I had two ASL classes and I'm constantly practicing two dozen signs I learned in class. Today, I was eating lunch at my desk--I work on a trading floor so there's no walls or privacy--and practicing signs. Two of my neighbors looked at me like I was crazy and I yelled, "what?"
This reminded me when I first worked on a trading floor in NYC in my twenties. The first week I was there I felt like I landed on mars. People were saying thins like, "this jerk just dk'ed me," "he's not hitting the bid," "she's not lifting the offer," or "sweep it." These people were highly educated but spoke like street bookies.
What's more funny was the gestures that we had to make to each other. Today, trading is essentially done electronically so sometime trading floors feel like being at the morgue. But, back then, the cash guy would buzz me on the intercom and start making gestures if he wanted to buy/sell options.
For example, if I have my dominant hand up by my face with palm towards me and flick my palm out a few times that meant I was ready to do trades. If I brush out my four fingers of my dominant hand from underneath my chin out that meant I had an offer and so on. We were doing all this while yelling at each other sometimes jumping up and down. We would also pound fingers that indicated prices on our non-dominant hand arm and would signal "four" when we concluded the trades. Some of us would pound their chest and fling their arms out exasperated.
My boss asked me after a week on the trading floor, "what do think?" I replied, "it looks like we're gorillas gone wild." He didn't think it was funny but I did. Anyway, I get the feeling that you might not find this funny but I'm reminiscing the days of my youth.
This reminded me when I first worked on a trading floor in NYC in my twenties. The first week I was there I felt like I landed on mars. People were saying thins like, "this jerk just dk'ed me," "he's not hitting the bid," "she's not lifting the offer," or "sweep it." These people were highly educated but spoke like street bookies.
What's more funny was the gestures that we had to make to each other. Today, trading is essentially done electronically so sometime trading floors feel like being at the morgue. But, back then, the cash guy would buzz me on the intercom and start making gestures if he wanted to buy/sell options.
For example, if I have my dominant hand up by my face with palm towards me and flick my palm out a few times that meant I was ready to do trades. If I brush out my four fingers of my dominant hand from underneath my chin out that meant I had an offer and so on. We were doing all this while yelling at each other sometimes jumping up and down. We would also pound fingers that indicated prices on our non-dominant hand arm and would signal "four" when we concluded the trades. Some of us would pound their chest and fling their arms out exasperated.
My boss asked me after a week on the trading floor, "what do think?" I replied, "it looks like we're gorillas gone wild." He didn't think it was funny but I did. Anyway, I get the feeling that you might not find this funny but I'm reminiscing the days of my youth.
