I Quit My Job

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About a week and a half ago, I handed in my letter of resignation. I haven’t blogged about it until now because I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to talk about it. If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know this: I never blog about work; it’s the only topic that’s “off limits” on the FBC. So, why am I blogging about my resignation? Well, oddly enough, this post isn’t about work; It’s about me.

Two and a half years ago ( … wow, has it already been that long? …) I moved to New York. I had big dreams of being locked away in a small basement of some major cultural / arts institution. I would have given my left pinky finger to manage the marketing efforts of The Culture Project, Alvin Ailey, or the film program at MoMA. I wanted to combine my track record of skills with my long-standing passion for the arts. Basically, I wanted to help those who were creating various forms of art get their work to wider audiences. More people equals more money. More money equals more art. Seems perfect, no? The only problem was that I couldn’t find the right job. (I’ve talked about this here before … way too much experience to be junior–not enough “art” experience to be senior. Yada yada yada.)

So, I switched to Plan B. I went back to school part time. I enrolled in a hybrid MA program in business administration and arts management. I got a full-time day job to support myself and pay the bills. And, most importantly, I paid more attention to my private passions. I spent more time writing and publishing. I worked with internet technology, new media and open source software. I designed websites for friends. I gave a public reading of excerpts from my blog. I was recorded for a TV show pilot about people who have kept journals (offline and online) over a period of years. Somewhere along the line–whether consciously or subconsciously–I decided to not only support others who were making art, I gave myself permission to create it as well.

Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” I’ve drawn, taken pictures, and written words for as long as I can remember. I love being online–and I’ve been here in various forms since 1995–because it’s one of the few places where words and pictures come together quite nicely. (I’m a film nut because that’s the other place where this happens.) In any case, although I’m really very sad to leave my current employer, I’m excited to announce that I’ve accepted a full-time online / new media position. I’d tell you about the company, but I don’t blog about work. Suffice it to say that I’ll be working with social media, blogs and other things related to using the internet to bring people together. It’s like I struck gold.

The great American actress Julia Roberts once said that she liked working with director Steven Soderbergh so much that she’d be willing to do it for free. Granted she demanded they pay her $20 million before she’d star in a movie that he was making at the time (Ocean’s Eleven), but the point is this: you know that you’ve found the right job when you’re doing something that you’d be willing to do for free. Hell, I’ve done this internet stuff for free for so long that I can’t believe I’m actually going to get paid to do it. And, believe it or not, I didn’t even demand that my employer pay me $20 million! “So, Funky Brown Chick,” I hear you asking, “What’s going to happen to the FBC?” Honestly? Nothing. The new employer already knows that I blog. (Um, hi guys!) I’ll still keep blogging daily Words of Goofdom here at the FBC. I’ll still write online for Nerve mag three times a week as well. And, don’t be surprised if you find yourself reading me at another site or two in the not too distant future. In short, life is good–even though I couldn’t have possibly foreseen that things would work out the way that they have.