Winter Gardening

I just came in from the cold--and it really is cold (about 35 degrees)! Patrick has been pushing me to "do something" with all of my newly free time, specifically mow the lawn. Sound crazy? Well, mulching up all of the leaves is easier than raking them, so it's not a bad move. I also cut back most of the perennials on the driveway side of the house. I'm already imagining what it will look like when they come back in the Spring.

Tonight is a new Malden Arts event. We're calling it a Salon, in the sense that it is a gathering to discuss the arts in Malden: what's going on, ideas for the future, meeting others to collaborate with. I'm not sure what kind of turn out we'll get, but a reporter from the Malden Observer is going to show up to cover the evening.

Lots of Free Time

So, I got laid off. Yup. On Election Day, to be exact. This is a real bummer, for a number of reasons. Here are some:

• Patrick and I had some real financial plans in place that will now be thrown off-track.
• I really liked my job, my co-workers and my commute.
• My position had me helping more and more with the business development side of things, but I didn't get enough experience to apply for a biz dev position.
• But I really don't want to go into another Admin position.
• Finding a job is a pain, and especially now with the economy.
• My suit doesn't fit anymore!!! Gah, shopping ahead. And not even the fun kind.

Anyhoo, I sent out a few resumes last week, and will follow up with them this week. I've already done all of the paperwork for the Unemployment Insurance (which is only half of your salary--did you know that?).

Now I just need to stay motivated; this means not sleeping until 2pm, not reading web comics until the wee hours of the morning, maybe catching up on the things that my job prevented me from getting to, maybe spending some time with long-neglected friends (Hi out there! You'll hear from me soon!), etc.

And let me just say that one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging lately is because I signed on to Facebook. It's just like blogging, but less pressure since it's only a line or two at a time. I've tried to find an app or something that would post my Facebook updates as blog entries here, but I can't find one. Do any of you know of such a thing?

Malden Monday: Surprise!

Have you heard? BusinessWeek voted Malden the best affordable city in Massachusetts for raising children.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/11/1110_best_places_for_kids/22.htm

There is nothing wrong with the short descriptive blurb. I agree completely.

Here's an example of local news coverage of the designation:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/11/13/magazine_calls_malden_states_best_place_to_raise_children/

I must say I share in the skepticism. I have some experience with Malden's public school system, and I guess I'd say that if your kid is on the straight and narrow, they'll be just fine. Malden High sends kids to Harvard and other top-notch schools every year--Revere High, when I went there, did not. But, it's hard to keep your kids on the straight and narrow here. I'm not sure if that's the nature of living in a city, where kids have more mobility and independence than those stranded in the suburbs, reliant on parents who have the ability to shape their children's social lives. Or is it something else?

I like the response of my friend, Paul Malden:
http://www.blamemymom.com/2008/11/15/my-hometown/