Aug

19

Taking a career step backward

Posted by Dan

August 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I came to a realization this evening as I pounded out one more mindless story, this one on Christmas decorations. Yes, Christmas decorations, in late August.
The story was for a guy who owns several Web sites. He needs content for them, and he hires me to write stories. I do this for rates I would [...]

Aug

18

One positive with a recession: gender doesn’t matter as much

Posted by Dan

August 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

If you’re a man or a woman, the odds are pretty good that you’re suffering these days. That’s because there’s a recession on, and a full-blown recession like this one doesn’t discriminate between men or women: It hurts them all equally.
Does this count as good news? I’m not sure. But it would have been worse, [...]

Aug

17

Vacations have to end, work has to restart, what a shame

Posted by Dan

August 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment

We spend way too much time working. I came to that conclusion — not for the first time — while I was whittling away the hours last week on vacation. Sure, I was spending that vacation in the tourist hell of Branson, Mo., but still … vacationing in the hearland of country music is still [...]

Aug

14

Dismal economic news as we travel across the Midwest

Posted by Dan

August 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I returned home from my vacation today. I had the pleasure of spending 10 hours in the car with a 2-year-old, driving through the hills of Missouri and back to Chicago.
You haven’t lived until you’ve heard a 2-year-old screech in your ear for most of a day.
We spent our vacation in Branson, Mo. If you [...]

Aug

12

Career suck? Why not take a travel break?

Posted by Dan

August 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Do you enjoy yourself at work? Do you feel mentally challenged? Do you wake up at 5 a.m. each day eager to jump on the train and get to work?
No? Join the crowd.
And if you really want to be adventurous about it, take a break from the working world, a long one.
I know this isn’t [...]

Aug

10

Better get used to those high unemployment rates

Posted by Dan

August 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Tired of seeing unemployment linger near 10 percent? Well, you better get used to it. According to a growing number of economists, the country won’t see normal unemployment levels again until sometime around 2014.
According to an Associated Press story, many economists think it won’t be until then that we’ll see unemployment drop back to levels [...]

Aug

9

Working my way through Branson

Posted by Dan

August 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I’m no fan of country music. I don’t really like chain restaurants, miniature golf or waterparks, either. Yet here I find myself in Branson, Mo., where you can catch Andy Williams, Tony Orlando (without Dawn, unfortunately) and one of the guys from Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Did I mention that summer in Missouri is like [...]

Aug

6

Obama hopes to revive spirits in suffering Indiana community

Posted by Dan

August 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment

You think unemployment is high where you live? The odds are good that it’s even worse in Elkhart, Ind.
That’s because the unemployment rate in this Indiana community is nearing 17 percent. That’s a rather frightening figure.
Pres. Barack Obama stopped at Elkhart yesterday to give a speech about the economy and his hopes that things are [...]

Aug

5

The stress before vacation

Posted by Dan

August 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I’m off on vacation at the end of this week. We’re off to Branson, Mo. I don’t like country music. And I know it’s going to be 90 degrees and swampy all week in Missouri. But still, it’ll be nice to get away. And our kids should have a blast.
But there’s a challenge with taking [...]

Aug

4

Self-employed workweek never ends

Posted by Dan

August 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment

There are a lot of advantages to working for yourself. But there are some big disadvantages, too. For one thing, there’s no one responsible but you should times get tough. Secondly, it’s awfully hard to turn off the workweek.
There’s always one more thing to do before shutting off the computer at the end of the [...]

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