Ah, my little blog started with so much promise. I was going to update daily, or try to, with all sorts of different travel tips. Then, I got laid off in January 2009 and the party ended for a bit. I could have (and SHOULD have) interspersed job searching on my laid off days with writing and exercising, but alas, I chose fretting and napping instead. No regrets, right?

Now that I am settled several months into my new gig, I have done some traveling. We’ve visited Hilton Head, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. John and Seagrove Beach, FL. Next up is a bachelorette weekend jaunt to Mexico (fingers crossed I don’t get kidnapped or swine-flued) and then 9 nights in Italy in September.

“And what next?,” you might ask. Well, up next is an adventure of a different sort. See, the Clever Nomad has gone and gotten herself knocked up! That’s right, we’ve got a wee Nomad in the oven, and it’s coming around New Year’s.

We are so excited about this new addition, but don’t plan on letting the little one completely cramp our traveling. Sure, things will be different, but we plan to keep adventuring and exploring, just a little more flexibly and certainly more soberly.

Now that I’ve eased into my new job and recovered from the ickiness of the first trimester, I intend for regular posting to resume. I promise. I think.

45 Days.

You can get a lot done in 45 days. For instance, I could have lost 10 pounds. I could have developed a new hobby. I could have rearranged my disastrous guest room or finally picked out paint colors for our two-year old house.

I did none of those things, even those I should have (10 pounds anyone?).

Instead, I’ve spent the last 45 days networking, having lunch with people I haven’t seen in years, and spending lots of time with friends and family. I hate to even call what I’ve done networking, because I have a negative association with that term. When I think “networking” I have visions of stuffy, happy hour parties where people stand around surveying who’s worth talking to as they clutch an endless supply of pointless business cards in their hands. What I did was to get in touch with old friends or acquaintances, explained my situation and found that most of them were very excited to help me with my job search.

I think I underestimated the value of the legal community. It is really amazing how your former law school classmates will without exception offer to help you with just one phone call. It may not be that way for all law school alums, but it definitely is for UGA alums. I think the past 45 days have affirmed my faith in the practice of law and reminded me that I do have good friends and colleagues out there.

On the home front, the last 45 days have been transformative. My husband and I argue less (we were constant bickerers), we’re more will to compromise with one another and have been getting out more socially. My former job, it seems, was sucking the life force out of me.

45 Days. The amount of time it took me to land my dream job.

I realize that not every layoff story ends this way. More often than not, layoff stories end with someone taking a huge pay cut to do work beneath their skill level and with no upward mobility, just to get by. I compromised on that: I took a huge pay cut but am going into a job that opens up my options significantly in the future.

After seven interviews with seven different employers, I finally landed a job as an Assistant District Attorney. I couldn’t be happier or more scared shitless. I have worked in a DA’s office before, as a third year law student, but this is different. That silly bar card means I am capable of conducting serious business in that courtroom. It’s thrilling and terrifying, but I embrace the challenge.

In retrospect, I actually had great luck in this job search. I applied for seventeen jobs, had interviews with seven of those employers and had two job offers to choose from. I pondered updating Clever Nomad along the way, but I’ve received nary a comment since I’ve morphed this blog into complaining central, so I figured no one else needed to hear my depressing thoughts… it was enough that I carried that burden.

For those who liked the normal Clever Nomad, take heart, we will shortly return to normal! Before I start my job in mid-April, we’ve got a three night trip to Chicago and a three night trip to St. John! Stay tuned - it’s going to be fun again around here very soon!

Well, fun in a “traveling on an uber budget” way…

Today marked the second Monday of my unemployment. Through some combination of luck and persistence, I had two job interviews last week. Both went well. One job I want, the other I do not, and would probably turn it down even if it were offered to me. I realize that sounds psycho in this market, but it is not a job practicing law, and I have concerns about the long term impact that may have on my career.

I think I’m going through some massive insecurity right now. I know there are some firm jobs out there, but actually getting to the “pound the pavement” part seems difficult. I’ve never been the best little networker and now that appears to be biting me in the ass. I socialize fine at parties and with friends, but throw me in a room full of suited lawyers and I instantly clam up. I’m fine at work or smaller functions where I know a decent amount of attorneys. Just those large country or city bar events drive me crazy.

I think my problem is that I’ve identified what I want to do, and now I just have to convince someone to take a chance on me. I want to prosecute cases. I always have, but had to take a firm job for financial reasons. We’re past that now, and I can do what I want. I’ll start in a solicitor’s office, doesn’t have to be a DA’s office. But, it seems like people see my real estate experience and have major reservations. I get that. But, I worked in the DA’s office for 9 months in law school and also was really successful in advocacy/moot court in law school. I have the proof to back up the fact that I can do this. I just lack the experience.

I’m having a low day. It’s frustrating to know what you want to do and not be able to do it. Should I pick up the phone and just start calling? Should I wait for one of these jobs? I’m pretty sure I know the right answer: call everyone you know in any of these offices and ask them if they are willing to speak with me about their experience and get their advice on what I can do to beef up my resume. Shit, if I’m not working, I might as well by doing some volunteer work with my degree.

Seven years of effort, a $50K degree and I can’t believe I’m here again. I didn’t like my job, but I was GOOD at it, DAMN good. Now I need to find something else to be good at… probably what I would have been best suited for all along.

Mini rant tonight… just having one of those days. Not a bad day, but I’m pretty sure I am not meant to be a housewife.

Since trips involving more financial commitment than a couple of tanks of gas are out for a bit, we decided to hit the road this weekend with four friends and make the most of the beautiful weather in the southeast. We headed up to Lake Toxaway, NC for a little rest and relaxation at a pimp-ass lake house owned by a friend of a friend. (Sidenote: I enjoy friend-of-a-friend vacation homes because you get the benefit without the responsibility of maintaining the friendship. I need more friends with friends.)

I can’t say we really did much worth blogging about. Since we’re all between 29 and 33 and have no kids, it was, well, what you’d expect. There was beer (homebrew, in fact), napping, plenty of food and a decided lack of showering. Then, on our way back to Georgia on a glorious Sunday morning, we hit the obesity mecca known as the Dillard House.

What is the Dillard House, you ask? Strap your feedbags on folks, because it is fat-filled, buttery, greasy Southern food at its finest. It’s all you can eat, family-style restaurant with a set menu. You pay one price and they bring the entire day’s menu to your table. The menu is something like this: fried chicken, country ham, country fried steak, green beans, fried okra, dressing, acorn squash souffle, lima beans, creamed corn, creamed cauliflower, cabbage casserole, cole slaw, biscuits, muffins, cobbler, and on and on and on. I ate over eight hours ago and I think I’m still full.

While I didn’t get any pictures of the bounty (thanks to Mr. Nomad leaving the camera in the car), I did get some shots of our visit to the Dillard House’s “farmzoo.” (Sidenote: what the hell is a farmzoo?)

Horses at the Dillard House

A Goat Friend

While I definitely miss planning for a big, international trip, I’m glad we still have the ability to do things close to home. Next up: Hilton Head in a week. It’s nice to live in the south in the winter…

Llama and Rooster Peace

I just returned from a long and boozy lunch with a law school classmate who is no longer a practicing lawyer. She quit her real estate law job almost a year ago, and has never looked back.  While I certianly admire her pluck, I’m just not there yet.  My job search is a daily struggle, and one that I will largely chronicle on this blog.  Oh, sure, there’ll be fun times around here, but there will also be THOSE times. You know, those days when you feel so removed from the fabric of working society that you feel useless.  Some might call those days that break spirits.  I like to think of those as days that build character.

To each his (or her) own.

This week has brought more good news than bad.  I had an interview with a DA’s office on Monday.  I think it went okay, but it’s definitely a long fuse type of job situation. I won’t know about a second interview until the end of this month. On Tuesday, I received word of another job interview I have coming up Thursday. Things are starting to happen - right? I thought so, until I received this little “fuck you” straight into my Inbox, courtesy of a company I applied to several weeks back:

“Thank you for applying at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Although your application was impressive, another candidate was selected for the position. Our decision was based upon a careful comparison of the demands of the position with the abilities shown by each candidate. We appreciate your interest in the position and wish you the best with your future endeavors.”

The rub? This job was with a close business contact of my largest client. I had great recommedations going in and was hopeful I’d at least get an interview. Thirty minutes of their time. Alas, I was slated to received the dreaded “thanks, but no thanks” email, one that is the professional equivalent of “we’re just not that into you.” 

Focus on the positive, right? Fine then, I’m going to prepare for tomorrow’s interview. Right after the IPA wears off.

I apologize to my small reader base for switching the game on you mid-way through. I bet you thought this blog was set to be all about rainbows and puppies and fun vacations. Well, sometimes life is about rainbows and puppies and vacations. And, sometimes it’s not. You’ve caught me in a “not” phase. But, let’s work through this.

Though I was officially laid off on January 6th, I am required to work through the end of the month. This is a cruel sort of purgatory dreamt up by a group of sadists/terrorists/lawyers who’ve never been through a layoff in their pampered lives. It’s been tough, but alas I am almost done.

Tomorrow I will walk into my firm for the last time as an employee. I will clean out the final remaining items in my office, sit down and write personal thank you notes to my two Partners, sign my separation agreement, take my check and then go get drunk with the few remaining friends I have in That Place (henceforth how I shall refer to my former employer).  I could writes pages of posts about the ridiculousness I’ve been subjected to (and sometimes participated in) over the last few weeks, but that would be so unproductive, uninteresting and self-indulgent.

This story is not about what happened, but about what’s going to happen and what’s going to HAVE to happen so I can move forward with my life. When I lost my tech job at age 23, we were in the middle of the IT bubble bursting. I was scared shitless and spent the next two weeks mired in depression. I was making poor work of job searching when one just kind of fell in my lap. I was lucky - so lucky. Guess I didn’t realize it then.

This time it’s different. My layoff experience is the precise reason WHY I went back to law school. “I’m going to do something to make myself indispensible,” I thought. Losing a job you’ve spent three years and $50,000 training for is a body blow.

“It has nothing to do with your work - not at all,” I’m reassured. “It’s the damn market. The phones aren’t ringing. Our clients aren’t paying. The new building we committed to is a looming expense. We aren’t getting partner bonuses. Commercial Real Estate had to go.”

As a part of Commercial Real Estate, I too had to go. Me, the one that turned down five other job offers for this firm. Me, the one who’s spent the last three and a half years working hard for this firm, at a time when many of my law school classmates are on their second or third firms. I was too loyal and too comfortable. Worst of all, I wasn’t happy, but I let that place be just good enough to keep me there.

Now we’re in the midst of the worst economy in my lifetime. Those other firms that wanted me years ago? They’re laying off too, no jobs there. I’m hitting the unemployment office next week, in my BMW no less. That’s a little embarrassing. I’ll try not to think thoughts like “the higher you are, the farther you fall” but I don’t think I can silence those words.

Being laid off sucks. I know I’ll get on my feet. I can’t complain too much. My husband is working and his salary covers our monthly expenses. We have possessions we can sell if we need to make some extra cash. I can make and sell jewelry in my spare time. It’s just not the life I’d envisioned at this point in my career. Oddly, though, neither was the life I was living as a real estate attorney.

So now, it’s really all up to me to determine the life I see for myself going forward. In one way, exhilarating. In another way, terrifying. Like going ziplining in Costa Rica - an oddly perfect combination of emotions, mixing terror with pure joy. That zipline was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve got the same combinations of emotions here, so I hope I’ll look back on this time and conclude that this layoff was one of the best things I ever went through.

Here’s to hoping.

I want a do over of the last four weeks. It ain’t gonna happen, so I’ll settle for just trying to set a few things right over the next few days. Note to all employers/non-laid off employees: when you layoff an employee and then require them to work for three weeks, expect a week or two of resentment before the “acceptance” stage kicks in. Nothing personal, but being laid off is sort of a blow to one’s ego. Eckart Tolle is helping me with that, but I’m kind of a slow learner some days.

This time last year, I wrote another blog which I have since abandoned, leaving it all alone out in cyberspace while I debate whether or not I want to preserve the content for some unknown reason. When I read back over my posts, I sense an overwhelming theme: I AM NOT HAPPY AT MY JOB. Well, sometimes things have a way of taking care of themselves.

I did find this little list of 16 things I want to do in my 31st year. It’s funny to read now, so let’s see how I did, shall we? I’ve italicized my 2009 updates.

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16 Things in my 31st Year:

1. Run a 10K: I’ve actually researched this one and I’ve got an early March race that I think I’m going to do. The Italian (aka Mr. Nomad) wants to run with me, so yeah! This shit didn’t happen.

2. Do the zipline in Costa Rica in May: Trying to get up the courage for this one. I’m going to at least try. I pretty much ruled this one and then some. Check.

3. Decorate our bedroom: Ohhh, making progress. We’ve got new bedding, new lampshades and have painted our bedside tables. Next up is painting the room, finding a dresser and some wall art. I LOVE my new bedding though. We went with a color that Restoration Hardware calls Silver Sage. We didn’t buy RH bedding though - that stuff is crazy expensive. Still working. We actually have all new bedding now, but still no dresser or paint on the walls. I have commitment issues.

4. Try a Bikram Yoga class. No, no, no. Maybe now that I’m jobless self-torture will seem fun in comparison to boredom.

5. Research how to get your writing published and attempt to write an article or book chapter. Does this blog count?

6. Hire a maid: Still trying to cut #10 a bit before I address this one. Ironically, I have to clean the house when I finish typing this post. Think about it, people, you’d have better posts if only I didn’t have to clean! Excuse me while I laugh my ass off. I am my own maid, my own cook and my own personal trainer.

7. Go to St. John (even if pregnant), hike Ram’s Head and snorkel Salt Pond: Trip booked for October 2008, thanks to FF miles. Also have invited friends so this may be a really great trip. Italian and I have discussed turning this into a procreation vacation. Hehe. Mostly done. Went to St. John in October with two other couples, had a blast, survived an earthquake and threaded the needle before a hurricane. Snorkeled Salt Pond, but it was way too hot for Ram’s Head by the time we got over there. It DID turn into a procreation vacation (TMI?) but alas nothing was created.

8. Find a damn donkey on St. John (there is history behind this one): We won’t know until October. DONE.

9. Add 3 new recipes to my regular arsenal: I’ve added one, a Cooking Light recipe for Linguine with tomatoes and leeks. It was really good. I’m going to try a new one tonight too. I have no idea if I’ve done this one, because I don’t remember what my “regular arsenal” was a year ago. God, who wrote this crappy list anyway?

10. Cut our monthly expenses by $500 (this may conflict with #6): We found a way to cut our car insurance by $30 a month, and are probably selling my car (a very expensive convertible BMW) in favor of a Honda Accord. Boring, but we wouldn’t have a car payment. Oops. DIdn’t do so well on this one, and still haven’t sold the car. It’s for sale, but it’s January - who the hell is going to buy a convertible now? Hoping it will be gone in March/April.

11. Make a profit on my jewelry business. Well, I have made money from it, but a profit? I’ll know in February once I do our tax return.

12. Learn how to take good pictures. I’m better thanks to the magic of our DSLR. Still haven’t taken those free classes that come with the camera, but we have until April to do so. Come to think of it, some time in my schedule has recently opened up…

13. Don’t pay for any sizeable purchase on credit. We’re starting 2008 debt-free, and I want to keep it that way. Some things are best not to talk about.

14. Take a flight without xanax: No flights since I made this list. I’ve got a trip to Vegas coming up in February, but I don’t think I’m going to try this then. A flight back from Vegas is the reason I started taking anxiety meds while flying in the first place. Bitch, please. In 2008, I came to realize that no one gets a medal for suffering. Do what you have to do.

15. Keep up with my time entry at work on a regular, weekly basis. What time? What work? Excuse me while I laugh myself silly.

16. Stop drinking diet soda every day. Done, in fact, I’ve given up all artificial sweeteners, so I one-upped myself on this one.

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And this year? I don’t have any resolutions. Okay, maybe one: get a job. One that I like.

I’ve been a bad, bad blogger. To be fair, I’ve had things going on. Lots of things. A few good, like holidays, parties, social commitments. However, the bad things have eclipsed the good lately, and frankly left me a bit adrift.

I started this blog to write about travel and things related to travel. While I will still write about travel from time to time, I have more pressing concerns at the present moment that I need to address. Crap, I’ll just come out and say it: The Clever Nomad has lost her job.

I know, I know, join the club, right? I’ve been a commercial real estate attorney for three years, three months. Truth? I never like the practice. I wanted to be a litigator, but through the magic of legal career services at UGA and the sham financial boom built on overdevelopment and undercapitalization, I ended up in commercial real estate.

I had other options - lots of them. Five summer associate offers, two clerkships, and I picked one firm. Which turned out to be a giant mistake, for many reasons which I will not enumerate (mostly because things aren’t exactly anonymous ’round here).

I’m told I can’t dwell on a decision I made over four years ago. I’m told I must be positive and look towards the future. I’m told everything happens for a reason. Maybe so to all of the above, but almost four weeks after I found out my fate, I’m still pissed.

Believe me when I say that I saw this coming. That’s part of why I haven’t blogged in months. I was actually quite busy at work, and was working very hard to try to save my job. However, there were some partners who were twiddling their thumbs, so my work has now been handed to them.

Also believe me when I say I’m not new to this. I graduated from college in 1999. I was there on the IT front lines when the tech bubble burst in 2000. Lost my job along with 40% of my startup in December 2000 (granted, I had been there a few months and had NO BUSINESS doing the job I’d been hired for), and was lucky to find another position by the end of January 2001. That shook me up in a major way. It’s the reason I started studying for the LSATs and went back to law school. Best to diversify, I thought to myself. Mr. Nomad is in technology, and I wanted us to be in different fields, the thought being that one of us would always have a job. At least I was right about that.

My firm cut three associates from real estate and a ton of staff. The only two associates to survive were a 7th year and my boss’ nephew. I had little-to-no chance. If I knew that I’d be situated in a new position a couple of months from now, this wouldn’t phase me. But life and our current economy offer little guarantees, so you’ll have to excuse me if I’m a bit on edge.

So, here I sit on a Thursday morning, over-educated and jobless, still in my pajamas and drinking my second cup of coffee. I’m in my overpriced yuppie albatross (my house) that I couldn’t give away if I tried and have student loan debt greater than the price of a new Mercedes. Times are fun, kids.

Lest you think I sound bitter (okay, maybe that’s an accurate categorization), I do have some leads. The one bright spot is that I have a job interview in February, and it’s for my dream job. I’m interviewing to be an Assistant District Attorney. I went to law school to prosecute, but alas was swayed by the lure of law firm dollars. Well, that and the fact that Mr. Nomad wanted a chance to start his own company, so my salary helped him do that. I guess in the end life really does have a way of putting you where you should be, by whatever cruel means possible.

Wish me luck with my new endeavors - I need it. My firm is making me “work” until the 30th, which has turned out to be a bad, bad idea. My presence makes everyone uncomfortable, and frankly having to go in and face that place everyday makes me more bitter than I would normally be. I need a break, so this morning I am taking one.

And god, could I use some time on St. John right now… now that I can no longer afford it. Isn’t that a kicker?