Part VI
hehe.
i was the sound and lighting man for a state wide bar band called Prism. we were interviewing local talent.
this young guy came in. i was the only one there that knew Jon, and at the time did not know he sang.
any way, every time he was at the mike, i would get a strange thump thump thump through the mike feeds. it took me about 5 minutes to narrow it down to Jon's mike.
he was keeping time with his foot on the mike riser.
we decided he was not going to cut it with the band.
who knew within 3 years he would go worldwide, and Prism would be a has been bar band??
today I went fishing with my little brother, and all we caught was a fishing rod.
.... Yep.... you guessed it...
... I have a new job... Hanging out my own shingle... sort of. I'll be working as a contract sales associate with Schaeffer Oil. We'll be living by my wits with some IRA reserves while I get my sales volume high enough to be self-sustaining. The Regional Sales Manager is flying in to Birmingham to meet with me on Tuesday, and I'll take off from that point with a combination of corporate-based and in-the-field training efforts for several weeks, and then I'll springboard directly into being on my own and making calls and securing new clients as quickly as possible.
After almost 23 years in manufacturing palnts and engineering offices, I am so excited to be on my own that I can hardly stand myself. The decision to go this route instead of continuing along my well-established career path was made after several weeks of intensive soul-searching and much thought and prayer. On top of that, my wife and I took two full weeks of not even discussing it with one another and reached the exact same conclusion at the same time regarding how well the Schaeffer opportunity "fits" with my experiences and goals.
Given that she is so cautious and risk-averse, I consider her shared conclusion as a direct confirmation from God that we are taking the right path, even though it will be difficult and stressful for all of us. We've already been changing our grocery shopping activities and meal plans to include more beans and rice so we can have additional stretch in the IRA resources while the business is growing, but it looks like we have a good stash to tide us over for at least a year, and perhaps for two years, depending on how fast the Lord sees fit to let the business grow.
Thanks to all of you who have asked after me from time-to-time, and for all who have prayed. Keep praying... even though we're now at the opera house... the show is just beginning and the fat lady hasn't sung yet!
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
I had a lady walk into the store as I was putting more corn out. She told me she bought some peaches there before that were terrible and she threw them on her compost pile. I asked her what was wrong with them. She says they were hard. So I explain that it was because they're not ripe yet you need to put them on your counter and let them ripen. So she goes outside to pick blackberries to make a pie. She needed the peaches for a pie apparently. So while she was outside one of my bosses came over. Basically I answer to three people. Eric, his mother Rita, and Eric's wife Becky. So Rita got there and I explained it to her. She got Eric and he said no it's her fault customer is responsible for final ripening no refund. I ask if I can kick her out of the store if need be. They say do whatever you feel you need to. So the lady comes back I weigh her blackberries and get her to pay for them before I discuss any sort of refund. So I give her the change and tell her that there's no refund it was her fault. She says oh well nobody told me I'd have to ripen them. So then she makes a scene in front of the customers I had waiting. So I checked out a couple people that were waiting and then went back to arguing with her. Eventually I told her "I'm going to have to ask you to leave and not come back" and she told me "I'm not leaving." So I checked out the remaining customers. I tell her it's not my call I can't do anything for her. She says she wants to talk to my boss so at this point I've had enough. I found Rita in the office and told her. She goes and gets Eric to go and kick her out. Eric tells her she needs to leave and is no longer welcome back and if she comes back it's trespassing and holds the door open for her. She says she's not leaving. So he walks back towards the office to call the police to have her arrested. Right as she was getting to the door she decided it wasn't worth getting arrested over 6 dollars and left.
Some people are unbelievable. I would never even consider arguing with a clerk over something. Nevermind refusing to leave when asked / told to by the store clerk as well as the owner.
So if she comes back she's going to be escorted off the premises by some nice young men in blue uniforms with shiny badges and tasers.
great news, and best of luck. i have faith in you to make it big time with your new venture.
Little Pete:
once an idiot, always an idiot. people that are so stupid that they do not know the difference between green fruit and ripe fruit should not be allowed to breed.
i don't think you have seen the last of her though.
.... Yep.... you guessed it...
... I have a new job... Hanging out my own shingle... sort of. I'll be working as a contract sales associate with Schaeffer Oil. We'll be living by my wits with some IRA reserves while I get my sales volume high enough to be self-sustaining. The Regional Sales Manager is flying in to Birmingham to meet with me on Tuesday, and I'll take off from that point with a combination of corporate-based and in-the-field training efforts for several weeks, and then I'll springboard directly into being on my own and making calls and securing new clients as quickly as possible.
After almost 23 years in manufacturing palnts and engineering offices, I am so excited to be on my own that I can hardly stand myself. The decision to go this route instead of continuing along my well-established career path was made after several weeks of intensive soul-searching and much thought and prayer. On top of that, my wife and I took two full weeks of not even discussing it with one another and reached the exact same conclusion at the same time regarding how well the Schaeffer opportunity "fits" with my experiences and goals.
Given that she is so cautious and risk-averse, I consider her shared conclusion as a direct confirmation from God that we are taking the right path, even though it will be difficult and stressful for all of us. We've already been changing our grocery shopping activities and meal plans to include more beans and rice so we can have additional stretch in the IRA resources while the business is growing, but it looks like we have a good stash to tide us over for at least a year, and perhaps for two years, depending on how fast the Lord sees fit to let the business grow.
Thanks to all of you who have asked after me from time-to-time, and for all who have prayed. Keep praying... even though we're now at the opera house... the show is just beginning and the fat lady hasn't sung yet!
Hey Ed - did the camo help you sneak up on dem fishes?

Great news on the career change Pete! Best of luck to you on that!
Oddly enough, I decided to add Denver, CO back on my dice.com (job seeker website) profile the other day, and then search for what is out there. Lo and behold, a job pops up through EDP Recruiting, a company I worked for years ago. So I call them about the job immediately. Turns out they are recruiting for Denver Water!!! Just a refresher, this is the company I interviewed with before leaving CO and they last-minute dropped the job completely. Turns out they REALLY needed a Unix person. Now they're back in the hunt, and so am I for that job.
So yes, the underlying info is that I'm very likely moving back west to Colorado. The East just isn't for me any more, and while CO natives are.... different .... I still have some good friends out there and the humidity of the East just kills my desire to go outside at all. It will likely be a few months yet, and if I can score a temp/short term contract job first, then I might take it, but I fully expect to be at the foot of the Rockies before 2010 comes.











