Let's Try This Again

Trying this again a year later. Hopefully things go better this time around and I stay current with my blog topics but we'll see.

Right now I'm heading into day four of a 12 day stretch at CBS 3. John's off on a hunting trip for a week so I get to hold down the fort. Hopefully I'll also hold down my sanity for the next week, but at least I've got four easy days ahead of me. That's about it for now, 4a.m. and time for bed!

Unlimited Vacation Time Please????

Tomorrow's my last day of vacation already. I've been off work since last Monday, and I don't think I'm ready to go back yet. It's amazing how much faster time passes when you're actually enjoying yourself. Considering I got 5 phone calls from work and at least a dozen work-related e-mails during my week off, I can only imagine how much work I'll have left when I get there.

But enough about work... try this on for size. It seems the writ of habeas corpus has actually been PERMANENTLY revoked. Check out this link for the full (if not a bit confusing) story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15220450/

Olbermann, though long-winded in his argument, does make a valid point. Our rights are slowly being eroded, and nothing does that faster than the revoking of the writ of habeas corpus. Now you can be thrown in jail for anything, without the right to know why, and without representation. And since the term "terrorist" is always left vague, law enforcment officials could, in theory, incarcerate anybody they wanted for any length of time without any court proceedings or legal representation.

So, welcome to the new America, where even this very blog could be considered anti-American and illegal. Luckily, our first chance to change things is coming up. So get out and vote on November 7th... it's election day, in case you hadn't heard. Get your butt in the booth and speak your mind. Do me a favor, and vote for somebody who actually cares about the citizens of the country. I don't care if it's a Democrat or Republican... just think before you vote this year, and put somebody in office who will actually represent us.

Okay, that's it for my political soapbox tonight. It probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I figured the article was worth writing about. If it put you to sleep, fear not. I'll be back to some more normal posts tomorrow.

Annnnd... We're Back

More details after this short break for sleep...

3a.m. and All Is Well

Something happened tonight that I've forgotten about for quite a few months. No, it's not something earth shattering or anything. I just remembered how witty I am when I'm fully engaged in a conversation at 3a.m. Sad ain't it?

Anyhow, it was another non-eventful day here at the Kowalenko house. Ended up renewing the book I'm reading, called "John Adams", cuz it's so long it's taking me forever to read it. After that 10 minutes of excitment was over, I went to the home show at the expo center in Hartford with my mom. Lemme just say it was a load of crap. It was like the people who ran it said "okay, how many spa vendors can we jam into one room?". But hey, we had a free admmission pass so it wasn't all bad.

After the expo center I had an Italian dinner that I dare say was almost as good as the famous Fettucine D'Aragosta at Pescatore in New York City. Tonight's fare was Farfalle Toscana, which was farfalle tossed with ground sausage, prosciutto, peas, pecorino romano, and basil tossed in a pink sauce, which Melissa tells me is a lobster sauce. If it is, all the better! But damn that was a good meal... and there was so much that I'll be able to have it for a couple more full meals. So folks, if you're up for a good Italian meal, check out La Notte. It's in East Windsor, and the food's definitely worth the trip from anywhere in the state.

Okay, so it's twenty after three now... I should probably be getting to bed so I don't sleep all day away tomorrow.

The Johari Window

So I saw this in Claire's LiveJournal and thought it'd be cool to do something like this. I mean I can do personality tests out the wazoo for my blog, but why not do something a little more interactive for all of us? Do me a favor and check it out, and be honest. Thanks! (Sorry, couldn't get the link to work so you're gonna have to copy and paste.)

http://kevan.org/johari?name=QUNewsGuy

New McDonald's Commercial

So I was just watching the Olympics and saw a new McDonald's commercial... probably one of the funniest I've seen in a while. Bigfoot's walking through the woods and he comes upon one of those Ronald McDonald park benches.Y'know,the ones with a cement Ronald sitting on one end of the bench with his arm draped across the back and his leg folded over his knee.

Well, the bigfoot comes along and sits on the far end of the bench, sees Ronald, and slowly scoots over next to him. Then he puts his arm over the bench and folds his leg too. I dunno... it's just really funny and you've probably gotta see it to actually laugh at it.

Overtired?

It's weird... the past few nights I've gotten plenty of sleep... like 9 hours a night worth... so why do I feel so tired? If you've got a good answer, leave me a comment!

Okay, off to bed to sleep for another 9 hours. Got an interview for substitute teaching tomorrow morning. Yeah that'll be fun... can you picture it? Me a teacher? :-p

I Need Sleep

So I was just looking at my own blog after changing the template and realized that I've got two posts back to back labeled "Mmmm..." and "Hmmmm..." and I never realized it before. Yup, if that means one thing it means I need sleep. G'night world...

SNL

For the past few years I've watched SNL week after week, hoping it'd get as funny as it used to be a long time ago, like back when I was in high school. Finally, tonight it happens. Sure it took Steve Martin to host the show, but it was actually laugh out loud funny, and for the right reasons. Funny sketches, funny jokes, funny host who knew what he was doing. Maybe Lorne Michaels will look at tonight's show and realize what the show overall has been missing for a few years. If not, well, I'll keep watching but I can't say I'll enjoy it.

Okay, show's back... but before I leave you I'm going to leave something Steve Martin did on SNL a few years ago. Happy early Valentine's Day all you lovebirds out there...

To My Love
by Steve Martin
Every man needs a woman, and I need you
To lift me when I'm sad,
To comfort me when I'm down,
To clean me when I'm drunk,
To walk beside me when I want to look like I'm not gay,
To walk in front of me when I need someone to act as a human windbreak,
To kiss me when I'm horny,
To massage me when I'm tense ... and/or horny,
To make me horny when I am not horny, and then to watch me fall asleep.

I need you darling
To clean between my toes when they are not clean to my satisfaction,
To pick the nits out of my hair when I have head lice,
To try milk for me when I am not sure of the expiration date,
To be there when I need you to be there,
And to be out of town the rest of the time.

My darling, although it may seem sentimental,
I want to take this moment to tell you I love you,
Because I don't want to lose half my stuff.
And even though you are far away across the ocean,
I always have this (points to ring finger with no ring) to remind me (notices ring's not there) – sorry!
Good night, my love!

Back from the Dead

And so here we are, a year into this blog experiment more or less, and it's amazing how little I stuck to trying to write in it. Funny how for some people it's almost second nature to write their lives out in their blogs and for others it's a vague afterthought.

It's been three months since my last post (why do I now feel like i'm going to blog confession?) and I only find myself in this "create post" window because I'm bored. Yes, I've got a million things I could be doing but instead I'm bored. Funny how it happens sometimes. I could be cleaning my room, could be looking for jobs, could be working on my taxes (yuck), but instead i'm sitting in front of my keyboard debating whether or not to watch a movie or just see what Tivo's got in store for me tonight... and here's my little sidetrack comment for the night, what will become the crux of my post: Tivo.

I can't say it enough: I love TiVo.

Unless you've used it yourself you have no idea how much it will change your life. Imagine never having to set a VCR to record a show you love. Imagine a machine that actually remembers your favorite actors, your favorite movies, and your favorite episodes for you and records them for you without having to say a word. Now imagine always having something on TV that you want to watch. That's what Tivo's all about. The ironic thing about Tivo is that you can't imagine how amazing it is until you've used it, and the price is so steep that most people wouldn't dream of buying it since they've never used it before. Take my word... if you've ever thought about buying a Tivo... do it. You really will never watch TV the same way again.

Okay, off to watch a couple Fawlty Towers episodes and then fall asleep early. Tomorrow will be a fun day... doing job applications and cover letters so I need sleep bad. But hey, if I get a good job then I get a new car and I can move out of the house... ah yes... then, as they say, it's all good.

Hmmm...

Yup... definitely time to update this blog again. What the hell... I've got five minutes to kill... might as well bang something out.

This has felt like the longest week of work yet. Not only are we short-staffed on the morning crew, we're also kinda overworked. It's been kind of crazy, with one of our directors out sick and Reggie, our floor director gone yesterday, I ended up having to floor direct. Lemme just say it's not something I want to do again. I felt like I bumbled my way through the three shows yesterday and I'm certain the directors weren't thrilled with what I did, so at least we're all in agreement on it.

The more I work at channel 30 and the more opportunities I'm given, the less I find myself wanting to do them and get pigeonholed into a production career track. I really want to produce, and I feel like I might never get the chance to unless I hit the lottery. I feel like it's dragging me down at work because I know I'm in a go-nowhere position with very little thanks for the work that we all do every day.

Mmm....

As much as I love cooking, I love the recipes in the blog below. The best part? It's updated all the time and the recipes don't seem too hard to make at all!

The Food Blog

All I can say is it's 4:30a.m. as I'm writing this and my mouth is watering. Yum...

Quote of the Morning

King Kong performed by Andy Serkis...maybe we'll get a scene with KK stroking the leading lady going "My Precioussss"

I love early morning humor...

Sleep = Good

Sleep is a good thing... unless, of course, you have bad nightmares. That was the case last night... when I had a dream some guy broke into my house through my bedroom window and woke up right in the middle of it to hear a breeze tapping something against it. Yeah that's fun...

The other dream was just as bad but in a different way... I dreamt the AP positoin opened up at work, but that it required a 5-year contract to be in the position. Yikes.

Well, bad dreams last night but at least I slept... and I'm actually wide awake at work for once. Time for a local cut-in for the Today show... more on my week and all the fun it's shaping up to be later tonight.

Change in Process

Just a heads-up to anybody who leaves me a comment... I've changed the settings since Blogger's been having problems with spamming lately. If you leave me a comment, and I encourage you to do so, you'll now have to do a word verification thing that keeps computers from leaving junk in my blog. Keep reading... and for God sakes... somebody say something and let me know you're reading!!! :-)

Bring Back REAL Oldies

Every morning when I drive into work I tune my radio into WLNG-FM off Long Island. Without a doubt this is the BEST radio station I've ever heard before. The station with 10,000 golden oldies never ceases to amaze me with the breadth and depth of their playlists and today was no exception. Nowhere else in the country can you hear a set like this:

Stop in the Name of Love by The Supremes
Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp Shoo Bomp Shoo Bomp) by Barry Mann
Raspberry Beret by Prince
and Bee Bop Baby by Webb Foley (a song, I might add, I've not heard in probably the past decade)

Overnights are called the Golden Hours, and I believe it's true... non-stop music sets, very few commercials, and a DJ who actually cares about the music he plays. WLNG's a hidden gem in American radio and it's something I believe should be repeated in other markets. The station is so good I'll often find myself listening to its static when it isn't completely tuned in just to hear bits of songs I haven't heard in a long time. If you'd like to find out what I'm talking about, head on over to www.wlng.com and check out their online stream. I promise you you won't be disappointed.

E is for Empty

Today I actually enjoyed myself. Despite having to work at NBC30 this morning and then having to work what turned out to be a partial shift at CVS I got to go to the Big E with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

Before I get into the Big E I'll start at the top of the day with some fun times at NBC30. After two hours dealing with quite possibly the funnest (is that a word???) morning crew possible- Mindi, Andy Pergam, Garret, and Karen flooring, the tape op threw in the pooch tape (our version of a blooper reel). For a mid market station we sure have a lot of mistakes... a lot of double entendres... and a lot of fun on the air. Real good times there.

After a brief nap before my shift at CVS, my mom offered to work half my shift for me so that I wouldn't have to drive up to the Big E to meet Matt, Megan, and her new husband Erik there. Lucky me... the hour and a half at CVS flew by without incident and I was out the door before I had barely even started working. Thank God I've only got a week left there.

So I get home and wait around for a bit to be picked up. After a nice ride through Suffield to avoid the traffic we get to the Big E where we get hit with the first big bill of the night: $10 to park the car. After driving around and finding a spot we got out and got to the gates... to find that admission is $15, even after 5p.m. on weekends. Here's where we start counting the cash: at the start of the night I had $50. Before even setting foot inside the venue I'm already down to $35.

After poking through the venues for a bit it was time for dinner, which meant my first smoked turkey leg in eight years... since the last time I was at Disney World. Man that was good... even at the $6 price tag. Throw in a soda and later a beer and I'm now down to $21.50. A $3 cream puff later, then $4.50 cheese curds, a $4 Mike's Hard Lime, and a $4.50 fried dough later, and you can see where the night went. Cha ching! The one bright spot of the night was the $1 steak-umms sub in the Connecticut building. For that price almost anything tastes good.

Overall it was a really fun night. It was great to see a couple old friends again and enjoy a fair I haven't been to in almost a half decade. The one lesson I've learned is that nothing's cheap anymore. Yeah I ate quite a bit of food but it still shouldn't empty my wallet to do it. I can only imagine what people with kids go through when they go to the Big E. It's kind of ridiculous. Okay, that's it for me tonight. I can barely keep my eyes open, which means it's time for me to nap before work.

Hells Yeah!

You Are a Bloody Mary

You're a fairly serious drinker, who's experimented a lot with different drinks. You're a drunk, but a stable drunk. You don't ever let your drinking get out of control.

What Mixed Drink Are You?

Longest... Day... Ever!!!

My Tuesday morning started at 6:30... or was it 6:13... or was it 6:19... or was it 6:23... damn light sleeping. I had jury duty in Hartford this monring. Connecticut Superior Court jury duty to be exact... the kind of boredom that can melt your brain in about 5 seconds. I was supposed to be doing jury duty with another guy who works at NBC30 with me, but somehow he got out of duty and ended up working instead. Lucky devil.

I got to the courthouse at around 8:15 after waiting in traffic for nearly the entire length of I-91 between Enfield and Hartford. The waiting didn't end there. At the courhouse I waited in line... and waited in line... and waited in line for like 15 minutes. I figured after that it'd be quick and painless... y'know, go into the jury pool room and sit down, watch the orientation movie, get picked, and follow the advice of Reggie and say "oh yeah I know him... he did it" when I get interviewed by the lawyer so I can go home early. Bing, bang, boom. Blah. It didn't turn out that way at all. Instead I spent nearly eight hours sitting in a hot and uncomfortable room with about 150 other strangers all as bored as I was. Nowhere to go, nothing to do but watch TV. And since we weren't allowed to watch the news we were treated to back to back court shows and a heavy dose of Maury and Jerry Springer. Mindnumbing entertainment folks... if you ever want to try shrinking your brain I suggest you watch a marathon of that stuff.

As the other people got called in for questioning I waited... and waited... and waited... again. Lunch came... still no call. Finally 3 o'clock rolls around and it's down to me and 20 other people. Slowly but surely they're all released til it's down to me and five other guys. "The rest of today's cases have been settled... you're free to go home," the woman tells us.

Great... home, where I've gotta think about my mom working my shift at CVS for me. Yes... CVS was so shorthanded my own mother had to cover my shift because of my jury duty. Kinda sad.

Moving on to much better things... the highlight of my night was being in Hamden and visiting the Q30 crew. I ended up going down there because the Chyron and server were both wiped and last year's graphics disappeared. Naren had two choices... either pull the world's first 72-hour day or just cave in and air the old stuff until he finishes his new look. I'm glad he didn't choose to break the world's record.

As is typical with every stage of my educational career... things get better after I leave the school. In elementary school it was the new cafeteria and gym. Middle school brought the new library. High school? Ditto. At Quinnipiac, this year brings true HD broadcasting and a fresh new design for the news set. *Sigh*

It was great seeing everybody tonight... and great seeing that Q30 is in great hands with Jeff in charge. Melissa and I always joked nobody would remember us when we left... well that certainly wasn't true. Thanks everybody for making me feel welcome, even though it felt real awkward being there nevertheless. If I had my druthers I would've waited a couple more months to come visit, but I'm glad I was able to help both Naren and Fabio out a bit. Best of luck to anybody from Q30 who reads this. Please let me know how the news goes!!!!!

Okay, I think it's time to throw a movie in fall asleep. My weekend awaits... and I hope it includes some beer, some friends, and a trip to the Big E. Hey... a guy can hope, can't he?

I've Always Known...

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Your personality type is RCUAN

You are reserved, calm, moderately unstructured, accommodating, and moderately non-intellecutal, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Reno, Las Vegas, Richmond, San Diego, Sacramento, Greensboro, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Portland/Salem, Houston, San Francisco Bay Area and these international countries/regions Belgium, Switzerland, Taiwan, Hungary, Luxembourg, Iceland, Netherlands, Guam, Sweden, Czech Republic, China, Puerto Rico, Mexico, India, Wales

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
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