Welcome to Unemployment
Posted by Moose on July 24th, 2007. Filed under: San Francisco.“Exultant terror” might accurately describe my emotional state right now. Or perhaps “feverishly delighted to spend Monday eating burritos in the sun instead of hunched over a desk.” Or, at some point in the near future, “Can I just tell people I’m an alpaca farmer so I don’t have to say ‘unemployed’? No? Can I have my job back, please?”
Yes, my friends, I quit my job. Yesterday was my first official day of unemployment. Or self-employment. Or under-employment. There are many prefixes you can put in front of “employment” to indicate that you don’t have any.
I was the associate editor of a theater magazine for five years and I loved it. Our offices were in the Flood Building, a grande dame of San Francisco architecture. It was one of two buildings in the entire downtown area to remain standing after the 1906 earthquake. It also weathered the 1989 quake and admirably withstood my sneakers treading down the marble halls to the bathroom every 45 minutes of every workday for the past five years. (I drink a lot of water.) I worked on the third floor, the same floor that housed the Pinkerton Agency, where Dashiell Hammett, pioneer of the hard-boiled detective novel, gathered his raw material as a sleuth in the ’20s. I never did see his ghost, but I held out hope until the very last day.
While I was there, I interviewed actors and wig-makers, burlesque dancers and Pulitzer Prize winners (well, one), and fielded odd requests, like a plea for a friendly snake from Danville. I wrote articles about how to make your pet a movie star and about the inner-workings of sketch comedy. I went to press conferences where we drank champagne before noon and listened to Carrie Fisher give advice to Lindsay Lohan (Carrie Fisher was in the room, Lindsay Lohan was not). It was a good place for me – I loved the work, the people, and the organization.
But as much as I enjoyed my job, it was time to leave. Sometimes you have to leap into the void to see what’s next. So I jumped. We’ll see where I land.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I’m sure you will land somewhere awesome! I have good feelings about this for you. Even if I didn’t think to say “how’s being between jobs?” until after we “hung up” the chat today. Ah, dumb ass!
July 24th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
You deserve cookies for this…you know, like the cookies I was supposed to send you but never did because I’m even worse about sending things to people than you are.
In short, would you like some cookies, Moose?
Good luck!
July 24th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
OK, I used to subscribe to and read your magazine! Small freaking world, I tell you! I used to volunteer at American Musical Theatre of San Jose and was quite the theatre geek (still am).
Congrats on taking a big step towards a new adventure.
(P.S. Can I have your old job?)
July 24th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Wahoo! You might be nervous, but I am very excited for you. Next time I’m in San Francisco, I will take you out for a drink or a piece of pie and we will celebrate your new situation. And we’ll laaaugh and laaaugh at all of the sorry suckers who are sitting in their offices while we sit in the sun and stuff our faces with fruity pie.
(Note to suckers: No offense.)
July 24th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Big step!!! congrats congrats!
hope everything pans out the way you want it to moosey! chat soon, and keep that chin up!
July 25th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
You beat me by two whole years.
What to do with your time now?
Well, you have already discovered it.
Target.
July 25th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Just found your blog through Nothing but Bonfires. Love the way you spin words. Good luck on your employment journey.
July 26th, 2007 at 10:02 am
You, my friend, are very, very brave. And editor? Gah – please don’t hold my mangling of grammer and punctuation against me. Gah
July 29th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
The first time I tried it I failed. I only lasted 3 months before going back to corporate life … I got frightened that no one would ever again want to buy an idea from me. Or worse: I would never again have one. The second time it worked. I’ve made it on my own for over a decade … and have loved the ride. Good luck.