1:25 pm - Sunday, May. 22, 2005
Fun With Email

(I would say it's "In the spirit of doing things a little differently", but it's really "In the spirit of laziness"--I wrote an email to Daniel C. recently that pretty much says everything I'd want to write in here anyway. So here it is.)

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for filling me in on your post-Borders situation, regarding unemployment. It's helpful for me to know (The big question, when I ask people about unemployment, is whether or not you can get it if you get fired. Some say yes, some say no. But your situation suggests that you can, since the reason you didn't get it is because Borders argued that you quit. And that makes more sense to me--if you can't get unemployment if you quit, and you also can't get it if you get fired, when the hell CAN you get it?).

I have often spoke of you with admiration at the store, both for your prodigous talents, and for how you left. I love that you didn't take any shit from "The Man", and how you walked over that bridge, from Borders to the NEXT part of your life, then turned around and burned it behind you.

I haven't talked to Bryan K. in awhile. Do you have his number?

I think Bryan kind of "worked the system" on the unemployment thing. He quit at Borders, right before getting the boot, and took a job he knew was a temporary thing. Then when THAT job ended, he applied for unemployment on the basis of being "laid off".

Anyway...

I'll cross my fingers for another season of "The Lance Krall Show". Hopefully, that'll be a nice springboard to other things. In any case, it's a great thing to have on your resume. I'm very happy that happened for you.

Regarding the Notary stuff--I've now received my Notary Commission in the mail, and all my start-up supplies. So all that remains is to go to the County Clerks office, and take my oath (I think I have to swear not to use my awesome new powers to overthrow the government).

Now that I'm putting this together, I've started "dragging my feet" a little. I could have gone to the County Clerks office anytime since Tuesday, but haven't gotten around to it, and I still haven't checked out the loan-signing class, a class that would allow me to make more money with my Notary commission (That's another $100. I've spent over $200 already, and will be spending still more on business cards, stationary, an ad in the Yellow Pages, etc).

I guess I'm a little NERVOUS about it, on two levels--On the one hand, I don't want to be sinking all this money into something and have it not work out the way I want it to (i.e. To be something that doesn't generate much $$$). I'm also nervous about trying to become a "free agent": I want out of Borders, and I want to do something that will allow me to focus more on acting, but I've never not had a steady paycheck before--Except for a brief time in the 80s where I was unemployed and on welfare--and don't feel very confident in my skills as a "go-getter".

But I imagine if you put yourself in the position where you have to make things happen, then you make things happen. And I'm really tired of Borders (More on Borders in a moment).

With what you've done since Borders, how do you deal with the uncertainly of not knowing how much is going to come in at any given time? It's got to be stressful, I'd imagine, but also satisfying, to be keeping yourself afloat without that daily grind.

Speaking of Borders...The shit seems to be hitting the fan for our new GM (Who makes the "old-timers" long for the days of John A., if you can believe THAT).

I don't know all the juicy details, but Wilber, a 17 year old hispanic kid who was a cashier, got fired at the store recently under circumstances that seem very...iffy (The rumor is that The GM and one of the supervisors, both gay, were working on getting Wilber to come out of the closet, and somewhere along the line, things went really WRONG. Now Wilber's gone, his parents are involved (And ANGRY), some sort of "investigation" is going on, and I'm hoping against hope that both the GM and this supervisor, both of whom NOBODY likes, will get drummed out on sexual harassment charges).

In addition to all that, Brad W. quit this past week.

He'd been doing the Corporate Sales job for the past six months, and blew up when he found out he would not be getting the raise he expected and, quite reasonably, felt he'd more than earned (One of the supervisors told me recently that the only reason we ever make our weekly sales plan is because of what Brad brings in).

So he tendered his resignation. And you're gonna love THIS--In his letter, which he forewarded to the GM and three or four higher-ups, in addition to me and some of his other coworkers--He said he was getting a 60% raise in pay with the position he was taking at a non-profit, and they thanked him for being "reasonable" in accepting the small amount of money they had to offer.

He also said that while he wasn't quitting specifically because of David (The GM), he had to comment on the personnel situation at the store--He suggested that five supervisors and any number of clerks and cashiers leaving in the time since David's been there is no ACCIDENT. He referenced all the complaints and calls to human resources about David, and said, basically, that David talks about being "consistent", but has clearly played favorites amongst the staff, has undercut and undermined his management team, and that while he may "look good on paper", the situation at the store is bad and is going to get worse the longer he's there.

And Daniel? It may be bad karma for me to take pleasure in all this, but I LOVE it! Brad said, in a well-worded nutshell, what we've all been thinking the past number of months.

I guess Patricia Cripps and Renee Banks and some other High Potentate came to the store on Thursday, and were calling people into the office and hearing what they had to say (I was particularly happy that Tim G. got a chance to lay things out for them. Joe wasn't there that day--I wasn't either, since it was a day off--but he apparently emailed Renee B., seconding what Brad had to say. I'm probably going to do the same today or tomorrow).

So I don't know if something's going to actually happen, or this is just window dressing, or what. But now everyone knows the score, and if nothing changes, that'll MEAN something.

It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, happens next.

And writing about this makes me want to call Brad W., to tell him what his letter set in motion.

Hope all is well on your end, my friend. I'm wishing you continued success in your efforts out here, and appreciate the support you've offered me as well.

Drop me a line when you have the chance. I'll look forward to hearing from you.

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