happy new year, folks.
this year-end was odd, wasn't it? it felt weird to me.
maybe it was because coming back home from LA took some adjusting; maybe because the news in illinois is so very often bizarre and off putting. for whatever reason, wrapping up this year just felt a little anti-climactic.
like, if the year had ended when we elected Obama, that would have been ok. you know, end on an up note.
in fact, an Obama administration is the only bright spot i can think of, though my optimism is tempered by the realities of 2009: worsening economy, foreign conflict, cleaning up the Shrub's missteps and mistakes.
i think 2009 is going to be a year of reacting to circumstances instead of getting ahead of anything. in my personal life, there are potential blind spots lurking out there. some gray spots, cloudy areas, that aren't clear to me, yet. my professional direction, my new place (once i find one), my relationships - these are all up in the air. this kind of uncertainty makes me uncomfortable.
so maybe a good resolution (to echo past resolutions like Make an Effort) would be Be Prepared.
exciting, isn't it? absolutely thrilling.
like Make an Effort (which was actually effective), Be Prepared works on both a professional and personal level.
Be Prepared to be downsized, if this economy tightens further.
Be Prepared to do some covert interviewing.
Be Prepared to tighten one's belt.
Be Prepared to drop the hammer on LTF. Or not. Who knows?
Be Prepared for some sacrifices.
but also,
Be Prepared to be open for positive changes.
Be Prepared to change my mind about some things.
Be Prepared to shift direction, if a shift presents itself.
wow. i sound positively oprah-like (except i'd have a much better way of fact-checking than she has. clearly, her new mantra needs to be Avoid All Creative Non-Fiction Memoirs!)
this year-end was odd, wasn't it? it felt weird to me.
maybe it was because coming back home from LA took some adjusting; maybe because the news in illinois is so very often bizarre and off putting. for whatever reason, wrapping up this year just felt a little anti-climactic.
like, if the year had ended when we elected Obama, that would have been ok. you know, end on an up note.
in fact, an Obama administration is the only bright spot i can think of, though my optimism is tempered by the realities of 2009: worsening economy, foreign conflict, cleaning up the Shrub's missteps and mistakes.
i think 2009 is going to be a year of reacting to circumstances instead of getting ahead of anything. in my personal life, there are potential blind spots lurking out there. some gray spots, cloudy areas, that aren't clear to me, yet. my professional direction, my new place (once i find one), my relationships - these are all up in the air. this kind of uncertainty makes me uncomfortable.
so maybe a good resolution (to echo past resolutions like Make an Effort) would be Be Prepared.
exciting, isn't it? absolutely thrilling.
like Make an Effort (which was actually effective), Be Prepared works on both a professional and personal level.
Be Prepared to be downsized, if this economy tightens further.
Be Prepared to do some covert interviewing.
Be Prepared to tighten one's belt.
Be Prepared to drop the hammer on LTF. Or not. Who knows?
Be Prepared for some sacrifices.
but also,
Be Prepared to be open for positive changes.
Be Prepared to change my mind about some things.
Be Prepared to shift direction, if a shift presents itself.
wow. i sound positively oprah-like (except i'd have a much better way of fact-checking than she has. clearly, her new mantra needs to be Avoid All Creative Non-Fiction Memoirs!)
7 comments:
OK, I have no comments on the life plan but I am geekily excited at your use of "frak." I cannot wait till Jan 16th to see what happens .... I've been reading that the first episode of season 4.5 is incredible.
what did oprah do? i missed it.
i thought BSG wasn't coming back until april! how fantastic!
(and i've been throwing around frak ever since i got hooked. look for more BSG mentions once the season gets started. i thought the beginning of season 4 got off to a somewhat slow jump, though.)
@liza - oprah got hoodwinked again. she had a sweet little old couple on her show, telling the sweetest most unbelievable love story: he was in a concentration camp, she was a girl who met him by a fence and brought him apples and bread. after the war, he's in the states, on a blind date with the girl who brought him apples!
oprah, not to mention a gullible publisher, fell for it and now it turns out that sweet old couple made it all up. oh, he was in a camp but all the rest never happened.
my question: why turn it into memoir? why not just write a sweet novel about love and destiny, instead?
Yup - it starts January 16th. Have you watched the webisodes? They help quell the anxiety from waiting. You can see them on hulu or the sci fi channel website. I also recommend watching the show "Middleman" as another diversion till then (it's an ABC family show - but it has pretty sophisticated humor). I've been watching it on surfthechannel.com
I read an article about the Oprah book thing - and an interesting comment was that people are pretty anxious about ever questioning a holocaust survivor's account. I think this makes delving into potential validity or not tricky because the act of doing so could be perceived extremely negatively.
i read something like that, too - that false narratives like this give more fodder for the weirdo holocaust deniers.
but i'd think that the publishing industry, considering recent scandals, would rather be safe than sorry. i mean, really. basic fact checking for any memoir!
the girl who tried to pass off a narrative about drugs, gangs and life in south central as her own - and then was exposed by her jewish, middle class sister as a fake - is a case in point. her story screamed fakery and yet, her publisher questioned nothing.
fact checking should just be standard practice.
(grrr. i just hate stories about professional sloppiness. it's a pet peeve!)
i'll have to catch up on the webisodes! squee!
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