from soap to yogurt. and America!

it's official. i'll soon be unemployed.

...though rest assured, loyal readers, it's not to the "America: what happened?" tunes of our current domestic woes, but rather the "America: it happened!" way that is moving our global economy (and allowing me to take a pretty awesome road trip*).

the gist: after 7+ years shilling some of the world's best personal care products via the wonders of in the interwebs (aka "digital marketing"), i've turned in my resignation notice, and will soon be jumping into a broader, more senior "integrated marketing" role - to sell yogurt. mo money, mo problems, indeed.  but i was able to negotiate the entire month of December off. but i promise, more on that in a bit*.

so you're probably asking yourself, "self, yogurt doesn't really seem that exciting? why would our good friend Raman choose to go that route (especially when he had a safe and stable job)?" to be clear - i didn't seek this out - it kinda found me, and was too good an opportunity to pass up. and while i was still doing well in my current career with the soap-company, my NY-based location (away from the corporate mothership) wasn't really helping with certainty and upward trajectory.

this new role, while a bit of a risk, is a calculated one. i'll be at the US headquarters of a European company (so yes, potential travel and relocation are in my future), but for the meantime i get to stay put in NY (minimal disruption to my personal life). the values of my soon-to-be new yogurt-making employers are a good fit with where i'm coming from and where i want to go, and i'm a big fan of the culture there (pun fully intended). all that being said, this was one of the tougher decisions of my personal and professional life - as i'm leaving behind a lot of great friends and colleagues, and a global network of rockstars that's hard to beat. but the future awaits, and i'm excited about the next 5-7 years of my career selling yogurt.

and frankly, between you and me - this is the real litmus test of IF marketing is the right fit for me long-term. i think it will be, as i'm getting on-board at the ground floor of something big - and the room for me to continue growing personally and professionally seems boundless.

*but enough grown-up talk. let's get to the real reason you're reading this: America.

(click above to see the latest and greatest itinerary of my upcoming trip)

that's right. America. while i did recently attend a rally in DC, that's not what sparked this interest. i effectively have a month off as i transition between my job of selling yogurt to my job of selling soap. i'm already out west for the Thanksgiving holidays with extended family, and have no commitments until the Christmas break - where i reunite with my immediate family in Cincinnati.

so in-between the two, i'm renting a car and hitting the hi-ways and by-ways of the American south/midwest (AKA - a bunch of states i've not yet been to - getting me closer to one of my many travel goals - 50 states by 40). i'll be starting in LA, and making my way to/thru Arizona and New Mexico - and then straight up to Denver, Colorado. from CO, i'll be flying over to Omaha, Nebraska, where i'll zig zag my way through Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas, before zooming down to Oklahoma and Arkansas. my final stop will be in Houston, Texas, where i'll hang for a few days with a close friend from my German-speaking days. and then i'm leaving on a jet-plane for Cincinnati for the holidays.

so my question to you, dear reader is this: got a place i can crash? while you may not live in my path of American exploration (and if you do, seriously, let's talk), i'm sure you've got a sibling and/or close friend along the way. if not, at least give me your recommendations of random sights to see (giant-sized baskets) and foods to try (giant-sized baskets of artichokes). otherwise it's just going to be me and the road. and i just might drive the road crazy.

so that's all (for now) folks. just keep buying soap to keep my current retirement savings going. start buying yogurt to ensure i have a job in the new year. and let me know what i should do along my route through America!

remember: soap, yogurt, America!