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Gremlin Puppies Ate Mah BAYBEE!
Dec. 12th, 2007 10:46 pmI'm tired. Been a busy week so far, and it's only Wednesday! (Well, almost Thursday).
Last Friday, Becky and I drove to Wasilla (about a 5 hour drive) to pick up her new puppy! She's a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (NOT a pit bull!) and totally adorable. Beck and I drove up Friday morning, went to 4 or 5 stores in Wasilla, then Coldstone Creamery (yum. OH YUM)and then to the hotel to veg until we could pick up Halle. Then we took her back to the hotel and let her run her fool little head off. She's totally cute and angelic...unless she's awake. Then she's cute and demonic! When Summer met her a couple days ago, I thought we were going to have to be extra careful not to let Summer bully her, but Halle thinks she's Tough Shit and lunges at Summer and bites her on the ears and barks her adorable little bark...she's like a gremlin puppy.
Anyway. Today we had an open house at work. We sent out a whole bunch of invitations to clients, my boss made a bunch of food (dips, bbq meatballs, and a dessert called "Novella's Good Stuff"), and when the clients showed up, we gave them a tour of the station. Kara and Laurie did the meet and Greet, Yvette recorded their holiday messages with them, Sarah took everyone's photo and did miscellaneous tasks that needed to be done, and I showed them how we write, produce, and program ads. It all took place over about 2 hours, and I am very very tired now.
My boss said afterward that she had several people tell her that I did a good job explaining things without making them too complicated or going into "Geek Speak," which made me a little glowy and happy inside! :)
And now, bedtime! Goodnight, all.
Last Friday, Becky and I drove to Wasilla (about a 5 hour drive) to pick up her new puppy! She's a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (NOT a pit bull!) and totally adorable. Beck and I drove up Friday morning, went to 4 or 5 stores in Wasilla, then Coldstone Creamery (yum. OH YUM)and then to the hotel to veg until we could pick up Halle. Then we took her back to the hotel and let her run her fool little head off. She's totally cute and angelic...unless she's awake. Then she's cute and demonic! When Summer met her a couple days ago, I thought we were going to have to be extra careful not to let Summer bully her, but Halle thinks she's Tough Shit and lunges at Summer and bites her on the ears and barks her adorable little bark...she's like a gremlin puppy.
Anyway. Today we had an open house at work. We sent out a whole bunch of invitations to clients, my boss made a bunch of food (dips, bbq meatballs, and a dessert called "Novella's Good Stuff"), and when the clients showed up, we gave them a tour of the station. Kara and Laurie did the meet and Greet, Yvette recorded their holiday messages with them, Sarah took everyone's photo and did miscellaneous tasks that needed to be done, and I showed them how we write, produce, and program ads. It all took place over about 2 hours, and I am very very tired now.
My boss said afterward that she had several people tell her that I did a good job explaining things without making them too complicated or going into "Geek Speak," which made me a little glowy and happy inside! :)
And now, bedtime! Goodnight, all.
(no subject)
Jun. 30th, 2007 06:05 pmLook, I'm posting!
Don't have much to say. Summer is going pretty well, so far. Busy, though. We started up the Fishing Reports, which is when those of us at the radio take turns going down to the docks with a recorder and interviewing people who went fishing. ...
...
On a side note, my dog just farted, and she's laying RIGHT UNDERNEATH MY CHAIR AAAAAAAUGH WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. *expires*
Oh man. It's hard to type when you're holding a shirt over your nose.
Anyway, tonight's my night (one of 'em...my other night is Tuesday) to go to the harbor. I usually go at around 6:30 or 7. The hardest part for me is approaching people, but usually I'll just look for a clump of people gathered around a cleaning table. If they're cleaning fish (or watching fish get cleaned) I'll say, "Looks like you had some luck today." Then I'll ask if they want to talk to me. Most of the time, people are pretty nice and do it, and even when they refuse, they're generally nice about it.
It's halibut season right now, and the halibut derby is in full swing. So far, the top fish on the leaderboard is a 274.5 pounder, followed by a 266 pounder. They're both women, which is pretty awesome. A woman has never won the halibut derby here before.
In about a week, the pinks will start showing up, and there will be lots more people out and about trying to catch them, so hopefully it'll be easier to find people to talk to.
I went to a barbecue yesterday. With NEW PEOPLE I'D NEVER EVEN MET BEFORE. Are you proud of me? I'm proud of me. My newest coworker (I think she's been with us for about a month) and her husband had a bbq and bonfire out at their house, and were nice enough to invite me and another coworker (we were pretty much the only 3 people in the office this week, as the boss was in Disneyland). I knew the 3 of them, obviously, and had met Newest Coworker's sister, who is visiting from Texas, a couple times. There was a woman there who was in high school with me. She was senior when I was a freshman, and she remembered my name! I'm pretty sure we never spoke in high school, and I didn't remember HER name right off, though I thought she looked familiar. I was pretty shy in high school and spoke to maybe 5 or 6 upperclassmen the entire time I was there, so I don't know how she would know me...but she was really nice. So she was there with her kids, and then the rest of the people were people I didn't know.
I brought Summer and she had a blast playing with the 3 other dogs that were there, including an adorable little corgi puppy. I was there until almost 11. HEY MA LOOKIT ME I'M SOCIALIZING!
It's pretty gray and depressing today. Was raining earlier but not anymore, but there is a definite damp chill to the air. However, I'm not going to worry about it much because this summer has been about 50 times better than last in terms of weather. Last year, I shit you not, we had a total of 14 days where it didn't rain. 14 non-rainy days ALL SUMMER. This year has been WONDERFUL. But my hands are still cold.
It was definitely a comfort-food day. In addition to the grayness, I'm on the rag, so when I went to lunch I wanted something warm (conveniently forgetting that, though outside it was chilly, inside the studio it's always like 300 degrees). So I got some soup at the store (it was pretty damn good too, tomato and basil) and a cheese roll, then went back to the studio, propped the door open and turned on the fans, and savored my food slowly. I don't have anything so good here at the trailer, so I ate a bowl of granola for dinner and some microwave s'mores with a glass of milk for dessert.
I really don't want to go do Fishing Reports tonight. I want to curl up with Summer and my book and put on a movie in the background. Instead I'm going to go (as Nina puts it) do my dockwalker routine and try to talk to people who smell like fish. Wish me luck.
I like my new icon.
Don't have much to say. Summer is going pretty well, so far. Busy, though. We started up the Fishing Reports, which is when those of us at the radio take turns going down to the docks with a recorder and interviewing people who went fishing. ...
...
On a side note, my dog just farted, and she's laying RIGHT UNDERNEATH MY CHAIR AAAAAAAUGH WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. *expires*
Oh man. It's hard to type when you're holding a shirt over your nose.
Anyway, tonight's my night (one of 'em...my other night is Tuesday) to go to the harbor. I usually go at around 6:30 or 7. The hardest part for me is approaching people, but usually I'll just look for a clump of people gathered around a cleaning table. If they're cleaning fish (or watching fish get cleaned) I'll say, "Looks like you had some luck today." Then I'll ask if they want to talk to me. Most of the time, people are pretty nice and do it, and even when they refuse, they're generally nice about it.
It's halibut season right now, and the halibut derby is in full swing. So far, the top fish on the leaderboard is a 274.5 pounder, followed by a 266 pounder. They're both women, which is pretty awesome. A woman has never won the halibut derby here before.
In about a week, the pinks will start showing up, and there will be lots more people out and about trying to catch them, so hopefully it'll be easier to find people to talk to.
I went to a barbecue yesterday. With NEW PEOPLE I'D NEVER EVEN MET BEFORE. Are you proud of me? I'm proud of me. My newest coworker (I think she's been with us for about a month) and her husband had a bbq and bonfire out at their house, and were nice enough to invite me and another coworker (we were pretty much the only 3 people in the office this week, as the boss was in Disneyland). I knew the 3 of them, obviously, and had met Newest Coworker's sister, who is visiting from Texas, a couple times. There was a woman there who was in high school with me. She was senior when I was a freshman, and she remembered my name! I'm pretty sure we never spoke in high school, and I didn't remember HER name right off, though I thought she looked familiar. I was pretty shy in high school and spoke to maybe 5 or 6 upperclassmen the entire time I was there, so I don't know how she would know me...but she was really nice. So she was there with her kids, and then the rest of the people were people I didn't know.
I brought Summer and she had a blast playing with the 3 other dogs that were there, including an adorable little corgi puppy. I was there until almost 11. HEY MA LOOKIT ME I'M SOCIALIZING!
It's pretty gray and depressing today. Was raining earlier but not anymore, but there is a definite damp chill to the air. However, I'm not going to worry about it much because this summer has been about 50 times better than last in terms of weather. Last year, I shit you not, we had a total of 14 days where it didn't rain. 14 non-rainy days ALL SUMMER. This year has been WONDERFUL. But my hands are still cold.
It was definitely a comfort-food day. In addition to the grayness, I'm on the rag, so when I went to lunch I wanted something warm (conveniently forgetting that, though outside it was chilly, inside the studio it's always like 300 degrees). So I got some soup at the store (it was pretty damn good too, tomato and basil) and a cheese roll, then went back to the studio, propped the door open and turned on the fans, and savored my food slowly. I don't have anything so good here at the trailer, so I ate a bowl of granola for dinner and some microwave s'mores with a glass of milk for dessert.
I really don't want to go do Fishing Reports tonight. I want to curl up with Summer and my book and put on a movie in the background. Instead I'm going to go (as Nina puts it) do my dockwalker routine and try to talk to people who smell like fish. Wish me luck.
I like my new icon.
(no subject)
Apr. 13th, 2007 08:23 pmThe radio station I work for is putting on a Home and Recreation Expo next weekend. Basically, we called a bunch of vendors (insurance, electronics, taxidermy, photography, rec equipment, clothing, construction, plumbing, food, plants, skincare, etc) to bring some of their wares and set up shop for two days, all in the same space. This way, people can come through and take at look at what these various vendors have to offer (and hopefully buy some crap from them) without having to go to individual stores. In years past, the show has gotten traffic of maybe 300-600 people over the two days (not including kids - we keep track with admission tickets).
Several of our vendors are representatives of larger companies (think like...Mary Kay or something similar, where you shell out a certain amount of money to receive a "starter kit," then receive a commission on the stuff you sell). Sometimes, such reps can get their admission fee for the show refunded at least partially by the company they represent.
( There has to be 1000 people! )
I have no idea if any of that made sense.
x-posted to my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
customers_suck
Several of our vendors are representatives of larger companies (think like...Mary Kay or something similar, where you shell out a certain amount of money to receive a "starter kit," then receive a commission on the stuff you sell). Sometimes, such reps can get their admission fee for the show refunded at least partially by the company they represent.
( There has to be 1000 people! )
I have no idea if any of that made sense.
x-posted to my
customers_suck(no subject)
Apr. 5th, 2007 06:46 pmI work for a very small privately owned commercial radio station. We have two full-time employees (me and my boss) and two part-timers. We have a satellite feed that gives us all our music and DJ banter and whatnot; what we do at the station is write, read, and program ads (for businesses in town), PSAs, announcements about public events, and we do the weather twice daily and stuff like that. We also have a program called Kid's Club, where two Thursdays a month, we have a group of kids (4th graders and 5th&6th graders) come in to record scripts about responsibility, reading, safety, character, and other things. Today was 4th grade Kid's Club.
This guy came in to pick up his son. My boss was in the AM studio recording the last script with a few kids. The man glanced in the window then wandered into the hallway to peer into the FM studio.
"Wow, this place is small. I've never been in here."
( You don't know like you don't know? )
X-posted tocustomers_suck
This guy came in to pick up his son. My boss was in the AM studio recording the last script with a few kids. The man glanced in the window then wandered into the hallway to peer into the FM studio.
"Wow, this place is small. I've never been in here."
( You don't know like you don't know? )
X-posted to
customers_suck(no subject)
Jan. 20th, 2007 02:36 pmI really shouldn't be posting from work.
There's a Sam's Club ad that comes on the radio (not one of ours, it rides the satellite) and it makes me grit my teeth every time I hear it. Below is a pretty exact transcript (maybe I left out a few words).
Sam's Club Guy: Blah blah blah blah *says something about John Elway*
John Elway: *says something about his furniture line*
Sam's Club Guy: You can bet they'll be lining up for something and something and John Elway's couch!
John Elway: Not my sofa! My Casual Living furniture collection.
Sam's Club Guy: Well, it's too late to cancel the movers now.
John Elway: Yeah? How 'bout I cancel your FACE??
Me: You FUCKERS, that doesn't make ANY SENSE.
There's a Sam's Club ad that comes on the radio (not one of ours, it rides the satellite) and it makes me grit my teeth every time I hear it. Below is a pretty exact transcript (maybe I left out a few words).
Sam's Club Guy: Blah blah blah blah *says something about John Elway*
John Elway: *says something about his furniture line*
Sam's Club Guy: You can bet they'll be lining up for something and something and John Elway's couch!
John Elway: Not my sofa! My Casual Living furniture collection.
Sam's Club Guy: Well, it's too late to cancel the movers now.
John Elway: Yeah? How 'bout I cancel your FACE??
Me: You FUCKERS, that doesn't make ANY SENSE.
(no subject)
Oct. 22nd, 2006 12:00 pmWorking at the radio station, we have people coming in all the time to place classified ads. The crap comes when they don't realize the difference between a classifed and a PSA. PSAs, we do for free (and we're actually required to play a certain number of them each month), but mostly they involve messages like "October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Call 1-800-BOOB for free information about whether you or a loved one are at risk for cancer." PSAs are NOT "October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so come to the Civic Center on Friday to a Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser. It's only $20 to get in!"
If someone gets information like that to us a few days in advance (concerts, fundraisers, parties, etc.) we can put that information in the news for a couple days and it won't cost them anything. If they want special advertisement for their event, it's gonna cost them. Generally, the rule we go by is "You have to spend money to earn money; if you are getting paid for it, we get paid for it."
A fellow came into the station yesterday after my boss had gone home (around 5 pm) and asked if he could get some ads on the radio.
I asked what his ads were about (remember, costs are different: PSAs are free, getting something into the news is free, but special ads cost money) and he said "Public service."
Right away I was suspicious, because generally when people come in and want to put a "PSA" on the air, what they mean is they want a classified, but don't want to pay for it.
Turns out he's doing a gospel concert at one of the churches in town. I told him that doesn't qualify as a PSA, but when is his concert, because that sort of thing we might be able to mention in the news.
"Tonight."
So...at 5:10 in the evening, you want to put an ad on the radio for your concert at 7?
Me: Tonight? *blink*
Him: Yeah tonight...maybe tomorrow too.
Me: Well, I'm afraid you already missed our news deadline...you see, we record the news a day in advance, and we don't have any news on the weekend.
Him: So, what would it cost?
I went and got a price sheet. For classifieds, we generally go with 30 second spots as opposed to 60 second, and have a "minimum of 6 spots" rule, at $12 a spot for our cheapest deal. This means that someone would have to buy at least six 30-second ads, and those six ads would go on BOTH our stations, the AM and the FM, so they're essentially getting twice that number.
Him: $12 for each 30 second ad? Wow...that's expensive.
Understand that, in order to get his ads on the radio, I would have had to drop what I was doing when he came in, write up an ad (and 30 seconds is longer than it sounds), record it, edit it, and then manually plug it into the spot set for each station, for both days he wanted it on. That takes a while.
Him: I'm kinda broke. It's sorta like a public service.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
Me: *trying not to sound exasperated* A public service is more like promoting awareness of illness or helping people to quit smoking...stuff like that.
It's hard for me to explain things to other people, particularily if I'm not 100% sure of them myself, so I probably could phrased that better. I haven't been working at the station for very long, so I, too, sometimes have trouble with what is or is not a PSA.
Him: Well...I do public service...and...stuff. Like, letting people know they've fallen off the right path...helping them get back on, that sort of thing.
Me: I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you.
He asked me if there were any other radio stations in town besides us and public radio (which he'd already tried), and when I told him no, he thanked me and left. I felt bad, but at the same time, irritated. He had told me he was from "out of town." I presume that means this concert has been planned for quite a while.
PEOPLE. If you're having an event, and you want to put out some ads for it, WHY wouldn't you try to do that sometime BEFORE the actual day it's being held?
He wasn't rude or anything, just sort of...wtfish.
If someone gets information like that to us a few days in advance (concerts, fundraisers, parties, etc.) we can put that information in the news for a couple days and it won't cost them anything. If they want special advertisement for their event, it's gonna cost them. Generally, the rule we go by is "You have to spend money to earn money; if you are getting paid for it, we get paid for it."
A fellow came into the station yesterday after my boss had gone home (around 5 pm) and asked if he could get some ads on the radio.
I asked what his ads were about (remember, costs are different: PSAs are free, getting something into the news is free, but special ads cost money) and he said "Public service."
Right away I was suspicious, because generally when people come in and want to put a "PSA" on the air, what they mean is they want a classified, but don't want to pay for it.
Turns out he's doing a gospel concert at one of the churches in town. I told him that doesn't qualify as a PSA, but when is his concert, because that sort of thing we might be able to mention in the news.
"Tonight."
So...at 5:10 in the evening, you want to put an ad on the radio for your concert at 7?
Me: Tonight? *blink*
Him: Yeah tonight...maybe tomorrow too.
Me: Well, I'm afraid you already missed our news deadline...you see, we record the news a day in advance, and we don't have any news on the weekend.
Him: So, what would it cost?
I went and got a price sheet. For classifieds, we generally go with 30 second spots as opposed to 60 second, and have a "minimum of 6 spots" rule, at $12 a spot for our cheapest deal. This means that someone would have to buy at least six 30-second ads, and those six ads would go on BOTH our stations, the AM and the FM, so they're essentially getting twice that number.
Him: $12 for each 30 second ad? Wow...that's expensive.
Understand that, in order to get his ads on the radio, I would have had to drop what I was doing when he came in, write up an ad (and 30 seconds is longer than it sounds), record it, edit it, and then manually plug it into the spot set for each station, for both days he wanted it on. That takes a while.
Him: I'm kinda broke. It's sorta like a public service.
I mentally rolled my eyes.
Me: *trying not to sound exasperated* A public service is more like promoting awareness of illness or helping people to quit smoking...stuff like that.
It's hard for me to explain things to other people, particularily if I'm not 100% sure of them myself, so I probably could phrased that better. I haven't been working at the station for very long, so I, too, sometimes have trouble with what is or is not a PSA.
Him: Well...I do public service...and...stuff. Like, letting people know they've fallen off the right path...helping them get back on, that sort of thing.
Me: I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you.
He asked me if there were any other radio stations in town besides us and public radio (which he'd already tried), and when I told him no, he thanked me and left. I felt bad, but at the same time, irritated. He had told me he was from "out of town." I presume that means this concert has been planned for quite a while.
PEOPLE. If you're having an event, and you want to put out some ads for it, WHY wouldn't you try to do that sometime BEFORE the actual day it's being held?
He wasn't rude or anything, just sort of...wtfish.
(no subject)
Sep. 28th, 2006 03:21 pmAbout a week ago, 12 people in my town were arrested for the sale and use of cocaine (and some other drugs, but coke was the main one) in a massive bust. Since then, at least another 6 have been arrested.
Now, I'm sure down in the real world, 18 people arrested for cocaine is no big deal, but in a town where people call the police to report a flock of crows picking on an eagle, it's pretty huge--not to mention that it gave the newspaper a chance to print BUSTED! on the front page, across a photo of some arrestees. Also, fun fact: I went to high school with at least one arrestee, and another who is "still at large," even though he's quite small.
The police station released the names of those arrested (none were under 18, and most were over 40) and the newspaper printed the names in an article in today's paper, and my boss mentioned the names when she read the news on the radio.
This afternoon, I answered the phone at work. A male voice asked to speak to my manager. I handed her the phone.
She listened for a couple minutes, tried saying a few things, then shrugged and hung up.
"Apparently," she said, "I'm a communist for mentioning those names on the air."
Hm. Methinks the fellow isn't too clear on the meaning of "communist."
Now, I'm sure down in the real world, 18 people arrested for cocaine is no big deal, but in a town where people call the police to report a flock of crows picking on an eagle, it's pretty huge--not to mention that it gave the newspaper a chance to print BUSTED! on the front page, across a photo of some arrestees. Also, fun fact: I went to high school with at least one arrestee, and another who is "still at large," even though he's quite small.
The police station released the names of those arrested (none were under 18, and most were over 40) and the newspaper printed the names in an article in today's paper, and my boss mentioned the names when she read the news on the radio.
This afternoon, I answered the phone at work. A male voice asked to speak to my manager. I handed her the phone.
She listened for a couple minutes, tried saying a few things, then shrugged and hung up.
"Apparently," she said, "I'm a communist for mentioning those names on the air."
Hm. Methinks the fellow isn't too clear on the meaning of "communist."
Walk me bloody plank, mate
Sep. 20th, 2006 02:59 pmYarrrrrrrr!
Ahoy and avast, maties. I jest came on leave from me farst day aboard a new berth. 'Tis strrrrrrrange, warkin' wif a new cap'n, but I did have a rrrrrroaring good time, ayyy. Open yer ears and point 'em in th' direction o' the nor'easter that's a-blowin', an' ye might hear me melodious tones on th' rrrrradio t'morry.
YARRRR!
Ahoy and avast, maties. I jest came on leave from me farst day aboard a new berth. 'Tis strrrrrrrange, warkin' wif a new cap'n, but I did have a rrrrrroaring good time, ayyy. Open yer ears and point 'em in th' direction o' the nor'easter that's a-blowin', an' ye might hear me melodious tones on th' rrrrradio t'morry.
YARRRR!
