RIFFED!

'Morning everybody.

This is my first blog post ever.

I love to write. I have had a burning desire to blog for a number of years. This is a secret desire I have not told any friends or family about since the early days of blogging. Several years ago, I told a friend that I thought it would be fun to do, and he rolled his eyes. After resisting an urge to jam a pen into his throat, I said (characteristically), "Bad idea, I guess." Well, here's the best form of rebellion I can muster: I got laid off yesterday, and everyone who thinks blogging is stupid can pound sand until I make million or find a new job - whatever comes first. (Let me just make one thing clear: I don't expect to make millions on this blog. It's an outlet for me. I need this.)

So now you know why I am blogging. On to the next question: Is what I have to say worth your time to read? I plan to share my thoughts on the following:

1. My job loss and ensuing attempts to return to corporate slavery. Yes, I still need a job. I was thinking about starting a business, but I think I need more money first. So, my time is still for sale (probably at a discount, too!). I have been laid off three times, all in February, and this will be the last time. One way or another.
   
2. I also plan to write about the conflicts and encounters that have soured my taste for the life of a working stiff over the years. For that reason -sorry - for some time I will remain anonymous. The great thing for you is that I'll be able to remain brutally honest. This is the area I'm most excited about sharing. If some VP in his plush corporate office happens to stumble into my space here, and something he or she reads brings forth a modicum of original, challenging thought that leads to an unselfish act, I will have been successful.
   
3. If you like musings about sports, I may includes some smatterings. I live in New England, so it will be Boston-tilted, but perhaps not Boston-centric. But I also coach youth sports, and I think the funniest, most horrific, and most heartwarming contributions to this blog will come from things I've seen kids and parents do.
   
4. The economy and the news. I know, I know...everyone has opinions - that's why they're like butts - but from time to time I will see something in the news that I just can't ignore. This'll be my forum, my soapbox, my personal Lifetime Channel (as in, "my outlet for peddling my left-leaning stance on social and economics issues").

A few more things I want to mention about me:

• I have three kids (15, 10, and 8)
• I voted for Obama, Kerry, Bush (in '00 only), and Clinton (twice).
• I believe that all Americans are responsible for defending freedom and prospering.
• I am 100 pages into Ayne Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and I can't put it down.
• I love all the Die Hard movies (except the last one...the iMac kid ruined it). My favorite flick is and probably always will be Pulp Fiction. (Let's go Quentin!)
  
• I think that Bill Simmons is the King of Sports (and this blog is NOT an attempt to compete with him).
• I have a dog. He's cool, and he's a (ahem) cockapoo. Here's an example.
• I eat meat, I hike, I play video games, and sometimes I play cards and fantasy football.
• I'm trying to write a book. It's not easy.
  

I hope I can create some content here that people care about. I have strong opinions about the way people behave today. An example: Self preservation is and always will be the driving force behind every hiring and firing that occurs in the steamy jungle atmosphere of Corporate America. That's probably the topic of my first full post, which should come tomorrow morning.

If I get one reader today, I'll be happy! I'm okay with none too...because I love to write, and here's the best place I could think of start.

If you agree or disagree with anything I write...PLEASE let me have it!

Mick