At some point, I would have to go down to Hunt Valley to turn in my key card and parking pass, not to mention pick up the two boxes of personal effects I had in my cubicle. I’d moved from my office to a space in the old Diamond Select Toys offices in early JuneContinue reading “Cleaning Out the Cubicle”
Category Archives: Work
The Last Day
Today was my last day with Diamond Comic Distributors. Eighteen years didn’t end the way I would have wanted, but when Chuck Parker started in on some prepared remarks I also wasn’t terribly surprised. The October PREVIEWS has 350 items in it, the products offered in New to Order are a trickle compared to whatContinue reading “The Last Day”
The 12K Sale
Today, Diamond launched a giant print sale — the 12K Print Sale, complete with a running theme. Shoutout to our designer Casey Dimoff for his graphic for the sale. That title was my pitch. The remit was to refresh the branding from our usual fall sale, the Blizzard, since it’s still August as I writeContinue reading “The 12K Sale”
A Little Ingenuity and a Bit of Code Make the World Go Round
Sometimes I surprise myself with my own cleverness and creativity. Case in point… At Diamond, we maintain two completely different SKU systems to refer to inventory. There’s a stock code system (prefixed STK or STL), and there’s an item code system (prefixed in a MMMYY system, such as SEP25). Occasionally over the years I’ve beenContinue reading “A Little Ingenuity and a Bit of Code Make the World Go Round”
See a Problem, Solve a Problem
At Diamond archiving files for the retailer website is often a convoluted and tedious manual process. For example, the order form files — my purview — go in these two directories here (depending on if they are text or PDF), then they are archived in directories here (again, text or PDF depending) under their “standard”Continue reading “See a Problem, Solve a Problem”
The First Week
On Tuesday, my employment with Diamond Comic Distributors came to an end. After the sale of the company’s assets to Universal and Ad Populum closed in May, those of us at Diamond who were not let go were employed by Diamond under a Transition Services Agreement (TSA) through June 30th. It was unclear whether ourContinue reading “The First Week”
Don’t Be a “Brand”
I have spent more time in the last two months on LinkedIn than the last ten years combined. I’ve come to the conclusion that my brain doesn’t work in the LinkedIn way–the relentless selling, the endless cheeriness, the buzzword-speak, the staccato writing style–and it never will. I saw this post this morning, and it wasContinue reading “Don’t Be a “Brand””
A Hard Week
Last week was a hard week. The July issue of PREVIEWS went to press. #442, my 217th issue. Except. It didn’t go to press. Not really. This issue is PDF-only. We had to buy the paper for the catalog when the sale of Diamond’s assets to Universal and Ad Populum closed, and the decision toContinue reading “A Hard Week”
Anniversaries and Endings
Today marks my anniversary date at Diamond Comic Distributors. Eighteen years. Started on May 17, 2007. Yesterday, a number of people I work with were let go due to Diamond’s bankruptcy. I’d seen the news that the sale—Ad Populum, the owners of Graceland, had bought Diamond’s assets—on Facebook. I read the press release, and thereContinue reading “Anniversaries and Endings”
On the Eve of the Sale
Wednesday night, a former Diamond colleague contacted me and asked hpw I was feeling about Diamond and the bankruptcy. I talked her ear off, in the Facebook Messenger sense, for a solid hour. “You know the ‘Five Stages of Grief?’” I said. “I’m permanently living three of them–Anger, Depression, and Acceptance.” I’m angry about theContinue reading “On the Eve of the Sale”