New Year’s Eve – a 2008 retrospective and a look ahead to 2009

As 2008 comes to a close, what better time is there to look back on the past 12 months and look ahead to the next 12?

2008
For me, personally, 2008 was a year of extreme highs and lows. The year started out with a continuing job hunt, but my family was healthy, and together, so it wasn’t all bad.

In February, not too deep into the new year, I finally found a job – one that I thought could be that perfect job everybody is looking for, usually through their whole life. I began my position as director of communications for a non-profit that protects the rights of hunters. As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, I realized that this was not the perfect position I’d dreamed it to be. In fact, I realized I was in the completely wrong position. Don’t get me wrong – I actually loved the things that I was doing, but the message I was putting out wasn’t one I believed in. After some days of sending out press releases and taking calls from media and the public, I would drive home with a sick feeling inside because I just didn’t agree with what I was doing. At that point, I realized what I had to do. I could not be the mouthpiece for an organization I wasn’t behind. I left that job at the end of May.

While leaving a job like I did may seem like one of the downs, I can say that it also provided at least a couple of the ups. I met a great group of people that I continue to consider friends and learned a lot about how non-profits work.

After leaving this position, I scheduled a trip back to Dallas in June to recharge and reconnect with my good friends. I came home refreshed and ready to get on that job search horse once again. I had a few interviews here and there, but nothing that seemed to fit. I figured it was just a matter of time before I found something that worked for both me and the company that was looking to fill a position.

Then, in July, came another disappointment. My mother had been cancer-free for nearly a year after having gone through surgery and a long cycle of chemotherapy. She had been going in for scans and check ups every three months after that to make sure the cancer had not come back. After her July scan, she was told that everything looked good. The next morning, however, she received a call from the doctor stating that something came back strange in the blood work and they needed to do more tests. She did another scan and the found that the cancer had returned. She has been doing chemotherapy since that time and will be having another surgery sometime in the early part of the new year.

It was somewhat of a blessing that I was off work during this, as it is hard for her to do the things she would normally do because of the effects of the chemo.

In October, after several more interviews at various places, it seemed that I had found the position that I had been looking for. I interviewed for a public relations writer position with a software company and was called back for a second interview. Everything about the job sounded great and I thought it was going to be a perfect fit for both myself and the company. At the second interview I was told by the hiring manager that at that point she had planned to offer me the job, however, she received a resume just the night before my second interview from a woman with 20 years experience of writing for the software industry and she felt like she had to at least interview that person. It ended up that the experience won out and I did not get the position. I have stayed in contact with that hiring manager and she continues to help me using her network of public relations professionals in the Columbus area.

One other disappointing development for 2008 is the return of my grandmother’s cancer. She too had been deemed cancer-free, only to see the return of her pancreatic cancer in early December of this year. She is likely to begin chemotherapy again soon, depending on some forthcoming test results. As bad as this seems, I still often think of how blessed I am. I am the only 32-year-old person I know that still has all four of his grandparents still living, and living unassisted at that.

2008 was also a year of reconnections for me. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve managed to get back in touch with so many people that I thought I’d never hear from again. It is so nice to get caught up with so many people that I’d lost track of over the years.

So, as 2008 ends, I remain unemployed. If I had known the worst economy in my lifetime was about to begin, would I have changed my decision to leave the position with the non-profit? It’s hard to say. Part of me says yes – I would have wanted to keep that stability, but part of me knows that I’m just not the kind of person that can stay someplace when it doesn’t fit with my beliefs.

Yes, 2008 had its share of ups and downs, and a lot of people might say mostly downs, but I try to see the positive side of all that has happened. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that sometimes, in weaker moments, I questioned the existence of God, or wondered why He was doing this to my family. Each time, however, I end up coming back to Him and praying to Him.

2009
As I enter 2009, it is indeed a year of uncertainty. With economic times as bad as they are, one must wonder how this job search is going to move forward. It is important to me that I once again become part of society and I will find a place where I can not only support myself, but also in some way help others.

The health of my family is in question. Surgery and chemotherapy are givens, but even with that, results are unclear. I do know that my family and I will make the best of whatever hand we are dealt.

With that, I ask each of you to love those in your life, and don’t take anything for granted. I wish you all nothing but the best for 2009.

End of the Year Update

Hello all. I hope this update finds you all doing well and finished with your Christmas shopping so you have some time to enjoy the season!

Sorry for the lack of updates - I know it seems like I start each of my blog postings with that apology. Hopefully I'll do better updating throughout 2009.

My mom is still going through her chemo treatments. We're hoping that she'll be done with those before too long. I'll update again once we know more.

My job search is not going too well. It is not a great time to be job hunting when the world economy is in the toilet. I'm trying to keep my chin up however. Hopefully the first of the year will bring more opportunities.

I wish you all the very best holiday season and a most prosperous new year. Hope to hear from you all soon!

- C

Quick Update

Just a quick update on things. Mom went to see her oncologist and the tumor in her liver didn't shrink any with the first three chemo treatments. She's going to go through three more and then they will look at things again to see what's going on. She's still looking at a surgery in the not-to-distant future, but the timing on that will be determined after the chemo cycle.

On the job front, it was a case of so close, yet so far away. I ended up going in for my second interview for the PR writer position I spoke of in my last blog post. The hiring manager was very candid with me and said that she had received a resume just a day earlier from a lady with 10-years writing experience, with 6 of those years being in software. She said that I was her choice at the moment, but she still had to interview this woman. Well, long story short, the woman got the job because of the experience factor. So, the hunt continues.

That's it for now.

- C

Update

Hello all. Just a quick update. Mom is hanging in there. She's finishing up her third of four chemo treatments. After the last one, she'll have to schedule the surgery to remove part of her liver. She's not looking forward to it, but she's a trooper.

As far as the job hunt goes, I interviewed with a publicly-traded software company last week for its open PR Writer position. I felt like the interview went well and I got a call today to schedule a follow-up interview next Wednesday, so that seems like a good sign. I'll keep you all posted!

- C

Another update

Just a quick update on my mom's condition. She started her second chemo treatment today. She will be at the halfway mark of her chemo after this one is done. Then, on to the surgery, which we will get more information on in the weeks to come. So far with these treatments she hasn't been too sick, just exhausted. I'll post more when I have it. Thanks for caring!

- C

Life update

Greetings blog readers! Just a quick update, since it has been so long. I'm still on the job hunt - sent out several more resumes just this week.

More importantly, things are not going great with my mother's health. She found out about a month ago that her cancer has returned. She starts chemotherapy again this coming Monday, so we're hoping she gets through that without too many problems. After two months of those treatments, they are planning to do another surgery to remove the cancerous part of the liver. We're hoping that this will take care of the cancer and she can go back to living her life.

That's about it from here, sorry for the lack of updates!

- C

So, here it is ...

Some of you already know this, but I ended up leaving my position as director of communications a couple of weeks ago. I am once again on the job hunt.

After about three months at the organization, I came to the conclusion that the message and goals of the group did not fit with my beliefs and I could not in good faith continue to be the mouthpiece for something I was against.

I have a couple of irons in the fire regarding work already. I just wanted everyone to know what was going on with me. Thanks, as always, for your continued support.

- Cory

The new job

Well, I thought it was about time for me to do a post on my new job. I've been there about a month now and things are going great. I actually feel like I'm doing what I went to school for now. My official title is director of communications. I have my own office, a laptop, cell phone, corporate card, etc. I have an assistant director, an intern and I'm hiring a second intern.

As far as what I do, it is somewhat of a small organization (22 people I think) and you end up wearing many hats, but my main duties are all relevant to public relations and communications, which is awesome. I write a lot, which is a big change from the previous job. We have two monthly newsletters, a small weekly e-newsletter and about eight quarterly specialized e-newsletters that we produce. I've been working on a powerpoint presentation I'm doing for our board meeting in a couple of weeks. I've fielded several media calls and have been working with several outdoor writers associations in relation to their annual conferences.

There is going to be significant travel involved in the position, and I'm very happy about that. I figure I'm single and don't have any kids, so what better time than now to see the country. So far I'm scheduled to visit Tennessee twice, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania this spring and summer. In fact, I go to Nashville for our board meeting a week from Tuesday. I then fly back on Wednesday afternoon and turn around and drive 2 1/2 hours to northern Ohio on Thursday for a four-day convention up there.

It is so nice to feel like part of the world again. I really enjoy the people I work with so far and I think I found a really good place to work - finally!! Thanks to all of you for your continued well-wishes as I went through the trials of trying to find a position.

Work so far

So far, so good on the job front. I've been really busy already in my two days there. I can tell this is going to be a pretty hectic job, but I'm enjoying it so far. I'm going to a four-day conference in northern Ohio in the middle of April and I'll likely be going to North Dakota for a couple of days for a conference in late July. So far I really like the people. Everybody seems to work hard, but they still manage to laugh and have fun. This job is a lot less structured than my previous job, so it is a bit of an adjustment. I'm going to have to be spot on in my time management and multi-tasking. I managed to move some stuff around in my office and make it more "mine" today, so that's kind of nice. Just wanted to update everybody on the progress so far.

The rollercoaster continues - I've accepted a job offer!

I accepted a job offer this morning and start my new position on Tuesday. I'm the new Director of Communications for a non-profit that protects the rights of outdoorsmen.. This job is infinitely better than the one that didn't work out a few weeks ago.

I just wanted to let everybody know and thank you all for your support and well wishes during this trying job hunt. I guess things do work out for a reason.

Life is a rollercoaster

Well, I wrote the blog last night saying I was going to accept a job offer this morning. I called and spoke to the owner and told her I was going to accept when she started with "I don't want to sound like I'm reneging, but" and I figured out immediately that I wasn't going to be working there. She said that she'd been thinking more about it and she didn't feel like she was able to offer the type of position or pay that I would need and she thought I'd be bored with the job because I'm overqualified. So, basically, she snatched the job out from under me. She did say that a couple of her clients are looking for people right now and she was going to pass my resume on to them because they would be able to offer a higher level job with higher pay. I sure hope having her pass it on works out because I really need a stinkin' job!!! I must say I'm kind of in shock right now - I've never just had the rug pulled out from under me like that before.

I'm accepting a job offer

Just to let everyone know, I went to a job interview for an account coordinator position with a small travel public relations firm in the north part of Columbus on Monday. I interviewed on Monday, was given a writing/editing assessment on Tuesday, turned it on Thursday morning and was offered the position on Thursday evening. I'll be calling back to accept the position later this morning, so I will soon be in the world of the employed again.

This is a very small PR firm. There is the owner, me and an intern. That's it. I'll be doing press release writing, editing, event planning, database upkeep and other things. I'm looking forward to the experience for sure. This firm specializes in travel/tourism clients, so that should be pretty interesting.

Well, I really just wanted to let everyone know that I've finally found a job. Hope you all are doing well!

- C

Excellent News

My mom had three-month PT scan a couple of weeks ago and her three-month CT scan this morning. She's been pretty upset over the possible results for the past few days. She had her appointment with the oncologist after the CT scan this morning and everything is all clear! I just wanted to let everyone know that all is well! That's all for now.

- Cory