"Something New" tastyBeats // April 27 - May 1

When I found out we were bringing the tastylive blog back to talk about music, I thought, “Finally-- My two worlds are colliding!”

Picture this: a 10 year old, buck-toothed Katie coming home from elementary school, microwaving nachos, turning on MTV’s Total Request Live, and dreaming of being in Carson Daly’s shoes, interviewing the most popular music artists in the world.

But alas, that’s not what we’ll be doing here. Instead, we’re here to share tastylive’s favorite tunes with you each week. A bunch of you have reached out asking, “What song played after Last Call?” or “Do you have a playlist of songs you use on air?” With “Stay At Home” in full-swing, we finally got around to crafting a weekly blog with music from the live show as well as a few of our favorite song choices.

However, we can’t be all fun and no business. That’s where I come in. Where there is talk of music, there must be talk of mean reversion. Where there is R.E.M., there must be I.V.R. Where there is Ariana Grande, there must also be SosGrande. 

So, I’ll save you from dissecting my current obsession with Dua Lipa, or which songs are “required” when making breakfast on the weekend, and just spit out a few of my trade takeaways for the week:

1. “Patience” is not only the magic word for sheltering in place during COVID-19, but also for holding positions. While VIX is nowhere near the mid 80s like we saw in March, it’s definitely not in the teens either. Heightened volatility means slower contractions, and more time in the trade for premium-selling strategies. Sometimes ya gotta wait to reap your profits or see a move in your direction!

2. Find what you’re missing. There’s never a wrong time to step back and examine your portfolio. For me, I need to chill on the futures options and get some more ETFs and individual names on the board. Luckily, there’s plenty of liquidity and opportunity with high IV, price extremes, and earnings season. 

3. This intraday action hasn’t slowed down yet, and with that, sometimes it feels like an eternity before premium comes out of options trades (see point number one). I’m looking forward to the Small Exchange products to try my hand at smaller, short-term plays and as another tool to utilize in my portfolio. 

But trading aside and with no shortage of time available to ponder, or improve, or simply exist right now, I’m trying to find other outlets and distractions just like everyone else!  Here are some Other Takeaways/ShowerThoughts/Things I’m Into At The Moment

1. Trader Joe’s Chili Onion Crunch is the nectar of the gods. I’ve been putting it on pasta, pizza, salads, hummus, dumplings, everything!

2. These new songs by two of my favorite Chicago artists/bands. “Chicago Bae” by Ric Wilson, “Funny Games” by Modern Vices (which are in this week’s playlist)

3. I should probably change my name to “Carbie” McGarrigle at this point, but to get some veggies in I’ve been slicing Cucumbers and adding Furikake seasoning and some soy sauce/coconut aminos. It’s like…a sushi ghost? I don’t know, just go with me on this one. 

4. Do you love Australian accents? Do you love true crime? Do you love 4 years worth of podcasts to keep you entertained (I say that term loosely because murder) for months to come? If you answered yes, check out Casefile. The narrator is no-fuss and no personal side stories, PLUS he focuses a lot on British and Australian true crime, which makes it interesting because there are a lot of cases I’d never heard about before. More than once Mikey and Tracy caught me listening to it at work when I thought my headphones were plugged in. I can’t help that he’s more interesting than Tom and Tony sometimes!

5. I was always an “art” kid in school -- enrolling 2D or Studio classes for my elective courses. Now, though, apartment living (and poor time management skills) can make it tough to keep up with it. But when I need a little inspiration or when I just need a time killer, I always check out thisiscolossal.com

And that’s it! I hope you guys enjoy weekly access to tasty’s tunes! Let us know if you have any feedback, be well, and I’ll catch you guys in a few weeks (and on Market Mindset every day, of course).