Long time, no blog.
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. I’m sure most of you know I’ve had some life-changing things to deal with this summer, so I figured I’d just use this forum to catch everybody up.
Anyway, I’m in Springdale, Ark. now. Two months ago, I had never set foot in “The Natural State.” But, life happens. And negative things happen for a reason.
On July 7, the editor at my former newspaper (which is in my hometown) called me in early. When he called (twice), I knew it couldn’t be for a good reason. Management at the paper had cut back severely on travel and the basic necessities that needed the paper to just function. I figured positions would be next. The company I worked for was just focused on making money, product be damned.
I was still in shock when my position was eliminated. I kept telling myself, deep down inside, that things would only be for the better. But the first couple of weeks were tough for me. For the first time since I graduated from college, I was unemployed. It was a helpless feeling.
The newspaper business isn’t in the best shape right now. Even before I was laid off, I had considered going back to Murray for graphic design. In those two weeks after I was let go, I had my mind set on never working at a newspaper again. I sent my resume to a business in Benton that I had a few connections with, and I figured if that fell through that I would go back to school full-time and take a part-time job somewhere.
What happened got out through a media report and by word-of-mouth. Soon this paper in Arkansas, The Morning News, contacted me about a page designer opening. After doing a little research and contacting a couple of people that I knew who used to live in the area, I decided to go down and check the place out.
And I really liked it. In the place I used to work at, if you raised your voice in the newsroom, you would get a few quizzical stares. Here, everybody on the desk seemed to want to put out a good product and have fun doing it.
They offered me the job a couple of days later, and I took it. I started two weeks ago today, and I still have a lot to learn about it (the paper was redesigned a few years ago by one of the top gurus in the business), I think it’s going to be a smooth transition. And, while I’ve spent all my life in western Kentucky, I’m glad to be in a place that has a Barnes & Noble, Starbucks and Hooters within 10 miles of my apartment. And, my apartment is on a golf course, which I can play for free.
So, that’s what’s going on these days.
