Things change fast sometimes.
So, I am no longer unemployed. (Well, technically I was never unemployed, because I kept the 3-6-hours-per-week church choir job, but it was never meant to support a person on its own.) I now work for UGA, which is the sales wing for HealthMarkets and the MEGA life and health insurance company. I just got back from a three-day training session in Windham, ME. There's plenty left to learn, but I've got a good start. I have a large textbook to study for a MA state licensing test to sell health insurance, which I'll take in the beginning of February. And more training on the specific products I'm expected to sell.
It's commission only, which worries my parents more than me, but with only a couple sales in a week I'd make considerably more here, even in the first year, than I could have at Apple. And with the way renewal commissions work, you make considerably more each year than the year before, assuming most of your customers stay. I'm told that it's a lot of work to get started, there's some investment involved (mostly in terms of publicity and referrals, not money paid to the company I work for, for those of you worried about scams), and they expect nearly everyone to be on the border of quitting a few times in the first few months, but once you get the ball rolling it's much easier to keep it moving.
And there are a lot of good selling points for our insurance plan, which is very different from everything else on the market, and is well-targeted towards our main market: individuals, self-employed people, and very small businesses. Needs are very different from large, employed groups -- more different than you realize, due to certain conventions of the insurance industry -- and though some other companies sell individual policies, they're still more built towards the group model, which leaves LARGE coverage gaps. In fact, if you're self-employed you should probably talk to me about this, because chances are you have gaps in your current coverage that you don't know about. They don't like me to talk about specifics in print/type forms, because if I leave things out (which I inevitably would) it could be taken as a contract, and because it's far easier to make a sale in person. I won't be officially licensed to sell you insurance until early February, (assuming I pass the test, which I don't think should be a problem), but there are a few self-employment-specific insurance caveats that you REALLY ought to know about if you're in that position. And it matters that you're technically an independent contractor or some such, even if in most practical terms you're basically an employee.
So, unrelated to my new job, I went for vacation over Christmas and New Year's, to Denver and Las Vegas. I had a wonderful time with Elena in Denver. I had a chance to see her home and meet many of her friends, including her closest friend since middle school, Romana. I played with her dog, Walter, an adorable and playful golden lab. I got to know her parents, whom I had previously met at Williams, but only very briefly and before Elena and I were dating. I liked them, and got the impression (which Elena confirms) that they liked me, although her dad was concerned about the potential financial implications if she stayed with me in the long term. (Not that he told me that, but she passed it along afterwards. Also, I was visiting during a relatively short-term period when I was barely employed -- only the very part time choral position -- which has now been rectified. I was un(der)employed for only about a month and a half, which I think is really not bad in the current economy.) And I think they appreciated very much that I made dinner for the family two of the nights I was there. Good, homemade food is a remarkably good way to win favor with most people.
And I had one more day with her than planned, because United Airlines cancelled my flight out to Vegas on New Year's Eve. It was cancelled for mechanical reasons with less than an hour's notice, such that nearly everyone on the flight had already arrived, gone through security, and checked bags through by the time they found out. There was no compensation, no attempt to find another plane (as US Airways did under similar conditions on my way home later), and no other available flight for about 28 hours, and really no decent customer service to speak of once something went wrong. For that reason, I would love to screw them over a bit by highly recommending all of you to get your next flights with a different airline. However, it wasn't so bad to have to go back to Denver for New Year's Eve.
My time in Vegas wasn't perfect, because Matthew (my brother) had to work all night most of the days I was there, and because there was a fight in the household (partially my fault) on his day off, but I was still glad to be there. I hadn't seen Matthew for about 8 months prior, since his wedding, and it was nice to be together again. I saw his show as well, Crazy Horse, which I can't say was exactly what I would have chosen for myself, but worth seeing once. Lighting, Matthew's primary area, was at the forefront, and there was a lot neat in the show, but T&A can get tiresome after a while. I did get to meet most of the crew backstage, and they seemed like cool guys.
This past weekend I visited Williams, not just to see Elena again but to catch several alums who were visiting at that time. I had already told them all I couldn't be there, because my band was supposed to be recording then, but they cancelled for weather so I drove up to Williamstown. There was really no need for them to have cancelled, as the times we'd need to drive back and forth to record would have been during only the fringes of the storm if at all, but oh well. In fairness, at its worst it was really not a storm you'd want to drive far through. In fact, with friends' insistence and my director's email leaving the option open, I didn't even drive through it to get back to church in the morning. I admit to being heavily influenced by the fact that I'd rather be there with my friends than back home, which made me feel more guilty about it. But even though I might have braved the storm had that not been the case, it still would have been a bad idea, and I think the decision I made was the more rational one. My director seemed to agree, and didn't hold it against me at all.
This coming weekend I'll be back at Williams for Elizabethans reunion! I really do love the Elizabethans, and I miss all of you graduated folks, and look forward to seeing those of you who will be around. Not that I don't also miss the ones who haven't yet graduated, but less so because I've been there to visit a couple days every few weeks, so they've remained a part of my life much more. In any case, I think that's about all for this update.
It's commission only, which worries my parents more than me, but with only a couple sales in a week I'd make considerably more here, even in the first year, than I could have at Apple. And with the way renewal commissions work, you make considerably more each year than the year before, assuming most of your customers stay. I'm told that it's a lot of work to get started, there's some investment involved (mostly in terms of publicity and referrals, not money paid to the company I work for, for those of you worried about scams), and they expect nearly everyone to be on the border of quitting a few times in the first few months, but once you get the ball rolling it's much easier to keep it moving.
And there are a lot of good selling points for our insurance plan, which is very different from everything else on the market, and is well-targeted towards our main market: individuals, self-employed people, and very small businesses. Needs are very different from large, employed groups -- more different than you realize, due to certain conventions of the insurance industry -- and though some other companies sell individual policies, they're still more built towards the group model, which leaves LARGE coverage gaps. In fact, if you're self-employed you should probably talk to me about this, because chances are you have gaps in your current coverage that you don't know about. They don't like me to talk about specifics in print/type forms, because if I leave things out (which I inevitably would) it could be taken as a contract, and because it's far easier to make a sale in person. I won't be officially licensed to sell you insurance until early February, (assuming I pass the test, which I don't think should be a problem), but there are a few self-employment-specific insurance caveats that you REALLY ought to know about if you're in that position. And it matters that you're technically an independent contractor or some such, even if in most practical terms you're basically an employee.
So, unrelated to my new job, I went for vacation over Christmas and New Year's, to Denver and Las Vegas. I had a wonderful time with Elena in Denver. I had a chance to see her home and meet many of her friends, including her closest friend since middle school, Romana. I played with her dog, Walter, an adorable and playful golden lab. I got to know her parents, whom I had previously met at Williams, but only very briefly and before Elena and I were dating. I liked them, and got the impression (which Elena confirms) that they liked me, although her dad was concerned about the potential financial implications if she stayed with me in the long term. (Not that he told me that, but she passed it along afterwards. Also, I was visiting during a relatively short-term period when I was barely employed -- only the very part time choral position -- which has now been rectified. I was un(der)employed for only about a month and a half, which I think is really not bad in the current economy.) And I think they appreciated very much that I made dinner for the family two of the nights I was there. Good, homemade food is a remarkably good way to win favor with most people.
And I had one more day with her than planned, because United Airlines cancelled my flight out to Vegas on New Year's Eve. It was cancelled for mechanical reasons with less than an hour's notice, such that nearly everyone on the flight had already arrived, gone through security, and checked bags through by the time they found out. There was no compensation, no attempt to find another plane (as US Airways did under similar conditions on my way home later), and no other available flight for about 28 hours, and really no decent customer service to speak of once something went wrong. For that reason, I would love to screw them over a bit by highly recommending all of you to get your next flights with a different airline. However, it wasn't so bad to have to go back to Denver for New Year's Eve.
My time in Vegas wasn't perfect, because Matthew (my brother) had to work all night most of the days I was there, and because there was a fight in the household (partially my fault) on his day off, but I was still glad to be there. I hadn't seen Matthew for about 8 months prior, since his wedding, and it was nice to be together again. I saw his show as well, Crazy Horse, which I can't say was exactly what I would have chosen for myself, but worth seeing once. Lighting, Matthew's primary area, was at the forefront, and there was a lot neat in the show, but T&A can get tiresome after a while. I did get to meet most of the crew backstage, and they seemed like cool guys.
This past weekend I visited Williams, not just to see Elena again but to catch several alums who were visiting at that time. I had already told them all I couldn't be there, because my band was supposed to be recording then, but they cancelled for weather so I drove up to Williamstown. There was really no need for them to have cancelled, as the times we'd need to drive back and forth to record would have been during only the fringes of the storm if at all, but oh well. In fairness, at its worst it was really not a storm you'd want to drive far through. In fact, with friends' insistence and my director's email leaving the option open, I didn't even drive through it to get back to church in the morning. I admit to being heavily influenced by the fact that I'd rather be there with my friends than back home, which made me feel more guilty about it. But even though I might have braved the storm had that not been the case, it still would have been a bad idea, and I think the decision I made was the more rational one. My director seemed to agree, and didn't hold it against me at all.
This coming weekend I'll be back at Williams for Elizabethans reunion! I really do love the Elizabethans, and I miss all of you graduated folks, and look forward to seeing those of you who will be around. Not that I don't also miss the ones who haven't yet graduated, but less so because I've been there to visit a couple days every few weeks, so they've remained a part of my life much more. In any case, I think that's about all for this update.