Progress!

So I was finally able to do it. I was able to order my HVX 200 on Monday and I am very excited. I have been saving money since last May when I first graduated. It all started with some graduation money my grandparents gave me and I have been taking about 100 dollars each week or so and contributed to it. Whatever side work I got I put my money there.

I sadly had to pay more than I would have liked but instead of just getting the camera, I get 3 different filters for ideal shooting, lens care, tapes, a extra battery, a SD card and charger, and a hard case!

So it was ordered on Monday and I will be able to send out my bank check on Friday and hopefully I will then get it some time in the next two weeks.

I feel this is a huge accomplishment for me, I have been waiting for this for so long. And with this camera I feel like new opportunities will be able to finally happen. Thanks to my learning in After Effects I will be able to continue my education and finally start doing effects with real video. I can start working on a project I got inspired for. And most importantly now with this camera I can start doing more freelance work in earnest, I can go off and get side jobs and maybe just maybe I can get a new real job.

Also really cool is my friend designed me some business cards for me and they look incredible. They look relaxed yet professional I ordered them last night, so I have that to look forward too as well.

I really feel like this could be another small step to something great. I really feel like I am making my way.

A Slight Move

I realize its been close to a month since I last updated this but considering how no one reads this except me I don't really feel bad about the lack of updates.

Things are still the same really, still working one job and still working my internship. My goal is to have a new job by the summer time. I know I have said this in the past quite allot but I just can't take it here any more. I can't stand the tedium of working here any more, I am not interested in the material we present the people here while nice are now getting on my nerves, and I just hate it a little more every time I come in in the morning.

However there is some good news. I have been teaching myself Adobe After Effects. Thanks to great sites like CreativeCow and VideoCopilot I have slowly been getting better at it and now with this new comprehension I have new ideas and creative projects I want to work on. And also most importantly I hit my mark and have the money I need for my HVX 200. I will be ordering it this week and will hopefully get it in two weeks and then I can start doing more freelance in earnest.

So there is a slight move in the right direction but still no major change...just yet.

Another Chance or Shot in the Dark

So I recently received a email from Emerson posting two gig positions in a few months. One of them is for this conference in Early June where they would need a videographer to shoot a gala and speakers and then edit it all. I applied to that and it seems that they are interested in me and I might get it, so that could be nice for another easy paycheck and thing to put on my resume.

The 2nd one is the more important one. This website is looking for a videographer and editor to go on a month long cross coastal trip (down the entire east coast). They need someone to shoot and then edit 2 - 3 min dailys for this website. This one I am really more interested in and applied for immediately. They must have liked my resume because the responded quickly and then asked for examples of web work and a reel. I was able to show them a few videos from H2H, but I had to scramble to make a new reel for them. I spent all last night compiling together a new reel which is only a min and 3 different things i have done. That's the annoying thing In terms of things to use for a reel I really don't have much. I never truly understood how a reel for a videographer is supposed to look but I pulled something together and after many errors and frustration I finally got it out to them sometime after midnight. So now I'm just waiting.

I know I shouldn't worry so much allot of people have told me that I will be fine, however I just don't think my reel was that impressive or that professional looking. This was a good wake up call for me on how I really need to focus on 3 things for my freelancing, construct a better looking reel, start a website, and get business cards created. All things I want to focus on more after I get my camera but one step at a time I suppose.

I really would like the 2nd job event though I don't know much about the site or what they would want of me, but I would still like the opportunity to find out. It would be a nice break from things it would satisfy the wander lust I have been having, get me some good experience and out of my current job for the time being. I really feel like if they accepted me I could talk to my current boss to give me a one month hiatus. I have worked here for a year and I have become a respected staff member so I could see it getting done.

Oh well just like with Discovery I'll just have to wait and see.

Karma

So I just got cosmic payback for having to go into work on Monday.

My boss emailed me last night saying along the lines "Hey could you double check your time sheet it says you have submitted 84 hours for the past two weeks." I responded saying I would because that is sort of high I normally only clock in about 60 because I only work 4 days. So I double checked and I told her that she seemed to have accidentally looked at my past 3 weeks instead of two. We always get paid for the past 2 weeks and she was looking at a 3rd week that she already paid me. When I told her this her response was.


"oh......my fault well I already submitted it so I guess your getting paid extra for this week."

So I just got paid for an extra week a week I was already paid for.

karma man simple karma.

Where's the Love?

So we had a huge Nor Easter here yesterday just so Mother Nature could prove to us that she did have some winter left in her and we got about a foot of snow.

That foot of snow meant snow days for my roommates, my parents and pretty much everyone else I knew, however I still had to get to work. My boss has there ups and downs, one of the downs is it takes the hand of God before the office will close and sure enough we were open. As I was getting ready to go to work saying goodbye my warm roommates in our warm apt, I made some calls to see if my coworkers were coming in. Turns out all my coworkers that drive weren't going in because they couldn't however because I take public transit I was still expected to come in. It was a battle of what I wanted to do and being responsible, so even though I really didn't want to I went through a hellish commute and showed up at work, it was just me the boss and two other coworkers.

I was hoping that if I did enough work my boss might let me leave early however that did not occur, I stayed all day and I did the work of four people. Now I don't feel cheated that I had to go in or anything the thing that burns me is my boss didn't say anything about what I contributed for the day. I guess I shouldn't get upset by this but some acknowledgement would have been nice.

Oh well back to more job searches.

The Straw and the Camel

So its not a giant secret amongst my friends and family, I am not happy at my current job. Its not a hard job, its not a bad job. Everyone here is very nice and the stuff we do is easy and can be interesting to do. However I have now been here for over a year and the tedium of doing the same thing in and out has taken its tole on me.

Me wanting to leave this job is nothing new, I have been ready to move on to different type of work since back in August, however there has been nothing really offered here in Boston that's like this job. Its not even pay, I know I am getting paid better than most kids my age in the type of work that I do but I am not held to the idea of money. If I got a job that paid me slightly less than this job I would be ok and still survive.

The big thing that keeps me here is the flexibility of my schedule. Not many other jobs would let me come in just for 4 days and then let me do an internship on the side so I can slowly work on my carrier. That's the biggest thing that keeps me here, granted the troubled economy doesn't help much either.

But its just so boring and tiring. I know I shouldn't gripe like this but I'm ready for a change, I don't really care if its another mind numbing job that I complain about in 5 months time I want something different, I want a different place to go to and do different things.

What really pushed this all over the edge today is, how they are now going to install inter office Chat systems and start monitoring our computers and Internet access. Now once again might seem like a trivial thing but to me is a big deal. I have found a way to multi task my work and communication with the outside world nicely where I do not lag behind in productivity. So to take that away from me and now make this like Big Brother is unacceptable. I need a break every now and then from the constant editing and tedium and do deny me that is beyond rude.

I know to allot this might seem just like a stupid thing to bitch about and in some cases I agree it is but this is just the last thing I needed to really want me to seriously just search and take whatever I can get as a different job and a new perspective.

Who knows....back to Big Brother.

Dulldrum

So there was this huge incident that occurred at my Internship. Ironically though I wrote all about it in my Livejournal, and I really don't feel like writing it all out again, however it was an experience that I won't forget anytime soon and now all the fun from my internship is gone.


...in other happy news. Last week for my job I went to NYC for two days to tape 4 restaurants. It was amazingly fun only because it was a break up from the regular day to day routine. It also helped me give me some perspective on the possibility of New York being a place to go to so who knows.

However NYC is gone and I'm back here at the office, and its hit me all over again of just how bored I am here. Its too mind numbing and I keep hoping for the chance for something better to come along. However I know there are no really other good jobs around Boston in my field, and for the pay I'm getting.

I know I am going to wait till I"m done with the Documentary but its just really numbing this whole day to day routine. Maybe I just need more field trips to New York?