Hello all,
Please excuse this if it's spam; I've been lurking for a few weeks and it doesn't seem terribly inappropriate to the group. If it is, I'm sorry!
At any rate, I've just returned from yet another teaching experience overseas, and I've come to the decision to stop the living-abroad thing which I've been engrossed in since 1997. I've had a long-standing fascination with the locksmithing trade, and I'm hoping to make a go of it.
If anyone is looking to take on the burden of an apprentice, I can offer the following:
1) I'm a fairly quick learner. For whatever it may be worth (which, I've come to believe, is very little) I've got BAs and MAs, and a proven track record of being able to absorb and regurgitate information. I can even, sometimes, implement this information in reality. 2) I've had a semi-commercial leather hobby/business for a number of years, and I'd like to think I have the ability to pay decent attention to detail. 3) I'm work-horse sized and able and willing to lift heavy things. 4) I speak a little bit of Korean, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Not enough to fully interact with Korean, Mexican, Chinese or Vietnamese customers, but enough to make them think that I'm able to fully interact with them and/or to ask them where the restroom is. Whether or not this is an asset is unclear.What I expect:
1) Long hours. 2) Low pay. 3) A binding no-compete contract/clause/prenup.I'm currently in St. Louis, but I'm able and willing to relocate anywhere, anytime. (I once moved to Taiwan on three days notice.) I'm financially secure enough to weather the first months and won't be asking to sleep on anyone's couch.
If anyone is looking for someone to help and/or complicate their efficiently running business for a while, I'm ready. Please e-mail me at stloutom at gmail dot com and we can continue the conversation.
Thanks, Tom