hehe...this is a great thread.
about a month ago, i had gotten killed one day and i was pretty nonchalant about it. i usually get killed about one day a week, but the others are good, so it's all good.
anyway, i mentioned this to a friend, and he was like, "man, I wish I could help you out...I really feel bad for you, but I'm just too busy these days." now, i've never asked anyone for any help in the markets; he just assumed that he was an expert (his dad is some big wig in a securities company) because one time when he was a kid he bought something like activision and made money on it, so he assumed he was an expert on stocks.
so i reply, "oh, thanks anyway man, but i think i'll be okay" while trying to keep from laughing.
a few days later i was watching the flick Trading Places with the same friend, and I explained to him what was going on, and he was like "how can you sell something you don't have???"
so, again without laughing too hard, i explained this to him.
i think the problem with telling people that you trade for a living is that they normally have no clue what it's really about.