Waking Up in Vegas....

Well, I can't say that I haven't been there any more. I have. And I now see why every grown up that I know holds the place in such high regards.

You know it's funny, when we got there it the visual imagery kind of hit me several different ways. On one hand, I just kept harkening back to Stephen King's usage of it in the movie The Stand. On the other hand, the biggest impression that I got was that I stepped into a hybrid of South Beach, Panama City, Adult Disney World and Cancun...kind of all mixed together.

((The strip at night//Courtesy: Me))

Of course I am talking about Las Vegas. In case any of you didn't know, that is where I've been all week. That is why you haven't been subjected to my wonderful blogposts.

It is probably a good thing that I didn't go there until now. Really, had I gone when I was in my early 20's, it wouldn't have been good. Sure, I would have had fun, but I would have been in trouble...bad trouble.

Just walking around, it is obvious. Everything goes. The beer and drink supply...endless. And it's cheap. Inhabitions...forget about them. Publicly doing things you'd never normally do...absolutely.

Since we are a bit older, we had more of a mellow trip. Yeah, there was a good amount of beer drank, but not a ton. Sure, we gambled a bit, but not much. Probably because I lost $40 bucks in about 5 minutes playing Blackjack.

((Me and TLB at the Wynn/Courtesy: Lisa Hart))

But damn! Anything you want to do is there. It isn't cheap. It's ballpark/vacation expensive....everything costs more there. But there is more of it. More food than you can imagine. Frozen Drinks, mixed drinks, cheap beer, imported beer....everything...and oh so much more.

Really, we didn't do much of that. We ate. We ate well. Very well. Gambled a bit and walked...a lot. And oh...we went to check out some Pawn Shop that a TV/Reality show is done in. I didn't get much out of that one, it looked like a smaller version of any generic Pawn Shop you could walk into.

But perhaps my favorite thing....or at least funniest is the handout guys. Mostly they are illegal immigrants or homeless folks trying to make a buck.

What do they do? They stand up and down the sidewalk trying to hand you brochures. Okay, cards or fliers to "Call Girls to your room" or "Girls at xxx Club". It cracks me up because when you are about to walk by, they "clap" the cards together and then try and shove one in your hands.

((Daytime Vegas/Courtesy: Me))

Are they annoying? Sort of. They don't actually stuff them in your hands. They back off if you ignore them...but they are funny never the less.

It probably could have been more fun with more money, but...you do what you can do with what you've got. I really did enjoy the trip. TLB (The Lovely Bride) and I had a lot of fun. Mostly we tried to relax and not think about our world at home...and that was a good thing.

Sure, the flight out sucked. 4 hours in an airplane is tough for me, most planes aren't built for people over 6-feet tall or people with broad shoulders. But it was worth it.

I'd go back. I'd go back in a minute. I'd go back armed with more money. I wouldn't go back for a long period of time because I did learn a lesson. As great a place as Vegas is, no, I wouldn't want to live there and I also wouldn't want to stay longer than the 3 nights that I did.

Enjoy Katy Perry's Waking Up in Vegas...the Unplugged version: Thanks Katy Perry.com/You Tube

When plans come together....

Anyone who has ever laid out a plan for themselves knows that it isn't easy to say that "I love it when a plan comes together". Unless you are Hannibal Smith of the A-Team.

Despite a very frustrating past 7 months, it appears as though mine is actually working.

The first component was the job. Both me...and TLB (The Lovely Bride) were very unsure as to whether I should be working full...or part-time. Really, up to the point that I got offered my job on the Assignment Desk at WCPO, I wasn't sure which it would be. We had discussions of it being a full-time opportunity and it not. They offered the not, but it was 3 days at a good rate with the opportunity to pick up extra hours.

((Computer Illustration//Courtesy: tonkay.wikispaces.com))

What that allows me to do is something that I've talked about for a long time. I'm going to learn how to design websites. As much as I enjoy the blogspot and posting stories on it is very easy, I want to be able to do a full-fledged site on my own and make it look like I want it to look.

So today, I took the plunge and signed up for some web programming courses at a computer school. I will be learning a bunch of programs; Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. HTML Programming and code so I can put together my own video players and layout for sites.

The reason for this is rather simple. Diversification. If I can do this, which I believe that I will; then I will be able to hopefully branch off and do web design for others. It will also allow me to take on more technical jobs. Jobs that would allow me to create and take videos that I edit and spin them to the internet, things of that nature.

I've preached...over and over about diversifying and knowing as many things as possible and I think this will allow me to do just that. It will allow me the chance to do more and offer more. Even if I do web design as a side-job as a freelancer, it is a couple of hundred extra bucks and I can do it from home.

I feel, strongly, that this is the future. That this is the way to stay relevant and the way to be marketable. Staying strictly within the boundaries of what you utilize and are taught in a Television newsroom isn't enough these days. Those jobs are no longer forever. I know that. Heck, I've known that.

The difference now is perspective. I know what it is like to be on the other side. To be on the other side and realize that your skills don't translate very well because you never had a chance to keep them up-to date. I won't make that mistake...ever again. Hopefully someone else can learn from what I did. Have a plan. Know what will keep you current. Know what it takes to get ahead and have the advantage over someone else. If you don't, they'll do the same thing to you.

Enjoy the original A-Team open...which undoubtedly will be better than the crappy remake: Thanks You Tube

It's all coming back to me....

You know, as much as we all want to say that we want to retire early, sit around and do nothing for the rest of our lives, we know that you can't...it will make you crazy.

I've done it. Done it since the middle of September...of last year. It hasn't made me totally crazy, for that would imply that I didn't have a level of craziness before then. Rather it has made me itchy, antsy, restless...but more importantly anxious and ready to embark on a new career path.

((Me at my old desk producing//Courtesy: Jon Nelson))

Well, I've now taken my 1st step. By now, most of you reading this know that I took a job as a Weekend Assignment Editor at WCPO-TV here in Cincinnati. Yes,I know that I said I was hoping to stay out of TV, but I can't. Call me Brett Favre or whomever, I couldn't stay away.

I'm quite looking forward to this job...for several reasons. One, it isn't what I've done for most of my career. No, I've spent the better part of the past 21-plus years slinging a camera. Granted, it was a lot of fun and I got access to and covered things that most people dream of being at.

But it was time for a change. The physical toll of what I was doing was rough. My shoulder had been giving me trouble. A strained rotator cuff here, a muscle strain there...I was having a tough time.

I had also peaked. There was no mobility for me as a Carrier of the Camera. Don't get me wrong, I accomplished a lot. I have a closet full of awards and pictures of me at all these cool places. But as a shooter, I would never be more than I already was.

So I set out to change that. Along my winding road, I picked up some good experiences. Yes, I started as a Sports Photographer and Producer and would've been perfectly happy just doing that, but it wasn't that simple. Through that and my other lengthy list of jobs I was involved with a lot of things.

In Jacksonville, my News Director would come to me and say I need a 30-minute show by mid-week. And I would do it. Team up with reporters, come up with stories, shoot them and edit them and arrange and time the show. Did it all.

Same thing in Atlanta. I achieved a career goal by getting there and then being able to run the Sports Department for awhile. By running it I mean doing all of the planning, producing, choosing stories and doing logistical work. It was great experience.

But my time there passed. I was at a highly unstable station and after being one of the very few to survive for 10 years, it was suddenly time to move on.

So the challenge was...what next? That was a tough one. Unfortunately, I was not qualified to do as much as I thought I would be. I hadn't been on the job market in 10 years. Things changed.

I've already chronicled the search so I won't go into that. What I will say is this: I think I'm at the right place right now for me. I am at a good place with what seems to be a good staff. They don't have much turnover, the people on staff have been together there a long time. They are successful and the number #1 in most shows in town.

I spent a couple of hours at the new job today. Not officially, but I had to do some stuff for HR and then I spent some time with my new boss. She walked me through as many of the desk procedures that she could and I asked a ton of questions. At first, I was quiet and a little hesitant, but it only took a few minutes to start getting my groove back. I will be spending my weekend shadowing the person currently working my shift.

Will this be the be-all, end-all for me? I don't know. It's not even a worry right now, I am just happy that I'm back. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity here. If I'm successful, I've been told there will be better opportunities. No, the schedule isn't perfect, but hopefully I can parlay what I have into a better schedule over time. I am going to provide ideas to make things better. I'm going to be a big communicator and more importantly...I'm going to jump head first into my new challenge.

After all, that's what working is all about...isn't it?

In the spirit of getting back in the groove, enjoy some Earth, Wind and Fire: Thanks You Tube

The Cult of Apple

This is a little off topic for the blog, but I'm just kind of annoyed with everyone's friends at Apple, so consequently, I'm going to rant about it.

Everyone loves Apple these days. And in some respects, they should. They are one of the if not the most innovative company out there. Anyone who has used one of the computers is an instant convert. And geez, everyone has an I-Pod by now, don't they? Or an I-Phone? Or I guess the newest addition to the fleet, the I-Pad.

((Apple I-Mac aluminum//Courtesy: ephoto.wordpress.com))

We've (ok, me) been fans for awhile. I'm on my 3rd I-Pod and was an early convert to I-Tunes. I had the earliest I-Mac as well. I went away from the I-Mac when I bought my Gateway laptop back in 2003.

The Gateway was a custom order and worked for what I needed it to. Along with being my primary computer at home for a couple of years. It also went on the road with me, everywhere. All my work road trips around the country. My scuba diving trips to Nassau. Literally, it went everywhere, was durable and held up to a airplanes, airports and being jammed in a corner in my truck.

My wonderful Gateway died on me about two weeks ago. It didn't die in the literal sense, the hard drive was fine and it had no problem booting up. No, the problem was the monitor, which lit up enough for me to barely see that it booted up.

So, though we are the proud owners of a top-of the line 2009, 27 inch I-Mac, I can't say that I am incredibly happy with the fine folks in Cupertino, California at the moment.

The reason. I-Tunes. Yes, the all-purpose, multi-featured music program used by what seems like almost everyone.

What ticked me off you ask? I had I-Tunes on the old Gateway. Getting your music from an old computer to a new one (we bought a nice HP laptop/couldn't afford a macbook), is roughly akin to pulling a tooth.

Why I ask, does Apple make I-Tunes so easy to use yet virtually impossible to move? Yes...quite possibly the most annoying, difficult thing that you will ever have to do is try and move I-Tunes from one computer to another.

The program inherently balks at the thought. It doesn't want to Synch with your I-Pod. It flashes warning messages that you can't have I-Tunes registered on more than one computer. Okay, great.

Do they think that we want to start our libraries from scratch every time we buy a new computer? I say yes.

The reason: Money. They hope you'll start from scratch and start buying again from their library. Morally wrong, corporately greedy.

Okay....I feel better now. Really I do like their products. Love my little Nano. The I-Mac may be the greatest computer of all time. If we could have afforded it, we would have bought a MacBook Pro, but we couldn't justify it. That's fine. All I ask is for Steve Jobs to be respectful for us common folks, those of us who have drank the kool-aid. We really like your products...really we do...we just don't want to have to re-start from scratch every time we get a new one.

The video that started it all: Thanks You Tube

Back in....

Well...if you haven't seen my Facebook post yet, I'm back in...albeit a little reluctantly...to the TV News wars. Most of you who read this are friends and family and you know my situation. Left the business back in September, very willingly, to move to Cincinnati with my wife for her job. It was something, I never hesitated to do and would more than willingly do again (she has a really cool job).

Unfortunately, my timing in regards to the national employment situation wasn't good. There were precious few jobs available when I got here. None in TV. I also found out the hard way, that my work didn't really prepare me for work in the Production sector and really didn't qualify me to do much of anything else.

So I struggled. A lot. I had never really had to look very hard for work and it showed. I bitched. I moaned. I compromised. I took a job for something to do, thinking that it would be fun, it was miserable.

I learned. Learned a lot. I learned that the job search these days is totally different than it was the last time I was looking. I learned that it is all about networking, with a little luck thrown in.

Finally after a false alarm in November, when I interviewed for a producer job that I didn't get, something showed up. It was disappointing not to get it...but I made a contact and that contact insisted that I stay in touch for when something else opened up. I did.

Forward to the end of January and I see a story in the local newspaper that my contact is leaving at the end of February. That same day, I look at the station job site and low and behold, there is a job there. At the time it said "Assignment Editor/Associate Producer. Okay, I can do that, it isn't ideal, but I most definitely can do it. Before I applied, I got in touch with my contact who said "Oh, yes, apply" "We've already brought your name up".

Cue the frustrating part. The original listing went from Full-Time Assignment Editor/Associate Producer to Part Time Assignment Editor and then a separate Associate Producer job. I didn't understand or know what to make of it. I wanted to work and nobody else in town had anything.

So I sat. And waited. They asked me to come visit in early February. It was a quick and informal visit. Nothing happened. About a month later "Can you come in for an interview?". So I did. Finally, it was mid-March and I thought something might happen. We spent an hour and they asked me about all kinds of things, stuff that made me think..."OK, maybe we are serious and going to do this".

Finally, after 8+ weeks, I got the call and it was for the Assignment Desk position. It's part-time, not full, but it pays fairly well and there will be opportunities to fill in and pick up extra hours. It isn't perfect. The hours are going to be a sacrifice. I don't like the thought of not being able to see TLB (The Lovely Bride) as much. She travels a lot and isn't home much during the week and I'm not going to be around on Saturday nights to wine and dine her. It bothers me, a lot that I can't, but I don't think that I have a choice. I couldn't continue on the path that I was on and I have to hope that some more options will appear as we go.

It's going to be strange walking back in. When I left TV in September of '09, I was kind of over the job and the business. I didn't want anything to do with it. I think some of that had to do with my frustration with the employer rather than the work. I think that everything changed in mid 2005, when I had to work a 42 out of 44 day stretch (the 2 off-days were when my grandfather passed away). I think it changed when I got to live my dream and run a Sports Department for almost a year and then had to hand it off to someone else and then watch that person destroy everything that I did and try and destroy me. It soured me but I held on. Held on and didn't do anything about it and that was my mistake.

I learned from that experience and will never forget it. Yes, I'm also putting down the camera, but I quite honestly won't miss it. I did so much as a photographer. I went to, shot and documented so many cool things, so many big events, so many great stories; I'm ready for something different. The one thing I did over my career that is paying off is a variety of things. I learned how to produce. I learned how to write. I spent some time on the desk. I edited. I planned and coordinated. I know how to and have done almost every job in the newsroom.

Will I stay with this forever? I don't know. What I do know is that I will be prepared for something else. I will not get caught like I did this time. I was in no way prepared to look for other work when I got here. I know that now. I will be prepared. I will be ready. Most of all I will enjoy the opportunity. Make the most of it. Be ready. Be a sponge and soak up as much new information as I can. Most importantly...I can start moving forward again professionally...because I'm back in.

Enjoy one of my all-time favs...Back in Black! Thanks AC/DC-You Tube: