Monthly Archives: June 2009

Interesting Times

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks to put it mildly: my 36th birthday; leaving my job at the OGRE to become a full-time tattoo artist; and, my Husbear and I will be celebrating our 12 year anniversary on July 1.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who commented on my last post. I was/am extremely nervous about leaving a “safe” job (i.e., a steady paycheck) and it helped to hear from others encouraging me to do what will make me happy.

Thank you again, to all my readers, for your words of support and encouragement.

Now to figure out what to write about in the future….

Until next time...
Erik

All Good Things… Part 2

Last time on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”…

… And now the conclusion.

(My apologies. That was the ST:TNG geek in me.)

A little over a month ago in the blog post “All Good Things” I alluded to some upcoming changes in my life.

It is time for those changes.

Today, June 19, I will be handing my manager at what I refer to as the “OGRE” and the “Great Retail Empire” the following letter:

June 19, 2009

To whom it may concern,

Please accept this letter as my formal notice of resignation from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., effective on July 03, 2009. I have enjoyed my employment here and appreciate all I have learned.

I hope that this two-week notice is sufficient for you to find a replacement for me. If I can help to train my replacement or tie up any loose ends in the next two weeks, please let me know.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to work here.

Sincerely,

Erik Rubright

Simple letter. And totally stolen from the Internet. Why reinvent the wheel?

I’m sure some of you are cheering already. I know the disdain many have for Wal-Mart.

Even though the retail sector signed my paycheck every two weeks, I worked in IT at the Homeoffice supporting roughly 200,000 Windows workstations globally. I experienced many technical opportunities that I would not have had working any where else in the world. It truly is a unique environment (much to the disdain of many of us who worked there, and to many of those who we called on as vendors) and helped shape the technical knowledge I now have under my belt. A knowledge I feel I am now mostly abandoning.

Instead of the 45 hours per week I spend at Wal-Mart and the 12 hours or so I had been able to squeeze in at my tattoo studio, I will now be devoting all those hours to improving my skills as a tattoo artist and growing my own business.

A total of 13 years Wal-Mart has been a part of my life. Almost one-third of my life. This is the second time I will have left the employ of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. I was with the company five years previously and left in 1999 to help my Husbear start the salon we still own. It has been eight years this time.

I should be excited, but I am scared as hell. I’m a worrier and a creature of habit, and those “habits” are now changing. No more safety net of a steady salary. No paid vacation or sick time. No health insurance (until I can find replacement coverage being self-employed). But these are chances I—with my Husbear’s backing and support—am going to have to, and now willing to, take.

I am well aware some people think I am crazy for leaving the security of any steady job in these difficult economic times. It does seem contrary in light of so many people having lost or losing their jobs and unable to find work. But I have to do it. For myself.

It is time.

So to all the associates and vendors that I have worked so closely with over the years: thank you for putting up with me along the journey, which I know has been a chore at times. And hopefully I’ll see you in my shop one day….

And to my supportive Husbear: thank you, and I love you.

Until next time...
Erik

Post Disney

Sorry I haven’t been blogging a lot as of late. I’ve been pondering on some upcoming changes that will be happening soon in my life. Probably exactly the kind of thing I should be blogging about actually. But those thoughts will have to wait until those changes happen.

We had a great time in Florida this year for our annual Gay Days migration. I know you want to hear about all the wild things I might have done. But there weren’t actually any… that involved me.

I hope to have more details of the trip posted Sunday.

In the mean time, enjoy this:


A Capella Group Sings “Africa” by Toto

The rain and thunder sounds at the beginning are the best.

Until next time...
Erik