Venting

Is it alright for me to vent, just a little bit? Now you know I won't vent everything in my mind, because though I know only two or three people actually read this blog, there's the potential that many more read than I know.

I just want to say that I feel overwhelmed.
I feel like I am swamped with reading, with assignments... I know I can catch up, but it's the process of catching up that has me tired. And I think I am crazy for wanting to cover a story on Friday... one of the days I don't have any classes... I could be reading. But honestly... Would I really be reading? I'd be washing dishes, washing and folding clothes, making sure my apartment doesn't look like a hot mess.

It's all about managing and juggling demands. With less time in class and more to do outside of class, it's tough. But hey' it's part of the process, it's what folks do every day, and since I am considered a folk, I've got to do it too.

Mentor

I found out who my mentor will be for this semester. I am not saying his name, but I will say I used to listen to him every morning on a well known program distributed by a well known outlet. That's all I can sayz and I can't sayz no more! (That's my feeble attempt to toy with the words Popeye the Sailor used to say when he was fed up with foolishness, "That's all I can stanz and I can't stanz no more!")

Back to the topic at hand... I am excited about my mentor, and I hope to learn a lot from him this semester.

Thoughts and stuff

29 January 2008
Mood: fine, sad, excited
Audio: the television

Barack Obama spoke at AU yesterday.
Even though I wasn't there, when I finally arrived to work on another project, my help was needed to quickly edit some audio to play underneath a photo slide show.

Yesterday, I was at a memorial for JJs grandpa. He was quite the character. I’ll always remember the conversation we had with him after Thanksgiving dinner… He was telling us stories, and one of the things he shared was how he used to have target practice in his home. In his basement. With a real gun, with real bullets… so I asked him “Where did you shoot, into a bail of hay or something?” His answer “Nooooo, nooo, I shot into the wall!” Everyone around the table was amused, so I asked him what was on the other side of the wall… Thankfully, it was earth… If I recall the story correctly. I didn’t have that many interactions with him, but the ones I did have were memorable.

Last week, I also found out about someone I knew from the Oaks passed away. He had cancer… Even though I knew he had cancer… It’s still a trip.

I really don’t even know what to say right now. The main thing I suppose is that I must get back to writing my thoughts down, because that is the one forum where I can start to vent about what’s going on in my mind without the conversation being hijacked and turned into a venting fest for the person who was listening. I don’t have very many friends who really listen to me. I do have them, but they are few and far between.

NYC Trip 3

Today, up and at 'em time was early... But not as early as the morning show anchors must rise. Allison C. Of Fox and Friends must get up at three something in the morning. That's before New York city goes to sleep... Oh, wait, NYC is the city that never sleeps.

R. and I got ready and walked to the corner of 47th and Broadway to meet the double-decker tour bus that would transport us to the CBS Early Show studios as well as give us an interesting tour along the way.

We got to the FAO Schwartz store where the shoot was to happen. Thing is, the area the show was to use in the show store was already crowded with high school performance students who were overly obviously excited to be there.

We sang along with Ringo Starr live from Liverpool. Oh what fun. But it was kind of interesting. Of course it would have been better if he were in NYC or better yet, if we were all flown to Liverpool.

After our two seconds of fame R. and I went to Century 21
Store. I bought W.W. a hat that he'll hopefully use instead of that knit cap that makes him look like a little boy.

After that we caught a cab back to the hotel, checked out around noon, then headed to Penn Station. Our train was 15 minutes late.

There is something soothing about the train. No takeoff. No landing. No popping eardrums or pressurized cabins. Minimal turbulence. And the train can only fall so far, depending where it falls from: a bridge over troubled waters, from tracks on a winding mountainside, or from the tracks to the ground underneath.

There is something about Baltimore... Along the train route, there were varying degrees of ghetto I observed from the train car window. Varying degrees of trash. But I tell you when we chugged into Baltimore, the ghetto took on a whole knew appearance. Boarded up buildings. Not just one row of townhouses. Several rows, several buildings... there was even one building I saw that was losing its rectangular prism shape. It appeared to be buckling in the center... giving dilapidated a new meaning.

Oh Baltimore... Is it the Nazareth of modern times? Can any good thing come out of Baltimore?

The answer is yes.

NYC Trip 2

Today started with a visit to FOX news. The tour started late because it was said that a big meeting was called and one of our hosts who had to report to Rupert Murdoch apparently had to meet with him. So that tour started late.

We had a short tour, and after that, we were led to a conference room with "FOX News" goodie bags sitting on the table. The bags held a red notebook that said "Fox News" on the cover. The notebook came with a pen attached. There was also a Fox Radio pencil.

That visit was nice, and I had the chance to meet some of the personalities for the second time.

AFter that visit, I had lunch with another student. We didn't even sit down and lounge and take our time, we age and made a mad dash for a cab... but were five minutes late to our next appointment... and they didn't let us upstairs. So we decided to make our way to the next appointment, a couple of hours in advance.

Instead of taking a cab we decided to be adventurous and hop on the subway. The student I was following kinda knows the city. She asked this 82-year-old man where to find the subway that would take us to our destination. He told us, we followed him and ended up talking to him at least 30 minutes... We learned about his life, his struggle with civil rights and discrimination... all of this on the way to the subway... We also chatted waiting for the subway, and in the subway train... He missed his stop in order to show us where to go... And we talked some more after we got off the subway around the Macy's area on... 33rd st.

After talking to that gentleman, not five minutes passed before we were engaged in another conversation. This gentleman was younger, and started talking about Barack Obama... he said complimentary things... then started saying that Barack Obama doesn't have an African-American bloodline and how we need someone in the White House with that bloodline... (wait, hold up... wasn't this the same brother praising Obama just two minutes before?) In the process we found out that he never voted. WHAT THE HE#$? So we both lit into him. My fellow student told him that complaining about leadership without casting a vote is bullsh#$. I told him the thing that keeps me voting are those images of my ancestors being toppled over by firehoses and chased by fierce dogs because they wanted equality. That keeps me voting. How dare I not vote? He appeared to see our point, but only he will know if and when he hits the polls.

Don't talk about what you want if you aren't participating in the process to create what you want.

NYC Trip 1

09 January 2008
This is my second night in NYC. Too bad I am under the weather for this networking trip. Last night was the pits! We met at Gallagher's Steakhouse, and the room was full of many breathing people emanating lots of heat... Enough to make the first guest at our table keep wiping the perspiration from his face. He is a FOX News correspondent. It was kind of awkward sitting in front of him, having no questions. My classmate and I were early so we decided to choose the seat right smack dab in front of the alum. It could be I had no questions because I am not as interested in television reporting as I am interested in radio, or it could be this dumb cold! Television is interesting to me, so I think it was this wretched cold.

The next alum who rotated to our table was from Coach... And had little if any relation to a career path anyone at our table wanted to take. What made it more awkward was when the representative had to stay at our table for extra time... With a bunch of students who weren't studying public relations. It was interesting (for me anyway) learning about what she does for a living. Sounds like the hours are loooonnng, the work fun, and the travel opportunities great.

After awhile, I had to potty, so I excused myself from the table and went downstairs, spotted the lobster tank, and made my way to the WC.

In the restroom I had an inter-stall conversation with another SOC student. She complained about the food, and we shared a few laughs about the sliced meat on bread and pasta alternative.

Wednesday night was a networking reception with a lot more AU alumni. I had some interesting conversations with people.

Another conversation I had with an ABC producer and someone from New York Bank was fun and informative. I learned that long hours are the norm, and passion is key. L., the producer, says we should go for the positions we want. For example, if we want to work on-air, it is better to get an on-air gig in a nowheresville city than to get an assistant producer's job in a big city thinking to "work my way up to an on-air gig.". Just go for what you want, she says.

I found the conversation with the gentleman at Sirius radio helpful. He wasn't a plethora of words, but those are the personalities I really find intriguing. He did give me a couple of leads for areas that found me interesting, and I learned one of the things he's looking for in the talent he hires... and it's more than a great voice. I found out that I need to have a healthy Rolodex also.