Friday, July 27, 2012

Another trip to NYC

In NY:


Rear view

Sitting on Broadway street, New York... Watching the people take photos of the famous bull! I can understand most of the photos that are taken, but what's with the photos of people posing underneath the bulls gonads? I will be spending a day or two in NY and hope that upon my departure I will be a step closer to learning to trade and actually trading with real $'s! 

Why this post:

It must be the $1 cup of coffee that's got me into this writing mode again?
Maybe I'm missing my family, a few hundred miles away, or it's just that I've got time to put something out?
It's probably the fact that I don't feel like positioning myself under the bulls scrotum and the fact that I've never been a great poser for photos? I'd also need to ask a stranger to take a photo of me.

Thinking about it, I'll rather just sit here and think what could be and what will be? 

Finished up the two days in NY, and now on my way back home.  I have a decision two make, but am sure I will make the correct decision about my trading career.

On the bus:


Supper/ dinner

Supper/ dinner was great! Thanks for asking. Two of these packets of crisps/ chips, and a chocolate bar, and I have had an eloquent sufficiency!

Asian people on the bus. Eating chicken and noodle soup, I guess, with chopsticks and have managed to mess half of it in the bus, smells great! How do you eat that stuff with chopsticks?

African American (AA) people on the bus. A family consisting of a mother, her son, grandfather and another male relative, but not the father! The mother is "quality"! She can't speak properly to her young son, so needs to use profanities to get her point across! She says to him that she is gonna shove him in da face if he don't listen up, y'all here'in me! Grandfather, is pretty well built, sitting with earphones on, trying to sleep, yet bumping and grinding in his chair! This geriatric thinks he is still on his twenties!

21:00, on the bus, all is quiet and calm, except for our AA passengers who are now close to home and are hungry! Adults laughing out loudly, children shouting and disturbing the peaceful Asian travelers who only ask to catch some R&R on the bus!

AA mother - "They are'a so hungree day a gunna eeeta snake, if deh isa'na food by da house, right? "



Sweaty!

Exercise in NY:
 

Walked 1.9 miles/ 3.05 km in under 30 minutes today.
Shirt was drenched upon arrivalat the bus departure "lounge", and it felt like everyone was watching the perspiration pour off of me, probably hoping that they were not going to be seated next to me on the bus!





Home safely, decision made, back to NY next week to start "TRAINING"!

Have a great weekend.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Waiting and therapy

Another day...
and it has been another day of waiting for answers that have not been forthcoming. I can also not expedite the process! All I want is to be given the go-ahead, so that I may make the necessary arrangements, to start my training and trading career!

Can I trade?
Can't I trade?
Who knows?

Will I be successful, YES, I believe so! 

I keep convincing myself that I will be successful and that I can do this!
I am ready to go, and have been ready for a few weeks already, but I am only being held back by administrative issues!
How will I know, if I don't get the chance to sit down and try?



Augusta National Golf Club
It's like having travelled hundreds of miles... arriving at the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club, after planing the trip for months, pulling many strings and used numerous influential contacts to get a round at Augusta... wearing a freshly pressed golf shirt... polished golf clubs beside you... brand new golf balls, ready to be pounded... but for some ridiculous reason, you are not allowed to tee off! Lets say, they just can't find your name on the tee-sheet in the club house! No matter how much you talk or plead, its an issue that "they" need to resolve, and you are left to wait! You know you can play golf, but can you play and tame Augusta National Golf Club? How will you know, if you don't get the chance to tee it up and try?
                                              ________________________

So, with all my spare time on hand, I decide to mow the lawn between imminent thunderstorms. Sitting on the couch and waiting for answers won't get me anywhere. Again, back where I'm from, you have someone who will come-in once a week and mow your lawn, trim the edges, and do the laborious gardening for you, at a minimal wage.

Here (in America), you either pay top dollar for garden services, or you DIY. So meet the gardener, who is, "almost a trader" to be. Mowing the lawn is very therapeutic, and allows me to over analyse everything that is going on at the moment! Due to "therapy" today, I was able to put out this post and convince myself that today wasn't a complete waste of time.

My New Therapist

















I am no closer to trading, yet the lawn looks good, thanks to old faithful who is now my new therapist!


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Pumping gas!

I just gotta love America!


New to me!
I am still familiarising myself with pumping my own gas in America, known as "petrol" back where I originate from. I have seen everyone filling up here, but none more good looking than this young lady I passed the other day!

Back home, there are "petrol attendants", that fill up your tank, and every so often, fill up your tank with the wrong type and/ or grade of fuel/ gas/ petrol!
She could fill my tank with any gas!

Anyway, this lady is the hottest petrol/ gas attendant yet seen!

Apology:

I could not get any closer, and the traffic was flowing. Under the conditions, I think I took a pretty good photo!


Friday, July 13, 2012

In the beginning!

Welcome to America!

Well, here I/ we go. 
I have been in America for some 5 months now, having arrived at the beginning of this year, 2012. 

I have been threatening to start this blog, but haven't got around to it! I feel the frustration building, and I have time on my hands, so I am going to see how far I get with this blog. 
I will probably jump around a little, as I think of or see things that interest me, or that I am not familiar with. This blog will be mostly about my trading experiences, yet I may also divulge a little?
 
I've gone through the entire process of getting "up and running" so I/ we had to get a new mobile phone and number, Social Security #, bank accounts had to be opened, medicals were done, drivers license had to be passed, etc. 

I've also started watching American sports to "Americanise" myself, sports such as, MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, Nathans Hot Dog Eating contest, etc. I now need to start supporting some teams! While watching these sports, I have started sampling the various beers that are available in America, yet I still haven't found a favourite or a preference for one. Any suggestions and or recommendations will be tried out, in due course. I have also sampled a few beers after the occasional round of golf! I don't seem to remember which ones I like!

Of the first beer tasted!


I have also started understanding how the markets fit together. In piecing together the trading industry I have to look at what securities are being traded, and for what reason. I am mostly a technical analyst. I also have to learn all the stock symbols and which stocks can be traded.

I'm acclimatising, and getting used to the humidity, which was nonexistent "back home".

I have taken and passed my series 56 exam, so as to join a prop trading firm.

I suppose that that's it for now.


Thursday, July 12, 2012

About me...

Hi there,

This blog post should probably appear in the ABOUT column, but for now I am going to post it here!

I'm new to life in America. My family and I recently moved to America, the beginning of 2012. We packed up everything and relocated here, for a better life we hope, and future for us as a family.

I have read blogs, mostly trading blogs for some years now and have decided to give blogging a shot. I don't promise to post on a regular basis, but I'll try.

I've also been "trading" for some years, whilst holding down a day job. Upon arriving in the US, I considered or believed, that I would trade for a big institutional firm or any firm for that matter. Resumes were sent out, recruitment agencies contacted, yet to no avail. Past experience has taught me that the only way to get-in, is to have contacts! So without many contacts, I've decided to go it alone, well almost.
I have decided to trade full time and make a success of it. I am going to learn, and then become a successful trader? The only problem is that I need to learn the ropes.

In this blog I will discuss everything from my experiences in America to my trading progression.

Enjoy my experience and journey!