WORK
Updated 10/28/07
Yeah, it's a dirty 4-letter word, but ya gotta make a living, right? I worked in the Quality Control department at Texas Instruments for 19 years and then 5 1/2 more years with Solectron after TI sold our division to them. I was in the same cost center for nearly 25 years, certified by ASQ as a Quality Technician, and certified by NARTE as an ESD Control Technician. The slowdown in the electronics market hit Solectron in a big way and our plant in Austin had to lay 80% of the workforce, about 4000 employees, throughout 2001. They let me go in September of 2001 (5 days before the World Trade Center attack). That’s when I started building this website, since I suddenly had some free time.
I am currently working several part-time jobs, including
massage therapy, videographer for figure skating competitions with my sister Deb and her husband Mitch and their company Local Motion Productions, and until early ’05 I was selling Cimarron old west reproduction firearms for Traditional Effects in Red Rock, TX. Between skating competitions I also work part time for Cimarron Firearms Co. at their location in Fredericksburg, Tx and on their road crew. The videographer job keeps me traveling to skating competitions around the Midwest, about 10 states per year. There are long hours of standing in cold ice rinks and it can get very hectic, but it's fun. Local Motion has become the best in the country at this business and we filmed the U.S. Nationals in Dallas in '03, Atlanta in '04, St. Louis in ’06, and Portland in ‘07. I have spent an estimated 7000 hours filming skaters. Selling the cowboy guns has kept me traveling as well, going to some of the largest Cowboy Action Shooting matches around the country and the big shooting industry trade show called Shot Show in 2003 and 2004.Working all these jobs keeps the bills paid (barely) and they are all interesting with no chance of being bored, but it makes it hard to find time for shooting and goofing off. I must say though that I do not miss working for a huge company and the accompanying stress.
Maybe someday I'll get another "real" job, if it piques my interest and pays well. With that possibility in mind, here's my
resume.