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"I don't know how this works..."

I hadn't eaten lunch and walked over to the local Subway to pick up a late-afternoon sub yesterday. It was around 3:30, so I figured it'd be a quick in-and-out. Unfortunately, it wasn't or else I wouldn't be telling you this story.

In front of me were three younger guys, all jumping between speaking Spanish and English. For some reason, it took them a lot longer to order because they were messing around and barely paying attention. I don't think they had any idea about what or how to order, but noticed that there was a girl outside that looked like someone from The Hills. Maybe I've forgot about being young, but does common sensibility about hurrying up in line take that long to develop?

Just after me was an older gentlemen that started out his order with these lines: "I don't know how this works..." Huh? I did a double-take. If you walk into a fast-food type place, don't you get the basic concept? I listened intently as the man struggled with what type of sandwich to order (roast beef), whether he wanted it toasted ("Huh? Oh...toasted."), what veggies he wanted ("Lettuce...tomato...that's it.") and what type of condiment ("Mayo...and salt and pepper!"). It was almost painful to listen to as you would think that with a giant board filled with various sandwiches would turn someone onto what they wanted. However, at least one person didn't know how ordering a sandwich worked at a major chain.

Both scenarios illustrated that no matter how much we think we know, there's a lot of people that have no idea what's going on. I'm fascinated by those people: the ones that are being targeted by the FCC to convert to a digital signal in 2009...the ones that don't understand the internet and the ones that don't understand how Subway works.

Coming Home

I moved to Manchester in June of 2001, a fresh-faced kid a year removed from college who left to chase 'the dream'. I was 23 years old at the time and no idea what I was doing, just that I wanted to leave Maine and try something new. But a strange thing happened along the way: after I left, I really wanted to come back. I made stronger connections, met more people and saw life passing me by with my best friends 90 minutes north. I think I was asked about 10,000 times 'When are you moving back?' There was never a great time. Work was good, pay was great and I had built a life here in Manchester.

Then, a month ago happened and my position at work was eliminated. My cocoon was busted open and just months after considering condos, I was left with asking myself the very question so many asked me for so long. I thought long and hard about whether I should stay, but my motivation to look for work here was really, really low and there was a reason for that. My heart wasn't in it. There was no natural place to jump to and I felt staying here would be just be putting off the inevitable.

So I've thought a lot about how to tell you all the following sentence. It's been in the back of my mind since '01 and ya know, sometimes it's good to just come out and say it....

I'm moving back to Portland!

I am packing things up and wrapping up my business here by the end of the month, so I should back in the good graces of Maine by Labor Day. There's no bait and switch here...this is really happening. I don't have a job yet, but have a few prospects out there. I don't have a place to live yet, but I'll worry about that later. The point is that I'm coming home for good and things will never be the same again!

Expect a more formal good-bye to Manchester here in the next few weeks...grab the tissues.

Swallowing the unemployment pill

"We're going to have to let you go."

This is one of the worst sentences you can ever hear in your life. One day, everything is going great at work. You're in the routine, making things happen, enjoying a steady paycheck and then just like that, your green field of grass turns brown. The sun hides behind the clouds and things become very, very cold. It's unexpected, swift and usually with no way out. It's being let go from your job and it sucks.

Unfortunately, I heard those very words three weeks ago. It came as a shock to me, something that ironically came when I was working late one night. I got the call to come into the boss's office with the classic 'You got a minute?' Here's some advice: if you hear that phrase, be prepared for anything...or run. When paired with 'Hey, close the door,' just run...run as FAR away as you can. Feign diarrhea, say your house is on fire or that your brother is giving birth. Just do anything but go in that room.

It wouldn't be fair to say exactly what was said from either side during this discussion, but the end result was the same: I was no longer going to be enjoying a regular paycheck. Because I wasn't fired (my position was simply eliminated), I got a nice recommendation and a severance that will get me through for a while, but at the end of the day, I am now jobless and need to find that on ramp onto whatever is next in life. Another friend of mine (in yet another ironic twist) was let go...both of us I highlighted in my last blog. Huh...that's really, really weird. Apparently this blog is now like that tape in The Ring or something.

I'm sure you've heard of the seven stages of grief, a series of emotions people go through after they lose a close one. There are definitely stages involved with situations like this too.

1 - Anger: If you think highly of yourself and your skills, you're going to be pissed...like punch someone in the face pissed. I vented and fumed about the situation for the better part of the following week. I was furious, frustrated and filled with that bad, bad feeling no one likes to have. Then, it just goes away. You talk and you talk and you talk and eventually, it all comes out in the wash. I'm not angry anymore and it feels very good to be at peace with the decision. I feel like Manny Ramirez or something.

2 - Sadness: I really liked my co-workers and was sad that I didn't have the chance to say good-bye. I think everyone wants to go out in their own way, but alas, that obviously wasn't the case here. You start to get complacent and gloomy for stretches, wondering where everything went wrong and maybe what you could have done differently. I loved our group and where our potential was to go as a company, so to not be able to see that to fruition killed me inside. At the risk of sounding less than manly, I was heartbroken. When you work for a small business and you believe in the message, that can happen. Part of this feeling will never go away, but for the most part, I'm ok with this now.

3 - Fear: What will I do for money? How will I pay bills? What should I do next? The economy is bad...what if I can't find anything? What if...what if...what if? Honestly, I didn't suffer through this like others that have mortgages, kids and other types of immediate bills but there were pangs of 'Holy sh*t' over the past few weeks. Thankfully, I feel I have a skill set and background that won't have me on the sidelines that much longer. I wasn't scared that much...just mildly concerned at times. However, I would be terrified if I had a mortgage or a family that relied on me to bring home the financial bacon.

4 - Sunshine: Day by day, conversation by conversation, the clouds start to break and the sun comes out again. You start to get things done like updating your resume and Linked In accounts, reconnecting with people you lost touch with and seeing what else is out there. When you're in the cocoon of your current life, you don't see or look for other opportunities that are right in front of you. Eventually, you start to breathe again and realize everything is going to be alright. Great friends, family, advice and life experience help this a lot.

After taking a mental week off to do nothing job-related (a necessity for the recently unemployed), I started climbing out of the grave. I started an email marketing blog where I continue to give the industry tips and tricks, building upon a name I had built for myself over the past 18 months. I reached out to a few magazines about freelancing and heard some encouraging news back. I looked myself in the mirror and decided on exactly what I want to be and how I want to do it. I talked, I listened and I acted.

I live by a corny old adage that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, those reasons are cold and cruel and make no sense but in time, they do. Getting told we don't want you anymore was a hard pill to swallow but slowly, the effects of that pill have worn off and your friendly neighborhood Nason has emerged from its induced slumber.

From the archive: Nason interviews Zane Lamprey of Three Sheets

I had the idea once to interview random up-and-coming celebrities for my old company's blog site, attracting new viewers and helping us stick out a bit. Unfortunately, celebs are not the most reliable to connect with and almost all of my interviews fell through...except this one. From February of 2008, enjoy my interview with Zane Lamprey, host of MOJO's Three Sheets and Food Network's Have Fork, Will Travel.

My friend Rob doesn't just have an HD-TV. He has a HUGE HD-TV and is quite the host in showing off his prize possession. On one such night following a trip to the Portland, Maine, den of sin called the Old Port, Rob asked if I had seen the MOJO Network, an HD-only channel. In between bits of stale nacho chips soggy with chili and cheese, I answered no and within a few minutes, a wonderous program hit the screen all about visiting places around the world and sampling the various drinking spots they featured. It seemed ironic that on one of those nights that leads to morning-long headaches, I was introduced to Three Sheets for the first time.

While there are no shortage of travel-style programs on TV, there was something about Three Sheets that made it different. In this case, the 'different' is Zane Lamprey, the host responsible for traveling this fine sphere of earth, wind and fire in search of the world's best drinking spots. He has been to Japan, Croatia, Belgium, Portugal and even good ol' Kentucky. If you haven't seen an episode, you might be inclined to roll your eyes at the spectre of a grown man downing booze and getting paid for being drunk. However, you'd be wrong. Three Sheets is more about customs than it is keg stands, more fun than frat. Lamprey is inquisitive, insightful and immediately likeable, disarming even the staunchiest critic with his charm. (Still not with it? He also hosts Food Network's "Have Fork, Will Travel".)

So why am I telling you about a show or a host that has nothing to do with email marketing? Because this marks the first installment of the SendLabs Interview series, a series of talks with up-and-coming celebrities and interesting personalities where we ask them some not-so-typical questions including their email habits. And now to kick it off, allow me to introduce Zane Lamprey of MOJO's Three Sheets, currently preparing for his first round of ZaneCrawls and for the third season of Three Sheets to begin.

Josh Nason: I'm sure many watch Three Sheets and think, "Wow, that's the dream job." What's the toughest part of being Zane Lamprey?

Zane Lamprey: It's a boring answer, but the worst part is leaving my family. I hate leaving my wife and son for any period of time, and most of the time with Three Sheets, I'm on the road for about two weeks. My wife came with me a bunch (Belize, Venis, France, Rio) until she got too pregnant to fly. Now my boy is about 5 months old, so they'll be traveling with me in season four.

Josh: Being on tv and the celebrity that comes along with it affords you a lot of privileges. What's the best perk or situation you've experienced since become well-known?

Zane: Three Sheets is more of a cult hit than a mainstream success. So I have no problem leaving my house and going to the grocery store without getting recognized. When I'm at the mall or at a bar or restaurant, I do usually have someone that tells me they love Three Sheets, but that's about it.

Josh: Is it possible to go out to bars/clubs/drinking holes in the U.S. anymore without being bombarded by fans and other people that recognize you? I would think after a while, that might get to be a bit much.

Zane: It has happened. People always want to put me on the phone with their friend, who doesn't believe that it's me. So I have to try and convince a stranger on the phone (that I don't want to be on in the first place) that I'm me. Weird. And people often offer to buy me drinks, but I do so much drinking on the road that when I'm home, I give my body a break. I only drink when I'm working....

Josh: How do you locate/find all of the great spots around the world and what goes into actually making an episode of Three Sheets?

Zane: The production company, Screaming Flea in Seattle, do an amazing job. They get all of the credit for that. They work very hard behind the scenes. I do make some suggestions -- and push them when I really want to go someplace. And they usually oblige. They're great.

Josh: Finally, I assume you have an email address like everyone else. What entices you to sign up to be contacted by a marketer (retailer, restaurant, etc.) and what gets you excited when you log on to your email account?

Zane: Hmm...interesting question. I'd say that "deals" get me the most interested. I love my work and I love entertaining, but what I really love are opportunities for financial security for my family. I don't know if that's the answer most people want to hear, but it's the truth. Money doesn't buy happiness. But I've never been upset when I've gone to my mailbox and found a check.

If you think you can hang with Zane, I'd highly recommend one of his newly-christened ZaneCrawls, a weekend-long pub crawl to international drinking establishments. Essentially, you can experience an entire season of Three Sheets in three days! Get all the info by clicking here for either Los Angeles (March 14-16) or New York City (April 25-27). The new season of Three Sheets kicks off on Thursday, April 10th.

Job security, lifestyle and plugging along in the new economy as a 30-year-old

We must view young people not as empty bottles to be filled but as candles to be lit. - Robert Shaffer

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist. - Mark Twain

I am facing a crunch at work with bringing in 'numbers'. As my tenure has progressed, so have the expectations that the dreaded word of "sales" is more a growing part of my universe. I say dreaded because to be known as a salesperson these days can be a kiss of death. You're known as always trying to push something. You have an agenda. You don't have conversations, but exchanges of words that should mean something to your bottom line. I don't think of myself as a salesperson, but rather as a marketer by heart that can help influence people into making decisions based on their current needs. I find myself thinking a lot more about the future and wondering what I want to be known for and what I want to do. I am 30 years old and feel like life is just beginning.

I was talking tonight with a friend who is having issues with his work. Because of an out-of-character shift in focus at his firm, he is now working in a lockdown environment. They have let quality people go because there simply wasn't enough work for them but the excess they have piled on to everyone else with the expectation of just working longer hours. A 50-hour work week has now turned into an 80-hour work week. It's starting to wear on him and he is thinking about looking other places for work, just a few years removed from finding what he thought was a home for a long, long time. He is also just 30 years old.

My friend and I aren't alone as people of all ages are now trying to make their way in the new economy we are smack-dab in the middle of. You rarely hear that people are doing well, but rather surviving. Gas prices are high, food prices are high, medical bills are high and if you're trying to invest as well, money can be tough to come by every month. I feel lucky that I got a great education and tried to diversify myself early on in life where I could do a multitude of tasks and still feel happy. It's worked well so far, but others I know aren't that lucky. I still don't understand how people can financially raise kids at our ages. I would be terrified in a cut 'em culture like this that one day, I'd be without work and potentially have that child go without. Young parents are stronger than most give them credit for.

Another buddy found out his company is being sold. He now has the "luxury" of either moving to Wisconsin/Minnesota or finding new work by December. All he wants to do in work in investments, but he realized this too late in life. He either must go back to school or move to Boston in a hope of someone giving him a chance. He's had several careers and just wants stability, but the clock is ticking and he's not sure what to do next. He is 28 years old.

Everyday, there are more and more stories of mass layoffs in all walks of business. Do a Google search under News and type in the word 'layoffs'. You'll see story after story of 25 here, 200 there, a whole plant there. No one is safe these days, but what happens when the good people get let go? The ones that care about the company, put in the overtime and try to make a difference? Should they be the casualties or is it the responsibility of those in charge to do whatever they can to hold onto valuable employees for when things do change?

Another friend of mine was laid off last year and had a devil of a time finding work. An English major, she searched...and searched...and searched. She's a good person that someone could surely take on and train her to the best of her qualities. But she is still searching and now has a job that is just that...a job, until the right key turns the right door and she finds what she is looking for. Sometimes even a college education isn't worth the paper it's presented on. She is 27 years old.

So during all this time, I've been doing a lot of thinking (big surprise) about two items: debt and efficiency. People have a tough time changing lifestyle, so my guess is that credit card debts are just going up and up and up. Combined with mortgages, student loans, car payments and the other necessities in life, it's no surprise that there have been so many foreclosures and repossessions of property in the past few years. On efficiency, I often wonder if people look within their company to minimize inefficiencies so that they don't have to let people go. My friend Chris is a logistical genius and is written up quite frequently in the news for his abilities to save his major employer money. He virtually is paying for himself time and time again simply by doing something so simple it's scary: looking for problems that aren't apparent and fixing them anyway. He is 33 years old.

Finally, there's the story of my buddy Mark. He works for a major financial investment company that was recently in the news for laying hundreds of people off. During the time this was happening, he was on vacation and was unsure of whether he'd have a job upon his return. "I'm not checking my email or voicemail while I'm on vacation," he said with a resigned look on his face. "Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I'll find out when I get back."

Even in this era of uncertainty, there one fact that has never changed: sometimes it's still best to just stay in bed.

Green 17: a Boston Celtics story

The story of how the Boston Celtics came to be the NBA Champions this season really comes down to that fateful Edgar Renteria grounder to Keith Foulke that ended the 2004 World Series for the Boston Red Sox. You see on that day, our mindset as fans of Boston sports changed forever. A fanbase and region that was heckled for its accents, affinity to cold and dreary weather and love of teams that ripped our hearts out time and time again finally had something to be proud of. Our teams can win!

For whatever reason, we neglected the multiple titles that the Celtics won in the 1980s and the 2001 improbable New England Patriots Super Bowl win. After the Sox won their first title in 87 years, we smelled blood in the water. The Patriots then won another Super Bowl...and then another. Man, winning is great! Then, the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and our eyes focused on the potential of expanding our empire: an NBA title for one of the most important franchises in sports history.

This past Tuesday, it happened.

Our generation finally got their own version of the Big Three, an indelible memory in our modern internet fueled times that we can fully explain and understand to later generations. I was eight years old when the Celtics won their last NBA title and the only things I have to remember it by was the grainy video footage of Bird/McHale/Parish and seeing my dad wear his old-school Celtics jacket when we went into town. Now as a grown adult, I understand the state of hysteria a team of green can put us in, especially when mixed with a sea of red and blue. I watched 75% of the games this season, I read the stories and thanks to the 'net, I and others understand more about this team than any fans of those teams of generations past.

In all reality, teams and players are like our friends now: people we see every night in living color that make us happy, sad and frustrating all at the same time. These are our Celtics, our Sox, our Patriots, our (insert team here).

A Soxian team of great personalities and familiar faces with rich back stories, this Celtics club was fun to watch from the first time they hit the floor to the final time they left it. Aggressive winners, underachievers, overachievers, frustrating offensively at times and gloriously defensive at others, this 2007-08 Celtics team was memorable in every way possible.

A few days removed from it all, I'm reveling in the coverage and already excited for next season. Caring about the NBA was dormant in me for the better part of a decade and I'm happy to admit I'm fully on the bandwagon now. The Boston Celtics matter again and it feels so good to be green. I'm happier for those that stuck with this team through the awful years, like two of my good friends Matt Paul and Greg Giorgio. Matt wrote a great email to a small group of us that included the following:

On more than one occasion (all right, dozens of occasions), I showed up for middle school in Celtics sweatpants, Celtics socks, green Chuck Taylors with green laces, a Larry Bird t-shirt under a Larry Bird sweatshirt, a satin green Celtics Starter jacket, and a Celtics cap (with my commemorative Larry Bird mullet hanging out the back).....I know you won't get the same enjoyment out of this championship that I have, but I just wanted to share with you my glee at this moment -- 12:48 a.m., when I have to be at work in the morning. It was an unbelievable feeling, and unless these Celts run off a few titles in the next few years, it's a feeling that won't be soon forgotten.

Or Greg, who simply said:

I don't even know what to say.

Much like the Sox win was for generations who never thought they would ever see a title, this 17th title is for those fans like Matt and Greg who endured years of bad draft picks, false hope and heartache. They're for the fans who cried like babies when Reggie Lewis suddenly died, who still dream about Len Bias in Celtic green and for those who learned how to shoot by watching a selfless ugly man from French Lick, Indiana. So many of us are enjoying the ride on the bandwagon you helped build. Thanks for allowing the rest of us to jump aboard.

**********

Some other thoughts to close up shop on the season:

-I can't think of a person that has gone through more in the past few months than Ray Allen. Between the bizarre story of the hit that was ordered on his mother's husband to his early playoff shooting slump to his youngest son being diagnosed with diabetes the eve of Game Six, what else could have happened to Allen, the man who could have been crowned Finals MVP? (He only put in a game-high 26 points in the clincher.)

-How about the fact the Celtics were the ones to stop Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Red Auerbach as the winningest Finals coach in NBA history?


-I think it was a bit of cosmic justice that Kobe Bryant didn't get his wish in winning an NBA title without Shaquille O'Neal. In a season where he demanded to be traded in the preseason and called out Lakers' ownership and front office personnel, it seemed fitting that ultimately his whining was not rewarded. Despite what the mainstream media wants us to believe, he is not the next Michael Jordan and can spend the rest of the summer wondering just what went wrong, staring at his MVP trophy and wondering if he'll ever win another title. Karma's a bitch.

-I think the vindication of Paul Pierce is one of the more polarizing stories of this Celtics' season. For years, he was stuck on lackluster teams and fans blamed him for why the club wasn't getting any better. Never mind the one run to the Eastern Conference finals the team had during the Antoine years, Pierce never had the parts around him that he needed.

By all accounts, Pierce is a great player but more so in the Pippen mold than the Jordan mold. He was a leader, but a guy that needed real support in order to fuel a successful team. Double-P was left for dead by fans, but this season when he didn't have to be THE man, you saw how effective he could be. Now, he will try to win a few more titles with this group but can always look on this season as the one where he cemented his legacy among Boston sports legends. If you don't respect Pierce now, you just don't understand sports.

-James Posey (player option) just made himself a boatload of money for next season, hopefully in Celtic green.

-Man, the Bruins are just so far off the radar screen that it's sad...just plain sad.

-For the NBA, they finally have two of the league's premiere franchises back on top and reason to believe that both clubs will be back in force next season. While they have their own mountain of questions (mostly regarding officiating) to answer, they got their dream series and, for the most part, it paid off.

-Also making a boatload of money: the Celtics overall. Cha-ching....cha-ching. There aren't enough green money jokes in the world that would total the amount they'll rake in from merchandise and ticket sales alone.

-Sasha Vujacic is now the greatest basketball villain of our time, bar none. I mean, really...could you ever take a team seriously with a dude named Sasha on it?

-This series was as polarizing as you can get: East Coast vs. West Coast, blue collar vs. white collar, substance vs. style, keg parties vs. black tie affairs.

-Finally, this title win gives columnists and fans from across the country another reason to hate Boston, another reason to despise us as fans and another reason to root against the teams that we cheer so much. Instead of asking their team's owners to do better, it's easier to tear down the foundation that the owners of the real Big Three established years ago, something famed success story Jack Welch picked up on this week. Why is everyone else so slow to put the numbers together?

It has become too easy to dismiss us as arrogant and brash, but the honest emotions most of us are giving off are happiness and confidence. That's why we travel hundreds of miles to watch our teams play on the road and wear the Boston 'B' with pride. That's why we get upset when so-called experts try and place asterisks on the Patriots' Super Bowls. It's not to rub it in other's faces but because this era is so invigorating to be a sports fan, we can't get enough...and that includes crossing our fingers for another World Series, Super Bowl and NBA title in the next 12 months.

The Era of Excellence rolls on.