Trying the Journal

Sorry for the late post. I saved this on my desktop at home. Just getting home. Posting...

(Note: Since I’m on the west coast, all times PST)

Need to stay problem/solution focused.

What has worked? Research, practice, backtesting. Studying. Taking some reasonable risk.

7:41 took a trade in apple. Half size. Very quick, small plus. But good to get in the game. My sense was correct. Still watching it.

I think that, for me, getting into the market—for better or worse—pumps me up and gets me thinking.

8:00ish passed up on a GOOG trade. Spread seemed large (probably standard), caught me a little off guard. Good setup and would’ve been nice trade…good job on seeing it form. Terrible job at taking the odds.

Idea: emotional regulation by music.

9:30 probably should’ve waited. Bought some GOOG. Going to see if I can get another push up on it…

9:40 GOOG spread is so fucking wide it kinda freaks me out…plus the market isn’t moving as well as I’d like.

9:43 Finally small positive. Not sure if this is going to last on GOOG. But I don’t want to short change myself…hmm.

9:46 I think GOOG definitely has the potential to go higher. Taking my gain, because there’s just no volume. Makes me a little nervous. But I’ll keep my eye on it.

9:47 Yeah. A slight pullback. Might get going again, but I got out at a decent position.

Also, I have some ITW on from earlier. Nothing large. Down negligibly. A Stewie suggestion. Could give me a few bucks over the next day.

Thinking of grabbing some soy milk for breakfast and a yerba mate…The short walk to the store might do my heart some good.

9:51 Good short term call on GOOG. Getting shoes on. Heading to the store.

10:18 Long walk. One store closed. But I’m back. Closed my ITW. Although it is putting in somewhat of a bottom, I guess. I just don’t like these tiny stocks. Canceled out my small AAPL gain this morning. Still up for the day. GOOG is pushing back up again. AAPL too.

Note: I feel as though AAPL is better money than GOOG, but entirely sure. Small test: check average spread throughout the day.

10:24 Yeah. ITW popped back up. Haha. Maybe I’ll get a hang of these smaller stocks someday. Right now, I think I’ll stick with more liquid ones.

10:34 made some hot cereal. I keep checking back on ITW. Gotta stay away from those. Wasting my time! Driving me crazy!

10:42 Huge  approx -920 $TICK reading. I had to check ITW. Got slammed a bit. I’m happy. Haha. This emotional swinging is why I should stay away from these little guys! Despite my wishes, I’ll probably look at it at least 10 more times before the end of the day…

~10:50 a little early on my SPY short. Or a little late, as I didn’t catch the last bit of drop. Wanted to see if we would head a little lower. Small position and small loss. Negligible. But testing waters. I guess.

11:03 took a small loss. Just not worth the uncertainty. Now I feel as though I’m going to check back and forth comparing my exit price to the current price throughout the day! Not again. I gotta cut it off and start anew. Leave old trades in the past, more or less.

11:09 Tempting to hit something. Taking a step back for a sec.

11:17 There’s my leg down in the SPY! Just had to give it a chance. Probably jumped the gun on entering too…

11:22 Canceled my subscription to Stewie. I love his trading chatroom and his trading history is really good. I just don’t think small stocks fit my personality very well…Plus, at the moment $50/month, though cheap, is a bit too much, especially considering all the other sources and research I have and do…wish I could find a decent trading room, though. When I’m a little more successful, I may join back just for the trading room. Nice having a social outlet throughout the day.

11:37 Tempted to call it a day. Still another hour and a half of trading left.

11:47 quick scalp in Apple. Misread p/l and got out a little early, I think. Anyway, up for the day. Calling it quits :D Holding onto profit and giving myself a rest. I’ll do some research later.