"Life On The Beach" RERUN!

It's been just a hair over one year since I began this blog. I meant to officially mark the first birthday, but it slipped right by unnoticed, so I am doing it now. For those of you you've been with me for the past year, many many thanks, and I hope you'll continue to keep coming back!


For my friends who have more recently started reading my drivel, you have my sincere condolences - as well as the opportunity to read some of my earliest entries. All this week, I'll be featuring the best of "Life On The Beach", starting today with my very FIRST entry...


(It's a re-run, get it?)

March 10, 2008 - First Musings Of A Beach Bum

Well, here I am... joining the navel-gazing world of blogging. Two weeks ago, I would have told you (as I told everyone) that I spent my day writing stuff for a living - why would I spend my free time writing as well? Well - God (or Farid Suleman, take your pick) had other plans! Now, I suddenly have some time on my hands... and I'm not getting paid to write - at least not at the moment, so here we are!

I've never been unemployed before, so I had no idea what to expect...but my friend, David Burd, explained it to me like this...


Step one - At first, you'll hear from everyone you know in the radio business... the rubber-neckers who can't resist looking at the roadkill (me) as they drive on by... The roadkill appreciates all the attention, and soaks it up like a biscuit to gravy.

Step Two - After that, the tedium of updating the resume and the audition tape (how dated - of course I mean the audio file) sets in, followed by hour after hour of repeating your hard work on an online application forms, because employers really DON'T want to read your resume...


Step Three - (sounds of birds chirping)


Suffice it to say we're at step two now... and we don't want to see step three, hence the "Life On The Beach" blog.


Just a couple of personal observations before I bring this inaugural blog posting to a close...


1/ My kids like my new "arrangement", because for the first time in their lives, Dad is home to help them get ready for school in the morning. And while this is a big help to Mom, Mom is not so thrilled to see Dad home. This simply serves as a reminder to Mom that Dad should really be off someplace else...


2/ I used to get in to work in the morning and groan at seeing at least a couple of dozen new emails waiting for me. Be careful what you wish for. I pine for email now... even to the point that I've signed up for some selective junk email because it ensures I'll have something new to read every day! For those of you who might want to contribute to the cause, the address is jematthews2@gmail.com.


3/ Old habits die hard - or in some cases, don't die. I still find myself sitting with a cup of coffee at 6 am every morning, scanning the Washington Post and making mental notes on how to cover each story. I suspect some of my soapbox rants concerning these stories that used to be released to my newsroom cohorts will be released here on the beach instead. Lucky you.


4/ When I used to hire people, one of the last things I did before making an offer was to google the applicant's name and see if anything interesting came back. To be honest, more than one person was not hired because the person they portrayed themselves to be on Myspace or Facebook was NOT the person I had just interviewed. I suspect discerning employers may also use this practice... so don't expect to read any stories of debauchery or other tawdry tales here. Those will have to remain the stuff of legend and vivid imagination!


Let me hear from you - ESPECIALLY if you find me getting whiny. I can't STAND whiny...


Thanks!