January 2009 -Hmmmmmm

Disclaimer: I try to stay positive in most of my posts. My goal is to be refreshing and uplifting. Some of the material contained below might be disturbing to some readers. Depressing, even. So, if you were on the fence about taking a 20 story leap today and came hear for inspiring witty prose, I recommend not going any farther. I also recommend a gin and Prozac fizz. Duly warned, read on if you wish.

What a January!!! The opening 31 days of 2009 have been a roller coaster of highs and lows and I just can’t get my arms around how I feel about it all. I’m writing about it here because it will affect my blog. Not for the worse, I hope. First I’ll get the bad news out of the way. I have been swept up in the national economic downturn. I was laid off a couple of days ago. This was not unexpected. I could feel this coming for some time, so at least I wasn’t blindsided. What’s horribly sad is that since my office is in Rhode Island and I am in Florida, I can’t say goodbye to my friends and colleagues in person. Now before you go feeling all bad for me, I received a descent severance and I have a line on a couple of opportunities. I am also a nurse (although I haven’t done that in a while), so I can always work. So, while a tad nervous, I am not remotely sad or depressed about this series of events.

On the flip side, I’ve had some great days in January. The Food Network came to cook at my house, I was asked to contribute to our local Creative Loafing Magazine food blog and I went to the Inauguration for a president who, for the 1st time in 12 years, I voted for. I’ve had friends comment about how “lucky” I am (and I think that I am). So all in all, I’m a bit confused over what emotions I’m supposed to feel. I guess the best approach is to realize that the sun is always shining somewhere and just move on. And I will.

The effect on my food blog for now is that I won’t be able to discuss cool food finds in far off lands. I can’t really afford to go back to York or Honk Kong just to write about my meals. For now, you’re stuck with my cooking adventures and local fare, which, by the way, I feel I have sorely neglected. OK Tampa Bay, like it or not, I’m home for a while.

I’m trying to figure out how to successfully contribute to Both Creative Loafing AND Louis Loves Food. I don’t wish to post the same writing in both places so I think I’ll use links to associate relevant articles to each other. I’m really new at all of this but I’m having soooo much fun sharing my passion for great food and how it’s made that I’m sure I’ll figure out a balance. I have just submitted my first article and it should be viewable soon. You can see my bio here.

I also wanted to share my Facebook page. Please come find me. I love updating my friends and reading about the day to day lives of folks that I just don’t see enough.


So here’s to 2009. When the dust settles, I’m sure all will be well. After all, today will pass, tomorrow will come and the sun will definitely be shining somewhere.