The world is about to end apparently. Well, the world as we know it anyway.

 

The banking system in its current state has hit me quite hard.

 

I've (potentiall) lost a little over 3K on Northern Rock shares, and now my HBOS shares (of which I have spent a small fortune over many years) have gone south too, with only the faint hope of a takeover giving any glimmer of hope that I'll get at least some of my money back.

 

This isn't going to leave me destitute, but it will make the hard times much harder, and it means the little savings I have been managing to put by over the last 14 years of full time work have dwindled to a state that doesn't really do the timescales involved any justice.

 

The job is looking a bit flaky too. I can't go into details here as the powers that be and future employers would regard it as unprofessional, but needless to say City Boy isn't the only one of us who sees greed, incompitence and self interest on a daily basis. A few peole I work with actually keep my confidence in human nature from vanishing altogether. Generally I'm reminded of the situation when ICOS who I used to work for, was taken over by a competitor. It went from being the most friendly place I've ever worked in, to quite sinister overnight as almost everyone around me turned into a self interested monster. Of course this happens as people worry about their jobs, but I don't claim to understand. That time I chose to move into an alternative company, this time it may not be so simple.

 

Sure, there's plenty worse off than me. But just because somebody has lost both arms, it doesn't mean you should be happy if you loose one.