Friday, May 13, 2011

I Should Be Working...

It's 4:00, I'm sitting in my office on a Friday afternoon (Friday the 13th at that), and I should be busy working on something or something.  I finished payroll a little while ago and will turn that into Corporate Monday.  I have the SEC softball tourney running on another computer right now.  However, if I weren't watching that I would have some tunes blaring.  The one joy of having a corner office that's tucked away like a cave is that I can run my music a bit loud and not bother anyone.  But, I digress.  I have one final broadcast tomorrow to direct and produce...UL Baseball, and then that's it until late July when we do a broadcast from Gulf Brew Fest (yes, it's a beer festival).  After that, it'll be time to gear up for another season of high school football.  It'll be the station's 27th consecutive year and my 9th on the crew.

What I should be busy on right now is a really big project that will probably take all Summer to complete.  But even though I'm done with production work this weekend, we've already begun the process of getting ready for football...even though it doesn't start until September 2nd.  No rest for the weary I guess.

If you haven't heard, there's some flood waters heading this way.  It's all east of me.  But, my heart goes out to my friends who live in the areas that can, and more than likely will be, affected.  Thoughts and prayers to you all.

Again, it's the 4:00 hour and I should be working hard right now.  Even on a Friday afternoon there's still work to be done.  But, there are times when the brain just shuts down and doesn't allow me to do much of anything.  Even with a game to do tomorrow, that's actually one of the furthest things from my mind right now.  In a way, that's good.  However, in reality, it's not good.  I'll just have to do my show prep later this evening...maybe.

I have a few pictures on my desk.  One is of my parents...roughly 10 years ago or so.  Then, I have one of my Grandparents from about 20 or 25 years ago or so.  The last one is one that Mom found when she was going through Grandma's things after she passed away.  It's a picture of us that was taken roughly 15 years ago when she came down to visit.  That picture comes with me when I'm working in the production truck.  Couldn't tell you why, because I don't know why.  I guess it's because during football season, about 30 to 60 minutes before going on the air, I would always call home to talk to my parents for a few minutes.  Call it a pre-show ritual if you'd like...even though I'm not always able to do that before baseball and softball games due to start times.  But, anyway...  Mom was in Kansas for the bulk of football season this past year...taking care of Grandma.  So, I would call Dad first and chat with him for a few minutes.  Then I would call Mom and talk to her and Grandma, or shoot our open first and then call.  Either way, they got a call on game night before going on the air.  Grandma was with me the whole season on Friday nights, and I guess keeping the picture with me when I'm in the truck running a show keeps her with me now even though she's gone.

Two weeks ago I celebrated 9 years of employment with the company.  These days, 9 years at a TV station, or even in this business, is a lot and seems like an eternity.  It just doesn't happen anymore, especially with the turnover and consolidation that just keeps going and going.  There are days when I don't like being here.  But, it's on those days when I'm thankful to be working and grateful for the opportunities that have been afforded to me.  I've learned a lot about this business and have been able to do a lot.  I don't think I could see myself working outside of media.

Again, I should be working.  But, I think I'll shut it down for the day and head to Target.  Until the next time...

No comments:

Post a Comment