Putting Yourself Out There

Summer finally decided to come to Chicago. Thanks, buddy. We missed you. As such, I was at the beach yesterday. More specifically, I was at the North Avenue beach bar, Castaways, where my friend Becky works, having a beer. Yes, I do mean A beer. My five-year college reunion last weekend may have caused irreparable internal damage, so we're taking it slow (it must have been the fact we stayed in the dorms...saying "no" to one more just didn't feel right). Anyway, at Castaways, where the people watching is more fun than the beer is warm, I looked over to one of the shirt-less, tattooed, shorn-chested gentlemen (term used loosely) sardined around me and see this:

The other side reads "Laid Off." I asked him where he got it, thinking it was from a job fair or some laid off congregation, but he said he got it from a Web site that just sells these bands. I was curious and wanted to ask him more about his laid off experience, but he was annoyed that I even talked to him as he was busy trying to make headway with the size four blond in a white bikini that didn't quite cover her butt, which was the same tan as her legs. That's all fine and dandy, but don't forget, buddy - your lack of income is encircling your wrist, and I doubt Sandy wants to buy her own electric lemonade. Hope you have a trust fund. Oh, wait, that was the guy taking to Carly...

Anyway, it really is amazing to see the stigma of being laid off slowly evaporate with every corporate cut, Wall Street analysis and Fed press release. If people are willing to spell it out, it almost seems en vogue. Which reminds me, I need to develop my laid off t-shirt line before I go back to work in a two weeks.

Two weeks. It still feels a bit surreal, but the date of my return to the ivory tower creeps closer and closer. It's time to do all those things I talked about when I was first laid off: "Well, I'm sad, but now I can organize my pictures, get my files in order and write that book I keep talking about ." Which reminds me, I should get cracking on that, eh? I think I'll postpone my non-fiction "The Second Adolescence" and write something more topical like "Laid Off? Me Too.Let's Crack a Bushe Light While Perusing Craigs List."

As for this blog, I enjoy it and keep having people come up to me and tell me they enjoy it, so I'll keep writing. No official new topic as of yet. Blogging about working again is probably not the best idea since it's rather a public link these days and I would hate to lose my newly acquired position do to an accidental slip of the keys. Plenty of time to find a topic. Now, I just need to find a publisher...