In the Life of a Broadcaster

Who's in charge?

2005-01-09T00:00:38Z

I'm really disappointed with the management of Wal-Mart (or lack thereof.) The problem lies not with the people working in the department, but rather keeping them there. The first problem I've noticed, after the Christmas rush, is that we seem to be short-handed. Someone decided that two people is the minimum of people that is needed to run the department...I believe it should be three. So I mentioned this to my manager, and he seemed to take it to heart. Today we had three people scheduled to work in Electronics at any one given time. The problem arose with the cash managers/supervisors. The front checkouts were rather busy, so they kept calling people from our department, telling us to come up and work as a cashier until things settle down. Well, that sounds okay, but then that left us short-handed. With all the work that goes on in Electronics, we often had only ONE person working there. ONE. Think about it for a minute. What's wrong with this picture?

On top of that, my managers have been making the point that theft has been a problem in Electronics, and want us to carefully watch out for potential shoplifters. Well, if we're going to do that, we need to be in the department, for starters!!

Now, it's not ALL cash managers that are not thinking. Just one or two, who think asking Electronics to spare an associate is a stroke of genuis. Well, it's NOT. If there are three people in that department, it's for a reason, and we can't just run off whenever someone calls, because we've got our own slack to deal with. Call it self-righteous, but Electronics IS the busiest department in the store, as I believe is evidenced by the fact that we are always the number one department in daily sales. Always. If they want us to serve customers effectively and prevent more theft, then someone needs to wake up and let us do our jobs.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to rant. I'm going to bring it up with higher management and hopefully, they'll listen to me again.

Inaction speaks louder....

2004-11-30T00:50:31Z

Okay, okay, okay!! Been too long since I was on here. But it just goes to show....college has been keeping me busy! So, to update....

The first semester of year two in Broadcasting has been CRAZY...although in a good way. With work and college it has been difficult, but somehow I've made it this far. Wal-Mart has been pretty good, but sometimes I'm working a little more than I'd like. They don't seem to understand that I'm not some 16-year-old high schooler wanting pocket change....I'm a 22-year-old broadcasting student who uses my money to pay for college fees. Sometimes I just feel like shouting to some managers, "My education and radio shifts are more important than your little superstore business!" Well, I can dream.

I'm hoping next semester will be MUCH more tame...we don't have an elective class next semester, so it seems like we'll have some extra time off...I hope! Mike Thurnell, the Broadcasting Coordinater at the college, is going to try and pull a few strings, and give out the schedules for next semester by the end of this week....and I'm hoping it won't be as work-intensive as this one! But I'm sure I'll be able to handle it.

That's it for the moment. If anything earth-shaking happens, you'll be the first ones to know. I'm really going to try and post here more often (I know I've said that before) but we'll see. If I don't post again before Christmas, merry Christmas to everybody!

Life Goes On

2004-08-19T03:01:07Z

Well, summer's drawing to a close, which gives me mixed feelings. I'm gonna kind of miss these days of carefree summer, and I'll have to really buckle down with a job AND school on my plate. But at the same time, I can't wait to see all my classmates in the BRT class, and start my second year of broadcasting! I still kinda of find it hard to believe I've made it through the first! Whew! Well, I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes! Stick around, it's gonna be an interesting ride!

22 on 0812

2004-08-10T03:17:27Z

Hehehe, my birthday approaches! In just 2 short days, the 12th of August, I will become 22 years old! Man, how time flys. I sure don't feel 22....however that feels like.

Anyhoo, just exciting to have a birthday to look forward to! Yay!!! And the day after that, I start work at Wal-Mart! Honestly, I'm not looking forward to the first couple days, 'cuz it'll be heavy lifting and a lot of walking. I have nothing against physical labour, but it's not my favourite type of work. Well, at least I'm getting paid for it. Peace out, everyone!

Updates

2004-07-07T23:33:07Z

Okay, I haven't written on here in such a long time. Well, here's a quick recap of the summer so far.

School: As my last post went, I am finished my first year of college, and I'm enjoying my summer so far. I'm pleased with most of my marks, there are a few areas I could improve on, but nothing bad.

Rogers Volenteer Work: My volenteer work at Rogers has also ended for the summer, and hopefully I can pick it up again in the fall. I did a bit of work on Daytime, but by far my best experience was working on McLeans on Wednesday nights. I just liked it more, I don't know why. Oh, and I was helping out with the federal election coverage. Lots of fun.

Church With A Twist: My radio show. Airs Sunday afternoons from 2pm to 4pm(shameless plug here! ^_^) I'm having some trouble getting the songs I want downloaded into the computer's database - I still need to talk with the station manager about that.

Work: I got a paying job! Not in the broadcasting industry unfortunately, but that can still wait for a year or two - no need to rush. I want to save up some money to buy a decent video camera, and start making mini-movies(rubs hands together gleefully.) It's at Wal-Mart, a department store, and I'll be working at a new store that opening up fairly close to where I live, which is convienent. And I'll be working in Electronics, my fav area! Rockin'!

Girlfriend: Non-existent, lol. And no hopeful prospects at the moment. Meh.

And that's about it! I'm looking forward to working with video games and TV's, I'm really into that kinda stuff(I'm in broadcasting, I ought to be!) Although, I'm a little worried about keeping up in the fall, with school starting up. I hope I can handle it all. If not, I may have to give up Rogers or my radio show, and I don't want to do either!! I'll just have to be a little more organized. ^_^

Finished first year of college!

2004-04-27T03:39:59Z

YAY!!! College year one is OVER! I am SO relieved to have time off. Of course, without college, I have way too much spare time on my hands, so it's time to find a job - preferrably a paying one (you all know the volenteer work I do.) Anyhow, I'll let you know how the job hunt goes. I know I haven't been on here for a long time (again, college.) But I hope to post more frequently on here during the summer. ^_^

Too much spare time?

2004-03-02T18:11:20Z

The day before a potential strike. For those of you who have been living in a hole(or out of Canada) there's the threat of a college teacher strike in Ontario tomorrow, and it seems like a real possibility. We found out tomorrow morning, talk about cutting it last minute!

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it would great to have more time off and be able to work on projects without clasess to attend. However, the longer we're off school, the greater the possibility that the school year will be extended - and I don't want to see that happen. I suppose I am hoping for a strike, but a very short one. I don't know...who's to say what the best solution is? Anyway, I'm feeling more relieved now that we wrote a big test today and we got that out of the way - gives me some time to catch more breath before my next big project. Well, that's enough ranting for now, although if there is a strike I'll post on here a lot more often!! Later!

I will kill Mr.Valentine

2004-02-19T04:06:00Z

I've come to the conclusion that Valentine's Day is the stupidest holiday in existence. This coming from a man without a girlfriend makes me sound bitter, and maybe I am. But listen for a minute and hear me out. If you have a g/f or b/f, you likely won't be spending one day a year with them. You celebrate each others' birthdays, Christmas, and just regular days with each other, giving affection, loyalty, and love to each other. Now consider singles. They celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holdiays too, because those holdiays don't revolve around romance. But come Valentine's Day...singles have no one. They can't celebrate Valentine's Day because they have no significant other, and can't help feeling left out. Can you really blame me for being a little cynical?

Of course, I can deal with feelings of solitude. But when the girl you have a crush on gives you details about her date with her boyfriend, it's kind of hard. Of course I didn't want to be rude, so I smiled, nodded, and listened. And of course my group of single friends forgot to invite me to see a movie. I'm not mad about it, just a little disappointed. Valentine's Day, to me, seems to be a little more than not having a girlfriend. It seems sometimes, that on that day I have no one AT ALL. My best friend, who I share everything with, has a girlfriend you see, and I'd consider him cold if he DIDN'T spend it with her. I feel rather left out on February 14.

Anyways, I just wanted to rant. To end it, I'd like to point out that if Mr.Valentine(or whoever invited Valentine's Day) was still alive, I would likely have shot the inventor by now.

Calm before the storm...

2004-02-07T23:43:47Z

The worst thing about weekends is not being able to fully enjoy them because you have a big project that needs to be worked on. There's a TV show production due in about a week, and my group hasn't even done the filming yet. I'm not anxious or worried that it won't get done...I just like to get projects completed as quickly as possible. But I always come through, and I have confidence in all my group members.

I am SO looking forward to reading week...I could use a break. In reality, the past couple weeks have been fairly shallow compared to some others, but it still FEELS like it's been a lot. Maybe I need to start going to bed an hour earlier or something. And I've GOT to start a normal exercise routine. I was excercising every other day during the summer, then I get into college and my entire spare time goes SLURP!! Down the drain. But actually, it's probably just a matter of establishing a set time, and then following through with it. Looking at me now, it's hard to believe I used to have a four-pack abdomen! *laughs* But I'll get it back someday. Well, that's all I can think of to write for now. Later!

My first entry!

2004-02-01T19:31:49Z

Hey everybody! I've always thought of keeping a journal, but never got around to it. Then I thought 'What the heck? I'm always on the computer, why not keep an online journal?' So that's the story. No idea if I'll keep up with this, but meh.

So this is the first weekend in a while I'm not swamped with work. I'm at Conestoga College in Ontario studying Broadcasting in Radio and Television. Usually I'm weighed down with work from collge, but this weekend I'm free!! And I plan to make good use of my weekend by doing NO work. I'll save that for Monday.

I'm happy to be here, and I'll keep you updated on everything that goes on. ^_^