I caught a touch of something and my throat is dry and sore. I'm going to bed shortly and I've been taking extra Emergen-C, drinking orange juice, and gargling with warm salt water.
In other news, I am going to tour the local community television station tomorrow morning after we get back from Dad's appointment. I also left a phone messages for the manager of the commercial station back home and my friend Janine (because I'm hoping to meet up with her while I'm here). I also had fun with Aunt Donna tonight. She and I were taking advantage of the free kareoke that is "On Demand" with their cable. I've also been using this feature to watch episodes of "Torchwood", "Fantasy Island", and "Silver Spoons".
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Live, from Dad's!
Nova and Ali saw me off at the train station on Sunday morning. The train was a few minutes late so we sat at a table and entertained each other with bad jokes. I had a pleasant trip down here. Dad and Aunt Donna picked me up from the train station around 4:30pm.
It's been nice spending time with Dad and Jan. I've been helping out mostly as Dad's chauffer and tv watching companion. :) Today is Dad's birthday. We're going to head over to Jan's parent's home for dinner and a party. Yesterday, a friend of Dad's stopped by to talk and it turned out that he is involved with the local community television station. I'm going to call them in a few minutes and see if I can stop by for a tour tomorrow or Friday. I think Dad's friend also mentioned that the station is hiring.
The weather is beautiful and I'm enjoying a week off from work.
It's been nice spending time with Dad and Jan. I've been helping out mostly as Dad's chauffer and tv watching companion. :) Today is Dad's birthday. We're going to head over to Jan's parent's home for dinner and a party. Yesterday, a friend of Dad's stopped by to talk and it turned out that he is involved with the local community television station. I'm going to call them in a few minutes and see if I can stop by for a tour tomorrow or Friday. I think Dad's friend also mentioned that the station is hiring.
The weather is beautiful and I'm enjoying a week off from work.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hanging out with Ali & Alex.
I had a fabulous time with my family at our Passover Seder yesterday. We laughed a lot, caught up, and ate some great food. I met Amy (Les' wife)'s family and they are really nice. I arrived at Ali and Alex's around 10:45pm and we talked until almost one o'clock in the morning. After a good night's sleep, I had my traditional Passover breakfast of matzoh, butter, and honey. Alex and Ali have two adorable pets, a female dog named Abby and a male tiger kitty named Milo. Milo reminds me a lot of Emily and was on my bed getting pet first thing this morning. Ali and I are going to hook up with Nova in a little while and then go to the train station. I'm having a great time and really enjoying myself.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Quick Update
I directed part of the City Council meeting shoot tonight and spent about 10 minutes operating a camera. It was a very short shoot. My plans for next week are coming together. I spoke to my cousin, Jonathan, today and he and his wife, Page, can give me a ride to the Seder. I'm still trying to figure out housing for Saturday night because my Uncle's house is completely full. I have a call into Steve about staying at his mom's and an email out to Ali about visiting with her and her husband and Nova. I can also try the MHC alumnae network. I don't know if I'll be able to post from NJ but I'll try. I do have an email out to my friend, and fellow alum, Janine to see if I can visit her as well when I'm in NJ since she's not far from Dad.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Important video from Moveon.org
I love the fact that my blog is multi-media! Anyway, though I find myself a bit apathetic and tuning out, Moveon.org sent an email to all its members asking people to post this video on their blog.
Not much going on...
but I want to get back in the habit of posting regularly. I got a short email reply yesterday from the commercial station’s manager saying it would be okay to call next week. Last night I spent with some friends. I am really tired, seven hours of sleep a night doesn’t seem to be enough for me. Oh well, I’m going to try to go to bed early tonight so that I get eight hours.
My car saga still continues. Monday I had to have the knuckle and wheel bearing on the front passenger wheel replaced to the tune of $530. This morning, when I started the car, I heard a clicking behind the left side of the dashboard. It went away after awhile. I think it’s a fault in the alarm system (which I don’t use anyway, who wants to steal a 14 year old car with 310,000 miles on it?!) and I’ve emailed Saturn to see if I can disconnect the alarm system myself. As long as my car is safe to drive I’ll be grateful.
I’m at work right now but I’m lucky that I’m able to work on personal things in between phone calls because I’ve finished all my other tasks.
My car saga still continues. Monday I had to have the knuckle and wheel bearing on the front passenger wheel replaced to the tune of $530. This morning, when I started the car, I heard a clicking behind the left side of the dashboard. It went away after awhile. I think it’s a fault in the alarm system (which I don’t use anyway, who wants to steal a 14 year old car with 310,000 miles on it?!) and I’ve emailed Saturn to see if I can disconnect the alarm system myself. As long as my car is safe to drive I’ll be grateful.
I’m at work right now but I’m lucky that I’m able to work on personal things in between phone calls because I’ve finished all my other tasks.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
My taxes are done!
Sunday I finished my taxes and sealed the envelopes, did some chores, rested, prepped for Monday, and met with some friends. It felt really good to hang out with people.
Monday, after working all day and developing a wicked headache, I mailed my taxes from a post office located inside a nearby mall. In the food court, I purchased a baked potato for dinner and then headed up to the live, local, music show. I had a blast! I was really able to incorporate the experience I had on Friday night at the “Battle of the Bands” and produced some really good shots. I even earned a thumbs up from one of my fellow camera operators (the one who has the most experience). After the shoot we all shared our experiences with job hunting in the field. I found out that some of the other applicants for that station’s Technical Assistant position have more technical experience than I do but that they are looking for a people person, which I most definitely am! I also got an email from the station’s Executive Director letting me know that they are in the process of reviewing applications and that they will call the people they want to interview.
Today I emailed my response to the voicemail from the other station’s manager and will see what happens.
Monday, after working all day and developing a wicked headache, I mailed my taxes from a post office located inside a nearby mall. In the food court, I purchased a baked potato for dinner and then headed up to the live, local, music show. I had a blast! I was really able to incorporate the experience I had on Friday night at the “Battle of the Bands” and produced some really good shots. I even earned a thumbs up from one of my fellow camera operators (the one who has the most experience). After the shoot we all shared our experiences with job hunting in the field. I found out that some of the other applicants for that station’s Technical Assistant position have more technical experience than I do but that they are looking for a people person, which I most definitely am! I also got an email from the station’s Executive Director letting me know that they are in the process of reviewing applications and that they will call the people they want to interview.
Today I emailed my response to the voicemail from the other station’s manager and will see what happens.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Okay, so it's been two weeks since my last post.
Oooops. :) Quite a lot has been going on. I know that's not really a good excuse so I'll try to, briefly, share what's been going on (in no particular order):
My car is going back into the shop on Monday because I'm pretty sure I have a very bad wheel bearing. I used Susan's Ford to get to work on Friday and to do my errands today. I'm not looking forward to spending another $400 but it's still cheaper than buying a new one and I need a vehicle to get to work and make money (to then spend on my car, oy vey!) Seriously, I'll be glad to be driving a safe car and I'm fortunate that I had a backup so I didn't miss work.
The two community television stations that I've been volunteering for have job opportunities opening up. I've applied for the Technical Assistant position at the one that is farther away from my house. The other station will have an opening for an Access Coordinator in May. People at both stations encouraged me to apply for these full time, benefited, jobs. I'm really excited and hope to have some good news soon. Meanwhile, I'm still pursuing the part time Production Assistant Camera job at the commercial television station. I have been playing message tag with their Station Manager. I will be sending him an email on Monday and hope to have a phone conversation with him in two weeks. He left a message for me on Friday letting me know what he thought my strengths and weaknesses are and telling me to be prepared for some tough questions about how far I live from the station and my lack of a formal television training background. He seems nice, candid, and fair so I'm sure I can convince him that he should hire me. I don't, however, want to commit to him until I know about the other two positions.
Last night I was a camera operator for a local Battle of the Bands competition. It was a lot of fun! I spent an hour and a half using a hand-held camera right in front of the stage. I had a cord wrangler (another volunteer who made sure that I, and the audience, didn't trip on my audio and video cables) and was able to get lots of cool shots. I was getting close-ups of musicians, crowd shots, weird angles, moving shots, and trying out new techniques. I can't wait to film the live music show on Monday because I can try out some more of this. Sometimes when I was getting shots I realized I was doing the same things that I've seen camera operators do on televised concerts. It felt really good, really professional, and I want to do it again. The Executive Director of the station and I were talking after the shoot (I was helping clean up so that I could learn more about the equipment and it's set-up) and he said that I have a lot of heart. That's when he told me about the position that will open up in May.
Dad is recovering well from his hip replacement surgery and I'm going down to help him out from 4/20 to 4/27, after spending 4/19 with family in the eastern part of the state. My Uncle and his wife invited me to Seder and I can't wait to see everyone and celebrate the holiday.
Finally, tonight Susan and I went to see the Smothers Brothers perform with the Symphony Orchestra that I used to work for. They were fabulous! I laughed almost the entire time and the music was great. The Orchestra began the show playing five short pieces by Leroy Anderson (the guy who composed "Sleigh Ride") that were fun. The Smothers Brothers can still sing and play really well and they even brought along a video with highlights of their career. That brought back a lot of memories since I remember watching them on TV when I was little. It was weird, and sometimes uncomfortable, being back at the Symphony but I was able to enjoy it. It was really nice not working the concert. I even had the highest bid on an item at the silent auction that took place before the concert and during intermission. I got a AAA membership for $55, which I think is a savings of between $7 and $13, and helped the Symphony. Yeah!
Oh, I almost forgot. My taxes are pretty much done (that's what's been taking up a lot of my time lately). Every year I say I'm going to get them done early, and every year I end up waiting until the last minute. I'm thankful that I'm getting refunds from all three sets. Yes, I said three. This year I did my Federal and state taxes and then also had to do taxes for the state that I worked in for a week doing that television show. It worked out fine but took longer because that state doesn't have a separate, shorter, form for non-residents. I finished the paperwork today (thank goodness I was able to find and print the forms on their website and read their manual online) and got it all photocopied. I have to put postage on them and mail them on Monday. My refunds, along with the check we're all going to get in May, will pay for my car repairs. Again, I'm grateful that I have the money to pay for it.
My car is going back into the shop on Monday because I'm pretty sure I have a very bad wheel bearing. I used Susan's Ford to get to work on Friday and to do my errands today. I'm not looking forward to spending another $400 but it's still cheaper than buying a new one and I need a vehicle to get to work and make money (to then spend on my car, oy vey!) Seriously, I'll be glad to be driving a safe car and I'm fortunate that I had a backup so I didn't miss work.
The two community television stations that I've been volunteering for have job opportunities opening up. I've applied for the Technical Assistant position at the one that is farther away from my house. The other station will have an opening for an Access Coordinator in May. People at both stations encouraged me to apply for these full time, benefited, jobs. I'm really excited and hope to have some good news soon. Meanwhile, I'm still pursuing the part time Production Assistant Camera job at the commercial television station. I have been playing message tag with their Station Manager. I will be sending him an email on Monday and hope to have a phone conversation with him in two weeks. He left a message for me on Friday letting me know what he thought my strengths and weaknesses are and telling me to be prepared for some tough questions about how far I live from the station and my lack of a formal television training background. He seems nice, candid, and fair so I'm sure I can convince him that he should hire me. I don't, however, want to commit to him until I know about the other two positions.
Last night I was a camera operator for a local Battle of the Bands competition. It was a lot of fun! I spent an hour and a half using a hand-held camera right in front of the stage. I had a cord wrangler (another volunteer who made sure that I, and the audience, didn't trip on my audio and video cables) and was able to get lots of cool shots. I was getting close-ups of musicians, crowd shots, weird angles, moving shots, and trying out new techniques. I can't wait to film the live music show on Monday because I can try out some more of this. Sometimes when I was getting shots I realized I was doing the same things that I've seen camera operators do on televised concerts. It felt really good, really professional, and I want to do it again. The Executive Director of the station and I were talking after the shoot (I was helping clean up so that I could learn more about the equipment and it's set-up) and he said that I have a lot of heart. That's when he told me about the position that will open up in May.
Dad is recovering well from his hip replacement surgery and I'm going down to help him out from 4/20 to 4/27, after spending 4/19 with family in the eastern part of the state. My Uncle and his wife invited me to Seder and I can't wait to see everyone and celebrate the holiday.
Finally, tonight Susan and I went to see the Smothers Brothers perform with the Symphony Orchestra that I used to work for. They were fabulous! I laughed almost the entire time and the music was great. The Orchestra began the show playing five short pieces by Leroy Anderson (the guy who composed "Sleigh Ride") that were fun. The Smothers Brothers can still sing and play really well and they even brought along a video with highlights of their career. That brought back a lot of memories since I remember watching them on TV when I was little. It was weird, and sometimes uncomfortable, being back at the Symphony but I was able to enjoy it. It was really nice not working the concert. I even had the highest bid on an item at the silent auction that took place before the concert and during intermission. I got a AAA membership for $55, which I think is a savings of between $7 and $13, and helped the Symphony. Yeah!
Oh, I almost forgot. My taxes are pretty much done (that's what's been taking up a lot of my time lately). Every year I say I'm going to get them done early, and every year I end up waiting until the last minute. I'm thankful that I'm getting refunds from all three sets. Yes, I said three. This year I did my Federal and state taxes and then also had to do taxes for the state that I worked in for a week doing that television show. It worked out fine but took longer because that state doesn't have a separate, shorter, form for non-residents. I finished the paperwork today (thank goodness I was able to find and print the forms on their website and read their manual online) and got it all photocopied. I have to put postage on them and mail them on Monday. My refunds, along with the check we're all going to get in May, will pay for my car repairs. Again, I'm grateful that I have the money to pay for it.
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