Entre Les Murs

A HEC of a Birthday

Janet and I went to a reception on the floor of the NYSE last night.  The event was organized by the alumni network of HEC Montreal, in honour of the school's 100th anniversary.  I didn't even know there was a HEC Montreal, however we received an invitation through the Canadian Association of New York, of which we are members, and it sounded like a fun place to have wine and cheese.

It was a bit of a maze, which in some ways contributed to mingling, but made it hard to watch the speeches (oh well) or listen to the jazz band.  The trading desks seemed to be left pretty much as they would have been at the end of a trading day, except for little signs asking people not to put their glasses down on the counters.  I was a little nonplussed to see game controllers plugged into the computers in one area.  Most likely they simply have unpredictable periods of tedious downtime; but I'd love to know if someone has come up with a way to expedite a trade using a joystick.


Photographs of famous people who have rung the bell were arrayed along the hallway leading to the restrooms (as toilets are fastidiously referred to in this odd country).  I was impressed by the picture of Sir Edmund Hillary; Janet was delighted by the shot of Morris the Cat.

posted 9.11.07