Unemployment Day One -"Laces Out Lucy!"

Canned. Eighty Sixed. Pink Slipped. Got the Ol' Hook. Bum Rushed. Out on My Ear. Shown the Road. Let Go.

Yep. It's tough to say, but as of yesterday at about 11:00 am, I am officially unemployed. What better way to stay sane in this technological world than write about the whole thing and share it with you and any stranger who might be wondering along this little tucked-away trail on the Internets. "Oops, what did I just trip over here on this little tucked away trail on the Internets? Oh, an unemployment blog. Sounds interesting. I think I'll take a load off and read it...maybe even set up camp here and bookmark it."

Where to start?

I could go into a play-by-ply of how it went down. But that's not what I'm intending for this journal. I don't want to go into a daily routine for all to read. Who would be interested in a dairy that went like this?
- Got up
- Brushed and flossed
- Picked lint out of my belly button
- Logged onto Monster.com
- Sobbed
- Uploaded resume anyway
- Turned on the news
- Wailed
- Logged onto Facebook
- Got a chuckle out of every one's 25 Things list
...and etc

Rather, I 'd like this blog to be a reflection on this new experience. A dairy of how I eventually got around the corner and found that next great adventure. First, want to make it clear that even though I'm the center of this blog, I realize I'm not the first to have this happen.

Here's why I'm planning to journal. Document unemployment and the subsequent job search. Remain sane by focusing on something that's at least moderately productive. Help get the word out about how things are proceeding. Prove to my wife that I'm doing more than watching The Hills all day. And offer a place for friends, family, former employers, well-wishers or complete strangers to post comments, offer food for thought and even add professional references. I fully expect to be the only one who really benefits from this. Though, I hope you enjoy reading what might come out of my newly unencumbered mind. I even hope you get something out it, in the event (here's where you knock on wood) you find yourself in a similar situation.

I'm going to start things out with a little background on my former job and what brought me here.

Long story short. I worked for a company that developed, marketed and operated incentive programs for big, bright, shiny Fortune 100 companies. The theory is sound. Top performers deserve to be rewarded for the success they bring a company. We developed and managed those rewards. One of the products that we offered was Incentive Travel. If you're thinking of the news coverage you saw about the AIG spa retreat, you're on the right track. That was not one of our programs, but it very well could have been. I was brought in to build a creative team in order to develop strong communications packages, market our product and pitch our business to clients. We saw immediate results by booking programs that ranged from over $4 million (over a three year period) to $50 thousand (billed on receipt). To do this, we demonstrated three things; creativity, measurable results and personal service. Did that sound sales-like? Good. That's my pitch in case you're a prospective employer.

Then...black Monday, followed by the AIG media blitz. Clients ran for the hills and cancelled programs at a staggering rate. We lost about 1/2 of our billings in less than three months. Veterans of 20 years in the industry walked around the building like deer in headlights. Some of us gathered to try to reinvent this very specific industry, with some success (otherwise this blog would have started months ago). In the end, it was too late.

Leading up to all this, the U.S. economy had been kind of moving along. Not doing too well, but not on it's face. There we were, headed straight for that banana peel in the road. Actually, no. Scratch that. It's not quite right. We're not nearly that passive. New analogy. The U.S. economy is Charlie Brown, dead set on Lucy, who is holding that housing market football right out there in front of her. You know where I'm headed with this. We're all barrelling along. We're going to finally kick that thing through the uprights and make a million. ARRRAAAGHH!

Charlie takes a flop.

He's screaming and flailing. But, we all saw it coming. I'm not sure if it actually happens in the cartoon, but in my mind's eye I see his little brown show flying off and shooting toward parts unknown. Well, that shoe is the Incentive Travel industry (there are many other shoes in air at the moment). Who knows where it will land, but for now all that's really left is the wispy foot-stink of our $140 million-dollar department.

So, here I am. Looking around for that next football to take a run at. Aren't we all a bit like Charlie Brown? Sure things have gotten yanked out from under us a time or two. But why not take another swing? What's the alternative? Sit on the sidelines? Nope.

Laces Out Lucy!