It has been awhile since I stopped and wrote in the blog. I've been inordinately busy with the winding down of my job with RWIC, job hunting, interviewing and dealing with the car problems. I haven't had much chance to stop and write. I am in the final week of my current employment and trying hard to make a decision on my future. I have an excellent opportunity with a surplus lines broker called Richter Robb. There are several concerns for me with this job. The first is that I have to get licensed and that will take about six weeks. The second is that after a three month period I will go on 100% commission. The opportunity to make a really good income is there and I have the experience, the contacts and the wherewithall to excel at this position. The overiding concern is the marketplace. When the insurance market is tight, surplus lines companies make hay, but when the stock market is riding high and the insurance market softens, surplus lines companies tend to contract. The insurance market is HARD right now and surplus lines companies are blossoming. I have signed up for a precertification class beginning on June 12th that will run through June 20th and I will take the Property and Casualty license exam after that. I'll start my three months on a guaranteed income and begin to grow my business. I will concentrate on Apartment business and fill in with their other lines of business. I will meet with Nancy Dean, the owner of the agency later this week to finalize my employment. The good news is that Nancy will set me up with phones, computer, faxes, etc in my home and I will work as an outside producer with an assistant in the Manteca office assigned to me. Wish me luck.
The UCA position has been nothing short of a major disappointment with Lin canceling two meetings and putting me off until this week. It is Wednesday and I have yet to hear from her and I have had to move on. The job that she was dangling was perfect for me as I'd be on salary with a company car and work out of my home servicing the Sacramento agents and doing marketing for the Gilroy branch. The problem that I ran into is that Lin is in her sixties and looking to slow down to about thirty-hours a week and she is interviewing for administrative help in the La Mirada home office. My situation was relegated to the back burner as she worked on her agenda. This possibility could be rekindled, but the ball is in her court and grovelling is not in my makeup. I hope that something breaks here soon or I may always wonder, "What If?"
The Maxima was totalled by the insurance company and we were given $4,385 for the 1992 Maxima with 162,000 miles on it. Frankly, the settlement was generous and Darla and I were able to replace the Maxima with a newer car with less miles on it. We bought a 1994 Mustang with a 3.8 litre V6, power everything, new tires and 120,000 miles on the odometer. David is thrilled as it will be his car when he gets his license in September. I had new custom wheels installed on it yesterday for his 16th birthday present. He chose seven spoke American Racing alloy wheels and it looks sharp. I dropped the car off at the shop yesterday morning and walked the four miles home in the growing heat of a 95-degree day. It gave me time to examine my lot in life and think through some things. I had a nice lather worked up by the time I got home at eleven a.m. See, I do take after my Dad and do goofy things. Darla was willing to pick me up, but I wanted to make the hike. I also had them do a four wheel alignment and had the transmission fluid flushed, changed, a new filter added and a new gasket installed. I had them change the oil while they were at it and rotate the tires. The car has some body damage, a few dings and dents, but it is in wonderful mechanical shape and the paint is excellent. It is a teal green and David will have one of the nicer rides at his school next year. It is expected that he will be the starting quarterback on his varsity team this year and as the BMOC, he needs a good ride.
I talked to Jennifer over the weekend and thanked her for her service to this country as acknowledgement of Memorial Day. She and her roomate, Priscilla, went to the Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta and had a great time. They were given a four-day weekend by the government and enjoyed it to the fullest. Jennifer continues to excel in the Army and is itchy to get on to an assignment overseas.
Dad and Shirley are packing up their home in Arizona as I write this. Darryl and Cheryl have joined them to help pack the U-Haul truck. Dad will be bringing his personal effects to Canada and waving a fond farewell to his life in the United States. I talked to Shirley and it is a bittersweet moment in their lives as they loved the tranquility and winter warmth of Phoenix, but having two homes also has its disadvantages and selling the Sun City home will free them up to do more travelling now and cut some unneeded expenses. They had a beautiful home in Sun City and they will miss it for sure. They sold much of their furniture with the house and are only bringing back some minor furniture, the 1939 Ford on a trailer behind the U-Haul and most of Dad's effects (pictures, garage items, books, odds and ends). The things collected in 66 years of a life well lived.
Those of you who know that Darla and I purchased a time share in Puerto Vallarta also know how incredibly unhappy we have been with RCI, the exchange service that we bought into with our purchase. They have been next to useless as we deposited our 2001 week over a year and a half ago and have been waiting for a suitable exchange. I finally got a call last week from RCI and they have a week for us in Lake Tahoe at the Seasons Resort near Heavenly Valley beginning June 8th. Hey, good timing, I get canned and suddenly they have vacation time for us. They also wanted me to deposit my 2004 week and renew my membership. I said No to both offers and we will take our vacations in Puerto Vallarta from now on. We will spend part of the June 8th week in Tahoe, but will have to return to Roseville as my insurance course begins on June 12th. We will go back up to Tahoe on Friday night the 13th and stay the weekend.
Darla and I are trying to decide what to do about our upcoming trip to Carmel for the two-day golf outing. I've already paid for the golf, but it seems foolish to add food and a hotel bill with me out of work. Right now, we will probably drop the Saturday golf and just drive in for the day on Sunday where I will play Poppy Hills and then drive from there up to Tahoe to check into the resort. Sounds like a busy time for an unemployed hack, eh?
Well, continue to pray for me as I sort out my future. I still feel that God has a plan for me in all of this and that I will end up standing when the dust settles and will feel the hand of God on me as I set a new course for my life and the future of my family. God bless.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Funny how your perspective changes based on circumstances. I still sit unemployed, with a car that is being totalled as we speak by the insurance company. The retail value of the 1992 Maxima is about $5000 and the insurance company is willing to close me out for about $4200 based on wholesale value of the car and sales taxes. I've asked that they put me in contact with a buyer who can replace the vehicle at a wholesale cost to me. They are working on that now, but I'm not about to accept the wholesale value of the car if I have to replace it at a retail cost to me. These insurance adjusters aren't used to dealing with someone who is insurance savvy. We'll see what comes of this.
The car problem on top of the employment difficulty has shaped my outlook and it has been down. I keep a Bible at my desk and read the Psalms and Proverbs to keep me up. Put your faith in the Lord and He will provide. Lin was supposed to meet with me last Tuesday. She was coming thru Sac on a vacation and we were to meet for lunch. She had her assistant, Bobbie, call me that morning and cancel. Lin was dressed in shorts and sandals and felt that it was inappropriate attire for a business meeting and that first impressions go both ways. I can see that, but was disappointed. My time frame as someone who is about to be unemployed is significantly different from hers. Anyhow, Bobbie said that Lin would call me on Monday and see if I was still interested in the job and, if so, they would arrange to have me flown down to the Los Angeles area and I could meet both Lin and her management team.
Well, Monday came and went and my brain began to form all sorts of scenarios. I called Lin Monday afternoon and was put off by Bobbie. I assumed that Lin would be up to her eyeballs in alligators after a week of vacation and I was right. I never did get a return call and my spirits plummeted. The Bible suddenly found its way to my desk on Tuesday as I searched job sites and made phone calls. I was tempted to call Lin again and say if she changed her mind just let me know so that I could move on. Darla counseled me to just sit tight and wait. The ball was in her court. I'm not a good "waiter". I don't frequent trendy restaurants and won't go to first run movies, because I can't stand lines. I don't even enjoy professional sports very often because of the crowds getting in and out of the venues. Sitting and waiting is not my thing.
Well, as usual, Darla was right. Bobbie called me yesterday afternoon and said that Lin is very busy, but still very interested in talking to me. Her whole team will be available next Thursday and I am flying down to Ontario airport where they have a car reserved in my name and I will spend the day at their home office. Hopefully, we can come to some sort of arrangement and I can transition from this job to theirs with little disruption in income or loss of brain cells. I'll let all of you know.
David is understandably chagrined at the loss of the Maxima and we will take his input on a replacement vehicle as he is buying it from us for $1000. We had just put in a new stereo and speakers and the car is all power with a 300 ZX engine. I'm sure we'll find an adequate replacement to suit him and move on. David is doing really well and was just named offensive captain of his Varsity football team. He will compete for the starting quarterback position this Summer and Fall, but I'd say this development is nothing but good news for him. He has gained almost 20 pounds since last year and is on a protein diet to gain weight. He takes a protein supplement called Mus-L Blast body building formula and is busy with Spring football practice and enrolled in SST, a strength training system run by several former NFL players locally. He also goes to a Skillz 'n Drillz camp twice a month on Sundays and works out with the other area high school football athletes. He is in the quarterback camp and his skills are really developing. I'm looking forward to the Fall and David's emergence on the varsity football team. Darla is an assistant to the team Mom and David's Dad is involved with fund raising for the team.
Daniel is in baseball and his team has only one loss all year. He is looking forward to the playoffs that start in three weeks. Daniel has struggled a bit with school this year and he is working on improving his grade point average as he begins Freshman football in the Fall, as well.
That's it for now, I'll let you know how the interview pans out. As always, PRAY for me.
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9, 9-10.
The car problem on top of the employment difficulty has shaped my outlook and it has been down. I keep a Bible at my desk and read the Psalms and Proverbs to keep me up. Put your faith in the Lord and He will provide. Lin was supposed to meet with me last Tuesday. She was coming thru Sac on a vacation and we were to meet for lunch. She had her assistant, Bobbie, call me that morning and cancel. Lin was dressed in shorts and sandals and felt that it was inappropriate attire for a business meeting and that first impressions go both ways. I can see that, but was disappointed. My time frame as someone who is about to be unemployed is significantly different from hers. Anyhow, Bobbie said that Lin would call me on Monday and see if I was still interested in the job and, if so, they would arrange to have me flown down to the Los Angeles area and I could meet both Lin and her management team.
Well, Monday came and went and my brain began to form all sorts of scenarios. I called Lin Monday afternoon and was put off by Bobbie. I assumed that Lin would be up to her eyeballs in alligators after a week of vacation and I was right. I never did get a return call and my spirits plummeted. The Bible suddenly found its way to my desk on Tuesday as I searched job sites and made phone calls. I was tempted to call Lin again and say if she changed her mind just let me know so that I could move on. Darla counseled me to just sit tight and wait. The ball was in her court. I'm not a good "waiter". I don't frequent trendy restaurants and won't go to first run movies, because I can't stand lines. I don't even enjoy professional sports very often because of the crowds getting in and out of the venues. Sitting and waiting is not my thing.
Well, as usual, Darla was right. Bobbie called me yesterday afternoon and said that Lin is very busy, but still very interested in talking to me. Her whole team will be available next Thursday and I am flying down to Ontario airport where they have a car reserved in my name and I will spend the day at their home office. Hopefully, we can come to some sort of arrangement and I can transition from this job to theirs with little disruption in income or loss of brain cells. I'll let all of you know.
David is understandably chagrined at the loss of the Maxima and we will take his input on a replacement vehicle as he is buying it from us for $1000. We had just put in a new stereo and speakers and the car is all power with a 300 ZX engine. I'm sure we'll find an adequate replacement to suit him and move on. David is doing really well and was just named offensive captain of his Varsity football team. He will compete for the starting quarterback position this Summer and Fall, but I'd say this development is nothing but good news for him. He has gained almost 20 pounds since last year and is on a protein diet to gain weight. He takes a protein supplement called Mus-L Blast body building formula and is busy with Spring football practice and enrolled in SST, a strength training system run by several former NFL players locally. He also goes to a Skillz 'n Drillz camp twice a month on Sundays and works out with the other area high school football athletes. He is in the quarterback camp and his skills are really developing. I'm looking forward to the Fall and David's emergence on the varsity football team. Darla is an assistant to the team Mom and David's Dad is involved with fund raising for the team.
Daniel is in baseball and his team has only one loss all year. He is looking forward to the playoffs that start in three weeks. Daniel has struggled a bit with school this year and he is working on improving his grade point average as he begins Freshman football in the Fall, as well.
That's it for now, I'll let you know how the interview pans out. As always, PRAY for me.
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9, 9-10.
Monday, May 05, 2003
Today has dawned bright and sunny and all is right with the world. Well, I still don't have a job and to compound my life further I got into an accident last week and smashed the front end of the Maxima. Aside from those minor concerns, all is bliss in my life.
The job hunt is bearing some fruit. I have an interview tomorrow with Lin Lan of UCA and I hate to pack all of my eggs into one basket, but IF we can find some common ground and work out a deal for me to work the Sacramento territory for her, the transition from eight years at RWIC to UCA would be almost seamless. I would continue to work out of my house, would simply substitute UCA's equipment for that of RWIC and would change phone lines. I would transfer my PO Box into the UCA name, transfer my 401K to my IRA and be up and running in less than a week.
I had initially talked to Lin on Monday, April 21st and we had left it that she would meet with me on or about May 5th. I waited for her to call me back to confirm and as the days passed, began to rethink our conversation to see if perhaps I read more into it than was really there. She seemed particularly interested in me and needed help in Sac, but was I reading more into it because of my position as a soon to be unemployed insurance manager? I prayed about it and decided to wait, rather than call her and seem too anxious. Finally, Lin called me last Friday. Her words were basically that she would be in Sacramento on Tuesday (tomorrow) and she wants to meet with me to see what I need, what she wants and if we can come to a consensus. Praise GOD.
Now, about that fender bender. Wednesday, I finally took the Maxima in to have the rear window repaired. I have power windows in the car and this is the third regulator that has gone out. The car has 169,000 miles on it and is beginning to run down in many areas. The passenger side rear window fell about four months ago and I wedged it shut with a piece of wood shim. It recently began to slip again. The motor is fine, but the regulator is what holds the window in place and it finally broke. Darla has been driving the car and we will soon be replacing it as David has agreed to buy it from us. The blue book on the car is $5,000 and we are selling it to him for $1,000. I did the same thing with Jennifer when she bought my Acura Integra for $500 when it was worth $2500. I believe that kids will be more invested in a vehicle if they are ACTUALLY invested in the car. Well...after picking up the car that afternoon, I drove into downtown Roseville to get my mail and while looking at the marquee of the theater to see what play was in production, the SUV in front of me slammed on it's brakes to miss an errant bike rider and I bought the rear end of her vehicle. She had an oversized tow bar and ball on the rear and, in braking, my car slid right under her rear end and I did $2500 worth of damage. I also twisted her tow hitch out of place and my license plate and plate frame ended up wrapped around her hitch.
She stopped near the post office and we took a look at the damage. She looked at my damage and said "Ouch!". She looked at her damage and said, "Look, my car is a piece of crap and I don't have insurance. I'm outta here." With that she jumped into her truck and sped off. Luckily, I'd removed my license plate from her hitch before she bolted. I wrote down her license number before I got out of the car. I drove to the police station and reported the accident, gave them her license number, which was from Nebraska, and drove home. The force of the collision caused damage to my air conditioner condenser and knocked my radiator off of its support. The front end is badly damaged, but, surprisingly, the car still runs. I'll take it in this Wednesday to get the repairs done. I was concerned that the insurance company might total the car because of it's age and damage. David would have been devastated as he is looking forward to getting his new car. The Maxima has a lot of mileage on it, but it has a premium sound system, power windows, power seats, a power sunroof, and has been babied by me since I bought it, with oil changes and new tires, new struts, new battery, all new belts and hoses, etc. David knows he's getting a deal. The adjuster was amazed at how well the frame held up in the accident and said that 9 out of 10 cars would have had major engine damage in an accident like this and the only damage was to a $106 air conditioning compressor and to the radiator support. At least Darla and I know that David will be driving a safe car.
It rained most of the weekend and Darla and I relaxed at home. We went to a Cinco De Mayo party on Saturday afternoon and were glad to get home afterward. We picked up several movies and sat and watched those over the course of the weekend. I played NO GOLF, but did play in the first night of my twilight league last Thursday. I shot a 39, my partner shot 37 and we won the match on the ninth hole with a seven foot par putt. I'm really enjoying golf right now and my game is coming around nicely.
I am looking out over the koi pond and see a bright blue sky and a warm day awaiting me. I'll enjoy this Spring weather even more if Lin and I can work out a deal tomorrow. I'll let you know. I had an interview last week with the insurance wholesaler and after two hours the manager told me that if it was six months later, he'd jump over the desk to hire me. Hopefully, God's timing is in sync with Lin tomorrow. We'll see.
The job hunt is bearing some fruit. I have an interview tomorrow with Lin Lan of UCA and I hate to pack all of my eggs into one basket, but IF we can find some common ground and work out a deal for me to work the Sacramento territory for her, the transition from eight years at RWIC to UCA would be almost seamless. I would continue to work out of my house, would simply substitute UCA's equipment for that of RWIC and would change phone lines. I would transfer my PO Box into the UCA name, transfer my 401K to my IRA and be up and running in less than a week.
I had initially talked to Lin on Monday, April 21st and we had left it that she would meet with me on or about May 5th. I waited for her to call me back to confirm and as the days passed, began to rethink our conversation to see if perhaps I read more into it than was really there. She seemed particularly interested in me and needed help in Sac, but was I reading more into it because of my position as a soon to be unemployed insurance manager? I prayed about it and decided to wait, rather than call her and seem too anxious. Finally, Lin called me last Friday. Her words were basically that she would be in Sacramento on Tuesday (tomorrow) and she wants to meet with me to see what I need, what she wants and if we can come to a consensus. Praise GOD.
Now, about that fender bender. Wednesday, I finally took the Maxima in to have the rear window repaired. I have power windows in the car and this is the third regulator that has gone out. The car has 169,000 miles on it and is beginning to run down in many areas. The passenger side rear window fell about four months ago and I wedged it shut with a piece of wood shim. It recently began to slip again. The motor is fine, but the regulator is what holds the window in place and it finally broke. Darla has been driving the car and we will soon be replacing it as David has agreed to buy it from us. The blue book on the car is $5,000 and we are selling it to him for $1,000. I did the same thing with Jennifer when she bought my Acura Integra for $500 when it was worth $2500. I believe that kids will be more invested in a vehicle if they are ACTUALLY invested in the car. Well...after picking up the car that afternoon, I drove into downtown Roseville to get my mail and while looking at the marquee of the theater to see what play was in production, the SUV in front of me slammed on it's brakes to miss an errant bike rider and I bought the rear end of her vehicle. She had an oversized tow bar and ball on the rear and, in braking, my car slid right under her rear end and I did $2500 worth of damage. I also twisted her tow hitch out of place and my license plate and plate frame ended up wrapped around her hitch.
She stopped near the post office and we took a look at the damage. She looked at my damage and said "Ouch!". She looked at her damage and said, "Look, my car is a piece of crap and I don't have insurance. I'm outta here." With that she jumped into her truck and sped off. Luckily, I'd removed my license plate from her hitch before she bolted. I wrote down her license number before I got out of the car. I drove to the police station and reported the accident, gave them her license number, which was from Nebraska, and drove home. The force of the collision caused damage to my air conditioner condenser and knocked my radiator off of its support. The front end is badly damaged, but, surprisingly, the car still runs. I'll take it in this Wednesday to get the repairs done. I was concerned that the insurance company might total the car because of it's age and damage. David would have been devastated as he is looking forward to getting his new car. The Maxima has a lot of mileage on it, but it has a premium sound system, power windows, power seats, a power sunroof, and has been babied by me since I bought it, with oil changes and new tires, new struts, new battery, all new belts and hoses, etc. David knows he's getting a deal. The adjuster was amazed at how well the frame held up in the accident and said that 9 out of 10 cars would have had major engine damage in an accident like this and the only damage was to a $106 air conditioning compressor and to the radiator support. At least Darla and I know that David will be driving a safe car.
It rained most of the weekend and Darla and I relaxed at home. We went to a Cinco De Mayo party on Saturday afternoon and were glad to get home afterward. We picked up several movies and sat and watched those over the course of the weekend. I played NO GOLF, but did play in the first night of my twilight league last Thursday. I shot a 39, my partner shot 37 and we won the match on the ninth hole with a seven foot par putt. I'm really enjoying golf right now and my game is coming around nicely.
I am looking out over the koi pond and see a bright blue sky and a warm day awaiting me. I'll enjoy this Spring weather even more if Lin and I can work out a deal tomorrow. I'll let you know. I had an interview last week with the insurance wholesaler and after two hours the manager told me that if it was six months later, he'd jump over the desk to hire me. Hopefully, God's timing is in sync with Lin tomorrow. We'll see.
