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.

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!

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!

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.

It's been awhile...

There, now I have moved the content of my Wordpress blog over to this one. I like Wordpress better, but that was hosted by ASU and I'm not sure they will leave it up for me to use. An update, I was rejected for the KNIX job. The manager for KYOT liked me fine, but the KNIX manager rejected me before he even talked to me.

Anomaly - The Beginning of All Things to End

Originally posted on The Sound of Fury blog November 16, 2009:



Message me if you want a copy of this album! We have 18 left from the first run, asking 10 bucks, but we'll take lower offers. Really just want to get our music out!

Maybe Getting a Job in the Phoenix Market After All!

Originally posted on The Sound of Fury blog October 26, 2009:

Well a major breakthrough has come! One of my co-workers at ABC15 told me a couple of weeks ago that his wife, who was the Promotions Manager for 102.5 KNIX at Clear Channel Radio here in Phoenix, was thinking about quiting her job. This was exciting news, but I didn't do anything with it at the time. I remembered her from when I worked there and decided that I would not get my hopes up for her to quit.

Well, last Friday, she put in her two weeks notice. I'm stoked! I was told by my old manager at KMXP Mix 96.9 that she had put in her notice. When her husband had the chance to tell me, I already knew. He was sort of blown away by that. He thought it was funny that I already knew. It's a small world really. I feel kind of bad about trying to leave ABC15, especially since I am starting to fall in nicely with the crew. But managing radio promotions is what I want to do. And here I have a chance to get the job I want and not have to leave Phoenix. I still do want to leave Phoenix, but I don't want to either. It's a real conundrum I'm in. But I applied for the job of course. I mailed a resume later that day.

I'm kind of confident that I can get it, as long as they don't mind my class schedule. But they know me and love me over there. Even Vicki Fiorelli knows me by name, and on one occasion told a Clear Channel Program Director not to worry about the remote broadcast we were on because I was working the control and everything would go fine. really the only thing I have working against me is my 3 days of unavailability. But we should be able to work around it until I graduate in December. It's only another 6 weeks. Really I'm blown away that this opportunity came up.

I had been called in a couple weeks ago by Program Manager Smokey Rivers. He wanted me to board-op (watch the broadcast from inside the studio and make sure all the legal FCC stuff happens) two days a week. Unfortunately I did not have the time free during the shift that he wanted me for. And I do not have the freedom to rearrange my schedule to open the time up. I was sad that I had to turn the job down, but for the pay that job would give I would not have been able to afford to quit 15. If I get this job then I will be able to quit. I would be making more money than I am now. I would be making enough money to call this my job after I graduate. I think this is important. I'm kind of in a position now that if I can't get on full-time at 15 after I graduate then I'm gonna have to get another job that pays more. And that might mean quitting 15 if I have to. I simply am going to need more money, student loan payments don't pay themselves, and what I'm getting now is not enough to even cover those. Not to mention my other bills that I am already paying. This is also why I had to turn down the job at Amp in L.A.

On Saturday my co-worker's wife came to 15 after she got off. She had been working an event at the fair. She came to see him. And we finally saw each other, and she remembered who I was. I am going to their halloween party this Saturday, and I'm sure that by now she knows I sent a resume for the job. He's hoping I can take over running audio for him here pretty soon because he hates it. And I am starting to make friends with the production crew. I would feel bad to leave them behind, but I gotta think about good 'ol number 1 too. This is my career and I don't want to miss out on it. My chance is here and now.

As much as I want to build my experience the old-fashioned way, I might not have too!