Quiet night

I actually have the TV off and am just kind of enjoying the sound of a flock of bluejays calling to each other.

It's been pretty nice these last few days. I got a lot of mowing done on Sunday -- also got sunburned on my shoulders and they still hurt. We've been doing OK while Mom is out traipsing around the southwest. Dad comes over to let Nipper out during the day, and he's been getting good walks when I come home, and then plenty of loving to make up for being left alone all day.

Tomorrow is my support group meeting night, and I'm giving a bit of a presentation on the Web site and Yahoo group I've put together. So I guess I better do some updating and take a few notes here in awhile so I might sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Today I gave my boss some news that I'm sure he'd rather not have heard. I have a job interview set up next Friday with a local electric company. It's a new position they're hiring for -- "external affairs specialist." They're looking for someone to do writing, presentations, etc. I don't have a lot of experience in preparing those kinds of things, but I think I've got some good basic skills and software is pretty easy to learn. And their ad specifically mentioned a background in journalism would be helpful.

It's not that I don't really want to leave the newspaper business, but I just question if what it's becoming is what I reallly want to do. We had a meeting this week about new directions we'll be taking, and I'm not sure I like it. There was a lot of talk about "new products" and doing things that are "just good enough." Quantiy over qualiyt. Very little talk about the product we're making now (a source of news) and making it better. And believe me, there's lots of room for improvement. I'm only 38, and I'm starting to feel like a dinosaur in my profession. It doesn't really matter to me what format the "newspaper" is in, but it should be good. And we're not taking the time to do that.

Plus, it's time to move on. For nearly two years, my life has revolved around cancer. Finding out I have it, test after test after test, finallly starting treatment, getting through chemo, having surgery, more chemo, getting over all that and then checkups where I'm stressed about what if it comes back. It's like my life has been under control of others -- the doctors, the nurses, my mother. It's time for me to take it back.