Data Entry is my life!

I started my job with CBAS by CDR Associates this week. Here's the office, and the sweet fish mascot named Gil (get it) that greets you at the door!
My main job is data entry of hospital information into a new cataloguing system. On an excitement scale of 1-10 it's about a -3 but at least it's a job! I basically designed the look of the contact pages on my own, and organized them to be the most user-friendly. Then I spent 3 days typing all of the info in. Actually I copy/pasted almost all of it. My ctrl-c and ctrl-v fingers are pretty buff. I'm only temporarily employeed right now... just for a few weeks until I do whatever grunt work they have and finish up the specific tasks that need completed. Unfortunately for me, I finished the massive data entry project in 2.5 days, instead of 2.5 weeks. Is that bad or good?! So right now I've been redesigning their logo and public materials to make them more cohesive and attractive. Sometimes I forget that I almost went to school for graphic design! Don't worry though, my heart belongs to broadcasting.

Speaking of broadcasting, I'm going to call back NBC on after the 4th to see if they need me yet. Regardless of when I start I will be moving with Bob to New York in August. Probably around the 15th (just guessing.) I'm basically trying to get my financial stuff sorted and budgeted out so I have some plan of attack (or retreat) once I move. Gotta start saving now! You all can expect a massive going away party when the time comes. There will be kegs, haha!

In social news, I got to catch up with Tandi Lane and Sarah Bowers yesterday evening. We had a great dinner down in Station Square and just caught up with each other's lives. I hadn't seen Tandi since graduation, and Bowers since Winter, so it was a great time! Of course we talked about broadcasting and getting better jobs and things like that. Bowers put it best. She said "I'm so glad to talk with other broadcasters! I can tell a story and not have you ask, "What's a VO?!" It's good to be around "your kind" every once in a while!

From no job to several jobs!

When it rains it pours is the saying, and I guess that's true for me, anyway! I got my NBC job and called them today to see when I start. They won't need me until August at the earliest which is PERFECT! Now I can move with Bob in August, which is exactly what we were hoping for. So now that I have a time frame on the position I need to start looking for some part time work to save up in the meantime. I applied for a position with Cranberry Township for an Administrative Assistant for Communications/Special Events. Basically writing newsletters, emails, and preparing PR stuff for various events. Not too bad, just waiting to hear back from them. I'm also going to look into a serving or bartending job at night. That's the fastest way to make money if you ask me!

It's all about who you know nowadays... My mom actually just called me while I was posting this and said she got me a job with her company CDR Associates. It's a CPA based healthcare financial consulting firm (like I know what that is) but they need some help designing their training materials and some pamphlets and things like that, so I have to go in tomorrow and talk with my mom and her partner about the job, then I start on Monday! Things are really moving quickly for me!

I feel really proud of all of my fellow capstoners! As of today 7 out of 10 of us have jobs very closely related to broadcasting, and the other 3 have a steady job or high prospects in the future. Rock on guys. Let's call Rick Sebak and tell him about the 7 hardest months of our lives... more like 7 weeks, if that. Rock on, Westminnies!

Some info from the dictionary...

page (pj) n.

1. A boy who acted as a knight's attendant as the first stage of training for chivalric knighthood
2. A youth in ceremonial employment or attendance at court.
3. One who is employed to run errands, carry messages, or act as a guide in a hotel, theater, or club.
4. Pat Sandora

So incase you're a little dense, I got a letter today from NBC welcoming me to the Page Program!

I am very excited to finally hear the good news, because I was starting to get really restless and worthless just sitting at home watching TV and eating chips. (It was a tough life, guys.) I have to call them on Monday to see if they need me now. If not, I just have to hang out and call them every month to see when they want me to start. It's a big responsibility, because even though I'm now officially employed by them, it's up to me to find out when they need me. They're not going to call me.

Once I figure out everything and when I start I'll have to work out the logistics. I'm not leaving any time soon, so I'll keep you updated on what's next for me!

Back from New York!

Hello, faithful readers! I just got back from New York this evening, and I had a really nice trip. My friend that I was staying with had to work Monday and Tuesday, so I had two full days to just explore the city on my own. I didn't get a chance to see a show, but I did a lot of shopping and just looking around the city and FINALLY getting a strong grasp on the subway! It was SWELTERING this week (which is sure most of you experienced) so walking around all day was kinda rough, but I did get to lay out in Central Park with about 1000 other New Yorkers on Sunday, and on Tuesday I took the NJ Transit to Matawan, NJ to visit the one and only Liz Farry! She took me on my first official trip to the Jershey Shore and it was great! It was also nice to blab with a fellow broadcaster since school let out. I don't think we talked about anything else... *coughHugeLoserscough* Liz interns at NBC so I got to see her this morning just minutes before my interview! It was a nice confidence booster! Thanks, Liz!

The interview was this morning, and I'm feeling good about it. I interviewed with 4 girls and 1 other guy, and 2 of them were no competition... they were nervous and shaky and quiet and just didn't stand out. One of the girls was a big whiny baby, and the other 2 girls were REALLY nice and outgoing. One girl (Michelle) actually went to high school with Sebastian! I made a cool connection! Anyway- We had a four-person panel interviewing us all at the same time. They each asked us all a question and we individually answered. Then they had us do a mini-debate with the 6 of us talking about the future of television and how NBC can stay ahead of the game. It was... interesting? Then we had our 2 minute presentation. I must say, I was not very impressed with the other applicants. 4 of them just handed out their resumes and talked about themselves, and one girl made a peacock, and each feather represented a reason why she should be selected, with her face in the middle. It was very El Ed... Am I a snob?! I think they liked my DVD/CD thing (I know the other applicants were like "AWW MAN!" when they saw it) and hopefully they will take a look at it later. I got cut off because I went longer than 2 min, but so did half of us, so I don't think it will hurt me that much. I'm going to follow up with some thank yous and just wait for a phone call. I only have to wait 2 weeks to hear, so it's gonna be nervewracking, that's for sure. Wish me luck.

***UPDATE*** Someone from NBC called ALL of my references today to check up on me. They also called my past employer to see if I was a noble video worker (I was!) I guess that's a good sign. Melissa said the guy sounded impressed so that's definitely good! At least they didn't throw my stuff in the trash after I left. I'll update more once I find things out!

In other career news, I found out this afternoon that I am not being considered for the position at WENY where Melissa works. I followed up with the News Director there and he let me know that it "wasn't anything against me" but he had some really good applicants and decided to go with one of them. That's not too bad though, because at least it was some feedback. Normally I just feel like I'm sending my tape into limbo and it's going to end up in some big pile of lost mail at the central bureaucracy (that's for all the Futurama fans out there.) I'm gonna take a few days to regroup, then back to sending out package after package!

Here's some pix that I took with my camera phone. They're surprisingly good. Enjoy!

Apparently I need headshots... for EVERYTHING

This week has been pretty busy. I'm working on everything for my NBC interview next Wednesday. I visited Kinkos and talked to a lovely lady named Pat about the project that I want to do. Turns out it will only cost me like $3 a piece to make the DVD booklets and covers... I want to make 10 of them, so I think I can fork over some cash. I already wrote up the booklet and everything... just gotta take it in and make some copies. I think this is gonna be a good presentation!

I'm excited for this trip to NYC because the business end of it isn't until the last day, so the first 4 days are strictly for fun! I think I'm going to check out the Jersey Shore, see a show (I haven't done that the last 3 times I was there) and just enjoy the city! If I end up living there I might as well check out all the city has to offer.

Every few days I check out CraigsList.org to look for any interesting job openings or apartments for rent in New York. Today I was looking at what other type of jobs were open, like bartenders and waitstaff, and almost every place wanted some sort of photo or headshot with your application. Looks like things are just as superficial as you may have already thought. I have headshots already from my ProScout adventure last year, but it's interesting that they need it so you can serve dinner to people. Get used to it, I guess!

I am waiting to hear back from the TV and radio stations that I applied to last week. The biggest one that I'm waiting for is WENY in Elmira, NY. That's Melissa Batulis's station and she personally passed on my tape to their News Director last week. Hopefully this will give me a bit of a edge in the application process... because it's all about who you know! Wish me luck.

I'll update you on my NBC situation when I get back next Thursday! Until then...