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The nightmare is finally over! Last night the union representing The Star-Ledger's drivers voted overwhelmingly to accept a contract agreement, which was the final hurdle to preventing the newspaper's sale or closing. That means that I will be getting my buyout after all.
This is a bittersweet victory. It means that before the end of the year I will be leaving The Star-Ledger after almost 20 years. You make a lot of friends over that span of time, and I'll miss seeing them on a daily basis. The paper is going to be losing a lot of good people, and it's going to become a seriously scaled-down publication. Also, this effectively marks the end of my 35-year newspaper career, since every other paper in the country is facing the same problems and is cutting back on staff too. It's not going to be easy to find a new job in this economy, but at least my one-year salary package gives me some breathing room to find something decent.
Next Tuesday I'll be going to the Red Cross to renew my CPR certification, which will be the last step toward getting my personal trainer certification, so hopefully I'll be getting some training work soon. I hope the certification will give me a leg up on possibly finding work with a fitness-related publication.
I want to thank all of my Fitsters for your prayers and expressions of support and encouragement in this stressful time. Believe me, they've been a big help.
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