Category: Uncategorized

Clemson University football coach Tommy Bowden was fired last week, but will get paid $3.5 million. And yet, thousands of people around the country don’t have jobs and are in danger of losing their homes. I think we might have a problem with priorities in this country.

I just saw this article from the Wall Street Journal about how to figure out if you might be on the layoff list. Definitely I saw some of these five signs (cutbacks, work slows down) at my previous company, but truly didn’t think I’d find myself packing up my family photos and personalized notepads.

Then I read the list of “Tips for keeping your job:”
– Make yourself irreplaceable.
– Be very clear about what your responsibilities are, and make sure you are meeting them.
– Pick up additional responsibilities.
– Make sure your supervisors and colleagues are aware of your capabilities.
– Continue to build your skills.
– Look for opportunities at your company and elsewhere.
– Don’t seem paranoid or anxious.
– Keep working at your current output.

Hmmm, check, check, check, check, check, check, check and check.

I guess sometimes you just don’t have any control of a situation.

When the CEO and vice president of your company call you in for a meeting at five minutes before 5 p.m. you have to know it’s not good news. Yesterday, I was laid off from my job as an editor with a local business publication.

The company had been making several cutbacks in operational areas, and yesterday the cutbacks hit the staff. My position was eliminated, thus, I was eliminated. It was as if someone had punched me in the stomach.

I had been with the company longer than anyone in our editorial department. I’d tried to be a good and loyal employee, doing everything that was asked of me – and then some. But, I guess when you’re competing with the bottom line, it always wins.

Now, I have to pull myself together and regroup. I’m trying very hard to believe this is part of some master plan God has for me. Still, it’s tough. I may give myself a few days to mourn this chapter of my life, and then I’ll try to figure out what’s next. Maybe I can do some freelance work while I see what other opportunities are out there. I have a couple of book ideas I’ve been kicking around so maybe now’s the time to work on those.

I guess I’ll have to see what doors open for me.

This weekend we took Katherine to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. Clint and I love animal-themed attractions (zoos, Sea World), so we thought we’d start Katherine early. I think she had a good time, although at this age it’s tough for her to really know what she’s seeing. And the animals needed to be close and moving for her to zero in on them.

But she did get up close and personal with a giraffe, cow, goat, fish and llama. I suspect she thought most of those were just large dogs since she’s used to seeing Belle and Mocha every day. But she seems to be a real animal lover and always enjoys an outing in the stoller.

Riverbanks Zoo was nice. It’s not particularly large (although most zoos seem small after being to the San Diego Zoo), but had all the required zoo creatures and was just the right size for an almost-8-month-old and her parents.

Enjoy the photos ….

What is this thing?

$700,000,000,000

That’s a lot of zeros, federal government. Wish someone would bail me out when I make a stupid decision.

Often we look at what’s going on in Washington or on Wall Street and it all seems so distant, so removed from our day-to-day lives. But I have to say this current financial crisis is really hitting home. Last week was tense at my office. Like pretty much all publications that exist on advertising, sales are down a bit and we’re tightening our belts.

It’s tough times all around. I feel fortunate to have a job when so many people are finding themselves in the unemployment lines.

OK, I know we all complain about this every year …. But, seriously, today Target had Christmas cards out in the aisle across from Halloween candy. What!?!?!?

Sadly, Micah Crimmins passed away this morning. We can take comfort in knowing he is with Jesus.

Here’s a piece of the e-mail his family sent out this morning: Micah would always say as I was heading out the door, ”Daddy, wait for me.” Well now, Micah, your earthly father is saying “Micah, please wait for me” because I too want so much to hold hands together again in our heavenly kingdom.

Many months ago, I posted an entry about friends whose little boy has cancer. After much treatment his cancer was in remission. In fact, last fall the entire family visited us in Charleston and it was wonderful to see Micah running around and playing.

Sadly his cancer returned earlier this year. His parents opted to try experimental drug treatments this summer, but they didn’t work. This week Micah has taken a turn for the worse and his parents are opting to discontinue treatments and simply make his final days comfortable.

When I read the e-mail with this news, I couldn’t help but cry. It’s devastating and my heart breaks for this family. Please keep them in your prayers. We can never begin to understand why something like this would happen. We can simply take solice in the fact that Micah will have a glorious time running and playing in heaven.

Last week I attended the Society of Professional Journalists national convention in Atlanta. It was a great conference and is always wonderful to catch up with all my SPJ pals.

I have to give a BIG thanks to my hubby for doing full-time baby care while I was gone. Having done that a few times when he’s gone on business trips, I know it can get a little tiring.

I feel incredibly fortunate to live in a time when men do housework and take care of the children. Fifty years ago I would not have been jetting off to a conference leaving my baby with my husband. Heck, I wouldn’t have had a career so there wouldn’t have even been a conference to attend!

So, thanks, Clint!

And, more on the SPJ convention soon …

Today is Women’s Equality Day, established in 1971 to commemorate the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote.

The founder of Women’s Equality Day was Bella Abzug, a lawyer, TV news commentator and member of the U.S. House of Representatives (first Jewish Congresswoman).

I found these great quotes from Bella:
* Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over.

* The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.

* We are coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room. We want an equal share in government and we mean to get it.

You go, Bella!

I wanted to share these terrific photos of Katherine I had taken last week. Chris Smith is the photographer. I use him quite a bit for work projects and knew he would do a great job with Katherine’s 6-month portraits – and he did. Truly, she is precious – and that is my completely objective Mommy opinion! 😉

Last year Clint went to Las Vegas for the annual DEFCON convention — basically a hacker conference. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to attend this year but a co-worker brought him a T-shirt and Kate a onesie. So, here are some pictures of “Daddy’s Little Hacker.” 🙂

Ten years ago this month I embarked on a major life change. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University, a summer of experience at The Indianapolis Star and a serious sense of adventure, I packed up and moved to San Angelo, Texas. I worked as a reporter for the local newspaper and still count it as one of the best experiences of my life.

I find myself faced with a similar opportunity and can’t help but think, “That was then. This is now.”

I went to a job interview a couple of weeks ago in Fort Worth. I have the opportunity to be the editor of a new business publication in Denton County. It would be a sister publication of the Fort Worth Business Press. Long story short, the interview went well but I still felt conflicted and had a lingering question for the publisher about the kind of business publication they want to create. A follow-up e-mail seemed to confirm his commitment to a true business-to-business publication.

At this point, I’m about 90 percent ready to take it. I think that lingering 10 percent is fear. Fear outweighing any youthful sense of adventure. Oh, how the times have changed. Sure, 10 years ago I was afraid to move from Ohio to Texas. My grandparents helped me move and I’ll never forget that early Sunday morning when they pulled away from my apartment. I was struck by the thought that there went the only people in the city I knew and what if I had made a huge mistake moving here.

It wasn’t a mistake at all. And my sense of adventure took me on a wonderful ride. But I’m well past 22 years old when I could move across the country and had nothing to lose. I didn’t have a house to sell, a child, a husband. At that point, I didn’t even have a career. Life was fresh, new and full of potential.

I have lived in Charleston for eight years and have a comfortable life here. We have a nice home in a great location. We have good friends, a nice church and I have a good job. Why rock the boat?

Maybe for something even better.

This job sort of fell into my lap. And last week we found out that Clint’s company would like for him to stay on and just work from home in Fort Worth. How easy is that?

My friend Ronda and I always talk about how we wish God communicated in skywriting. Ronda says the way all this has fallen into place is skywriting. It could be I’ve been so wrapped up in the “what ifs” and “what might go wrong” that I haven’t looked up to see God’s skywriting.

I can’t help but think this is an awesome opportunity for me. I have the chance to build an entire business newspaper from scratch. Scary? Of course. An adventure? No doubt.

Could it be I’ve spent the last decade preparing for just this opportunity and now I’m going full circle back to the Lone Star state? The skywriting seems to say, “Yes.”

This fall, I’ll be published in a book. I’m so excited! OK, before you start asking if I’ll be at your local Barnes & Noble signing copies, I should clarify that this is a textbook and I just contributed one chapter.

But still, I’m totally excited to see it in print. The book, “Understanding Media Convergence,” is scheduled to be out in November. You can read more about it here. I love the review quote from another academic who says, “The text presents an impressive list of topics that are written by an impressive list of authors.” I am totally going to consider myself among the “impressive list of authors.”

One of my professors from graduate school at the University of South Carolina is one of the book’s editors. I did an independent study with this professor and wrote a research paper titled “Developing Media Managers for Convergence: A Study of Management Theory and Practice for Managers of Converged Newsrooms” (it really doesn’t get more academic sounding than that, does it?). The paper was picked up by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and I presented my work at the AEJMC conference in summer 2005.

So, Dr. Grant asked it he could use my work in his latest textbook. Of course, I agreed. It’s nice to see your hard work do more than just collect dust on a shelf or take up space on your hard drive.

It’s not like I haven’t been published a zillion times in newspapers and magazines, but never in a textbook so this is very cool. I’ll be sure to let you know when it comes out. And, if you decide to order a copy, do know I’d be happy to sign it. 🙂

Today Clint and I marked our eighth anniversary. I can hardly believe it. So much has happened since we stood in the Nazarene church in San Angelo, Texas, and exchanged our wedding vows. As those vows predicted, we’ve had better, we’ve had worse and we’ve had true love and happiness.

I’m blessed to have a great husband who puts up with my occasional bouts of crazy and grumpy. We can laugh together over such silly things – jokes that only he and I would find funny. We share a history and a passion. Thanks, Clint, for being the love of my life.