I'm free! If you didn't already know, last Friday was my last day of work. The past few weeks have been crazy, so I've been totally MIA on this blog, but for good reason.
Since early December, I had been contemplating leaving my job. Our publication lineup had changed considerably (from several lifestyle magazines to one advertising-driven fashion mag), I had few opportunties to write and edit legitimate articles, and things only looked to be getting worse. I felt like the longer I stayed, the harder it would be to get back into real journalism. And there were so many more puposeful things I wanted to do with my life than find events for e-newsletters or write advertorials on shopping malls.
I gave myself a deadline of March, deciding to wait a few months and see if anything changed. Then I came back from my weeklong Christmas vacation and was greeted with this:
"As has been announced previously, we will be reducing payroll expenses as we implement our new business plan. ... Non-bargaining employees whose jobs are eliminated will receive severance of 2 weeks’ pay for each completed year of service, up to a maximum of 26 weeks. If any full-time, non-bargaining employee of the Detroit Media Partnership would like to be voluntarily considered for the same severance, you may submit your name ..."
The situation couldn't have been more perfect. I submitted my name but had to keep quiet until I was approved, which wasn't until Jan. 23. I finished up last week, so my severance will continue through the month of February.
Here's my grand master plan. I'll be staying in beloved Detroit through the end of the month. In March I'll move back to Chicago, where my mom, sister and painfully small bedroom will be waiting for me. I hope to start freelancing as soon as possible, and in April, I'll start a 6-month personal trainer school. I've always dreamed of being a freelance writer and personal trainer, and the way I see it, I have nothing to lose.
So there you have it -- all caught up. And now that I've gotten that out of the way, I promise my next blogs will be much more fun to read.
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Hey Nicole!! Long story short, I came across your blog a few months ago when it popped on my facebook feed and then would periodically check in and read what was up. So I just stumbled upon this story this morning and wow! read the news about you leaving the job. How crazy about the Detroit News mags and sad that they sound like they're going down the tubes :( Awesome that you want to do freelancing and personal training...aside from that crazy MI/Chicago similarity we have, there's another one :) If you need/want any freelance tips just let me know. It's great to talk about it with other people and I just went to a workshop last week that helped me understand even more. which personal training school are you going to? I'm either looking to do that or get straight into coaching (last year I decided I wanted to be a triathlon coach) and maybe some spinning or swimming instruction. I dunno, I love the fitness aspect too. OK sorry for writing way too much here, I just wanted to say hi :) Also if you want to do some more blog reading, check out mine at fit-ink.com :) Hope to talk to you soon! kate :)
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