Once
the house had been packed and moved at the end of July 2002, I had serious
decisions to make. Angela had already been in Edmonton for months and now my
house and home were there too.
My
railroad job was BC based and I had nine years of seniority built up as an
engineer.
My
options were to stay on the seniority list and try to find postings that
provided bunkhouse accommodations, try to find a railroad job in Alberta, or
quit railroading altogether and start a new career.
My heart
told me it was time for the third option as I had been unhappy with the working
conditions and the labour relations for years, but I still went in to the CP Rail
depot to drop off my resume when I was home for a few days in August.
The
rest of the summer saw me travel back and forth between Edmonton and Northern
BC as I would get some shifts in and then come home for a few days. The driving
was already unbearable and it wasn’t even winter yet so I knew this was
unsustainable.
At the
end of August while I was home, my neighbour came over to introduce himself. It
was a friendly enough visit but he also had a motive, he owned a security alarm
company and he was here to try and sell me a system. We had a nice
conversation, I agreed to think about the quote he presented but then he
surprised me with a seemingly offhand comment.
“When
you get sick of all the driving, come and see me about a job…”
I
chuckled, thanked him and showed him out, but I couldn’t possibly take the
offer seriously! I knew absolutely nothing about the security industry and the
pay cut would be drastic. When Angela got home we both had a good laugh and I forgot
about it immediately.
Not a
week later I was on my way to Prince George to start a week as a yard engineer,
and as I drove through Jasper it began to snow…in August.
The
rest of the drive was miserable, and once I got to PG things got worse. I had
been bumped from my expected job and now I was told to be in Quesnel the next
day. I jumped in the car to carry on, but before I arrived there I was told I
had been bumped again and now was on the board in Williams Lake. Furious, I
asked them to book me off duty with an illness and turned around to head back
to Edmonton. The entire trip had been dangerous, tiring and ultimately
pointless. I was heading home having made no money and it would be at least a
week before I would return to work again.
As I
drove home I started to reconsider my neighbours offer and tried to imagine a
way I could make a new job work financially. By the time I got home to Edmonton
I had made up my mind that I would take a leave of absence from the railroad
and give something new a try. If the pay was low enough I could actually top it
up with Employment Insurance payments and our finances would be manageable. I
gave him a call when I got home on Saturday and was startled to learn I would
start my new job on Monday.
There
were several things about working for a family owned company that were new and
very different than I was accustomed to. On the positive side, I no longer had
to work in a contentious labor union v management environment. Everyone was
treated like family and there were real efforts to have everyone feel like they
were a part of something. If you had an idea that you thought would work there
was an open door to discuss it and the company was nimble and agile at the
start.
On the
negative side, it was run like a family business, in that the family had short
fuses and had no problem airing out the dirty laundry in front of everyone.
There were three brothers in charge and a nephew on the staff as well and they
all had open running conflicts with one another. It was not uncommon to see an
actual fist fight break out in the middle of the office.
Second,
the three brothers all wanted to live like millionaires and pay themselves
accordingly, often at the expense of minor things like paying suppliers or
employees. There were a couple times that payroll was late, and we often had to
delay installations until cash could be raised to get product released.
Personally,
I found it to be the perfect environment to start a new career. In many ways it
was like the Wild West but there was a real encouragement to learn and grow,
and the company was big enough that product reps took us seriously and spent
time with me to help with the learning curve.
At the
start, I was a simple labourer. I would ride in the van with an experienced
tech and shadow them on the job site. I would assist where I could and do the
tasks that made their life simple, and they were always great about answering
my questions and allowing me to try new techniques. I found myself enjoying it
so much that in December when I got a call from CP Rail saying they were
interested in hiring me, I wasted no time declining the offer, and I also sent
in my final resignation papers with BC Rail. The conversion was complete.
In the
spring of 2003, I was called into the senior brother’s office for a meeting,
where the unexpected offer was made to move me into sales. I had always
imagined myself in sales in an alternate life and I was thrilled to accept on
the spot. I decided I would sink or swim
and chose to be paid in full commission; my reasoning was I would very quickly
find out if I was cut out for the sales life. I had a massively steep learning
curve but I found I had a natural ability as well, and by the end of the summer
I was back to making as much as I had on the railroad!
There
was an unexpected bonus in choosing to be paid full commission. I had complete
freedom to make my own hours and come and go as I pleased, as long as I made my
targets. Month over month I was beating even my own lofty goals and I soon grew
to love the lifestyle and free time the new career afforded me. By 2007, even
with Angela gone along with her share of the household income, I was earning
enough on my own to compensate.
Despite
everything else in my life going to hell, career wise my life was as good as it
had ever been. I was content, I had freedom and I had a great income.
Of
course the universe was going to pull that rug out from under me as well.
It's Not the Fall That Hurts - Caesars
All my
life I've been fall- fall- falling apart,
Been
tumbling down quick first right from the start
I
never learned just get up and go on
Until
I'm just knocked right off of my feet
But
it's not the fall that hurts
It's
when you hit the ground
Cause
it's not the fall that hurts
It's
when you hit the ground
Stumblin'
with every step I take
And it
seems I can't get a grip
I'm
soon gonna slip
And
then I look down
I see
that the ground
Is
closing in fast again
And
then boom
But
it's not the fall that hurts
It's
when you hit the ground
Cause
it's not the fall that hurts
It's
when you hit the ground
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