I’m 18 days into the 2009 and I am already for next year to start.
… Just when I thought things at work couldn’t get any worse, it did. A week after being told that the design and copy editing desk would be moved for all of LANG to one centralized location, there were layoffs.
Two of my good friends were laid off. They both have children and their wives are a semester away from their college graduation. It doesn’t seem fair, but we all know how the rest of that goes.
Moments like this only feed my desire to leave. I’ve contemplated taking the buyout and filing for unemployment if and when it is made available just because I don’t want to be there.
Although I have friends also telling me, just leave when you have a certain thing because you just really never know what can happen, especially with this economy.
I consider loyalty as one of my strongest suits, borderline blind faith almost. But why should I have loyalty to a company that doesn’t seem loyal to its employees. They’ve only been really up front about one thing in the last two years; everything else has been dropped on us with relative haste. It doesn’t seem right.
One of my many brother-in-laws once told me “The only person you have to be loyal to in this business is yourself.” It’s true. It’s clear now they have no loyalty towards the people working for them.
It’s not fair … but you know.
… At the same time, I see some hope coming. After years of wallowing with a President that: started a war on false accusations with no real plan on ending it; allowed a major U.S city and its people to be almost forgotten underwater; and that at one point had an approval rating as high as 90 percent only to see it fall to one of the worst ratings in history, change is finally coming.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about watching an Inauguration than I am now and it is still a day away. I’m even getting up early to watch it, and I always sleep until at least 9 a.m.
I’ll be there watching it on television, just like a lot of people not only in the United States but around the world.
Like I said before, I’ve been looking forward to this day since Obama gave his speech at the DNC in 2004. I wouldn’t go all this way just to over sleep on history.
… I did have dreams of going to Washington D.C. and witness history in person. However, my friends and I couldn’t get tickets to the Inauguration. So instead of going to Washington D.C., I’ll be heading to Las Vegas on January 21 for the fourth annual Eric Johnson Birthday Bash. This year, we’ll be staying at the Luxor mainly because I had a coupon for $50 off a two night stay.
Hopefully my luck – along with the luck of my friends that need it the most – will change, especially in Las Vegas. But I know that February and March are getting closer, and if the first 18 days of the year are the better times, then I might be in serious trouble until April 1. At least this is not a leap year unlike last year.
I am reminded of a Chinese Proverb, however: “A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind.”
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Looking for stability in 2009
I was looking for a change this year, I just didn’t know it would come that fast.
… The last weeks of 2008 were much like the rest of the year, same ol’, same ol’. I gave out my gifts to my nieces and nephews that I see on a regular basis and others that came down to Southern California. I also had presents for other friends to give out.
I enjoyed my usual Christmas traditions of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story,” the latter watching several times on TBS.
I spent New Year’s with the family, especially since one of my sisters was in town. Of the five possible holidays I can get off at the end of the year from work – Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day – I only asked for and got NYE off. Which is fine, I can always use the overtime.
… It wasn’t more than two days into 2009 when I was told life was going change again for me. It was announced that the copy editing/design desk where I work will be merging with all the other desks in LANG in San Gabriel sometime in the next couple of months.
If this sounds familiar it is because less than 11 months ago I had to do the same thing and move to Torrance. Now it’s happening again. The funny thing is I knew it was going to happen. I just thought: A) I had more time, and; B) It would be Woodland Hills and the Daily News.
This is obviously developing as you can tell by the fact that I don’t have a date when the move will take place. But it is going to happen and it is going to happen by my next birthday.
… So this leads me to what I wanted this blog to be originally about: My goals for 2009.
Well, as I said before in the last blog, I’d like to start eating better. That hasn’t happened, but at the same time, things have changed. I’m going to continue to exercise and maybe I can lose 10 more pounds and get down to 200.
As for love, it seems like I have other burners that need my attention like work. I think it’s time to all my focus on starting a new career and maybe even move somewhere else.
The only real thing I can do next is work in public relations. I have no real problem with that. It’ll be more stable, at least I think it will be more stable.
However, it’s where I want to be next that I have to figure out. Let me run down a list of places that interest me or people have asked where I’d go with the plus and minuses of each area.
The Central Valley: Friends have asked me, “Would you go home?” I say, “I’ve never really thought about it and Stockton is ranked No. 2 by Forbes as the most miserable city in America.” Going home really doesn’t entice me.
The Bay Area: It would be much easier for my sports fan life to be in an area where I can root freely for the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, for the most part. At least the ratio would be a lot better than here. The three problems I have with the Bay Area are: A) It’s too cramped; B) It’s more expensive, and; C) Traffic is a nightmare.
San Diego: It is a beautiful area but it is also kind of pricy. I feel the same about San Diego as I do about the Bay Area, but with less Giants/49er fans.
Las Vegas: If there was one place where I think newspapers are still going to do well for the next couple of years it is here only because tourism is the key to the city’s survival and where else to vacationers get their news. The hot weather in the summer is a big reason why I wouldn’t move there. Also, I think Las Vegas is a fun place to visit, I just don’t know about living there.
Phoenix: When I first went to college, I had originally had thoughts about moving there after graduation. A year into school, I began a long relationship that continued after graduation and the person I was with didn’t want to leave Southern California long term. Now I can do that, but I’m reminded of the line “I’d rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona,” from the show “Arrested Development.” Plus, it’s too hot.
Portland, Ore.: I spent a day and a half here in the Summer of 2000 on my way to a college journalism conference and loved the city and the surrounding areas as the conference was in Cannon Beach. I wanted to go back to visit, but still haven’t. However, does wanting to live somewhere based on a day of looking around something I want to do?
The East Coast (Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.): These are the ultimate places for me to start over. I didn’t choose New York because it’s just too big. All these places are different from what I’m used to and that is what attracts me. The problem, it’s far away from family and friends and if things don’t work out career wise, I’m really stuck.
(I didn’t choose the Midwest and South for obvious reasons. I would consider Chicago; however, its distance is a bit much.)
Going nowhere and staying: If I am going to start on a new career path, I might want to start here and have one less thing to worry about. However, this is the time for me to pick up and leave.
So what do I do? This is where I was going to use the first couple of the months of the year to think about things. Now, I have to think about things sooner rather than later because buyout time will be coming in the next couple of months and I can use the money to start over.
We’ll see. I mean if I don’t find anything, I feel fairly confident that I could be picked up to work at the universal desk while I continue looking for another job.
But I really hope I can find a new job by then.
… The last weeks of 2008 were much like the rest of the year, same ol’, same ol’. I gave out my gifts to my nieces and nephews that I see on a regular basis and others that came down to Southern California. I also had presents for other friends to give out.
I enjoyed my usual Christmas traditions of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story,” the latter watching several times on TBS.
I spent New Year’s with the family, especially since one of my sisters was in town. Of the five possible holidays I can get off at the end of the year from work – Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day – I only asked for and got NYE off. Which is fine, I can always use the overtime.
… It wasn’t more than two days into 2009 when I was told life was going change again for me. It was announced that the copy editing/design desk where I work will be merging with all the other desks in LANG in San Gabriel sometime in the next couple of months.
If this sounds familiar it is because less than 11 months ago I had to do the same thing and move to Torrance. Now it’s happening again. The funny thing is I knew it was going to happen. I just thought: A) I had more time, and; B) It would be Woodland Hills and the Daily News.
This is obviously developing as you can tell by the fact that I don’t have a date when the move will take place. But it is going to happen and it is going to happen by my next birthday.
… So this leads me to what I wanted this blog to be originally about: My goals for 2009.
Well, as I said before in the last blog, I’d like to start eating better. That hasn’t happened, but at the same time, things have changed. I’m going to continue to exercise and maybe I can lose 10 more pounds and get down to 200.
As for love, it seems like I have other burners that need my attention like work. I think it’s time to all my focus on starting a new career and maybe even move somewhere else.
The only real thing I can do next is work in public relations. I have no real problem with that. It’ll be more stable, at least I think it will be more stable.
However, it’s where I want to be next that I have to figure out. Let me run down a list of places that interest me or people have asked where I’d go with the plus and minuses of each area.
The Central Valley: Friends have asked me, “Would you go home?” I say, “I’ve never really thought about it and Stockton is ranked No. 2 by Forbes as the most miserable city in America.” Going home really doesn’t entice me.
The Bay Area: It would be much easier for my sports fan life to be in an area where I can root freely for the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, for the most part. At least the ratio would be a lot better than here. The three problems I have with the Bay Area are: A) It’s too cramped; B) It’s more expensive, and; C) Traffic is a nightmare.
San Diego: It is a beautiful area but it is also kind of pricy. I feel the same about San Diego as I do about the Bay Area, but with less Giants/49er fans.
Las Vegas: If there was one place where I think newspapers are still going to do well for the next couple of years it is here only because tourism is the key to the city’s survival and where else to vacationers get their news. The hot weather in the summer is a big reason why I wouldn’t move there. Also, I think Las Vegas is a fun place to visit, I just don’t know about living there.
Phoenix: When I first went to college, I had originally had thoughts about moving there after graduation. A year into school, I began a long relationship that continued after graduation and the person I was with didn’t want to leave Southern California long term. Now I can do that, but I’m reminded of the line “I’d rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona,” from the show “Arrested Development.” Plus, it’s too hot.
Portland, Ore.: I spent a day and a half here in the Summer of 2000 on my way to a college journalism conference and loved the city and the surrounding areas as the conference was in Cannon Beach. I wanted to go back to visit, but still haven’t. However, does wanting to live somewhere based on a day of looking around something I want to do?
The East Coast (Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.): These are the ultimate places for me to start over. I didn’t choose New York because it’s just too big. All these places are different from what I’m used to and that is what attracts me. The problem, it’s far away from family and friends and if things don’t work out career wise, I’m really stuck.
(I didn’t choose the Midwest and South for obvious reasons. I would consider Chicago; however, its distance is a bit much.)
Going nowhere and staying: If I am going to start on a new career path, I might want to start here and have one less thing to worry about. However, this is the time for me to pick up and leave.
So what do I do? This is where I was going to use the first couple of the months of the year to think about things. Now, I have to think about things sooner rather than later because buyout time will be coming in the next couple of months and I can use the money to start over.
We’ll see. I mean if I don’t find anything, I feel fairly confident that I could be picked up to work at the universal desk while I continue looking for another job.
But I really hope I can find a new job by then.
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