I just realized I haven't written anything all week. Maybe that's because very little that is noteworthy has happened to me this week. Nonetheless, here are some mindless ramblings:
On the job front, I did send out emails to two newspaper editors, and heard back from one who said there may be an opening in a month or so, but don't wait for it, because it might not happen, but if it does it would require me to use my brand spanking new Spanish speaking skills. I am not sure if that is promising or not. Plus, said newspaper is in my hometown, which brings me to question whether I could move back to a place I shunned and ran far, far away from the second I graduated high school. It's debateable. I always said I would never move back there. But, as I get older, I realize more and more that the town doesn't suck. In fact, there seem to be more young people there than I remembered from growing up, and something that in the right light mildly resembles a night life. I suppose I will take up this debate in full force if this position actually opens up. I guess in the meantime, I should be looking for work at more than two places.
I have also managed to articulate my immediate future into two potential paths:
Path A: Move to a random city - scratch that, tiny, one-horse town - somewhere in the country to get a job at a newspaper, likely covering the night cops beat or writing up the latest news from the town council hearings. The stories might be bird cage liner, but hey, I'd be cutting my teeth at a daily newspaper, earning journalistic credibility, proving my abilities to handle the rigors of daily deadlines. And there's always the chance that I'd hit the story of the year, like how the town commissioner is embezzleing money from the library fund to pay for underage gay prostitutes. Or something. My point is, Plan A means choosing job over location, and remember I did just drop a boatload of cash to go back to get a master's degree in hopes that I'd be better equipped for a daily.
Plan B: Scrap the newspaper deal and find a writing job in the city of my choice, preferably one where I have friends or the promise to make some. In this scenario, I have given up on the idea of earning stripes as a newspaperman and decided it's important to report and write regardless of the venue. I mean, who really reads newspapers anyway (besides my fellow J-school grads)? Aren't they a dying breed anyhow, and aren't most papers laying off reporters? And isn't now more feasable now to get good journalistic cred through online publications or magazines, rather than the traditional daily paper route? Plus, wouldn't it be nice to be paid more than mere peanuts? I mean, writing is writing is writing. Right?
I think this is a debate that I have bothered you with on this blog before, and now I'm doing it all over again. Part of me thinks I will continue to question this throughout my career, but I hope to at least settle on some kind of a choice soon so I can shut up and get a damn job.
In other less self-absorbed news, a man who owned a restaurant down the street from my father's house was found this week lying dead in the kitchen shot in the head. I know this happens every day all over the country, but I can't stop thinking about it, mainly because of the proximity to my family and the connections he and his family have throughout the neighborhood. It really is shocking.
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2 comments:
No question. You've got to go for "Path B." Newspapers are not the only game in town by a long shot and, anyway, there are many, many, many newspaper reporters at big papers who did not have to work in a bunch of one horse towns in order to eventually get the job at a big paper (even though our grad school profs would have us believe otherwise.)
On the other hand, rockin out in Bama could be fun too.
Dude, All's I know is, I'm in your boat.
I think I need to get a job, I just want the perfect one to fall into my lap.
Howver, my motivation has gone up one thousand-fold since I moved back to NJ 36 hours ago. My family is already driving me nuts, my sister has become bridezilla, there's no cable, dial-up internet and I need to get out while I still can. I had to kill almost a whole bottle of vino to get through dinner...
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