Tag: Cyclone

Quantifying Regret

$35,841.03

That’s the present day value of stock I sold to start a business earlier this year. That’s more than I made working full time all last year. I put in about $8,000, much of which was inheritance from my grandmother – we both enjoyed watching the markets. It recently became clear that this business is going nowhere, and my two other partners are giving up. It has been a very frustrating experience, and I’m not happy about it. I’m not used to regret, and I’m coping with it poorly.

I had saved up that money to renovate the bus, and justified the investment in the business as a long term investment in my future. I wound up taking out a loan to pay for bus renovations, which was still ok as long as things were moving forward with the business. With the business dead in the road, everything else has been revealed to me as a bad decision. I’m definitely coming away having learned something, but they feel like bitter and cynical lessons.

It’s a big mistake, and one that will be hard to recover from.
I guess it’s fortunate I was tightening my belt anyway.

Lowe’s

I started at Lowe’s this week. It’s an easy job, and I like it well enough. They very laid back, which surprised me. It’s easy for large corporations to get caught up in bureaucratic garbage, and it seems they’ve largely been able to avoid it. They also do well by their employees: everyone makes above minimum wage, and even part-timers qualify for health care. I’m impressed, but not in love. It’s definitely a job.

A little over a week ago I went in one night for training, but their computers were down, so we were just sent out on the floor. I didn’t really learn anything wandering the aisles, but I got paid for it. I’m still adjusting, and I miss what my last job used to be. I don’t regret leaving, but I still remember it as being a good job, even if it wasn’t when I left.

I’m hoping I’ll be able to put in some more time on Cyclone, since I’m not exactly working full time for Lowe’s. We launched our webstore last week, but things are moving along slowly. Until we can really put the time in, that’s probably the way things will go for the foreseeable future.

Bit by bit

Slowly getting things done. Yesterday we finished deconstructing the majority of the interior of the bus. All that is left are the captain’s chairs and the veggie system. I wrote a post about it on Anne Marie’s very own website.

Same can be said for the Landshark reboot. I have a bit of a mental block keeping me from just sitting down and hammering out as much as I possibly can in an evening, so I just do bits and bits as I can, and it’s slowly coming together. It’s scary to be embarking on a risky business venture when I’m right on the verge of taking control of my life. I have considerable savings built up, and I’m ready to make my bus a home. If I can make myself a job at the same time, all the better.

Landshark

Had a meeting tonight for the new incarnation of Landshark. We’ve been having weekly meetings for a while now, and we’re really building up steam. Still some big hurdles in our way, but we’re figuring it all out, and it feels like it is going to really take off. Exciting times.