Well, that was short-lived. After just three weeks of my break out into the travelogue column scene at Lycos-Asia, it is no more.

After submitting a brand new story about the aboriginal tour of Uluru in Australia (my third for the weekly column) and not seeing it online the following Monday, I figured something was up. I emailed my producer Carol in Singapore and she tried as best as she could to avoid the subject. (She simply logged off MSN Messenger.) Finally after a day, she replied and told me, "Something's up at Lycos. You'll find out tomorrow."

The next day I was part of a mass e-mail from her which announced her retrenchment - or in American layman's terms, her "being let go," her "lay off," her "pink slip." She and a whole group from Lycos Asia in Singapore got the boot, which in turn, got me the boot. (Carol was the sole producer/creator of the travelogue column.)

Right now, I seriously doubt anyone will take over for her, or if the column will continue to exist. I suppose there's still room for a little wishful thinking, but I'm not really counting on it. It's not so much a downer anyway, because A) it didn't pay me; B) I don't have to rush out content in haste every week; and C) I got my byline from them anyway. In the end, "Lycos" gets added to my CV, on my list of publications, which is a good thing...

Carol may move or switch jobs by the time I make it to Singapore, so the question is, where can I crash when I get there!? Hmmm....