Chris Wheeler's Worldly Inferno

I have been behind the curve on getting my blog up and running.  Blame it on the fact that I was either too busy working and contributing elsewhere to pay attention to my side of the street or have been too deep in taking a break lately to spend a lot of time getting it all polished up.  *

But, today, I finally hit the point where I needed to reach out to the world at large.  As most of you know, I am not employed any longer and have been taking things easy for a bit.  I received another letter of support today from a contact in the email industry and it moved me to action.  Mind you, I’ve been doing some employer prospecting on the side, but haven’t been as zealous as I have in the past since I want to be certain that where I land next is the right place for me.  The community support I’ve received, though, has truly humbled me and reaffirmed that people are inherently good.  I’ve had ex colleagues, vendors, executives, and industry peers taking time out of their busy lives to think of me and pass along words of encouragement as well as job leads and connections for places looking for folks.  Not to mention, I consider most of the people to be true friends.  It’s amazing how that happens, no?  You work in an area for a while, try to be yourself and work your ass off to better the landscape and along the way you make lifelong friends that will stand there by you or look around for you to be with them when the course changes in an unexpected manner.  Heck, I’m considering using this mini-vacation to go see one of my good friends at a company in the Pacific Northwest just to spend some time with him and glean wisdom from his unending fountain.  And I love hearing his stories – puts the rest of us to shame.

But, I digress.  This maiden post is to thank everyone out there who has made an effort without being asked and to show my gratitude.  You know you all can call on me, as some of you already have, when the going gets rough and I’ll be there to reciprocate.  You are an inspiration and reminder of why I love the email industry in the first place.  Without the people in it, there would be no soul or fellowship that I’ve come to love just as much as the technology.

Now, who wants a leftover St. Patrick’s day cookie? 

* It’s still not polished, but I hope to get that done sometime soon.  I figured getting out a word of thanks was more time sensitive.