Day Trading

So… I got the new job! I quit my old place of employ almost immediately and took a week of staycation before starting at my new office. Think of it as a palate cleanser. I didn’t want to bring all of the animosity and stress from my last job to the new one. Everyone here seems great (and totally undeserving of my blind rage). It was everything I’d ever dreamed it could be. Honestly, it’s so easy to entertain yourself in this town that I barely noticed I wasn’t working. Several of my friends are in Education so they were free for frolicking. (Completely random that my closest friends & all family members are in Education—I am obviously the chic black sheep.) I did some late-night dancing, some lunching… and took myself out to an afternoon movie on a whim after signing at my new company. I just wandered over to the theater to see what was playing next, and grabbed a ticket for The Expendables.

As I was getting a drink, I felt someone’s eyes on my legs. Ignoring his glance, I went to settle in at the near-empty theater, in the front row, with my book. Suddenly a man sat down one seat over from me and tried to pick me up. It was pretty impressive actually. But first things first. “Why are you in a movie at 3pm on a Thursday?” I asked him, the subtext being… are you unemployed?

Turns out he was an international hedge fund owner based in Singapore, who had spotted me earlier and told his friend that if we ended up in the same theater it must be fate. I countered, “Or the fact that only a few movies are playing at this time”. He liked that and slipped me his card, telling me we should meet for a drink after the film. I told him maybe, and he headed up to sit with his friend.

The Expendables turned out to be awful. Like, every 80’s macho man cliché all rolled into one. I ended up taking a nap in the front row for about an hour, and barely missed a thing. I contemplated going home as soon as I saw that the movie was “written” by Sylvester Stalone… but I also kinda wanted to see what was up with the guy. So I waited.

Finally, it ended. He came down the stairs with his friend and we went out for drinks in Bryant Park. I immediately noticed that his friend look like Brad freaking Pitt. Of course. They ordered a few bottles of wine and some appetizers and filled me in on their lives. Both from Bulgaria, they had grown up under the Communist regime. They met at Stanford and had been best friends for the fifteen years since. Perhaps it was the wine, but their stories of Communism & hardship & striving for America were incredible. The Brad Pitt look-a-like was definitely a better English speaker and apparently also based in New York full time. As he filled me in on his life, I contemplated pulling off ‘the switch’.

Almost as if they could read my mind, they basically asked me to choose. I took a long gulp of wine and weighed my options. Guy #1 was ballsy for sure- picking me up in a movie theater. He lived in Singapore and traveled often. He was also more cocky and untouchable. Guy #2 was gorgeous, and a self-proclaimed sweetheart. He worked in the city as a trader and was out of the office by 7 each night (the holy grail in terms of bankers hours). He had also just broken off his engagement.

Guess who I chose?

Commitment-phobe to the core, I chose Guy #1. The long-distance sold me. And, after all, he had made the effort. But, don’t think I am going to let Guy #2 slip by… he needs some time to heal (it had only been two weeks since his broken engagement!) but then I am going to swoop in for sure. Here’s what got me about Guy #2: He said that he’s looking for a wife & he got engaged rather quickly to the ex. He asked me why girls don’t seem to like sweet men, as he keeps getting rejected. (Unbelievable, right?)

I explained it to him as plainly as I could. If you’re sweet, we think you’re sweet to everyone and that it doesn’t mean anything. The trick is to only reveal your vulnerability after a few months of dating, so that it seems special. It’s simple economics- supply & demand. You would think a trader would know that!

*scorpio*