Funny things are happening back at the retail giant headquarters in Minneapolis.

Check that - funny things are happening back at the retail giant headquarters in St. Louis.

Check that - funny things are happening back at the retail giant headquarters in Cincinatti?

Marshall Field's probable Merger

Yes indeed. Marshall Field's, the company I left in September to pursue a graduate degree in journalism is on the blocks again -- for the second time in 9 months -- and this time, a frightening amount of corporate jobs may be at stake.

Last week, rumors began to swirl in the retail world that Federated Department Stores (Bloomingdale's, Macy's) is in merger talks with May Companies (Marshall Field's, Lord & Taylor, Filenes). This comes just more than seven months after May purchased Marshall Field's from Target Corp. And, there's talk inside Marshall Field's of Federated's pending takeover leading to a consolodation of buying offices, meaning many of my former colleagues based in Minneapolis and Chicago could be "downsized."


Call it a fortuitous event that I parlayed a decent GRE score and some old clips into grad school admission. Call it a fortuitous event that I met a great girl who kicked me in the pants enough times so that I had no choice but to pursue my dream job.

If I (she) hadn't, I may be back on the hot seat, shooting resumes to anyone who'd take them.

Wow.

Talk about a turbulent year for the embattled buying offices, who saw a turn-around spring season last year trumped by poor fall sales numbers, no doubt a partial result of the lingering hangover of the systems and business practice changes.

Either I'm the smartest man in the world by getting out while on top (with a nice little bonus,) or I'm damn lucky.

Whichever you choose to believe, I'm damn happy I left.

So here I am, sitting in my Chicago studio, learning to become a journalist, while I could've been dead on my ass at Marshall Field's, trying to figure out what to do with my life.

When I left, the prospect of paying an amount nearly equal to my annual salary for one year's worth of education seemed like a tough pill to swallow. Bitter-sweet, really.

But as time goes by and things continue to change, that decision continues to become more sweet than bitter.

Good luck to my former colleagues - I'm sure you'll be on your way to a more happy, fulfilling life.

You might even call it fortuitous.