Octopus Overlords

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 7:14 pm Yeah...I'll give my buddy Paul Manafort a call when he has phone privileges and ask him which banks he prefers for their "discretion".

Sorry. Some of the old anxiety is coming back. I'm coming off what the alcaholics call the "pink cloud"

The question was a bit out there, even for this forum.

I once got a Canadian nickel.

Hominem te esse memento.

Is it just me or do you guys also at times feel like we are simply guinea pigs in another Drazzil experiment?

Drazzil wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 7:03 pm Anyone have experience with foreign bank accounts? Specifically the Isle of Man?

I do. Suffice it to say, it's beyond your ken, and offshore banking is definitely not the cure for what ails you. Do not dig yourself into an even nastier fiscal hole.

They wont let you post from prison.

I've been terribly agitated lately, no reason I can place a finger upon as to why. I've had thoughts about returning to my old ways, which is self destructive. I can't go back to how I was, I know that, but how I was is starting to filter back in. All of this despite my doing everything I'm supposed to.

Much like bravery is acting in spite of fear, being a functioning adult is acting responsibly in the face of temptation.

Isgrimnur wrote:Much like bravery is acting in spite of fear, being a functioning adult is acting responsible in the face of temptation.

So much this.

Isgrimnur wrote:Much like bravery is acting in spite of fear, being a functioning adult is acting responsible in the face of temptation.

Damn, that is sig worthy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Then I should correct the grammar to ‘responsibly’.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 10:23 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:Much like bravery is acting in spite of fear, being a functioning adult is acting responsible in the face of temptation.

So much this.

I literally used that phrase this last week. In the manner in which it is being delivered in the gif, not joking. Through IM, so literally keyboardally virtually textually?

killbot737 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 03, 2018 5:33 pm I literally used that phrase this last week. In the manner in which it is being delivered in the gif, not joking. Through IM, so literally keyboardally virtually textually?

You need to get off the glue.

I have an appt with my DoR counciler to start services tomorrow at 2 pst. I will need to create some sort of career plan. Only problem is, I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree. I was thinking assistant buyer or marketing assistant, maybe business development, but those jobs are a little too public for my skills and abilities atm, then I thought maybe a market or business researcher might work for me. I am open to anything though. Suggestions welcome.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I have an appt with my DoR counciler to start services tomorrow at 2 pst. I will need to create some sort of career plan. Only problem is, I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree. I was thinking assistant buyer or marketing assistant, maybe business development, but those jobs are a little too public for my skills and abilities atm, then I thought maybe a market or business researcher might work for me. I am open to anything though. Suggestions welcome.

I also mentioned that perhaps getting a state job through the LEAP program might be up my alley.

Leverage your experience. If you don't already know it, learn the lingo of the logistics and warehousing operations. Go through your memories about the particulars that you learned in the Walgreens system. I doubt you were part of the pharmacy throughput system, but every retail organization has widgets to move and sell.

Think back to every time that you rolled your eyes at a management decision and thought you could do better. Now develop at least a couple paragraphs on what you would have done. Then go back over that idea and figure out what the people at the floor level would roll their eyes at with your plan, and formulate a way to address that issue, either solving it or accepting the risk/tradeoffs.

Use your experience to know how the work floor thinks and does things. Then use your education to make their lives better and easier while improving the bottom line of the business. If you can leverage that, you get your foot in the door and can use a presence inside an organization to meet and learn from other departments and determine where you want to work on moving into.

You have a business degree? Apply for the boss job.

Unfortunately, business degree aren't very useful. They are very generic and tend to produce candidates who apply for a management job and don't think they have to rise through the rank and file while learning the actual business. They stereotypically want to start in the middle and don't really have a lot of real skills to apply. Its a hard stereotype to be saddled with. You are going to have a hell of a time getting a job using that as your primary leverage. A stale business degree may very well be holding you back if that's what you lead with. Middle-aged with a stale business degree that you haven't really used is not what I would lead off with in your job search. Even a graduate version (MBA), would be a dime a dozen useless if you haven't done anything with it in years.

Better to look for your actuals skills and experience and let the business degree float near the back of the resume where it belongs as a book end to let them know that you are probably conversant with the business-driven perspective and terminologies, and to show that you finished a college degree. Beyond that, its useless as a door opener - or at best, no less useful than any other college degree, where any degree would suffice.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

I was aimless. I went for business because I thought I had a knack for sales.

Cylus Maxii wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:50 pm Unfortunately, Middle-aged.

Yeah. about right. I'm 37 this month on the 22nd. Yikes. I've wasted half my life.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 1:22 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

I was aimless. I went for business because I thought I had a knack for sales.

Well, there are plenty of jobs that ostensibly require a degree, if only to thin the pool of applicants. Take for example purchasing or asset management. You kind of need to understand company goals and objectives, but if going in at entry level, you're probably not negotiating vendor contracts anyway - company's just want someone to do a lot of busywork - semi-intelligently. Get up to purchasing manager, and depending on the company rules for vendor relations, it can be quite a good time.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

Him and every liberal arts major ever (all unemployed). Or my Wife and her History degree (recruits doctors) or my non degree (Manages IT project managers/operations). Degrees are kind of pointless unless you are specialized beyond proving you can get through school. Which is still important because it's easy to discard all the applications that do not have a degree. If your exceptions is for a degree to open doors it needs to be in something like molecular engineering and have words like Cuma Sum Lade on it.

Drazzil wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 1:22 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

I was aimless. I went for business because I thought I had a knack for sales.

Based on your response right after this you still are. Good to see you refocusing on finding a job but it's high time you ramped up your efforts. This is an absolutely employee market. I just hired 45 new guys across the country and after struggling to fill them I paid way more than I wanted to due to more jobs than good candidates. Even retail is hiring full time/benefited employees for Christmas because they have to.

morlac wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 2:30 pm If your exceptions is for a degree to open doors it needs to be in something like molecular engineering and have words like Cuma Sum Lade on it.

Not quite, a friend got an MBA from Harvard (BA from Westpoint) and was recruited directly into an executive position with a large, well-known company. He did have to undergo on-the-job technical training on their marquis products, though. IT degrees also have a high probability of use in the field (while for many positions, technical training would serve just as well or better, it's those with actually degrees that seem to occupy higher levels of management). But yeah, maybe 75% of all degrees are just a checkbox that you accomplished something worth checking a box for. In my case, the computer curriculum at my university was full by the time they got to the "V"s; I crashed and burned in my second choice; and wound up in IT anyway with the qualifications of history and English under my belt. I did eventually make a pittance writing about history, that would happen 10 years later and that revenue stream ended more than a dozen years ago.

Do I really need to caveat with "unless your MBA is from Harvard" so that my point is valid? nevermind, I just did even if I never mentioned anything about a Masters. Though the BA from Westpoint helped as well. Besides my point was to cut the kid some slack for not knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his business degree when he was working on it because the vast majority of people don't or only think they do. Reality being a harsh Mistress and all that. You helped back that up with your own scholastic career choice.

Skechers has an assistant warehouse manager position posted for Rosemead. West Coast Staffing has slots.

morlac wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:37 pm Do I really need to caveat with "unless your MBA is from Harvard" so that my point is valid? nevermind, I just did even if I never mentioned anything about a Masters. Though the BA from Westpoint helped as well. Besides my point was to cut the kid some slack for not knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his business degree when he was working on it because the vast majority of people don't or only think they do. Reality being a harsh Mistress and all that. You helped back that up with your own scholastic career choice.

I think you ought to have some idealistic career path in mind when you go to college. If you can be successful in school, it enhances your chance of success in your chosen field. But you really ought to have some ideal job in mind...that's my point. And that is the important thing...I wound up successful in what was initially my chosen field in college even if I wasn't able to successfully pursue it in college. I'm not sure why one would go through the effort and expense to pursue a degree with no idea what to do with it.

Top schools don't necessarily guarantee success in the field. The University of Chicago has one of two top Egyptology programs in the world, but on average there are two jobs in that field open in any given year.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:53 pm

Drazzil wrote: ↑Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:53 pm I got *no* idea what kind of jobs I could do with my degree.

You seriously had nothing in mind at all when you got the degree in the first place? It's not like a degree is an impulse buy at the cash register and when you get home you find yourself with a fidget spinner that has no real use.

Mine was. I literally chose my major because I needed to in order to remain eligible to play soccer in college. And it requires the fewest number of math classes. I had zero idea what I actually wanted to do with it.

That said, i got pretty motivated once I finally made the decision. Didn’t know what I wanted to do with it (communications/marketing), but made a very dedicated effort to use the skills I did learn.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:18 am

morlac wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:37 pm Do I really need to caveat with "unless your MBA is from Harvard" so that my point is valid? nevermind, I just did even if I never mentioned anything about a Masters. Though the BA from Westpoint helped as well. Besides my point was to cut the kid some slack for not knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his business degree when he was working on it because the vast majority of people don't or only think they do. Reality being a harsh Mistress and all that. You helped back that up with your own scholastic career choice.

I think you ought to have some idealistic career path in mind when you go to college. If you can be successful in school, it enhances your chance of success in your chosen field. But you really ought to have some ideal job in mind...that's my point. And that is the important thing...I wound up successful in what was initially my chosen field in college even if I wasn't able to successfully pursue it in college. I'm not sure why one would go through the effort and expense to pursue a degree with no idea what to do with it.

Top schools don't necessarily guarantee success in the field. The University of Chicago has one of two top Egyptology programs in the world, but on average there are two jobs in that field open in any given year.

You are contradicting yourself. Your scholastic plan was computer science. It was full at registration so you said F it, I'll study history. What kind of plan is that? You admitted to choosing your major on availability, that's a helluva plan Not much different than "I went with a business degree because I thought I had a knack for sales"

My plan wasn't to study history, it was to study biology but I ran afoul difficulties in chemistry. I went into English (history minor) in an effort to better leverage a field where I had some talent. Wound up first managing a restaurant, then working in a payroll department back at the dawn of the PC era where I started developing computer skills. I was hired into my first IT job by the father of an old high school friend after catching up with him at the 10 year reunion and have been in the field since. Bear in mind, back in olden days it was far easier to get a job in IT with a modicum of aptitude...degrees were rare and the whole cert machine was still undeveloped.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:22 pm My plan wasn't to study history, it was to study biology but I ran afoul difficulties in chemistry. I went into English (history minor) in an effort to better leverage a field where I had some talent. Wound up first managing a restaurant, then working in a payroll department back at the dawn of the PC era where I started developing computer skills. I was hired into my first IT job by the father of an old high school friend after catching up with him at the 10 year reunion and have been in the field since. Bear in mind, back in olden days it was far easier to get a job in IT with a modicum of aptitude...degrees were rare and the whole cert machine was still undeveloped.

Full circle; adapting and adding skills that parlayed into future/better opportunities. Love it!

Reminds me of me but mine looked more like a Spirograph than a nice circle


Drazz, take notes.

This. Jeff V learned to sell a skill set unrelated to a degree then networked into an opportunity to develop new skills and made a career of it.

If I had known how devilishly hard it would be to find work in my field I might not have quit the old one so quickly. I left an 18 dollar an hour job with good benefits and 25 days paid vacation a year. I hated the work, yes, but suffering at work had become second nature to me.

I had seen my mom was in hospice. I had had a rotator cuff surgery. The commute had somehow become *worse* since I went out. I figured the economy was good so the job would be easily replaced. The wad of money I was being offered to quit didn't hurt either...

I just wanted more then my former employer was offering. I saw managers and department managers quit, get fired, and leave with mental breakdowns. Even at the corporate level, my former employer was purging good people who knew what they were doing and cranking up the workload. Even if I moved up [chancy given my work history] I would be under the same immense pressure and high workload I saw at the top.

Everyones pay and benefits were not being slashed, but were not keeping up to the standards that the company had when the family ran the show. I could look into the future and tell that I would likely see less and less and work harder for it. I made the decision then to bail.

The longer I'm out the more I think this may have been a miscalculation. I just hope that in five years I don't look back and think "Damn, that was the best job I ever had, and I should never have left"

*sighs*

Don't look back, your not trying to go that way.

I thought I knew what love was. What did I know?
Those days are gone forever, I should just let 'em go

I made 60 days or 2 months sober monday. My sobriety date was September 14th 2018. In other news my DoR case is finally moving forward. Should be any day now I start job placement services.

Just thought I'd share.