A week?

A week has already gone by? Amazing. But, I guess not so much, since the job search is kicking full time. I have close to only three months left, and that clock is ticking louder than my biological clock did!

I'm at this point running into the issue of meeting too many people. I have so many people to follow up with that I'm losing track. I must say though, it is helping me refine what I want. But bad mistakes can happen, like leaving my two pages of notes from an afternoon meeting at a networking meeting in the evening. Thankfully they still had the pad around this morning, because that would have been BAD. Can you imagine calling up the busy person who spent almost an hour with you and gave you all these leads of people to talk with and ask to meet again for the exact same interview? no way...

And the words of wisdom from the homeless guy as I was chatting with him waiting for my information interview: when you are in an interview, be sure to tell them 'the only reason you were born was to meet me'. I laughed at that one. He said a couple times that I look like a manager. I looked down at myself and every single piece of clothing aside from underwear was from a thrift store, yard sale, or clothes swap. Pretty funny.

I've spent literally all day today writing up notes from a meeting I went to last Thursday at which I was representing a small organization as a 'volunteer intern'. It was a great opportunity for me and I'm learning a bit about that field, but I have to 'give back'. Hence this report. Arg!

Hope all is well.

My first hour

So, I unexpectedly had my first hour of programming last night. The DJ I work with got there late, and so I pulled my own music to help her out. Woo hoo! What a great time. It's a LOT of stuff to do and I had dead air and other mistakes, but overall, I did fairly well if I do say so myself. LOTS of um, uh, but I'll get over that I'm sure. I know now why DJ's play longer songs - whew, it's tough to queue up music and transition so quickly. I'm really impressed with one WFMU DJ who once did a whole show (at least an hour) of 1 minute songs. I can't even imagine.

The last song I chose was Gillian Welch, Tennessee. I chose it because it was 6 minutes long and I needed the time! Put the CD in, look for the longest song, and GO.
I'm listening to my archives now and hear the song. It's really beautiful! And great lyrics - speaking from a bad girl perspective.

"But they threw me out of Sunday school when I was nine
And the sisters said I did just as I pleased
Even so I try to be a good girl
It's only what I want that makes me weak"

Here's the song on YouTube.

from Random House

Laura, do you think this applies to DWTS also? ;-)

The Joy

of Cooking.

Have you ever read it?

I don't mean the new fancy one, but rather the old one.
-The one that teaches you how to cook squirrel and porcupine.
- The one that provides a recipe for onions stuffed with sauerkraut, and notes as a subtitle: Not for a ladies' luncheon.
- The one in which the authors wax poetic about charlottes: "How dull seem the charlottes of our youth, with only a cream and a cherry, when compared with those put together in the sophisticated society we now seem to frequent!".
- The one that teaches you how to make as well as to pronounce vichyssoise: "This leek soup may be served hot or very cold. Yes, the last 's' *is* pronounced, like a 'z', but most Americans shun it, in a 'genteel' way, as though it were virtuous to ignore it."

It's great! Someday if I win the lottery and am done traveling the world, I may cook my way through this cookbook, just like Julie did with Julia's book. Muskrats might be hard to find by that time though...

another one for the list

I have another regret. This one is not life shattering.

I have been anticipating the Bridge Benefit concert for an entire year. We were willing to pay the top dollar for seats because it's such an amazing show and 8 hours for $150 is damn good, considering you can see crap for $75 a ticket.

I screwed up and did not learn the system before getting tickets. What an idiot. So when I logged on at 9:58 am, and hit refresh over and over, and got the screen for choosing tickets, I refreshed one too many times and then forgot to choose # of tickets. And so I f-d up. I still got a seat vs. the lawn ticket, but still... I'm having a hard time letting this go. Stupid me!

But whatever. I'll go for a walk and then just be happy I'm going to the damn show and have a seat. Really. I will. Soon. Sigh.

I can't find nothin' on the radio

Or, is the world collapsing?

So, I decided on a DJ name, and I'll just say it's NOT HeidiHo. The DJ and I used it for one show, and both of us kind of cracked up saying it and it never felt comfortable, so I changed it. HeidiHo is what the turd says on South Park. Plus I was going for the German reference.

The trouble with archives is that I can hear myself after the fact. ACK!

You know, I thought this would be easy, but let me tell you, it's not. The list of things you have to do during a show is amazing, and you are never / rarely ever just relaxing. And this is a station that doesn't have fancy schmancy stuff like WFMU (they post videos and photos on a comment board, and even comment too). There's the board to run, FCC logs, music cuing, reading all the requisite announcements on time, etc. And trying to speak intelligently with no ums or uhs. Whew.

But I'm itching to be able to play my own music. Soon grasshopper...

Open Letter from founder of Meetup

I thought this was interesting, so sharing with you all:

Fellow Meetuppers,

I don't write to our whole community often, but this week is
special because it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and many
people don't know that Meetup is a 9/11 baby.

Let me tell you the Meetup story. I was living a couple miles
from the Twin Towers, and I was the kind of person who thought
local community doesn't matter much if we've got the internet
and tv. The only time I thought about my neighbors was when I
hoped they wouldn't bother me.

When the towers fell, I found myself talking to more neighbors
in the days after 9/11 than ever before. People said hello to
neighbors (next-door and across the city) who they'd normally
ignore. People were looking after each other, helping each
other, and meeting up with each other. You know, being
neighborly.

A lot of people were thinking that maybe 9/11 could bring
people together in a lasting way. So the idea for Meetup was
born: Could we use the internet to get off the internet -- and
grow local communities?

We didn't know if it would work. Most people thought it was a
crazy idea -- especially because terrorism is designed to make
people distrust one another.

A small team came together, and we launched Meetup 9 months
after 9/11.

Today, almost 10 years and 10 million Meetuppers later, it's
working. Every day, thousands of Meetups happen. Moms Meetups,
Small Business Meetups, Fitness Meetups... a wild variety of
100,000 Meetup Groups with not much in common -- except one
thing.

Every Meetup starts with people simply saying hello to
neighbors. And what often happens next is still amazing to me.
They grow businesses and bands together, they teach and
motivate each other, they babysit each other's kids and find
other ways to work together. They have fun and find solace
together. They make friends and form powerful community. It's
powerful stuff.

It's a wonderful revolution in local community, and it's thanks
to everyone who shows up.

Meetups aren't about 9/11, but they may not be happening if it
weren't for 9/11.

9/11 didn't make us too scared to go outside or talk to
strangers. 9/11 didn't rip us apart. No, we're building new
community together!!!!

The towers fell, but we rise up. And we're just getting started
with these Meetups.

Scott Heiferman (on behalf of 80 people at Meetup HQ)
Co-Founder & CEO, Meetup
New York City
September 2011

The Lens

So, I found out about a job this past weekend because I finally had taken the time to look at one of my job lists. A week and a half later I see it and it's an exciting job, but as I read it, I say to myself that I can't do this part, I'm not that great at that, should I waste my time applying, I'm already too late...

I know someone who works there, so I asked him to find out about what's happening. Several days later and he hasn't gotten back to me. But I decide I should apply anyway since I have the bones of an appropriate letter, thus it wont' take me that long. When I send it, I find the email address is wrong, so ask my friend to find me the email address.

Finally he understands that it's me that is applying (earlier this year I had sent him one person who wanted to info interview him) and jumped right on it! Last night he looked at my resume and my letter and provided some great feedback, including that I had spelled the guy's name wrong! (!!! So much for attention to detail...) :-) He thought overall my resume and letter were excellent, and that made me feel so good. And so, when I went back to re-read the position description before finalizing and pushing send, I could see myself in the role, and enjoying it.

Then this morning I had a phone conversation with a woman I have worked with in the past who within the past year became the Executive Director of this organization. She is great and dynamic and energetic. She was laid off from her job in Indiana and cried a bit, but threw herself out there and within three weeks had a consulting job which paid her more than she had been making. Eventually she landed her current job and loves it. She thinks highly of me and said she'd hire me in a heartbeat - even had a consulting job I could have done for her if I had contacted her earlier. Threw out a lot of ideas for me to find a job - all of which boil down to 'get out there and meet people'. And also essentially don't be afraid to ask.

Now, all of that pushing up my attitude and ego I need to be able to do myself. It's nice to have things like this happen to remind me that despite what I may think of myself sometimes and all the errors I have made and the things I think I lack, the reality is that I'm good.

Ever forward.

Squish Poke

So, followed up with two things I had to do - get blood drawn and mammogram. Poke and squish. When I gave blood, there was a person being trained, so she was watching. "you have great veins! blood is just spurting out!" I said that might not be something she wants to say to people, as you never know who might faint hearing that. I didn't mind too much. But I am certainly one of those people who can't watch it being done. I never have, and never will. I don't feel like finding out if I will faint.

That's my exciting day.

Climbing and At Home

OK, two books. One I read, and one I listened to.

Into the Unknown: The Remarkable Life of Hans Kraus
Susan E.B. Schwartz

Really well written book about a guy who put up a lot of routes at the Gunks, and who also was a pioneer in medicine/exercise. Not sure what else I can/should say about it. But if you like biographies, you will like this. If you don't, you very well could like it, and would love to know if you do.


At Home: A Short History of Private LIfe
Bill Bryson

I listened to this on CD. Sixteen CD's! A friend let me borrow it. It was the best way to digest it because it is so dense. I would listen to it driving around town, and those short bits were what I could handle. He is Mr. Tangent. But LOTS of interesting information. Highly recommended.

A Town Called Panic

Watched a movie last night which was unexpectedly great. I highly recommend it! It's telling that it's distributed by Aardman Animation - which did Wallace and Gromit. French with subtitles.

Here's a site which is not the trailer, which I think showed way too much. This is a fun site with a game, CV's of the characters, and short piece.

SEE IT!