A real vacation this time, plus business.

November 1st, 2014

We didn't win, but this
is more than enough!

  Seattle!! I went to Seattle last weekend for the CBI convention/conference since I was a part of a crew that produced a finalist broadcast from last school year. The Bomb Threat special was really emotional for me, so I'm ecstatic that the work I put into it paid off. I directed, produced, wrote, made graphics, got some video footage... yeah. I did stuff for it, haha. We were up against some really large stations, and I'm happy that we were just a finalist among the 800 plus entries. I mean, some of these stations had twice or three times the staff than we did.


  We flew in around 11 am PST, and the landing was beautiful! The trees in the city are gorgeous. I didn't think the city had so many trees. It's much greener than Chicago (as in downtown and the city, not 'burbs). Even though we arrived when it was raining (shocker), it didn't damper the beauty of Seattle's fall colors. I feel lame glorifying the Seattle's trees, but they were really pretty and unexpected, as least from my perspective. The whole weekend was filled with off-and-on crappy weather. On the last day, we really felt the wrath of wind. Mornings were a little wet, nights were windy and cold.. oh well. It was still worth the sight seeing and photography attempts.

Salmon burger.. #nomnom

  What's the first thing to eat when visiting a West Coast city? Fresh seafood, of course! I got my fix right away with some sushi. I usually can't pass up avocado and salmon rolls. On Friday night, I got a salmon burger with bacon and cheddar cheese with a side of salmon chowder soup. The burger combination does sound a little weird, but it sure did taste awesome. I'll be having that again in the near, whether homemade or at a restaurant. The bacon was cooked so much better than many other burger joints.

Thanks, Jen Mueller! 

  The conference was filled with a lot of students, station advisors and professionals. We ran into some other Ohio college students, so that was nice. I got to hold a Seahawks Superbowl ring! Even though I follow the Broncos, it was still pretty damn cool to actually see and touch a Superbowl ring. Not everyone will get that opportunity! I got to learn a few things about getting into the business and other things I don't really need to get into.

  One of the most important things I learned was that for many people, it takes time (maybe a long time) to get into the right career or the career path you want to be on. An executive producer for one of the Seattle radio stations moved to the city and worked as a bank teller for years before getting a six month gig that lead to a small position at the station, THEN finally building his career and moving at a much faster pace. Some young adults and graduates, especially me, feel very frustrated and disappointed to not be in the right job position that will help with starting a career. But, they, more like I, need to realize not everyone gets that lucky or fortunate to land the right job the first time around. It may take a few jobs or a location change to find the right connection or company.

KING5 station during breaking news.

  I need to find my calling again. My friend and I went to the KING5 tour, and we got to go to the station on a pretty busy day; there was a local shooting at a high school 30 minutes outside of the city, so the news staff were running around and reporting the breaking news on location, with specialists and in the newsroom. It was fascinating to see reporters, producers and anchors in action when there's breaking news. It was unfortunately sad news to report, but someone has to do report it.

Taken October 24, 2014
4 second exposure.

  As much of a thrill it was, I don't think news is for me. I can handle the pressure of getting information out there and producing a live show, but mentally, it's not for me. My anxiety has been harder to control, and the after effects of some of the stories that news stations have to report of affect me after the fact more than during. I dealt with that first hand with the bomb threat, and I was still on my anxiety medication at that time. I was full of mixed emotions, and the worst that I felt was anger. I just wanted to punch a wall and scream. We weren't in any harm, but we could have been... I'm not getting into that again...

  I have never treated myself to a vacation like this one, and I could have been treating myself a little more while I was there, but of course my anxiety about money tore me down. Health wise, I've been cutting down the strictness to try new things (I did work out in the hotel facility one morning, which was awesome!), but I wish I spent a little more money to get even more food or get Seattle or Washington souvenirs for my family. I have the photos and memories, for sure, but I could have done more. Baby steps, right?

Taken October 23, 2014
The Space Needle!

  I took a seminar about photography, which was awesome. It was a little kick start back into photography again! I got to see some great examples of more complicated practices like time lapse and cinemaphotography. I attempted two time lapse projects. It's been difficult putting each one together in After Effects, but I was somewhat successful with one that I did from our hotel. I just set up the camera then went on my way to KING5. I should have set a limit, because I took over 1,000 photos (whoops..)!

  I'm going to keep experimenting before it gets too cold for me to be outside. Hopefully my doctor can figure out why I'm cold all the time so I can still take landscape and nature photos. It's a little disappointing to miss out on life because I can't get warm. Anyways, Seattle was awesome, and I'm still not giving up on finding my career path and where I want to go in life. (: