After Years of Waiting... Nothing Came
I will be featured in the quarter's newsletter for Prime Pacific Bank, my new employer. The editor sent me a questionnaire to fill out so I have. And now I am infecting you with it since I haven't infected any of you with an writings in a long while.
Cut for the sanity of your friends pages.
1.) What is your name? Daniel Eugene Wood
2.) Born, Raised, Lived Where: Born in Everett, Washington and have lived within 20 miles of there since.
3.) Currently Resides: Lynnwood, Washington; about 2 minutes from Prime Pacific Bank
3a) Resides with (spouse, children, pets - include names, ages of children, type of pet):My roommate Michael Van Horn and one infectiously cute yet morbidly stupid feline named Felicia.
3b) Full Title at Prime Pacific:Teller
4a.) How long have you worked for Prime Pacific? Three months
4b.) When did you start working for Prime Pacific? Just at the tale end
of March
4c.) At which location did you start working? Lynnwood
4d.) Have you always worked at this location? Yes. I am embarrassed to report I've never even seen the Kenmore office.
4e.) What different locations have you worked at? Are there other locations...?
5.) Schools Attended/Graduated; Any Courses of Study especially pertinent to banking: I am currently attending Edmonds Community College, just half a mile from the Lynnwood branch. I should be attending the University of Washington in one more year and have aspirations of attending their graduate program as well. My studies, unfortunately, are not very pertinent to banking; I plan on getting my Master of Fine Arts in Acting and going on to teach at the university level.
6.) Outline your banking career until present. Include when & where your banking career started. List all your titles and duties for every job at every bank you've worked at. Include approximate dates: I began my banking career in the fall of 1997 just out of high school at Northwest Telco Credit Union (now known as Northwest Plus). I left Northwest Telco as a senior teller and a lead at one of their small satellite branches.
In 1999 I left Northwest Telco and began working with Washington Mutual in their Customer Contact Center as a Customer Service Representative. In the five years at Washington Mutual I held multiple duties including
working with their Business Banking division, Loss Management division but mostly with their Online Banking division. I left Washington Mutual in October 2003 as an Escalation Specialist, dealing with and researching especially difficult calls and situations.
7.) List Duties and Responsibilities at Prime P. Normal teller responsibilities.
7.a)Explain how what you do positively affects customers: I think customers like a face they can see when they do their banking; they like that personal, friendly camaraderie which gives them a sense of trust.
8.) List any banking or related associations you're a member of (if any), including title: I am sorry to state that I am not a member of any such association.
9.) List any community activities or organizations you participate in (if any): I am an active member of Edmonds Community College's Arts and Culture which is devoted to bringing arts of all forms to the Lynnwood
and Edmonds area. I also have beginning, tentative plans of starting my own community organization within the year and while I'm not certain exactly what it's going to be, I am fleshing out ideas of creating an organization that encourages creativity and art - of all forms - from
younger members of the Edmonds and Lynnwood community and finding a venue in which their work can be presented and displayed.
10.) Why do you like Community Banks in general? It has a more personal feel. Community banks, I feel, are making a come back, giving people an alternative to the more impersonal corporate national institutions. I am a more community oriented person myself, and it is my personal belief that the community needs to begin taking things back - banking, art and culture, business - because the community knows what is needed and expected and similarly what can be forgiven, from its members. Ultimately, our lives are not impacted as greatly from what goes on nationally or in the office of a fat cat 1500 miles away but by the people we live with and around and impact, ourselves.
11.) What is it about Prime P you like compared to other community banks? Prime Pacific bank is really the first community BANK I've ever been involved with but it's the community part that attracted me to it. It's the personal feel - the fact that our customers can know our CEO as well
as our front line tellers; the fact that we can individually look at an account instead of making a broad, bottom-line rule for all accounts - that makes this possibly the nicest institution I've had the pleasure of working for.
12.) What are your hobbies, interests, etc.? Things you do/places you go when you're not working at Prime P. Outside of working full time and trying to educate myself there is little time to fit in anything extracurricular BUT I do enjoy fencing (competitively with a sword rather than hawking merchandise on the black market), theatre, particularly acting (which also serves as my education - lucky me!) and writing short prose when I get the chance and inspiration.
13.) Any immediate plans for the future? I should begin my graduate work in about two more years. After that it is undecided whether I will test myself as a working actor for a while to gain experience or begin teaching right away. I also plan on become a very active member in the
community, encouraging the community to take back the arts and culture that I find so essential to a healthy life and community.
9.) What made you decide to work for Prime Pacific? The combination of my experience in banking, my need to work to continue my education and the community aspect of this bank.
9a.) What special skills do you bring to the company? A friendly personality, compassion, teller experience especially with business and online banking.
10.) What do you like most about working there? Prime Pacific Bank has a very relaxed atmosphere than what I'm accustomed to and I really enjoy that. I enjoy the fact that I work in the same building with the management that makes our decisions. I enjoy all of the very friendly
customers who I actually look forward to seeing every day. It's really been a wonderful experience so far.
11.) What is the most interesting thing you've ever done? In 2000 when I was 21, myself and two other close friends of mine did an incredible six week tour of the United Kingdom. I was also nominated for a national college award for a performance of mine in a show I did this last
October.
12.) What community activities do you get involved in, if any? I do a lot of theatre around the community but these days my time is mostly just devoted to work and school.
15.) Where do you like to go for vacation? Why? I usually enjoy the time by staying at home and catching up on that elusive time and relaxation!
16.) Describe a typical day of work? What time do you start? What do you do? When do you get off? What happens during a typical day? I come in at 8:30 in the morning, half an hour before opening time, balance our
vault, drink coffe, get my teller station ready and other assortments of morning activity. For the rest of the day I greet our customers, cash their checks, do their deposits and any other odd jobs or projects that may be presented.
20.) How would you describe yourself? Personable, motivated, inspired. I am resourceful. Creative. I have a good understanding of people and what they go through and why it affects them the way it does - I've gone through many of them myself.
21.) Which characteristics are most noticeable to other people? My low-key, relaxed friendliness. My compassion.
22.) What is something that people probably don't know about you that might surprise them? The actual amount of hard work and dedication that I am putting into expanding and bettering my life and my passion for wanting to better the life of the people around me. I think people have, to a degree, an idea of that but without experiencing it, without an inside view or a camera recording my daily exploits and my thoughts I don't think people have a total grasp on it.
23.) What are some things that you really care about? Life, art, passion, our community. Culture. I think too many people live their daily lives under a stale sort of fenced in state. Life on auto pilot. I really want to enrich people's lives. I want to show them that there are beautiful subtleties they can experience if they just wake up; open
their eyes.
24.) What are some highlights of your work career? The experience I've gained from the work force and the opportunity to meet so many interesting people from so many different backgrounds.
25.) What is/are your favorite food(s)? Aside from my grandmother's home cooked meals, I like things that are exotic and spicy. I like mushrooms. And hamburgers. And mushrooms on hamburgers.
26.) Do you have pets, if so, what kind? An adorable but not-so-smart cat.
27.) What goals/hopes do you have for the future? To finish my studies and begin a life of passion. I hope to teach and inspire minds. I want to spread my vision.
Cut for the sanity of your friends pages.
1.) What is your name? Daniel Eugene Wood
2.) Born, Raised, Lived Where: Born in Everett, Washington and have lived within 20 miles of there since.
3.) Currently Resides: Lynnwood, Washington; about 2 minutes from Prime Pacific Bank
3a) Resides with (spouse, children, pets - include names, ages of children, type of pet):My roommate Michael Van Horn and one infectiously cute yet morbidly stupid feline named Felicia.
3b) Full Title at Prime Pacific:Teller
4a.) How long have you worked for Prime Pacific? Three months
4b.) When did you start working for Prime Pacific? Just at the tale end
of March
4c.) At which location did you start working? Lynnwood
4d.) Have you always worked at this location? Yes. I am embarrassed to report I've never even seen the Kenmore office.
4e.) What different locations have you worked at? Are there other locations...?
5.) Schools Attended/Graduated; Any Courses of Study especially pertinent to banking: I am currently attending Edmonds Community College, just half a mile from the Lynnwood branch. I should be attending the University of Washington in one more year and have aspirations of attending their graduate program as well. My studies, unfortunately, are not very pertinent to banking; I plan on getting my Master of Fine Arts in Acting and going on to teach at the university level.
6.) Outline your banking career until present. Include when & where your banking career started. List all your titles and duties for every job at every bank you've worked at. Include approximate dates: I began my banking career in the fall of 1997 just out of high school at Northwest Telco Credit Union (now known as Northwest Plus). I left Northwest Telco as a senior teller and a lead at one of their small satellite branches.
In 1999 I left Northwest Telco and began working with Washington Mutual in their Customer Contact Center as a Customer Service Representative. In the five years at Washington Mutual I held multiple duties including
working with their Business Banking division, Loss Management division but mostly with their Online Banking division. I left Washington Mutual in October 2003 as an Escalation Specialist, dealing with and researching especially difficult calls and situations.
7.) List Duties and Responsibilities at Prime P. Normal teller responsibilities.
7.a)Explain how what you do positively affects customers: I think customers like a face they can see when they do their banking; they like that personal, friendly camaraderie which gives them a sense of trust.
8.) List any banking or related associations you're a member of (if any), including title: I am sorry to state that I am not a member of any such association.
9.) List any community activities or organizations you participate in (if any): I am an active member of Edmonds Community College's Arts and Culture which is devoted to bringing arts of all forms to the Lynnwood
and Edmonds area. I also have beginning, tentative plans of starting my own community organization within the year and while I'm not certain exactly what it's going to be, I am fleshing out ideas of creating an organization that encourages creativity and art - of all forms - from
younger members of the Edmonds and Lynnwood community and finding a venue in which their work can be presented and displayed.
10.) Why do you like Community Banks in general? It has a more personal feel. Community banks, I feel, are making a come back, giving people an alternative to the more impersonal corporate national institutions. I am a more community oriented person myself, and it is my personal belief that the community needs to begin taking things back - banking, art and culture, business - because the community knows what is needed and expected and similarly what can be forgiven, from its members. Ultimately, our lives are not impacted as greatly from what goes on nationally or in the office of a fat cat 1500 miles away but by the people we live with and around and impact, ourselves.
11.) What is it about Prime P you like compared to other community banks? Prime Pacific bank is really the first community BANK I've ever been involved with but it's the community part that attracted me to it. It's the personal feel - the fact that our customers can know our CEO as well
as our front line tellers; the fact that we can individually look at an account instead of making a broad, bottom-line rule for all accounts - that makes this possibly the nicest institution I've had the pleasure of working for.
12.) What are your hobbies, interests, etc.? Things you do/places you go when you're not working at Prime P. Outside of working full time and trying to educate myself there is little time to fit in anything extracurricular BUT I do enjoy fencing (competitively with a sword rather than hawking merchandise on the black market), theatre, particularly acting (which also serves as my education - lucky me!) and writing short prose when I get the chance and inspiration.
13.) Any immediate plans for the future? I should begin my graduate work in about two more years. After that it is undecided whether I will test myself as a working actor for a while to gain experience or begin teaching right away. I also plan on become a very active member in the
community, encouraging the community to take back the arts and culture that I find so essential to a healthy life and community.
9.) What made you decide to work for Prime Pacific? The combination of my experience in banking, my need to work to continue my education and the community aspect of this bank.
9a.) What special skills do you bring to the company? A friendly personality, compassion, teller experience especially with business and online banking.
10.) What do you like most about working there? Prime Pacific Bank has a very relaxed atmosphere than what I'm accustomed to and I really enjoy that. I enjoy the fact that I work in the same building with the management that makes our decisions. I enjoy all of the very friendly
customers who I actually look forward to seeing every day. It's really been a wonderful experience so far.
11.) What is the most interesting thing you've ever done? In 2000 when I was 21, myself and two other close friends of mine did an incredible six week tour of the United Kingdom. I was also nominated for a national college award for a performance of mine in a show I did this last
October.
12.) What community activities do you get involved in, if any? I do a lot of theatre around the community but these days my time is mostly just devoted to work and school.
15.) Where do you like to go for vacation? Why? I usually enjoy the time by staying at home and catching up on that elusive time and relaxation!
16.) Describe a typical day of work? What time do you start? What do you do? When do you get off? What happens during a typical day? I come in at 8:30 in the morning, half an hour before opening time, balance our
vault, drink coffe, get my teller station ready and other assortments of morning activity. For the rest of the day I greet our customers, cash their checks, do their deposits and any other odd jobs or projects that may be presented.
20.) How would you describe yourself? Personable, motivated, inspired. I am resourceful. Creative. I have a good understanding of people and what they go through and why it affects them the way it does - I've gone through many of them myself.
21.) Which characteristics are most noticeable to other people? My low-key, relaxed friendliness. My compassion.
22.) What is something that people probably don't know about you that might surprise them? The actual amount of hard work and dedication that I am putting into expanding and bettering my life and my passion for wanting to better the life of the people around me. I think people have, to a degree, an idea of that but without experiencing it, without an inside view or a camera recording my daily exploits and my thoughts I don't think people have a total grasp on it.
23.) What are some things that you really care about? Life, art, passion, our community. Culture. I think too many people live their daily lives under a stale sort of fenced in state. Life on auto pilot. I really want to enrich people's lives. I want to show them that there are beautiful subtleties they can experience if they just wake up; open
their eyes.
24.) What are some highlights of your work career? The experience I've gained from the work force and the opportunity to meet so many interesting people from so many different backgrounds.
25.) What is/are your favorite food(s)? Aside from my grandmother's home cooked meals, I like things that are exotic and spicy. I like mushrooms. And hamburgers. And mushrooms on hamburgers.
26.) Do you have pets, if so, what kind? An adorable but not-so-smart cat.
27.) What goals/hopes do you have for the future? To finish my studies and begin a life of passion. I hope to teach and inspire minds. I want to spread my vision.