Something's wrong with the carts at the station. Stuff is stopping and starting again. I don't know enough about "carts" to know why it's happening, but most of those "carts" are....MiniDiscs! Ut. Oh...
It started last week. It was worst during an evening news broadcast; stuff would just stop, then start at tha same spot. It's creepy!
Then, I've heard a couple of DeeJays complaining over the weekend.
Now, it's Morning Edition. Tom's in there, alone. Poor Tom!
Part of what I'm doing, with all this studying and planning, is getting used to the idea of working from home, keeping a real schedule, reducing distractions, etc.
Soap operas are out. So's a lot of other TV. So's some radio!
I need to know, when I get up each day, what my schedule is for that day.
I need to try, with my limited experience, to set a practical agenda for each day. Biting off more than I could chew is a major issue.
I'm already pretty good at this working from home business, on a smaller scale.
I wrote for Net4TV at home.
I hate deadline crunches; panic makes me screw up and forget things. So, I'd start working on "the next story," even while wrapping up the current one. I'd outline my story, start researching and saving pertinant URLs, make notes, etc.
I also learned it from making arts & crafts to sell.
Basically, because my memory's so bad, my strenght is compromised, and I'm extra-vulnerable to outside influences that could turn critical if not given immediate attention, I need to get as much of a project done, once I start it.
I don't want incomplete projects, cluttering up my mind.
I've also paid attention to entrepreneurial (sp?) stuff I've learned over the years. Even if I were just watching an episode of Oprah, on how to start a home business, I really listened, even to the parts that didn't pertain to my situation.
So, I know, for instance, to keep receipts for my purchases for my business.
I also know I should have a 2 bedroom place, so I can have a real office.
I know I've got to learn about everything from taxes to book keeping. I won't be able to afford an accountant, so I'll need to take care of my own business for awhile. I don't want to mess up opportunities for tax write offs, etc., because of sloppy record keeping.
I know I need assigned hours, and have a pretty good idea WHAT hours, to work. This'll be flexible, given the nature of what I'm doing, of course: if I need to collect sound at other hours, etc., I need to do that.
But I also know I need to break up my day, to keep my mind fresh and my body active.
I've learned, from the lives of published authors, how to sit down at an assigned time, even if all I do is "stare at a blank page" during that time, totally uninspired.
I've learned one can do several hours' work and find one sentence, one paragraph, one concept worth saving. The rest goes in the round file.
So, I'm as prepared as I can be, to work from home.
Now, it's the nitty gritty details of indy prod. that I need to learn: the how-tos, the what-ifs.
So, I'm tearing up Transom and the like.
It also demystifies the process, so I won't be so nervous or reluctant to tackle particular aspects.
This is not a job for mere, raw talent. And, believe me, I do have some righteous raw talent. But it ain't enough. Not even close.
Especially in this digital age, there are specific bits of information I need, and don't even KNOW I need, in order to get things done right and efficiently.
For instance: The other day, I was looking for MiniDiscs for sale, on the 'net.
I found a reconditioned Sony, with the original software, headphones, etc. It was about 1/4 the price of retail.
I sent the URL to my advisor for an opinion.
No microphone output.
No good.
Now, if I'd gone to the Transom website and read that guide to MiniDiscs, I'd have KNOWN that, and wouldn't have bothered my advisor!
Don't get me wrong; my advisor was nice about it, and even surfed around, too, looking at MiniDiscs.
But I want to take care of myself.
That was a real lesson to me. There are hundreds of little details like mic jacks that I need to KNOW, so I won't waste: time, money, energy, etc. And I don't want to waste my advisor's good will, either.
I can learn this piddly stuff.
But it's a LOT of piddly stuff! Submission guidelines, mixing, editing, how to HOLD a mic! And on and on and....moan.
I can do this.
I CAN DO THIS!
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