Work

Job searches, businesses, business challenges, goals.

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It’s like brushing your teeth

It’s tough enough to keep a commitment to go to the gym a few days a week. To commit to keep a journal, online or otherwise, every day, is nearly impossible. While my career has changed in the past year, I get to do so many new and different things, that there are days I simply run out of hours. I could sit at my desk for hours and get a multitude of things done. The next thing I know, it’s 2:30 and I haven’t had lunch.

Tuesday, I heard a report that you shouldn’t sit at your desk more than 45 minutes or face the problems of being overweight along with other health issues. That apparently applies even if you regularly exercise. The rule of thumb, the report says, is get up every 45 minutes and get that blood going.Not much moss grew under my feet Tuesday. I was out of the house at 9 a.m.; driving to a client meeting and stopping on the way to pick up a gift for some friends; took some photos for the client; the meeting in Ocean County at 11 a.m. lasted until 12:15; I made a few stops on the way home; downed a quick salad for lunch; got ready for the first day of teaching business communications at Rutgers-Camden; left the house at 3:45 to stop to drop off the gift for the friends; got to class just before start time at 4:30; taught until 5:50 p.m.; answered some students’ questions; talked with the next teacher in the room; motored back to Cherry Hill to pick up my son from his bowling match; got home; stir-fried dinner I had prepped the day before; grabbed my Sustainable Cherry Hill notes and got to an executive committee meeting a couple of minutes after 7 p.m.; the meeting lasted until 9 p.m.; collapsed at home by 9:30 p.m.

It wasn’t a record, but I certainly wore a lot of hats yesterday, leaving me with hat-hair. Wonder why I didn’t get to write a blog post?

Today, I caught up. I’m getting some great media exposure for Sustainable Cherry Hill and efforts to link the suburbs with Camden and the Center for Transformation. Cross your fingers that you’ll be seeing the story on TV – soon. Don’t want to jinx it.

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Are we ever organized?

Do people admire your sense of organization? Do they tell you they wish they could be organized like you? Bless them. From where I’m sitting, I need a wife; someone to support me and ask me if I have everything together and pick up the proverbial slack sometimes. I could use someone to back me up in keeping me organized. I just went through a lot of my Rutgers material in preparation for teaching the same course for the spring semester. I seemed as though I was organized, but now, I’m organizing my material even further. The good news is, I won’t have to create everything from scratch; From lesson plans to understanding the text book, now, the course is not new to me (thank god!).

I have a couple of piles (OK, maybe three piles) around my office. There’s the “pending” pile, the “to-be-filed” pile and the “I’m-not-sure-what-I-want-to-do-with-this” pile. Every once in a while, I go through these piles and do something with the material. Why is it that there is ALWAYS a pile?  Probably for the same reason I haven’t finished hanging art/photos up in my office. I’m waiting for the mood to strike me. At some level, I realize THIS is the way I work. If I have everything put away, it looks as though I have nothing to do, which is never the case.

I just found a note I made to myself to call someone who may need PR help. You see? Had I filed that note where it belongs, I would have forgotten completely about it. It just showed up in one of my three piles (the pending pile).

Today, finally, I published my basic web site. It’s up and running now and this begins my constant tweaking and revising process. It’s the same thing I’ve done with my resume for the past year. I update and tweak when I get spare moments. It’s also good to clear your head in between these intense writing situations. I have spent weeks agonizing over the web site. I decided, less is more. I needed a web presence and the site is there. I have a Facebook page for the business as well. (That reminds me, I need to put the Facebook icon on the web site — see, some tweaking already!)

In the end, we’re never as organized as other people think we are, but we’re probably better than most when it comes to getting through the day without a meltdown. Excuse me now, while I go hunt for the piece of paper I was looking for before I started writing this.

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Time to turn out the holiday lights

Holidays are about traditions. Holidays are about remembering, reflecting and lots of boxes of decorations. For several reasons this holiday season, I put up every decoration on my own. That includes the lights and garland winding around our 7 1/2 foot tree in the living room.

Today, all the fa-la-la of the holidays ended. My guys brought down the mega boxes from the attic and one-by-one, throughout the day, the boxes of ornaments, collected for years and years, were carefully wrapped and put away for another 11 months. As I was taking down the trinkets that adorned our tree this year, I remembered what it was like to begin collecting each ornament; where I found it; how I felt when I bought it; what it was like to put the ornament on our tree for the first time. At first, I felt sad that so many years have gone by, but then I realized, as time marches on, it’s all about reflecting and remembering.

Over the weekend as I watched the Penn State-LSU game, the announcers kept talking about the Penn State quarterback and his legacy. How will he be remembered without a Bowl win? In the end, as Penn State won the close game, it was clear the QB was thrilled, but he’d been annoyed there was so much attention to his legacy and not on the team’s accomplishments. Life is full of so many moments. You string them all together, and you have yourself a life. The QB’s history at Penn State will surely impact his life, but he has so many more moments and milestones to come. I’ve been reflecting on the year past for me. While I have moved on from looking in that rear-view mirror, I now want more impact in my own life.

What’s next? A focus on community and serving, whether it’s within the organizations I am already involved with or extending into other communities that need a leg up. Perhaps I can link one of the group’s I’m involved with to the business communications class I am teaching this spring. I’d like to use my talent as a communicator to better other lives. Maybe the students taking the class can help in Camden or other communities. Now, I have to find the way to make that happen.

Today, the boxes of ornaments are tucked back in the attic, but ornaments that make up my life are being created each day this year.

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Such a year

I have never been a fan of “odd” years. Maybe it’s superstition, but I always have this nagging feeling that things will be better when it’s an even year, even age, even month. You get the picture.

As the answer blows in the wind on this blustery, December day, the great news is I’m on the right side of things. My successful career in broadcast journalism has now transitioned into my public relations consulting start-up. My bottom line looks respectable for a one-person operation and I am learning more and more every day through wonderful people I’ve known through the years as well as family and friends.

Driving in the car with my son the other night, I asked him what he thought about the changes our family has been through this year. First thing he said was,” You are doing an amazing, amazing job with your business.” He went on to say flattering, positive things about my transition into this business and I couldn’t have been more pleased. Our son has really blossomed in the past few months. He is now working at his first job as a bus boy at Mirabella Cafe near our home. I met the owner/chef, Joe Palombo, through Sustainable Cherry Hill. I am now the communications director, on the executive board and general board. You see, these are things I could never do for years and years because of my crazy schedule. Now, community involvement is a critical part of what is making me happy now.

I was watching a show last night and there was a line that really rang true to me: “When you figure out what kind of person you really want to be, then you’ll really be happy.” How true. How often do we glaze over each day, muddle through lists of tasks, grumble at our family, friends and associates and wonder, “Is that all there is?” That feeling gnawed at me for the longest time. Fear and comfort and a respectable paycheck kept me from making any moves. After management decided I didn’t fit in to their picture any longer, I was almost relieved. Beyond the lack of respect or appreciation by the top brass when I was let go, I knew the journey to find a better life, more happiness and fulfillment would get underway.

Here are some of the positive changes (in no particular order):

  • no more sleep deprivation
  • regular and constant visits to the gym
  • intense involvement in volunteer community groups that mean a lot to me
  • more quality family time without being sleep deprived
  • being “the boss of me.”
  • flexibility in how my day operates
  • meeting new and interesting people
  • more socialization

OK, the list is getting long. It’s a beautiful thing after living by a very tight schedule with absolutely no wiggle room for years, to be able to structure my days and nights so that they work for me. Of course, I still have to be certain places at certain times, but I don’t have deadlines every ten minutes. I am appreciated for the work I do (most of the time) and I have a sense of accomplishment almost every single day.

Advice from people in-the-know has been critical. There’s been fantastic advice and advice I knew instinctively was crap. The latest great piece of advice I received was from a firm I was talking with about their expansion. The CEO suggested that I narrow my focus in what I want to accomplish. Done…next!

One thing I will always be is a news junkie. I have instincts about people that are spot-on. I know crap when I hear it and I know a true-blue, honest to goodness, truthful person immediately. That has always been a key to success in my figuring out the news. Now, it translates into good instincts about how to help elevate a client’s profile in the audience they are appealing to or figuring out a great pitch to the media to bring a client greater exposure.

That even-numbered year is upon us: 2010. I’ll be turning an even-numbered age as well. It’ll be my second year in business with What’s Next Productions, LLC. It’s all good.

Happy holidays and a safe, prosperous New Year.

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Deja vu all over again

When you become a grown up you always say, ” I’ll never be like my mom.” Guess what, we’re all just like our parents, but perhaps a little improved. My son got his first job today. It seems as though no time has passed since my dad came home one day telling me I could go down to Burger Chef; he’d paved the way for my first job after talking with the owner he knew at the time.

The other night, I attended Sustainable Cherry Hill’s (SCH)”Green Drinks” night at P.J. Whelihan’s. SCH (www.sustainablecherryhill.org) is a wonderful group of people working on many different fronts to make our community less dependent and abusive to the land, air and water. Among the board members is Chef Joe Palumbo, who owns Mirabella Cafe and also founded SJ Green Restaurants. In conversation with Joe, I mentioned my son looking for work, and Joe told me to have my son call. Two days later, Adam was hired by Joe to be a bus boy. So, just as my father did, I recycled the same support for my child. Adam now has to do the work and try not to spill water on anyone. Joe’s a great guy, and I have confidence he’ll train my son well and Adam will grow into himself through this first work experience.

Despite the Phillies coming in second to the Yankees this week, it’s been a good start to November. Business is good; the clients are happy (so far) and paying (very nice) and I feel very healthy having kicked my own butt at the gym this week and gotten my H1N1 shot at Rutgers. Now if only the Septa strike would settle. I keep thinking about all the moms, dads, students, and other Philadelphia-area citizens who are having to extend their already exhausting days to walk, bike, carpool (which they should anyway) and spend lots more money packing themselves into Septa trains. Has anyone heard anyone support the union right now? I’ve heard many people say, “They’re lucky they HAVE a job.” So true.

For now, the remaining leaves will pile up in the yard, Thanksgiving will be knocking and the cold will settle in. Since we bought the power boat, Doug is really looking toward the first warm weather we get in 2010 to launch “Mid Life Cri-seas” (still an unofficial name). We’ll see how Adam’s first job goes as he learns to juggle school, work and activities. Wasn’t he just spitting up on my shoulder a few days ago??