Good Morning!

Ah, before we get into today's entry, I'm looking at the ticker at the top of the page, so I simply MUST quote Mr. Nelson:

17 Days: The rain will come down and U shall have 2 choose. If U Believe, look 2 THE DAWN and U shall never loose!

OK, with that out of my system, lets move on.

2008 was tumultuous in more ways than one for many of us. The Family TriSec was also affected by the Bush economy, and as we struggled through the months, more often than not we got those lovely little notices from the bank, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas had to dip into some hard-won savings (which were expressly put aside for just this purpose) in order to get out of November with some solvency.

Like most of you out there, I'm getting pretty damn tired of living from paycheck to paycheck, so I finally thought I had to do something more. Mrs. TriSec, bless her heart, is still primarily a homemaker and care provider for young Javier. She does work a few hours in the public school system, but it was never enough to really make a difference.

In any case, the week before Thanksgiving, we were at the mall, and saw all the seasonal "help wanted" signs, so I took the plunge. Fortunately, the well-known local merchant L.L. Bean was also hiring, and they seemed a wee bit interested in my availability and rather extensive customer-service work history.

So, here I am. More fortunate than many, I'm working a job and a half in the Bush economy. It took a couple of weeks to take hold, but we ended 2008 in the black with a wee balance in our savings account. It's a good feeling. I'm hoping to stay on through the year, as we've got some credit cards that could be paid down, and the possibility of fixing my car, buying some brand names again at the supermarket, or traveling again are tempting me to stay on after the holidays wrap up. (LL Bean keeps it's seasonal employees through Valentine's Day, primarily for the return season.)

Working in retail has made me think about my "day" job in a new light. Most of you know who has signed my paycheck for the last 5 years. (ironic, innit?) Since we're a publicly-traded company now, I can't divulge too much without it being considered "insider information", but suffice to say that every day I'm responsible for millions of dollars of transactions, and I have to answer to hundreds of client concerns, all the while protecting our internal information, and especially our client's protected health information. (Nasdaq symbol: ATHN, you could look it up.)

Most days it's a pressure-cooker....and there's things going on internally that I'm really and truly not at liberty to divulge (see the publicly-traded disclaimer above).

I've been comparing the environments recently. Working retail, especially in this economy and during this past Christmas season, was an equally intense pressure cooker....for the store management types. I as the seasonal worker have found an "elegant simplicity" in doing what is essentially scut-work. I've been humping trash, schlepping empty boxes around the store, doing something called "Go-backs" (returning unbought merchandise to the racks) and generally being a jack of all trades during my hours at the store. It's actually been a revelation; there's no pressure on me, and I feel like my presence at the store has made a difference to the areas where I work. I've gotten a great amount of positive feedback from the cashiers, floor managers, and even the big boss, who has seen my in action a number of times.

It's enough of a jarring difference that Mrs. TriSec has noticed, and after my first week at the store, she even asked "Career Change?" I must admit, I'm sorely tempted, but given the nature of the retail beast, there's two drawbacks. Of course the biggest is it doesn't pay enough....and the second is purely personal. Even on a short shift, I come home utterly dog-tired. But to my way of thinking, that's a good thing. In the sports world, it's called "leaving everything on the field". It's certainly gotten me noticed by the store management...so I think things are looking good for staying on and having a decent 2009.

It's funny...up until November 2008, it felt like a titanic struggle just to stay afloat. I can't put my finger on it, but since then it seems like a tremendous weight has been lifted from all of us, and despite the many challenges that we still face individually and as a nation, it's OK to have a little hope and positive thoughts for the new year.

17 days. This weekend might be Three Kings, but I don't get my gift until noon on January 20th.