I QUIT !!!! and then went back... WHOOPS what was I thinking !!!!
As the title states I quit my job thinking investments, rentals etc would allow for early retirement. But then the Wall street elite decided no no no we haven't got enough out of you yet and blew up everything. So forced to go back into the I T W o r l d ! . I was able to find a job @ 1/4 of what I was making but felt luckier than most to have a job and benefits etc. and paying my mortgage.
Well a year into that, weight was off the scale, looking at new management that made it clear that current pay scales and benefit packages are a thing of the past and your going to have to ADJUST to the real world (translation "no benefits for you').
So after crunching the numbers I resigned. New management cried and fussed knowing they needed the knowledge base for awhile until they could secure their bonus packages. I made it clear that all it took was same pay, benefits, hours etc and I would stay. But they made it clear that it wasn't in their hands and could only "promise" to bring pay and benefits back to the level we were accustomed to as soon as possible (as if she was part of my team).
So that was easy, I said put it in writing. After lots of excuses she just could not and would not. It's amazing what you learn when you hold management types feet to the fire (they either turn and run or THEY COMMIT and FIGHT for the team) . Needless to say this type turned and ran.
Hence forth I started remodeling my home to work out the Stress and lose weight. All most everyday someone would stop by and ask if I had a card as they needed work done on their home. I would explain "I'm the home owner" not the contractor. They would compliment me and move on. One day I said "Yes I do" and gave the owner of one of the largest Brick, Block and Stone companies in town my card ("StoneWorks.. it's a Verb!").
To make a long story shorter, I starting getting calls and jobs to do Masonry work. It is hard work but the bricks/stones and mortar do not flake out and change their .lib/.dll on me with out notice and DO NOT NEED UPGRADES. I have since became a Master Mason and have joined the ranks of very few in our community that can do that kind of work. We don't get paid as much as IT people but our work will last Centuries and will bring utilitarian function and beauty for generations to come.
I have always been a true Craftsmen whether I was coding, converting banks or laying bricks and stone. I.T. to me now is just Vaporware, Smoke and Mirrors, the latest study/media of "How to Con Someone out of something, anything" Caveat emptor is never been more alive and well in the httpd://WWW (Wild Wild West). Just not my thing.
Mason's just do what mason have done for Centuries, make stone, brick and mortar beautiful, lasting and functional for many generations to come. My legacy in the DP/IT/DB industry has already come and gone, my legacy as a Master Mason in this community is just beginning and with skill and craftsmanship my children's children's will get to feel, touch and smile at all the works I leave behind.
Payton Carter, Colorado Springs, Colorado
