What in the world did you do?!!!

[ShadOmega]

You left a swath of power outages all the way from Cleveland to New York, and even took out some of Canada! How on Earth did you manage that?!! ;D


j/k But I thought it was an odd coincidence the scope of the outage going from Cleveland to New York...


How are you doing in all of this? Fill me in when you can get back online.

[Jeff]

Heheheh. I was afraid someone would notice that


Yeah, the black out has certainly left its impact. The store is having one heck of a time recooperating, which means all sorts of extra effort and hours on my part.

I'm sorry all this has affected the new episodes for this week. I'm afraid I'll only be posting one, but I promise to make up for it next week

So, while we're on the subject, where were you when the lights went out? How long was your power gone for?

[ShadOmega]

Heh, Oregon! ;D I didn't have any effect from it. I just heard about it and right away thought, hmm, that's Jeff's exact course there! Seriously, I hope things go smoothly getting your store back in order, and if the comics need to rest while you're doing that, everyone should understand. Real life always takes precedence. On that note, I ought to mention that I'm moving to a new career that doesn't include sitting around online all day, so my presence around here is going to be cut back possibly. I hope that I can check in more often than once a month at my in-laws' computer, but I don't own one myself, nor do I have internet, so it'll be a bit before I get enough money saved up to purchase a computer and restore some of my internet presence (which will never be the same). This is gonna take some getting used to...

[Jeff]

Thanks, man. Causing nation-wide blackouts is quite exhausting!

Good luck with your change of career. Just when your last one was starting to sound super cool, you're off to bigger and better things. What does the new career entail?

Anyway, keep in touch! You will definately be missed around here when you aren't able to log on as often.


Regards,

J

[ShadOmega]

I'm actually going to work at the same bank that Beaver works at. It's a major change in direction for me, so I'm a bit apprehensive about it, but I will be starting at about the same level of pay that I have now at fairly close to the top of the worker food-chain and after five years. Comparing what I may be at in five years' time at either location, it isn't difficult to rationalize, it's only difficult to swallow. Everyone here at the station has been super-supportive of me in this move at least, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to leave. Oh well, too late now to turn around. Tomorrow's my last day here. As everyone keeps saying, I haven't burned any bridges here, so if everything turns into a disaster, I can always go back to TV. I don't anticipate any actual problems, though. This is really a great bank to work for and the sky is the limit for where I can go within the organisation. Between Beaver and me, there aren't many others in our age range, so if we stick around long enough, we will end up running the place when the generation ahead of us retires, if not sooner. It's just a matter of playing the endurance game, and postionioning ourselves right to seize opportunities. And at least there, they pay well enough to not be starving you out while you wait for the right opportunity, as is the common problem here at the station.

It'll work out. It's just very difficult to leave home, you know...

[Jeff]

Wow. That's a very gutsy and understandable move. I had the ideal job two years ago, working as an assistant librarian in Pennsylvania. I loved all my coworkers, loved the job, and really never minded going to work; even on weekends. I didn't always want to go to work, but I never wanted to skip out on it. They had this whole plan set up for me how they'd pay half my tuition to go back to school and earn my Masters of Library Science while working there so I could go full time and earn better (but still not great) money and have a truly secure position with the library.

But I hated the town. I couldn't live there any longer. I left, knowing it was the right thing for my wife and I, but always looking back. Fortunately, you've got somewhere else to go, at least...as well as a great friend to work with. He must really like the place to have suggested the job to you. Me, I'm still looking for a job, not sure what the heck I want to do with my life.

Just out of curiosity, what bank is it? What sort of experience and education do they look for? If it's a good place, maybe I should apply to a branch around here (if there is one). I could even move out to Oregon and hang with you guys for a bit

Best of luck! I think you've made a great decision, and if not, you've got someplace to go back to.

I;m sure you'll do exceptionally well for yourself

[ShadOmega]

Thanks man! The bank is a small organization on the national scale, being limited to Southern Oregon, but it has a unique form of security in that it has no public ownership or stockholders, so it can never be bought out by a larger corporation. It's evidently owned by the account holders, and anyone who has an account there can be on the board of directors (or something like that). They can't be too picky about background when hiring, since they hired me with no banking experience, basically off my confidence that I can do anything they throw me at (chutzpa), and the fact that my employers were willing to give me a stellar review (they took my word on it rather than actually following up on it and talking to my bosses). The main thing they claim to be looking for is someone who seems like they would be a person they wanted to go into business with. In other words, character. And I guess I fit the bill. Not knowing you in person, I would guess from your background and what you write like that you would probably be an easy hire for them. They particularly look for men to hire in, since few go into banking anymore, but the difficult part is finding an opening, since they have very low turnover compared to other banks. I would guess (again) though, that when the regular school yer resumes, some of their college student/summer employees would be leving again, so there might be the possibility of an opening there... I really don't know yet. They start new hires at $1500 a month, which isn't much, but it would cover a very modest lifestyle. The main thing is that it has a generous bonus structure, and once you make partner, it becomes extremely generous! All that said, I think it would be COOL if you came over here! You'd probably be able to continue with the Cutco sales if nothing else. I know they do that here... Anyway, I have some stuff to do, but I'll be around when I can. Take care!

[Jeff]

Wow. Thanks for all that info!

Seriously, once this whole thing with my father's cancer subsides (one way or another ), my wife and I aren't really tied down to anything, and will definately be looking for good jobs with solid futures. Personally, I love customer service and know I'm good at it. And I think getting to meet you and Beaver in person would be amazingly cool. It'll definately be a consideration! You'll just have to let me know what you think of the place once you start.

By the way, how'd your last day go?

[ShadOmega]

Still going, hence I'm online, but bittersweet. I'm gonna miss this place and these guys... I'm trying to get pictures with as many people as I can.

[Beaver99]

Beaver here. Shad Omega is off to a flying start at the bank! Due to his lack of internet access, I 'll see if I can't have him log onto my computer at my apartment so he can contribute here on a regular basis.

[Jeff]

Glad to hear things are going well! I'm sure you must enjoy having a good friend at your place of business as well