True confessions of a diet slacker: Part 2
December 9, 2008 by lisagriffis
Filed under Uncategorized
Watching the death of newspapers is hard. I am a journalist. I have been one for 30 years. It’s not what I do but who I am. Thousands of sarcastic, funny and liberal curmudgeons are leaving the business and are having to find new ways of making a living. Their parting letters are filling my email box. They are all grateful for the time they spent in the business but it is dying and they are left wondering what their next moves will be.
I wish them all the best and I will miss them. I will miss their humor, their witty way of looking at the world and most of all I will miss the people that I have come to love. I am grateful that for the time I have spent in the business but it is hard to watch this all unfold in these uncertain economic times.
It’s just sad. The kind of sadness that makes you want to cry. In my case, I usually want to eat to mask the empty pit in my stomach. That is what happened for the last few weeks while I was left wondering if I would be the next one asked to leave the paper. I was spared during the recent layoffs but the uncertainty wasn’t good for my diet. Stress is never good and after all this time of living a healthier life I still haven’t learned to deal with the pressure like a thin person.
Fact: Chocolate is my Xanax.
But I am grateful that so many people have found my new website and are making it a daily destination, over 96,000 hits in November. Thanks for making it a bright spot in my life. I have been working on a new look with fresh content for the website for the new year. Stay tuned. If you have any ideas please let me know.
Hi Lisa - I’m so sorry to see and hear about what is happening with newspapers also. I worked in media relations for a few years and made many friends with papers all across Michigan. Just this week, the Battle Creek Enquirer let go of half of their staff (more than 50) and shut down their printing press moving it all to Lansing, and the Lansing State Journal, my local paper, let go of 13 more staffers. What is so sad about Lansing, in particular, is that they don’t even have adequate staff to cover state politics anymore. Most of the stories about what is happening in government come from the AP, not the local, state capital newspaper. Very sad indeed.
I have not learned how to deal with stress like a thin person either. When thin people I know are stressed, they lose their appetite. When I’m stressed, I want a Chinese buffet and donuts. Where’s the justice? I think it must have something to do with the genetic make-up and emotional profile of people who are or once were morbidly obese.
My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. I’m glad your job was spared, but I’m sure it’s very hard to see so many friends go.