A Day In The Life
Most people reading this know me.
The fact that I work in a prison is no secret. There really isn't that much to tell in that respect. I've watched a man die in there. I've seen scumbags get away with things only to get shitcanned when it's too late. I've seen good officers sandbagged worse than the coastlines of south Louisiana during hurricane season. I've seen a lot in my five years of working there but not much to tell. As Stephen King said vicariously through Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption, "Prison life consists of routine...and more routine.
Most people who know me know that there are constants in my life. These are things that never change.
Most people in the world enjoy a sense of voyeurism. If this were not true then what is voice chat, webcam and blogging for?
Today is your chance to take a look into the life you haven't seen. You've seen a bit into the life at the prison but what you haven't seen is a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a DJ.
A typical day for me starts in reverse. I sleep during the day largely due to my night job and a rare skin and eye condition, a photosensitivity. Of all the rumors you'll hear about me, this one happens to be true.
I get up and take care of the hygiene shit. That's a given. Let's face it, people, I don't wake up perfect. This usually comes after the phone's been ringing off the hook all day. If it's not my ex-girlfriend wanting conversation then it's usually some telemarketer or my field reporter turned PR Exec wanting to give me a laundry list of info that simply could not have waited. Email or leaving a message simply isn't an option in those realms. Let's not belabor the fact I've told telemarketers time and time again that So-And-So doesn't live here. After the hygiene shit it's getting dressed. It's usually just jogging pants and a t-shirt...something comfy and yes, I go out in public dressed like that. Why? I'm comfy and I'm off of work. I'm outta that damned monkeysuit and dammit, I want something I can wear without feeling a bit restricted. On a side note, if I'm up early (usually about 2pm central time) it means that I've given up on sleeping because it's apparently not that important.
Now, there's the online shit. Three email addresses to go through. In each one, I go through personal emails first, MySpace shit next and then, deletion of all the rest of the shit I have no time for; groups, digests, spam...all of these get trashed. Playlists are usually made by now and posted to Blogspot, MySpace, LiveJournal and MySpace Bulletins. After that, it's shot out to all my bands from my Gmail address. The day of the show, the bulletin on MySpace runs again as many times as I can post it if I remember to do it.
Then, it's the last minute preps. All the band news you hear about bands like Collide? This is gleaned from newsletters.
This is only part of the stuff I have to put out there. Then it's time to contact Joe about Antitrust to see what they have so far. I get the lowdown from him and we set up the spin on how to deliver it all on the air. Then it's off to hound companies for endorsements or record labels to even take a damned look at us.
Next, it's putting all this information (which is all in the form of notes on a notepad) together for the show. When I'm "casually" dropping names of bands, I'm reading something off. Yes, I script myself so I don't forget a damned thing. This stuff is the amalgamations of mornings, afternoons and nights of poring over shit like this.
Next is poking through the playlist, sound editing, mic and headset checks and technical shit. Why? Murphy's Law Is A Motherfucker.
Ok so all that's done and the show is still a way off. What next? Well, if I haven't kicked them off sometime in the interim, it's IM time. I might have about 7 to 10 people that I need to talk to about different things and if anyone else knows I'm on...it's a barrage of them.
During showtime I could have 25 plus IM windows open. If people don't think I'm answering them quickly enough I get the *poke* message, the BUZZ or the occasional audible. I don't guess anyone really truly listens when I'm on the air so putting it in writing might work but the biggest reason none of this works to your advantage is because I'VE TURNED ALL MY SOUNDS OFF!!! They will not play and this will only further delay my answers.
Some people end up by the wayside on IMs. This is not intentional. with 25 or more of those things open, guess what? Some don't blink. That means it might take awhile. Save your audibles, BUZZes and *pokes* for someone else. I give it my all to answer everyone I can. I just can't get everyone all the time. Business-related IMs have to take priority. As unfortunate as that may be, I'm trying to get this to a much larger audience and I have to discuss things with others first from time to time.
Then there's the other shit. Housecleaning, taking care of the cats, laundry, polishing boots, monkeysuits for work, etc. Things I have to do.
Then one last thing. I have to eat sometime and even that takes time. Prep, eating and then get back to whatever I was doing before...
Showtime!
Gotta get the countdown from the guy I'm relieving, send out the mass message IM, turn on Krushbot, deploy headsets and make sure everything is right and proper before the theme music is queued up and playing. Then it's time. The end product you get is days worth of prep.
Rayne does her damnedest to give me hell during the show or throw her two cents in. Now, I'm not just talking to myself anymore.
Now, after the show, I might post a blog, download or listen to music, talk to people, hell, any number of things. For the most part, though, I just wanna get off this contraption.
Why?
Well, I don't like being glued to this thing anymore. I'd like to get out, meet people, watch one of the movies I have yet to watch or finish, maybe even take a walk or a ride. you get the idea.
Far be it for me to bitch about the price of fame on this small a scale but I don't think that a night or two is too much to ask. There's a lot I have to work on and a lot on my mind that I'd like to clear out. I'd like to do that without hearing "You Suck!" for my troubles.
The physical act of DJing is easy. Getting it as good as it is is not. There are bands out there that won't even give you the time of day. There are prick DJs who won't fulfill your requests and some people just can't hadle fame even on a tiny scale.
Remember to be patient with those who try to give back to you, the fans. We're all only human.
...well...some of us anyway.
The fact that I work in a prison is no secret. There really isn't that much to tell in that respect. I've watched a man die in there. I've seen scumbags get away with things only to get shitcanned when it's too late. I've seen good officers sandbagged worse than the coastlines of south Louisiana during hurricane season. I've seen a lot in my five years of working there but not much to tell. As Stephen King said vicariously through Morgan Freeman's character in The Shawshank Redemption, "Prison life consists of routine...and more routine.
Most people who know me know that there are constants in my life. These are things that never change.
Most people in the world enjoy a sense of voyeurism. If this were not true then what is voice chat, webcam and blogging for?
Today is your chance to take a look into the life you haven't seen. You've seen a bit into the life at the prison but what you haven't seen is a behind-the-scenes look into the life of a DJ.
A typical day for me starts in reverse. I sleep during the day largely due to my night job and a rare skin and eye condition, a photosensitivity. Of all the rumors you'll hear about me, this one happens to be true.
I get up and take care of the hygiene shit. That's a given. Let's face it, people, I don't wake up perfect. This usually comes after the phone's been ringing off the hook all day. If it's not my ex-girlfriend wanting conversation then it's usually some telemarketer or my field reporter turned PR Exec wanting to give me a laundry list of info that simply could not have waited. Email or leaving a message simply isn't an option in those realms. Let's not belabor the fact I've told telemarketers time and time again that So-And-So doesn't live here. After the hygiene shit it's getting dressed. It's usually just jogging pants and a t-shirt...something comfy and yes, I go out in public dressed like that. Why? I'm comfy and I'm off of work. I'm outta that damned monkeysuit and dammit, I want something I can wear without feeling a bit restricted. On a side note, if I'm up early (usually about 2pm central time) it means that I've given up on sleeping because it's apparently not that important.
Now, there's the online shit. Three email addresses to go through. In each one, I go through personal emails first, MySpace shit next and then, deletion of all the rest of the shit I have no time for; groups, digests, spam...all of these get trashed. Playlists are usually made by now and posted to Blogspot, MySpace, LiveJournal and MySpace Bulletins. After that, it's shot out to all my bands from my Gmail address. The day of the show, the bulletin on MySpace runs again as many times as I can post it if I remember to do it.
Then, it's the last minute preps. All the band news you hear about bands like Collide? This is gleaned from newsletters.
This is only part of the stuff I have to put out there. Then it's time to contact Joe about Antitrust to see what they have so far. I get the lowdown from him and we set up the spin on how to deliver it all on the air. Then it's off to hound companies for endorsements or record labels to even take a damned look at us.
Next, it's putting all this information (which is all in the form of notes on a notepad) together for the show. When I'm "casually" dropping names of bands, I'm reading something off. Yes, I script myself so I don't forget a damned thing. This stuff is the amalgamations of mornings, afternoons and nights of poring over shit like this.
Next is poking through the playlist, sound editing, mic and headset checks and technical shit. Why? Murphy's Law Is A Motherfucker.
Ok so all that's done and the show is still a way off. What next? Well, if I haven't kicked them off sometime in the interim, it's IM time. I might have about 7 to 10 people that I need to talk to about different things and if anyone else knows I'm on...it's a barrage of them.
During showtime I could have 25 plus IM windows open. If people don't think I'm answering them quickly enough I get the *poke* message, the BUZZ or the occasional audible. I don't guess anyone really truly listens when I'm on the air so putting it in writing might work but the biggest reason none of this works to your advantage is because I'VE TURNED ALL MY SOUNDS OFF!!! They will not play and this will only further delay my answers.
Some people end up by the wayside on IMs. This is not intentional. with 25 or more of those things open, guess what? Some don't blink. That means it might take awhile. Save your audibles, BUZZes and *pokes* for someone else. I give it my all to answer everyone I can. I just can't get everyone all the time. Business-related IMs have to take priority. As unfortunate as that may be, I'm trying to get this to a much larger audience and I have to discuss things with others first from time to time.
Then there's the other shit. Housecleaning, taking care of the cats, laundry, polishing boots, monkeysuits for work, etc. Things I have to do.
Then one last thing. I have to eat sometime and even that takes time. Prep, eating and then get back to whatever I was doing before...
Showtime!
Gotta get the countdown from the guy I'm relieving, send out the mass message IM, turn on Krushbot, deploy headsets and make sure everything is right and proper before the theme music is queued up and playing. Then it's time. The end product you get is days worth of prep.
Rayne does her damnedest to give me hell during the show or throw her two cents in. Now, I'm not just talking to myself anymore.
Now, after the show, I might post a blog, download or listen to music, talk to people, hell, any number of things. For the most part, though, I just wanna get off this contraption.
Why?
Well, I don't like being glued to this thing anymore. I'd like to get out, meet people, watch one of the movies I have yet to watch or finish, maybe even take a walk or a ride. you get the idea.
Far be it for me to bitch about the price of fame on this small a scale but I don't think that a night or two is too much to ask. There's a lot I have to work on and a lot on my mind that I'd like to clear out. I'd like to do that without hearing "You Suck!" for my troubles.
The physical act of DJing is easy. Getting it as good as it is is not. There are bands out there that won't even give you the time of day. There are prick DJs who won't fulfill your requests and some people just can't hadle fame even on a tiny scale.
Remember to be patient with those who try to give back to you, the fans. We're all only human.
...well...some of us anyway.
posted by Lord Genocyde at 6:54 AM
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