PlazaJen: The Blog

Riding the Bike with One Pedal.

      Month: September 2009

      Blight in Da Hood

      September 30, 2009 /

      I love the Kansas City Action Line. I used to think there were just three black women, truly running the city. Now I know there’s also a dude.

      There is a house in our neighborhood (not Crazy Cat Lady’s) that is an abomination. They cut down a tree this spring – ok, no problem – but left the wood all in a jumble. Ok, I don’t get my knickers in a twist over a woodpile. But they put all their brush in the ditch, where apparently it was an offering to the Great Beaver Gods, intended to be dragged away by magical beavers building a mythical dam in Indian Creek, over a mile away.  That’s my spin on it, anyway. I know in my heart of hearts they’re just drunk, stupid & lazy.

      So you’d think… ok. Lotsa brush, lotsa wood. Is it really worth throwing said neighborhood folks under the bus? Well, as I put it tonight on the phone to the very nice man at the Action Line, the rest of the yard is… (I struggled to not use profanity, while searching for appropriate words…) the rest of the yard is Sanford & Sons. He started to laugh. Buoyed by his response, I continued, ” Like, I hear, ‘Ba ba BA DA, BA BA DA DA DA DA DA ba ba ba’ whenever I drive by,” as I entertained him my interpretation of the saxophone into to said sitcom.

      He could not speak for a few seconds, because he was laughing so hard, and then he apologized for losing his composure (don’t be silly! You’re all-powerful, you deserve to laugh!)

      Turns out there have been two other calls before me, and they were cited 14 days ago. Which means they’re due for a re-inspection almost immediately, and with that can come court summons and a fine! Zoiks! I’m pretty sure one of the folks who lives closer to the house lost their patience sooner.

      I love the action line. It should never, ever go away. Just like this tune. You know you wanna hear it again:

      The Best Show You’re Not Watching….

      September 27, 2009 /

      …. but you have a chance to catch it again, starting on Saturday.

      Brick City, a documentary on the Sundance Channel, about Newark: the city, the mayor, the politics, the people. You will be riveted. You will see parallels to Kansas City, and you’ll see where we diverge. (Like having a passionate, gregarious mayor, for instance. I kept wondering while I was watching scenes with the mayor meeting with the police chief: does that happen here? And if it doesn’t, why the hell not? Why aren’t the mayor and the head of the police department AT the sites of the shootings, in front of the cameras, denouncing it? Instead we just get talking heads, relishing another if-it-bleeds-it-leads news night.)

      Cory Booker will probably become a senator someday, and move on from Newark, he’s just that good. Which would be sad for Newark, because he cares SO MUCH about making it a better place. The world needs more people like him, like the Vice-Principal of Discipline at the school, like the police director. But at the end of the five hours, you will also be struck by how much needs to be done by the community. We saw a lot of parallels to the community James works in, a class full of freshman boys and they’re asked how many are being raised by a single mom. (Nearly all raised their hands.) Nobody’s teaching boys how to be men, so they join a gang, they have camaraderie and acceptance, they think that a life of violence is normal. To have to even confront that thinking, to have to TELL people, this is not normal, yet you watch the school principal do just this.

      You can talk about how it takes a village – and it’s true, every bit of it – but the village has to be comprised of individuals who are going to step up and do the hard work. Monitor their kids and make them do their homework. Have consequences for bad behavior. Privileges taken away. It’s hard work, no doubt. Being vigilant, setting and enforcing boundaries – none of that’s easy.  But it has to happen, because very few are like Jayda, one of the other featured people in this documentary, who turned her life around and still had to suffer the consequences of her actions, years later.

      It’s worth every second of your time. Forest Whitaker is the Exec Producer. Watch it. Episode 1 runs again tonight; the whole series starts re-airing this coming weekend. DVR it.  It’s on Time Warner Cable #285. Lots of F-bombs, FYI, strong language & violence.

      Lovin’ Every Minute of It, Nah-Nah, Nah-Nah…

      September 26, 2009 /

      So, there are jobs out there, it’s just a long process to hurtle yourself through the door. I had an interview this week, and am glad I had some inside scoop on the job, because it was one of the fastest interviews ev-ah.  Apparently that’s how they roll. Mkay! I shall write my thank-you note and we’ll see what happens. I’m also continuing to network like a mo-fo, so much so, I am a little challenged to even keep up with it all. Fortunately, I also have a friend who’s gone out on his own, and he has SO MANY connections. He was following up with a contact I’d emailed and never heard back from, despite phone messages, and he was able to get some more info (guy’s out of town, totally slammed, and is going to call me next week.)

      Add to all of this three small-ish freelance gigs!

      It’s not easy, waiting and wondering and not knowing. I mean, I know. I realize that nobody gets up, goes to work and knows for sure what’s going to happen. A meteor could hurtle from the sky and squash you like a bug, that would be un-anticipated. Not on your mental agenda. But being unemployed means you really don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. A phone call?An email? Some communication that will unfold into a meeting? An interview? Where? Will they like me? Will they like me more than the 20 other people they talk to? Will they like me the most? So many unknowns, a gal could go crazy trying to run them all through her head. Yet even with all this uncertainty, I’m … happy.

      What I am happy about is when my one freelance opportunity came to be, the person hiring me was describing his process of how he came to arrive at me, he said, ” I think she has experience in this particular industry, I know she’s smart, I..” I didn’t hear much after that.  Thanks. For recognizing I’m smart. For smartness not being a threat. I told a sage agency owner I met with that first week of being unemployed, all I want to do is work someplace where I don’t threaten people. Because I’m smart. He got it, having been in the same boat himself at previous jobs or interviews. Finished my sentence for me, actually, because I didn’t want to sound arrogant about it, but he got it. Was already there.  Knew that it’s not about having a crazy vocabulary or being able to spell really well, it’s about everyone having confidence in what they do, what they bring to the table, to not be fearful if someone has a great idea. A couple of the jobs I’m going for are big deals. They carry a lot of responsibility, and should require a lot of brainpower. Some aspects of the job, I’m not going to know. So I have a choice. I can be fearful, that I don’t already know how to do every single thing, or I can be excited, because I’m capable of learning, and I know that even while I’m learning, I’ll make a difference.

      The other thing that I’m loving is how supportive everyone in my life is. From my husband to friends, the great MommaLinda to former co-workers, to new friends who are skimming alongside me, in their same unemployment-issued skiff, the positive energy is just tremendous. So thanks to everyone for this, because it truly makes a difference. And not that I’m counting my chickens before they hatch, but I had a mental flash yesterday of just how big the celebratory party is gonna end up being.

      Great Pumpkin Conspiracy Update!

      September 24, 2009 /

      Yes, indeed, there is a shortage right now. A quick Google search turned up several articles about the current situation. Apparently the big companies are reassuring people that they are shipping stock out & there should be pumpkin available mid-October or so – but for now, if you see a can? Grab it!

      It’s The Great Pumpkin Conspiracy, That’s What.

      September 23, 2009 /

      I clipped an article out of the Star a week or so ago, for a Gooey Butter Cake recipe that uses pumpkin, ala Paula Deen. Seriously, anything Paula Deen does has to be good because it’s gonna involve a half-ton of sugar, at least a stick of butter, and usually the advice to top it all off with a big ol’ spoonful of whipped cream. So no big challenge there, all the ingredients are very normal, ordinary things.

      Being unemployed means I get to go to the grocery store when all the old people are shopping. It’s rather nice. I went to Price Chopper on Monday, and in the baking aisle, where all the canned pumpkin should be? Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing. Like there’d been a giant recall or a giant rush on the canned pumpkin. OK, I still had some time before I needed to make this. So today, after hanging & commiserating with Pensive Girl, I went to Aldi’s. (Aldi’s! Yes! My first time ever! Being frugal can really be an adventure. More on that later. I will say I researched it online so I wouldn’t look too new or stupid.) No pumpkin. They did have cranberry sauce, though. Ok. So, no biggie, Aldi’s doesn’t have everything, I’ll just swing into the ghetto Price Chopper on my way home.  (Sing it in your Cartman voice, “In the gheetttooooo”…) SAME THING. Completely empty shelf. What?! The?! Fuck!? Is everyone in the mood for pie, suddenly?

      I decide, ok, Ward Parkway Target. I know, it’s not a full-service grocery store, but they’ve expanded…. maybe they’ll have it. Nope. They did have some evaporated milk with a photo of a SLICE of pumpkin pie on it, which fooled me for two seconds, and then I was angry at the can label for having suckered me in. Turns out the gorgeous Rashan, who tried to help me, and also had a canned pumpkin need (he was making cheesecake), had fallen for the same duplicitous photo on the milk can. And he also determined that no, there was no pumpkin to be had. They’ll have it later, as a seasonal item.

      So I don’t know what the dealy-bob is with the run on canned pumpkin in the regular grocery store – I can’t imagine that many people raced to the store after seeing that recipe – but I may have to try Hy-Vee or -eek- WalMart if we’re going to have this cake before November. Because I am not going to buy a pumpkin and cook it, just to be able to make a recipe that involves using a box cake mix. If you see canned pumpkin out there, lemme know!

      Jackass

      September 17, 2009 /

      There are a lot of people I’d like to call a jackass. Immature jackasses. Short-sighted jackasses. Cut-the-cord jackasses. Grow-A-Spine jackasses. But I’d have to say it all with venom in my voice, and whenever I taste just a drop of that poison, I remind myself to rise above it. That they can stay stuck in their jack-assery world, lie to themselves about their behavior or their actions, and I get to choose a different path.

      But nothing made me laugh harder last night than hearing President Obama call Kanye West a jackass. It was just so refreshing. There was none of the venom, it was part of conversational banter, and he just called it like he saw it. Like everyone else saw it. And that’s good enough for me. So if you’re being a jackass, just think about this: you’re keeping company with the crazy.

      Random Orts

      September 11, 2009 /

      1. It’s been a while since I’ve watched Forensic Files, but I’m sitting here at the computer, Friday night, and FF is on the TV. I love it.  Who knew someone’s job is actually “Forensic Plumber”?  Did you know the toilet is designed to prevent the average adult from drowning in it? The only downside of this show is that it does an excellent job of convincing you that your spouse/SO is going to kill you.

      2. Job Search: moving along. I’m balancing a bunch of options/ideas – whether to pursue agency work, freelance, go client-side, or write a hilarious memoir and retire early. It’s good to dream a little bit! Thank heavens for social networking and LinkedIn, because they’ve opened up so many doors, and I’m grateful for those who’ve taken the time to meet with me or written me back.

      3. Mood Status: it’s essential to get out and about. I’ve done a couple lunches, and am connecting with people I haven’t spent time with in years, as well as some new people I’m just getting to know. Highly therapeutic. The spontaneously crying part of unemployment has faded, only to be replaced with anger, and excessive use of “DIAF!”  And there is also some relief. I feel terrible for a friend of mine who goes to work every day with a huge knot in the pit of his stomach, dreading every day, wondering if it will be his last, or what new unpleasantness awaits. Me? I’m optimistic, and excited at some prospects, and I no longer look over my shoulder, wondering minute-by-minute what is going to happen next. Oh yeah,  and getting emails from my two main clients expressing their extreme appreciation for me & disappointment I’m no longer on their accounts? Well, it only confirms that they saw the devotion I had to their business, so that’s awesome.  One said I was the best media person they’d had on their business, ever. If only kudos payed the bills! :)

      4. Knitting – going well, I’m sailing along on the current sock-of-the-month club through The Studio, and they’re awesome. (Pictures! Yes! Soon!) I’ve got some great ideas for the next years’ club, too. A huge box of Miss Babs sock yarn arrived when I was in this week – at least unemployment curtails the yarn purchasing!

      5. Cooking – huge spike of that at our house, what with more time for me to prepare meals, and a concerted effort to not eat out as much. I’m ready for fall, when we can have soups & stews simmering away in the crock pot.

      That’s the most I can do, as I’m getting sleepy. Though I may have to stay up just to find out if this next Forensic Files feature will have the fiance turn out to be the killer. It looks like he did it, at this point. It usually turns out that way, the one who gets ya is someone you knew and trusted….

      Hrm.

      September 8, 2009 /

      I met with a freelancer today & got a project she doesn’t have time to do.

      While I was meeting with her, I got an email from a former co-worker, with a freelancing project that may come to fruition down the road.

      While I was answering the email on the second project, I got a message on Facebook that my friend sent my email and name to his old boss who’d just posted they needed media freelance help.

      My mind is whirring. And whirling. And wondering.

      Is it a sign?

      Pillow Talk

      September 6, 2009 /

      him: “If you were a bear, what kind would you be?”

      me, without hesitation: “Kodiak.”

      him: “Holy shit!”

      me: “What the fuck, you wanted me to say something cutesy like ‘panda bear’? After the week I’ve had, I’m ready to kill every camper in a 100-mile radius of me.”

      pause

      me: “So. What kind would YOU be?”

      him: “Polar bear.”

      me: “Why, because it’s cold?”

      him: “That and they’re kinda mellow, they hang out….. y’know.”

      me: “They can be just as violent as a Kodiak bear. I mean, I could be a polar bear, too, but right now, I’m just really feeling the Kodiak.”

      I’d say that’s a good way to sum up Unemployment, Week One. Kodiak Bear.

      Wellll, hello Economy….

      September 4, 2009 /

      Nothing like getting fired on a Monday. It’s happened to me once before, ages ago, and as I compare this time to that time, there are significant differences. Back then, I was mobile. I had an apartment, and I had no ties. Here, I’m in a house, married, and love where I live. Back then, you found jobs through newspapers and headhunters.

      Now, there’s the internet. And if you noticed your internet service was slower this week, it’s because I was burning up the cable lines with all my networking! Which is the most encouraging thing to be able to do – there are so many people out there who are ready and willing to help, with ideas, and leads, and words of encouragement. Advice and perspective. It’s all so…. oddly good in what is arguably an extremely stressful time.  Oh, there are still spontaneous freak outs, and I don’t expect they’ll end entirely – but as I watched who came forward to reach out, and who walked away, I found myself feeling glad. Shedding dead weight and negative energy you grew so used to it became invisible.

      It may not pay the bills, but getting emails from my treasured clients, concerned about my departure, will be one of the treasures I take from this experience.   And I have the confidence that when I look back on this point in my life, it will simply be the point at which the new path was forged, and I will be seeing it from a much better place.  That first dismissal… I still laugh about being let go the week of Thanksgiving….because the turkey business we had fired us.

      (and if you know of any marketing/branding/advertising/media/strategic type of jobs, do send me an email at plazajen AT gmail —dot commmmm.)

      peace, yo! And oh, yeah, Economy? Turn yer butt around!

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