MarkWhittaker.com

Last weekend, I enjoyed a fantastic concert by Ian Anderson, the lead singer and flute player for Jethro Tull. I originally planned to write a review of the concert, but this is an online marketing story instead.

I’m a fan of Pandora, the online music service that streams favorite songs and others like them, and one day in early September, a favorite Jethro Tull song (“Broadsword,” I think) began playing. Pandora also displays biographical information for many of the bands, and I stopped what I was doing to read the Tull article. Because I have stream-of-consciousness tendencies, I then wondered whether Tull still performed live.

Next stop: Google. That got me to JethroTull.com, where I learned that, indeed, Tull continues to tour. Not only that, Ian Anderson was preparing a solo tour in the U.S. that would be stopping in York, Pa., — my hometown — and Homestead, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Now my cranial wheels were turning. Even though I’m not particularly a fan of aging rockers, I had a hunch that a concert by Anderson, who is 63, would be a blast. (continue reading…)

Last week I attended a volunteer orientation at the Sen. John Heinz History Center, which is the primary museum about Western Pennsylvania history. I’ve learned that volunteering at the center, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, is serious business.

I’ve been thinking for a while about involving myself in a local museum. I love visiting museums when I travel, and working in a museum seems like a great activity once I’ve got time and enough money to retire. I’ve had an interest in history, well, since I started reading.

I’m by no means an expert, but with a strong interest to get me started, I figure I can learn.

Anyway, I spent about four hours at the museum last Thursday, first learning a bit about the volunteer program, the various opportunities available and the requirements for staying in good stead as a volunteer. Depending on what volunteers want to do, there are training programs that must be completed and a fair amount of time to devote to the work.

I’m particularly interested in helping out with the research and maybe even using my writing and editing skills for articles or presentations. Part of my orientation was in the museum’s archives. I was fascinated by the amount of work that goes into receiving, cataloging and transcribing material that is contributed to the museum. I think it would be fun helping there, or even using the archives for research.

I’ve already started an assignment to research the relationship between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. It was a rocky one, at best.

I lost my job on Dec. 1. Well, I didn’t actually lose it. The Beaver County Times took it from me. I was laid off … downsized … cost-cut.

I don’t harbor much ill will against my former employer. The privately-held newspaper company was in a tough spot because of loans it took out a few years ago. Although we’d already gone through a solid year of cost-cutting and lay-offs, still more needed to go. Up until the day I was let go, I was trying to work on “contingency” plans to figure out what costs could be cut (actually, who would be laid off). In the end, the highest salary from my department was cut, and so far that has saved a few other jobs. As difficult as it might be to believe, in the end, even the interactive media department wasn’t immune from the slashing.

It was probably time for me to start looking for other work, anyway. I admit, I’d been thinking about it. The lay-off just forced the issue, and forced me to think about other things that I’d really like to do.

I’ve been employed by newspapers my entire career — 30 years! But the newspaper business is going through a very difficult transformation right now, and it’s hard to say whether I’ll be in it again. I’d like to be able to help. As a medium, the Internet is a great way to tell stories, and good stories are part of good journalism.

All that aside, I’ve experienced a full range of emotions during my joblessness. Sometimes I experience them all in just a few minutes. It’s easy to go from hope and confidence (I’m perfect for that job. They’d be crazy not to hire me!) to despair (I’ll never work again and I’ll have to live on Kraft macaroni and cheese forever). You find people who truly want to help — and do — and you find people who say they want to help and don’t.

I’ve taken advantage of my jobless time. If you’ve read some of my previous entries, you know I took a 12-day drive to places that I’d never been before. I loved every minute of it, even though I might not have otherwise planned stops at Graceland or the Country Music Hall of Fame. I drove through nine states and it was all beautiful — even the flat, boring places! I’ve done some reading, some self-reflection and learned a few things about myself and dealing with this type of adversity. I’ve been through some ups and downs, but I’ve ALWAYS had a job. This was something new for me. On one hand it’s humbling. In other ways, however, it’s life-affirming.

My world didn’t collapse when I lost my job. It forced me to look in other directions and experience new things. It gave me the opportunity to experience the love of a wonderful woman.

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be unemployed. It could be a week, it could be months. I do know, however, that I won’t be unemployed forever, and that at the end of it all I’ll find a way to do some important and meaningful work — either in my vocation or with a new avocation.

Oh, and if you read this and you’re hiring, drop me a note. My resume is on the site, and there are some editorial-writing samples, too!