Past

So, I'm 30 years old and I've already had two successful careers and I'm looking at starting my third, as a writer. During all this time, my husband has had the same job, which makes me incredibly thankful for his consistency and dependability. I'm a risk-taker, but so far, it's paid off. Somehow, I managed to get a job in the #8 television news market right out of college. It was a miracle, really. I toiled away there for 6 long years where I endured repeated and critical viewing of such tragedies as the September 11 attacks, the tsunami disaster, Hurricane Katrina, Daniel Pearl's beheading, the Saddam torture videos and more. I remember once studying a pile of blood and debris, trying to figure out if there were any body parts in it after an Israeli car bombing. Can't show body parts on the local news. That's a little too real. No one wants the truth.

So, I left news and went to work in media relations at the zoo. Ah. The zoo. All my animal friends. It just so happens that while I'm at the zoo, a certain baby panda was born and with her birth, there was also opportunity. We launched a national media campaign that paid off in a big way. Won awards. Got many accolades. Established myself in the media relations field. Baptism by fire.

But, my boss left the zoo and things there started changing and I seized the notoriety of the zoo that I had helped create and moved on to work for a health care non-profit. Which I have been less than happy with. It's not the organization. It's a great organization with a good mission, but my job is not what I expected. I'm the only marketing person here and well, I'm not so into marketing. I'm a media person- a "news" person. I'm not so into direct mailings and phone calling, if you know what I'm saying.

So, I'm back on the market, trying to figure out the next step. I've applied for lots of jobs, but I've learned the hard way that you shouldn't just take whichever offer pays the most and that you should have a clear understanding of what your job will be before you sign on. This time, I'm playing smart.

And in the meantime, I'm going to take this opportunity to do some things that I've been putting off for YEARS- like losing weight and writing that novel, all while making ends meet through freelance writing, baking cakes and selling on etsy. Hopefully.

This morning, I applied for a gig writing a press release for a pet product company. They actually seem like a cool company. I kind of want to buy some of their stuff. I could spend hundreds of dollars buying stuff for my pets. I have two cats- Chi Chi and Chloe and one dog, Duke.



Right now, we are fostering another dog, Douglas for Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends. He's up for adoption. He's a good boy. He's pretty ridiculous. All "Doh-dee-doh, I'm Douglas." Guaranteed to make you laugh! And how funny of a name is Douglas for a dog? Haha. It kills me everything I say it. It totally suits him though. Like if he were a person, he'd have a stain on his shirt and be wearing Reeboks. But, he's not a person. He's a beagle. And he needs a home.

And I need some work!