Project Hal - Part 2: Space

This is the second post (the first post was the introduction and announcement, here) in my series on setting up the shop for Crispin Arms and Crispin Fabrication (an endeavor that I have decided to call Project Hal; a Shakespearean pun).

The first step in setting up any shop, is acquiring, and readying, your shop space. Depending on where you live, this can actually be a difficult, and potentially expensive; proposition.

Thankfully, when we chose our home here in north Idaho, we were thinking ahead. We chose a home in an area that is zoned multi-use (residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural use are all allowed in my zoning area; within certain, fairly loose, limits). Not only that, but we chose a home with fairly large pre-existing shop space.

On the lower right of this picture, is my house. On the upper left, my shop:

My office/mancave/hobby/electronics/fine work/computer work space is about 3/4 of the bottom floor of the house by the way (the main living floor of the house is the second row of sliding glass doors, with the elevated deck running around two sides).

I've got about 800 square feet of space down there (under 8 foot suspended ceilings. Convenient for the wiring). My wife has her own 256sq foot craft room, with a bunch of worktable and storage space; separate from my workspace.

My main space is split into about half workspace, with desks, benches, bookcases and shelving, a water cooler, and a beverage fridge; about half "lounge" area, with a large "8 person" sectional sleeper sofa/double recliner, coffee tables, big screen TV, stereo, PS3 etc... I've also got a private 3/4 bath, a kitchenette (microwave, toaster oven, small flattop griddle, hot plate, small food fridge, electric tea kettle, and a french press) and a 64sq ft "secure" gun room. Honestly, the only reason to go into the rest of my house, is to be with my family.

At 28 foot wide by 32 foot deep (interior floor space),  the shop is a pretty decent overall size of just about 900sq feet; but it has some... eccentricities...

As you can see from the picture, it has an extra-wide (24 foot x 8 foot) garage door on the main floor. There are also a decent sized windows on each wall (large windows on the side walls, small windows upstairs and down, on the back walls), and a side entry door on the left side of the building.

Oddly, on the second floor, there's a sliding glass door opening out onto 10 feet of air. It was intended to allow for large items to be passed in (reminiscent of the classic hay loft door for a barn), as well as to provide a lot of natural light (the original owner used the space as a painting studio).

Out of that 28x32, it only has a 26x26 fully clear square. There's a 36" wide stairway, with a 36"x36" 90 degree landing at 36" off the floor; descending to a 36"x72"x12" concrete footing/concrete steps in the back right corner; taking up about 1/4 of the width of the back wall, to 72" depth (and restricting the height of another 1/4).  There are also built in 2 foot deep workbenches and cabinets along the full length of the left wall; and it's got 9 foot ceilings (8 foot clear of the garage door hardware and lights).

Basically, it's not quite a 3 car garage, but it's a lot bigger than a standard two car garage.

A note: This "two car garage" thing is actually a small point of irritation for me.

The American standard 2 car garage has a "minimum" size of 18x20 (by home appraisal standards); but in the age of the SUV, 24x24 has become the convention. There is no standard for a 3 car garage, but by convention, it would have around 36 feet of clear interior width. 

At 28 feet wide, my shop would technically be wide enough (though a bit of a squeeze by conventional standards) for a 3 car garage; with only 26 feet of clear width though, it would be a bit tight.  

Why do I say that though, when most cars are less than 6 feet wide? Or, put another way, why has the convention become 24x24 for a two car garage?

Even my bigger than full size pickup (Dodge megacab 2500), including the mirrors, is only 79.4" wide (6 feet 7.4 inches) unless I unfold the built in towing mirrors at which point it expands to 96" wide (8 feet). Its also one of the longest production vehicles in the world at just over 22 feet (including the stinger on the receiver hitch), and one of the tallest at almost 7 feet tall (It's 8" taller than a "standard" half ton pickup. That includes a 2" factory lift for being a 2500 with the heavy duty towing package; 4" more for being a 4x4; and a 1.5" lift from upgrading to 35" tires).

I personally don't think my HUGE truck should be what the "standard" is based on; but even if it were, my truck is longer and wider than any SUV currently sold, and you could still fit three of them in a 24x24 "standard" 2 car garage. A Chevy suburban is 19 feet long and 6'7" wide, and the same three would fit in the "standard" garage.

My actual passenger car (a Cadillac STS) is only 72.4" (6'0.4") wide and 196.3" (16'4") long; and it's a bigger than "average" car.

In fact, of the top 20 best selling passenger cars in America, the Chevy Impala is both the longest at 200" and the widest at 73" (The Camry is 190" long and 71" wide. The Accord is 195" long and also 73" wide). So ALL of the best selling passenger cars are under 17 feet long (and all but one is under 16 feet long), and all but two are 6 feet wide or under.

At 28x32 I could fit 8 "average" cars  in my floor space. Even in my 26x26 clear square space, or in the 24x24 American "standard" 2 car garage; you could still fit six "average" cars. 

Of course, no-one would be able to park, get out of, and unload a car, without a few feet of clearance to the sides and rear; but the idea that a two car garage needs to be 24x24 is ridiculous. You don't need six feet of space between two cars, three feet to either side of the two cars, and 8 feet behind their trunks.

My personal opinion, is that the two car garage "standard" should be a clear floor space of about 22x22; which still gives plenty of clear space between and around your vehicles, and room for cabinets and wall hanging storage. I think you could comfortably get away with 18x20 and still have more space than you do parking at the mall. The three car garage "standard" should be a clear floor space of about 32x22, and you could get away with 26x20.

What the "standard" really reflects, is that our garages aren't used for vehicles. Mostly, they're used for workshops and storage space; and the vehicles are an afterthought...

Frankly, even in cold states, most people I know with a "two car garage", don't use their garage for cars at all. Most of the time, if there's a vehicle in the garage, its a motorcycle or a quad.

The shop also has about half the main floors usable space (with 6 foot or higher ceilings) on the second floor, with  a very large amount of storage space under the rafters (behind the six foot walls).

Really, it was never built as a garage, and was always intended to be a shop, and office/work space on the second floor. As I noted above, the original owners even built in cabinets and work tables along one wall; and they deliberately built the stairs very wide, with a wide landing and clear entry zone, to allow for large items to be brought up and down.

Even with the eccentricities though, I've got enough space for all my shop tools, workflow and walkaround room, materials storage etc... Particularly since all my shop tools are on mobile bases.  I can just reconfigure things as I need, for the project that I am working on.

It's not ideal; but ideally I'd have 10000sqft of climate controlled space, with 24 foot ceilings (to fit a tall tail on a plane) a 48 foot hangar door (to fit wings), and my own landing strip.

Ideally, I'd also have an unlimited budget. This shop is included in my house payment. It'll do.

The bigger issue, was that, by the time I actually started this project; we'd had over 18 months of crap accumulating in the shop.

I started cleaning it out a couple months back; but up 'til a few days before the announcement, about half the clear floor space was taken up with "crap".

A few weeks ago, this is what the shop looked like:

It's not clear from this angle, but basically, there's about 200 square feet, piled a solid 5 foot high (some spots 7 foot), of nothing but (mostly flattened) cardboard boxes:

This was MOST OF the first load (we closed the tailgate and packed some more in):

And what was still left after the first load... probably two more loads:

Again, it's not really clear from the pic, but that pile is STILL 5 foot or more high, 10 foot deep, and probably 14ft wide.

That would be most of the boxes we moved with, plus most of the MANY MANY boxes we get from mail order (probably 1/2 our monthly shopping comes from Amazon. Thank god for Prime); and of course, a large percentage of the boxes from all the tools bought for the shop.

I'mna leave you hangin here though; because I'm not going to be showing pics of the whole shop, until I'm ready for some of the tool and storage posts.

Project Hal

This little 400lb crate:

Is what I was waiting for to arrive, before I made the announcement.

Inside said 400lb crate, is a Seig SuperX3 Mill drill; the best of the Chinese made benchtop mills, here in the guise of the Grizzly G0619 "small mill drill" (it's also available from Jet, and from Shop Fox):

It's one step up from the "mini mills" and "hobby mills" out there, and one step down from a freestanding vertical mill. I've got a power feed for it, and it's got a built in DRO on the quill, and for the spindle RPM. I just need to put a multi-axis DRO on the table and head (and I may CNC it. There's a number of CNC conversion kits out there for it).

Significantly though, it's the smallest mill I would consider adequate for general gunsmithing; with a 1hp motor, a 21"x6" table,  16"x6" table travel, and a no-retram 90 degree rotating millhead. With a 6" rotary table, a 6" cross slide vise, a 6" tilting vise, and a full set of clamps and blocks (all of which I've also purchased) that's enough mill capacity and capability for any gunsmithing operation I can think of short of milling a full stock, or an entire precision shooting fixture.

With this, and the 26" metal lathe (and other tools of course) I've acquired; I feel that I can make my announcement.

I have set up a full machine shop, and wood shop; and I am becoming a full time (or at least most of the time) gunsmith, metal fabricator, and woodwright.

I'm an engineer by nature and by education; with degrees in aerospace engineering, and computer science. I've got almost 20 years employment in some type of engineering work (mostly in IT), and more than 10 years in technical management. I also build and repair computer systems, storage, and networking equipment.

What most don't know (though I have mentioned it here before several times), is that I'm also a trained and experienced metal fabricator, finish carpenter, cabinet maker, and furniture restorer and refinisher (both by interest, and by former employment).

I've been fabricating in wood and metal both professionally, and as a hobby, since I was a teenager.  I've also been working professionally with computers and networks since I was a teenager.

I started my first business while I was in high school, building computers and networks for doctors and lawyers offices etc... I've been working in IT ever since.

From the age of 13, I was also employed part time (and occasionally full time) at my uncles furniture restoration and refinishing shop; where I learned fine carpentry, cabinet making, and furniture finishing and restoration. On the side, I built and finished a couple of boats, more than a couple of guitars, a lot of furniture... basically anything in wood that I felt like messing with.

Other jobs I had as a teenager and during college included an apprentice fabricator at a custom bicycle shop, where I learned to weld and braze (including aluminum and titanium), and where I first learned machinework; and as an auto and motorcycle mechanic.

I've been making knives and swords since I was 17; when a friend of mine in the SCA introduced me to forging, and stock removal knife making. Right now I have several knives that I either made, or heavily modified from stock blades (regrind, reshape, refinish, new grip scales etc...); and I have given several as gifts over the years.

I started gunsmithing... (or more accurately, armorer work since I at the time I didn't do any firearms machine work. Just fitting and filing) when I was 21; working mostly on ARs, AKs, SKS's, and 1911s.

Again, I've never stopped doing that, both as a hobby, and periodically as a business. Over the past 15 years or so, I've done hundreds of trigger jobs and action jobs, and a lot of parts fitting; on Glocks, SIGs, 1911s, and various rifles; and built dozens of ARs, and Remington 700 type rifles (as well as a few other types of guns here and there).  I've also been a firearms trainer (I was NRA certified), and a shop armorer and class III armorer, for several different businesses.

Recently, I've built a number of full custom 1911s, and several precision long range rifles, on the TC Encore, Remington 700, and Winchester model 70 platforms. I've also done a few Saiga conversions, and some rebuilding and refinishing work.

The reason I haven't referred to myself as a professional gunsmith before, was because as far as I'm concerned, you aren't a gunsmith if you don't have the shop and tools necessary to build a gun from bare metal (minus rifling the barrel, which almost no-one has the machines for anymore); and I haven't ever had the space, time, and cash, all at the same time, to have such a shop.

This is the same reason why I haven't referred to myself as a cabinetmaker or furniture restorer. Without a shop to work with, you're just another carpenter.

I've done gunsmithing work for years, using other peoples gear, and using hand tools and light power tools (the dremel tool can be your friend, as well as your enemy); but I haven't been able to do the kind of work I wanted to do.

I've been doing light finish carpentry, making furniture, and restoring antiques for years, using whatever home grade tools I had at the time. Again, I haven't been able to do the work I wanted to do.

As of now, that is no longer true. Now I have the tools, and the space, to do what I want to do.

I have spent the last few months, and about $30,000; building a custom wood and metal fabrication shop, here on my property in Sagle Idaho.

The last tools to purchase were the mill, and the metal lathe (I've had a wood lathe since last year). I ordered them a few weeks ago, and the Mill arrived today (the lathe hasn't shown up yet, but it was supposed to be here today as well).

So, in this post, I am formally announcing the formation of Crispin Arms, and Crispin Fabrication; joining Crispin Press and Crispin Consulting, as subsidiaries of Crispin Enterprises.

Crispin Arms - 

Crispin Arms is a small gunsmithing shop, FFL dealer, Class 3 SOT, manufacturer of firearms and class III items (paperwork is filed and pending on all of those requiring federal licensing); maker of custom knives; and manufacturer of high precision, custom loaded ammunition.

We specialize in custom gunsmithing, ammosmithing, bladesmithing, custom fabrication in metal and wood, and firearms repair; including repair of class III items, and fabrication and fitting of hard to find and out of production parts for firearms and class III items.

Crispin Arms has particular expertise in 1911 type pistols, and long range rifles.

Crispin Fabrication -

Crispin Fabrication is a fabrication, repair, restoration, and finishing shop for wood and metal.

Services including custom machining, custom sheetmetal work, welding, custom electronics and electronics repair, wood and metal finishing and refinishing (including spray and chemical finishes, but not plating or heart cured finishes), wood and metal repair and restoration, and antique repair and restoration.

Crispin Fabrication has particular expertise in automotive, powersport and motorsport applications; aviation applications; boating and marine applications; guitar repair and fabrication; and furniture repair and restoration.

We also manufacture specialty tools and fixtures, and custom and reproduction parts, for all of the industries and interests above.

So, what's next?

Well, I've got the tools, and I've got the building.

I have a 32' x 32' fully insulated and heated shop space; with a second floor, heated, clean air, spray booth (I have both HVLP and high pressure systems. I spend the money to get a Japanese made professional turbine; because you can't cheap out on HVLP setups) , and a storage loft.

I've also got a dedicated 400 square feet in my finished and climate controlled basement; for office work, clean work, and benchwork, and for a secure storage space.

It's small, but with the way I've got things set up (everything is either on a wall, or on rolling stands) it's enough, and it's cheap to run.

The only thing space wise I don't have, that I'd really like, is a space for a vehicle lift (I have a bike lift, and an overhead hoist, and enough clear space to get a truck up on stands; but not enough for a lift), and a loading dock for truck deliveries. Frankly, I can live without them.

Now I need to finish putting the shop together, setting the tools up, setup the storage and organization etc... That's going to take me a few weeks.

I have local resources arranged for plating, anodizing, powdercoating, engraving, and anything else I can't do in my shop (including whatever machining or welding I can't do on my own).

I'm already setup to do stock removal knife making; excepting that I haven't built a heat treating oven yet (and yes, I'm going to build one, not buy one. You can build one for a hell of a lot less than the $2500 they charge for even a small 1500 degree setup).

I will also be building a forge, and hand forging implements, tools, and blades; but that is a ways down the road. 

I've got the paperwork in on my dealers and manufacturers FFL right now. That will take anywhere from a few weeks, to a couple months to clear. I don't plan on focusing on sales of new or used firearms ( I want local shops to send me business, not see me as a competitor); but I will conduct transfers, group buys, and other FFL type stuff. In the mean time, I have an arrangement with a local gun shop to do transfers, to sell my custom guns, and to act as their shop gunsmith. 

Once my FFL comes through, I will file as a Class III SOT; which will take another couple months.

I'm hoping that within the next six months, I'll be able to manufacture, customize, and repair, any kind of firearm I choose, or my customers choose to send me.

Not only that, I'm creative, and I'm skilled mechanically and in materials. I don't just copy and fix, I design new things; and new ways of doing things. I can create original designs, and I can execute them. I plan on doing any type of custom fabricating people want to pay for, and I have the skills to execute.

I'm currently taking advanced machining and advanced welding classes locally, to refresh and expand my skills. I know how to do both, but I am by no means a master at either; and I can always use more practice time, and new skills and techniques. I may become a certified welder, and get a machinists certificate in the process, simply to have as points on my resume. 

Of course, I'll be working locally, through the blog, and through my contacts in the gun world, to generate business. There are a lot of folks out there who have seen my work on 1911s and precision rifles; and a lot of people who have felt my trigger work. I am willing to bet you that many of them would say they've never felt a better trigger than on one of my 1911s, or on my S&W 625.

There's also a few folks who have seen (or own) my custom furniture and wood working pieces; and they'll tell you they've never seen a better piece, with a better finish, than I make.

Tomorrow, I'm going to post an example of a product I intend to sell, made by hand, in wood and metal; and that I can make and sell many of, with relatively low overhead.

As I mentioned in the other post, we've got a few months worth of living expenses banked; but until I can get the shop in full swing, I'm going to be taking IT contracts, and possibly a full time position locally if I can find one worthwhile. I'm actively looking as of now.

Frankly, getting out of debt and then setting up the shop were both FAR more expensive than I thought they would be, totalling almost $80,000 altogether. After the IRS took its share of my severance,  I paid off our debt, and I paid for the shop; there is a lot less left over than I am happy with (I originally intended to have a full years worth of bills and expenses banked).

The fact is, until I can book between $5,000 and $7,000 a month in revenue, I'm not going to be able to do this full time.  In fact, I may never be able to drop IT consulting entirely; but I see the value in having the tools, and keeping up the skills, for these pursuits.

Every good gunsmith I know has a multimonth (or in some cases multi-year) backlog of work of course; but it took them years to get to that point. I expect it will take me some time to get to the point where I have as much gunsmithing and fabricating work as I can handle; if I ever get to that point. 

Over the next few years, I think it's going to be very valuable, to have the skills and tools to work locally, on things that need to be built and repaired locally.  I think having those skills, tools and equipment, will, long term; provide at least as much value as I could provide with the much higher revenue I would be generating in IT consulting.

Plus, it's just something I want to do.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing a number of posts about setting up the shop, the tools, the costs, the services well be offering etc...

Oh and of course, I need to setup the web sites for Crispin Arms and Crispin Fabrication. Haven't done that yet. 

I'll also be doing tool reviews, and posts about building the shop fixtures, furniture, some of the projects I've done lately, and items I'm offering for sale.

Also, I'm going to get back to real gun blogging. I have a lot of content queued up and ready to go; with a bunch more partially written waiting for me to finish. I plan on having at least three major updates or substantive posts every week; and I'd like to get one out every day if I can.


So... why am I doing this, AND computer work, AND publishing?

The fact is, it's tough for a small business owner out there.

The only single one of these businesses that could (at least for now) provide enough revenue on it's own to be self sustaining, and to provide my family with the standard of living I want (at least without working more hours a week than I'm happy with) is the IT consulting; so that's what I've spent most of my time and effort on over the past 15 years.

Even under the best of circumstances, I don't think I could provide for my family with nothing but gunsmithing and gun sales revenue, or publishing revenue, or local computer systems building and repair; or even all of them combined.

It's just not viable at my scale.

To keep the lights on here, costs us about $4500 a month; between rent, utilities, bills, food, and gas. That's a net income requirement, just to pay the bills, of about $54,000 a year. That doesn't account for any savings, any vacations, any recreation etc... That's just paying the bills for the house and shop, two cars, and eating.

If we add in say, 20% on top of that to account for "extras" such as savings, retirement, emergencies, eating out occasionally etc... that's another $10,800 or about $65k a year total net, to maintain our standard of living.

In a normal salaried job, that means something like an $85k a year salary; which isn't exactly nothing, but I've been making far more than that working in IT for the past 15 years (at least 50% more than that most years, double that in some years).

 I'm just not going to be able to make that much, or anything near it; in the other businesses.

For the fabricating and gunsmithing; at an $85/hour shop rate, and $65 per hour bench rate (presume 1920 hours per year to account for sick time and vacations), if I presume I can maintain 50% billable hours in a year (a very big assumption) at 3/4 bench and 1/4 shop time, thats a gross of $67,200. Net... maybe half that after taxes and expenses.  I would have to maintain something between 1200 and 1400 billable hours a year to reach the income levels we need. I can ever get to that point, it will be years from now.

The same goes for publishing. If we were lucky, and managed to attract say, six reasonable selling books a year, and another six contract publishing jobs, we MIGHT manage to GROSS $60k a year. Net... half that or less (materials costs are much higher as a percentage than in gunsmithing).

I don't know if this is going to work. I know I can do it, but it's also a huge risk, and there may be no payoff... but I'm working at it as hard and as smart, as I know how; and I'm going to do my damndedst to make this a success.

Because I want to build things, and make things again; and because I want control of my own destiny.

The BIG Change...

On July 28th, at 8am, I received my midyear performance review from GigantoMegaBankCorp.

GigantoMegaBankCorp reviews employees on a 1-5 integer scale, on 5 major categories, each weighted differently. Each category make up as little as 5%, and as much as 35% of your overall score. Each category consists of between 3 and 15 weighted subcategories, scored, averaged and rounded down to the absolute value' to reach the score in the major category. The overall score is also then giving a weighted average, and rounded down to absolute value. 1 and 2 indicate unacceptable performance and minimum acceptable performance respectively, 3 indicating "good" performance, 4 indicating "exceptional performance" and 5 indicating "outstanding performance".

Performance reviews are used or a lot of things; but from a tangible standpoint, your performance review is used as a multiplier for your annual bonus, your profit sharing award, and your stock option grant (these are all substantial portions of your annual compensation in the financial industry, frequently more than half; but in my case, all of those things combined make up about 1/3). In order to get any "incentive based" or "performance based" compensation, you must average at least 3.0 overall, AND receive no score on any major category lower than 3 (though you can be rated 2 or 1 on any given subcategory. If you make an average of between 4.0 and 4.9, you get 125% of your "target" bonus, and baseline stock options and profit sharing. If you make an average of 5 (for which, obviously, you have to receive nothing but 5s), you get 150% of your target and baseline.

The first four years I was with GigantoMegaBankCorp, I was never rated less than a 4 on any category, always received 5 ratings in several categories (in fact, one year I got all 5s and got 150% bonus); and I received multiple sizable bonuses, and several promotions. I started off as an Architect 4 on contract, with no title other than "Systems Architect" and no direct management responsibility. I ended up as an Architect 6 {the highest architect rank that is actually still an architect and manger, and not purely a manager} and "Chief Architect" of the biggest division of the bank, leading a team of 8 senior architects, and managing project teams of dozens, even hundreds).

For 2010 I received mostly 3s and 4s in the major categories, but I received one 2; and therefore I didn't get any bonus or stock options. As most people reading this probably know, 2010 was a bad year for me, and yeah, it had a negative impact on my performance. In 2011 though, I've generally been turning it around pretty well, now that I'm receiving the proper treatment for my health problems (among other things).

The midyear review is generally just a "guidance" number, intended to give you an idea of where you are for the year, and any changes you may need to make for your end of year review; however, if you received a lower year end review score, the midyear also replaces it as your "current review" score, for internal job applications, promotions, transfers etc...

From 800am to 830am, I went over my review with my manager. I got a 4 overall on my midyear review, with very positive comments, plus some additional suggestions about how I could make sure I get a 4 or better for the full year, which my manager was confident I would reach.

At 830am, there was a mandatory meeting for nine members of my department plus their managers, including me. The director of my department, the chief architect of GigantoMegaBankCorp over all, announced that subsequent to our recent major re-organization (following our purchase of another major bank 18 months ago), an analysis of our "senior technical and executive staff" had been conducted, and we would be taking a manadatory 15% across the board staff cut (9 people), with specific cutting targets in the three highest grades; and that the positions of the staff members in that meeting were being eliminated, and we were being "displaced" as of October 3rd.

He then opened the bridge to the rest of the department, and made the announcement to everyone.

Under the terms of my "displacement", I worked my position from the announcement until August 3rd, when I went to "transitional leave"; where I was still paid, but did not have any active duties or position; the purpose of which is to allow you to try to find another job within the company.

From October 3rd on, I could either remain on "continuation leave", and be treated as an employee for most purposes, including benefits, employment verification, internal positions etc... for six months, or I could take a lump sum payment for the amount of base salary I would have received for that same period.

Also, because I was an active employee for ten months of the year, if I was bonus eligible, and a bonus is distributed for 2011 (it would be distributed between the last two weeks of February and the first two weeks of March), I will receive 83% of the bonus I would have received; and my stock options and grants that would have matured, will mature.

In theory, those two things combined should be worth about $30,000 pre-tax come March, on top of the severance; but it's very uncertain.

I decided to take the severance package. My wife works for GigantoMegaBankCorp as well, with the same benefits eligibility, so we just switched benefits around so that she's the primary member, and I'm the spouse; so our benefits are covered.

As of October 3rd, I have been officially laid off from the job I held for more than five years; as chief architect of the retail division of a major financial institution.

Unfortunately, since that time, I have been contractually prohibited from speaking about it publicly, or in any detail.

It was a great job in some ways, a horrible job in others... just like any job...

...but the thing is, it was a job I was doing for someone else.

It was a job that, fundamentally, I was never happy with; because it wasn't getting me (or my family), where we want to be.

On the other hand, it was also a job that gave me a reasonably large severance package...

...Big enough, that my family and I could have lived on it for at least a year; maybe as much as two years if we cut back to the absolute minimum, and you include the PTO payout, and the cashout of my 401k... Or at least it was big enough for that, before the IRS got ahold of it.

Just an aside, the IRS took about $37,000 in regular taxes from me this year so far (that's January to October 7th. Actually, it's a bit less than usual; the last few years they've taken around $50k to $60k per year, but I didn't get a bonus this year, which they withold at a higher rate), then they took about $27k out of my severance package. I decided to cash out my 401k rather than roll it over {I don't like the market for the next two years, and I honestly think the prepayment penalty is less than I'm going to lose, between inflation and market losses. I think I have better uses for that money} and AFTER the prepayment penalty, they took another $7k . That's a total of about $71,000 in tax withholding.

From that $71,000 in withholding, I estimate my actual tax liability for the year from all the compensation I earned from GigantoMegaBankCorp, to be about $40,000; so in theory I've got a pretty damned big tax return coming.

The funniest thing...

Since I entered the ranks of the "unemployed", I've been busier than I ever was when I was "employed" (which, yes, is part of why I wasn't particularly happy with the job).

First, on July 28th at 830, I was laid off... On July 28th at 1130, I got my first phone call with a job offer. I didn't take it, for several reasons; the first of which being that if I accepted another job before October 3rd, I wouldn't get the severance package.

At the same time, I also got a couple of temporary contract gigs, that were providing me with significant outside income; and of course I had offers pending from October 3rd on.

Anyway, even after the IRS took damn near half (ok... not quite that much, but a hell of a lot), my "displacement settlement" was enough to live on for at least a year, presuming we made some cuts etc...

We've decided to go a different way.

I'm not very happy with the way things are right now... in a lot of different ways.

I love my wife and family, I love where we live...

...but....

Lot's of other things though... I'm not really happy with.

Yes, I could make a lot of money continuing what I have been doing the last 10 years; moving back into consulting again or taking a similar position at any number of other companies in the finance, medical, or technology industries.

Frankly, there aren't a lot of people who can do what I do, and there are a lot of companies that need it.

But...

I am tired of either working for another big company, or being dependent on them as a contractor or subcontractor; and in my primary field, that's where the money is.

My wife and I have thought a lot about this, done a lot of research, weighed a lot of options, and done a lot of soul searching...

A LOT of thinking, researching, and soul searching.

About three months worth in fact...

We've decided to do something different.

Instead of going for another big money contract gig, or laying back for two years, or just banking the money...

We've decided to do something different.

The first thing we've done is, Mel has transitioned to full time employment with GigantoMegaBankCorp, and will be earning a reasonable amount of money (plus our medical benefits).

The second thing we've done, is get out of the hole we've been put in by the last five years.

All my personal debt excepting our car loans, all my medical bills, all the remaining legal bills, all my credit cards... everything... and a bunch of Mels debt (not all unfortunately, she owes a hell of a lot because of the custody case, and we wouldn't have anything left to live off of) is now paid off.

It was a deep hole, and because we've been in it for several years, our credit getting worse every day; it was a high interest hole. We were rolling loans over periodically at high interest rates (including pawn and payday loans at times); so, that we were paying about half interest and half principal on the majority of those payments to the tune of several thousand dollars a month.

No, that's not a good situation to be in. It was also a situation we didn't have a choice about. Our savings went entirely into the legal and medical bills; and we needed that money, right then, for things that couldn't be put off, and that was that.

No, we're not stupid... we were left without options. I would pay off as much as I could, when I could, in the background; but it was repeatedly two steps forward three steps back.

The last two years also put either Mel or me, or both of us together; into about $30,000 worth of collections, some for Mels stuff, but a lot for medical bills my insurance didn't cover, and which because of the those other things, we couldn't always pay or couldn't pay in a timely manner (for example, in January and February of 2011, I had $16,000 in un-covered medical expenses, $3000 for my brothers funeral, $5000 in legal bills, $3000 in medical bills for the kids relating to the custody issue. That $27,000 screwed us up until like September); screwing up our credit rather badly.

Note: One major point of irritation there. My insurance company has this irritating habit of paying a bill, then six months later, they do a "payment review" and they charge back a part of what they originally paid from the original service provider. Then, the original service provider bills me; and, not knowing this, or missing it in the FLOOD of paper I get every day (there's a lot of medical bills associated with being a cancer patient. Often hundreds of pages a week) I get sent to collections after 90 days... very irritating.

That's in addition to about $20,000 worth of other unsecured or high interest debt (personal loans, payday loans, pawn, credit cards etc...) ; for a total of about $50,0000

It's all paid off now.

The entire remainder of our debt is either secured, low interest, or personal on a no interest basis.

As of today, we're completely out of the hole, but for the cars, and Mels remaining personal debt.

By the way: relating to that, part of Mels personal debt is all the people who ordered cookbooks that were never delivered. There's actually a very good reason why that happened, having to do with legal issues as well as financial issues; it sucks, it's wrong, but there wasn't anything I could do about it; and there's an even crappier reason why we are legally prevented from talking about . The next thing I post is going to be about that, but I don't want to interrupt this post for that info.

Also as of today, including Mels pay, and my unemployment benefits ($336 a week for six months by the way), we now have about 6 months of living expenses banked. If we get the tax return and the bonus etc... it's more like 12 to 18 months.

On Monday, presuming what I've been waiting for happens, I'm going to write about what we did with the rest of the money and what I'm planning on doing for the next few years.

Note: I was wanting to post this on Tuesday by the way, but events overtook me again, and I wasn't able to say the things I wanted to be able to say until today, and I didn't want to say anything else until I was able to say this. The reason I'm not posting the rest today, is for the same reason. I should be able to do so on Monday.

See, I told you I wasn't QUITE dead... yet...

... though I admit, it turned out to be "a week from tomorrow" instead of tomorrow" as I thought it would be on the 14th; I intend to make up for it. This should be the first of at least three posts today.

...

...Which will almost certainly jinx it and i wont be able to write for another month... ...but Ill proceed on the notion my plan will reach frution this day.

However, it's 0945 and im in a cafe in Sandpoint; and i need to dump a bedful of frozen trash at the refuse station 5 miles south of town, so I can be ready for my "big thing" of the day, which is coming in via truck freight between 10 and noon...

...Or it would be if it weren't for the 6 full inches of mixed ice, slush, and snow alternately melting and refreezing; on the roads from the state highway to our house. Theres no way in hell a semi is getting into our road, never mind our driveway (a 7% grade).

I talked with them yesterday and asked if there was any way the could send up a city truck or box van, but no. So, instead of the white glove service I paid extra for, I'm going to need to meet them in a clear parking lot off the state highway, and do a liftgate transfer into my truck bed. Then I need to figure out how to get an unbalanced 500 pound pallet out of my truck bed, without a loading dock, forklift... even a pallet jack.

In freezing rain, onto ice and snow.

Fun.


(I'm thinking of rigging a cradle hoist under the pallet and lifting it with my 3 ton shop crane and engine hoist/leveler)


Oh and did I forget to mention, I'm in the middle of a severe bout of insomnia and haven't slept in 75 hours? It's oing to be an interesting day.