I sent out this e-mail just the other day to several friends I've not seen or talked to in a while. I figured I'd post it here too, because it kinda explains recent activity. Enjoy.

Hey everyone! I apologize for sending out this mass-mailing, but it seemed to be the best way I could relay this info to you. I basically just want to let everyone know I'm still alive and what I've been up to... First and foremost, I want to apologize to everyone for not keeping in touch over the last couple of years. It's hard to believe that it's been that long, but believe me, it has. As I'm sure all of you know, I was in the process of starting my own business a couple of years ago. I had plenty of work lined up but it was getting really hard for me to pay the bills between projects, so I had to give up on that dream for a little while. Last June, I took a position in the local quick-lube as a grease monkey. It's not something I was too excited about, but it was about all I could find at the time. Probably no more than a couple of months after I started, I was approached by the owners with the subject of management. The shop here in town was suffering from a lack of proper management, and they needed someone dependable to get it back on track. I had never considered myself "management material", but apparently I presented myself in such a way that made someone else think that way. So right away, I was deemed the manager of the 2-bay shop here in town, and I became responsible for the daily operations and the actions of my fellow employees. Since then, I have acquired a lot of valuable skill, such as employee management, conflict handling, customer satisfaction, bookkeeping, and inventory management. While that may not sound all to frilly and amazing, it is. Believe me when I tell you that this business is more complex than what you see on the surface. But anyhow, within the last couple of weeks, the subject of a third shop came up with the owners. They are looking at purchasing a shop in the extreme northwest Indiana area, thus requiring a bigger management staff. The biggest concern that they had was that I could possibly be leaving for another job, most probably in the information technology field, and that they would be left with a management vacancy and would need to fill it with someone dependable and knowledgeable of automotive and this particular business. Today, I asked the "boss lady" if the third shop would be happening, and her response was something along the lines of, "Well, since you're probably going to be leaving and we'll be in need of 2 managers, probably not. We can't afford the time or the money to find someone to replace you, and we have to run this shop full time if we get it." I informed her that if they were really seriously considering this third shop and that if they wanted to take it, I would be willing to stick around until things are running a bit more smoothly. Her response was that they would very much appreciate it, and that I would more than likely take the "boss dude's" position, managing both of the current shops, such that he would be able to focus on getting the new shop off the ground. You guys are probably all wondering if more money will be included in this promotion; I sure would expect it, and I would most definitely need it to afford a new-ish car as I would be traveling a lot more. So yeah... In short, my business is on hold, I've shot up the corporate ladder in a hurry with this business, and I may be going even higher in the not too distant future. I know I've kinda moved backwards in terms of which industry I'm getting into, but I can't complain: I've got the best employers anyone could ever ask for, I know what I'm doing quite well, and I have been rewarded for my hard work. Yes, I would very much like a nice relaxed office job, but given the circumstances, I would be an idiot to move on right now. Well, that's about it. I again apologize for not keeping in touch with you guys. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail once in a while as I would gladly accept it (and hopefully reply to it)! :) I hope you all have a great Easter, and I wish you all the best! -Tim