A sudden, unnoticeable shift in employment

I officially became a full-time employee of Barnes & Noble today, meaning ... well, not a whole lot. In 60 days, I'll qualify for a pretty nice set of benefits. But in 60 days, I'd like to have a better-paying job that also has a nice set of benefits. Still, I shouldn't belittle what I've got. I'm sure there are a lot of folks out there who wish they had fun, easy jobs that offer health insurance, even if they don't pay a fortune.

So I'm happy.

There's been a bit of movement on the job front. After some hefty soul-searching, I turned down an interview with Rotary International for a Web editor position. It paid up to $52,000...gulp...but we just have very little interest in living in Chicago right now. We're happier than we've been in a long time, and I'm sure some equally cool jobs will come along. Plus, $50,000 in Evanston is probably about like $30,000 here in Birmingham, and getting a house would be a lot easier here.

I've applied for five or so jobs recently...writer for CNN.com, writer for Cartoon Network's Web site, project manager for a local publishing house, etc. I'm working on applications for a few other local editing jobs, and I have some freelance ideas I'd like to get moving on. And there's still the possibility of good-paying consulting work in the near future, although I'm not banking on it.

OK, I'll end this bit of miscellaneous job ramblings with a shameless endorsement: SportClips. It's a haircut place with the gimmick of letting you watch sports while you get your cut. That's not a big draw to me...in fact, I almost left the parking lot when I saw all the TVs.

But...I got a good cut, along with a free shampoo, scalp massage, shoulder rub and one of those hot towels on the face. Seriously, I didn't think anything that felt that good was legal in Alabama. So, if you have one in your area, don't let the jumbotron and batting-cage atmosphere scare you off.