Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Federal Healthcare Bill: Steaming Pile of Dog Crap
Read my mom's blog on this thing. The voters of this country are mostly idiots.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Working the Streets!
Well it's been a long time... And so much has changed! I'm still working at ABC15, and it is becoming more and more apparent that they will not make me full-time as long as they can get away with it. This is obviously not going to work. And I am dating a new girl now. Her name is Korina, and she makes me happy!
We met at an FHE activity that it turns out neither of us really wanted to go to, but we both did anyway. It MUST have been meant to be! Anyway, we've been going for more than a month now and things look really good.
I need a new job though, and I've been seriously considering joining the Air Force. I talked to a recruiter and he told me that I can go in straight as an officer, which would be fantastic! But I have to pass a test and get picked by a commission to be hired on as an officer, then I would spend 13 weeks in Alabama getting officer-basic-training and come out as a Second Lieutenant. He said that my base pay would be $2800 per month and I would be in upper management in whatever the Air Force decided to put me in. I think this is a good endeavor to pursue. I stay in 20 years and I can retire and pull in half my salary in retirement for the rest of my life. And I would still be young enough to have a career in something else. Also, once I am in it will be easier to transfer over to what I want to do. So I could already have 20 years in my career before I do it civilian style. The test is on April 2nd at 8 am over at Luke. I have looked at some samples of it online and I think that I will ace this thing. So all I need is for the commission to decide that they want me! And not a moment to soon. The commission is in June and I need to start paying my loans back in June. This will work.
We met at an FHE activity that it turns out neither of us really wanted to go to, but we both did anyway. It MUST have been meant to be! Anyway, we've been going for more than a month now and things look really good.I need a new job though, and I've been seriously considering joining the Air Force. I talked to a recruiter and he told me that I can go in straight as an officer, which would be fantastic! But I have to pass a test and get picked by a commission to be hired on as an officer, then I would spend 13 weeks in Alabama getting officer-basic-training and come out as a Second Lieutenant. He said that my base pay would be $2800 per month and I would be in upper management in whatever the Air Force decided to put me in. I think this is a good endeavor to pursue. I stay in 20 years and I can retire and pull in half my salary in retirement for the rest of my life. And I would still be young enough to have a career in something else. Also, once I am in it will be easier to transfer over to what I want to do. So I could already have 20 years in my career before I do it civilian style. The test is on April 2nd at 8 am over at Luke. I have looked at some samples of it online and I think that I will ace this thing. So all I need is for the commission to decide that they want me! And not a moment to soon. The commission is in June and I need to start paying my loans back in June. This will work.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Blowing off Steam
I don't have anything new to report, but I haven't posted in a while and I really need to vent a little bit.
Let's start with last night. I was working the audio booth for both shows yesterday, something that I enjoy more than anything. Because ABC was showing Harry Potter we were going to have two headline segments before the ten. Headlines are live cutins where we only tell you what will be in the show when it starts, like a live commercial. One was to be :15 sec at 9:47 the other would be :30 sec at 9:57. I had all the mic checks and everything set to go by 9:45, the first headline went without a hitch. Then I sat there and didn't touch anything until it was about time for the second. I got a nagging feeling about a minute from the second headline to do some quick mic checks again. So I did, and there was no audio. The cutin was coming and I had NO IDEA what was wrong. Unfortunately the entire 30 secs was spent with picture but no sound. I was trying to fix it but to no avail. And the Director just repeatedly screaming at me across headset to get the audio up was not helping AT ALL! Turns out the board had decided to arbitrarily activate the broken automated faders, which were down. And since they were down none of the audio would sound, regardless of where those faders were set. Of course everyone who knows nothing about audio suddenly has a couple cents to put in. And my explanation of what happened was not good enough to pass through the director's scrutiny. He held me late trying to get a better explanation, but the thing is I just don't know how it could have happened. It's a gremlin in the board. I didn't touch anything in between cutins.
Earlier this week, on Thursday I was out on the floor for the duration of the night. Our "crack" promo producer decided that he was going to change his promo around and not tell us about it. As production we look and see video-camera shot-video, and after he changed it it still went video-camera shot-video. But he had moved the camera shot further up in the script. So after two takes, of us looking at Katie reading from her script while on camera I was asked to tell her to read off the prompter, the explanation to give her was that the script had been changed. So she read through it real fast and pointed out that no, it was all the same script she had in her hand and she liked to read from her paper script if possible because she could read faster that way. So we tried again and again took her reading from paper on camera. Now she was getting ticked off at me. So I had the director yelling at me, Katie yelling at me, and I didn't know what to tell anyone because I had relayed everything that had been told to me! Then I heard the producer come across the directors microphone asking, "What's going on out there?" And he said it with a hint of annoyance in his voice. This was it. That straw broke this camel's back. I shot back across my microphone with, "What's going on in there?" That set everyone off... But we finally got the information that had not been told to us. And one take later we recorded the promo that was used on the air. Funny how things just work when all the information has been given. The annoying thing is that this promo-producer even works here, he unbelievably has no clue what he is doing, and he is getting a nicer paycheck than I am. Piece of crap.
Let's start with last night. I was working the audio booth for both shows yesterday, something that I enjoy more than anything. Because ABC was showing Harry Potter we were going to have two headline segments before the ten. Headlines are live cutins where we only tell you what will be in the show when it starts, like a live commercial. One was to be :15 sec at 9:47 the other would be :30 sec at 9:57. I had all the mic checks and everything set to go by 9:45, the first headline went without a hitch. Then I sat there and didn't touch anything until it was about time for the second. I got a nagging feeling about a minute from the second headline to do some quick mic checks again. So I did, and there was no audio. The cutin was coming and I had NO IDEA what was wrong. Unfortunately the entire 30 secs was spent with picture but no sound. I was trying to fix it but to no avail. And the Director just repeatedly screaming at me across headset to get the audio up was not helping AT ALL! Turns out the board had decided to arbitrarily activate the broken automated faders, which were down. And since they were down none of the audio would sound, regardless of where those faders were set. Of course everyone who knows nothing about audio suddenly has a couple cents to put in. And my explanation of what happened was not good enough to pass through the director's scrutiny. He held me late trying to get a better explanation, but the thing is I just don't know how it could have happened. It's a gremlin in the board. I didn't touch anything in between cutins.
Earlier this week, on Thursday I was out on the floor for the duration of the night. Our "crack" promo producer decided that he was going to change his promo around and not tell us about it. As production we look and see video-camera shot-video, and after he changed it it still went video-camera shot-video. But he had moved the camera shot further up in the script. So after two takes, of us looking at Katie reading from her script while on camera I was asked to tell her to read off the prompter, the explanation to give her was that the script had been changed. So she read through it real fast and pointed out that no, it was all the same script she had in her hand and she liked to read from her paper script if possible because she could read faster that way. So we tried again and again took her reading from paper on camera. Now she was getting ticked off at me. So I had the director yelling at me, Katie yelling at me, and I didn't know what to tell anyone because I had relayed everything that had been told to me! Then I heard the producer come across the directors microphone asking, "What's going on out there?" And he said it with a hint of annoyance in his voice. This was it. That straw broke this camel's back. I shot back across my microphone with, "What's going on in there?" That set everyone off... But we finally got the information that had not been told to us. And one take later we recorded the promo that was used on the air. Funny how things just work when all the information has been given. The annoying thing is that this promo-producer even works here, he unbelievably has no clue what he is doing, and he is getting a nicer paycheck than I am. Piece of crap.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Raising $1000
Well, things haven't gone so well for my new endeavor. The guitar I listed on e-bay didn't sell. I have it re-listed, but I don't know if I expect it to do any better. I finally was able to activate my Paypal account though. I had trouble logging into my bank account so I couldn't get the info that Paypal wanted. I fixed it. Maybe that will make things work better?
I also received a notice from Chase. If I open a new checking account they will give me $100. It isn't a new offer from them, but I think I'm going to do it. A free $100 just to have a checking account that gets direct deposit and costs nothing. Maybe it even draws interest, I dunno. I'm gonna go later today and check on it. I intend to start an account with them and get a free $100.
As for my becoming an investor, I purchased a book to help me with this. Investing Online for Dummies. The Dummies books have recently helped me to get through some simple things that I'm not ashamed to say I was a complete Dummy about (One of which being caring for a rabbit). I will read this book and continue trying to raise my $1000 of start-up money required by most online investment firms. No doubt the $100 from Chase will help toward this!
I also received a notice from Chase. If I open a new checking account they will give me $100. It isn't a new offer from them, but I think I'm going to do it. A free $100 just to have a checking account that gets direct deposit and costs nothing. Maybe it even draws interest, I dunno. I'm gonna go later today and check on it. I intend to start an account with them and get a free $100.
As for my becoming an investor, I purchased a book to help me with this. Investing Online for Dummies. The Dummies books have recently helped me to get through some simple things that I'm not ashamed to say I was a complete Dummy about (One of which being caring for a rabbit). I will read this book and continue trying to raise my $1000 of start-up money required by most online investment firms. No doubt the $100 from Chase will help toward this!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Paying off debts...
Yech, I know, that title makes your heart fold up and cower in your chest cavity. But we all have them and we all have to get rid of them. I'm going to take this blog in a new direction. I'm going to cover how I make extra money to pay off my student loans and a little bit of Credit Card debt that I have lately. :(
My first point of attack is to work a good job. I have one now, albeit only part-time. And it pays pretty well. Next week I am being tested for a sort of promotion. Not really as I would be going from the bottom of one barrel to the bottom of another barrel, but at least as an AP I will be full-time, so it's technically a step up. This will be plenty to cover my credit card bill, but my loan payments are going to be over a thousand dollars when they kick in come June. So I need to find more income. If I could get a job making 30k then I would be able to survive, not put anything away for later, but survive.
My second point is supplemental income. I have learned skills from my journalism school that make me kind of valuable in the private market. I can edit video, photos, and audio. And I do a pretty good job if I may toot my own horn. An album I produced just went live on iTunes today. Already we have seen the sale of two songs in a digital format. It ain't much but it's something! I also plan to rent out my PA system for whomever needs one...
I have stuff to sell, anyone want to buy a guitar? But after my things are gone, then what? I could win big in Las Vegas (I hate it when people just say "Vegas", it's like, "hey man! You really aren't that cool!")! But gambling makes more people poor than it makes them rich.
I'm going to *gasp* become an investor. I can get together about a thousand dollars selling my stuff on ebay, then I can take that money and use it to start my investment account. I am going to research some investing firms and choose which one I want to go with. I will make this the new focus of my blog. Follow along, and practice with me!
My first point of attack is to work a good job. I have one now, albeit only part-time. And it pays pretty well. Next week I am being tested for a sort of promotion. Not really as I would be going from the bottom of one barrel to the bottom of another barrel, but at least as an AP I will be full-time, so it's technically a step up. This will be plenty to cover my credit card bill, but my loan payments are going to be over a thousand dollars when they kick in come June. So I need to find more income. If I could get a job making 30k then I would be able to survive, not put anything away for later, but survive.
My second point is supplemental income. I have learned skills from my journalism school that make me kind of valuable in the private market. I can edit video, photos, and audio. And I do a pretty good job if I may toot my own horn. An album I produced just went live on iTunes today. Already we have seen the sale of two songs in a digital format. It ain't much but it's something! I also plan to rent out my PA system for whomever needs one...
I have stuff to sell, anyone want to buy a guitar? But after my things are gone, then what? I could win big in Las Vegas (I hate it when people just say "Vegas", it's like, "hey man! You really aren't that cool!")! But gambling makes more people poor than it makes them rich.
I'm going to *gasp* become an investor. I can get together about a thousand dollars selling my stuff on ebay, then I can take that money and use it to start my investment account. I am going to research some investing firms and choose which one I want to go with. I will make this the new focus of my blog. Follow along, and practice with me!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Almost at my Whits End!
So, I'm at work right now and I am realizing how much I DON'T want to be in TV anymore! But, it was rather disheartening to find only 21 radio jobs that are for certain hiring across the nation. My sister Lindsey has a friend that basically gave me her tvjobs.com account. With it I get access to amfmjobs.com. My feelings were kind of hurt by the lack of jobs availability.
I have spent a couple of days thinking about what I have been doing with my life. It is an unfortunate fact of reality that sometimes we are forced to change from whatever course we happen to be on and think is right. I might be at one of those moments right now. My current income is not enough to stay with and the job I had hoped to make a career out of simply doesn't seem to be there right now. It might come back, when the idiots are not running things and the economy turns back around (like that will ever happen). But in the meantime I need a better job, because this one is not going to fill all my needs.
I still have hope. I spent 80,000 dollars to get this degree and these qualifications and dagnabit! I want to do this for my life! I had sent a request to a station in Fresno requesting an application, it arrived today. It had a post-it note stuck to it asking me to send a resume as well. Does this mean they might be hiring? Might they be looking to fill a full-time position? I mean, if you're not then why take the time to write out a sticky note? I wouldn't. If I weren't hiring but had to send an application to someone I would just send the application. But if I really needed someone then I might take it more seriously. So yeah, maybe a job can come out of this. I didn't have time to fill it out or anything before work, I'll just do it tomorrow. I know, I'll be back in Fresno. Which would only mean that I would be spending all my time trying to get back to Phoenix. I already did this dance once, but hey, maybe I'm supposed to be in Fresno or something. L.A. didn't work out, neither did Pocatello. Lindsey got me looking for a job in Vermont then she started talking to University of Minnesota. So, not really taking Vermont seriously anymore...
Anyway, I'm not sure what to do with myself right now. These TV people are starting to scare me.
I have spent a couple of days thinking about what I have been doing with my life. It is an unfortunate fact of reality that sometimes we are forced to change from whatever course we happen to be on and think is right. I might be at one of those moments right now. My current income is not enough to stay with and the job I had hoped to make a career out of simply doesn't seem to be there right now. It might come back, when the idiots are not running things and the economy turns back around (like that will ever happen). But in the meantime I need a better job, because this one is not going to fill all my needs.
I still have hope. I spent 80,000 dollars to get this degree and these qualifications and dagnabit! I want to do this for my life! I had sent a request to a station in Fresno requesting an application, it arrived today. It had a post-it note stuck to it asking me to send a resume as well. Does this mean they might be hiring? Might they be looking to fill a full-time position? I mean, if you're not then why take the time to write out a sticky note? I wouldn't. If I weren't hiring but had to send an application to someone I would just send the application. But if I really needed someone then I might take it more seriously. So yeah, maybe a job can come out of this. I didn't have time to fill it out or anything before work, I'll just do it tomorrow. I know, I'll be back in Fresno. Which would only mean that I would be spending all my time trying to get back to Phoenix. I already did this dance once, but hey, maybe I'm supposed to be in Fresno or something. L.A. didn't work out, neither did Pocatello. Lindsey got me looking for a job in Vermont then she started talking to University of Minnesota. So, not really taking Vermont seriously anymore...
Anyway, I'm not sure what to do with myself right now. These TV people are starting to scare me.
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