess.
  
• This week was fun. We went competitive sailing! Bunches of 4 got popped into 25 foot boats, and we randomly careened around Lake Michigan for a couple of hours. It was good fun, though its way too slow paced for my liking. This whole thing was a company 'socializing' event (i.e. free food and alchohol).
• Over the last few days, my training program has transitioned from the 'learning' phase to the 'practical' phase. So, we had some senior guys coming to give us talks about their respective businesses. Some of these guys were totally amazing. There is this guy who was about 35. By the age of 32 he had become the CEO of one of the top electronic exchanges in the country, which he had started up a few years earlier. This was for a guy who had graduated from school with a GPA of 2.7/4.0. Maybe he didn't study. (Because, he had almost qualified to the Olympic Fencing teams in 1996 and 2000!) His energy and zest for life was phenomenal. You would think that he would be like this super intense wired person. He was just the opposite! Great sense of humor, relaxed, loved what he did, and well as you would expect, knew exactly what he was doing! Something that did strike me about him was that he seemed to be one of those born risk takers. One of those guys who always keep moving on to new and fun things, and wouldn't do anything that others found easy to do.
  

Tag

I have been tagged by Lakshmi.

One book that changed your life?

Well pretty much everything I do is contained in one book or another. Of course, there are also these emotional type reactions to reading a book, but nothing I can clearly identify. I loved 'The Great Gatsby', its a simple beautiful story, and very unlike what is paraded as 'happiness' in general.

One book you have read more than once?

Well, I have read my Asterix and Tintin comics collections like a million times.

One book you would want on a deserted island?

"How to get out of a deserted island really fast"

One book that made you laugh

The Hitchiker series of books by Douglas Adams. His humor is something that is closest to what I like.

One book that made you cry

I am reading 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry. The story is touching.

One book you wish had been written?

' A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth. It must be so hard to write a book that is 1400 pages long and sticks together. I also love how he has all kinds of insights about people and situations.

One book you wish had never been written?

Lots man. Lots. Take the Tom Clancy rubbish, for example. I would be embarrased to be like this overgrown kid who still hasn't got over warships, guns and spy satellites. They just kill.

One book you are currently reading?

'Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry.

One book you have been meaning to read?

'An Equal Music' by Vikram Seth. I have this whole reading Indian literature thing going.

Who are my suckers?

Prashanth - He would like to do this.

Alraqs - She would to.

Megha - Its kind of honoring to link to a superstar type blogger who gets 220 (really!) comments per post.

Intern ?

I don't think anybody else reads this blog :). So, I shall stop there. To, that statement of mine there has, much to my joy, been protests. So, to some extent it is unlikely to be a completely accurate representation of facts.

Blah

1. Oh my week was so much fun. You know, I met so many people and learnt so much about them and life is so beautiful and smiles and sparkles. Yeah right! I get up at 7 in the morning.

2. Well, Lollapalooza came to Chicago this weekend. Its this really big music festival held in Grant Park. The highlight of the 2 day event, was the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. For reasonably guessable reasons, I didn't go to it. However, I did manage to listen to them for free during my Sunday evening run along Lake Michigan (Grant Park runs right by Lake Michigan)!

3. I made myself a music system. Bought a Sony receiver and Bose 301 speakers. The Bose 301's are the closest you can get to musical heaven without going to hell with your wallet. They cost about 325$ and have been made by Bose for the last 30 years. They have pretty much mastered the thing. Most Bose speakers are universally light on the bass, and are designed for the kind of sound you would get from a live performance. I kind of like the non earth jarring bass. However, if you do want more bass, you could just buy a sub-woofer.

They also have this new fangled ultra-hep Acoustimass range that is bloody expensive, mainly because the speakers are in the form of tiny cubes, and the whole thing runs wireless. However, they sound like crap. There is this basic physics thing about sound that the frequency of your note is inversely propotional to the amount of space you are generating it in. Case in point - tweeters are small, bass modules are big! They claim to have engineered the speakers to generate all frequencies, but frankly they end up sounding totally flat and lifeless. However, if you don't really listen to music, and are basically looking to impress friends, then its worth getting! ;)

4. Have a bunch of tests from Aug 14 - 18. Its pretty important for me to do well, and the whole thing has got me a little anxious. Anyway, can't wait to get done with them.

Allo

Allo. Yes, I am alive and mostly well. It has been a long time, and there is much to be said (in the fullness of time). For now -

• I shall henceforth be known as the Artful Badger. It is a rather cheap take on one of Charles Dicken's classic characters. It is to show people that I know such things. Also, god knows what all I signed away when I attached my name to that contract (From this point on, you are indentured slave, you to work now, work hard, not sleep...blah blah). Also, I am a little scared about random people being to Google my name! In academia no one cares, but in these settings its wouldn't be cool if something I say here comes back to bite me!
• Also, though I am no longer a grad student, the name sticks. You see, its all about what you feel inside and jazz like that (ask any woman in love in a romantic comedy). More specifically, I am too lazy to think of a new suitably witty title.
  
• Some crackpot (whom I am yet to identify) has hijacked my Yahoo and Gmail accounts. So, please refrain from mailing them, unless you desire the perusal of him/her/it/whatever. The email address you should mail to is on my profile.
• I apologize in advance for not having read/commented on any blogs over the last 3 weeks. It was only today that I got it my internet connection.
  
• Anyway, will be back. Soon!

The Nimzo Indian

Hip Hop Homie : East Coast put your hands up. West coast put your hands up. East coast. West coast. East coast sucks west coast rocks. West coast sucks east coast rocks.
Guy in Crowd : Yo dawg yo yo we in Spokane, Illinois man.

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Well I am back. I was supposed to have spent the last couple of weeks with my uncle in Vancouver. In reality, I spent exactly 12 hours there thanks to some sundry excitement, the kind of sundry excitement that can only be provided by visa and passport offices. So, I returned , and spent the next couple of weeks (Sleepless) in Seattle (ha ha!...errm).

Seattle is a nice relaxed city, bang in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. Its not as bustling and businesslike as Chicago, and nor is it a California style mega strip mall. Its the home of Starbucks and Microsoft. It used to be the home of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Bruce Lee, before the guy in the sky requisitioned their services. It has an interesting and fun feel, but just a little bit weird. It rains most of the time, and that appears to have driven its residents just a little bit crazy. You will agree with me if you see them back up 50cm behind you on 40 degree grade traffic lights. Yes, the rockies are hilly. And the sky is blue.

Of course, the most fun things about Seattle are not in Seattle. Mount Rainier and endless opportunites to bike, trek or just simply enjoy the rockies are a couple of hours away. There is also the ocean, you can kayak, sail, scuba dive, or just simply head out to check out the Orca whales. What amazes me about the US is how well kept up and organized its natural resources are. One can just buy a tent, a sleeping bag, some biscuits and head out on a trek, blindly following directions. You can choose the 2 mi trail or the 20 mi trail depending on what suits you. It makes me sad because in India, despite all that it has to offer, its just about impossible to organize a trek. Your only choice is to go through overpriced agencies, that make the whole thing a deluxe holiday type affair - not the fun relaxed out experience you are looking for.

There are also a number of quaint sleepy townships, Vashon, Port Townsend, Bremerton, San Juan ... , that pockmark Seattle, most well preserved from the late 19th century. Here you can get a feel for small town America - sans Walmart, sans Best Buy, sans McDonalds. The movie theatres play only a single show a day and most shops pull down shutters by 9'O clock. It isn't really as liberating as one would imagine it to be, used to the concept of anything anywhere at anytime!

That is not to say, that there aren't any fun things in Seattle. There is the Boeing Factory and the Museum of Flight. There is the Underground Tour. Till the early 20th century, Seattle used to be on a marshland, before the entire city was raised a full 3 metres. There is the Experience Music Project. The EMP is a rather cleverly done thing. In addition to checking out Wacko Jacko's 'Thriller' glove, for 10$ you can get stage time and record your own concert. Its fun. However, the one thing that should be avoided like the plague is the Space Needle. In addition to the Sears Tower, Empire State Building, Petronas Tower, Eiffel Tower, John Hancock Tower, etc. etc. , there really isn't that much of a need for tall buildings. Agree?

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Seattle is named after Chief Sealth. Of course, the ethnic name had to undergo Anglical corruption!



The city was built on marshland. When the city was raised, the ground floors went below the ground, thus giving us the....underground.



Downtown. Most downtowns look nice, and this one is no exception.



Downtown up close.



'3 beers and 50 cents'. At a bar called 'The Bishop' in Vashon. Vashon is a small town a couple of hours out from Seattle.



A lonely theatre. A solitary movie. A single show.



Most of the trouble starts when you start getting god into the picture!



Cafe in Vashon. 'Bar Bishop' moonlights as 'Cafe Bishop' during the day.



I simply love this shot! I took this past midnight from the youth hostel in Vashon. Its grossly overexposed. Thats why it has an eerie surreal feel.



On the drive to Mount Rainer. The road winds through the forest, with 100ft pines on either side of it. I took the shot with a 10 second shutter from a moving car.



On the flight back.



Mount Rainier from the sky. Both these shots were taken around noon, so thats why the images just glare the eye :(.


Your beloved photographer :). My reflection on a pair of doors across the street. There are 2 images because one door is at slight angle to the other! Oh dear oh dear, aren't mirrors so fattening?