Gone fishin'

Nickname: I Love Fishes Cuz' They're So Delicious.  That was a ridiculous nickname given to me when I was younger because I LOVED Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers.  That's a mouthful of a nickname, so it was sometimes shortened to just "Delicious Fishes".  The other day, I had a grocery cart mixup with a woman in the snack food aisle at Kroger.   I ended up with her box of whole grain cheddar goldfish crackers, and in the four days since I have finished the entire box by myself.  I now plan on buying a case of goldfish crackers because I don't think I'll find them on the other side of the pond.  YUM!

In other news, I have discovered LBS' Portal.  It's an amazing website that is chock full of useful information and resources.  Since my classmates are all over the world and anxious to meet, I'm inundated with daily emails from people.  There have been Paris, San Francisco, NYC, Singapore, Mumbai, London, etc. meetups but none in Texas.  So, I use Portal to stay connected and stay on top of the 1,001 things that have to happen between now and August 23. 

Yesterday, I found the "Items for Sale / Wanted " discussion on Portal.  This is basically Craigslist.  There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of posts by current LBS students and alums on things up for sale or given out for free.  Toaster ovens, tickets to Whitney Houston concerts, Arsenal jerseys, special copies of The New Yorker, etc.  I read through the first couple of pages and saw a post from someone who wanted to sell GBP for Moroccan dirham.  That was odd.  I clicked on it and realized that people use Portal to exchange currency and avoid fees (which can amount to 4%).  GENIUS!  I searched for "GBP USD" and came up with 50+ hits.  I've never used Craigslist but decided to test this practice out.  I posted a message saying I wanted to exchange $10K for GBP at the mid-market spot rate published on ft.com.  In the 24 hours since, I have gotten five or six responses!  I feel like a bookie and am now working out the logistics of making this multi-party deal happen.  I love OTC currency markets!!