sticking it to the 'man'
 

its very easy to talk tough when you earn a shit load of money and do a job a lemur could do, but how many would give that up to go off on some damn fool idealistic crusade.
well me for one,
I am jacking in my job for the opportunity of living with my loved one and attempting to carve out a new life running an indie bookshop. So i am off to the fare city of brighton which is where any self respecting mocker should live (eh Dole?). Only trouble is I haven't told my boss yet and i don't know how to. One side of me wants to be a fucking bitch and tell him what a wanker he is, but my leaving has also made a lot more work for some people i quite like.
your thoughts please.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to give up the security of the "shit load of money" job :/ Creating more work for those you leave behind is an unfortunate consequence, but you have to think of number one first.

good for you! not enough people are brave enough to reach for something that would really make them happy

telling your boss off might make you feel better

a boss i actually respected once told me that no one would miss him when he was gone, that when people leave it is like a finger being taken out of a glass of water, something is different, but not for long.

i always thought it was a stupid concept, but having seen people come and go in jobs i have found him to right. your co workers will miss you, but you are not going to hurt them for long, you will just be a memory.

and a hint from guy who carries gasoline and matches everywhere, NEVER burn bridges unless you have to. there may come a day when you have to rely on your former employer, if not when you come crawling back for a job, then when you need a reference for another job, or a business loan.

or my alternate answer: BURN BABY BURN!! LIGHT THAT FIRE :):)

We moved to Richmond for a shitload of money. ;) :lol

Abandoning shitty, mindless high-paying jobs for something that's actually satisfying is one of the best things a person can do for themselves. And yeah, it does take guts, so kudos to you Gemma!

OOTINI!

Buy a lemur, bring it to your boss and introduce it as your replacement.

buffalo tom made me LOL.

I'm not sure what to say. On one hand, it's nice to have job security to pay bills while your new job takes off. On the other hand, running an independent store takes a lot of time. You're probably going to have to scrimp for awhile, I imagine. But I say go for it. What people regret are the things they don't do. If your store doesn't take off, well you can always get another job.

Bless you, Cherry. What the world needs is more bookstores.

Fear governs our desire for the sort of safety you're leaving. If you're afraid of what your new situation is gonna bring, I'd hesitate to torch your past to shreds - sometimes it's what we had that sustains us, not what we've got.
Here's a little personal anecdote, straight outta Suburbia - when I was in grade 9 I took a leave of absence from my shitty bakery job to visit my Dad for a couple of months - he lived across the country and I thought it'd be cool to spend my summer out with him. After a while I got pretty tired of sitting on my ass and playing golf so I went out to get a job - and naturally the only job to be had was at the loacl McDonald's. The thing was that my McDicks was unionized (only in Canada) and we were making a serious wage - so I didn't tell them until the day before I was to leave that I was quitting, whereupon I told them this bullshit story about my family moving to Norway. I ended this monologue with me breaking down in front of the manager to garner a little extra sympathy - she was all empathetic and sent me on my way with a smile. So I went back to my shitty bakery job at 8 bucks an hour and then my boss quit and THE MANAGER FROM THE MCDONALDS TOOK HIS PLACE. She moved all the way across the country with her husband and she just happened to find a placement. So I had to make up another bullshit story to keep my job, but she never really trusted me.

i wish more people in england were willing to take major life risks.

[center:3239402462]whoa.[/center:3239402462]

that was a tad bitter of me. i should edit that...but i don't fucking feel like it.

anyways, go for it, gemmers. follow your dreams, follow your heart. do what makes you happy. of course, you know all of this already.

GO FOR IT GEMMA!!! NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!! HULK SMASH!!!

cheers guys,
i like bufallo toms idea, but if i could buy a lemur i am keeping it for myself.
it probably will mean not spare cash for a while so no US trip for me till 2005 when i will be turning up on Maxs doorstep.
that means a few more of you fuckers have to get over here.
of course, although i am taking the 'follow the dream' stance here, it all gets put in perspective when you read the following.
the town i was going to have to move to with my old company HAS NO COMIC SHOP.

Well, FUCK! I guess that was an easy decision after all!

Can you give a fellow Commonwealther a job? Toronto's looking real shitty right now, given my infuriating ex-girlfriend lives with her boyfriend down the street.

Move outta the T-Dot. go west, young man - there's lots of work in Calgary and if you wanna be REAl cutting edge - move to Victoria. It never snows and the girls are fabulous. Believe me - your ex will be a distant memory.

Money is nice, leaving work for others to do is a minor bummer which will be soon corrected and they'll get over; but essentially there's no compelling reason for you to not do what you've already decided to do. The sooner you face the music and tell who you have to tell the sooner you can stop anticipating it.

George is right though, as momentarily amusing as telling off a boss might be, never burn career bridges. If he gives you a long lecture on how wrong you are to bail from the corporate world into the indie world, just grin and bear it. You may be able to exploit your connection to him at some later date.

As much as I would love to quit my shitty jobs in a blaze of glory, I never would do it. It's probably better down the road to have an old boss who thinks you're great and would work as a great reference.

:(

Please don't use that term, T-Dot. It smacks of pretension and of ultra-hipness, both of which make me want to yak. Plus, my ex uses that term, and it makes me think of her every time I hear it, which I don't need right now.


I'm such a basket case. :(

Man, you mean you actually knew someone who used the phrase T-Dot? Damn. I figured since it was used by such Luminaries as Choclair and the staff of Muchmusic it must be spectacularly uncool by now. Lord knows - I live on Vancouver island. Hip is what most of the people here break when they slip in the mall. I must admit, having an ex who said t-dot would seriously help my ability to get over her. Although I'm sorry to hear about your loneliness. It's a hard road - lord knows I know.

If the only reason you're leaving is to start your own business, I don't see the benefit of hanging it in the bossman's ass. Now if you hated your boss, I'd say burn that bridge.
I once had a job where I got along with everyone (actually alot of people hated me but I enjoyed myself). Then the manager got replaced by a real stormtrooper. When I quit, I went to the president of the company and made my pleasant farewells. Then I went into the managers office and told him that he just plain sucked and that I thanked him for motivating me to get out of that shithole. All the other people I worked with loved it, many followed soon thereafter.
"It's better to regret something you HAVE done instead of something you haven't" Butthole Surfers
"Go for it" Rocky III (I think)

"A working class hero is something to be"
-John Lennon

"What really happened in that story I just told is I took a sick day and then I didn't answer my phone for a week in case it was my boss. Eventually I got a letter that said my employemnt had ended due to voluntary termination. I'm really cool though"
-Slavemason

wow, you really are right behind me.
my prostate is fine, thanks anyway.

Wel, for god's sake, leave it alone then.

yes sir...

When I was young and idealistic, I used to quit all my jobs on a whim and with a big ol' 'fuck you' to the boss. Of course, two or three months later, with my arms beginning to look like pincushions from all the plasma I donated, I'd come crawling back, looking to get hired back again. Surprisingly, it worked more often than not, mostly due to pity, I guess.

Unfortunately, the last time I did that, I got burned. I tried applying at a different Blockbuster (yeah, I worked for the Man), thinking that since they didn't know me, I'd get hired due to my experience. But of course, they just happened to have the same district manager as my old store. They called me in for an interview, and he showed up, took one look at me, laughed, and told me to "get the fuck out of my store. You will NEVER work at one of my stores, and by the way, here's a list of all the stores I run, so don't even try applying at any of them".

So, my point is, um, god-damnit. I forgot. Wait, yeah. As good as it may feel to tell your boss off, it just may come back to bite you squarely in the ass. Leave on good terms, not a barrage of middle fingers.