Had one of those days that zip by. You look up, and it's after 6. And then some kid in the office makes an announcement loud enough so everyone would hear: "Hey, Dow's down more than 500 points. It's true, it's true! Right here on the screen!

I coulda slugged him for being so smug about delivering bad news. I wouldn't want him around during a natural disaster. As I get older, I'm beginning to understand what W.C. Fields meant when he said "Go away, kid, you bother me."

So the Dow was down again. Big deal, right? I've seen my IRA's value slide down and up so many times that my neck hurts. But this was different. The former fluctuations, caused by my dipping into the pot so the kids and pets can eat, were my doing. But this was different, this was out of my control. For the first time, I felt threatened by a force I didn't quite fully understand.

First off, I am a complete idiot when it comes to investing. When my former employer bought me out three years ago, I, like millions of others across the country, took my financial marbles and looked for a pouch to put them in for safekeeping, a factor in why there's so much money parked in mutual funds.

So I put my little nest egg in an annuity, not knowing any better. I really didn't need an annuity but, anxious to invest the money somewhere, I trusted the broker's advice. It's my fault for not doing the homework. And there the money sits, once in a while looking a little feeble when I withdraw some cash and pay a fee to the fund for doing it -- and a whole lot more to the government for allowing me to do it. Sure, I should find a way to move the stash, but quite frankly, I'm too busy.

My three-year-old business is doing well but not so well that I can breathe easy on the weekends. I still live from week to week, and it's probably going to be like that for a while. I don't mind. It keeps my fingernails trim. A good friend told me the magic number for businesses is three, as in three years. Once you've turned that corner, your chances are pretty good that you've made it. I hope she's right, because then I won't mind so much when some kid announces to a roomful of entrepreneur boomers that their twilight-year funds have just been flushed down the toilet. Meanwhile, I'll stand fast, leave my money where it is, and hope for a record year in sales. Boy, is this a great country or what?

George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work. His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at george@staffwriters.com.