Dear Diary: I'm really sorta mad!

From the journal.

3:36 am sold 500 VXX 34.80 +1.79 +875

3:38 am sold 500 FAZ 16.95 +0.79 +375

Should've sold before the open or just after the open. I got greedy, wanting my earlier sell prices as both dropped, rose some, then dropped to a lower low in the first few minutes.

VXX opened at 35.74. Yesterday's close was 34.07. This morning's high was 36.22. I let 1.42 slide. ($710)

FAZ opened at 17.90. Yesterday's close was 16.94. This morning's high was 17.91. I let 97¢ slide. ($485)

Basically horrendous handling. I knew the open would be the most likely high of the day in this situation, following days of selloffs.

3:46 am VXX now 34.39. FAZ now 17.05.

After being up at least 2k when I last checked (it got higher at the open), I netted just $1,245 after commissions.

In other words, I barely made up for yesterday's losses. I'm pissed.

Now I'm checking my paper profit at the high. It was +1,605 on VXX and +875 on FAZ.

One of my sells the other day was just before the opening bell. That worked well. I should've repeated that today. The market, or at least VXX and FAZ, hit their highs within a minute or two after the bell. Downhill after that, giving up gains of 4-5%.

3:52 am FAZ 16.50 -2.5%, VXX 34.15 +0.23%.

Grade these trades a C-.

100% cash. Time to buy AAPL?

So long STP

My sell order on STP at 12.95 got hit while I was on the phone. It was at 12.80 when I made the order, so that's a pleasant surprise. Sure, it could go back over 13, but I'm not willing to play with the risk of the market falling on its face in the final hour. Friday's a holiday, which means tomorrow could be really flaky out there.

I got a minor profit in STP, missing out on last week's run to 14. It's all froth in this area since STP was at 6 two weeks ago. I do like green tech, but at the right price and when the currents are more stable. Right now, things are pure whitewash. I'd rather have some cash and be fluid.

WFC is down to 14.51. Glad I got out.

Aloha WFC

Media pounding us with bad news (Fed minutes report). One thing I'll never like about media, particularly TV, is the tone and method of blowing things out of proportion. As if they were tasked with the duty of scaring the public to death. Can't fight that. So rather than wait for WFC shares to keep dropping, I sold at 14.70 with a very minor profit. I can get back in when the media and the market are more rational and a little less hysterical.

I actually got a more normal night of sleep. Didn't get up until 7:30 or so, and by then C had dropped from a high of 2.84 to 2.76, now trading at 2.72. I would probably have sold at 2.81 and taken the nickel gain. I'm not married to the thing. I'll take a dime or nickel any time now. It's just choppy seas until the financials report. Then it gets better or worse.

If I'd been as practical last week, I would've sold WFC at 16-plus.

Have a limit order to sell STP at 12.95. Currently at 12.86.

Step back, fool

The fool would be me after a double-whammy on Citigroup today. First, the run-up from 97¢ to 3.08 (Wednesday) turns out to be primarily driven by short sellers who simply couldn't get their hands on shares. Fine. Then, C announced a reverse split in a stagnant trading session. The stock ran up to 3.89 in the first 15 minutes of the market (another early blast-off), then did a free-fall to 2.60. If you sold for a huge profit in those 15 (or 30 minutes), kudos to you. The stock did stall around 3.40, then at 3 before finishing at 2.60.

The financials all took a hit today, no surprise considering the massive run-up of the past week. I'm still holding, didn't make a move today. Not that I shouldn't have. Some people have itchy fingers. I have a costly aversion to pushing the button, pulling the trigger, however you want to put it. Didn't help that I (unexpectedly) fell asleep and missed the first 20 minutes of the market. Yeah. I should set the alarm clock. In hindsight, I broke one of my own rules about fast-moving stocks: up 50%, sell 50%. Had I stuck to that, I would've unloaded half at 3.45 or so. Why didn't I? Not sure. I do know that though I'm not emotionally connected to stocks (these days), I'm patient. Too patient. To a fault. Is patience an emotion? Not really. Better to be neutral, keep a good distance away and see the whole picture. Back away and see the entire mountain (up to the peak, and the potential dropoff downhill) rather than be so close to the action that you smell the trees.

Where does C go from here? My guess is C goes sideways until earnings, which is a month away. Stuck in traffic. Meanwhile, I'm one of the fools stuck right there with it.