That’s actually just a reference to the Facebook post I made after this flu bug woke me up at 4 o’clock this morning, just to let me know that the fever was back. Really? I could have slept through that part and probably been much better off for it.
To elaborate a bit more, I am now on my second day out of work for being sick – and I mean really sick, especially considering that it’s enough for me to stay home – so I figured I’d take this opportunity to bring y’all up to speed on recent happenings.
Spicy Horse: June 1st was my last day at the House that American Built. It was a long and crazy seven years (six as a paid employee), and in the end, it was the best decision for the company, for me, and for the e-kids. After the release of Alice: Madness Returns and we started developing other titles, my ability to keep up with the projects was greatly diminished – on top of the already thin handle I could keep on what had been going on before. Telecommuting is a fantastic way to make a living, don’t get me wrong, but it requires a much more thought-out communication process from both sides, and in the end, there was just too much going on. I wasn’t really able to do my job well without being in the office, and so I reduced my role and finally released it so that they could hire someone in the office. This is a bittersweet thing. On one hand, I adore all of my e-kids and there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do for any of them, even now, but it’s better to let it go and let someone else handle them better when my capacity is diminished.
From a financial point of view, it was a constant struggle because I was paid on salary, so in the slow times, I could afford a second job to make up the difference, but in the fast times (which usually came with an increased need for cash), there was barely time for my kids to remember what I looked like. Plus, when I first started, it was our supplemental income. When things fell apart and I was supporting the kids on my own, the money just didn’t go far enough, no matter how much I tried to budget – especially after Daniel developed epilepsy.
The New Job: I’m now working at Q Chevrolet in Irving selling cars, which is probably on the Top One List of Things I Never Thought I’d Do. There are a number of very cool things about it, though, such as a lack of correlation between college degrees and success. Because the car industry is based on performance instead of qualifications, what you do is far more important than from where you graduated. Honestly, the world would be a much better place if more industries operated on that premise, but that’s the topic of a whole other rant.
The big news right now is the awesome reality and potential of this job. First, I can sell cars off of any of our lots, which means I can sell new Chevrolets, Jeeps, Dodges, Chryslers, and Fiats, and I can sell anything off of our pre-owned lot as well (which is a much, much longer list). Second, a couple of weeks after I started, they hired a new Executive Sales Director who started cleaning the place up and getting things done, providing actual training, and giving us direction. He’s a fantastic human being, funny as all get-out, and on a mission from god to make this dealership shine – including hiring more people who are even better than he is as well as grooming and nurturing newbies to the field, like me and the other young pups. Third, there’s enormous room for advancement because as soon as you demonstrate your ability to get shit done, the industry generally wants you to get out of the trenches and into even more productive positions. So, lots going on there…
But, it’s incredibly long hours, which is why I haven’t been able to post in ages. And don’t give me that “Post when you get home” thing. My short days are nine or ten hours, and my long days are eleven to twelve hours. During at least one week of the month, I have exactly no days off, and there are legitimate reasons for this: if you don’t show up, you don’t sell cars. This is not salary, this is hourly, until you make more in commissions than you do in hourly, which shouldn’t be hard. (This is the big reason I think I’ve been flipping out for the last two days, since not being at work means not getting paid at all.)
The Kids: They’re doing great, actually. Miles’ report card came in, and he made mostly As with one B in math – but he volunteered to take a math camp over the summer that starts next Monday. Lili did amazing, I’m sure, and Joseph rocked it like the Gibraltar. Lili will have to take a couple of credits-by-exam over the summer to qualify as a sophomore next year, but I’m not worried about that at all. Daniel’s new medication program is doing really well, but we’re still a long way away from him being a strong candidate for the ketogenic diet only because he’s so incredibly picky and ornery when it comes to eating. There’s no guarantee that he’ll ever actually eat all of his dinner or lunch when it’s something he likes, let alone it maybe being something he doesn’t want to eat, so we have to walk that line carefully.
The Dating: A lot of you probably started reading because of my dating articles, and I appreciate your patronage. Honestly, I haven’t even had time for that of late, though I’m trying to work out a new schedule around my limited off-time so that my kids can continue to remember what I look like (at least some of the time). Sorry, gentlemen, but I’ve known them longer. 😉
So, that’s the general state of the union. I’m still phasing in and out of reality just a little bit thanks to my good friends Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen, but with a little soup and some good rest tonight, I’ll be right as rain tomorrow. (Which, I might add, is Saturday and an excellent day to buy a car. 😉 )
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POST SCRIPT: I promise that later, I will wax poetic on certain cars that come into our possession, but I can almost guarantee that the subject will not necessarily be a Corvette unless they relent and let me drive the ZR1 (which we have two of for the low, low price of $125,000, seriously).
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