New Job. New Energy. New Ideas.

Yesterday was my first day at KHBS/KHOG TV and I will say it went really well. Everyone is really friendly and I felt right at home within like 5 minutes. I started out basically watching and being told how things will go but at the 6 o'clock news I got to operate my first camera and I actually didn't screw it up. By the 10 I was printing scripts and running the camera again. I was very impressed with myself but I know I have a long way to go.

Live TV production seems to be a lot of wait, hurry up, wait, hurry up. We wait for scripts and then have less than 5 minutes to get them there before we go live. Then we do a broadcast and repeat. The 2 hour lunch break is nice but we repeat the process again and then go. I think I'm really going to like this and like the different things I'm going to learn here.

So I meet a guy who went to Full Sail for Film which is exactly what I was going to do until the economy bottomed out. It's really cool because now I have someone to talk to about school and different film ideas I have. I might even see if he'll check out one of my screenplays for me. This could be a very good asset for me in the future because I want to start producing my own short movies this summer and he knows a lot about the production side that I'm still learning.

Overall yesterday was a good day. Today is going to be crazy with babysitting my two favorite kids this afternoon and working tonight. I love being able to say that I'm working again. Such a nice feeling of accomplishment.

Big Day

In less than an hour I start my new job and I have never been more excited or nervous. Today is the semi-official start of my new career path. Let's hope all goes well. Anyone who can see the broadcast if something goes wrong it is so not my fault. Wish me luck.

And a minor side note, this is the 13th post of my blog and it's Friday the 13th. Freaky.

Scary Stuff

I'm pretty sure by this point everyone has heard about the plane crash that happened last night in Buffalo, NY. Now if you had told me this 2 years ago I wouldn't have really considered it more than the tragedy of a plane crash killing 50 people. But now this has a more special meaning to me. My best friend is from Buffalo, the baseball team I used to work for is based in Buffalo, and I have been to the Buffalo airport several times. One of which was a very scary almost landing that could have very easily been this situation. 

My heart and prayers go out to the families and friends of the people who were on that plane. I don't know how you ever really grasp something like this happening. 

I have never been the biggest flying fan. I'm claustrophobic so every time the door closes I have a small panic attack and I'm afraid of the plane crashing so every time there is a slight bump or dip I tend to overreact. Things like this just make it that much more real in my mind. Now I know there are hundreds of flights everyday and it's been 2 years since a plane crashed in the U.S. but it shows you that you can't take anything for granted because you never know when it's your time.

Now my best's friends family is still in Buffalo, well West Seneca to be more specific and her family is visiting her in Hilton Head, SC right now which means they will have to fly back to Buffalo soon. I haven't gotten to talk to her since this whole thing happened but I'm sure she is worried about that and the fact that she is flying here at the end of the month. I would be a little worried too. 

We won't know for a while what happened or exactly how many lives were lost but until then keep the families, friends, loved ones, and the people of Clarence in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm living in an Insane Asylum...

Since as far back as I can remember I have always been a pet person. One year my christmas list had 15 items on it and 10 of the 15 were a dog. I love cats and dogs, I even had fish at one point. So that is why I can take claim to 6 pets at this current moment. 3 dogs and 3 cats. Now 2 of the dogs live with my parents who have a bigger back yard and the other dog is technically my sisters but we share him. 1 of the cats is the very first "pet" that I had and still lives with my parents because she is to old to move and the other 2 live with me and my sister.

5 of the 6 pets are currently at my house after a crazy evening of dog hunting that ended up back at my house. Now my parents live less than a mile down the road and when the dogs still lived here we walked there often so they know the way to and from. 

I have been saying for weeks that they needed to come visit because they missed their home but with the ice storm our fence was in no shape to hold them in. Well the dogs decided for themselves today. They some how managed to find their way back home. After almost 30 minutes of driving around I decided to circle back by the house just in case. Out in the road darts my dog Alex. Now I have always teased that these weren't the brightest dogs in the world but apparently I was wrong. They found their way back again. It's my own mini version of Homeward Bound. 

I'm just glad that they came back and are not missing but it is crazy that they show up at the place they used to call home. 

Random Drives are the Best!

I've been feeling blocked lately. It may have something to do with the enormous amount of time that I have had to spend working on school work or it could be that I haven't really been inspired to write lately. So to get the creative juices flowing I decided to take a little drive this afternoon. I didn't really drive to go anywhere specific just to turn up the music, let my brain wander and get out of the hole I've been in for the last couple of days.

Nothing is better than setting the cruise control, singing at the top of your lungs and just letting it all go. I just let my mind wander where it wanted. I actually will say that about the time I hit Fort Smith and the sun peaked out of the clouds I actually started coming up with some good ideas again and I feel the energy and inspiration I felt a couple weeks ago. I think that I might actually get somewhere on my newest script now.

Now I probably wasn't the safest driver at 80 mph taking random pictures of the things that I saw or the views that inspired something in me but I didn't wreck and I didn't cause anyone else to wreck. There is a point when you are coming back into NWA and you top the hill before you reach Fayetteville that is one of my favorite views on I-540. You can see all of the U of A on the hill and at night the lights make it spectacular. When I was going to school in Conway this was my favorite part because it meant that I was home again. Seeing that view today, it felt just like it did back then. I wasn't even gone for more than 2 hours but yet again I had this feeling that I was home again and nothing beats that feeling.