So I recently gave up the City a.k.a Investment Banking, not because it has lost its allure over the last few years (who am I kidding??? lol), a better opportunity simply presented itself. Chatting with a friend earlier today who just missed a great opportunity, I said to her "If one window closes, a door must open and last I checked, doors are much easier to manoeuvre". She absolutely loved it!
Based on this I was inspired to write an impromptu post. Watching another (BC i.e. before crunch) episode of SATC last night, I couldn't help but notice the numerous references to investment bankers as the cream of the crop in the world of dating (for men that is!). Carrie's voice over had a way of making us sound like mini gods and perhaps at the time that was the case. I came into the game a little too late and only managed a glimpse of the glory years....first class business trips, bodyguards to boot (well if you are fortunate to bag a Nigerian client), 5* hotels, on the ground chauffeurs, AMEX corporate cards which could be easily expensed (for even private splurges shhhh), designer shopping sprees (a sport in itself), weekend holidays and spa trips in exotic locations, basically EVERYTHING you needed but never had the time to enjoy. The hours were long and endless. You basically made plans to cancel plans and a blackberry sorry I mean crackberry meant work not leisure (hard to believe but then again, the blackberry messenger application came later in time). All in all it was a great life but I needed a great escape from it all. My adventure in the City (technically Canary Wharf) started in 2005 as a summer intern in a top tier investment bank. At the time, success was my drug and my only motivation but going full-time I soon found I needed other validations......the B word being one of 'em. It wasn't enough to just earn a salary, i-bankers live and thrive for their bonuses. The B was the reason a large fraction of us gave up sleep, relationships, food, LIFE. Clients become friends and potential lovers (after a project is concluded), colleagues become family, desks become your home away from home and the gym becomes your spa getaway but it all makes sense when you see your "number" as we fondly call it. Partying is a GREAT part of it all, guzzling endless amounts of beer, red wine, champagne (anything but Moet) while trying to maintain balance on your gravity defying Christian Louboutin pigalle courts. I might miss it all eventually but for now I'm eagerly looking forward to swapping my power suits for t-shirts and skinnies, my courts for pumps, my IT-bags for a rucksack, my eight PC monitors for my laptop, my Starbucks lattes for Twinnings English Breakfast Tea, my shopping sprees for walks in the park and my voicemail for actual conversations with family & friends........so far I can't say it doesn't sound like a healthier life!
