Monday, December 06, 2010

Our Long National Nightmare...IS OVER!

For those of you who don't already know:  after almost 18 months of unemployment, over 100 resumes and applications submitted, and less than 10 interviews, I HAVE A JOB!

I am now a Guest Relations Associate at Universal Studios Hollywood.  If you need information about the park, lost or found an article in the park, or have a complaint about someone or something in the park, you will come to me and see me in my snazzy white shirt and black slacks.

This is the most fun job I've had in a great long while, and miles ahead of my last theme park job at Cedar Point.

More news to come later!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Status Update

OK, so here's what has been happening in my world recently.

I've now delved head-first into the world of the "Paid Audience Member."  Game show fans across the country were not pleased when the new CBS version of Pyramid was turned down for the Julie Chen-helmed talk show, The Talk.  Since the show premieres on Monday (10/18), they have been doing test shows at CBS Radford in Studio City.  None of the f@nb0is are going to like me when I say...

The Talk is actually enjoyable.

Granted, we've received $10 for each day we've been to a taping, but the show is actually worth watching.  I even won a $5 Starbucks gift card yesterday.

Anyway, as for the job hunt.  I've now put in 90 applications, and have chalked up an additional interview, bringing that total up to FOUR (yes, a number so low, I can type it out in word form).  Yesterday's interview was with L.A. Sports Marketing.  They have contracts with all major sports teams in the area, and do promotions and giveaways at the home games.  I told the interviewer that was right up my street, and I would love to do it.  Here's hoping I get in for the next two interviews, then get the job.

Tomorrow, our production company, "Ineligible Productions", has our first serious business meeting.  Hopefully we can get the ball rolling on that end as well.  We have solid formats that we need to tinker, then get on tape and post online.  We just need everyone on the same page.

That's all for now, folks.  I'll check back in later!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Some Help Possibly On The Way...

OK, so a while ago while searching for ways to escape my mounting student loan debt, I came across this site:

http://www.forgivestudentloandebt.com/

Apparently, there is a movement afoot to petition Congress and the current Administration to "Forgive Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy."  Honestly, it makes a lot of sense.  If the graduates had more money to spend, we would buy more, and not be hounded by collectors and creditors every morning at 5 AM.

I haven't scanned it for a while, but I decided to log on today.  To my surprise, there are TWO pieces of legislation out there to add private student loans BACK into the current bankruptcy law.  The Senate bill has just been passed out of subcommittee and sent to full committee.  Promising, for sure.

For more information, I checked out OpenCongress.org and looked up:

Senate Bill S.3219 - Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2010
House Bill H.R.5043 - Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010

Look them up, and contact your Congressional representatives (both sides; House and Senate) to help include student loans under the Big Black Wedge.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Our Long National Nightmare Persists...

Two months, 70+ job applications, three interviews, no job.  So, since I am desperate, I signed up for a thing called "Project PayDay."  Turns out, if you click this banner ad:




...and provide your name and email address, I get a buck and a half.  Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but you don't have to sign up for anything, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Every little bit helps, especially with the first of the month coming up and the rent being due.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

The Job Hunt; aka "Our Long National Nightmare"

Well, here's the update.  We've been in our apartment almost a month now, and I'm still the weak link in the chain...I still don't have a job.  My last post outlined 30 job applications and resumes I had submitted.  I have since completely lost count, but I'm sure it's in the neighborhood of 50 to 60 active applications out in the ether.

EDIT:  I went back thru my emails and found all of my applications.  54 have been sent out.

Among my application locations:
Best Buy
Target
Staples
CBS
NBC
BBC America
E! Entertainment Television
Universal Studios
The Hustler Store
Google
Fry's Electronics
Burbank Airport Marriott
14 Craigslist positions

Tomorrow holds in store the Interview2Hire Job Fair at the Glendale Hilton, just a few blocks from this apartment.  I'm hoping I can land something there, because I'm starting to go stir crazy.

Stat Sheet:
Months without a job: 14
Applications submitted: 54
Interviews to date: 3

Will I have a job by tomorrow afternoon?  Cross everything you have two of and wish me the best of luck!

Friday, July 23, 2010

The Job Hunt: An Addendum

So, my last count was off by a few.  Counting the fresh ones today, here's the ACTUAL count of applications submitted as of July 27, 2010:


• 6 applications at Best Buy
   - 2 in Burbank
   - 2 in West Hollywood
   - 2 in Los Angeles (Los Feliz store)
       -  Each pair is for Merchandising (Restock) and Cashier

• 4 applications at CBS
   - Page
   - Mailroom Messenger
   - Administrative Assistant at CBS 2
   - Administrative Assistant in Promotional Placement & Awards

• 2 applications to USC
   - Payment Specialist
   - Administrative Assistant in Student Affairs

• 1 applications each to:
   - Staples (Cashier)
   - Borders (Bookseller)
   - NBC (Universal Page)
   - E! (Production Assistant, E! News)
   - BBC America (Executive Assistant)
   - AMF Bowling Centers (Pasadena; Control Desk)
   - DirecTV (User Interface Design)
   - Madame Tussaud's Hollywood (Front Line Host)
   - Historic Hollywood Hotel (Guest Services)
   - Fidelity Creditor Service (Data Entry)
   - Marriott Burbank (Front Desk)


23 applications submitted since I touched down in Los Angeles 9 days ago.  Callback count: 0.


Stay tuned to see if I actually unlock the Achievement that is "Employment."

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Job Hunt Continues...

For those of you tuned to the situation, here's what has happened in the past week:

• I arrived at my friends' apartment in Glendale one week ago, safe and sound.  News arrived soon after that we got the apartment we applied for.  We sign the lease tomorrow!

• I've managed to apply for a BUNDLE of jobs, both inside and outside my field of expertise.  Included are:
-- 4 applications at Best Buy (2 in Burbank, 2 in West Hollywood)
-- 3 applications at CBS (Page, Mailroom Messenger, Administrative Assistant at CBS 2)
-- 2 applications to USC (Payment Specialist and Administrative Assistant in Student Affairs)
-- 1 applications each to Staples (Cashier), Borders (Bookseller), NBC (Universal Page), E! (Production Assistant), and BBC America (Executive Assistant).

All tolled, that's 14 applications in 7 days, and that's not counting the two I put in thru Craigslist.  I don't count those because, frankly, I don't trust them.  Why I applied for them in the first place?  Desperation, plain and simple.

If there are any Hiring Managers, HR Professionals, or other influential staffers out there:  I've been out of work for over ONE YEAR now.  It is the longest stretch of time I've gone without a job and, frankly, I'm going a bit stir crazy.  I've never gone this long without something to do and somewhere to go to do it.  TV's really boring thru the afternoon.  Give me a chance to show you that I can work for you!

Friday, June 25, 2010

The Last Hurrah...

Well, we've finally got a plan about the next couple of weeks.

• Saturday, June 26: Packing up the remainder of the small items in the house and preparing them for transport.  Tomorrow night, the UK airing of the second part of the Doctor Who season finale.

• Sunday, June 27: Taking the last loads out of the house and to the farm or to our friend's house across town, leaving only furniture pieces in the house.

• Monday, June 28: Mom has surgery on her back (Lumbar Laminectomy and Spinal Fusion).  We have to be at the hospital at 11:30 AM, then the procedure begins at 2.  I'll be staying at the hospital until she's moved to her recovery room, then coming home to make full reports to all.

• Tuesday, June 29: Starting at 9 AM, we'll be removing the last pieces of furniture out of the house and out to the farm.  The ol' homestead will be the former homestead.

• Thursday, July 1: I'll have to go thru the house with the American General rep for an appraisal.  Financial red tape blows donkey...honestly.

• Sometime before the weekend: Mom should be released from the hospital to go home to recuperate.

It's all coming together.  It's all real.  It's really screwin' with my head.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Packing up the house...

Yeesh...moving is rough.  We've been packing up the house for at least the past three weeks, and it looks like we haven't made a major dent.  Granted, we horsed TWO dressers out to the farm house we're moving to (one of which, a cherry dresser, had to go up a narrow flight of stairs on a dolly), but my room is still crammed full of years of crap.

Just a short list of what I still have left:  my entire DVD collections, 7 chess sets, my Wii with all my games, my big desktop computer, 24" monitor, Blu-Ray Player, almost every stitch of clothing, and my entire "Price is Right" home game and prop collection.

With all that said, we've imposed a deadline to be out of the house on June 26...a week from tomorrow.  8 days to get everything out of the house and all the utilities turned off.  Can we do it?  The countdown is on...

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

How To Fix GSN

Recently, "Game Shows at About.com" put up a Facebook status message asking, "How would you fix GSN?". Thankfully, I have a plan which may help the network get back their core audience and build that core back up.

The way I have set up the schedule is "theme hours." Some work, some don't...just go with it.

Some of the programming I'm outlining, GSN currently does not have in their rotation or, most likely, their libraries. So, this would take a bit of financial wrangling and fan support, but it would work.

The following schedule depends on a 9 AM-4 AM programming day.
=====================================================
WEEKDAYS
9 AM - 10 AM: Reg Grundy Power Hour
Scrabble (1983)
Sale of the Century (Jim Perry)

10 AM - 11 AM: Trebek out of Water
Classic Concentration
Double Dare (1975)

11 AM - 12 PM: Before Noon Delight
The Dating Game (Jim Lange)
The Newlywed Game (Bob Eubanks)

12 PM - 2 PM: Barry & Enright Block
The Joker's Wild (1975)
Tic Tac Dough (Wink Martindale)
Bullseye
Hot Potato

2 PM - 3 PM: Word Game Roundup
Chain Reaction (Bill Cullen)
Super Password

GSN LIVE BLOCK
3 PM - 4 PM: Shopper's Paradise
Supermarket Sweep (David Ruprecht)
Shop Til You Drop (Pat Finn)

4 PM - 6 PM: Goodson-Todman Block
Family Feud (Richard Dawson)
Match Game '7x
Card Sharks (Jim Perry)
Blockbusters (Bill Cullen)

6 PM - 7 PM: Enduring Classics
Press Your Luck
Let's Make A Deal (Monty Hall, ABC Run)

7 PM - 8 PM: Bob Stewart Block
$100,000 Pyramid (Dick Clark)
Go

8 PM - 9 PM: Heatter-Quigley Block
Catch 21
High Rollers (Wink Martindale)

9 PM - 10 PM: A Prime Time Affair
The Newlywed Game (Carnie Wilson)
Love Connection

10 PM - 11 PM: The New Feud
Family Feud (Richard Karn)
Family Feud (John O'Hurley)

11 PM - 12 AM: Syndie Millionaire
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (Meridith Vieira) x2

12 AM - 2 AM: West Coast Rebroadcast
Same as 8 PM - 10 PM programming

2 AM - 4 AM: Black and White Overnight
Beat the Clock (Bud Collyer)
What's My Line? (John C. Daly)
The Name's The Same (Robert Q. Lewis)
I've Got A Secret (Garry Moore)
=====================================================
SATURDAY
9 AM - 12 PM: Saturday Morning For The Kids
Child's Play
Fun House
Double Dare (Marc Summers)
Finders Keepers
Get The Picture
Legends of the Hidden Temple

12 PM - 1 PM: The Bill Rafferty Hour
Blockbusters
Card Sharks

1 PM - 2 PM: The Jim Lange Hour
The $100,000 Name That Tune
Celebrity Bullseye

2 PM - 3 PM: Attack of the 1990's
Tic Tac Dough (Patrick Wayne)
The Joker's Wild (Pat Finn)

3 PM - 4 PM: 80's Rebirths
Hollywood Squares (John Davidson)
Let's Make A Deal (Monty Hall, 1984)

4 PM: Deal or No Deal

5 PM: Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour

6 PM - 8 PM: Celebrities Behaving Badly
Tattletales
Body Language
Win, Lose or Draw
Password

8 PM - 2 AM: Saturday Night Mini-Marathon
Full run of Monopoly
Full run of Super Jeopardy!
Unsold Pilots
"Before They Were Stars" on The Dating Game
Video Village
Game Show Moments Gone Bananas
Foreign shows (Countdown, The Mad Dash, et al.)

2 AM - 4 AM: Black and White Overnight
=====================================================
SUNDAY
9 AM - 2 PM: GSN Originals, Then And Now
Whammy!
Friend or Foe
Russian Roulette
Lingo
That's The Question
Camouflage
The Newlywed Game (Carnie Wilson)
Catch 21
High Stakes Poker

2 PM: 1 vs. 100

3 PM: Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (Regis Philbin)

4 PM: Deal or No Deal

5 PM: Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour

6 PM - 8 PM: Celebrities Behaving Badly
Tattletales
Body Language
Win, Lose or Draw
Password

8 PM - 11 PM: GSN Time Machine
Wheel of Fortune (Chuck Woolery)
Wheel of Fortune (Pat Sajak)
Jeopardy! (Art Fleming)
Jeopardy! (Alex Trebek)
Hollywood Squares (Peter Marshall)
Hollywood Squares (Tom Bergeron)

11 PM: Sunday Night Reality
The Mole (any)
The Amazing Race

12 AM: Celebrity Weakest Link

1 AM: Celebrity Millionaire (Regis Philbin)

2 AM - 4 AM: Black and White Overnight
=====================================================
Granted, this does sound like "f@nb0i" ramblings, but by gosh, it'll help GSN regain their currently alienated core audience, and word will spread that the classics are back, and more eyes will come in.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Game Shows != Reality Shows

This is my first post in over three years. For those of you that follow my blog, I'll be posting a lot more, I'm sure.

Aside: For those of you who aren't computer programmers, "!=" means "not equal to".

After reading some disturbing things about new game shows and their production practices on BuzzerBlog (http://www.buzzerblog.com/), I felt like I had to submit my 2¢.

First, Our Little Genius. Granted, my opinion of this show was low out of the gate. It struck me as 5th Grader Flip Flop. I felt like the concept was played out, and was currently playing very well in syndication. The camel's back-breaker? The fact that they "re-stacked" questions to fit a contestant's strength, then re-shot the whole thing. Dirty pool, Mark Burnett. You should know better than that. Because of that move, OLG is now effectively off-the-air.

OLG was put to the forefront because Fox decided to pass on the brilliant British show, The Cube. When news came out that Fox was bringing Cube to these shores, NBC countered with Perfect 10.

Perfect 10, now called Minute To Win It, was allegedly to have ordinary people perform ordinary household tasks to win ONE MEEELEEON DAWLLARS (yes, I can type how Dr. Evil speaks). With the "household tasks" stigma dropped, the players are now performing basic physical challenges...in an environment similar to ITV's British smash, The Cube. Not only that, but reports are out now of a contestant failing his first challenge twice (which would be a loss), and the producers giving the player a new challenge and re-starting the show! Now, I'm not going to comment on any of NBC's other issues right now (I'm With CoCo), but NBC of all networks should be aware of what kind of stigma is behind "rigging" a game show. Twenty-One, anyone?

To all current and potential game show producers out there, here's something to look up:

47 U.S.C. § 509 : US Code - Section 509
Prohibited practices in contests of knowledge, skill, or chance

I'm not going to quote the whole thing here, but trust me, it's important.