GM's thread about nothing (29 Viewers)

[St. Louis Bob]

I still use bar soap and I would like to punch UPS in the nuts. E-mail just received from my assistant:

[SIZE=12pt]Hi, you had an shipment to D**** ****** aka Bogart that UPS has lost. They want to know what it was and the cost of it to reimburse it. Let me know please[/SIZE]

 

[General Malaise]

I still use bar soap and I would like to punch UPS in the nuts. E-mail just received from my assistant:

[SIZE=12pt]Hi, you had an shipment to D**** ****** aka Bogart that UPS has lost. They want to know what it was and the cost of it to reimburse it. Let me know please[/SIZE]

Eleventy Billion Dollars!

 

[Crazy Canuck]

I still use bar soap and I would like to punch UPS in the nuts. E-mail just received from my assistant:

[SIZE=12pt]Hi, you had an shipment to D**** ****** aka Bogart that UPS has lost. They want to know what it was and the cost of it to reimburse it. Let me know please[/SIZE]

"2 pounds of Lebanese hash. Please send $4000."

 

[St. Louis Bob]

I still use bar soap and I would like to punch UPS in the nuts. E-mail just received from my assistant:

[SIZE=12pt]Hi, you had an shipment to D**** ****** aka Bogart that UPS has lost. They want to know what it was and the cost of it to reimburse it. Let me know please[/SIZE]

"2 pounds of Lebanese hash. Please send $4000."

I still use bar soap and I would like to punch UPS in the nuts. E-mail just received from my assistant:

[SIZE=12pt]Hi, you had an shipment to D**** ****** aka Bogart that UPS has lost. They want to know what it was and the cost of it to reimburse it. Let me know please[/SIZE]

Eleventy Billion Dollars!

I carefully wrapped each bottle in newspaper and packed it in a box full of bubble wrap. I just don't feel like having to do it again. Bunch of dickmittens.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Showering is soooo 2012.

True, unless you do it outside with a garden hose. Going "county" is as real as it gets.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

I carefully wrapped each bottle in newspaper and packed it in a box full of bubble wrap. I just don't feel like having to do it again. Bunch of dickmittens.

I guess you learned your lesson after my Secret Santa mishap.

 

[Abraham]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

 

[Thorn]

Back from Astros corn hole. Props to ignoramus for setting it up. A few notes:

-for some reasons cos is unable to receive texts from me. Even in a group thread. Maybe he has me on the JoeT plan

-was talking all game how I've always wanted to catch a foul ball. Told cos the story about when I was 13 I caught 4 straight HR balls from Ron Gant during BP, but I've always wanted to catch a live one. Literally as soon as cos left I caught a bouncer down from the upper deck in the exact to where cos was sitting

-ignoramus has a funny story to tell about the initial meet

A good time had by all

Since I work about a mile away from Minute Maid and didn't have to battle Houston traffic, I ended up being the first one to the bar. I grab a table, order a beer and check my texts... TF says he's walking down Texas St. toward the bar. Cool, he's close. Having never met the guy, I don't know what to look for (other than a dude adorned in purple and gold from head-to-toe, yelling "Geaux Tigers") so I'm just kind of looking for someone that looks like they're looking for someone.One guy who just walks in and is kind of standing there, looking around fits the bill so I make eye contact and yell "Chris?" He nods and walks over, we shake hands and I introduce myself by my slave name and his buddy comes over and introduces himself. We all sit down and there's a little bit of an awkward silence so I ask "So, you're in town for work?" "Yep. work." He asks me what I do and I tell him. A couple more minutes of small talk go by and Chris asks me how I knew his name. I'm a little confused because we've been exchanging texts throughout the day and I had just scanned the thread earlier and for some reason was reminded of this post, so all I could muster was "Aren't you Chris, from the internet?"

Blank stares.

So I'm trying to explain that I'm meeting these guys from the internet that I only know through a message board. Stranger Chris asks me "You do that sort of thing?" "Well, um, this is my first time." They pretty quickly get up from the table and hightail it to the bar and thankfully just a minute or two later cos and TF finally show up.

Turns out Stranger Chris and his buddy were sitting about ten rows in front of us and one section over at the game. Small world.

Cos getting his backpack full of kombucha and vodkas in past ball park security was a thing of beauty. (Although doesn't the vodka kill off all the beneficial bacteria in the kombucha?) Thanks for making the SIX HOUR DRIVE to hang with a D-lister (and TF), GB.

TF's got a glorious head of hair and DID nab a foul ball probably before cos even made it to the top of the stairs (and gave it to a nearby kid, BTW).

Good guys and good times.

Wait why would someone sit down at your table just because you knew one of their first names? Who were they meeting?

 

[Hawks64]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

Good luck GB, hope things move in a positive direction for you.

 

[Thorn]

TF's got a glorious head of hair and DID nab a foul ball probably before cos even made it to the top of the stairs (and gave it to a nearby kid, BTW).Good guys and good times.

That's a quality guy right there. All he wanted to do was catch a live foul ball and when he did? Gave it up.

what a loser

 

[Abraham]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

Good luck GB, hope things move in a positive direction for you.

Thanks. I'm coming to grips with the fact that I'll never own the Astros or even a Ferrari. More seriously, I'm coming to grips with the fact that despite my previously high opinion of myself, I'm "just a guy." Nothing wrong with that at all. I could only be so blessed as to be a great father and husband. That would be the most rewarding thing I can imagine. But I spent the last decade thinking I could do whatever I want due to sheer intellectual might which is both foolish and irresponsible. My arrogance led me to the brink of disaster and I'm VERY thankful to have a way out that doesn't include losing everything important to me.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

You have real world work experience that most people our age couldn't acquire in 10 "normal" jobs. It could be enough to ensure you're never unemployed for very long, as it's a perspective most hiring managers should value.

I know that's not much consolation right now, but it's an asset, same as the $50k somebody else might have stashed in a 401(k) by grinding it out the last 5 years while gaining very little in the way of meaningful, transferable skills.

And just because you're taking this job right now, that doesn't mean you need to stop looking for the one that allows you to make the difference professionally that you've craved your whole life. There are lots of ways to make a difference professionally. And there are lots of people who "failed" at things at a much older age than you. Life is less a series of beginnings and ends than it is a series of transitions.

This is one of those.

Just my $.02.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I feel you Abe. I left a large law firm where I made plenty of money after about a year to come be a part of my family business that's existed for over 80 years. I've been here since late 2005 now. I'm starting to think I gave up too soon on the firm. Things here aren't going so well at the moment, and I'm feeling like the company would be better off without my salary around its neck. I'm not sure how my experience translates to the outside world now though and I'm not sure what I want to do or where I want to do it.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

 

[Osaurus]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

I would go with my last one.

 

[UniAlias]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in. This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight. I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life. I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start. The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time. Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again. When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems. Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

Good luck GB, hope things move in a positive direction for you.GLGB

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

I've never even thought about it. My job is probably more "rewarding" than most but I don't think about it that way I guess.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

I've never even thought about it. My job is probably more "rewarding" than most but I don't think about it that way I guess.

I hadn't either, until I read his.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

Mine was a day I wasn't even supposed to be working. Came in with a bunch of friends and the place was packed, so I jumped behind the bar and helped out whenever she needed a hand. After helping to close, we ###### in the back room.

Plus, she gave me $100 for helping behind the bar.

Gods, that was a good day.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

Mine was a day I wasn't even supposed to be working. Came in with a bunch of friends and the place was packed, so I jumped behind the bar and helped out whenever she needed a hand. After helping to close, we ###### in the back room.

Plus, she gave me $100 for helping behind the bar.

Gods, that was a good day.

So what you're saying is that "Abe" should get a bartending job? I was just about to suggest that.

 

[Abraham]

So what you're saying is that "Abe" should get a bartending job? I was just about to suggest that.

Been there. Great job for a single person. Best job ever.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

So what you're saying is that "Abe" should get a bartending job? I was just about to suggest that.

Been there. Great job for a single person. Best job ever.

Get TWO bartending jobs.

WA-LA

 

[Gadzooks]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

I love you. And your sweater vests. Seriously.

 

[Abraham]

Thanks 'Zooks.

 

[Gadzooks]

Oooooohhhhhh Sofa.................. I have confirmation from the United States Post Office that a very special Christmasy box of joy will be delivered to home of Sofakings on this Friday. My goal all along was to get it to you before May, so I'm a little ahead of schedule. Please, note I included a letter with an inventory of prizes however, one item is not in the box which is a paperback novel titled "Black Ice". I bought it a couple years ago and figured that if I ever met Shuke in real life that then he would be facebook friends with me and then I'd find out his address and mail the book to him. That book was the last thing I was putting in the box and when I went to look for it I couldn't find it. I asked Little Zooks if he saw the book I left on the dinning room table and he said he saw it and he hid somewhere in the house because he thought that would be funny. He has no clue where he hid it. I didn't feel like updating the inventory on the letter because I was afraid that would delay me in mailing the package for another few months. I hope you and your family enjoy everything in the box.

I love you

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Oooooohhhhhh Sofa.................. I have confirmation from the United States Post Office that a very special Christmasy box of joy will be delivered to home of Sofakings on this Friday. My goal all along was to get it to you before May, so I'm a little ahead of schedule. Please, note I included a letter with an inventory of prizes however, one item is not in the box which is a paperback novel titled "Black Ice". I bought it a couple years ago and figured that if I ever met Shuke in real life that then he would be facebook friends with me and then I'd find out his address and mail the book to him. That book was the last thing I was putting in the box and when I went to look for it I couldn't find it. I asked Little Zooks if he saw the book I left on the dinning room table and he said he saw it and he hid somewhere in the house because he thought that would be funny. He has no clue where he hid it. I didn't feel like updating the inventory on the letter because I was afraid that would delay me in mailing the package for another few months. I hope you and your family enjoy everything in the box. I love you

So you're saying Black Ice doesn't exist?

 

[Gadzooks]

We had a mandatory hour and a half sexual harrassment training at work today. They brought in someone from the outside to conduct the training and based on the examples she gave of sexual harrassment lawsuits I think everyone is now afraid to smile or speak to anyone else at work. A few highlights:

She gave an example of how our company HAS to provide a work environment that is free of sexual harrassment and that includes outside vendors that come into our building. She gave an example of the Coca Cola guy that comes in to refill the Coca Cola machine, that if every time he came in he said inappropriate things to a female employee, she asked what should the company do if this happened? Someone blurted out "switch to Pepsi"

After we turned in a "sign in sheet" to prove we all attended, the instructer looked at the sheet and chuckled and then said "this is the first time in all my years of doing sexual harrassment training that someone signed their name on the sign in sheet and then wrote I LOVE YOU"

About 10 minutes into the training, a male co-worker walks into the training and the instructor stops talking and turns and looks at him. He looks at her and says "Hi, I'm here for the gangbang"

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

We had a mandatory hour and a half sexual harrassment training at work today. They brought in someone from the outside to conduct the training and based on the examples she gave of sexual harrassment lawsuits I think everyone is now afraid to smile or speak to anyone else at work. A few highlights:

She gave an example of how our company HAS to provide a work environment that is free of sexual harrassment and that includes outside vendors that come into our building. She gave an example of the Coca Cola guy that comes in to refill the Coca Cola machine, that if every time he came in he said inappropriate things to a female employee, she asked what should the company do if this happened? Someone blurted out "switch to Pepsi"

After we turned in a "sign in sheet" to prove we all attended, the instructer looked at the sheet and chuckled and then said "this is the first time in all my years of doing sexual harrassment training that someone signed their name on the sign in sheet and then wrote I LOVE YOU"

About 10 minutes into the training, a male co-worker walks into the training and the instructor stops talking and turns and looks at him. He looks at her and says "Hi, I'm here for the gangbang"

That line works in so many situations.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

We had a mandatory hour and a half sexual harrassment training at work today. They brought in someone from the outside to conduct the training and based on the examples she gave of sexual harrassment lawsuits I think everyone is now afraid to smile or speak to anyone else at work. A few highlights:

She gave an example of how our company HAS to provide a work environment that is free of sexual harrassment and that includes outside vendors that come into our building. She gave an example of the Coca Cola guy that comes in to refill the Coca Cola machine, that if every time he came in he said inappropriate things to a female employee, she asked what should the company do if this happened? Someone blurted out "switch to Pepsi"

After we turned in a "sign in sheet" to prove we all attended, the instructer looked at the sheet and chuckled and then said "this is the first time in all my years of doing sexual harrassment training that someone signed their name on the sign in sheet and then wrote I LOVE YOU"

About 10 minutes into the training, a male co-worker walks into the training and the instructor stops talking and turns and looks at him. He looks at her and says "Hi, I'm here for the gangbang"

That line works in so many situations.

Prom chaperone?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

 

[Tremendous Upside]

That's great news UH! Congrats!

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Keep at it, Uruk.

 

[Abraham]

great news!

 

[UniAlias]

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Keep at it, Uruk.

That's great news UH! Congrats!

Thanks, guys. I really think I'm too ornery to croak (a bad cell meaner than I can have me). I'm shaking, though, thinking how close I was to quitting. I may still lose, but right now I feel great. I'm not so sold on good thoughts on making ill folks better, but I'm MORE sold on it now

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Keep at it, Uruk.

That's great news UH! Congrats!

Thanks, guys. I really think I'm too ornery to croak (a bad cell meaner than I can have me). I'm shaking, though, thinking how close I was to quitting. I may still lose, but right now I feel great. I'm not so sold on good thoughts on making ill folks better, but I'm MORE sold on it now

Sorry for the bad grammar - typing from my phone is beyond me

 

[Homer J Simpson]

"The best day of my professional life is..."

Funny. I've had lots of "successes" in my professional life. I'm not sure I could finish this sentence.

Mine was a day I wasn't even supposed to be working. Came in with a bunch of friends and the place was packed, so I jumped behind the bar and helped out whenever she needed a hand. After helping to close, we ###### in the back room.

Plus, she gave me $100 for helping behind the bar.

Gods, that was a good day.

Pretty sure I'm gonna use this picture later.

 

[Gadzooks]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

I LOVE YOU

 

[Guster]

TF's got a glorious head of hair and DID nab a foul ball probably before cos even made it to the top of the stairs (and gave it to a nearby kid, BTW).

Good guys and good times.

That's a quality guy right there. All he wanted to do was catch a live foul ball and when he did? Gave it up.

TF sounds like a good guy

 

[Guster]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

I LOVE YOU

Great news UH. REALLY happy I paid you now

 

[strykerpks]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

Great news!

 

[Guster]

Abe, sounds like some awesome perspective from you today. I can't imagine how hard it must be to type that out, but I'm proud of you

It's tough to give up on your dream and put the good of your family first, but I'm happy for you that you've made that choice.

 

[Abraham]

Abe, sounds like some awesome perspective from you today. I can't imagine how hard it must be to type that out, but I'm proud of you It's tough to give up on your dream and put the good of your family first, but I'm happy for you that you've made that choice.

Me too. Not everything is solved, but it's a good start. Had an interview this morning as well (always good to have a backup plan) and I really liked the company. The most sobering thing has been how little my experience translates financially. I'm not entitled to having a high paying job, but I know a lot of people that earn 2x what I will and they are idiots. Lots of ground to make up, but I will get there. My brother works in comp at the company where I am going to work and is putting together a sales contest where the top prize is either going to be a Ferrari or five bmw's (team award) so there is still hope. Lol.I've also been sniffing around starting another business and have had a great ongoing conversation with Drj here until I shake myself and say "snap out of it. Maybe later but definitely not now!"

 

[Tecumseh]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in.

This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight.

I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life.

I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start.

The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time.

Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again.

When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems.

Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

Been there, man. On the upside, it sounds like you're doing inside sales/telemarketing. There should absolutely be a track to outside sales where the big money is. Stick it out, do your absolute best, and the next opportunity will come along. The important thing is that you have your foot back in the door. From there, it's much better than standing on the outside, looking in from the rain.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Hey, y'all. Someone here has a tumor half the size it used to be. And that piece of #### is on the run (the tumor, not me; I'd lose).

I LOVE YOU

Great news UH. REALLY happy I paid you now

I'm happy you did, too, my friend. Going to Vegas in a few weeks to meet a few friends

 

[mr roboto]

Abe,

I made the same decision 3 years ago. Had a business that I loved. Worked very hard at it. People who saw my product (industry people) were very complimentary. I had a great idea on paper, and my execution was very good.

However, I wasn't real good at the business side. Too trusting, too willing to chase good money after bad. After 4 years, gave it up. Sunk all of our savings into it. Never saw a steady paycheck. I had to take a 'job' right as I had paid for all the lessons I learned, right when I could have started making progress, but we just couldn't afford it anymore.

I applied at entry-level jobs in my area of schooling (finance, marketing). Real bottom end of the totem like kind of stuff. Then I made a call to a friend of mine that had a 10 year old business he was ready to expand, go national, already proved himself. I said I wanted to work for him, if he would pay me a basic living wage and some growth incentives. He agreed.

In 2 years I've been relatively self directed, still 'entrepreneurial' in the sense that I'm directly growing a small company. But guess what? He takes all the arrows and bull shot and worry home with him. I feel it, but it's nothing like being 'the guy'. Plus, I'm able to learn and be mentored.

Maybe your experience would set you up well for that. I know jobs like that don't grow on trees. But you must know some growing companies in your space that would really like a go getter who has paid his dues.

You probably don't need advice. But based on an earlier comment, your experience in your own business is IMMENSLY valuable.

 

[Abraham]

Update about all kinds of things....

Spoiler

Wife is gone for a few days with the kid. I accepted a job that is a good, quality job. But it's a "cog in the wheel" job and I'm unlikely to ever make the difference professionally that I've craved my whole life. If I do a good job in this spot for a couple years I'll have a chance to move up a hair, rinse and repeat. But the paychecks come on time and don't bounce, which hasn't happened for me in a really long time. I have to pass a background check but they tell me my credit (spotty at best) isn't a consideration. I'm hopeful my afternoon in the county lockup for a non-moving traffic ticket doesn't factor in. This point is also a confirmation that the business I started 5 years ago is unlikely to ever do much; at this point I'm trying to streamline things enough that my investors have a chance to get their money back in the next few years. And if, big if, I'm able to get them repaid eventually I think I'd just as likely to shut it down and move on with my life as I am to say "this is a viable small business that provides supplemental income." Hopefully that changes but I'm so exhausted right now that it's hard to stay enthused. Would love to take a real vacation but money is....well, tight. I have tried to determine for weeks/months exactly why I did this (started my own business). Sadly, I can't really put my finger on it. At first I did it because I thought I'd be able to build a company that provided good jobs and gave me a chance to make good money. I enjoyed being "in charge" but it turns out that maybe I am not that good at it after all. I enjoyed the lifestyle of working from wherever I wanted and calling the shots, but it turns out that over time that created more stress and friction than I imagined. I enjoyed telling people "I own a business" but that only comes up every few months in casual conversation. I enjoyed the work initially but over time I was doing so many different things that it felt like juggling honeybadgers 24 hours a day and the enjoyment was largely gone. I'd go to bed worrying and wake up worrying - about the business, my family, money, investors, what I think I can actually accomplish in life. I'm blessed that my wife hasn't left me again. I've sunk our life savings in to this business, gotten it out, put it back in, etc. and all I've managed to do is marginally extend our runway. On the one hand it could be worse; we could be dead and all could be lost. On the other hand, there are a zillion different things I could have done that might have helped a little. But I don't think there is anything I could have done that would have significantly changed our trajectory other than not drawing a salary early on. But if I'd made this my side business I never would have made it this far. I'm 36 years old and have done a lot of things in business and managed a lot of tough situations. The interviewer at the job I took asked me, "You'll be expected to make 25 phone calls a day and log at least three hours of talk time while managing your pipeline. Does that sound like something you can do?" I replied, "I've spent five years dealing with banks, investors, customers, vendors, partners and employees ten hours a day without a roadmap. If I did a good job, I had a job in the morning. If I did a bad job, my family didn't pay it's bills. What you describe sounds like a walk in the park." But also, I'm 36 years old and I'm basically starting over at square one on trying to be a responsible employee, husband, and father. MOst people in my position have put away for retirement and saved some other money and have a job track. I just have a job, hopefully. But it's a long overdue start. The best day of my professional life is captured in a picture my wife took with her phone. I was wearing a suit in our room on the 5th floor of the Ambassador East hotel in Chicago. She was 7 months pregnant and had traveled with me to meet what would become our biggest customer for the first time. She took a picture of me by the window right as I was leaving for the meeting. I didn't know it then, but that was the peak. The positive potential was through the roof. Just couldn't pull it all together over time. Kind of numb about the whole thing. I'm so worn out from the difficulties we've had in recent years that I am having trouble feeling excited about the new job just as I'm having trouble feeling sad/depressed about the business. Like I said, the business will go on but it is a near certainty that I'll never work here full time again. When in times of trouble I turn to beer. The cause of, and solution to, most of life's problems. Thanks for the support Jim Tan.

Been there, man. On the upside, it sounds like you're doing inside sales/telemarketing. There should absolutely be a track to outside sales where the big money is. Stick it out, do your absolute best, and the next opportunity will come along. The important thing is that you have your foot back in the door. From there, it's much better than standing on the outside, looking in from the rain.There is. And they do tuition reimbursement if I want to get an MBA or some technical certs, which is awesome.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Abe, sounds like some awesome perspective from you today. I can't imagine how hard it must be to type that out, but I'm proud of you It's tough to give up on your dream and put the good of your family first, but I'm happy for you that you've made that choice.

Me too. Not everything is solved, but it's a good start. Had an interview this morning as well (always good to have a backup plan) and I really liked the company. The most sobering thing has been how little my experience translates financially. I'm not entitled to having a high paying job, but I know a lot of people that earn 2x what I will and they are idiots. Lots of ground to make up, but I will get there. My brother works in comp at the company where I am going to work and is putting together a sales contest where the top prize is either going to be a Ferrari or five bmw's (team award) so there is still hope. Lol.I've also been sniffing around starting another business and have had a great ongoing conversation with Drj here until I shake myself and say "snap out of it. Maybe later but definitely not now!"

COlin, I haven't been around here much lately so I'm not sure I can offer anymore than good thoughts even if I have no clue what's going on.I'll say this, though - I was having a less-than-stellar day in the middle of coshole2013 and COlin hung there with my dumb ###. "He's a good dude" is as high a compliment as I can pay these days.

 

[Abraham]

Maybe your experience would set you up well for that. I know jobs like that don't grow on trees. But you must know some growing companies in your space that would really like a go getter who has paid his dues.

This is what id like to do and I've had two interviews. One I thought was a lock and the other was this morning. Between both being too late and offering me 30k base if I get the gig, taking the sure thing seems like the right deal. I know small business has to be conservative on guaranteed money and with the financial mess I'm in I can't afford to work somewhere that the potential in a year is good but the current pay is low.