Spring Break...Part Dux

So it is now Thursday. The Thursday of (Tech's) Spring Break. Technically, tomorrow begins the Easter Holiday. We got screwed this year, thanks Jesus!

But yeah, my "break" is almost over. I cant believe how fast this week went by. And I haven't done SHIT! It's been nice for the most part, except now the reality of all the shit I NEED to do is kicking in. Although we have tomorrow, Friday, off I have a feeling I will be up here working on stuff. I did get caught up on a couple of things, but not much. AND, I did not do any work on school stuff...which is another thing I needed to do. I have a annotated bibliography due and then I needed to start my final video project. But I honestly don't have the motivation. I know I will end up throwing them both together at the last minute...meaning I will be working on them on the day they are due. I don't know what it is. I mean for work I still have to do 360 VR tours of our building and edit some video from like three or four weeks ago. I mean yesterday I FINALLY captured it. I was going to use Final Cut Express but I really don't want to take the time to learn it while I am doing something for the College, something I couldn't give two shits about. Fuck this place. The good thing, as I have mentioned several times, is that since I have turned in my letter of resignation, they haven't asked me to do shit; I am pretty sure they have given up hope of getting anything out of me between now and August 8.

Other than the lack of productivity, this has been a pretty good week. IT HAS GONE BY TOO DAMN FAST THOUGH! I thought since things would be SO slow, this week would drag out forever...which I would not have complained one bit about. I mean I have stuff to do and with no students here I COULD HAVE gotten things done. They, Mass Communications, don't realize how much time I DON'T HAVE when their are students here checking out equipment.

Enough bitching. I am turning into the people I work with by bitching so much. I am sorry.

So, I have recently decided to jump on the "Lost" band wagon. Until recently, I had only seen the Pilot. Yeah it looked cool, but I never got into it. Mainly because when I saw the pilot, Lost was already into the second season and I really didn't care to "catch up." Well that has apparently changed. I spent most of yesterday at work and most of last night watching Lost on ABC.com, supposedly in HD...although I do not think it was.

Needless to say this has been a very (UN)productive break.

Tomorrow I will finally start doing some work. Mainly stuff for school. And mentally preparing for whatever shit storm that will hit on Tuesday when all the students return.

Oh on a side note, Sunday is Easter Sunday. Which can only mean one thing. EASTER BASH!!! However, I do not think I will be attending. While I have never really gone for the bands, I mean does anyone go for the bands? Really?, I loved hanging out with friends and drinking beer outside. It used to be BYOB (bring your own beer - for those who didn't know) but this year I think it is not. Because of its location, AND all the people who are "involved" in putting it on. I am sorry, it just has not been the same since they stopped having it at the golf station when people would bring couches, chairs, etc and then burn them at the end of the night. Come to think of it, that is probably why they do not have it out there anymore and DO NOT allow couches. Oh well. I will probably be too busy working on school stuff anyway...or I should be too busy working on school stuff.

PS - Pictures from the last few weeks of random photo adventures coming soon!

First podcast and my future...

SO, I finally started graduate school. I had always planned on going back sometime, I just wasn't sure where or for what. Well, Mass Communications finally offered a course that I was really interested in, a Video and New Media course. Basically, it is a class including a lot about video production. It was because of this course that I finally started to go back, and since I was working full time at Tech and get a free class each semester, I figured I would just stay at Tech.

Unfortunately, in a sense, I will be leaving my job in Mass Communications. Basically I am being forced out of my position because they (the dean and other faculty) want to do more with my position. They want it to be more involved with the newscast that is supposed to go on each day and to teach a course. Well, I have no experience with news or news production, which is something they want, and I cannot teach a course because I do not have the required experience or degree. I COULD teach a course; I have essentially taught the photo studio class the last two semesters; but because I do not have a Master's Degree Mass Communications will not let me teach.

They (the dean of the college of Mass Communications) say they can offer me a graduate assistant (GA) position starting in Fall, however I would have to be a Mass Communications Master student.

Let me explain: I always knew that if I went back to school that I wanted to learn new skills and improve on the ones I have. While getting a Masters in something like Mass Communications will help me with this, I will not learn much. Most of it will be research based and I would not learn many new skills.

I am looking at the Interdisciplinary Studies program. This will allow me to take more creative/production courses like photography courses, design courses and video production courses. Also, I do not have to do research.

So basically, I have a meeting tomorrow, Thursday, with the Dean and Associate Dean of the College of Mass Communications. It is here that I will turn in my letter of resignation effective after Summer II.

I know if I stayed, and they have made this clear because I am under qualified for what they want, I would eventually get fired.

I thought about lying and doing the graduate assistant position until they found out I wasn’t in the Mass Communications Master Program. But then I realized now is my chance to leave. I have not been happy here for a long time and have wanted to leave for quite some time just never had the money. Well, I still don’t have the money but the time is right. With the GA position they cannot guarantee what I will be doing each semester and they cannot guarantee summer work.

I do not know what I will do after that. I would like to at least finish my Masters at Tech especially since I know so many people here and I am also working on a side photography business, Triad Photography, with two other people here and things are really starting to pick up.

Will finally escape the Bible Belt? Maybe it is time.



Also, I finished my first video podcast I did for my graduate class. It isn’t that great, but this is the "finished" product. I recorded the audio too low and even with pushing it all the way up in editing, it is still very low. Also, there are a lot of jump cuts at the end that I just now learned how to fix. It was a learning experience and I am looking forward to doing my next one. I hope you enjoy it...