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 |  If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true? |
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2013 Goals
Write 52 Reviews / current = 27 Read 40 books / current = 9 Enter 12 Contests/Activities / current = 4 Host/Judge 2 Contest/Activity / current = 2 Other goals:  Be patient Let go of anger/negativity Monthly bloggingSome other places you can find me: http://www.twitter.com/spidergirl502 http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1792019-tonia http://365project.org/spidergirl/365
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| Well, my "work" right now has shifted to organizing, packing and cleaning. I'm getting ready to move, so that's taking up quite a bit of my time. In the meantime, are you interested in getting reviews? If so, fill this out:
There used to be a forum where an item would be featured each week, and those reviewing that item would be rewarded. I loved the forum because it gave me something to review, and it was a good way to earn some gps. I'm starting something similar, so if you'd like to have your port featured for a week, fill out that survey!  |
I know I don't update this as often as I should, but in my defense, I haven't been working much. I haven't had an assignment for the newspaper in weeks, and I just found out this week that the newspaper has been sold. I have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen.  My computer crashed this week, which put me back a little in work on the Ezine. Just when I was ahead, I lost the work I did! It wasn't too much, so it won't take long to catch up again. I will make an effort to blog more. |
| I didn't get a chance to write about this earlier in the week, but my sister and I finally got the chance to interview a band we've been wanting to interview for over a year now. Whenever we're going to interview a band we really love (like this one), we always get just a little nervous. There's always the tiny chance that although we love the band's music, they just might not be the nice, great people we think they are. That was not the case this time, thankfully. (Actually, we haven't run into that predicament yet) We interviewed the band backstage on a staircase leading outside. I think it turned out to be a pretty good interview. After the interview, we watched the Boston band HUMANWINE perform (and got to talk to that band after the show, too). It was a really fun night. Friday took us to a bar to see the band we're touring with, Ajar. Although the bar seemed like the typical bar, there was a great crowd that night. They seemed very into the music (which we don't see that often). So, we walked around and talked to everyone, handing out free stickers and telling them about our website/ezine. We didn't sell any merch, but we met some cool people. Now I have to start really working on next month's issue. Happy Earth Day! (it's my Dad's birthday, too) |
| At the end of the month, I start to get excited and nervous. The new issue of my ezine is being prepared (or hopefully finished), and I get excited about releasing the new issue. I also get nervous that people won't like it, but that's just how I am. I really try to have work done for the next issue by the 25th, but it rarely happens. I am proud of myself, though, for making major headway with my tendency to procrastinate. I'm getting much better at getting things done ahead of schedule (and sticking to my schedule in the first place). So today I have to work on a few articles and CD reviews. Most of them are at least started already. I tend to work on things in bits and pieces. I look forward to Thursdays every week because I love reading this site's newsletters. I have to admit that sometimes I just skim them, but most of the time I read through the entire thing. This week's Noticing Newbies Newsletter talked about Product Reviews. I always wanted to do one, but I have this problem where I forget books not too long after I finish them. I realized, though, that I just finished a novel a few days ago, and I still remembered it!  So, I wrote my first product review today:
I hope to write more in the future. They're easy to write. Try one!  I also turned in that application yesterday. I ended up using "safety concerns" as my reason for leaving my previous job. If asked, I can explain about my former boss in addition to the fact that I didn't feel safe walking to and from work. Time to get to work. I hope I get everything done on my checklist today. |
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| I'm currently trying to find another job. Yes, I already have two, but those are more "career" jobs that don't pay the bills... I have too much free time and I could use more cash, so I'm trying to get a "regular job." The thing I hate about applications is trying to remember everything. It's very difficult for me to remember phone numbers and addresses of places I worked at years ago. And then there's the "reason for leaving" problem. With my last job, these are the real reasons I quit: 1. They weren't paying me for hours I was working. 2. They were treating me like shit. 3. I was afraid to work with my boss. I honestly feared for my safety. What do I write on the application, though? I could say, "conflict," but that sounds bad. I don't want to bad-mouth my previous employers, no matter how bad they really were, but I also don't want to make myself sound bad, either. I usually say, "seeking better pay" or "seeking full-time employment," but with this current application, I'm applying for a part-time, probably minimum wage position. I've seriously been sitting here for over an hour trying to think of what to write in that spot. Any ideas? |
| Friday night took us to Wilkes-Barre to see one of our favorite local bands, Ajar. We'll be touring (officially) with them very soon, and we got a photo with them after their set: Invalid Photo #1007787 I'm sitting on a speaker in the back. The rest of the photo is (from left to right) Geoff, bassist; Winston, guitarist; Traci, sis and fellow WOM girl; Andres, singer; Steven, drummer; John, manager. Those guys are so much fun! I can't wait to go on tour with them. We'll see them again this Friday. Saturday was the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. This year was the 4th annual parade, and attendance has already grown to over 10,000! Three of my photos ran in the newspaper yesterday (Sunday edition equals more readers! Yay!), and my favorite of those photos was this one: Invalid Photo #1007788 Every parade, I think, has a grand marshall, someone or a group to whom the parade is dedicated. This year's was "all coalminers, past and present" and their families. These kids were dressed up as coalminers and their families. Adorable! The interesting thing that happened this weekend was the amount of people who talked to me at the parade just because I work for the newspaper. I worry sometimes how people might treat me because I know the general negative feelings toward members of the press. Everyone was so friendly to me at the parade, though. It was really nice. |
| My weekend was a little tough. I went out Friday night then got 4 hours of sleep before I had to cover a local parade. I wasn't too bad during the event, as I had two mugs of coffee and some Red Bull. It was cold and just a tiny bit rainy. For some reason my memory card on my camera filled up after just 167 photos and then shortly after, the battery died (due to the cold). I came home, wrote the story and chose 6 photos to send in. The story and 3 photos were printed today. I meant to take a nap at some point after finishing work Saturday, but it didn't happen. Then I couldn't sleep last night until 1am. Switching my schedule around frequently is starting to take its toll on me. Maybe it means I'm getting older? I had something else I wanted to write about, but I'm a little too tired right now. Hopefully I'll get to it soon. |
| We went out to see Canto 6, Ajar, and Fighting Zero last night. FZ had to cancel due to illness, but the other two bands performed (and it was a really good show). Not the best crowd, but the bands were great. At the show last night, I had another of my silly dreams come true - I was a merch girl for a local band. I didn't do so well... I didn't sell any merch, but I did learn a few things and next time I'll try much harder! The place we went to last night is notorious for kicking people out right at 2am when the bar closes, and for once we weren't kicked out right away. That was kind of nice. Owning and running my own website takes a lot of time during the week, so I like to relax on weekends by going out to shows and working even more. This week, I also have assignments for the newspaper. I'm covering the huge St. Patrick's Day parade today. Last year's parade had around 100 units and lasted 2 hours. This year's parade has double that many units, so I'm thinking it's going to be a long day. Especially considering I only had 4 hours of sleep last night. I wouldn't trade my life for anything, though. I love this. Who knows, if I can catch some sleep during the day today, I just might go out to another show tonight! For now, I'm loving my coffee, and soon I'll move onto Red Bull. |
| There is no typical day when you're a stringer for a newspaper! Take today: I had just gotten back from the grocery store (which is about a 1/2 mile hike from my house) when the receptionist from the office calls. The other stringer in my area had a health emergency and couldn't cover his assignments for the day. (He's the one who got me the job at the newspaper, and I consider him one of my best friends. Of course, I'd cover for him, and I'm really hoping he's okay!) So, bam - four assignments all of a sudden! One was scheduled for the time she called me, but the other three weren't until later. She had already called the school (where all 4 were taking place) to let them know no one could be there for the early photo. I went early, anyway, to see if they could get the students together (it was a students of the month photo for Elementary School kids). I had to walk past the grocery store I had visited earlier in the day. I had trouble finding the front door to the school. Security at schools is crazy these days (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but perhaps they could have the entrances labeled more clearly?) I found the office and explained that I could take the photo now if they were available. No problem. They call all the students into the library for a photo. Here's the problem: I'm not good with kids, and they didn't give me anyone to control them! The kids wouldn't listen to me! There was no way I could get all the kids into the photo. I tried telling them, "I need you three to move over there," and they'd sit and stare back at me blankly. I just have no authority when it comes to kids. So that photo was a disaster! I did what I could and left quickly. By now, I'm late for the other photos. I quickly go to the High School which is attached to the Elementary School. I found the office quickly (as I'd been to the High School part of the building before), and they tell me to go to the library. I got that info and photo fairly quickly (the county's Chamber of Commerce was meeting with student council to prepare a proposal to the town's mayor. It was pretty interesting, actually). Then I tried to find the location for my 3rd photo (knowing that the assembly and 4th photo was starting any second). I asked a few people, but ended up going back to the office to find that the photo is next week. Apparently they rescheduled without bothering to tell anyone. The assembly went okay. High school kids can be pretty funny and entertaining. A pseudo Harlem Globe Trotters group is performing at the school tomorrow night, and they had an assembly today to get the kids excited for the show. (I can't say I agree completely with the "Just Say No" approach, but that's another issue) I walked back up the hill (did I mention it's a huge hill to get back to my house?), and stopped at the newspaper office. I explained everything, they said fine, and now I'm back home. I'm ready for a nap, I think. |
| A first happened for me last night. There's a rule that when you're talking to a reporter, and you don't want them to print what you're saying, you have to say, "This is off the record," or something to that effect. I had that happen to me for the first time last night. Also, today when I was walking down the street, a man stopped me to tell me he thought I did a great job with my photo. (Last night's assignment ran in today's paper) Happy Friday! |
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