I have a bad habit of playing with people...when it doesnt seem like playing. I sometimes give them a "jestful middle finger". I do it to my dad, my wife, my boss, coworkers...whoever. Most of the time it is understood as playful. To add insult to injury, i live in a foreign country, where american jestures or mannerisms by not be interpreted quite the same way. different cultures have different interpretations. i was at a party that my competition was throwing. I was there sort of to "spy" a bit. fell them out and see what we could do to beat them. I was the only one there from my company, and everything was fine. I had about 3 glasses of wine...and then the CEO walked in. At some point in this guys life he has been the CEO of the central bank, Minister of finance, CEO of the stock exchnage. A good guy, we have had drinks on several occasions, but none the less one of the most powerful guys in the country. I wanted to say "man, what are you doing here..this is the competition! are you buddies with the competition???" instead, from across the room I gave him a "playful finger" to say "what are YOU doing here!". a few people saw this. being the good guy that he is... he called me over and told me to get a cab and go home. The next day i apologized for being so american and overstepping the boundries. He said it was ok and he has done much worse over a few drinks. I still have my job.
let me ad something to my last post...that same guy... If you look at the local currency, his signature is on it! wrong guy to give the finger to in a crowded room!
In 1998 I was position trading a few different futures markets, including a couple of currencies. I was in a losing Deutsche Mark trade. I added to the losing position. I had sleepless nights, and when I did manage to sleep, I woke up in night sweats. I lost almost a quarter of my trading capital over a period of a few weeks. It has never happened since, and I hope it will never happen again. There have been other foolish mistakes, but this one is by far the most memorable.
Taking a stock overnight, and down -$13K due to a gap down. It still gives me chills taking trades overnight.
I didn't realize this is supposed to be so "American".!LOL That's a bad "sign" in just about any culture!
I'm amazed there hasn't been a response, "Shorted GOOG". Someone must have, I did once, 5 bucks and 5 minutes later I was done.
Selling naked puts in 2000 just before the market tanked. Getting a margin call every morning isn't a nice way to start the day. Amazing I survived. But the hardest lessons are always those that you remember, eh? Just when you think that something can't happen....