I moved to New York City and started actively daytrading at a Wall Street firm over two years ago in August of 2007. Before which, I had been investing on a long-term timeframe for several years. Daytrading was certainly a mentality switch and Wall Street was another world! My career began just two months before the top of the market. Everything seemed rosy and traders were doing well as volatility had just begun to pick up pace.

My entering group of traders started by focusing solely on Lehman Brothers and we were only allowed to go long the stock. How ironic! Needless to say, we weren't all that profitable in our first few months. I think the only time any of us made any money was when a rumor circulated that Warren Buffett was going to purchase a large stake in Bear Stearns and all the investment banks rallied sharply. That was a good day, and our first happy hour!

As the market topped and prices started dropping, we saw Jim Cramer go nuts on CNBC in a segment that I will never forget. He argued that this crisis was much worse than anyone was forecasting. The Fed opened the discount window to struggling banks and began cutting the Federal Funds Target Rate. I believed through much of this that the market was experiencing a temporary pull-back and it was a good time to buy long-term. As the situation worsened, I was continually surprised by the downside action.

I specifically remember watching a PBS interview in late 2007 where the guest stated that the end of this selling pressure would come with the bankruptcy of a major bank. I was amazed by that statement as it was the farthest thing from my mind. This guy was clearly on the extreme and stating something no one else was saying or even thinking at the time. It's rather amazing how naive I was at the time.

I started a fantasy stock market account on Facebook with a few trading buddies here at the office in early 2008. Our idea was to make some big bets on macro ideas with play money to compete with each other. I made my first trade on Friday, March 14, 2008. Bear Stearns dropped over 50% that day and I bought BSC with my entire account at the close of the day expecting a bounce on Monday. I bought $10 million somewhere around $33 per share, a stock that was trading at $150 not one year before. I remember walking over to a buddy I was competing with and telling him about my trade. He thought it was a great idea. I said I thought my only risk was a take-under if JP Morgan were to buy the bank over the weekend as was rumored. He thought that was highly unlikely. In an off-hand manner, I said that we have no idea what it's worth and they're only going to pay what it's worth. I didn't realize how correct that statement would be.