And We're Back...

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride these last few weeks. Being dropped like a hot potato by the company who claimed that I was a superstar. RUMBO is not heading down the tubes. All the loyalties have started to go out the window. The one of the founders is heading back to California and will 'remain in some capacity.' That's code for, 'I'm getting out before this thing comes crashing down.'

I'm with the Express-News now. I'd hoped to have been here long before, but I had to take my chances with Rumbo. I'm not upset about the firing. I'm not upset that all our work was diced and chopped and spit back out as some border town rag. I'm upset that we were lied to, from the beginning, and then left to hang from the flagpole until the bitter, fucking end. I gave them my loyalty and my blood; they gave me my walking papers. They tried to run with the big dogs and we paid the price.

To make matters worse, we were lied to in another respect. We were told that the company would do everything possible to set us up with another job. Do you know what that was? It was a shitty letter of recommendation. Shitty. Apparently, my hook into a new job was how "enjoyable he is to have in the newsroom." They never did a damn thing to find me another job. Had I waited for them to do so, I would have starved, lost my house and gone bankrupt. I had to find my own job and I didn't need the shitty letter of recommendation to do it.

Needless to say, my layoff has affect us in many ways. It has set us back in all respects. Tonya's brother was married this weekend and we had planned on trekking up to Arkansas for the wedding, but since I didn't have a job and she couldn't take time off because she was brining in the income, we couldn't go. We've had to tighten the belts in all ways and we've paid the price. My parents, thankfully, came to the rescue and helped us with a few bills and groceries because Tonya's check and my unemployment were just not enough.

Rumbo has now spent 1.5 million in a new advertising campaign to promote the recently reorganized product. They are rehiring designers at nearly $10,000 less. The VP of editorial, one of the founders, has stepped down and will be "promoting Rumbo's interests from California.' He's going to help expand the empire. In the meantime, people are leaving the company like rats off a sinking ship. I'm sure they will inspire a lot of confidence in their advertisers, not to mention their staff.

Shedding the hair was a rebirth for me. The Express-News is a new beginning for me. It's been tough learning all new methods and workflows, but I feel good. I'm doing business and have done several covers already. I know that as my knowledge base grows, I'll get better. I feel a little bit anxious; I want to know it all now so I can rock the house. But as my mentor, David, says, "Trust your instincts and take it one step at a time."

The family is good, healthy and together. We're lacking the wants, but we got the needs. And that's the important part.

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