(MONEY Magazine) – TUESDAY, AUG. 1, 2000: Now that the 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 writing 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. Still 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 nightmare: I put everything 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?

--SUZANNE WOOLLEY