Whiteflash: A Changing of the Guard

[Rhea]

John, congratulations on your new position. I look forward to you coming back to PS once you''ve settled into your new job.

Alj, congratulations to you as well!! How exciting this is for you. I hope that you enjoy your new role at WF.

 

[TravelingGal]

What?! John, ya mean you don''t want to deal with us whiny consumers anymore? Hehehe. Best of luck to you John...we will miss you.

Alj, you''ll always be Alj to be...(and pretty much Velma, too, as that stuck more for me than the chainsaw actually.) Congrats on your new role...you will be awesome. I guess that means your advice on PS in other areas will be less? Ah well. I''ll ask Mara to have you email me if I need a good whappin'' in the head.

Yay for you both!

 

[mrssalvo]

WOW!!! first off, congrats John on the new job, although i''m sure the transition isn''t easy I''m glad to see you moving upward and onward in the direction you wish to go.

Alj, a big congrats to you as well. I couldn''t think of a better person to represent WF and am glad you''ll be stepping into the roll as John departs.

Best of luck to you both!!!

 

[JohnQuixote]

The outpouring of support is uplifting. I expected nothing less from this community but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful.

Thanks so much to each and every one of you. You make this place positively addictive. As much as the well-wishes I’m touched by the anticipation of my return. I''ll be learning as much as possible.

Al is going to be dynamite. We had the opportunity to visit a lot this week and she’s plenty sharp without that chainsaw…in fact, I find her scalpel-like. Do not consider her unarmed. Consider her disarming.

(Maybe I will learn better puns in my absence?)

 

[Linda W]

Congratulations John. I have so enjoyed reading your posts and I have learned so much from you. I thank you for that.

OK Alj. I had NO Idea, you worked for Whiteflash!!!!

Do I live in the Dark Ages or What?????? This came as a complete surprise to me. Now I really do feel like an Old grandma. Congratulations to you too.

Linda

 

[KtIceRN]

John,
Congratulations on your new position. It's hard to feel so happy for someone yet so sad at the same time. You have been such a great asset to PS as well as WF that you are truly going to be missed alot around here. I'll never forget how you have helped me and many many others out over the years. You do leave some big shoes to fill that is for sure. It is a pleasure to have been a part of your harem

and I look forward to your return to PS as John P. Good luck with your new endeavor!




Allison,
Thank goodness you have big feet and some shiny toe rings, I know as I have seen them

. I'm sure they will slip into John Q's shoes quicker than you can imagine. You have been a great friend to me and always a true advocate for my crazy type of consumerism. You are a voice of reason with a level head. (One of us has to have one and you know it's not me!) WF has truly made a very good decision by asking you to join their team. You are knowledgeable and you are going to be a great consumer ambassador for WF. We all wish you the best of luck and will do our best as PS'er to make this transition go smoothly.




And all of you chainsaw wannabes don't be fooled, Alj's really a softy at heart......... more like a butter knife

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Wow--big news and big changes! Congrats on career moves for JQ and ALison--well earned and good on ya!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Allison D.]

Gwendolyn, Sundial, Ellen, snlee, marvel, Tacori, Pyramid, Dani, Jas, Addy...thanks to all of you for your warm congratulations and wel-wishes. They are much appreciated.

AGBF: I’m so touched by your vote of confidence. Unfortunately, I don’t know evvvvvvverything there is to know about diamonds; in fact, I don’t have nearly the technical acumen that my esteemed predecessor does. I am pretty good at pestering those who do know for information, though, so hopefully I can still be helpful.

Mercoledi: Thanks for the well-wishes and LOLOL at the trees! YIKES!

Ira: Oh my gosh, that’s the funniest thing ever! VELMA! You can be Velma—LOL. One caution: watch out - Daphne is a little psychotic and insisted on us all wearing tights. Lemme just warn you that tights are most unflattering!

RisingSun (Marian): Don’t worry; we’re so often-like minded that I’m sure I’ll still be firmly nodding in agreement with you!

DiaGem: Thanks for the support and well-wishes, and LOLOL at the rough cut on the pavilion! That was the thing…the chainsaw wasn’t gentle enough to earn the ideal grade – LOL.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

WOW!!!!
Gosh, you guys know how to surprise us, don''t you? I feel this mixture of happiness and a little bit of sadness......glad for John''s new opportunity but associate him so much with WF!!! Come back soon, John, because we''ll honestly miss you!

(Are you leaving Houston?)

And Alj, I could not be more thrilled for YOU! You have a job TDF!!! I know you''ll do a terrific job and we''ll look forward to being with you in this new adventure!

 

[Allison D.]

Tgal..... I’m GLAD to hear that, because I want to always be “Alj” to everyone. Your vote of confidence means more than I can tell you. No, I won’t be participating less in other places; I’ll still be there, too. There’s never been a requirement for the WF spokesperson to be restricted to Rocky Talk. I think it’s just that John didn’t have as much reason to frequent the other sections, yanno?

He never had to fret over dresses, sashes or invitation – all he has to do is buy a guestbook (which will probably look like yours if he does – LOL!).

Mrs. Salvo….I’m deeply touched at your comments, too. Yours is one of the opinions I value highly, so knowing you’re supportive means the world to me.

KtRn….THANKS…..and HEEEEEEEEEY! You’re NOT supposed to tell about the butter knife thing! You’re killing the allure and powerful magnitutde of the chainsaw, girlie!

 

[JohnQuixote]

I have to buy a guestbook?

I thought I just had to be tux-measured. Man, this wedding stuff is hard.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 2/1/2008 3:55:21 PM
Author: Linda W
Congratulations John. I have so enjoyed reading your posts and I have learned so much from you. I thank you for that.

OK Alj. I had NO Idea, you worked for Whiteflash!!!!

Do I live in the Dark Ages or What?????? This came as a complete surprise to me. Now I really do feel like an Old grandma. Congratulations to you too.

Linda, I didn''t work for Whiteflash previously. As John mentioned, my employment with them begins today. Prior to today, I''ve been strictly a consumer, as many of your here know from having met me.

They approached me only recently upon learning that John would be departing his position. Whiteflash has always been super committed to being present and helpful to consumers, and they did not want to leave that void unfilled on PS.

Now that I''m changing roles from consumer to tradesperson, I want my different tenures to be easily recognizable. That''s why I''m dropping the "aljdewey" username and beginning the "Allison D" username. "Aljdewey" was me as strictly a consumer, and that needs to be pure. "Allison D" is my role tradesperson, and it too needs to be pure.

My path is very similar to John''s. He, too, had been a forum participant in a consumer-only role until he joined Whiteflash. It seems natural to them that someone who understands the forum from a consumer perspective first would make the best fit for that role.

So no.....you''re not missing anything, and you can reserve the ''old grandma'' for someone else! LOL

 

[Allison D.]

Canuk-Gal and DS.....thanks so much for your warm support!

John: Please get in touch with TGal prior to guestbook shopping....doing that without assistance could prove disastrous! LOL

 

[Ellen]

Date: 2/1/2008 4:54:27 PM
Author: JohnQuixote
I have to buy a guestbook?

I thought I just had to be tux-measured. Man, this wedding stuff is hard.

 

[hlmr]

Congratulations to both John and Al!!!

I will miss you both in your past roles, but I also look forward to the new and different types of contributions you will make to PS in this new year.

John, you have been a true gentleman, and a wonderful presence here. You always have been able to impart your wealth of knowledge to consumers with ease, and I have admired your gallant nature over the years. I wish you great success in your new endeavour and I look forward to your return.

Al, I have always admired your dedication to pricescope and your fair and sensible nature. Chainsaw aside, your kindness and logic filled wisdom have always shined through, and Whiteflash is very fortunate to have you on board with them. I look forward to reading your posts and wish you much success!

 

[Dee*Jay]

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!

John, I''m sure you will be sorely missed at Whiteflash and your new organization is lucky to have you. Personally I''ve learned so much from you in the few years that I''ve been on the board, and I''ll be looking forward to your return to PS after your transition. Please promise not to stay away too long!

Allison D. (LOL, you''ll always be Alj to me!), I can''t think of anyone better suited to your new role! You''re always so level-headed and reasonable and good about seeing all sides to a situation. Truly, you''ll be an asset to WF and I hope you''re very happy there for many years to come.

Bring on the cake and champagne!

 

[Sparkalicious]

John,

Congratulations on securing a new and exciting opportunity!

I am relatively new to the PS community, however, your charm, sharp wit and wealth of knowledge has not gone unnoticed. You are adept as a liaision between the public and Whiteflash and I have often marvelled at how well you have managed to achieve the perfect balance between these two ends of the spectrum and leveraged your skills to achieve the ever elusive win-win situation.

I appreciate your willingness to be frank and your ability to remain authentic. During my "lurking" days, I have to say that your advice greatly influenced my decision to become a member. All of this being said, I would like to wish you well and thank you for being such valuable resource. I look forward to when you will again become an active member of the PS community.

Best of luck with your new endeavor!

Alj,

Congratulations on this new opportunity!

This position is an enviable one, to say the least! First you get to share a toe ring w/ Mara and now this!! C''mon - what about the rest of us, don''t we get a break!!!

From what I understand, this achievement is well deserved. You have such a great reputation here on PS and many of the long time members appear to hold you in high esteem. Having the pleasure of reading several of your posts, I understand why. You offer sage advice. I look forward to your future contributions.

Best of luck to you as well!

 

[Linda W]

Alj, yes you will always be Alj to me too.

Thank you so much for explaining things to me. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone for a minute. ha ha ha ha ha ha. Thought I had missed something and was having a senior moment.

Linda

 

[movie zombie]

congratulations! however, you will be sorely missed in the interim.

movie zombie

 

[777_LDY]

I just wanted to say congrats to you both and wish you much success and happiness in your new positions!

Alj, I also loved the chainsaw but that diamond in your avatar sure is pretty! If you want to lend that out too I''d be glad to take it off your hands!!

 

[door knob solitaire]

Golly gee willikers.

John,
I was so hoping you would be here to help me find the ah hem..."wooden thing we walk through using a handle" replacement. That was one of the reasons I was so calm. Knew I had you as my ace in the hole. Well, you will be missed as you were...and highly anticipated upon your reemergence. Please don''t be messing with us...you are coming back, right? May you be prosperous and stimulated by the new challenges you have ahead. Thanks for all you have done for this community and for the occasional funnies-you left us some whoppers!

Peace go with you-but hurry back, ok?

Chainsaw babe! Get OUT! No way...you got promoted to the "bestest" place on earth? WoW. Too cool. As the others have said...we will miss you as one of us* (sorry, I mean one of the sane ones) ...but look forward to your insight and direction as you guide us in buying some really incredible WF inventory. You are definitely knowledgeable and have the ability. That is one incredible Cinderella story. Couldn''t have happened to a more deserving person...or did you just fire up that 18" chain driven Echo and scare the #%$* out of them? This lady means business! Get me a time clock card!

Thrilled for you! Welcome AllisonD from WF!

Hehehhe...I just noticed Allison is a rough rock. Gonna have to get you polished...know anybody?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

well well,

Al, well well!

welcome in your new role....been trying to think hwo often we have agreed vs not agreed?

Now I can always disagree with you because you crossed over to the dark side

Surley and Seriously though (dont call you Shirley) welcome and congratulations.
Now if Tiffany, Harry Winstone, Graff and De Beers had 1/2 a corporate brain, they would do the same thing.
Not to mention other vendors here

 

[Shay37]

John, I must first say congrats to the wonderful and articulate person that has always been such a joy to learn from. Thank you for making PS such a great place to return to time and again. Please, please, please may your hiatus from the "nut house" (pssst that''s us) be a brief one. You will be missed in your old role and welcomed in your new one.

Allison D, you stinker you. Congrats my girl!!!!! I am so psyched for you. This is a great day for us. We have lost the ever galant sir knight and have gained the physician to the king. (mind like a surgical steel trap) You are so wise and I have always enjoyed reading your posts before I met you. Now that I have met the REAL Alj face to face I have to say that you are a perfect choice for this job. A little sassy, a bit irreverent, but always relevant. Way to go, Al.

shay

 

[iheartscience]

Wow! Good luck to JohnQ on your new endeavor (do we get to know what it is?), and congratulations to Alj/Allison D. on your killer new position! Woohoo! I''ve always enjoyed your posts and I know you''ll do a great job!

 

[KimberlyH]

John, while I have not have the pleasure of getting to know you through PS because I was a diamond dummy when we purchased my rings and continue to remain so -- anything that involves numbers scares me -- I have lurked around long enough, attempting to learn a bit, to have gained an amazing amount of respect for you and look forward to doing so again, in the future. Best of luck to you in your new position, and congratulations!

Al, if I wasn''t intimdated by you before, I certainly am now (see above comments regarding being a diamond dummy),

but my respect for you far outweighs the intimidation I feel about diamond knowledge, so I''ll continue to read every single one of your posts and learn from you; I look forward to it. Congratulations!

 

[Kay]

John, congratulations on your new position. I have enjoyed reading your thoughtful and informative posts over the past few years. We will miss you during your hiatus -- hurry back soon. I am saddened "JohnQuixote" is being retired as it was always one of my favorite screen names (although I don''t remember you tilting at too many windmills).

Al, congratulations on your new job at WF. You have always seemed like one of the more knowledgeable "amateur" (aka consumer) posters here, so I am not surprised WF decided to elevate you to the "pro" category. Maybe you could keep both screen names: Allison D. on RockyTalk and the other jewelry boards and aljdewey (with chainsaw intact) on Hangout, LIW, Shopping, etc.

 

[KimberlyH]

double post

 

[strmrdr]

Best of luck in your new postions!

Hurry back John you will be missed.

 

[monarch64]

Congrats John and Alj on your new positions and best of luck to both of you!!! Very exciting news, indeed!

 

[Fly Girl]

Congratulations to you both.

I have always enjoyed John''s posts, and look forward to his return.

Glad to hear that the voice of WF will continue on this forum.