Rolling with 'E' and My Need for Voice123

One of the most difficult things about being in the entertainment industry, or the 'biz', more so if you live in the USA, is that you have to worry about the growing cost of health insurance and/or medical care.

I have found over the past 8 years that many in the US have based life-decisions, not around doing what they love, but more so around whether or not they would have medical coverage. I am one who had done the same for a few years, as I suffer from a condition called Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy.

I worked in a 'real job', so-called 'real' as this implies the negative, from 2004 - 2007. One of the very reasons I started working at Voice123 was because my last job at AIG (yes...the very one now being bailed out by the US government), had management that chose not understand why I could not always make it to work on time. This very action led to much stress, which in turn, led to the need for medical care that was nearly putting me in the poor house by taking money out of my weekly paycheck to pay for something that could not cover a $45,000, 7-day/night stay in the hospital, which I had to do for a medical test.

So, how in the world could it be considered wise to quit and go back into the entertainment field which offers no direct promise of medical care? I asked myself this question for years and came up with something, 'What came first? The chicken or the egg?'.

• Was it 'stress' that led to me needing insurance for medical care for epilepsy? No.

• Was it working at AIG, instead of Voice123 , the industry I loved, truly helping others do what they love, thereby opening up the option for me to get back into a field I love, and giving me the peace of mind to no longer have stress as a factor at the job place, which was in fact triggering the care for epilepsy I could not afford anyway? Yes, and it took a long time to see this for myself.

• What did I do next? I married my fiance quicker than planned and got on her insurance plan. Amazing...some get married just to stay in the USA. I got married because I already live here, and could not afford it. I believe in nursing my wounded.
  

Maybe I am taking a daring view at dealing with a medical issue in a 'fear for profit' society, but the plain and simple truth is that since I have started working in the career I love, and working at it, the daily satisfaction that comes with it is what keeps me healthy. As many of Voice123 customers may have already noticed, you will see my email and forum replies coming at all hours of the day and night. I was very stressed at AIG knowing this is a smaller 24/7 world, and found it irresponsible to hold our customers to our own 9 to 5 schedule because when someone needs my assistance, they need it. Aside from that, with JME, which you can read about how others deal on epilepsy.com, you will see that the old 'get up and go' for some is not easy when you suffer from it. I have had seizures typically either late at night, in my sleep, right after I have woken up, or when I have been awoken out of a sound sleep.

So...why write all of this? What is my point?

• I wish to reach out to others, who may experience similar dilemmas, or have similar reasons for not doing what they love. I am no doctor, but I know peace of mind leads to a healthier body and lifestyle.

• I wish to say to every union that negotiates a contract and offers medical insurance, I hope you understand that 'caring about all people' is most important, when thinking of how to stay alive for the bigger picture. Living in NYC, pre and post 9/11, I have seen that face to face.

• I hope that anyone that has ever had to cancel a family dinner, a meeting with an agent, or a job you have landed, basically something that meant a great deal to you, that you know that people out there do care, and I met a group of them in Voice123. So, I hope you can always feel free to write me about it here.

• I also hope the world realizes that the failure of every great society begins when people stop caring about each other.

Life is funny. I was diagnosed with JME the day I found out a good friend was murdered on his birthday when I was only 18 years old, and had my first seizure that night, 8/1/1991. I do not know how many of you believe in coincidence or not, but he shared the same birthday as Voice123's founder, Alex, the guy who hired me to work for Voice123. I love my wife because she knows that getting married to survive does not mean you love someone any less.

It just makes me think that when you know you are doing something you love, and working at it, things will fall into place in the oddest ways that tell you, 'I should be doing this.' Even then, you still have to protect what you love, while caring for others.

I am allowed to do that here, so I thank you for reading this.

Care to comment? Please do, or leave your comments here at Voice123 Premium Forums.

Myths About Working in an Online VO Industry

I had heard many things about working in voice overs in the online world, before I tried it myself back in 2005. The other day I was going through some old emails I had written to Voice123 when I was a talent, and I almost felt embarrassed by what I once believed was true. For some strange reason, however, I tend to try to see both sides of a story before really believing it is true.

Needless to say...when I started working at Voice123, my whole viewpoint changed on what really goes down in the online world. I think it is best to state the myths I am referring to, and why 99% of them are not true. Myths most commonly heard:

1. The online industry is cluttered with hacks who get jobs with a cheap mic and a computer.
2. The online industry is nothing but a cattle call of anyone who can pay to audition.
   
3. Producers who use the online industry are only looking to steal people's auditions and use them for full production quality.
4. The more auditions a producer hears, the happier they will be when using a website.
   
5. The low cost of working online is dragging the quality of the industry down.

Before starting here, I came to peace with something an acting teacher said to me in 1994. He said, 'You will always be an outcast in this industry because you care too much about other people, and you see nothing wrong with that. It does not make you a bad person, but it makes you wrong for this business'. In truth, there is a hypocrisy about me writing this then, but I hold myself to the belief that I am always trying to do my best for everyone. That gives me peace of mind. I state this because before I defuse many of these heated myths, I wish to state one thing about the psychology of this business, many choose to ignore at their own convenience:

• The entertainment industry has always been the 'about me' industry. In a self-absorbed mindset of this sometimes lonely industry, it is very common to assume that the 'problem' must be the fault of someone else because they are not doing enough to give me what I want, or at least, portraying that they are thinking 'about me' and how special I am.
• Therefore, many of the myths were created by those who could not keep up with the growing technology, and automatically assumed that the online industry would be a carbon copy of the industry working offline, or that, to somehow give it quality, it should be a carbon copy 'because all the quality professionals think it should be'.

Enough about me... the myths...

1. It is true that the online industry does have many people who buy a cheap mic and think that is enough to compete online, but the truth is that those people NEVER get hired. Besides, this industry has ALWAYS been filled with hopefuls, even before working online, and the very one's who claim this is a reason they do not work online, should wonder how to explain how they worked offline with so many hopefuls. Any agent who may stumble upon this is probably using a cd demo as a coffee coaster right now, and knows that people who are not ready to be competitive, do not get hired.
2. It is true that anyone can pay to audition on Voice123, but by no means does this make them competitive. One of the things I did when starting here was to tell talents the truth, 'Voice123 is the last stop on the bus to getting work, not the first. You have to be set up and invested as a business, and it is competitive. Do not fool yourself.' Many of the talents who sign up, and are not ready, usually quit after a year of not getting work. This is known, and any site using auto-renew or monthly subscriptions, claiming the VO talent is the customer winning out by auditioning for everything, knows it. Paying to audition helped get some sites off the ground, but that was 5 years ago. Progress is about change, so I personally do not see how long this will last. Remember how internet usage was once a monthly-fee, and you do not see that anymore.
   
3. People who use online sites to get auditions cannot or would be honestly stupid, if they used auditions as final production copy. I have never heard of this happening, except in the case where a very young person who did not care, was going to use it for his website. That is the 1%. However, if you have been in this business for years, and cannot spot when a college student or child is posting a project, you had better do some research into 'what looks professional when working online'. If you were fooled, it is your fault, and you are an exception. Now, to be fair, I have seen it when after negotiations and submitting re-takes, there were problems, but by that point you are not auditioning. You need to have a business plan in place to watch for those types of things.
4. The more auditions a voice seeker hears...the worse. Why? Simple...he/she prefers QUALITY over QUANTITY. The more auditions, the more the experience becomes time-consuming. They only need one voice for the job, and they want to find it quickly. Being a QA Manager, I know this. I spend all day hearing about it, and writing to people about it.
5. The low cost of working online comes solely from the fact the middle-men have been removed from the equation. Now, it is up to the voice over talent to set the standard for what people will or will not charge in the future. I think because of this, talents may need to stop thinking in the 'about me' mindset, and start acting on what is best for everyone. Meaning, if you see a good budget, do not under-quote to get the job. You will teach the buyer it is normal to do so. Remember, they are not the only one's new to the online industry.
   

I am often reminded of this famous quote, 'History never repeats, but it often rhymes'. Back in the 30's, when Toto the dog was paid more than the king of Munchkinland, the industry was beginning to take off, and the usual took place:

• Many began to feel like they were working for peanuts and did not want to take it anymore, and the joined together to protect themselves.

I think metaphorically, all who work online are now asking themselves, 'Why am I accepting peanuts for all this work I do?'. Therefore, change maybe right around the corner. When actors unionized in the 30's, this country was in a Great Depression, and think about where this country is right now, financially. That just makes me wonder if people will ever learn their lesson that you have to look at the 'big picture', no matter what business you are in. Even if the business is 'about me', you still have to look out for your fellowman, or you will be screaming for more, when there is nothing left to give.

Out of all the myths I have heard in this industry, until one understands that his/her actions effect the lives of many, either directly or indirectly, there will always be myths. Myths will stop the very day everyone decides to take responsibility for their own actions.

I wonder if that is just too much to ask.


Care to comment? Please do, or leave your comments here at Voice123 Premium Forums.

Inactivity Messages are a Must for Voice123

As a talent, and employee at Voice123, I am baffled at the complaints I hear about the Voice123 inactivity system. The reaction I often here is, 'You are branding me as inactive, when I am working in this business for many years.' Aside from this being a complete overreaction, let me explain why this is so far off the mark. It is hard to understand why one can think this way.

First: A website is a website. No one gets 'branded' by data shown on the internet. The voice seeker viewing that says, 'Oh, I guess they are busy', and nothing more. You brand yourself with your demo quality, and online communication skills. Second thing: Does anyone remember the good ole' days of beepers, then cell phones, when there was no opportunity offered online?

There is a parallel here to the need of the inactivity system:

• What would happen if an agent or voice seeker called a talent for a last-minute job, and you were not available or worse...you never called back? That important person would say, 'They should have at least some way I can reach them!'. Most likely, this led to the person not calling again for a good length of time, especially if the message was never returned.

The same logic is applied when you think about how the Voice123 Inactivity system works. It is born out of the need of the very important voice seekers the website needs, who will pay talents to do work. Especially during the holidays, we found voice seekers consistently frustrated, at the fact that certain talents never called them back. By no means does this dictate that you should cancel holiday plans, but if you are NOT available...and you ignore that metaphorical 'call from an important person' in 2008, it has the same damaging effect as ignoring a phone call in 1988. It makes the other party think you are not serious about your business.

Now, I am sure that we all like to park ourselves on websites for good exposure, but the plain and simple truth is...You are either in this voice over business or you are not. It is not wise to throw your name on a website with the hopes they will find you, and then, not pay attention to it. You have to be there to answer when someone comes fishing around to offer work for you. In the eyes of those 'looking for talent', they have specifically stated they view this as false advertising.


Simply put...people use websites and the Internet for business, now more than ever. They expect that the person on the website is there to run a business of their own because they are presenting a product on that page, which just happens to be a voice. They also expect that if they contact that person, he or she will return the email. In many ways, 'branding' oneself as 'ACTIVE' is worse because...it is misleading. You are either active on a site or you or not. You have to show that you are using a website, and that you are active in its daily or weekly process.

Granted, we all have things happen to us that distract us from a website, but that is why showing inactivity is better than leading one to believe you are available. For the talent, showing that you are inactive is protecting him/her from being in the embarrassing situation of 'not contacting someone back.' Therefore, the voice seeker should have known. That message shows the voice seeker you will not be easy to reach, so they are either taking the chance in waiting but at least they knew before they tried.

From a Voice123 perspective, we have to do this for ourselves as well, and I openly admit it. What takes place on Voice123, and the actions of everyone, reflects on what people think of Voice123. For that reason, to have a website filled with misleading profiles, even from the very best talents who are out of town on business, would make our website look like a waste of time to use if they are constantly contacted and no one returns the call. Remember exactly what the message says:

• **** does not appear to be an active participant of the Voice123 marketplace at this time. aaaBB **** was last active on Voice123 more than 30 days ago, OR may not be receiving our email messages.

This means that you are not using Voice123. It does not mean that you have left the industry. Besides, if you want to reset this, just login every once in a while. That is all.

The thing is...voice seekers love using Voice123 for these little details to which we pay very close attention. In fact, I wish Voice123 had the inactivity system a long time ago. I will tell you something I have never expressed to anyone, which is why I have always believed in Voice123:

• Back in 2005, while dealing in claims at AIG, I was dying to quit and use Voice123 full time. I had a premium subscription at the time. One day, as was the case then, I returned home at 6pm to answer auditions. I had a private invitation from a very large agency in NYC, in which I was instructed to answer as quickly as possible. I had received the invite at 10am that morning.
  
• If I had that inactivity system, they never would have contacted me, but instead I was faced with the embarrassment of contacting them after the deadline (which is much worse) to thank them and give them lame excuses as to why I did not answer, when the truth was that I was simply not focused on the website enough.
• I did try and contact the agency to let them know I was interested in them, but the moment had passed. I made the mistake of belonging to a website I could not contribute to, and presenting myself as a business-ready talent, when it was simply not true.
  

Oh...you may be wondering what agency contacted me...Don Buchwald. They contacted me again two years later and by that time I was already working at Voice123, so I kindly replied that I was no longer available because of my new job. Once again, the inactivity status could have helped me, but it was not developed yet. Two times contacted, and still busy...I dont expect they will contact me again.

Oh well...I stopped kicking myself a long time ago about this, but it is hard not to, and I completely understand why the inactivity system is helpful for everyone who uses Voice123. Besides, to take personal offense to web lingo is a simple waste of time and energy. Business lingo is rarely a personal insult or attack. We are merely trying to promote 'net-iquette', and we still have a ways to go because the needs of the entire community changes as it grows. Voice123 wants the best talent to use us, but even I know the best are at times teaching, or too busy...

So once more, just log in and log out when you get that email.

Care to comment? Please do, or leave your comments here at Voice123 Premium Forums.

Customer service: Why the customer is not always right

I believe that the founder of 'customer service' in America is Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's.

His belief was 'Take care of the customer, and the customer will take care of the business.'

Given that we live in a litigious society in which anything is open to interpretation, I ask for opinions on this question:

'Is customer service about serving the customer (i.e. what the customer needs), or giving the customer what they asked for?'

As someone who worked in all levels of customer service from a mascot at FAO Schwarz to Disney & GM tradeshows to AIG insurance claims, I believe customer service has turned into 'serving the customer' over the years, where it once was, 'Give them what they asked for' or 'The customer is always right.' I also believe that the most effective customer service is given by good people who know what is best for the customer and through their actions, look out for the well-being of their customer.

In truth, I have found that the customer is almost never right. That may sound like a harsh statement, but as the US has become a nation of consumers, we somewhat lost the right to say that we know what is best for us. The natural evolution of a successful business is that the more success it achieves, the larger the responsibility the business has to its customers to be faster with making more of the same product. However, the customer rarely understands what business decisions must be made to make that happen for everyone.

I use an example from years ago, and will use one related to the Voice123 casting system:

In the 1950's, Ray Kroc introduced the 'drive-thru window' at McDonald's. They had to because the demand for their hamburgers was rapidly increasing. As many customers of that time were used to pulling up to hamburger joints and having a waitress come out to them at their cars, they no longer understood that for the business model of McDonald's, this was no longer practical. Ray Kroc invented the 'drive thru window'. The idea did not catch on so quickly. The idea was:

Drive to a small speakerphone, and place the order. Then, drive to a window and pick it up.

Sounds simple now, but back then it was very foreign to the customer. Naturally, there were people who would place the order at the speakerphone, and then wait for a waitress to come out and bring it to them. However, the 'drive thru' did not work that way, so there were many who believed it was poor customer service that no one came out to the car and told them to go to the next window. From a business standpoint, that would make no sense given that you could not have cooks or cashiers running outside every second, if you wanted the drive thru to achieve its goal of being the fastest way to get a McDonald's hamburger.

Given the success of McDonald's, I doubt this means they had 'poor customer service'. In fact, present day, the last time I passed by a McDonald's on a Saturday at 12pm, the drive thru line is now too long, so maybe the idea caught on too well? Who knows...but any decision they make to change it, the customer will surely not understand because 'change' is the most unsettling aspect of life. Did you know...moving to a new house is the 2nd most stressful 'life event' next to someone dying?

Anyway...I use such an example based around what I witnessed since my time here at Voice123, as an employee with the bird's eye view of everything being said and done by talents and voice seekers.

The beginning of Voice123 was about a change. The normal way of things required that phone calls be made to talents, so people who represent them could tell them about possible jobs. Yet now, with Voice123, they could go through the drive thru as many times as they wanted to get hamburgers.

This idea was received well by many. The problem with this...as cliche as it may sound...'The path to excess leads to the road to ruin.'

The customer was paying to join Voice123 to audition, but they were ignoring the needs of the other customer, the voice seeker (many of them...not all). What transpired was that the 'voice seeker' was tired of the bad auditions they were getting, and thought the quality was terrible, and that using Voice123 no longer saved them time like it had originally. The 'Ray Kroc' in this story, Alex Torrenegra, created a system called SmartCast, and for the first time since Voice123 started, voice talents had to limit themselves according to a computer program which gave them all the information as to what they were doing. This idea was very foreign to them, as expected.

A handful of them complained heavily, with no regret or remorse, as to the very reasons why a computer should not decide how they get invited. Yet, much like the guy at the drive-thru window beeping his horn waiting for his hamburger, these customers failed to realize that humans control and create computers, so the very power to 'drive to the next window' is theirs. In many cases, help was offered, but because we did not get rid of the drive thru window, people believed it was poor customer service.

Nothing could be further from the truth.


I use this to illustrate my point, that unfortunately, 'the customer is not always right'. Beyond the opinions of 'what someone wants' lives the beast of 'what someone can actually give you to stay in business'. This does not make the business 'bad' by any means, but it does mean that these days, each business offers a 'product' and if that 'product' is not what the customer wants, the customer may very well find him or herself at a McDonald's drive thru, asking for 'onion rings' simply because another business offers it. If we dont have onion rings, we just dont offer it, and by all means, this does not make the customer right nor does it automatically make the other business the 'competition', simply because they have a drive thru window too.

As I have witnessed through my years in customer service, the less a customer is informed about how one does business, and why, the less qualified they become to ask for a change. Usually, the one's who enforce change lead by example, and a business does its best to shape its model around the needs of the best customers who made the business successful.

The key to making or breaking rules, is first learning the rules. These customers who do so, will find themselves serviced (couldn't think of a better word) more than those who blindly ask for change in something they know very little about. Their lack of knowledge will prove to be the problem in misunderstanding when they have actually been served for his/her betterment.

One final example...

Did you ever think that the best customer service in the world, would be for you to go into a bank, and ask for money, then have them give it to you with no questions as to how you could pay it back? Sounds crazy? Well, it happened in this country, and look at the mess we are in.

Alas...the customer is not always right because they just want what they want, when they want it. That is not always possible.

Thank you...please drive to the next window.

"If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'faster horses'." - Henry Ford

Entertainment is the Future of Steady Work?

Growing up in NYC in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, I always wanted to be in entertainment. I always loved the voice over industry, Broadway, TV and film, and even majored in it while attending college. Probably the most difficult obstacle was getting my three parents to understand that I would be able to take care of myself, and not need something 'to fall back on' in times when the voice over work or acting work was not available. I firmly believed I could 'make it', but the opinions of my parents meant something to me. In the back of my mind, I somewhat felt like they had a point.

I had good reasons. I was watching my older brothers go through great NYC schools like Cooper Union, and Brooklyn Polytechnic, with my sister going through Pace University in NYC, all with promise of great jobs when out of school. My dad was a trade director at Bear Stearns. My step-mother...she was doing very well as a VP for Lehman Brothers. My mom was a NYC school teacher. This was probably a healthy balance for me to witness.

While my dad and step-mom were driving Ford Thunderbirds, and taking trips to Hawaii or Bermuda, my mom reminded me that not all people have it so well in this world. She was witnessing it from the view point of her students, teaching in a public school in a very poor neighborhood, who some days could not even afford to bring lunch or pencils to school. This had a very powerful effect on me. Here I am thinking, 'I can have a career in entertainment.', while half of my family said, 'You need money and a steady job to secure your future!' and the other half of my family said, 'You should feel blessed for what you have now, and protect it.'

Growing up...seeing both worlds, and not sure what was right or wrong, I became very confused, until one terrible day in October 1987...Black Monday. (Strange...how these things always happen in October). My father lost his job at Bear Stearns, and at that time, you were still allowed to ask people their ages on job applications in the US, so it became very difficult to find work again. In one day, my dad who told me 'You need something to fall back on.', fell back on my step-mom, and has not worked a day on Wall St. since.

Score 1 for the entertainment career idea.

The stock market rebounded quickly, however, and my step-mom was able to keep her job.

Score 1 for Wall St. Regardless, at that age, I was truly not able to know what was best for me, but I did go through high school and college with the determination to make it in an entertainment career.

Fast forward to 1996...I am out of school, and now it is 'show time'. I worked as a DJ, traveled around the world doing plays, tried my hand at commercials, did voice over work, and was making more money in 1998 than I am today. I was a Generation X, latch-key kid, who knew it all! You couldn't stop me!

Then Y2K hit...and the bottom fell out. I was dealt a 1-2 punch with an actor's strike in 2000, followed by 9/11/2001, which was very tough on all NYC business. This whole time, my family was still doing very well, saving money, convinced that I had gone into the wrong career. However, I knew something they did not. Please read on...

From 2001 to 2004 I held many jobs, entertainment and cooperate jobs, but not Wall St. After General Motors let me go in 2004, I bit the bullet and started working for AIG. I was at AIG during Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami in Indonesia. Being the 'actor' of the office, I found myself being consistently put in charge of 'putting out fires' for management, while trying to explain why insurance claims were denied or were not set up yet. I felt deep down inside that something was not right, and at the first opportunity, I took my chance to get out and started working for...guess who...

Yes...A voice over website; a job in entertainment! I have been here since July 2007, and I am loving my job beyond what greed could satisfy.

Knowing that in the month of September over 160,000 jobs in the US were lost, I now sit in the position to say to my family, "I hope YOU all have something to fall back on. Your career looks very unsteady." In no way, shape, or form, am I gloating. In fact, I am horrified to watch what everyone is going through. No one deserves this at all. So, why is a career in entertainment, quite possibly the future of steady work? My one secret, taught to me on Black Monday back in 1987...

People will always, no matter how poor they are, no matter how rich, will always pay to be entertained! Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and voiced by Walt Disney, one year before the Great Depression, and thrived during the depression while many could not find work. In 1987, we had an actor in office as president. The most popular film was Predator, starring you know who...the current governor of California.

To me, it just seems like the most creative people these days are the one's who live steady lives, especially in a media driven country such as the US. For that reason, maybe the era of Wall St greed is finished. They had a nice run, but there is nothing creative about Wall St, and nothing inspiring. Now, the mere mention of the street, causes a collective of emotional reactions, none of which seem positive.

As for me...entertainment may not be the prettiest life always, but if you are doing what you love to do, your life somehow becomes 'steady' because your heart is at peace. There is no peace in greed. There is only financial freedom, which by no means equals 'steadiness' because these days, not only can you NOT take it with you, but you are lucky to hold onto it knowing that companies and people you trusted, have taken your pension and split.

As of today, my step-mom(retired Exec.VP from Lehman), my brothers(computer programmers), my sister(VP of IT), are starting to ask me just what I am doing to stay afloat, and I am showing them how to look for jobs online. My mom, still a teacher, still has plenty of work to do as well.

So, the two people out of my family that were about helping, teaching, and entertaining people, seem to be doing fine.

It goes to show me...People should always come first. The entertainment industry, for me, has always been about 'people', and that will always be the steadiest job.

Wall St. Blues: Retrospective

Many times at Voice123, I have talked about how I worked on Wall St before starting my job here. Today, I spoke with some former co-workers at AIG, to find out that most of my old dept was let go. In fact, I would be without a job today, if I had not taken this job at Voice123 a little over a year ago.

The very story of how I ended up here started with me getting into an argument with a manager at AIG, which prompted me to leave work early one day in May 2007, very angry and upset. I decided I had enough of AIG. Working on Wall St for an insurance company during Hurricane Katrina, or the tsunami in Indonesia, left me wondering who really is 'insured'...the customer or the company, or even if it may just be organized extortion based on 'unknowns' and 'fear for profit'. Those were very emotional times for me, and quite frankly, insurance claims and emotions are like oil and water. However, to live my life like all of this was fine, was not the best way to go. I learned a lot of cold, hard lessons working there, much colder than anything I had ever seen in the entertainment industry.

The very day I left work early, I went home, and still wearing my suit and sweating from being so upset, I turned on my computer to check my Voice123 emails...for voice over work...the very thing I had put on hold in a brief stint of false belief that 'settling down' was the right thing for me. Yeah right!

Movies can only create what happened to me next, only this time it was for real!

I was looking at my AOL, and I heard the 'click'. In comes this Voice123 email: Subject: Job Openings at Voice123 (I still save it...as a lesson to teach me that my gut instinct needs no education, and to trust the inner voice that screams 'Get out!' like an Amityville Horror)

I think this is still the only job from Voice123, in which I replied first. It was great timing. I was fired up and at that point, yet cool as a cucumber as my anger removed all doubt in myself, I wrote to Alex what would make me perfect for this job. To me, this was a 'sign' I had left work early for a very good reason. He wrote me back somewhat quickly.

Of course, I had not quit AIG yet. I calmed down and went back to work the next day, and waited...and waited...You think waiting for a voice seeker to email you a script is rough? hahaha

Anyway, each day I wondered when the heck Alex would contact me again, he would do it, and put me at ease, as if he read my mind that I was really hoping to leave AIG. I was feeling like something was going right.

Now if anyone has ever interviewed with Voice123 before, you will find out that they interview you at least 7 or 8 times. I have to admit up until the day I got the job, I was nervous I blew it a couple times. Yet, here I am...

I was thinking of this tonight because I was taking the train home and saw many people from Wall St, very drunk and very sad, and they clung to each other with emotion I never saw while working on Wall St. It made me think of my friends that may have lost their jobs over the weekend. It reminds me of something I always tried to push home to managers while working at AIG...

'People make up a company, but a company cannot survive without people who care.'

It's funny. When you have a steady job, it is very easy for others to assume you do not care because you know where your next paycheck is coming from. It is not so simple anymore.

In retrospect, AIG was an emotional Fort Dix training camp for me, and looking back, it taught me not to take things for granted, be strong, and that I should assume responsibility for all my success and most importantly...my failures.

I am very glad I came back to the career I loved, and wanted from the beginning, and did not settle for a 'steady job'. For right now, it appears nothing is very steady for my friends who meant well, but are just not as obnoxious and driven as I am to learn new things.

I do wish them well. No human deserves such sadness like knowing they wont know how to put food on the table.

Say what you will about 'Wall St types', but at AIG I worked with very good people trying to support families, from the mailroom all the way up to the managers. I dont know what happened beyond that, but I know who this will hit the hardest. I also have family that work(ed) for Lehman Brothers. I just hope the world realizes that there are people behind these companies, not just bucks. I am very sad for them, but feel blessed to work here.

On Wall St, I was called an idealist, and told, 'I do not understand how things work.' Maybe this is true after all...Thank God I do not understand.