Some big job news

Two big pieces of news, avid readers (and random Web voyeurs):

First, Karen has a job! Today's her third day as development assistant for the Alabama Wildlife Center. Obviously she's still feeling out the duties, but it sounds like it'll be a good fit. She's organizing fund-raising, PR, the Web site, etc. It's a small organization, so she'll be a huge part of it. We're both excited, and soon we'll have a real, full-size paycheck rolling in.

As for me, it looks like I'll be flying to Kankakee, Ill., for a week to do some consulting work. Rich, my longtime mentor and three-time employer, has gotten an agreement to do more readership growth work with some newspapers up there. That means I'll likely spend one week a month there, starting at the beginning of February.

I'm stoked. Apart from the added money, this is a great learning opportunity for me and a good chance to expand Media Foresight Associates, which already is doing better in its first year than I could have expected.

Of course, I'm not sure what the Barnes and Noble folks will say today, but I'm sure they'll be cool with me taking the time off, if I agree to give up my benefits and drop to part time. I'll let you know.