The collision of global markets and social mood

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Joy And Pain Of Trading And Travel

The joy of trading is being able to work anywhere, set your own hours, and answer to no one. The pain is that it doesn't always turn out that way. Sometimes, you're at the mercy of the travel part.

True, I was lucky to be able to watch the market during the flight to Denver today with CNBC on the in-flight video screen. It felt great watching the market go up after a sloppy open and approach some levels I was eyeing for some quick profits on yesterday's calls against my SDS position. But seeing the market only made it worse.

Suddenly the S&P started to stall, like an old Cessna 172 with too much yoke. Slower and slower it rose until it reversed and started falling. I knew I wanted to sell, but I couldn't. It was torture.

Don't tell anyone, but I even pulled out my cell phone to try to call the trade desk, but at 39,000 feet, there was absolutely zero signal. (Yes, the plane kept right on flying.)

After a safe landing in Denver, I planned to turn on the laptop and dump the calls. But I had next to no signal (more on that later) and very little time before the shuttle to Breckenridge. I got an S&P quote by phone and it was rebounding a bit, so I let it ride. When I got to Breckenridge, it was even higher so I let it ride. But I missed the higher premium I would have received in the morning. That's just how it goes.

Still beats working in an office.

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