Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Things I Like/Dislike about Being Unemployed

As most of you now know, I was "invited to leave" my last employer somewhat suddenly.

"We're going to be doing things differently," I was told on a Monday morning. "Your job has been eliminated," they obliquely explained.
Which was bull.
The job was still there to be done, they were eliminating me.

After the shock wore off, and my office belongings had been carted out, sorted out, and put away in the attic, I've had time to wax philosophic about my present state of unemployment--not an enviable position at all--but, when life hands you 'Gators, you gotta make Gatorade.

So, without further ado, here are a few things about my present condition with which you will either resonate, or stare in wonder, as I list some of the things I like/dislike about being unemployed:

1.) Sleeping late
2.) Watching the sun come up over the pond behind my house
3.) Making the first tracks in the morning grass
4.) No traffic
5.) A tank of gas lasts nearly a month
6.) Free 24-hour parking
7.) It would be relaxing except there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, so far
8.) The end of the tunnel gets closer and closer
9.) If I have a bad morning, I can sleep it off in the afternoon
10.) Watching Letterman
11.) Watching the guy after Letterman
12.) Discovering there’s no Off-The-Air Big Chief Indian test pattern after the guy after Letterman (if you don't understand this, you're not old enough)
13.) Daytime Soaps are more brain-rotting than cartoons
14.) When did they stop making new Popeye cartoons?
15.) A Casual Day consists of whatever I wore to bed
16.) Shaving-optional day
17.) No vending machines
18.) The commissary is always open
19.) Never having to wonder whose day it is to empty the commissary dishwasher
20.) If it breaks, I have to fix it.
21.) Not having to call/wait/explain/wait/call/wait for IT to do it
22.) Screening phone calls
23.) Getting phone calls
24.) No lost messages
25.) Did I mention no traffic?

Today I have two job interviews.
If you're thinking of snatching me off the market, better move fast!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck in the interview(s)! They'd be crazy not to make you an offer.

Kevin Price said...

Brent, I would love to visit with you about your employment situation and, I must say, I was SHOCKED. I don't believe I have your current contact information, but please drop me an email at kprice@HoustonBusinessMediaGroup.com and I will make sure my office looks out for it.

All the Best,
KP

Unknown said...

Hi Brent,

Brenda just told me what happened. You were the MVP of the station and I still appreciate working with you there.

Someone needs to snatch you up ASAP..and better not miss the boat.

Take care and I hope you do well...our Lord is GREAT!

Garry Ribble

DanM said...

Wow, it is hard to believe that you were let go from BizRadio. Hadn't heard your voice for awhile but just figured you were working behind the scenes. I heard you talking to Lance on 700 tonight and decided to look up your blog to see what was up. I enjoy listening to several of the hosts, but from my perspective, YOU were BIZRADIO! I have been listening since the early days on 650 and was hooked on the station (my girlfriend would say obsessed) and the fact that there seemed to be so much integrity among most of the people associated with the station. I had some suspicions about Frishberg, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. Lately I have seen a number of things that have lead me to believe my early gut feelings about Frishberg were right after all -- like the BizRadio Learning Academy (can't imagine where he came up with that original idea!) and some of the new clowns on the station. But the fact that they let you go is the topper. Obviously your integrity was probably going to be in the way for this new direction. It is getting more and more obvious that he won't let integrity get in the way if he thinks he can put an extra nickel in his pocket. Hopefully his short-term thinking doesn't end up destroying the station. Of course, that means that there could soon be the opportunity to for you to start a new business radio. If you could bring a couple of the real rock stars like Vince over, it would be a certain success with your talents. Might even get Vince and friends to provide some major funding. He is definitely not in love with DanF and the way things are run over there. Being the maverick he is, competing with DanF would also be very tempting for Vince.

All the best to you and thanks so much for creating and making BizRadio what it was.

Best Regards,
Dan Marburger