August:

Eliot was wrong; August is the cruelest month. Those of us in transition are not looking to take any vacation days. We've had all the vacation days we can handle, and then some. For years, we took regular summer vacations, many of them during August. Now, we are astounded when so many people leave behind their jobs and head for the beach, the lake or their backyards. If we are ever entitled to vacation again, bosses will have to pry us out of our chairs and have security make us leave to join our families. All the while, sitting on the beach, we will worry that someone might have their eyes on our job.

For now,, we must force ourselves to take a vacation from all this transitioning. At night we dream a sweet dream; we dream that it is September and everyone is back.

The Network's The Same: You're different:

My friends have asked if I will help their son try to find a job. Now that's positive thinking. I am no longer sure that I can be an authority, although it's true, I do have a great network. That network will probably work even better for a 23 yr. old eager beaver, whom the people in the network have never before met. One problem with your network: they know you too well, and you're not that person anymore.

Double Dipping:

The Times today tells yet another Albany story. It seems that active legislators over 65 may receive their full pension benefit and continue in office at full salary. Additionally, those pensions look very generous. One legislator explained that all you need to do is "retire" for a day at the end of the year, then you go back in as a "newly" elected representative. Since you've retired, you can "double dip" legally. One is tempted to say, "Only in Albany," but we know that's not true. There are 49 other state capitols, plus Wash. D.C.

Transitioners have a form of "double dipping" too: we tap into our pensions and 401k's simultaneously, while we try to transition to new work. Is it too late to run for office?

Race of Masters:

Again the Times. A woman dynamo named Suzanne Rheault has started a service for parents and students. It prepares them for pre-K testing. She finished MIT in less than four years and became a star at Morgan Stanley. She must be an uber-Energizer Bunny. Three-year-olds who read this article will be bugging their parents to forego the new stroller and pop for the fees at "Aristotle Circle." No, we're not making this name up.

Didn't someone try this Master Race thing already? Could this have been one of the causes of the subprime mess: overachieving bankers? Our advice: take your child to the baby pool and don't challenge her friends to any races, okay, just watch them play.