Employed Nine!

On Oct. 2, 2008, I was laid off from my job of 13 ½ years. On Sept. 12, 2011, I officially became a member of the full-time work force again. Three weeks shy of three years, the misery has finally ended. If I were a betting man, I’d have risked my entire bank account on the prospect of finding a job in three months, and I’d have lost all $27.14. I never thought it would take this long in my worst nightmare scenario. But it’s finally over.

Praised be Jeebus!

So, what the hell am I doing? Well, I’m still blogging, for mediabistro.com, the same company I’ve been with on a per-post basis since June 2009. But rather than posting on a couple of different blogs, I am now the lead writer for AllFacebook. If I have to tell you what it covers, I’m going to punch you in the head.

If you happen to see a ton of activity on my Facebook page, it doesn’t mean I’m goofing off at work: It means I’m working. I have liked a bunch of pages I have no personal interest in, played a bunch of games I have no desire whatsoever to play, and downloaded a bunch of apps I would not normally use on my own. But it’s for a good cause: a paycheck. If you see Facebook Scrabble activity, however, that definitely means I’m goofing off at work.

One of the best parts for me is that I can still work from home. It’s not like I’m antisocial, and if the job required being in the office, I’d obviously comply, but there’s nothing I can’t do from the Hoboken bureau. All I need is an Internet connection and a phone line. I find the one-hour commute each way to be completely wasted time

And I get up at 5:30 a.m. every day to compile the Morning Media Newsfeed for mediabistro.com, so I’m already deep into work by the time most people are flailing at the snooze button. Why break the caffeine-fueled momentum just to be surrounded by miserable people on the PATH train?

So, anyway, shameless plug: If you’re interested in the goings on at Facebook, check out AllFacebook, which has several talented writers besides yours truly. And if you’re really into the nuts and bolts behind the social network, check out sister blog Inside Facebook. Those guys go into painstaking detail, and it’s a fascinating read if you’re into the subject matter.

Three weeks shy of three years: All I can say is, about freaking time.