the geeks...
getting paid...
something you could probably tell your grandkids about...
countdown and the bedlam...
and what was this about?
Archive for June, 2007
A few days ago I received a letter from my grandmother. No, not an email or a text message–a good old-fashioned, hand-written correspondence sent via snail mail. The only mail I receive outside of my virtual mailbox are bill notices. So it’s nice to receive a real letter every once in a while. I love email for ridding us of the distance barrier and allowing for instant communication. But sometimes I just miss having that tangible note to feel, to smell (I could smell the scent of my grandmother), and to notice the intricacies of the handwriting. Letters saved create nostalgia when you pull them back out to reminisce. Can you really feel nostalgic from an email? They’re so impersonal. It feels special to know there’s still someone out there with whom I can chat via snail mail.
*By the way, my grandmother is almost 90-years old…a serious elder.
Ok, I know that may not sound too appealing (perhaps for a dinner dish), but trust me it smells great! For my birthday, my mom, knowing how much I love Burt’s Bees, bought me a sampler pack of their products along with a bottle of Citrus and Ginger body wash. Somehow I’d forgotten about the gift but came across it as I was cleaning today. This stuff smells so good! It has a clean, crisp fragrance. And it sure beats the Irish Spring I’ve been using religiously for the past couple of years. Thanks mommy, you did it again.
Tonight Last night I was perusing the internet searching for blogs that deal with parenting. In particular, I was looking for sites that focus on mothers, stay-at-home moms, and black mothers (by the way, there are not many of this sort out there–or at least I have yet to find many). In my search I came across Mocha Moms, “a support group for mothers of color.” To my surprise I discovered they have a chapter right here in Greensboro! This local chapter holds support meetings every Wednesday. How about that! For four months I’ve been periodically checking with Meetup to see if someone had decided to form a group for black stay-at-home moms, so I’m excited to have found out about Mocha Moms. I’m in desperate need of contact with other moms so next week I’ll check it out to see if Me and They are a good fit.
Since the arrival of my sweetie–but more specifically, the last one-and-a-half months–I have noticed feats that I’m able to perform, things I’m allowed to get away with, and just general ways in which I’m unlike my pre-motherhood self. The following are some of the changes that have taken place since becoming a mother, and I know there are others amongst me who can relate.
- Before Baby 2.0 I believed I was a rather skilled multi-tasker, but since her arrival I’ve pushed the boundaries of that definition. I can feed her, write a blog post, pop dinner in the oven, and call my mom for advice on how to clear up the baby’s congestion–all in one sitting.
- I’ve discovered that I’m ambidextrous. If my right hand is occupied, I can take down a phone message, eat, work the mouse, etc. with my left hand.
- These breasts are not my own!!!! First of all, gravity is a MF–no more perkiness. And second, they don’t belong to me anymore. Baby’s father calls them the her restaurant, and it’s milk on demand.
- Eight hours of sleep…who needs it? I’ve learned that fours hours is plenty, anything more is just excess.
- I constantly smell of spit-up…it’s my new perfume.
- Occasional boob exposure, and it’s ok…i think (as of yet, no one has complained about my public breastfeeding).
- This last one really tripped me out when I became aware of it at the moment it was occurring. I regularly have lengthy conversations about various cartoon programs. Although Baby is not of cartoon-watching age, I am very familiar with the morning cartoon lineup, as well as the songs that accompany them (because of my niece). A couple of weeks ago, my cousin (who has a 1 year old), my sister and I were all sitting around discussing our favorites (we all agreed on The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, and Charlie and Lola), as well as those that annoy us (The Doodlebops and The Wiggles). You should have seen us–analyzing and questioning why Mo from The Doodlebops is so dumb.
So this is my life now–a complete 180 from my previous existence. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
(Oh yeah…and I tend to talk about my daughter a lot. I must remember that not everyone is interested in hearing about how cute she looks in pink, or the details of how she raises her fists to cover her mouth when she laughs.)
I was talking to my mom today and she asked if I heard about the 41 employees laid off at the Greensboro News and Record. No I had not heard…not on the TV, and not on the radio. But, when I researched online, I found a short article as well as a brief blog post about the matter. In the article, the N&R posits the layoffs were the result of a “business reorganization.” It goes on to describe the “changing media environment” and the resulting effect on the newspaper industry:
The expanding use of the Internet for news, information and advertising has placed traditional news companies in an increasingly competitive environment. Many newspaper companies, including the News & Record, are in the process of reinventing themselves to serve customers in new and different ways.
The blog post, written by N&R editor, John Robinson, laid out facts but gave no specifics. In an update post, Robinson states:
Next week we’ll begin reinventing the paper…The reinvention will center on:
- Public service journalism, including enterprise, investigative and community.
- Being audience-centric, not format-centric. A faster movement into online and mobile.
- Innovation and experimentation. We can create better cool, useful stuff.
This new focus not only sounds good, it is a necessity in an age where citizen journalism and the Internet are becoming integral parts of our lives. As Robinson is N&R editor, I decided to check what the other folks were talking about. Ed Cone did his research and reported a source as saying:
Some newsroom reporters learned about the layoffs when they got calls from other newsrooms. I’m so angry. There are a lot of really good people that I’m not going to see in this office again.
Continue reading ‘41 Layoffs at the News and Record’
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