Living vicariously through myself

Well, I and most of my clothing are home, and my valuables are in transit via UPS. So I have at least a little time off now, and hopefully will continue to interview for things. It's nice to have some time off for once. I really didn't get a summer vacation for the first time in like 18 years, so if I get a week or two off here (God, I hope it's not more than that), it'll be nice. At the same time, I'm still looking forward to getting settled somewhere on my own and getting into a routine that fits me. For now, I'm getting to play some tennis, see the new kitties and hang out at home. Now to find a home away from home.

Well, we're now inside of a week until I am not longer a resident of the state (they all make sure they say "commonwealth") of Virginia. I'm still unsure where I'll be two weeks from now. I had what I thought was a good interview with a woman from Northwestern last week, and hopefully I'll have one with Dave Bohmer this week. It's hard to put into words how much is riding on the DePauw job at this point. If I get it, my career could shape up this way: I work full-time at DPU, doing weekend anchor work at WIBC in Indianapolis. This helps me get my foot in the door there, and hopefully helps me get a full-time radio news job in Indy. I work in Indy for 5-10 years and hopefully something opens up at WBBM in Chicago, and I can move back home right arond the time I turn 40. Yes, I realize I have the next 17 years of my life sorta planned out here. If I don't get the DPU job, it's harder. Then, I probably have to find work somewhere smaller in journalism (or maybe not even in the field) and scrape by doing something for which I'm not really trained for a few years, hoping someone will give me a shot as a reporter somewhere. At the same time, I wonder what Dave will think of me working at WIBC. I think I can convince him that my responsibilities during the week will not be affected by outside work, and I think he's ready to give me a shot, but we'll see.

Seen on the Metro coming home today:

A cowboy...with an IPod...

Well, Dave Bohmer tells me that he hopes to have the position filled by the end of the month. I hope this means by the middle to end of next week. I'd really like to be going somewhere when I get home next weekend. I have an interview tomorrow for the position at McCormick at Northwestern, which wouldn't be such a bad job, aside from sort of derailing the journalism career. It'd pay well, anyway, as I waited for a job at WIBC or somewhere else. No other prospects yet, but I'll be calling and e-mailing people tomorrow to see if they got the resume tapes.

I don't know if I've ever been this anxious and this on-edge before in my entire life. I want so badly to have a job, get an apartment and get on my way with my career. I want everything to start and to have some sort of certainty. I want some sort of job security, financial security and to be paying into social security.

More than anything right now, I want to job with Media Fellows. I think I'm right for the job, could help the students, and could get an extra year with my friends. I've paid my schooling dues, made the contacts, picked up the business cards and sent the e-mails. At some point, I just need someone to take a small chance on me.

I don't think I've let too many people down who have put their faith in me, and I dont think I'll let down a potential employer. I like interviewing, and I'm good at it -- mostly because I refuse to bullshit. The minute you meet me, you know who I am and what I'm about. If you don't like it, we can part ways, hopefully no worse for the wear. I'm a decent journalist, and I know how to do my job in a professional manner.

Like anyone else starting out, I'll get better -- and I hope this is a selling point for some people. The way I'd like for people to look at it is that they're getting someone who is not stuck in his ways and stuck making the same mistakes over and over -- instead, they're getting someone who is young, energetic and ready to do the job better every week. If you were to buy stock in me, it would not be expensive. But I hope it will be some day. I still want to prove to the people at the University of Illinois that they made a mistake in rejecting me from graduate school. Instead, Northwestern got me -- and I plan to make them and DePauw happy they did.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand these commercial for Jaguar automobiles? You know, the ones where there's inevitably a man and a woman and a jaguar runs by them and one turns to the other and says something like "You know, we should get that new Jaguar." This doesn't concern anyone else? If this ever happens to me, I know what to say (assuming the large cat has not mauled me or my companion). "You know what we should get? We should get BETTER CAGES AT THE ZOO!"

Here, for anyone wondering, are the jobs I've applied for so far:

1. Reporter, WGCL radio (Bloomington, IN)
2. Reporter, WTHR TV (Indianapolis, IN)
3. Assistant Director, Media Fellows Program (DePauw)
4. Assistant Director, Annual Fund (DePauw)
5. Assistant Marketing Director, McCormick Engineering School (Northwestern)
6. Reporter, WNDU TV (South Bend, IN)
7. Public Affairs show host, WBAA radio (West Lafayette, IN)


Of these, I have the best chance at the Media Fellows position, but I should also have a chance at the WGCL reporter's job and maybe one or two others. I'm champing at the bit (yes, champing, according to AP style rules that were drilled into me at Medill) to get interviews done. I think I interview for the Media Fellows position this week, and hopefully for the WBAA and/or WGCL jobs, too.

I've never known quite what to think about those pithy placards that read "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." This week, I think I finally found out.

I've been applying for jobs and facing the scariest time in the near future that I could imagine -- the time where I was no longer in school and needed to actually make something of a life that people have long said has some promise. These next two weeks or so iwill be the first time that I get to establish what my credentials really are in the outside world. I get to find out what my resume is worth and who takes notice. You could even make the argument that for someone who was openly criticized by his friends as never allowing himself to have a childhood, it's an indication whether it was all worth it or not.

I've applied for a reporter job at a station in Bloomington, Indiana, a job at an NPR affiliate station at Purdue where I'd host public affairs programming and help teach students how to use the equipment, a job as the assistant marketing director of the McCormick school at Northwestern, a job as the assistant director of DPU's annual fund and one unexpectedly open position.

It seems that Brian Jaworski left DePauw to become head soccer coach at Grinnell in Iowa. Leaving with him are his three young children and wife Leslie, who had been the assistant director of Media Fellows. I spoke via e-mail with Dave Bohmer this week and he encouraged me to apply, saying I'd be "a strong candidate". I applied, and next week will likely come an interview. I think I'm qualified for the job, but we'll see.

But what I'm concerned about if I took that job is less the work and more the time away from the office. I'd like to be involved with DUCKS, but there are seemingly some political hurdles to clear. I know I can be of some help to the team, but it'll have to be clear to everyone that I'm neither the president nor the adviser -- and I don't want to be either one. I'm not going to lie -- I still love playing, but I'm not going to take time away from younger players. However, I suspect there will be times where the team will need another body, just as they could use someone to go with the team and moderate and get a discount. I'm happy to do both -- I just hope people will let me help.

First and foremost, please go here:

It's an internet-only sports talk show that I've gotten the opportunity to host. Tell people about it, post it on your blogs, etc. Any exposure is good exposure, and I'll take any help I can get!

I spent the weekend with Livi in New York. The city was dirty, the food was bad (except the pasta and caesar salad dinner Livi made Saturday night), but it was a good time. Got to go to the Met and the Guggenheim for the first time, which was neat. Pictures (unedited) are here.

Also saw The Manchurian Candidate, which prompted Olivia to ask why more smart people don't breed and prompted me to make a genetic argument as to why it's actually logical that it works that way. The movie was pretty good -- now I need to see the original and find a way to think of Angela Lansbury as something other than a New England detective.

Applied for a job at Purdue working at their student radio station WBAA (an NPR affiliate). It's a job hosting public affairs programming and training student journalists at the station, which I think would be near to my dream job. It also puts me in proximity to WIBC, where I've been told I can do weekend anchoring whenver it fits my schedule. So, if this one thing falls into place, a lot of other things could, as well. I have no idea what the competition is like, so we'll see.

Heading to Detroit / Ann Arbor for the Burns this weekend. As is the norm, the field is very tough, but it's not like I'll be losing to bad people. I'll be losing to some of the best in the country, but I won't finish last. And the game show round will be fun, too. This week will probably fly by.