Mandy told of all the things she's done in the last 20 years -- I was trying to show I have spent it in the same industry, just at different jobs within it.

And yes, for the last 10 years or so, after I left the crappy jobs behind and started getting some worthy of my IQ and talent, I've been happy. But there is big, big change going on in the print journalism world and chances of it existing in 20 years as we know it today is next to nothing. The major metropolitan dailies, with reporting staffs of 400, are laying off people left and right, 75 or 100 or more at a time. The midsize papers like mine are doing OK, but still having to deal with the changes.

Most days I can tolerate myself. Every other day, I can tolerate other people <WINK> . I like a lot about my job. But in the 7 months since I started, I have had both full-blown manic AND depressive episodes, a crappy 6-month review, and am wondering if this is really what I should be doing. Right now I'm doing the bare minimum I was told I need to do to get by without pissing off the executive editor (who then yells at my boss instead of me). I'm almost never not thinking about work and what I have to do next and what will happen if I don't get it done.