Never made it back here over the weekend. Summertime. The Dow was up 25 points today on again light volume. Advance/declines were modestly positive. I wanted to get some calls but am not convinced this slight bounce is for real yet. The volume just isn't there. There are also only 4 days left until expiration so the timing must be exact really. Not that it can't be done but the risk is very high. Gold did not move today, however the XAU was down a point and NEM lost 75 cents. Does that preclude a decline in gold tomorrow? We'll see. I am now in the position of NEM having moved to the point of resistance and stalling. Will it be turned back here for a while? Or will it break through, as I am hoping? I have profits in both the July and August positions at the moment. Not as much as friday though. And there are only 4 days left on the July position. I would like to wait for the retail sales report on wednesday. Probably will. It's expected that NEM would need a rest after last week, just not a permanent sleep. The trade report tomorrow should impact the dollar, which way I don't know. And so it goes. It's certainly not the game for most, as I well know at this point. You are pretty much on your own here. It's not that it gets lonely or anything. But there isn't much input from friends or family. They're generally not traders. They might repeat something about the markets that they heard on the evening news. There won't be any insight, any help or anything worthwhile towards your goal of being a successful trader. You can't discuss things with them because they haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. You can try but they just don't get it. You're not bubbleboy but you do travel mentally in a different orbit. It's frustrating at times, believe me. But not everyone has the drive and determination to see it through. Not everyone has the guts to buck the crowd and go their own way. I mean who in their right mind would think they could get started out of their living room trading against the best minds and the biggest bank accounts on the planet? But what can I say? I'm on a mission. I know it can be done and equally as important, I know that I can do it. It won't happen overnight and it hasn't. But with patience and discipline, there's a lot of money out there to be had. And if nobody else can understand that, well I knew I was going to have to do it on my own anyway. So yeah, maybe it is kinda solitary at times. I suppose I chose the road less traveled...