Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Moving and staying, a personal note

The word is already getting around in Latvia, so for the benefit of other readers: I am changing my "day job" in early December. It should not affect my blogging. I am going to work for what I hope will be the edgy-techie new media side of a major Latvian news agency/multimedia platform. LETA, if you must know.
Why? Call it an offer that was impossible to refuse and very difficult to accept. I have worked at my present newspaper for 11 years, longer than, say, any sane person stays at around seven different jobs in the US. Even the ones who work at the insane asylum probably don't stay that long :).
Difficult to accept because I really enjoy the people I have worked with, the generally loose workstyle keeping to tight deadlines and best-effort high standards. It was also fun to be considered among the best and only-est IT/telecoms journalists in Latvia(the guppy among the minnows in the fishpond). I hope not to lose that reputation.
It was impossible to refuse because I have a family to support and life is getting expensive even here in the partly-tamed East. I was given an excellent offer and I have to say, very simply, the cattle market for what people see as talent (flatters me :) ) has started. I am, at the same time, saddened to leave. Familiarity bred a lot more affection than contempt (none, actually) and it is painful to go.
Well, this is not a psychobabble blog for wringing one's hands about life choices, so that is all I have to say on this off-topic.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Juris,
I wish you all the best in your new jobe. At the same time I really hope you will keep up with technology and be a great man to talk about insights of IT in Latvia (and outside of Latvia too).

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to working with you :)

Anonymous said...

Juris,

I'm glad to see you found my post about you and I have corrected your name too.

I hope this new job gives you time to post about Latvian telecoms! I'm still going through the existing posts and I'm finding it useful background on the Latvian scene.

Steven Carlson
ViennaCalling! moderator