OT-OT for traders. "Stock Around The Clock"
Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000: Now that NYSE, Amex and Nasdaq have all gone
over to a 24-hour trading day, a hypothetical trader's diary bears
witness to the delight of stock market junkies-and insomniacs.
3 p.m. Finally opened my account at a 24 hour brokerage-I waited
three hours for the confirmation e-mail. Some lame excuse about
overloaded servers. Hard to focus on whriting sales presentation.
Must limit myself to checking my portfolio no more than five times
a day.
3:10 p.m. Five times is just not enough. It takes about 47 seconds
to call up the screen with my positions, so checking five times a
day adds up to only four minutes. I'm upping my limit to 10.
4:03 p.m. Doesn't look like I'll have my presentation ready for
tomorrow.
5:15 p.m. Stuck in traffic, and Netnetdotcom announced earnings at
4:30, beating expectations. I want to buy in, and buy in now! Why
didn't I get that car modem! If I make enough, I'll be able to roll
back my retirement a year. I'm already down to 53 from 65, beating
expectations.
5:32 p.m. Put in a market order for Netnet. Retirement at 52, here
I come... No, wait! Cancel! Cancel! Make that a limit order! Whew.
Wouldn't want to buy Netnet at the top of the run-up.
7 p.m. Dinner on the deck with John. Promised I wouldn't check quotes
until 8:30. Checked Netnet on my pager when I went inside to get the
salad dressing. Order not filled yet.
9:55 p.m. Stil no fill. This is depressing. I have a headache.
Must lie down.
11 p.m. Can't sleep. What I see when I close my eyes: INTC...MSFT...
AOL...YHOO...CPQ...
1:30 a.m. Horrible nighmare: I put everthing into Microsoft. Next day,
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer decide to take concurrent one-year
sabbaticals.
1:40 a.m. Sitting on the deck to clear my head. The stars are
gorgeous. Never ceases to amaze me that what I'm seeing comes
from light-years away.
1:41 a.m. Wonder how Netnetdotcom is trading overseas. Time to run
some charts.
6:30 a.m. In shower. Maybe my order will fill if I stop checking it
constantly. Crisis! Glass door too fogged up to see the trading
screen I installed next to the mirror.
6:32 a.m. Rug a sodden mess. Still no Netnet. Guess it's safe to
shampoo.
8:30 a.m. At work. Why am I so tired?
Taken from MONEY August 1999-Suzanne Woolley
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