"I am not what I do"

that's the mantra i keep telling myself.... "i am not what i do".... really easy to say... hard to buy into.  i'll give you a little peek inside the minds of radio people... we're all very insecure..... at least everyone i've met is.  we get hired, fired, critiqued, praised, scolded... simply on who we are.  Being encouraged to be "authentic", "genuine", and "real" on the air...means you become really vulnerable.

you see... if i had some factory job, where i punched the same widget over and over again for 8 hours a day... and i got let go because i wasn't hitting my quota... i could live with that.  "Didn't hit my quota!!  Got let go!"....  In no way does not being able to stamp a bunch of widgets have anything to do with me as a husband, father, friend, person, etc.   Being dumped because of WHO YOU ARE... does.  It effs you for awhile... at least it does me.

I put together a resume the other day... first time in a long time.  Radio is funny.. very unique... trying to see what "skills" translate to jobs in the real world.  Not many.  How valuable is the ability to talk up the 12 second intro of a song without stepping on the vocals??  Will that help me in selling you insurance?  How about the amazing ability to give away concert tickets to the 7th caller??  Not the 6th or the 8th!!!  The 7th!! (sniff sniff) Do I smell accounting in my future??

If all else fails... you'll never hear "Would you like fries with that?" in a sexier voice.

So... realized something.... former boss was at my wedding reception a few weeks ago.  Wife and I were limited on who we could invite... I always thought in was in good taste to invite your boss, so I did.  This was a just a couple of weeks before I was let go.  I have to assume that he already knew what he was doing to me at that point.  He gave us a gift card to a major home improvement store in the amount of $50.  Looking at the gift card now....and thinking about how I feel I was led on about my employment... It'll just be wrong and against my character to spend that $50 on nails, and cleaners, and potting soil.  It'll feel "wrong".
And knowing what a proud conservative Republican he is... I made a $50 donation to the 2012 Barack Obama campaign..... in his name. (totally my wife's idea)  I didn't even know you could do that... but you can!!  If someone "inspires" you to donate.. .you can do it their name!!  For as little as $10!!!   And they'll even send that person an email letting them know!!!  I love it when we can can work together for good.

If you'd like to do the same click here...Barack Obama... and then the donate button.

If you can't think of the name of someone who "inspires" you to give.... I might know of a few people. :)

ok... so this is all new to me.  not just the blogging thing, but this thing.  this thing where i'm at home on a monday with nothing to do. that's not true.  i've got a lot to do.. going to work isn't one of them though.  need to do laundry, dishes, try to get rid of all the exclamation points that come up next to songs in my itunes, need to call some long lost associates of mine.  i'm really bad at keeping contacts.  i'm the guy that says, "yeah... let's get together sometime. soon, too! we always talk about it but never do."  i'm the guy who never does.  ironic.  so... yeah, not going to work tomorrow.. i was laid off, fired, terminated... whatever you wanna call it... last week.  just turned 41 the week prior.... unemployed last week.  ok... back to the stuff i have to do... call colleagues... renew my business license (screw the man)... dummy up some aircheck tapes... make some lunch for my stepson.. pick my daughter up from school.... the last one is tricky... she doesn't know daddy doesn't have a job anymore.... but she'll loooooove the fact that i get to pick her up from school everyday and she won't be hanging out by herself.

blogging.... i ain't a good writer.  lots of short sentences... you'll see lots of these ..............  i write in thoughts... not sentences.  megan (my lovely wife) says i should have an audio blog.... like a podcast.  maybe.  actually i will.  i gotta stop saying maybe.  it's a sign of poor self confidence.  do it or don't.  back to blogging... i have friends that are picky about font... i guess i can use anything but comic sans.  that'll look silly... new times roman just looks like you're not trying.  i don't know what font this is...it's called trebuchet.... could be a font or a french cheese.  (i really wish that was my joke... it's not)  i think at some point i'll talk about radio... why i did it, why i don't, what i like, what i don't.  can't do that right now, because i'm distracted by this video of a cup-stacking otter.  

oh... the name... jingle out... radio term for the end of a break.... you, um, jingle out. (thanks to Sean Copeland for this)  take the first exit.... more on that later.