The End of the World As We Know It
Dec 29th, 2006 at 11:26 am by Susie
Well, kids, it’s the end of the year, and I have some news.
I’m starting a new job Tuesday, one that really excites me. I’ve known about it for a few days, and I’ve been running around tying up loose ends and getting my wardrobe together before I start. Now it’s time to tell you all about it.
As of Tuesday, I won’t be blogging regularly for at least five months. I’m going to work as the press secretary for the Tom Knox mayoral campaign here in Philadelphia, and while they haven’t asked me to stop posting, I’m going to be working crazy hours and my new job is the priority.
It’s been a disappointment to me that my voice in the blogosphere wasn’t a more popular one, because I represent what I think of as the truly forgotten people: the working class, the working poor. I hoped to get enough financial support to blog full-time and perhaps get a higher profile, but it never did work out. Oh well.
You know that Zen parable I like, the one with the farmer who says, “Maybe yes, maybe no”? Maybe that was for the best. Because now I get an opportunity to advocate for working-class people at a meaningful policy level, and that’s really what I wanted all along. Blogging was supposed to be the means to that end, and it was - just not the way I thought.
There are a few reasons I was drawn to the Knox campaign, not the least of which was the opportunity to work with (and learn from) Joe Trippi. But the real attraction is the candidate’s own story.
Tom Knox is a multi-millionaire who grew up poor in the very same projects that backed up against the rowhouse I used to rent in East Falls. His father was disabled and his mother worked long hours to support their family, but it wasn’t enough. Tom joined the Navy so he could send money home to his mother. Shortly after he got out, both parents were dead and he had to raise his three brothers.
In other words, poverty is more than theoretical to him. He cares about struggling people, and he has some ideas about how to help. Now I’ll be helping him present those plans to the public.
So how does this affect the blog? Well, Maya and Dr. S. have agreed to fill in, and I have a few other people in mind as contributors. (I still have to twist their arms talk to them, though.) I’ll post videos, photos and the occasional update, but more than that, it’s hard to say. If Tom wins the nomination, it’ll be November before I can blog regularly again.
In the meantime, for the monthly donors: I can cancel them if you want, but I hope you don’t. I can split the money between Maya and Dr. S., both of whom have kids and can use the help. Email me and let me know.
I hope you’ll give my replacements a chance. In addition to being dear friends and two of the funniest people I know, Maya and Dr. S are two great writers with keen minds, and they’ll get even better if you give them the same support you gave me. (Dr. Jung would point out how Maya represents my touchy-feely, New Age-y side and Dr. S. my smartass hard-boiled journalist side, to which I’d reply: “And your point is?”)
So I’m not going away for good. (In fact, those of you in the Philadelphia area will catch a glimpse of me on the teevee now and then.) So don’t cry for me, Argentina. The truth is, I never left you…
Congratulations, Susie. You’ll be missed, but hopefully not for long. Enjoy your work and post when desired.
Departures
We appear to have a small epidemic of bloggers quitting, or taking a break. The newest case is Susie Madrak at Suburban Guerrilla. …
Aloha!
Best of luck with the new gig, and the new year.
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year!)
New Year brings good fortune. Best to you. We rarely agree but I wish you well.
You will see another side of the coin in Knox. He’s wealthy but claims he will never forget his financial struggles when he was young.
Try to look at your career in 5 year blocks of time. Strive to stick with it for the next 5 years then re-evaluate your trajectory every five years. You can do it - you have talent!
Congrads, good luck, and have a great New Year.
Congratulations, Susie! I can’t think of a better person for this job. And “bullshit” to your voice not being popular - it certainly is! Never make the mistake of assuming popular blogs are only those where the readers foot the bill for the blogger’s hobby.
“…It’s been a disappointment to me that my voice in the blogosphere wasn’t a more popular one…”
Susie
Sad to see your departure. Your voice was always one of the most popular with me. Ever since I discovered your Blog it’s been one that I’ve stopped by on my daily Blog rounds. I can even remember stealing links from you(-:. Best of luck with the campaign. I certainly hope you come back to the Blogging. You’ll be missed.
I’ll certainly miss you but I’m glad you’ve secured replacements for the time being. I’ll continue to click on my Suburban Gorilla bookmark every day. Good luck!
Congratulations, Susie! Best wishes for a fantastic new year!
I am not sure how to say what I want to say so please read this with that in mind. You will be missed. You have really helped me this year. There were times I was about to come unglued before the election and you helped hold me together. It is a regret that I have not been able to help you out. I am happy that you got this job. And I hope that you return quickly. I will stop by everyday like I always do.
Thank you for everything.
Paid employment is a good thing.
Does Mr. Knox realize what a forceful advocate he’s getting? Lucky him!
Congratulations and good luck. I’ll look for you on the news and hope that Knox can overcome the odds and win the nod.
Susie, I am another fan that finds your blog most illuminating and reassuring. I sincerely want you to fulfill your considerable talents, so will try not to be gloomy about this news. That being said, on a purely selfish level, I hope that ultimately you can use them to serve all of us beyond Philadelphia, as well as your home city. I hope they appreciate your unique voice as much as I do.
Good luck, and come back to us when you’re done. And don’t ever think that your work hasn’t had any influence. Yours have been some of the more insightful things I’ve read - for precisely the perspective you’ve enunciated. It’s been nice to get a blog perspective from somebody who has to balance their own checkbook.
Congratulations, Susie.
I think this is a very good thing for you and for
the world, and it will be interesting to see how
SG evolves henceforth.
I want to be clear: I never thought I didn’t have any influence - just not the kind that would put me in a position to affect policy, and that was what I always wanted to do.
Paychecks are good. I wish you the best in the New Year. I have really appreciated what you´ve done and I know a lot of others do also. You´ll be back and hopefully the financial situation will be better. We need to come up with a way to make this work so that people like you who do this well can actually make a living at it.
Congratulations!
May 7 be your lucky year.
You said something about this being your lucky year. It’s looking like it now. (See, as another Libra, I’m invested in you, because if you go up, I can believe I will too.)
Good for you Susie! I hope this it the break you’ve been looking for.
I’m happy for you but sad for me. I will miss your blogging; your insights have always rung true with me. Good luck!
[...] One of our favorite Philly bloggers, Susie Madrak @ Suburban Guerrilla, is getting ready to take a break from blogging. Seems she’s become a hired gun for Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox. That’s certainly a good thing for Susie, but a loss for the Philly progressive blogging community. History has shown that when the better bloggers on the left get hired away by political campaigns, they rarely return (at least in their previous blog personas), so we at ASZ wish the best to Susie. [...]
Will miss you. Come on back and visit every once in a while. I’ll keep checking in.
I don’t read blogs for a week and look what I miss! Congratulations!!
Congrats on the job, Susie!
Does this mean I have to do work now?