Goalsville: Reviewed

It's been a big year for your Intrepid Blogger. Though my dear little blog has only been up for a part of the year (since August) I'm sure you can all gather enough information to know that it was a long time coming. It seems only fitting that to end 2009, I give you all a rundown of where we stand on the various goals I've outlined in my posts:

Goal: Survive After Quitting My Job in a Recession
Success Rate: 100%
I thought I'd start on a high note here folks. Quitsville was started with the notion that I would spend sep-dec 2009 (at least) scrounging for money and work. The job market was not a friendly place to me in the earlier part of 2009 and I had really no reason to believe that would change when I quit my job - but I had a really remarkable support network and the belief that I had to do it; so I quit anyway. And here I am, 4 short months later, happy and successful in a new company with people I respect and like (not always the same thing). So, consider this goal met (really, knocked out of the park if we're being honest).

Goal: Obtain the World Record in Dr. Mario
Success Rate: 50%
Let's be honest, I've made some great progress on the Road to the Record but bottom line - I do NOT have the record in hand. The fact that I have proven (if only to myself and you dear readers) that I can do it is HUGE so I feel I'm owed some percentage of success even if, in the end, I have not met my goal. 2010... watch out.

Goal: Read 10,000 Pages During the Calendar Year
Success Rate: 138%
You read right! Not only did I meet this goal but I surpassed it by 3,825 pages. I have to admit that I'm pretty pleased with myself on this one. I've read some amazing books and every minute that I spent reading is meaningful to me (sorry if that's a little nerdish). There are a lot of things to spend time on in life and it's difficult to set aside an hour to read sometimes. However, I've never regretted it when I have.

Happy New Year dear readers! I've been spending some time thinking about the future of Quitsville... there will be one... but you'll have to wait until 2010 to find out what it is!

How Jobless are you?

I know this question seems sort of obvious - you're probably either 0% jobless or 100% jobless - but think about it. We've been hearing about the Boomers, the Lost Generation, the Gen Xers, Women, Executives, College Students. But if you're like most people, you're a tricky combination of various elements and aren't only one of those groups.

Luckily for you, The New York Times thought of that and created this handy little tool to help you determine precisely how jobless YOU are.

Click here to visit the New York Times Jobless Tool

Sure, it's not perfect. The age groups are pretty wide for one. And I'm not entirely sure what they mean by jobless. But, it's pretty interesting nonetheless.

I fall into a category that is only 3.6% jobless which, in light of what I know about the rest of the country, feels pretty good. And certainly brings up quite a few conversation points about who is not that lucky.

Blogger Fail?

Hello Dear Readers - are you out there?

It was impressed upon me this morning that my last post was - gasp! - exactly 2 weeks ago. You might remember the post because I went a little ranty all over Consumer Electronics Advertising and then sealed up.

As you all know, December is a month of chaos for the most organized of us (which is not me) and is essentially a s***show for the rest of us. Don't get me wrong, I love the family togetherness and the holidays and I'm a ridiculously sappy fan of Christmas specifically... but, there's just a lot going on.

I haven't forgotten you! Or Quitsville! As the year end nears, I suspect you'll be getting a pretty detailed rundown on some of my progress - as it pertains to my laid out goals - and some news on the failure... (er... recovery) of our economy.

For now, it felt important to yell into the blog void and say hey, I'm still here! This isn't indicative of silence to come!

Why Consumer Electronics Brands Need a Valium

I'm going to preface this post with a disclaimer so you all know exactly what you're getting into here: I usually do not use my blog as a place to indiscriminately rant about a topic. Today, that's different. This post is going to be nothing more than a venting. However, it might just be entertaining.

I haven't written about it here but I recently purchased a snazzy new phone. I am an extremely difficult small electronics consumer in that I like to have the best, newest, most cool electronics but I am nervous about change, have an extremely picky aesthetic, and get easily overwhelmed by technology. I am, veritably, a dream date for consumer electronics brands. So when I started thinking about buying a new phone, I spent a month or two feeling uncomfortable (virtually breathing into a brown paper bag every time I thought about it) followed by more time being bratty about the plethora of non-options (I don't want to switch carriers, that one is too boxy, the Blackberry rolly ball makes my finger feel weird...). All I can say is that at least I own up to the difficulty here.

In the end, the phone I purchased is lovely. It's cute and efficient and intuitive and has nice shiny everything but is also fast and (I can't underscore this enough) WORKS WELL AS A PHONE! And, it doesn't come from either of the brands that I am about to wage blogger rant hatred upon now.

I'm sure you've all seen the new Droid commercials, the old Mac vs. PC ads, and the our phone is cooler than your entire life iPhone commercials. I get it, okay. All of these ads are meant to tell me just how cool and neat and worthy of coveting the various products are. And all I have to say is Ease the F*** up.

Do I want a sparkly princess phone? No, Droid, I do not. However, I'm not so interested in having a phone that cuts like a chainsaw through a banana or whatever the hell metaphor you used in that ad. I also don't want a phone that's sent to me from aliens and falls to the earth in pods only meant to scare the bejesus out of rednecks. I don't want people dancing around inside my phone. I don't want a bajillion cute little icons and no service. I don't want most of the things you're trying to tell me I want. I want a phone. That makes calls. And sends text messages. And can access the internet and my email. But will NOT give me the false security that my phone says anything about my worth as an Indie Rock Hipster, a Tech Geek, or a 17 year old boy. And to be honest, I'd much sooner hang out with John Hodgeman than that other guy anyhow.

I understand that men are overwhelmingly seen as thought leaders when it comes to consumer electronics but let's be honest with ourselves here. Women like to buy things - we're more likely to consume than men. And in the age of all encompassing connectivity, just as many women have phones and laptops (and cameras and portable music devices) as men. Trying aiming an ad at us for a change.

Want more ranting? Click here to read You Lie, Luke Wilson: The misleading new cell phone ads from AT&T and Verizon on Slate.com

Job Searching - Yuletide Edition

You might have noticed a certain lack of blog posts the past few days (err... four days). I'm sure that I don't have to tell you, dear readers, that December is a crazy mess of a month. Between the holiday madness that has already started (early this year... I'm blessed) and the fact that December is, in fact, the busiest time for my new company I'm already experiencing a certain whirlwind effect on my life. I know I am not the only one and it got me thinking this morning... how do the holidays affect the job search?

Job searching, as we all know, is a second full time job at the best of times (when you're already employed but looking that is) but when you take into consideration the frenetic pace of the holidays coupled with all of the holiday parties ("So, what do you do?") and family time ("How's the job search going?") as well as the general notion that companies are not hiring in December, it would come as no surprise to me if many job searches foundered during the holiday months.

I've written about the Job Search routine before (check out: How to Survive Unemployment and Job Search To Dos) so you all know I think it's very important to keep yourself "on task" so to speak, but this is even more important during the holidays. I am not actively looking for a job right now and I can't seem to find time to do anything lately (no blogging, my RSS feed is a mess, etc.) so it seems prudent to ease up on yourself a bit but let's say you make sure you do one thing every day to continue the search and keep yourself on track.

Here are some Holiday Job Search tips from the Pros:

1. Since most job seekers take the holidays off, you'll have a natural leg up (from 8 Reasons to Job Search During the Holidays by A Great Resume Service)
2. Take time to fine tune your resume or portfolio (from Rev Up Your Job Search During the Holidays by Career Builder)
3. Use the holidays as an Ice Breaker (from Holiday Hope by Job-Hunt.org)
4. Get a jump on January - you can't start working in the New Year if you didn't interview before then (from Holiday Job Hunting Can Reap Rewards by Career Cast)
5. This year isn't typical - job searches are different in general now (from Three reasons to keep your job search going during the holidays by Laurie Bartolo)

What are your tips for searching during the holidays?

NaNoWriMo: Fail?

It's December 2nd and National Novel Writing Month is officially over as we head deep into the mish mash of the holiday season.

How did I do?

Interesting question. The bold, honest truth is... well, not so hot. I did write (yay!) but I got nowhere near the goal set out by the program nor did I write every day... etc. etc.

However, what I did do was write something and, in a way, it revitalized my interest in writing. This blog started as a lark but I've been repeatedly surprised by how much I really enjoy the simple act of getting something down "on paper" every day (or nearly every day). It's different from the writing I do in my normal life and I find myself looking forward to it. NaNoWriMo helped to reinforce the feeling I get from my blog, the joy of stringing words together and finding the right combinations both to the internal and the external ear (that's right, sometimes I read my blog posts aloud... to myself).

Am I alone?

Turns out no. This isn't shocking but lots of people started out on the NaNoWriMo trek and didn't quite reach the pinnacle of the mountain. I did a quick search through Twitter and some of the blogs I've been reading and a lot of folks are sharing my shoes - the experience offered something lasting but page count was not it.

It's not surprising to find but... I did better when I really got into the groove of writing... setting myself down every day and putting some words on "paper". I know that we all know this and this is a famous lesson lauded over and over by my favorite authors but I had to really feel it for myself. I need to write every day to be successful.

Yikes. Now, just how to squeeze that into my life.

Want more NaNoWriMo content? Here are some of the blog posts I liked:

Post NaNoWriMo Day 2: More than a Manuscript by Writer in Progress

Another NaNoWriMo Ends; Hello December 2009 by Triscribe

(great!) NaNoWriMo Round Up by Critically Yours

My NaNo Reward - Writing Routines by Routines for Writers

Dr. Mario Review!

Hello dear readers. I hope you all had a lovely few days off and ate your fill (and played your fill!).

I spent many an hour on the new Super Mario Brothers for the Wii - and learned that the multi-player mode is probably the best thing to happen to video games in quite awhile. However, Dr. Mario was not far from my mind (as is expected).

I like to make sure it's not far from your minds either so take a look at this awesome review/explanation by Brutal Gamer:

Dr Mario was the first puzzle game to feature Mario, and in my opinion it was, and still is, the best one. You are presented with a bottle filled with viruses of varying colours, and Dr Mario throws his megavitamin pills into the bottle. Your job is to eliminate the viruses by using the pills to match 3 coloured pieces with the virus, either horizontally or vertically.

Dr Mario was quite an original puzzler back in the day, and had a fantastic soundtrack and a great sense of humour. Seeing the large viruses that represent each colour falling over when you eliminate one of their colour from the bottle is comical. It was also addictive and fun.

Click here to read the entire review by the Brutal Gamer

Quitsville's New Look

Happy almost holidays to you dear readers.

A heads up that Quitsville may go dark for a few days (depending on the level of activity around the holidays) but no fears, I'm still here.

In the meantime, I'd like to encourage all of you who keep up to date on Quitsville via a reader to click through today - Quitsville has a new look! Courtesy of a very talented young man I know (SN) Quitsville has its very own logo. And visit us on Twitter - there's a tinier logo there that matches!

Have a great couple of days off! Don't think about the economy and play some video games.

Road to the Record: Return to Funspot - Part 2

As you all know, I spent the past weekend in the warm embrace of Funspot, on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. I've already written about our very boss hotel room and the incredibly odd presence of minor characters from King of Kong in Return to Funspot - Part 1, but I know what you're all really waiting for...

The answer is yes, this was the weekend that I beat the Dr. Mario Record of 960,000 (on the arcade machine). Saturday night, upon arrival at Funspot, I made my way to the machine and (in the glare of some pretty nasty lights due to the film crew at the Donkey Kong machine) slowly but steadily racked up a score that pretty much puts to rest any concerns I had about achieving this goal. On level 19, I hit 969,000 points, putting me just over the currently recorded score by one Nik Meeks.



Did I stop there? Oh no... Though I was pretty certain that I was only moments away from dieing, I managed to hold on for quite a bit longer - 5 levels and nearly 400,000 points longer in fact. It was, as they say, an epic battle. In the end, I lost on level 24 at 1,303,000 points. It was majesty, pure and simple. And though the mass of video gamers located around me had no clue what was going on, I did (and so did my much maligned manager who has been pushing me to train more and more lately and has benevolently lent me his Nintendo DS for many hours). It was a pretty exciting moment if I don't say so myself.


Now, just to get this out of the way - I know this is just a video game. And after seeing the many folks at Funspot for whom video gaming is notjust a hobby, I'm grateful for the other things in my life that allow for this Dr. Mario adventure to be what it should be - a comedic lark. That said, I was pretty excited to see that score on the actual arcade machine... and it has only increased my need to see the score in the tiny grey font of the TwinGalaxies official scoreboard!

Road to the Record: Return to Funspot - Part 1

When our original plans for a weekend trip to visit friends fell through there was only one thing to do - that's right, head on up to NH for a classic Funspot trip. It was all fairly last minute but we scored an amazing hotel room at the Summit Resort. Seriously, we're talking a 2 bedroom "apartment" accommodation with full kitchen, fireplace, jacuzzi tub - the works. Only downside was a 10am checkout but I'm willing to cut them some slack. When we return (as I'm sure we will since our less than $100 room sleeps 6!) we'll simply ask for late checkout. Accommodations aside, I know you're not looking for details on where we slept.

Though Saturday afternoon/evening found me battling the beast in an epic Dr. Mario game, I'm not going to focus on that just yet. I want to first address the surreal adventure we found ourselves on when entering Funspot. It was really as if we'd walked straight into cult video game classic King of Kong. For those of you who haven't seen it, King of Kong chronicles the battle for Donkey Kong glory between newcomer Steve Wiebe and the Antichrist Billy Mitchell (he of the Billy Ray Cyrus haircut and zero spine). Though Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell themselves weren't there, you could hear their names being whispered throughout by the cast of backup characters that apparently haunt Funspot with a certain regularity. Enter Robert Mruczek, Brian Kuh, and Mark Alpiger. These guys all played minor roles in the King of Kong movie (with varying degrees of sleezitude) and it was pretty weird to see them in person. As you all know from previous postings about Funspot, the Donkey Kong machine sits only a few machines down from Dr. Mario so not only did I get to see all these guys in person but I did hear some of the smack they were throwing around about each other as well. Don't let anyone tell you that the video game world is devoid of bitterness.

When we came back Sunday morning there was no sign of the sycophant Brian Kuh (who we encountered when we were leaving Saturday evening - apparently he can only be seem under the cover of darkness) but the others were still around, hovering around the Donkey Kong machine. There was extensive filming going on throughout Funspot - with a veritable camera crew and lighting system at the Donkey Kong machine (thanks for shining that light in my eyes btw) and an official Frogger Off happening as well (we're talking roped off machines people).

I know that in the scheme of things, Dr. Mario just doesn't rate but there's quite a bit of irony in me playing for the record with all of these video game B-level celebrities hanging out around me. We'll get into that in Part 2 of the post.

Metric and why you should love them

I know this is not a typical post for me but I had to spread the Metric love this morning. I saw them play at the House of Blues last night and the show was just amazing. For those of you who have not yet had the privilege of visiting the new House of Blues in Boston, you're not missing much. Yes, it's bigger but it's primarily a larger than life copy of Avalon, the club that used to be in the space. I haven't yet sat in the designated seats so I can't speak for those but when you're in general admission, the view is not so different - except for the very weird art the HOB has going on.

That said, we don't go for the venue, we go for the music... and last night, the music was wonderful. I've seen Metric live a few times now (even once on this tour at the 9:30 club in DC) and they don't fail to deliver. Songs that are merely extremely energetic rock showstoppers on the recorded album become utter spectacles of rock glory when performed live. Alright, that might be a bit hyperbolic but seriously folks, they play the shit out of these songs.

Frontwoman Emily Haines is almost always attired in something spangly and light catching (which I love) and she owns the stage like a crazy woman (in a good way) running all over the place, flirting with the audience, keeping everyone engaged. I know the band is good (they're my current favorite) but what you don't get off the album with quite as much force is that this band really knows what they're doing. During their live performance of Gold Guns Girls off of this year's Fantasies, the guitarist Jimmy Shaw leads into an epic minutes long guitar solo that just owns the club. His playing is fierce and explosive but controlled enough to stay on point. Bassist Joshua Winstead is similarly impressive, keeping the band on track and incredibly together for a live performance, while simultaneously managing to get in his own point of view. And the drummer... oh, the drummer. Drummers are usually my favorite so it's no surprise that Joules Scott-Key holds a special place in my heart. The man is amazing. That's it. That's all I'm saying.

If you haven't taken the time to listen to Metric, you really should. Though their current tour is focused mainly around Fantasies, their latest album, their catalog is rich with quality music. They know how to get it done with softer, quieter songs as well but really have endless energy and manage to transfer that to their audience. Their albums have ruled my life for weeks after coming out. I can't say I wouldn't mind hearing a few more oldies (Police and the Private off of Live it Out was the song that got me into Metric and I would love love love to hear it live) but the set lists are chock full of songs that make you just want to move. Some variation between DC and Boston kept it fresh but more than that the energy and excitement of the band (because you can still see how excited they are to be playing live music for you) is really what makes this show special.

Click here to visit Metric's site (do it!) - maybe they're playing near you

Other Metric albums not specifically mentioned in the post above (but still great):
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? - check out Dead Disco especially
Grow Up and Blow Away - a really superb album
Knives Don't Have Your Back - Emily Haines side project: very different but quite good

Cost of Luxury

I've been thinking the past few days about the economy and the recession and our changing habits - whether or not they exist. There's a lot of argument out there about whether we have changed our spending and consuming habits in the wake of the fiscal crisis. I'm not an economist (in fact, the UPS guy at my office seems to think I'm a shopaholic) so I can only go by what I see and what I do. And honestly, what I've done is not very different from what I've been doing. Sure, I've curbed my spending a bit and focused on building my savings - but it's not because of the economy, it's because of impending life changes I see in the nearish future.

If I had been unemployed and hadn't found a new job that I love, I'm sure that would be different. I have no doubt that I would have tightened the metaphorical belt - canceled the Netflix, eaten out less, etc. But, that didn't happen and so, my habits haven't really changed. I don't buy generic any more than I used to, I still buy the things I want and when I do opt out of my purchases, it's not the economy at large that's top of mind it's my personal economy.

That said, we know that 10% of Americans have a pretty poor personal economy right now, being out of work and all. Chances are, a good number of them have changes their spending habits. Like I said, I'm no economist, but this seems like a self perpetuating cycle of doom here - unemployment begets less spending begets layoffs begets... well you get the idea.

The only articles I could find on this topic were fairly old. I'm wondering - what are you guys seeing? What have you read? What are your plans this Christmas?

For your perusal, some links:
LA Times: Luxury skin-care products defy the economy
Guardian.co.uk: Recession takes bite out of organic product sales
Social Media Explorer: Will The Recession Change Our Buying Habits For Good?
Reuters: Affluent Consumers Not Likely to Change Spending Habits Despite Economic Slowdown

Everyone wants to quit!

I know I've blogged about this before but people really are staying in jobs that make them unhappy, jobs that are not challenging, jobs that do not appreciate or respect them. Most people, in fact.

Though we've heard about how the youngins are the ones really suffering during this recession (see: The Lost Generation), it turns out that everyone feels stuck. The kids just starting out can't get a break, the boomers are just biding their time until a delayed retirement, and the middle of the road adults (Gen Exers in a recent Huffington Post article) are feeling increasingly overlooked and undervalued.

Sure, these are stereotypes and generalizations but the point is that a considerable chunk of the working population is just waiting for the chance to bolt. According to the above mentioned Huffington Post, only 50% of baby boomers, 44% of the youth of America, and 37% percent of Gen Exers said they'd stay at their jobs after the economy improves. I have no idea what the normal percentages might be but that seems pretty stark.

Click here to read the entire article on the Huffington Post

Read other related posts on Quitsville:
Who's Quitting
Payback will be a B****

Read a related article from the WSJ - Looking for work in your fifties

Road to the Record: 1,005,400

Yes, this isn't an official Funspot score - you're not allowed to go to the arcade when you're home sick with a head cold. But I could not resist posting this score as it is the first time I've scored over a million. Turns out the idea of getting the Game Boy Advance version of Dr. Mario was a good one as it's allowed me some really critical practice time these last few days.

Hitting a million is, to be blunt, pretty sweet. It's not on the Nintendo or at Funspot so it's not exactly the record I'm going for and it's not video taped or witnessed (by an official) but it's still pretty cool. It also beats out a lot of the registered scores!

Arcade - 960,000
Gameboy - 522,000
Game Boy Advance - 193,600
Nintendo - 1,358,400
WiiWare (single level) - 99,200
WiiWare (multiple levels) - 643,000
Super Nintendo - 1,216,600

The euphoria of hitting a million points has had 3 basic effects on me:

1. Urge to buy an original Gameboy is rising and may become uncontrollable.
2. Urge to buy a video camera is rising and may become uncontrollable (even though I should really just use my digital camera).
3. Urge to visit Funspot again is rising and may become uncontrollable (but when, oh when, will I be able to do that in the midst of all the holiday merrymaking?!).

Road to the Record: Head Cold

You may have noticed (then again, you may have not) that the blog has been quiet for a few days. I have had the misfortune to catch the cold that has been going around - through the office and my house and my friends... The downside of this is no fun on the weekends, only resting and recuperating. Sad. The upside is LOTS of time for Dr. Mario on both the DS and the Nintendo (and the Wii!).

Reports to come.

Road to the Record: Portable!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you already know that my Dr. Mario Game Boy Advanced cartridge arrived yesterday - at the office, where I could not play it! Needless to say, I was pretty excited and when I finally got a chance to play last night, the game did not disappoint.

As a wee tot, I played quite a bit of Dr. Mario on the actual Game Boy - in fact, it might have been where I played most of my Dr. Mario. The Game Boy Advance version of the game (played on the Nintendo DS just to make things even more confusing) sent me careening back in time to those many hours with my beloved grey brick. The DS has color of course, so that's different but it was a very familiar experience. I will say this for my aging eyes - dear god, that screen is tiny.



All in all, the experience was incredibly satisfying. I ended my first game with a score of 902,800 which I think is nothing to sneeze at. In fact, as you might have guessed, the first thing I did this morning was to bring up famed score site Twin Galaxies. Finding the high score for this is a bit tricky given the veritable hodge podge that I used to play it - Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, DS? What exactly would I use to gauge this score?

It turns out the DS doesn't have a high score registered (most likely because there isn't actually a Dr. Mario DS game) and the Game Boy Advance game is poorly represented (only one score). Any way you slice it though, my score measures up.

Dr. Mario Game Boy Advance High Score: 193,600 (Vickie Edel)
Dr. Mario Game Boy High Score: 522,000 (Nik Meeks)

Road to the Record: Turkey Day

@FunspotNh just let me (and everyone else) know that they are open Thanksgiving Day.

I know where I will be.

Sadly, my Dr. Mario Game Boy Advance game has not yet arrive. Tomorrow...

Who's Quitting?

I know you've probably all been hearing about the unemployment rates (ever on the rise it seems) but I was sent an interesting article today (Thanks JN) that highlighted the U.S. Worker Quit Rate. Not surprisingly, given all the talk we're hearing about long term unemployment, hesitancy to unfreeze the hiring process, etc., U.S. workers are increasingly less likely to quit their jobs during this economic uncertainty.

I did a quick (very quick, so please don't take my information as indicative of ALL information) search on the U.S. Quit Rate and History of such. Yes, the current rate is low, low, low but historically (through all of time), it has often been low. What is of note, is the variation since 2000 (see tiny image below).


The quit rate, which reflects the cautiousness of U.S. Workers, clearly reflects the fact that workers are being extremely cautious right now. It's not a shocking revelation but it does hit home for me. I wrote about this a bit early on in the life of Quitsville (see Payback will be a b****!) but I think it will be interesting to see where the flood gates open when the economy has stopped licking its wounds and has fully rebounded. Which companies will see their employees giving notice in groups and which companies will be able to take comfort in the way they treated their employees when the chips were down.

The very low quit rate (1.4%) also helps bring home just how lucky I have been. There is a perfectly sane reason while the quit rate is low and I know I am the exception, not the rule.

Click here to read the entire article on Reuters.com

Stalled Out on the Road to the Record - Update

I am so bad at withstanding temptation.

I did not give in and buy the Game Boy and the Game Boy version of Dr. Mario. I did, however, buy the Game Boy Advance version of the game that I can play on my "Manager's" Nintendo DS.

I hear Amazon.com has same day delivery now... in some cities...

Stalled Out on the Road to the Record

I've been getting some queries lately on the status of my quest for the Dr. Mario World Record. The honest, sad news is that I haven't made any progress since the last trip to Funspot. It's inexcusable I know but let me outline the problem for you.

1. Funspot is 1-2 hours away and really requires a lengthy visit to work up some good scores. It takes a day if you go - that day is shot. And... well... it's been hard to find a day to give to the cause.
2. I've been playing at home but even getting in a game on the Nintendo or the Wii takes about 2 hours... which requires me monopolizing the only TV in the house.
3. I'm mostly sticking to the Nintendo at this point as its speed/controls/etc. more closely mirrors the arcade platform. While I'd love to get all the high scores, I think it's prudent to know one off at a time.

That said, I had an idea this morning to purchase an old school Game Boy and a copy of the old school Dr. Mario game... unnecessary? Probably. But, think about it - with a gameboy, I can play while we (or someone) watch tv or on my commute or... elsewhere.

I'm holding off on the purchase for the moment but I wouldn't be surprised if I ultimately fail to control this impulse. I want the record gosh darn it. This is crap. I want to see my name in lights! Or at least in boring, grey font on the Twin Galaxies website.

Bad Manager, Bad!

It's no secret that part of the reason I started Quitsville (and quit my job) was to rid my life of a certain boss I had who just simply did not fit the version of my life I was trying to cultivate.

I don't want to throw stones (maybe I've gotten that out of my system in real life) but there was always a part of my interaction with the BossWoman that seemed to stem from pure and simple playground tactics. BossWoman was actually a fairly sad caricature of a person - she had low self esteem and was underhanded to a degree that burned bridges to the ground before you could set foot on them.

That said, I did learn from BossWoman. As I recently red in the Inc.com article: The Best and Worst of Female Bosses, sometimes a bad example can be just as instructive (if not more) than a good one.

I've been lucky enough to have some really superb lady bosses and an additional fair number of exceptional lady non-bosses to mentor me through young adulthood into the more comfortable arena of older young adulthood. I'm a much more confident and focused young woman than I was before I met these ladies. They've helped me to develop a picture of myself and who I want to be and implement that in my life. But you know what, BossWoman is there on that list too - as much as I hate to admit it. BossWoman showed me more clearly than anyone else has where exactly my BS line is, what exactly I will put up with and what I won't.

My Secret Goal - Unleashed

Hello dear readers! As some of you may know, November is National Novel Writing Month - I'm guessing actually, that most of you do not know this. That said, it is National Novel Writing Month!

What does that mean for you? Probably not a lot - except a handful of blog posts from yours truly about writing a novel. What does that mean for me? A great deal more!

As I shamelessly admitted in My Secret Goal - Explained, it has always been my dream to be an actual author - to have a book written and published and read! I've also long lamented the fact that I do very little actual writing (outside of work) and that I am not as diligent in search of my dreams as one might hope.

National Novel Writing Month is a great way to kick start your own novel writing aspirations. Sure, you're probably not going to write the next great American anything in the span of a month but what you will do is write some things down. Get some words on paper and some ideas out in the open. There's also a certain amount of camaraderie that can be found in National Novel Writing Month. We all know how many really just crap novels there are in the world but how many would be authors stay in the shadows because of fear of failure or lack of time or just general ennui? Let me tell you - at least one.

So for November, I will be doing my best to write. I'm a few days late in starting which definitely doesn't help but I'm 2 pages down on my way to the goal of 175 pages (set by NaNoWriMo itself). I'll keep you guys updated on my progress.

In the meantime, why not join National Novel Writing Month yourself? Give it a shot! And if you let me know your login name, we can be friends and cheer each other on!

Click here to sign up for National Novel Writing Month

P.S. National Novel Writing Month is a not for profit endeavor and they are taking donations. I've tweeted about this post under my @Quitsville name - retweet me and I'll donate $1 to NANOWRIMO ($1 per RT up to $100 - I am still a starving artist after all).

The Lost Generation?

We all know that unemployment is high (and lingering - see Unemployment Might Linger) but who is bearing the brunt of our struggling economy's pains? Turns out, its the Kids of America. While national unemployment hovers around a rough 10% (as reported by the government of these, are fair United States), the unemployment rate for those 16-24 is nearly double at 18%. In fact, according to the recent BusinessWeek article - only 46% of those aged 16-24 even have a job, the lowest since we began tracking in 1948.

The article also argues that it "seems strange" that young people are suffering the most in this economic downturn but I have to admit, I don't agree. Sure, young people are notoriously starry eyed and idealistic - it's easy to get them to do extra work to "get ahead." But let's okay this out a bit more. The entire county is suffering extreme unemployment. And yes, those aged 16-24 are suffering more but folks of all ages are finding themselves clinging to jobs that in better times would be far beneath them. We've all heard the stories of HUNDREDS of applicants for a single, secretarial position or the hiring freezes and lack of pay increases. Those companies who are hiring are seeing far superior candidates than under normal standards. It might not be the most prudent long term decision to hire someone who isn't actually interested in the position but companies are, I assure you, hiring above their needs. Why take a BA when you can get an MBA for the same price?

BusinessWeek refers to the kids as "The Lost Generation," speculating that this generation will feel the repercussions from this economic downturn for years to come - suffering from ennui and stagnation in their careers. While I no doubt agree that this may be the case for a fair number of the unemployed, I'm also wondering if we're going to see an increased "class" differentiation amongst this youngest generation. 18% are unemployed but we also know that at least 46% have jobs. Are these 46% taking advantage of the need in some cases and excelling past their peers?

Click here to read the entire BusinessWeek article

My Secret Goal - Explained

I try not to use this blog for rants about books and authors and how much I love to read (I know, nerd) but you've probably gleaned that I am a big reader. Don't believe me? Check out my post 10,000 Pages and Counting

Anyway, what you might not know is that I have secret goals that involve writing. It's been my dream for quite awhile to see my name on the cover of a printed book. Clearly, I'm not there yet but I'm hopeful that it won't end up a "what if" kind of dream. When I was trying to think of goals to follow as Quitsville changed gears, I briefly toyed with the idea of making this one of my goals - actually writing a novel. It's desperately hard to get writing done with life in the way. In the end, I'm not sure anyone is interested in reading a blog about me trying to write. However, I'm not promising that in a year or two you won't be reading about my goal to get said book published. I mean really, what's better to follow then endless rejection letters on the road to success?

All of this is only chatter that is leading up to a post about John Irving. I know a lot of people thing his work is grotesque and inappropriate and just plain messed up, but John Irving is an example of why I want to write. He is the author of my all-time favorite novel (The Hotel New Hampshire) and I think his books are amazing. Sure, he's written a few things that were - for him, at least - sub par. But overall, his work is enthralling. His characters are meaty and engaging, his plot is incredibly dense, his books have literally taken over my life (when I was reading them). To say that I have incredibly respect and reverence for him as an author would not be saying too much.

And last night, I had the chance to see him read/speak through an independent bookstore here (check your local stores - he might be coming to you too!). I'd be lying if I tried to tell you that I wasn't a completely geeked out emotional mess because of it. Part of me was very nervous that he wouldn't live up to the stock I've put in him through his books. What if he was arrogant or annoying or *gasp* stupid?! We all know that good art can be made my bad people but dear god, what would that do to me?

Luckily, dear readers, that did not happen. He is obviously a very intelligent and deliberate man. He read briefly and then spoke at length about his process and his methods, how he finds his stories and how his novels come to be. He was grizzly and direct but also funny. I've always found his books to be funny - if incredibly dark - and it was wonderful to see where that comes from. He wasn't arrogant but definitely knows himself well enough to know where he excels and where he falls short. I did not get to shake his hand or meet him (books were pre-signed) but the experience was one that I will hold very close to my heart. It was only an hour (probably more like 45 minutes given the inefficiency of the local bookstore) but it was wonderful. He has no idea that he has personally affected me but he has. His books have been a big part of my life for a decade or so (and he's been writing for 40 years!) and if I had been able to speak to him, I would have thanked him for that.

I've now started his most recent novel (released yesterday): Last Night in Twisted River.

And you should too.

How to Survive Unemployment

Yesterday I read a post on the Personal Branding Blog about creating an "unemployment routine" for yourself while unemployed and it really reminded me how much "work" it can be to stay active, relevant, and motivated when you're unemployed.

Okay, I know it's not actual work but let's face it - part of the reason we don't consider it work is that we're not getting paid for it. I wrote about this phenomenon in my post Unemployment Sucks...Duh?. Some people seem to think that just because you're unemployed, you must be having the time of your life - sleeping in, doing anything you want, fraternizing with celebrities. Okay, maybe not that last one but you get the point. I admit that when I was unemployed (years ago), I did enjoy the first part of it. After I got over the sting of being let go, I went to the beach, I slept in, I read books. It was sort of like a vacation. But with a vacation, you always have the knowledge that you're going back to something. Eventually, the routine of not having something starts to eat away at your sanity, self-worth, etc.

All this is to say that yes, it's vital to have a set routine when you're out of work. And I don't mean the routine of sleep in, play video games, nap, eat - as tempting as it can be. I wrote recently about my Job Search To Dos and how they kept me sane and productive while looking for work and the concept is not so different. Having something that you do every day while you're unemployed helps to keep you moving forward - or at least gives you the impression that you are moving forward.

The Personal Branding Blog recommends getting up on time, being social, having daily tasks, etc. These are all great ways to stay focused on not being unemployed. For me, I did a lot of work on cutting expenses but one thing I did not cut was the gym - having a daily (okay, every-other-daily) routine of getting myself out of the house and to the gym was immensely helpful, not to mention the fact that working out lowered my stress level.

If you're looking for work, I strongly recommend setting up a schedule for yourself. Whether you do something every day or once a week, creating a routine will help to create relevance and worth in your actions. In a society that places most of one's worth in "what they do", this is vital.

Click here to read the full article from the Personal Branding Blog

Unemployment Might Linger

We've all heard the rumors that the economy is back on its way up. Sure, we hit 10,000 again (woo... yay, late 90s) and the market is showing signs of recovery but what a lot of folks don't seem to be seeing is the return of a robust job market.

According to a recent article that I spied on Boston.com - we've lost 7.2 million jobs as a country since December 2007. 7.2 million is quite a few jobs in case you were unaware. And even more startling is the fact that quite a few economists (from all walks of political life I might add) agree that we might not ever get those jobs back. We're currently hovering around 9.8% for unemployment with reasonable sources telling us that 10% is right around the corner.

10%. Now I know that the unemployment has big pockets in certain industries, towns, etc. but just for giggles, imagine that 10% of your friends and family are out of work. They may already be out of work so it should be easy. You may have a job but if 10% of those around you don't, things will change. Your life will be different. Imagine those 10% clamoring to do your job... better... faster... for less.

Click here to read the full article on Boston.com

Another article, in the Huffington Post, reminds us that our baseline against which we gauge growth is bottom of the barrel. Sure - we're improving. Sure - stocks are on the rise. Sure - the market is stronger than it's been in months. But let's face it - where it's been wasn't so hot. And lingering unemployment will continue to weigh us down.

Click here to read the full article in the Huffington Post

Flight Control World Record!

Don't worry dear readers... I'm not extending my video game world record quest to include the iPhone/iTouch app Flight Control - though it is a truly stupendous game.

However, I was recently send this amazing post on Firemint's blog (the maker's of Flight Control): Denis S. from Germany has recently taken the title for world record on Flight Control with 51,855 planes landed.

For those of you who don't play Flight Control obsessively - it's a very simple game in which you land different types and speeds of planes on to their requisite landing strips.

For some context, my record is something like 318. Denis S. blows me out of the water by a magnitude of roughly 163. However, I can see how one might uncover a sort of zen like pattern to the whole thing and be able to go on forever. Imagine losing at 51,849 though.


Click here to read the entire post on Firemint's Blog and to find out some secrets from Denis S. himself.

Dr. Mario Weighs in on Universal Health Care

You might have seen a post the other day referring to my new favorite site Infendo and a post they had titled Dr. Mario Weighs in on Universal Health Care.

It turns out that this post was actually "borrowing" from another article (who would do such a thing!) on McSweeney's. For those of you who are not "in the know," McSweeney's is a publishing house started by Dave Eggers (who you might remembers from such books as And You Shall Know Our Velocity and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius as well as such organizations as 826 National and their local chapters). Both of his books are quite good, by the way.

McSweeney's also publishes a Quarterly Journal and maintains a humor site online (home to the Dr. Mario article). Needless to say, I love both Dave Eggers and McSweeney's. (If you don't believe that I am a big literary nerd just check out my post on the number of pages I've read this year.) Their article on Dr. Mario weighing in on Universal Health Care (can one really call this an article?) is pretty hilarious if nothing else.

I obviously have some very strong opinions about Universal Health Care and how it relates to real life (and not Nintendo) but that's for another day. In the meantime, make sure to kill those virii.

Dr. Mario Commercial Weirdness

I don't think anyone will find this surprising but when I really, officially started the quest for the Dr. Mario world record, I added a few RSS feeds to my reader - so that I could watch what was happening in the world of Dr. Mario (on the internets).

That said, very little has been happening. Today however, I stumbled upon something pretty amazing! Check out this (totally weird) Dr. Mario commercial from Japan:



If that doesn't make you wonder if something was added to your coffee, I'm not sure anything will. I took a poke around the site the video is on as well (Infendo). I did a search for Dr. Mario posts (quelle surprise) and got back some very interesting reading (did I say interesting... well... we all have our opinions):

Dr. Mario weighs in on Universal Health Care

Dr. Mario Online Rx for WiiWare (where I originally started this journey!)

Review Reviewed

As you all know, I was scheduled to have my mid-intro period review yesterday (45 day review?). Surprisingly, it happened as scheduled (last job consistently canceled and rescheduled such things). The top line is that it went very well. There was tons of positive feedback and a few pieces of constructive criticism - which really were constructive and not destructive!

What I think I found most valuable was a reminder that I have a lot to offer my employer. The few things that were offered as points of possible betterment are all so clearly related to the abusive, destructive relationship I had with my last job. A year of consistently demeaning treatment really gets you down - even when you know it's not your fault.

It's only been 6 weeks but I already feel like a completely different person. I have way more energy and positivity about life in general. I'm back to my old self - eager and curious. I'm still struggling to get my confidence 100% back and I admit, I'm a bit gun-shy about some things. But having your employer say 'hey, we like what we see, give us more!' is a great reinforcement of one's confidence.

Also, just as a note - you might remember that when I first interviewed with my dream job, I had not yet quit my last one. My second interview came nearly a week after I had quit and I was past my phases of fear and sadness... and well into euphoria over quitting. In my review yesterday I mentioned this and said that I think even between those two interviews I felt like a completely different person.

Turns out, they noticed the difference too. Just serves to reinforce the fact that quitting opened possibilities for me. Before I quit, I was just a sad sack, desperate to get out.

Nobody wants that.

Job Search To Dos

This morning I read an interesting post at Applicant on the 7 Things You Need to do Each Day When Searching for a Job. It brought me back to the time when a giant post it note with 3 columns ruled my life... when it became clear to me that I absolutely needed to leave my job, I went about it in the way I go about most things by making (an incredibly anal-retentive, over-achieving, neurotic) list.

My list was simple:
1. Apply for a job
2. Make a connection
3. Think something positive

EVERY DAY. For me, this worked great. Yes, I didn't do every thing, every day, but the focus kept me moving forward. I always felt like I was making a step forward every day (whether or not I actually was). Applying to a job every day was fairly easy - don't get me wrong, they weren't all targeted but it at least got my name out there consistently.

For overall job searches, I found that using today's tools really helped me. I created RSS feeds for many of my job searches and every day I was bombarded by listings. Again, it doesn't mean that they were all good postings but it really helped beat the job search ennui that threatened to overtake me on a regular basis. I also connected with anyone and everyone I thought reasonable and possible. I reached out and made connections everywhere I went. Suffice to say, I was exhausted a lot of the time.

What are your job search tips? Anyone?

Check out these links for more great job search tips:
Applicant: 7 Things You Need to do Each Day When Searching for a Job
Help Wanted Hawaii: 10 Recession Job Search Tips
About.com's Job Search Tips

Review Time!

I know I haven't spoken much about The New Job - mostly because there have been other things to focus on (like getting the world record in Dr. Mario). That said, The New Job has been going pretty swimmingly. I like the folks I work with, I'm learning a ton, I'm challenged and engaged, I don't hate my commute and there's always something going on downtown to watch from my window.

I have noticed that it's hard to kick the reactions that are beaten into you through an abusive workplace. I find myself being a little skittish and unsure of myself sometimes here (things I am not readily identified with in normal life) and I'm trying to get over it, put it behind me, etc. Everyone has been exceedingly positive and I have to guess that they're pleased with my work - fingers crossed - because they don't seem like big fakers to me but...

All of that aside, I angled for a 90 day review in my offer letter (I'm not getting down to specifics but it had something to do with compensation) and tomorrow I am having my mid period check in (45 day review?). I am pretty at ease about it but there's a little part of me that is nervous... what ifs, ya know? I wouldn't say this is particularly abnormal for me - I tend to get nervous about things a lot. Maybe I am paranoid? And they usually turn out fine.

So, think of me tomorrow during your lunch hour. Constructive criticism is a great thing when done right and I'm fairly confident that it will be handled well. Eating a BLT during the pre-review review certainly can't hurt!

The Geography of Jobs

Just on the off chance that you were starting to feel better about the job situation/unemployment/the recession/etc... I wanted to make sure to nip that right in the bud.

Click here to view The Geography of Jobs

You'll see the gains and losses of jobs in the US starting in 2004. Watch for the huge burst of unemployment caused by Hurricane Katrina and the debilitating red circles of last November.

Good news? It's only through July 2009 and as we all know, the recession is very nearly, completely, almost, like for sure over.

Attack of the Video Game Outsiders!

I know it might be hard to believe but I have an update on The Road to the Record post from earlier this week. Actually, I supposed it would be more truthful to say that I did not tell you the entire story from our trip to Funspot, NH. What follows is entirely 100% true and hilarious.

It turns out that our weekend trip to Funspot coincided with the Video Game Outsider's Funspot Tourney - that's right, a full-fledged community of Video Game nerds were at Funspot the same weekend we were. Not only were they there (because really, what is Funspot if not Mecca for Video Game nerds?) but they brought along with them famed TwinGalaxies Referee David Nelson. Now, the members of VGO focused on games that were not Dr. Mario - which is good for me - but they did spend a lot of time on the Donkey Kong machine (duh) which resides only 2 machines down from the Dr. Mario machine.

Why is that relevant you ask?

Well, it means that for a good portion of my 810,000+ game there were a fairly large number of men standing around waiting for their turn. And, as it turns out, some of them were watching me play. Including famed TwinGalaxies Referee David Nelson! Okay, okay. I haven't officially thrown my hat in the ring for the Dr. Mario world record (sorry Quitsville - you hold no weight in video gaming magestry) but this was crazy! Actual people who were not my friends and loved ones watching me! Judging me! And... praising me!

That's right! I, your Intrepid Blogger, was approached by none other than the Video Game Outsiders. My entourage and I were eating pizza and drinking beer in the Funspot Tavern (yeah... I know) after the aformentioned game and this guy just comes over and starts talking to us about the game. Was I playing Dr. Mario earlier? Yes. For like a really long time? Yes. Do I know I have the #2 score? Yes (but actually, I believe it's #3 right now).

And he goes on to tell me how good I am and that I should get the record, etc. It was pretty amazing (which can be confirmed by said entourage). I was waiting to tell you all in case (by some minor miracle) they mentioned me in their podcast. They did not - which is sort of good and bad - but it's still amazing.

Click here to check out the Video Game Outsiders' Blog (and Podcast)

Road to the Record: 810,000

This weekend found me traveling in the pouring rain to New Hampshire for a quick trip to Funspot (the world's largest arcade). I think you already know why... but just for fun, humor me and let me tell you again. Goal #1 (post-Quit) is to get the world record in the Dr. Mario game. I'm focusing on the actual Arcade platform for now but there are high scores for multiple platforms. For this round of the Goal, only two really matter:

NES: 1,358,400
Arcade: 960,600

As you'll see, the arcade platform clocks in at 960,600 for the high score (on the medium level). It's not an insignificant number. That said, I'm rocking my score in around 810,000 as of this weekend. I'm getting far closer with each game - to date, I've played 5 full games of Dr. Mario on the arcade machine. How about a tally:

Game 1 - 319,000
Game 2 - 350,000
Game 3 - 460,000
Game 4 - 560,000
Game 5 - 810,000

Each game takes about 2 hours and on average, I increase about 100-150k. Theoretically, I only need one or two games to really obliterate the record but I suspect it will take a few more times than that.

In the meantime, a photo:

You Are Not Alone

I received an email today from a dear friend of mine stuck in the abusive relationship that is her job. I will spare you the details or the specifics but let's just say that her boss (as well as a number of her coworkers) treat her very badly and do not value her for what she has to offer. I know we all have pluses and minuses and there are always difficult parts to our personality (I am overly emotional and 100% NOT a morning person) but my dear friend - whom I have also worked with - has a great deal to offer. Loads of experience, a charming personality, the desire to foster success in her associates, not to mention the fact that she's incredibly smart and dedicated.

Too often today we see people like this who are simply railroaded by employers who offer no support, no encouragement, and no room for betterment. Whether we are dismissed because of our sex, our age, our political leanings or just because our bosses are morons - it always sucks.

I feel for my dear friend. Her situation sucks - it just sucks! It's easy in my position to take the idealistic view - quit! Not everyone is in a position to quit. Money, family, opportunity, personality, etc. There are a lot of reasons not to quit something. For overachievers this seems especially difficult - I don't quit, I succeed!

I have a number of friends in this situation - the thankless drudgery of a job you hate that tends to hate you back. I want to give all of them the gift of The Quit. It's terrifying but quitting does give you an end to the freefall of suck that takes hold when you hate your job.

For all of you struggling in this situation... I'm here. There are tons of people struggling with you. You are not alone.

Wall Street Bull Kills Bernie Madoff

No, this is not me scooping CNN. Bernie Madoff (though I hear sick) is not dead. But check out this serious piece of "recession" art. Genius.

Click here to see the article on Unemploymentality

40% of CEOs Expect to Cut Jobs

That's right - 40% of US CEOs expect to cut jobs in the next 6 months.

I don't have much else to say about that. With the economy back on the uptick (fingers crossed anyway) we'll just hope that those 40% don't actually have to cut jobs.

Click here to read the article on Reuters

10,000 pages and counting

This may or may not come as a newsflash to all of you but I'm a pretty big book nerd. I just really like reading. I know... I know...

That said, one of my 2008 goals was to read 10,000 pages over the course of the year. Sadly, I fell short by 12 pages. 12 pages!! It was horrendous. Granted, for the pages to count I had to have finished the book so... I probably did hit the 10,000 pages but, this is a rules game my friends.

Good news? This morning I pushed my 2009 tally over 10,000 pages (to 10,037 to be exact)! I know I haven't officially announced this goal to the blogosphere but I feel the nerdy victory needs to be celebrated nonetheless. I'm pretty jazzed about the whole thing - especially because I've accomplished a yearly goal an entire quarter early!

Alright, enough of my self important smugness, on to the list!

Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver (400)
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (328)
Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs (268)
In the Forest - Edna O'Brien (273)
Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners - Y. Euny Hong (268)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (401)
The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perotta (368)
A Star Called Henry - Roddy Doyle (342)
Maynard & Jennica - Rudolph Delson (296)
Blindness - Jose Saramago (326)
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies - Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen (320)
On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan (176)
Everything You Know - Zoe Heller (198)
Bridge of Sighs - Richard Russo (642)
Forever in Blue - Fourth Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Anne Brashares (416)
The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd (332)
Taft - Ann Patchett (246)
Third Summer of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Anne Brashares (338)
The Magician's Assistant - Ann Patchett (357)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (337)
Q & A - Vikas Swarup (336)
In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan (206)
Second Summer of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Anne Brashares (373)
White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (276)
Joe College - Joe Perotta (306)
Epileptic - David B. (166)
This Common Secret - Susan Wicklund (268)
A Good and Happy Child - Justin Evans (322)
My Century - Gunter Grass (276)
This is Your Brain on Music - Daniel Levitin (261)
Txtng: the gr8 db8 - David Crystal (232)
boy meets girl - Meg Cabot (383)

What have you read this year? Any suggestions?

Reversing Pay Cuts - Sign of the Times

I know I've said it before but the "recession is very nearly almost completely sort of over". Don't believe me? I don't blame you.

That said, CNN Money ran a piece on Friday about employers re-instating pre-economic-meltdown salaries. You heard me right. Companies are actually going back to their employees and saying 'Thanks! We're giving you some money back."

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that some companies are stepping up and doing the right thing. Yes, in some cases employees pulled together and took pay cuts for the whole of the company, but I think in many cases, employees felt like they had no choice. While I don't know too many people who were out of work due to the economic failings of 2009, nearly everyone I know either took a pay cut or had to do without an increase - even the mediocre "cost of living" increase. I can tell you that the "cost of living" definitely did not go down because of the economy. Nearly everyone I know was, in effect, taking a pay cut without it even being official.

Again, I think it's great that some companies are stepping up and giving back to their employees but it would be even better to see companies really manning up on this. Give those employees a raise, give them back the salary they lost during that year of cutbacks. Hell, buy them a few beers at the very least. And to all of you companies who used the economy as an excuse (because I know you're out there) - Shame on you! We all know you're not giving anything back, you're holding on to every extra percent with your grubby little paws.

On a personal note, money isn't everything. I took a pay cut for the job I'm in now but clearly, pay wasn't my #1 motivating factor (if you recall the whole quitting without a new job situation). And I don't think this is really about the money either. 2009 is not the 60s, I get it. We're not staying with one company our whole lives or devoting ourselves to the corporate overlord or developing pension plans... but that doesn't mean that a familial atmosphere doesn't lend itself to a more productive workplace. Personally speaking, I am far more productive when I am happy and I feel valued and respected. You can't put a dollar sign on that.

Read the entire article on CNN Money

Unemployment Extension

You might already know that the House voted this week to extend unemployment benefits for some Americans. It doesn't apply to everyone but slightly more than 50% of these, our united states, have an unemployment rate over 8.5% - the cutoff for 13 more weeks of unemployment benefits.

Yes, Fed Chairman said the recession is very likely nearly sort of over or something - but it seems to be pretty well excepted that unemployment is going to remain a problem for quite awhile. I keep reading that there are nearly 6 unemployed for every available job. I wonder if this number comes only from those claiming unemployment (and thus, does NOT take into account the folks whose benefits have already run out or who are not eligible - a reminder, that would have been me) or if it's everyone over 18 without a job (a number that is shockingly wrong the other way) or if it's a truly believable number that should terrify me.

Does anyone know?

Read about the Benefits Extension on The Consumerist

Innovate or Die

Some of you might know that my new job is at a company that is practically nonexistent. Not in terms of passion or output or even relevance but in terms of actual, physical employees. Seriously, I could fit all of the full timers in my car and drive them to the company meeting. If we had such things.

I've had a handful of jobs in my life - most of which have been at smallish companies. (I believe we covered this a little in the post Corporate America is Missing the Trust.) I've found that my personality and skill set just does not mesh well with staid bureaucracy and status quo ideas of production, job description, and worth. Okay, that was a little harsh but you get the point.

We all know that years ago it was the norm to put in your whole career with one (or a few) companies. Dedication and loyalty was rewarded and there were actual, honest to god pension plans! It's just not that way now - for most of us. The average job length is something ridiculous like 18 months and some people think nothing of flitting from one position to another. I don't quite fall into the new job every year mindset obviously but I do understand that I am not expecting to stay where I am forever.

I was talking to my Dad about my new job last night - he works for an unnamed giant company - and about how small companies can be a risk (I'm currently trying to decide whether or not to purchase the stock options from my old small company). The thing is, the big companies aren't any safer. Companies of all sizes and shapes have folded, experienced lay offs, frozen salaries, etc. In fact, one might argue that working for a small company - where you know everyone and people are truly more willing to pull together for the good of the all - might even be more secure in times of economic uncertainty. It certainly increases the chances for mind-blowing success!

Click here to read an article about Obama's love of the entrepreneur

(Slightly) Valid Blog Alert!

Okay, I know what you're going to say. This blog isn't exactly relevant to employment/unemployment/recession news but it is relevant to those who are unemployed and, let's face it, could use a chuckle.

I admit I haven't read through the entire blog so I'm not sure of all of the posts but here's an impromptu list of the things I liked when I was unemployed (in the past) and things I looked forward to when I thought I was going to be unemployed again:

- Hours upon hours of anxiety attacks (woo!)
- Daytime TV!
- Shopping when everyone else was at work
- Honestly, doing all errands when everyone else was at work
- Reading all day
- Working out when the gym was not crowded (in theory)
- Never changing out of pajamas
- Walking to the dog park and watching the dogs without judgment
- Finding ways to not spend any money for days at a time
- Convincing friends and loved ones to pay for things (sad)

Take some time and walk through Stuff Unemployed People Like

And, what did you/do you like when you're unemployed?

Wrap-Up of Almost News

Hello dear readers. I apologize for the lack of posts in the past few days. You already know that weekends are hard for me - in terms of posting. I've been running around like a crazy person the past few days and honestly, nothing has really tickled my fancy enough to comment.

In lieu of a full on post, I've decided to give you a quick wrap-up of some of the things I've read. Articles that warrant one or two sentences of comment but not an entire post, as it were.

1. California is the most jobless it's been in 70 years. This seems shocking. 70 years?! Is this really a reflection of the recession in California or are more people moving to the big C-A to be unemployed in the sun? I'm not saying that's a bad plan, I'm just asking is all.
Click here to read the entire article in The New York Times

2. Maryland is the country's top earning state (over $70k btw). Really? Maryland? And yes, I know, Maryland is more expensive to live in than say, oh Mississippi (quoted in the piece) but let's be frank. Is it more expensive than oh, California (see above), New York? Massachusetts? I'm guessing no but maybe I'm wrong.
Click here to read the entire article on CNNMoney

3. Turns out California isn't the only state that's hurting. The United States lost fewer jobs in August than we did in July (by about 60k) but 27 states (+ DC) saw their unemployment rates rise.
Read the entire article on USA Today

Valid Blog Alert!

I came across Well Heeled, With a Mission today. I feel an affinity for this blogger - focused on saving for the future but also on enjoying the moment. I'll be watching her upcoming posts but for today wanted to link you to her ABOUT page.

Click here to read About Well Heeled, With a Mission

I dig her format too. Maybe I'll reach out and we'll become Blog friends.

Her post today - about how to make the most of a Job Fair would be useful to those who are looking. Like everything, figure out what your top priorities are and focus on those. I wholeheartedly agree that we are more likely to succeed with a Top 3 than when trying to do each and every thing.

That said, I know you're still waiting for Goals #2 and #3... sweet suspense.

Goal #1 - The Road to the Record

Some of you already know that I have been toying with this idea for awhile now but I kept going back and forth on whether or not this was appropriate for Quitsville. In the end, it's too much fun to not share.

The back story:
A few months ago I was approached to play Dr. Mario. Sadly for my opponent, I spent roughly a million hours playing this game as a kid and I'm pretty good. Apparently, I'm good enough that a few of my nearest and dearest have decided I could be the world champ.

Ridiculous no?

After weeks of discussion and practice, I've begun to believe them.



So, Goal #1 - Claim the title for highest score on Dr. Mario (either on the original Nintendo or in the actual arcade). To officially get on the list you have to either videotape it or have a referee watch the entire game. Yikes!

Click here to view the high scores on Twin Galaxies website

The Recession is Over!

Alright, maybe that is a more strongly worded statement than the "recession is very likely over" comment we received earlier this week but I'm pretty sure that my title is closer to what we were actually supposed to think. Contrary to whatever the Federal Reserve Chairman might think, many people are not lining up on this topic. According to a Slate piece run today (by my much beloved Emily Bazelon), a lot of people just don't think the recession is very likely over.

To be fair, Bernanke didn't stop at that comment. He did admit that the economy will still feel very weak for awhile and that economic growth in 2010 will only be "moderate."

Don't put your party hats away just yet. It may not be a bacchanale inducing victory but I think we all admit we have to start somewhere.

For me, the biggest, loudest, most obvious sign of the recession was my job search. I admit, I am not currently looking (I've got to give the new position a few weeks at least!) and as such, I feel pretty insulated from the whole economic downturn. All of my friends who lost jobs in the last year are employed again (as far as I know) and I'm not trying to sell my house, find a new job, etc. etc.

What do you all think? Is the recession waning?

Click here to read the piece on Slate

Click here to read the MarketWatch coverage of Bernanke's speech

Quitsville becoming Goalville?

As some of you know, I've really been struggling with what is going to happen to Quitsville now that I'm well... not quitting anymore. And I'm gainfully employed. And not broke (relatively). And, the whole point of trying to survive without a real life job is gone.

So... what now? I love writing in here regularly and am attached to the voice I've created. I don't want to switch names so Quitsville is sticking around - even if it doesn't make sense.

In thinking through this I've struck upon an idea. Yes, Quitsville was about quitting my job and about quitting the negative situation I was in. But more than that, it was about taking action to change the things I wanted to change. In a way, it was about taking control of the situation and not being the victim... essentially, my goal was to leave my job and quitting was the means of achieving that goal.

I know, it's a stretch. But honestly, I've been wracking my brain trying to think of things I want to quit. And there are things yes. I want to quit eating like a savage on the weekends. I want to quit avoiding the gym. Etc. But I'm certainly not going to write a blog about my quest to eat more carrot sticks on Saturday. Because, really, who cares?

What does this all mean? Quitsville will keep its name (and I will do my best to write in quitting lingo - as well as maintain the commentary on the wacky world of employment) but we're switching gears folks. Starting this week, I'm going to focus on what I want to START not what I want to STOP (or okay, what I want to quit not doing - happy?).

I'm saving the unveiling of the goals for another day but stay tuned, they're coming. Ridiculous, fulfilling, for the maintenance of health or sanity - no rock unturned.

All quiet...

I have to admit to you all that I'm feeling pretty uninspired for blog posts today. I've read a number of relevant articles - including one on what ugly people should do to be hired and the fact that the American workforce is increasing in age - but nothing is stimulating my blogging creativity.

I have a theory that my focus is being held elsewhere as we watch the country duke it out (metaphorically and literally) over universal health care. I'll try not to let this get partisan but there is something in my patriotic blood (this is only partially sarcastic) that gets pretty rankled when someone blatantly attacks the president.

Yes, we should have an open discourse on policy and yes, everyone has a say and even yes, I have entirely, 100% openly disagreed with past presidents. However, I'm not an elected official and the scope of the folks listening while I dissented? Pretty tiny overall.

I, of course, have my own very strident opinions on what should or should not happen with Universal Health Care and who should or should not be covered, but I'll keep those to myself until this turns into a political blog. For now, I'll just mention the obvious. A bad day at my job doesn't compare.

Unemployment Sucks... Duh?

I know that my title is a little bratty but bear with me.

Yesterday I read an article with this title:
Study: unemployed feel 'traumatized' by recession.

I didn't blog about it yesterday because at first blush, the article seemed fairly obvious and irrelevant. That was my mistake. Overnight, I kept thinking about this article and getting more frustrated with the whole idea of this.

When I was unemployed (roughly 4 years ago for 4 months) I wasn't in danger of losing my house (I rented) or going bankrupt or hurting my family (I was flying nearly solo at that point) but the experience was incredibly stressful. I had unemployment and savings and as much stability as one can find without knowing when they'll find another job. And yet, I was a mess. Sure, the first month or so was great - it was summer, I wasn't working, etc. But as the days grew shorter and my calendar remained devoid of interview appointments, I started suffering from what I can only assume were anxiety attacks.

For those of you who have been unemployed for any amount of time (especially those who, like me, suffer from a certain tendency to overachieve) will understand this anxiety - my father was out of work for 18 months while I was in college and I know he remains changed by the experience - but more and more it's looking like this is not as common sense as we might think.

When I was unemployed, a "friend" of mine basically told me to quit my whining, that I was lucky to not be working. Admittedly, she wasn't the most sensitive person I've ever met but beyond that, I think there is a stress from being unemployed (even when your circumstances remain fairly stable) that we don't quite understand until we're in the thick of it.

Trouble sleeping... strained relations with family members... increased dependency on alcohol... Check. Check. And check. Been there.

Beyond the worries about money and security, there's a general unease that comes with unemployment. In a society so based around what we do and how "successful" we are at work, who are you when you don't have a job?

Click here to read the entire article

Corporate America is Missing the Trust

Hello dear readers! Today is the last day of my first week at the new job - say that three times fast - and it feels like the perfect day to say shame on you to corporate America for the lack of trust they seem to show their workers. Now, I have to admit that the caveat to this is I've never really worked for corporate America. I've only spent 6 months at a company that had more than 75 employees and yes, it was the worst.

However, generalization isn't always wrong.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the first week at a new job phenomenon wherein you don't check your facebook page or your personal email or anything else online in order to appear the fastidious, hardworking employee you promised them you were. I admit, I started the week that way myself but then I experienced something unexpected. My new company actually said to me "we find it helps if you have gmail up all day."

Whaaa?

I mean, okay. If they want gmail up all day, I will have gmail up all day. Has it significantly distracted me from work? No. Has it prevented me from learning and absorbing all week? No. If anything, it's helped me to relax. I don't have to panic and hide my email each time a coworker comes near. I don't have to strategically plan my email checking. I actually get facebook updates from coworkers during the day!

So corporate America, listen up. Maybe instead of obsessively watching your employees internet usage and scanning their emails for "inappropriate" words and generally making them feel like bad people for not being automatons during the work day, loosen up. Instill a little trust in your employees and vice versa. It might even turn out that by acknowledging the fact that folks have a life outside of work (especially when you're asking them to work upwards of 40 hours each week) might even make people want to spend more time at work.

We can dream anyway.

Workplace Suicides Up

This is a pretty morbid post but I thought this was fascinating. In 2008, workplace suicides was the highest it has been since tracking started in 1992 but deaths at work are down.

What does that mean!?

Read the entire article on Boston.com

I'm also sort of disappointed. I would like more information on this report. Who? Where? Etc.

I'm sorry that folks are this despondent at their jobs.