Sunday, September 16, 2007

Day 104: Sneaky seasons

Missouri weather can be such an adventure. Every morning when you open your door you get something new. Fall has abruptly made it's presence known these past few days. Yesterday I got my first sunburn in a very long time, but shivered as I talked to El Pete in my driveway as the sun sunk away. Tomorrow's high is 86, but today my toes are cold as I sit indian style at my desk.

I'm sure God will toss us some nice days in late October, as a parting gift before winter takes control, or maybe to make up for a freaky snowfall early in the month. I love my snowy Chicago Christmases, but Missouri weather is just so much more exciting than weather up north. In Chicago we know what to expect in September (mild cold), October (getting colder) and November through March (varying degrees of freezing). Here, though, tokens of summer can pop up anytime through December, and no weather is more permanent than a week or two.

There's something to be said of a Missourian's innate flexibility when it comes to weather.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Day 94: I am the future

Oh, dear blog, I'm singing the never-ending ode of apology that is a strong theme in every journal I've kept for the past ~14 years (yes, I have notebooks upon notebooks of my life in words - from mispellings and undeveloped cursive to typed and printed Blurty entries pasted in a book). Sorry for neglecting you for a month.

My 21st year is coming along nicely, although I've had a subconscious string of stress hanging around my neck for the past few weeks. Every once in a while it pulls in a little closer and tries to suck the air out of me. Today I was running mile time trials on the indoor track (still too hot and humid to run outside in the middle of the day) and I just about ran out of breath. It wasn't from the aerobic activity. It was from a mysterious nervousness. What do I have to be nervous about? Not a whole lot. This week has been a breeze - Monday off and my two Spanish classes cancelled for the week - so I really have no stress.

Oh wait - I'm supposed to start looking for a job. This thin necklace of stress will remain firmly strung around my neck until I find that job.

This week's hobby has been browsing job sites. It seems like all the media jobs out there are in advertising. I tried to tell my two ad major roommates that there are hundreds of jobs out there for them, but they didn't believe me. They tried to tell me that there are hundreds of jobs out there for me, Miss Media Convergence, but I didn't believe them. We're fun like that.

I came across this SPJ blog today. It's really not very interesting or entertaining, but there's one line that cheered me up: "There is no better way to say it: Convergence is the future. J-students who learn it are bankable. Those who don't will be left behind."

So I'm bankable. I'm the future, according to this guy, and pretty much everyone in the industry. I like to agree with everyone who says that, and I do know it's true, but it just seems so easy to say and far more difficult to demonstrate. I have such a varied skill set. I can write. I can edit. I can shoot and edit video. I can record and edit audio. I can photograph. I can design websites. I can design infographics. I can make interactive presentations. What don't I know how to do? Not a whole lot.

What am I really, really good at though? In what medium do I have more than five clips? Basically none. I can do so much, but what newspaper wants to hire someone who has a little bit of experience doing everything? I know if given the chance I can hone any one of my skills into an expertise - there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that - but will that get me a job? Let's just say I'm hoping this whole convergence obsession will at least get me in the door so I can prove that although I currently may be a "jack of all trades and master of none," when given the correct opportunity I am flexible and talented enough to master whatever trades are necessecary. Hmm... this is sounding more and more like a cover letter... I should remember this...