Day 209 - Thursday, July 28th, 2011

At workday's end we made our way, via five-minute drive, to Ugland House, home of our parent company Maples & Calder, for an hour of presentations followed by convivial drinks in the Law Library - I should have got my phone out to take a picture of its glorious old-world grandeur but I self-decreed that it would have been most uncouth. Over champagne, sushi, strawberries and other assorted nibbles, the conversation ranged from the inability to buy a decent pair of men's shoes on the island (my apparently-snazzy pair prompted this particular dialogue) to the utterly different mindset and efficiency of an Indian MBA post-graduate.

Whilst leaving my boss home afterwards (for I hadn't over-indulged on the champers), I passed by this mansion which took my breath away, even by Cayman standards. Karen told me that it was owned by a 35-year-old guy (later named as Jerry Beck - thanks JP!)  who made his money writing options algorithms for Salomon Smith Barney and now lives off the royalties. He is married now but used to hang around with general Cayman folk in bars and restaurants and apparently was always the last to get his round in - typical! The "house" is valued at US$60 million (€42 million) and the view from the Caribbean can be seen in the picture below, but the amazing thing is that the house is right beside a public road with no security gates so there is obviously no fear of intruders or burglars, but then this *is* the Caymans....

Unswayed by such decadence, I returned home to feast on the brought-home chicken leftovers from last night's Casanova feast, with a couple of peanut-butter sandwiches, and jolly tasty it was too. Historic times, as it meant that I had racked up a total of $0 in expenses during the day - huzzah for fiscal prudence!

 
What a Dump!


Standard Living Area

http://www.housetodesign.com/2011/03/02/luxury-mansion-like-five-star-hotel/

Contentment : 16.5 / 25
Excitement :    3 / 10
Memorability : 4.5 / 15

Overall Score : 48% (45th out of 209)