Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in David Roush's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, November 1st, 2007
10:07 pm	Rollercoaster day http://news12.cv.net/video/EB111PST.wmv Came into work and was shooed rigth back out the door to cover the sentencing of a guy convicted of 2nd-degree manslaughter.  So apparently he and his girlfriend (who had kids to like 4 or 5 different guys) hit him on the weekend of Jan 29, 2006.  The guy apparently beat the 4-year-old kid so badly that he had a perforated liver, pancreas, and lost half of his blood volume due to internal bleeding.  The sad part is, the kid didn't immediately die.  After the beating he felt "sick," and his glorious mother and her boyfriend left him lie in the  apartment all weekend until he eventually died from his insides bleeding and leaking all through himself. Mother is also in jail.  She pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree manslaughter for not taking the kid to the hospital, but the prevailing wisdom is that the guy did the beating, and she ignored his need of medical attention.   An interesting story, but not one that any reporter would be excited to cover. So when I was driving in to work today I noticed all the cars in our parking lots with big scrapes, scratches and dents on them and I was thinking to myself, "boy people don't respect anything here, do they."   I no sooner got out of my new Accord and noticed that some asshole hit my front corner, denting the bumper and taking a nice gouge out of all of the paint.  I can't turn it in to my insurance, for reasons I wont' get into here, but I am having our building security people check their surveillance cameras to see if they can find anybody on camera who hit me.  I can't imagine it happened in my neighborhood, because I live on a dead-end street and the only people coming and going are my landlords and one neighbor. So that put me in a sour mood most of the day. Until this.. http://www.tenandchange.com  .. I have been itching to find something to get involved in, and I think this may be it.  They rehearse on a night when I'm free from work, and they do exactly what I love to do as far as muscial styles go. So that put me back in a good mood, and I'm definitely going to check them out. I'm still really upset about my car though. That's the third incidence of damage to it since I got here.  It was Keyed in the South Bronx when I was living over there... someone bumped my back bumper and scraped it in our parking lot..and now that.. I need to watch "the Secret" again and change my  mindset before more negative shit keeps happening to me. Later all. Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: A cappella (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
1:42 am	In a Funk It's funny how things come full-circle.  I just spent about an hour reading my old LiveJournal entries from when I was in New York City for my internship (dlr213.livejournal.com).  I'm almost glad I didn't get hired by NY1.  After talking to my new friend Molly Rokasy (who got hired a week after I did at News 12), I'm thinking it would have been hell. As much as I used to bitch about Channel 6, and as much hell as they put me through working there, I really did get a boatload of experience that is going to pay off for me.  When I tell my coworkers of the sheer number of stories I had to run, the hours I worked and the challenges that WJAC put me through, they look at me as if I'm telling some kind of fantastic fictional story.   One entry from a prior LiveJournal inspired this one.  I was in a funk back then.  I am in a funk right now.  I have never really been homesick for any significant period of time in my life.  I am finding that it is happening to me here.  I wrote about it briefly in a past Myspace blog entry, but I've given a little more thought to it. When I was in a funk on my internship, I lived in a crap hole. I had no kitchen, there were roaches in my apartment, I didn't have two-dimes to rub together, I didn't have access to a car.  The list goes on.  Tonight I took an assessment of how my situation has changed. I live in a gorgeous apartment.  I am in a safe, quiet and beautiful neighborhood.  My car is parked safely out front of my home every night.  I have a kitchen.  A HUGE kitchen.  With APPLIANCES.  I can COOK!  (These are things I could not do on my internship).  So at least my standard of living is the same as it was when I went back to DuBois. So why am I still in this funk?  I think my work schedule is contributing to this as much as any other factor.  I work Wed-Sun, from 1:30 to 10:30.  I am coming from a situation where I knew EVERYBODY around me (in DuBois,) EVERYBODY knew ME, and I was involved in several community groups (Vocal Arts Choir, Theater Board of Directors, cantoring at my church, informal "mentoring" at the city park, etc.).  I have come to a city where I know next-to-nobody and I'm not really involved in anything. Here are my challenges.  First, I joined the church choir.  That has great potential to be an awesome thing and a great group of friends.  Their makeup (ages, personalities) is very similar to the DVAE group I sang with in DuBois.  But I can't go to their weeknight rehearsals because of my work schedule.  I DO have some friends in NYC.  I have 2 fraternity bros that I have not hung out with yet.  I have 2 friends from the magic club at Penn State that I have not hung out with yet, I have 2 people from DuBois who are now here who I have not hung out with yet.  I have 2 friends from News 12 who I have already hung out with a few times.  The challenge, is that all of the friends I have here, are off on the weekends.  I'm off on Mondays and Tuesdays.   Most of the community organizations that I would like to get involved in meet in the evenings during the week, When I am working.   Are we noticing a pattern here?  My work schedule all but eliminates the potential to have a social life.  Sure, I can go out at 10:30 pm after getting off work, but sometimes I think it's not worth the hassle, and I can't really afford to do ANYTHING besides pay the rent, the bills and buy groceries and gas.  SO instead of freaking out to find something to get involved in, I'm considering trying to get back into performing hypnotism to make some extra money.  I dont' have any money to do anything fun or social, so perhaps my free time will be better spent trying to earn some money. The bottom line is I have to get out of my funk, get motivated and start seeking out money-making opportuntiies.  I feel like I have a dozen talents that i could use in this city.  I'm out going. I love to entertain.  But when I look at opportunities on Craigslist, they're all looking for "in-shape" models, actors, etc.  They all want PRO musicians.  I can sing, though not classically trained.  I am learning to play piano, but can't afford the lessons to take me to a level where I can play somewhere for money.  So I feel like I'm a talented guy, by DuBois standards, but I fall short in nearly every category by New York standards. *sigh*  So many issues to work out.  Heh.  We wont' even talk about WORKING OUT.  So far through the magic of Slim Fast I've been able to at least maintain the little bit of weight loss I managed to achieve over the past 2 months.  but I haven't done anything physically challenging for a LONG time, and I know that's going to catch up with me. S.A.D. is also going to catch up with me.  For those of you keeping track, that's the Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I've never been formally diagnosed with it, but every winter when the nights come early and the weather gets cold, I get depressed.  I just hope that in the next week or two I can figure out a way to pick myself up, dust myself off, and say.. "Damn it, Dave - your in New York F*ing City.  You waited so long to achieve this.  Now you're here and you're being a douche bag.  Get off your ass and do something." I hope it works. Current Mood: depressed (Comment on this)
1:07 am	Coming back to Live Journal So here's the deal... Back in December 2003... December 26th, 2003 to be exact, I moved to New York City.  I came here to do an internship during my last semester of college.  Because I was away, and I was getting so many people ask me "how is New York City," I decided to start a Live Journal.  That way I wouldn't have to tell the same stories to 30 people when they asked me what was going on.  I posted entries here and there talking about my various exploits around New York City.  It is fascinating to go back and read them. If you do, you'll notice that they end EXACTLY when I moved back to DuBois, PA after graduating college.  In fact, the last entry talks of how I'm excited and waiting to hear about the potential of a job offer with WJAC.  My oh my how things change in 3 years. I was just reading a friend's LiveJournal and realized that I need to start doing that again.  SO I'm going to.  Lately, when I've felt inspired to write down thoughts or messages, I've been using the NOTES or BLOG in Facebook and Myspace.  But Livejournal is more suited to journal entries.  So what I'll probably do is when I write something, copy-and-paste it to all three sites. I think I'll begin tonight.  I've had a lot on my mind and a lot to get off of my chest.  So enjoy the reading. Dave Current Mood: bored (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 10th, 2004
3:17 am	Home - Jobs - and Pulled over for speeding. Well, as of last Saturday I finally moved back from New YOrk to my home town of DuBois, PA. It is nice to see mom again, but the stresses of home are quickly catching up with me. The town has nothing going on, so when I'm bored I either ride my motorcycle (yay for nice weather) or go to the city park and organize a pick-up hypnotism show. I've done four in the past five days. It was great though, because a few kids got me bookings at their graduation parties, so it has meant a little bit more cash. The job situation is not so bad, either. I had a second-round interview with Sunny 106, the local radio station that I worked for in high school. At this interview, they offered me a full-time position. I'm not entirely gung-ho about it, because it is Sun-Fri., with only one day off per week, the pay is terrible, at least until October 1st, when they do their new budget. Then the pay will be in the ballpark of what any other entry-level job in my field would be, and finally -it is radio. I love radio, but I really want to try my hand at television. On the television front, Channel 6, www.wtajtv.com interviewed me, and I have been getting hugely-positive vibes from their news director. I shot video of a house that burnt to the ground, called Channel 6, and they bought my video. IT's called freelancing or being a stringer. That's someone who just shoots things on their own and sells the videotape to tv stations. It was interesting, because I sold them that footage on a Monday, and by Wednesday night, their assignment editor called ME at HOME and asked me to go shoot a story for them that was going on in Clearfield, PA on Thursday. When I took the video to their main headquarters, again I saw the news director and again she gave me great vibes about my chances at a full-time job there. She said she would be able to call me by the end of last week or the beginning of this week. So far, no word from her - and the suspense is thoroughly killing me. My brother has found a new flame, since dumping his first one. They're not official yet, but I fear they will be. This new girl has a nice personality, but I think there are some skeletons in her closet that my brother either is not fully aware of or is not willing to accept. So we went out for some late night fun at this girl's house, and I decided that on the way home, I wanted to drive my brother's truck. So what happens? Yep - I got pulled over by a cop, for allegedly going 57 in a 35 mph zone. You know, I have sped before. However, when I'm speeding - I know I'm speeding, and I'm extra cautious, but if I get pulled over- I get pulled over, and I accept it. Tonight, I just could not accept it. Maybe it was because I was driving a different vehicle than my own, but I certainly did *NOT* believe that I was travelling that fast. So I'm flipping out as I try to get the cop the registration and proof of insurance. Turns out Donnie doesn't HAVE them in his truck. SO the cop just takes an old one, and my license. I look the cop in the face, and realize that he is quite familiar to me - Gil Barker. I used to work with his fiancee at Sunny 106. I'm praying and praying for a warning. After all, last year at this time I got two tickets around the same time - about a month apart - and hence had five points on my driver's license. In PA, at 6 points, you have to go take a written test to prove your driving ability and knowledge of laws. Then, a second Sandy Township police officer comes to the scene: Another familiar face. It was Josh Fustine, or Joshua Johnson. His real name is Johnson, apparently his mother had him to a different father, but his step father never formally legally adopted him. So although he goes by Fustine, his legal name is Johnson. I knew Gil Barker wouldn't call for backup. I honestly believe that when Gil called in my driver's license number and the dispatcher called back my name, Josh must have come to the scene to see what was going on. Both of these men know that I am one of this community's more upstanding, law-abiding, moral and ethical citizens. Yes, I know, you can gag as you read that - but believe it or not it is true. Everybody in this town knows me, and everybody in this town knows that I am a good person. I have no enemies and I have never caused any trouble. So I'm PRAYING that all the years that I was nice to Josh in school, and all the times I saw Gil around town and said "Hi" and was polite to him would pay off, and I wouldn't get a ticket, a fine, and more points. So officer Barker came back, and he wasn't holding a clipboard. THANK GOD, I got a warning. I do have to go to the police station within five days, however, and give them the registration and proof of insurance, or I can still be cited for not having those. That's Donnie's fault for not having them in his truck. My luck sucks 99.9% of the time. Even the fact that I decided to drive instead of letting Donnie drive his own truck is a testament to the type of luck that I have. I thank God, and I thank Gil Barker and Josh Fustine for letting me off the hook. I truly believe in the concept taught in the movie, "Pay It Forward." I have been trying to live by it ever since I saw the movie. Something tells me that although I'm not supposed to pay BACK Gil and Josh, I am definitely going to Pay Forward and do three kind deeds for other people as penance for what happened tonight. I'll write again when I hear back from Channel 6 news as to whether I got the job or not. Peace. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 1st, 2004
10:31 am	Back Home, plus REALLY COOL news.. Well, my mom and brother came to NYC on Friday night and we were tourists Friday night and all day Saturday, then Saturday night I moved home. Traffic was a clean and clear shot all the way home, which was convenient. So now I wait. I wait for a job offer and I wait to see if New York City calls me back. It's like giving a girl your number at the bar and sitting by the phone for the next month. I think I'm going to miss New York City, but I think I'm going to be glad to be making a salary and living in an area where I can afford to spend it. So on Monday (Memorial Day) I went to church, then to the cemetaries to help mom plant flowers and visit the dead people in my family. It was an interesting way to "reconnect" with my hometown and my past. I called on Monday to the News Director at WJAC-TV in Johnstown, and I asked her if any forward movement had been made in making a decision about the job that I am trying to get. She replied as follows, and you decide for yourself if it is good or bad. "Yes, David, in fact there have been many POSITIVE moves forward and hopefully I will be able to give you a call by the end of this week or the beginning of next week." Well anyway, so yesterday I was lying on the couch when I heard a fire call come over the police scanner for a structure fire in Treasure Lake. Normally I wouldn't give two shits, but something told me to go. So I ran out, got my camcorder (which was neatly packaged up from moving home from NYC), and I went to my car, which was already started and running conveniently, due to my remote-starter. Anyway, I got in the car and sped up the street, and managed to get right behind the fire truck that my brother is the 1st Lieutenant for. At the gate to Treasure Lake (which is a private, gated community), I told security that "I missed the truck" - I pointed ahead of me - I said, "May I go in?" and they let me in behind the truck. I followed it to the scene, to find a house completely engulfed in flames. Well, luckily for me, my tripod was in the back seat, again, because of moving home from NYC. I grabbed it, and began filming. I took about 20 minutes of REALLY GOOD video, and I called Channel 6 news in Johnstown and offered them "Stringer video," where an independent videographer shoots video, then a TV station BUYS - yes, for money - the video for a newscast. Well, they bought it, so I had to drive to Johnstown on a whim, and it aired on the 11:00 p.m., 5:00 a.m., 5:30 a.m., 6:00 a.m., 6:30 a.m., and now it is going to air on the noon news. They're teasing it between TV shows, and everything. It's a nice Channel 6 exclusive, because channel 10's reporter (who is a friend of mine), didn't decide to show up. So 10 News hasn't aired a single thing on it yet. Anyway, it's really exciting, because the timing of this works out so strangely good with me trying to get the DuBois reporter's job. I figured, hell, I don't know what else I need to do now to get them to hire me besides get on my knees and start sucking SOMEthing. That's all for now. I'm waiting to hear back from the News Director about how much money they're going to pay me for this video. Later. (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 20th, 2004
10:44 pm	Bleah Yeah so I've come out of my funk, and I've had lots of stuff to write about. I'm also suffering a lack of motivation to write. So I'll leave you guessing. In the meantime, I found a great quote on a friend's AIM profile that was easy enough to cut-and-paste. Enjoy. "New York is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal, its politics are used to frighten children, its traffic is madness, its competition is murderous. But there is one thing about it--once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough." - John Steinbeck Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: Nightly News (Comment on this)
Friday, May 7th, 2004
12:34 pm	SLUMP Yeah, so somehow I've managed to work myself into a nice slump. My internship ended last Friday, and so I've had all of my days to do whatever I want. The first few were fun - sleep in, go for groceries.... I spent many hours one day cleaning my room. Now I've somhow worked myself into this weird funk. I stay up until between 2 and 4 a.m. I go to bed.. I wake up like 2 or 2 1/2 hours later (like 5:30-6:00 a.m.).. then make myself go back to sleep... then again 3 hours later I wake up.. and before its all said and done, I dn't finaly wake up until Noon or 1:00 p.m., but all of my sleep comes in little 2, 2 1/2 hour chunks. Then I feel like a slob all day long. The only good thing about this phenomena - is that during these short sleep sets, I have the most clear, most vivid dreams, and I can remember them. I think that's pretty cool. My allergies haven't helped. I've sort of kept myself as a hermit in my room because the tree pollen is so bad, and I'm suffering miserably. I have been carrying a tissue box around with me for over 2 weeks. Only yesterday did I go out and do something. I went out at 6:00 a.m. and went for a 2 1/2 hour walk around Brooklyn. Then I came home and went back to sleep again - go figure. So I can't figure out what's wrong with me or why I'm into this strange sleep pattern, but starting tonight I'm going to try and break it. I work 7-11, and at 11, I'm promptly coming home and going to bed.. with my alarm set for like 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. I'm going to try and use the next three weeks to "re-structure" my lifestyle. That is, eat 4 or 5 SMALL healthy meals per day, try and get some form of exercise in at least every other day, go to bed at 11, wake up really early. I want to get back into the elementary schoo - high school sleep pattern. After all, that was when I was most productive. Plus - it's summer! The sun is out at 5:30 a.m., and if you sleep until 10:00 or noon, you've slept half of your day away. I hate that feeling. I landed two job interviews this week. Surprisingly, the news director of Channel 6 news in Johnstown called me on Monday. This was the place where the anchor girl that I know said at first there was a job, then she called me back and said there wasn't. Then I saw their Human Resource girl at PSU Job Expo, who said there WAS a job. It was a mess, and I thought that maybe there was a job, they just didn't like my tape and resume. So it was relief to score an interview. I like getting interviews, because 99% of the time, I get an offer. As a matter of fact, my most recent job denial was from Channel 10 news for the overnight producer's job. It's the first time I've ever interviewed for a job and was not offered. I credit that, though, to me being unavailable to start until June. They needed somebody, and they needed somebody like NOW. The guy there told me to keep in touch, because he may have a reporter's job opening up in the next month or two. That would be awesome. Anyway, my second interview is with a company I used to work for in High School - Sunny 106.5 WDSN Radio. They are considering me for their morning show co-host. It would be full time, and I'm sure the pay would be nice. Plus I'd get to live at home and bank most of my earnings. I'll post an update after the interviews to see how they went. If I didn't have to work tonight I'd probably go to the beach at Rockaway. I'll probably do that on Monday or Tuesday morning, but go really early. The weather has been gorgeous.. 70's.. sunny.. and I don't know what to do to enjoy it. I could go rollerblading, but I need a new back brake for my rollerblade and I don't know where to buy one. In other news - I'm thinking about buying a new computer... but just the box. No monitor, speakers, etc. I don't need them. Mine work perfectly fine. I am out of hard drive space, and because I already have two hard drives in here, I don't have the cable connections for another one. I'm working on editing a video for the Dreamers 15th Anniversary concert, and I am roadblocked. I can't do any more work without more hard drive space. I want to ditch some old projects that are taking up space, but I just get the feeling that I'm going to need them again. I can't let go. So I'm looking at a barebones system from Gateway. A "Remanufactured" system. The sales guy told me that remanufactured is different from refurbished. He said Refubs are returns or damaged computers that are fixed, tested and resold. He said reamnufactured computers are just made of new parts that are leftover after a big production run on a particular model, but when there are not enough parts left to make an entirely new system. I can get the system I want for between $600 and $700. Should I buy it? The other thing, besides hard drive space, is that my RAM, too, is maxed out. My chip is an old 933 MHz chip, and although I can edit video fine on this system, I think it would be a lot faster and easier on a 3.0 GHz chip with more RAM. Opinions? That's all for now. I'm going to call back the guy at Gateway and get more details on this system. Then I'm going for more groceries. Talk to you soon. Current Mood: blah Current Music: Hoobastank - The Reason (I'm singing it in my head) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, April 25th, 2004
11:40 pm	ICCA / Dreamers Weekend Yes, I'm doing it again. I am pre-dating this entry, because it is Friday after-the-fact,Yes, I'm doing it again. I am pre-dating this entry, because it is Friday after-the-fact, and I'm just now getting the time to write my entry. This weekend, leading up to it, I had really wanted to go back to PSU to see The Dreamers' spring concert, howevever, I had just gone back the weekend prior and I didn't want to blow the approxmiately $70.00 that it takes me to get train tickets, gas, insurance, food, etc. for a trip back to Penn State. Instead I hoped that a fraternity brother of mine from Hoboken, NJ (right across the river.. 3.69 miles from my apartment, to be exact), was going. He didn't know until the day before, at which point he said he was going. So I carpooled. We left Friday around 2, and got back to Penn State around 5:30. I ran some errands, grabbed some all-famous Hartley's potato chips and headed off to the concert. The show was fantastic. The Dreamers did well. A few songs were shaky, and I disagreed with the selection of some soloists. At the same time, there were a few soloists who came to the microphone, and pleasantly surprised me. A few I thought, "uh.. this is not going to be good," and it was great. So a fair mix. It was worth the trip. I got a little tipsy that night, crashing at the fraternity house because I didn't have access to a car, and it was much closer to the bus depot than my apartment at The Pointe. We went to the diner at some ungodly hour in the morning. It was all quite enjoyable. Saturday, I got up, went to lunch at Arbys, picked up my bus ticket, and by 2:30 p.m., was rolling out of State College aboard a Greyhound. The total drive was a grueling 7 hours to New York City. It felt good to be back, though. Sunday was awesome. I got up, went early up to the Town Hall theater on 43rd St. to get ready and host the ICCA Final Championship. It couldn't have gone better. The groups were great, the people I worked for were great. You can see digital photos of the event at icca.rossmedia.com - then once inside, click the next page and click "show organizers" album. There you can see photos of yours truly, among others. The organizers took me out for a drink afterwards - a Long Island Iced Tea, no doubt. I came home tipsy, having not had ANYTHING to eat all day long. God, I love being a light-weight. The rest of the night was pretty calm. That's it for now. More to come.. and I'm just now getting the time to write my entry. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 22nd, 2004
12:18 am	What a difference a month makes! So March 22nd... I probably would have been complaining about how my internship was going terribly, the weather sucked, my mood was down, I was broke, and New York City sucks. ...What a difference a month makes... Today I find myself happier than I have been for most of my time here. My internship did a 180 - not necessarily with my segment, but after going on the promotional shoot with the other department, I made an awesome contact with a guy named Daniel Marracino. He was a videographer for documentarian Michael Moore... and he's also worked on other big-name films. Just about everybody else at NY1 loves me. I had another reporter come ASK me to work for them today - I didn't even have to go looking to them for something to do. The Promos department sent an e-mail praising my hard work and GOOD ATTITUDE both to my reporter and the Human Resources lady who thought I was an asshole. Today the HR lady walked by and smiled really big at me. I'm not sure what to make of it, but it looked like a smile from someone who had a changed attitude about me... or so I hope. I did two walk-around magic shows for EHS this week. I made some nice money each night. Not enough to pay off my sound system, but at least about 1/3 of it. It was nice to be handed an envelope and know that there was cold, hard cash inside. My mood is up, my demeanor is up... I think it's the weather. Yesterday I finished my first paper for my distance ed course... and went to see a concert by Chanticleer- the group I interviewed and wrote a story on from San Francisco. While there, I met a famous actress who played the judge character in Legally Blonde 2. That was really cool. Everything has just been going very well. I blame the weather. No, really - I think the nicer weather has lifted my spirits. I am just very lucky - very fortunate to have had all of these great things happen to me in the past few weeks. Although, looking back, I suppose that lots of good things have happened to me all semester long. I can't help but sit and wonder what would have been different if I were back at PSU, taking a few courses, living and working at The Pointe, and doing my thing. I ask myself - was the trip to New York City really worth it? Was it worth the thousands of dollars that I'll lose by being here? Was it worth missing my last semester in Happy Valley with my friends and my fraternity brothers? Absolutely. I not only made great friends here from all over the world, but I gained a working knowledge of the city and the media industry here that is such that I can come back and visit anytime and know exactly how to carry myself... where to go, how to get around, etc..etc..etc... I also made a network of friends who will be here after I am gone.. people I can crash with if I ever want or need to come back for a weekend or whatever. I'm sure my last few entries will be more reflective of my time here. I'm very open to that. I think that reflection is one of the best forms of learning and I will be doing it often, as this is one of the best growth experiences I've ever had in my life. That's all I really feel like writing right now. I'm happy... I dont' want to jinx it :) See you all soon. Current Mood: grateful Current Music: None... (Comment on this)
Monday, April 19th, 2004
10:05 pm	Summer in the City So I walked out of the magic show on the Midtown East Side tonight. I had my sleeves rolled up, no jacket - and I felt like I was walking on the beaches of Florida. It was soooo warm, I couldn't even bear it! It was awesome. I only wish that I didn't have to write this paper tonight because I'd be out at the promenade or something. It is amazing. You know, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.)... you know, where you get depressed during the darker, colder months... well, that sucks and all, but there is one good side to it. When it gets nice, you feel EXTRAORDINARILY GOOD!! and I do right now. I just want to get this F*(King paper written so I can go outside... I don't care it its midnight... See you later. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Yep... still Jessica.. and she's still in my head... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
10:02 pm	Weekend in PA First of all, I'm putting off writing a paper that was due TODAY to make this entry - but it's worth it. I went to PA.. the second half of my crazy wicked busy week. I wrapped up my hypnotism show Wednesday night - it was a hit! Slow going, at first, as the crowd was light, but then it took off, and the place was full by the end. After that I came back upstairs and packed up to head to PA. Thursday at 7 a.m. it was out the door and off to Penn Station, NJ Transit, and ultimately Penn State. An hour at my apartment and I was back on the road to Altoona for my job interview. I kicked hard-core ass. I think the guy really liked me. We really hit it off. Back to Penn State that night, where I caught a seminar at 6:30... a speech by Ann Coulter at 8:00... and a fraternity meeting at 9. I went out and bought a pizza and strawberries and hung out with one of my favorite fraternity brothers after the meeting. Early to rise on Friday, where I dressed up and headed in to the job fair. I had mixed results. A lot of the recruiters were not there to hire, but rather ot fulfill legal requirements set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Act. I did get to set up about 3 solid job leads - but we'll see where it goes from here. After the job fair, I hung out with a former Speech Comm professor that I had. She is so awesome. I really enjoyed just chit-chatting about stuff. It was great to catch up. I hope that I run into her more often if I end up back around that area. After that it was off to DuBois.. Mom's procedure went great... they found no coronary blockages, which is the best news we could have gotten. Friday night was spent with her. I also went out and bought stuff to make a lasagna dinner for my fraternity, after volunteering to host them after our regional meeting in Clarion (DuBois is between Clarion and Penn State). Friday was early-to-rise and off to Clarion. I caught up with the guys on I-80. The day was great. Weather was awesome, and I got to ride my cycle to Clarion, which was sweeet to say the least. Rode it home, Then had dinner with 10 of my favorite fraternity brothers. They came back to PSU. I stayed through Sunday. Sunday I went to church, car shopping with my brother, then skipped PSU and went straight to NYC. Got back around 11:30, did a few things and crashed. Today started at 6:00 a.m. ... I was at NY1 by 7:45 for today's shoot - in Staten Island. Of all five boros, I think Staten Island most resembles the area that I come from - more suburban - wooded.. cozy.. Too bad Most New Yorkers would like to see Staten Island get sold to New Jersey. The shoot went well. I was asked at the last minute, while in PA to do two hypnotism shows (FOR PAY) for the EHS company I work for. I agreed, but had to arrage to leave the NY1 Shoot in Staten Island early. I left myself about 2-2.5 hours to get to midtown from Staten Island, because the transit situation looked dreadful. To my pleasant surprise, a little research led me to find this express bus from the mall where we were shooting directly to about 10 street-blocks (not far) from where my show was. The trip that I thought would take 2-2.5 hours BLEW by in a stunning 1 hour!!!! The express bus was as good, or better than taking a taxi cab, and it only cost me $4.00. What a lucky break! So I just got back from doing the magic show there. We switched it to walk-around magic instead of hypnosis because of the nature of the event - there would be people milling in and out all night long, and not ever maintaining one 'steady' audience. So they had me do close-up magic instead. I was happy to do this, as it is waaay easier to plan and do. $100 in pocket. Let me just say cha-ching. Because Wednesday night will be the same thing, I'm going to do magic that night as well. Tonight I still have to write a 3-5 page paper for my CAS course that was due today. I finally at least grazed over nearly 100% of the readings that I was supposed to do. So as soon as I post this, I write that paper and then crash... the first time to relax since last Thursday,, April 8th. I'm going to make one more posting, but I'm separating it, because I think it deserves its own entry. See you all later. By the way - post comments to my live journal!! That's what this tiny little link is for down here below the entry. Tell me what is going on in YOUR life!!! Please!!! Thanks! Current Mood: tired Current Music: Jessica Simpson - With You - IN MY HEAD... I AM SINGING IT TO MYSELF... odd?? yes.. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 11th, 2004
8:58 pm	Busy Weeks begin.. Well, I've been trying to pound out those readings of research articles I have to do before writing an essay on them this week. i got three done, but they were three long, and difficult ones. So here's what the next two weeks look like for me: Monday 4/12 - Work 7:30 - 6:30 (got temporarily reassigned to a new project that requries hours 8-6 with TONS of HARD LABOR - which will be nice, for a change.. it just came at a bad time during the semester. I have gotten spoiled by going in at 10 and leaving by 1 every day, with little action and little work to do. ...then work at EHS 7-11... Tuesday 4/13 - Work 7:30 - 6:30 @ NY1 then try to use the rest of the night to finish research reading and maybe write the paper Wednesday 4/14 - Work 7:30 - 6:30 @ NY1, then come back and hurry up, set up and perform a hypnosis show at 7:00 p.m... then back to my room to pack up to leave for home Thursday 4/15 - Leave at 7:00 a.m., train to NJ, then drive to PA. 3:30 - Job interview in Altoona, PA... 6:00 - seminar at Penn State... 9:00 - Phi Mu Alpha chapter meeting.. Friday 4/16 - 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. JobExpo.Comm - try to find a reporting job at the job fair... 2:00 - 6:00 interview with any prospective employer who wants to hire me... 6:00 Drive back to DuBois and be with my mom, who will be recovering from heart surgery - a cardiac catheterization.. Saturday 4/17 - Ride my motorcycle, relax, maybe go to dinner with mom (depends on how she's feeling).. possibly drive back to Penn State Sunday 4/18 - Do whatever until 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., then drive back to New Jersey, and get the train back to NYC. Won't see my room until probably 11:00 p.m. Monday 4/19 - Due date for the research paper I have to write... fun stuff.. also work at NY1 from 10 - ?? and then work for EHS from 7-11 at night.. trying to trade off to see a More Then I Concert (fraternity brothers' band).. Tuesday - Off of work from NY1, but at night, I'll be attending a concert by Chanticleer in NYC (yay for free comp ticket!)... ...There's more action than that, but I want to go get my laundry in and try and pound out two more research articles tonight... so that's it for me.. Current Mood: industrious Current Music: None (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 8th, 2004
12:54 pm	First Interview! I have my first interview for a real job. I will be going to WTAJ-TV 10 back in my home area to interview for a full-time overnight producer position. The hours are 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., but I would be helping to write, 'stack' and produce the morning show, which is one of the most important news slots! I have no idea what the pay is, or what kind of benefits are involved. It's interesting because the news director will be at the Penn State job fair that I am attending the next day, Friday, but he was really interested in setting up an interview before that. We'll see what happens. I really have to amp-up my productivity between now and next Wednesday. Between now and then, I have to create a bunch of resumes, copy a bunch of resume tapes, label and package everything, and get it ready to go by Wednesday 4/14. I also have to finish the other HALF of the readings I have to do for CAS so I can write a paper and submit it to my professor by 4/19/04. That will be interesting, since from the 15th to the 18th I will be back at PSU. That means I should essentially write the paper by 4/14. Well, on 4/14 I not only have my internship, but I also have to do a hypnotism show here at my building. I'm getting psyched up for a craaazy three weeks that are going to be MAD busy. See you all soon. Current Mood: productive Current Music: Jessica Simpson - With You (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 7th, 2004
6:57 pm	Metropolitan Man It's official. I'm now a metropolitan man. Yes... it happened. Today I took my rollerblades to work today. I got out around 1:00 p.m., and the with the nice weather, I walked over to the West Side Highway where they have this really great paved bike/rollerblade path that runs the entire length of the city. I roller bladed down the island to Battery Park City, where I went to visit my friend Percy, who works in the Starbucks at the WFC. The World Financial Center is the complex of buildings directly across the street from where the twin towers were. So I went in, and Percy looked really surprised that I came to see him at work. He hooked me up with a free Mocha Frappuccino. I was really surprised. I didn't expect him to give me anything, I had a five dollar bill in my wallet, and was willing to pay. So there I was, back out on my rollerblades, going down through Battery Park City, nice dress clothes, Starbucks in hand, headphones on my ears and Penn State visor on my head. I felt like a real New Yorker. A real metropolitan man. My interactions with the reporter today were much nicer and more encouraging than they have been lately. She was more personable and we talked back and forth in a good manner. It was very encouraging. So I rollerbladed like a mo-fo today. All the way down from 15th St to Battery Park. Around Battery Park, and up the East side past South Street Seaport, under the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, and up through the East River Park. I then turned around and came back down the East side, and then got onto the Brooklyn Bridge. I came across the Brooklyn Bridge, through downtown Brooklyn, and back to my building. All told, the trip was almost exactly 11.0 miles. Most of that was on rollerblades, but some of it was on foot, depending on the neighborhood and where there were paths and sidewalks, and where there were not. One tip, though: Rollerblading on the Brooklyn Bridge is *not* recommended. First of all, the entire first half of the span is like one long giant uphill slope- it gets very tiring on rollerblades. Secondly, the main span is made up of horizontal wood slats... which means the entire ride is like standing on a crazy wild vibrator that sends shivers up your entire spine. ESPECIALLY coming down the other side (the downhill slope) into Brooklyn. It was fun, but a very rough vibrating ride down the slats the entire way. All-in-all a great day! Oops... looks like I have to go to work in 5 minutes. I'll talk to you all later. :) Good day :) Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Maroon 5 - This Love (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 3rd, 2004
5:23 pm	Magazine Story I posted the magazine story to the web, as well as doing a bunch of other productive things today! I have to go to work in 35 minutes, but here's the link: http://www.personal.psu.edu/~dlr213/chanticleer.pdf See you all later! Current Mood: productive Current Music: WPLJ-FM New York City Radio (Comment on this)
2:50 pm	Great Week... Shitty week.. Ever have a week that had really really awesome stuff happen, and really really bad shit at the same time? That was this week for me. I went to work Monday - not much action - pretty much same old..same old... Tuesday was really awesome, in that I got to go to Hoboken, NJ to visit fraternity brother Bryan Vitale. That was really fun. We didn't do much of anything besides lounge around his nearly-empty (but nice) apartment. We walked down to the Hoboken waterfront. As that day went on, I started to feel groggier and groggier until by the time I was on the PATH train back to Manhattan, I started to feel sick. Last week I had felt what I believed was my Spring seasonal allergies flaring up. Well, let's just say that Tuesday night and Wednesday morning I had a fever of 101 degrees. Yay Marla! Thanks for the going-away-gift care package that included a thermometer and cold meds. They really saved the day. Thank you. I called off of my internship on Wednesday (yeah, remember I only go three days a week now?). There was no way I could go in feeling the way I did. Thursday night my boss e-mailed me and said that Friday would be very slow. I probably could have gone in on Friday, based on how I was feeling, but if it was bound to be a dead day, I had a plate-ful of other items I wanted to get done, so I told him I'd take off. So that means I only went to internship one day this week. Next week he said he'll be out Monday through Wednesday, which should make for an interesting week. While we were out on a shoot on Monday, I asked him what the reporter's view of me was at this point, and she's pretty much written me off. It upsets me on one hand... on another hand I really don't care, because anybody who really knows me knows - ok, I may be a "douche bag" in regards to certain things, but I can't think of anybody who would say I don't work hard, perform well, and am good at the things I say I'm good at. Someone made an interesting point to me the other night. I told them I have an ego problem - but I said that I only claim to be good at the things I know I'm good at. Toss me a basketball or a football, and I'll look at you like you're an alien. I know I'm not good at things, and I don't pretend to be. It's not my style. But when there's something I am good at, I know it, and I'm not going to hide it. So is this confidence? my friend asked me. I don't know. Where is the line between confidence and cockyness? Where is the line between confidence and egocentrism? When I was young, (like Elementary school through Middle School until about the first year of high school), I was smart, and I wasn't shy about telling other people. That was assinine, and people didn't like me for that. I understand that. But now, I don't know what it is. I think maybe it is that every few week or so, something really exciting and new is happening in my life and I like to tell my friends about it - maybe that isn't the right thing to do. I just don't know. I'm so confused. I get excited about things and just want to tell the world. Sometimes I'll be telling someone about something great that I did this week, and I'll force myself to stop and ask THEM about THEIR week, because I know it's rude to talk about yourself all the time. (Thanks to Jason Geiger constantly reminding me of this - he'd probably take issue with what I'm even writing here.. but its my journal, so if you don't want to read it, close the window). But anyway - when I ask my friends about what happened in their week, most of the time they're like, "oh nothing.." "same old stuff... school... work... internship... whatever." I have one friend who DOES tell me about exciting things in her life... and I love hearing about them! She tells me when her friends are coming from home - she tells me about fun things happening at her internship - I think that's great! It gives me great balance to get to LISTEN to someone else who is doing great things also. I don't know, I guess I'm just confused. Feedback anyone? So back ot my shitty week - great week. So yeah - one day of work, and a fever. That was shitty. I also found out that my mom has to go in for surgery - a cardiac catheterization - to test and find out why her heart isn't getting enough blood. I have to tell you that this scares the shit out of me. Not necessarily the catheterization, but the fact that she's having heart issues. My grandmother died when my mom was only 16 ... dying young runs in my family. Now mom has heart issues. So just by dumb luck, she chose to go in for the operation on April 16th - the day of the Communications job fair at Penn State. I won't be able to be bedside with her during surgery, but at least that night when the job fair is over, I can go home to DuBois and be with her for the remainder of that weekend. I just hope they don't find ultra-serious issues, and it's something that can be fixed relatively easily. Now on to the good of the week... AHhh.. the good. Well, let's see - where to start. Well, Tuesday in Hoboken with Vitale was awesome. Good times. I'm going to go cook him lasagna sometime, since I have no cooking utensils... Wednesday Essence of Joy and another fraternity brother - Adam Berndt - was in New York City to perform. My friend Punit and I went and saw an AWESOME show. Even cooler was the fact that Adam got me two free tickets. FREE. That's a word I can deal with. While at the pre-show alumni mixer, I met some great alumni, and also ran into a guy I had met once before back at campus - Stu Chamberlain. Stu is a fixture at ABC News Radio. He sat with us at the concert. Afterwards, he took me two blocks over to the ABC News Radio studios where he gave me the "internal" help-wanted list for a job. Nothing looked promising, but while there he showed me all of the studios. It was really cool, and even neater to see, hear and meet a guy who I've heard doing national news radio for YEARS. What was really cool, was that when Stu walked into the newsroom, his entrance had the same effect as Norm on Cheers walking into the bar. Everyone in the newsroom looked up, smiled and yelled "STUUUU!!!" He seems to have connections with every major news organization and every famous broadcaster in this city. This man could be of great value to me, and he's a hard core Penn Stater, and he seems to like me. (rubs hands together in a sinister fashion) - good stuff... good stuff... So Wednesday night - I was lucky that my temperature came down enough to go to the show. After going to ABC News Radio, I ALMOST got on the subway back to Brooklyn, but something called me back to the hall where the concert was, hoping I could hook up with Adam and some other friends in Essence of Joy at their post-concert reception. Glad I did - I ran into him and Becca - and we went out and had a great time. Adam and I shared a pizza and great conversation, then I went home. A truly awesome evening. Thursday was sort of a waste of day. I really didn't do shit productive. I did get really exciting news on Thursday though. I had been the host (master of ceremonies) for four a cappella concerts (including two competitions) at Penn State. People who were into a cappella have started to associate me with a cappella concerts. Well, I got an e-mail reminding me of the FINALS round of competition of the ICCA (See http://www.varsityvocals.com/icca/), so I e-mailed the girl in charge and asked her if she had a host for the NYC finals. I offered, since I'm here, and I love doing it. She e-mailed back and said that she remembered me from Feb. 2003 and would love to have me host them. This is a big deal to me. Huge audience from across the US, at a theater on 43rd St... MTV will be there filming.. and I'll be the guy running the show - let me just say that I am very very excited. It's April 25th (Sunday) if anyone wants to come. Tickets run from $20 - $40. I have no idea if I'm going to be able to get any comp tickets or not. I'll ask the girl, but not sure. Friday was nice - I called off work again, but feeling better from the illness I had a sudden burst of productive energy - and I'm still riding on it now - hence the long, detailed Journal entry. I cleaned my room really nicely, and mailed out 37 of the 40 letters I wrote to PSU Alumni in New York City looking for help finding a job. Hmm.. what else did I do? I worked for EHS. Then after work, went to Bonny's room and had a Corona - which was nice, because I could "feel it" after one drink, having not eaten much that day. Random intruding thought: I need a haircut... bad... Then - another cool experience. I met two guys who are here studying at some Drummer's Collective program. They invited me to their room after my shift, so I stopped by and the one guy was hell bent on teaching me to play a basic beat on the drums.. He spent like 20 minutes going over technique - from holding the stick, and all the way up through playing with two hands and a bass drum (tapping my foot)... I felt like a retard, but this guy was really fucking cool. I said to him when he was first like, "Dude, I'm going to teach you to play a beat!!" - I said, "dude, I feel like retard - you are talking to someone who has never picked up drumstick before." He was like, "Yo man - forget it - just be yourself." He kept saying, all night long, to not worry about shit and just be myself and loosen up. It was refreshing to hear someone with that attitude. So he taught me to play a basic beat - poorly - but a basic beat nonetheless. So I threw down a little close-up magic for him, and taught him one basic trick, the same as he taught me basic drumming. He was really cool and told me he wants me to go to one of his shows and get up on stage and do like one quick wicked magic trick to drive the audience wild, then leave stage and leave the venue. He said he'd PAY me :) Interesting stuff.... he's convinced it would be a great "gag." We'll see what happens with that. I'll do about anything for money at this point. Finally, Friday I got the Adobe PDF file of the layout of my article that will run in The Sinfonian magazine - it looks AWESOME. They used SIX of my photos, the article begins on page 5 of the magazine - it really is the lead story in this issue. It takes up a six-page spread. I'm thoroughly excited about it. Watch for a link to it in my LJ. I'm going to post it to my website so you can see it. Not sure when I'll get to it, but it's on my to-do list today. Today I slept till noon (yay) when Punit called me to go for groceries. I didn't need much, just a few essentials - buns and milk. So I went, came back, and here I am. I have a nice to-do list to work through today and I have no doubt that I'll do it, coming on this wave of productivity I've had as of late. I am trying to kick what seems to be a residual sore-throat from my little sick experience this week. I hope it goes away. I took some pain meds this morning and it has been supressed, I just hope it stays that way. I think that's about it for now. Live Journal Entry - on to do list - DONE. Talk to you all soon! Current Mood: productive Current Music: Maroon 5 - This Love (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 24th, 2004
4:13 pm	I'm an asshole. So I had a meeting today with the news director at NY1. She's the big one. The shot caller. She called me in to go over the results of the writing test - it's a test that all applicants who want to become writers for NY1 have to take in order to be considered for the job. Well, she said the results of my writing test were excellent. However, she said that she has been hearing all of the problems that I've had between me and my boss, as well as my "attitude." Well... I think she might be right. She pointed out to me a few instances in which things that I said or did could have been interpreted as offensive to the people I said them to. She was right. How could this happen to me? I thought I was going to go in there, work hard and 'steal the show.' I wanted to be the intern that everybody is talking about. Well... I am, for all of the wrong reasons. In my own defense, I will say this - the comments I made were never intended to be interpreted the way they were. I never had malicious intent or uninhibited arrogance. Let me give you just one example, so hopefully you will understand. News assistant - one who goes out into the field and gathers video and information to bring back to the station to be packaged into a story. NOT a reporter. Entry-level position, not a career move. Well, I went out with a news assistant. The news assistant asks me what I want to do, ultimately. "Reporter." I tell them. OK. So far so good. Now, first I'm going to tell you my intended meaning... then what I said... then the offensive way in which it was interpreted. I said to the news assistant that I want to be a reporter. I said that I know in this business, at least in New York City, that nobody starts as a reporter out of college. I said that in my hometown, since it is such a small market, that there is a much better chance at starting out in a reporting position. I said that I understand there are "dues to be paid," and entry-level jobs that you must work through in order to reach the reporter title. I said that I'd be willing to be a news assistant or a writer to start. I said it's not what I'd want to do for years and years, but that I'm not "above" doing any particular job to make my way to where I want to be. I'm not "better" than that. I will do what I need to do to achieve the ends that I intend. I also made the comment that it would make me happy to get hired, be a news assistant for some number of months (or a year or two), but then eventually I'd hope to be moved up to a reporter. NOW - here's how that person misinterpreted my meaning, and took the comment offensively. He interpreted my comment as belittling to him and his work, giving the impression that I am "better" than him, or "overqualified" to be a news assistant, and that the work that he does is shitty. He was offended by that. I can buy that. I can see how a comment like that could offend him or make him feel as though I was belittling him. I suppose that there really is no justification for what I did wrong, because I did truly intend to communicate that I wanted to be a reporter, but that I would also do what it takes - be a news assistant - writer - whatever.. in order to achieve that end. I will do the shit jobs that you need to do to get where you want. I suppose I shouldn't have said it to the guy doing the shit job. So other situations similar to this circulate back to my bosses that I have an attitude problem, and of course - it reaches those in charge of hiring and firing. So now what? This is where I seek your input. They told me I could quit my internship anytime I wanted to (not in a rude way - like, 'don't let the door hit you on the way out,' but more like - you've fulfilled your college requirement, so don't feel like you have to stay if you are not learning anymore.'). I told them I do not want to leave. I need help knowing what I can do to patch up the damage I've done. I also need to figure out a way to answer questions without giving responses that can be interpreted in more than one way. ...And I always thought I was such a great communicator... Ha! Consider me officially "knocked down a few rungs," for the first time in a long time. So what is your feedback? Am I an asshole? Are the other people that I'm dealing with just over-sensitive or just not feelin' me right? I think people who know me know what kinds of attitudes I have and how I portray myself. I think in situations where I make comments like that, people who know my enterprising attitude and constant motivation (ok, maybe THAT'S pushing it a little bit) know that when I say I'm going to do something or achieve something - I do. People who know me know that it's not a favorite past time of mine to belittle other people or constantly degrade them in light of myself. Yes, I do have a high self-image and a bad ego problem. I think in the past two to three years I've been able to keep it in check, at least being aware of it and trying to quell it when it gets out of control. So what's your feedback? All you people who know me? Am I really the asshole that I'm starting to believe that I am? I used to never worry about what other people thought of me, but now I'm starting to wonder - what do people say about me when I'm not around? What do they think? How am I viewed? Do I have an attitude problem? Needless to say I'll be doing a lot of thinking and a lot of praying this weekend on the trip back to Penn State. Meanwhile, the news director suggested I have another sit-down with my bosses. I want to, now that I feel like I've "seen the light." (at least more than I did in round one and round two of my supervisor face-off). I think part of the reason that I wrote off the things my boss said to me, was the constant barrage of "warnings" that I got from other employees at the station telling me of how much of an asshole my boss is. I think that put in place a mindset that whatever this guy tells me is bullshit anyway because he's just an asshole. I think that could be part of it too. My boss and I seem to have been getting along quite well as of late. So finally - what's your feedback? Am I an asshole? How do people see me? and most importantly, if I have a sit-down with my bosses after this meeting with the news director, what should I say? I don't want to be over-apologetic and groveling, but at the same time I want to communicate that I'm sorry for being a dickhead, I realize now how what I was saying was offensive and I didn't mean it. How do I structure that in the form of a coversation? Ideas? FYI on other notes - I was thinking, "so what are my chances that NY1 is going to offer me a job, now?" Probably 0, although I do have but one good thing going for me. The news director seemed absolutely impressed by my writing skills. I asked her for more feedback on the writing portion of the test, now that I had my attitude beaten into the ground, and she said that it was all very very good. I FedEx'ed my resume and tape to WJAC Channel 6 in Johnstown. I'm waiting to hear back from them about a possible job opening at their DuBois bureau office. More later... hit me back with feedback. Thanks. Current Mood: distressed Current Music: the hum of my computer's fan blowing (Comment on this)
12:50 am	New Living pattern Something else I want to add.. the other night the brother of a friend of mine was in town. We did a little show for him and his friends, and he was so thrilled by magic and hypnosis that we hung out and bullshitted until 5:30 a.m.!! The sun was starting to come up by the time he left, and we went to bed. This inspired me, somewhat. I'm goign to try something new starting after I get back from PSU this weekend. I'm going to try going ot bed at like 10-ish, and waking up at like 5:00 or 5:30 - going out for a run over the Brooklyn Bridge, and maybe down the Promenade.. etc.. I think this might be a great, inspirational way to wake up first thing in the morning and start my day. Then come back, shower, eat breakfast, and head off to my job in the morning. I was really shocked to see it getting light out so early. It made me really realize how much of the day we truly waste during Spring / Summer when days are longer. Hopefully I'll be able to motivate myself try out this new pattern and see how I feel. Later Current Mood: Complacent Current Music: ...more from Dreamer's 15th Concert (Comment on this)
12:45 am	Yes, I'm alive After some gentle encouragement by a friend of mine, here's an update. The hypnosis show at my building has been moved to April 14th, but that's fine. I don't want people associating it with April Fool's Day. I am going back to Penn State this Thursday through Sunday. I can't wait. The longer I'm here, the more I realize how much I like State College. I miss my car. I miss my Wal-Mart. I miss my friends. I do have friends here, and we hang out, but for some reason, it's just not the same. Job update: So I really like having these Tuesdays and Thursdays off of my internship and my job. The only beef I have is that I have a hard time being productive.. that is, not sleeping till noon and doing about 3 hours worth of work in a 15 hour day. IT has been good for job searching. I have made some calls, sent some e-mails, and I have a lead or two. I'm considering teaching at the DuBois Area Middle School. It's a long story, but there's a solid chance I could get a job there without my teaching certificate because a teacher there is retiring, and nobody wants to take over the class. I have all the training to teach the class, and the prinicipal likes me, from what I'm hearing. The other lead is with Channel 6 news in DuBois. Apparently their DuBois bureau chief is nonexistent, and they want to reshape it and put someone GOOD in there. I talked to Jennifer Kallin - you'll see her on the 5:30, 6:00 and 11:00 pm. newscasts. She's an old friend of mine. She told me to send my tape and resume - that she thought there was a solid opportunity there for me. She sounded so excited when I called her the first time. I overnight FedEx'ed my resume tape and paperwork to them, and I'll keep you posted on what comes about. I also reached out to my old boss at Sunny 106 in DuBois. I thought that when I left there I totally burnt, bombed and otherwise destroyed the bridge (you know.. burn bridges).. but after a conversation with a mutual friend of hers and mine, he said that may not be entirely true, and that I should contact her, so I wrote a nice e-mail, explained my immaturity from four years ago, and asked for consideration of a full time job. We'll see what comes of that. April 16th - that weekend I will be back home too, for Penn State's Communications job fair. I'm still trying to pave the way down the ten or so different paths that my career could take, post-graduation. I'm still working on Time Warner, trying to work them for their entry-level positions as well. As more time goes by, though, I am still not sure how excited I am about living in New York City. More on this later. Again, I blame my living circumstances (living in a HOLE.. not having a kitchen.. no access to my car..) for being unhappy with New York City. But in the big picture, this is great - I mean, I really get to feel out the city. I really get to KNOW whether or not this is where I want to spend a career. I definitely love the big city atmosphere, but hate its pricetag and accompanying drama (the fights, subway preachers, homeless people.. you name it). It all wears on you over time. I think if I had a nice home to live in ( nice apt) I would be more shielded from some of this crap. Well anyway, I can't think of much else that's going on to write about. Some friends are going to be performing in NYC on 3/31. That should be fun. Is this internship over yet? :) I shouldn't be so dramatic. I really am having fun. Trust me. Talk to you later. Current Mood: productive Current Music: "Every Rose" - Dreamer's 15th Anniv. Concert (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 14th, 2004
9:59 pm	WOO HOO! Caught UP! I am now officially done with all of my journal entries from the start of my internship up through last week. This means from now on I should be able to write a two-page journal each week, for the preceeding week, and remain on pace to finish them on time by the end fo the semester. Now I am venturing into a stack of readings for the CAS course that I'm taking online. It's the last three credits that I need to graduate with that Bachelor's degree. I did a *LOT* of reading on the flights to and from San Francisco, but I haven't, since that trip, sat down and looked at the list of required readings and compared it to the list of readings I've completed. I'm hoping that I got at least 1/2 way through the required readings, as I have to write a first paper and send it in by April 19th. More later! I'm SOO PUMPED I got them done! Yay! Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Virginia Hullabahoos - Lady in Red (Comment on this)