Come and have a look around The Attic!

It's probably about time for me to introduce you to my attic!!



This is where the magic happens.



So lets wander up the stairs...





(It is still a work in progress but it is starting to take shape.)



Because its a multi functional space, I don't want any part of the room to be the focal point. With that in mind I wanted the room to be minimalist in design. With nothing to 'in your face'.

I used to have the bed in the middle and a dirty great desk for all my PC stuff but this made the room look tiny and there was no room for the kids to play.



So I sold the desk, and one of my monitors (I'm really getting into ebay at the moment - I find myself looking round the house for things to sell! The ex had better watch out, I'm sure she'd sell well :)) and purchased another monitor, identical to my existing one.
I then built a combined shelving and desk unit in a discreet place right by the french doors. I've still got to do some finishing, but as you can see, it looks pretty neat and tidy.




I'm gonna completely box the PC in, moving the CD and DVD player so I can get access to them. I'm also gonna get some down lighters onto the keyboard, to create a relaxing ambiance when I'm toiling away late at night.

My son loves chilling out on the floor watching Bob the Builder!

The bed is nicely out of the way.

I'd love to say this is where the magic really happens.......

Once I've finished off the PC workstation, I'm starting work on what will be the 'discreet' centre piece of my Attic - a home theatre system. I plan on building an HTPC (Home Theatre PC) that I'll use to store all my media (DVD's, music, photo's etc). I'll also stream live TV through it, so it'll have the functionality of sky+. I plan on hiding the HTPC in the storage space in the attic and cabling it up to a 40" TV on the main wall- which is what you see on the left here.

I'll also be able to display my charting software on the screen! which will make a refreshing change from looking at charts on 19" screens!

Here's the view from the bed looking out of the French doors - obviously not much of a view at 11pm at night, but on a clear day its pretty cool.

As this photo shows, the en suite is currently used as storage. But eventually that will all be cleared out, leaving TheAtticMan with a nice self-contained space that he can spend hours if not days in without having to venture to far at all!!! :)














Thought I'd show you what is stacked up in the en-suite! As you can see in this photo, I have a great collection of trading books.

I plan on writing a post summarising some of the trading books I've read.

I'm going to do a Top 10, so look out for that!!!

The future of English cricket looks bleak

I walked my daughter to school today in the first proper snow shower we've had in London for years. There were loads of kids snowball fighting (ok, ok, I admit it, I got involved in a few skirmishes as well).

I was more than disappointed to see the throwing action of the 'average teenage boy'. My god! They all throw like girls (no dis-respect to the fairer sex of course!). If this is the best we have to offer, then our fielding is gonna be pretty dire in 5 years time.

Global Recession?

To have experienced first hand, how the worlds financial markets have changed so dramatically in such a short period has been a surreal experience. This time last year, there was talk of a downturn. So called professionals were predicting a couple of quarters of depressed growth, followed by a period of slow growth, before we headed back to the good times. How they have got it wrong!

The world is now firmly fighting a recession, some may even say we could enter a depression. What does that mean? What actually defines a recession? Well I think a number of things point in this direction. I don't actually know if there is a 'technical' measure for a depression, but if we look at what has happened this year, with record bailouts being announced in the banking industry, the car industry in turmoil, jobless numbers rising, countries declaring themselves bankrupt and global housing markets completed screwed, I think it's fair to say the world is staring down the barrel of a long and painful period. 

Whats for sure, is that Banking is unlikely to be the same again anytime soon. They say that the 1930's depression was caused by 'Over speculation and Over investment coupled with Over leverage' - IMHO this almost perfectly defines what has happened in the last 6 years.

For someone like me, who has grown used to 'how the world has worked' in this time, it feels like nothing will be the same again any time soon. But more importantly for me, the state of the worlds finances affects me in so many ways. I work for a large global bank - we have never been busier - but will I lose my job? I trade my own futures account - Will regulation affect this or is this time one of great opportunity? If I was made redundant, could I escape the rat race and do something completely different or should I simply be content to have a job and be able to put food on my childerens table? Should I keep my head down and keep working all the hours god sends to help 'save' my current employer or should I shout from the roof tops 'MAKE ME REDUNDANT!!' - Answers on a postcard please......

What is for sure, is that right now I don't have the answer :) But every cloud has a silver lining and many great businesses start in recessions and this recession will be no exception. Somewhere in the world right now, as I type these words, there is a business being built in some garage or attic that will rise from the ashes and will become a global player in a short space of time. I've always wanted to be involved in something like that - maybe this is my time? I just need to find the right opportunity!

The attic mans first post

I've been thinking of starting a blog for a while but to be honest, I've not known where to start.

 
I want to find a way of channeling my ramblings into something that may even be described as coherent and could prove interesting reading for some people.

Let me start by telling you about me.

I'm mid 30's, I live in London with my two children and my estranged partner. We all have our own bedrooms. I live in the attic!

I work in the city for a once large and proud global Investment Bank, I trade my own stock and futures account which is my passion. 

My living situation could be described in a number of ways - crazy, strange, weird, unconventional, completely dysfunctional! I still live in the same house as the women who is the mother of my kids, and yet we have not been together for nearly 3 years. How strange it sounds, just to write that! So why are we still living in the same house? Well, I guess there are two main reasons, the first and most important is that I want to be around my kids. I love them more than anything in the world, and simply waking up knowing they wake up under the same roof as me, is a lovely feeling. The other reason, is the bloody credit crunch! I bought this house right at the top of the market (excellent timing!) and now I can't afford to sell it!

This year has been a crazy year for the company I work for. I've seen colleagues and friends being made redundant, some have been happy with the chance redundancy brings, and some have been devastated. I look at these people with mixed emotion. They have finally escaped the rat race and have the chance to start again. But in the current economic climate, is it better to have a job, however boring it may be, as opposed to be free to follow ones dreams?

So what sort of stuff will I be posting here? Well this blog is going to be an honest account of my life. Of my professional experiences during the most significant economic downturn since the 1930's, of my experiences as I navigate toward middle age as a single man with children. I'll write here about my continued efforts to follow my dream as a successful self-directed trader.  I want to talk about all aspects of my life, I want to know if I am so different from other people - do I see the world differently or are there others out there whose lives are not following the course they had planned?

Should I still have dreams or should I accept my lot. Maybe this blog will help me to understand more about myself.