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Today, I took full advantage of the fact that I have no job and watched one of the first showing of the Sex and the City movie this afternoon for a very nice matinee price. I am admittedly, a latecomer to the SATC craze - I finished watching the whole series only a few months ago on DVD after being first introduced to the series via TBS reruns - But I thought it was a pretty good movie. If its any indication, DL (who was maybe the only straight guy in the theater) did not fall asleep once.
The theater was surprisingly not full, but that’s because all of die hard fans (the young, cosmopolitan working women) were at work, working hard for their ticket money. But unfortunately for them, they would soon face a mass fight for tickets (unless they Fandago it). From what I hear, the movie is completely sold out in all of the San Francisco theaters today (opening day). So good luck to all of you SATC fans who are trying to catch the movie.
Word of advice for the novice blockbuster movie go-er: Buy your tickets ahead of time and show up at least an hour early to wait in line. It just sucks to pay full price for a movie, only to be forced to watch it from the first row and leave with permanent neck problems. Heed this warning….I speak from weeks of experience having watched Iron Man, Speed Racer, Narnia, Indiana Jones on their opening weekends.
PR Notes: These past few weeks, the SATC foursome have been on road, promoting the film in full force. I can’t say for sure, but it seems as if they are using a divide-and-conquer strategy, with each of the four starlets taking media interviews separately to promote the movie to more outlets. This has certainly helped add to the buzz surrounding the movie these past few days.
Last week, as I was facing eminent unemployment, it dawned on me that it just might be a good idea to start a “resume blog” where I could post my resume and supplement my one-page resume with a showcase my “knowledge” on consumer trends, PR, marketing, etc.
And so, in the ultimate act of shameless self-promotion, I bought my own dot com with my namesake. Its still very much a work in progress, but I have a few posts up if you are interested in reading. Special thanks to my dear cousin (and professional graphic designer) for the design and layout advice and to CK for all of the great examples and suggestions.
I think once I workout all the kinks, I will be able to add an “expertise” in SEO and SEM to my resume…..(i.e. expert in driving traffic to a web site).
Other Resume Blogs:
Just know that this wasn’t entirely on a whim, I did a bit of research to see who in my industry would do such a thing. What I found is that there are a number of PR pros who do have their own blogs where they are able to showcase their knowledge of social media tools and industry knowledge, though these blogs are not necessarily named after the author. It should be noted that most “resume blogs” are used by web developers, graphic designers, artists and photographers (which makes sense).
LATA vs. My Dot Com
So what’s the difference between Life After The Agency (LATA) and my dot com? Just as an FYI, LATA will be more about me (not too personal though) and a little less about public relations (though I’ll keep the intrigue and gossip stories here), while my dot com will be a little more topic focused specifically on consumer trends in Asian and Asian Americans.
I was pleasantly surprised this morning to learn that I was quoted in local Texas newspaper story about “Bubble Tea” as an “expert in Chinese desserts.” How fitting.
It’s interesting to note, that I am the only person that was quoted in the article. Clearly, none of the major corporate bubble tea/boba chains (i.e. Quickly or Tapioca Express) have a PR person or PR agency with a subscription to ProfNet. PR note to corporate boba marketing teams….it might be a good idea.
“Bubble Tea: Ever Drink A Pearl?”
By Miriam Ramirez, The Monitor
Thursday, May 22, 2008
To view the full article onine, click here.
One interesting find from this article was www.bobafind.com, a site that is surprisingly very accurate in locating the nearest bubble tea/boba shop near you.
So that’s it. As of Thursday, May 22, 2008, I am jobless.
I packed up my desk, said my goodbyes, applied for unemployment and picked up my check. To my fellow colleagues who were laid off, “see you in the job market” and too my still-employed colleagues, “good luck.”
One thing though that I want to add….which only adds to the irony was that two weeks before I was laid off, I moved into my boss’ office (i.e. I was sharing an office with her, not taking over her office). This was after a six-month overdue promise to move me that began when I first started. Anyhow, it was nice while it lasted. Being the sentimental dork that I am, I couldn’t help be take a picture.
Either Lady Luck is smiling upon me once again or she’s cruelly setting me up for a really good laugh. But cross your fingers everyone, I just may have found my big break…..so hopefully I don’t jinx myself by mentioning it in code.
“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Call me superstitious, but I believe that life is continual cycle of good luck and bad luck. Thus, I believe that ever since my license plate was stolen, I have been in one hell of a personal recession. Now all I have to do is ride it out….one bad week at a time. May this new week be a happier week.
Over the weekend, I have spent a good chunk of lamenting (okay, more like obsessing while making multiple public announcements) about my coming unemployment this Thursday. It’s a rather dreary feeling, but what can you do, but vent and get it out of your system and get over it.
To help me “get over it,” I have devised a plan of action in true Daisy fashion (in case you didn’t know, I like to make plans…..following through all the time is a different story…heh.)
- STEP 1: Update Resume (this includes my paper resume and LinkedIn profile)
- STEP 2: Look for jobs to apply for and send out resume
- STEP 3: Build a new, more “professional” web/blog profile to support resume (I have been researching this all weekend and I think the Web 2.0 thing to do in this market is to provide a professional Google-able presence on-line)
- STEP 4: Social Networking (Ask my dear former colleague to say nice things about me on LinkedIn
Other non-job search items on my list include:
- Reconnect with old friends: Have lunch with people that I haven’t seen or heard from in 3 plus years
- Stop by and say “hello” to some old professors: Let’s just say that after “walking” two years ago, I have never walked back on campus
- Local Sightseeing: After living in the Bay Area for so long, it’s time I actually enjoyed my scenery a bit
- Join the Circus: www.circuscenter.org
- Crafts: It’s high time that I too become an indie crafter
More to come later…..once I think of other things to do.
I can’t go to work right now, even if I wanted to…..the bridge to work has been closed due to a multiple vehicle accident. In hindsight, it was a very fortunate decision to not leave on time. Special thanks to TT for giving me the heads up before I walked out the door.
So while I am at home, preparing for my new state of gainful unemployment, Life After The Agency 2.0 is now being launched bit-by-bit with my new tag line being “Chronicles Of An Unemployed, Free Agent of Public Relations.” I thought that “Chronicles Of An Unemployed Flack” was a bit catchier but not quite the connotation that I wanted to give myself. Accordingly, I have updated my prologue to document the changes.
Last night, I kicked off my unemployment with sushi and sake. With the unbearably sunny weather and almost 100 degree temperatures, cold raw fish was an ideal dinner. My evening was later followed by some time dedicated to trying to update my resume yet again while scanning the job market on Craigslist.com and Monster.com. No comment at this time on my prospects.
This morning, I made my second attempt (the phone line was busy in my first attempt to file yesterday) for unemployment insurance, but was temporarily rejected. Contrary to what I was told by HR yesterday, I cannot file in advance. Since I will be staying until next Thursday as I was given a full week’s notice, I am technically not qualified. Guess I’ll be calling back, this time next week.
Looking at the headlines of all the leading and local daily newspapers, it’s not secret that the economy isn’t doing very well these day. Real estate, manufacturing and retail are some of the heavily hit areas (I’m sure that there are others on the list, but that’s just what comes to mind right now.)
Well, it all hit home today as I’ll be soon unemployed and back on the job market.
Since this “breaking news” is just merely an hour hold, I really can’t say that I have much of a plan of action in place. But perhaps, this maybe an appropriate moment for me to become a full time blogger.
Just remember, boys and girls, shit can happen anywhere and at anytime. It’s just rather ironic that I should be laid off not too long after finding a job that’s been a dream up until now. Nevertheless, I still have no regrets about leaving The Agency and going in-house. It has been an eye-opening experience to see how the rest of the world works.
But I am optimistic and (strangely enough) am rather curious what its like to be unemployed……it’s like I am finally getting my “break” between graduation and working that I never had.
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