Fractured Blog

I have been thinking about writing a post about what I call “Blogging Karma” and I find it interesting that almost the exact same thing was mentioned in another blog post I just found.  The other post asks the question, “Who Comments on Blogs and Why?”.  I can only answer that question from my own point of view and not for all other bloggers out there.  But here are my thoughts on “Blogging Karma”.

When you blog, you are putting something out there for others to read.  It can be entirely opinion, factual, biographical, fiction, it’s whatever you feel like you need to put out there.  Most blogs have the option of letting readers leave a comment on the things you write.  Of course, it’s nice to have comments.  It lets you know people are reading your words, visiting your site and are interested in what you have to say.

You can create positive “Blogging Karma” by actively participating on other blogs in the hopes that someday, someone will actively participate on your blog.  Now, first and foremost, this is NOT SPAM, and should never be blog spam.  You should leave real, quality comments on posts that truly interest you.  They should never be simply a “Good job” or “Nice post” comment.   Most people can see right through that and it can be very irritating - thus creating negative “Blogging Karma”.  I believe that if you want quality comments on your blogs, then you should be leaving quality comments on other blogs as well.

Don’t get discouraged if you leave a few comments on other blogs and still nobody is leaving comments on yours.  Positive karma doesn’t happen overnight.  But if you do try to leave at least one quality comment per day on a random blog with a post that has interested you, you can feel better knowing that you are actively participating in the blogosphere and sooner or later, you will reap the benefits.

My best friend recently finalized her divorce from a guy who’s a pretty big dink. He is not a good guy. He is verbally abusive, an alcoholic, and doesn’t pay any attention to their four kids, who are pretty darn good kids, by the way. I don’t have time to go into all the ways of how he is not a good guy, or give examples, but just take my word for it.

So at work, we have been giving away tickets to ‘Stars on Ice’. We had some extra, 6 to be exact, and I thought of my friend and her four kids. She and another adult could take them, it would be free (except for gas and food) and they would have a good time. She’s going to school right now, doesn’t have a job and is raising her 4 kids on $2,000 a month - that includes all her bills, etc. So free tickets are a good thing.

Unfortunately, the weekend of ‘Stars on Ice’ is a weekend where her dink ex-husband has the kids. She called him and told him about the tickets and asked him to take the kids. He said ‘no’ because his girlfriend had to work that weekend and he can’t handle all four kids by himself - even though my friend does it just fine all week long. So she asked if she could have the kids that weekend so she could take them and he said ‘no’. He doesn’t have any other pressing plans for the kids, he just doesn’t want them to go. I’m sure he’s afraid watching ice skating will turn his two sons into ‘fags’ - his thoughts, not mine.

One other point on how he’s not a good guy - their divorce was finalized on November 1st of last year (2007). He is already living with his SECOND girlfriend. That’s the second woman and house/apartment that the kids have had to meet and stay with on weekends since November. What a jackass.

So the tickets have gone to another friend who also has four kids (blended family). I hope they have fun. I’m glad the tickets are getting used.

The first signs of spring are starting to show. Of course, I haven’t actually seen them, but I’ve heard about them.

I host an hour long show during the day that is basically an on-air classifieds show. People call in with items that they want to buy, sell or trade. I suppose some would think it’s rather hokey, and it probably is, but I enjoy it tremendously. The oddballs that call in and the crap that people think they can sell can be quite humorous. Sure, you get the occasional dinks who think they can sneak by the rules of the show, but for the most part I get older folks, old farmers who call in and I think they are very, very sweet.

Today an elderly woman called in, not to buy, sell or trade anything, but to let me (and everyone listening) know that she keeps her tulips in pots in her garage and she realized today that they are up a couple of inches. She seemed quite pleased and it was very nice that she called in to tell me such a thing. During the course of the conversation, she mentioned that she hadn’t seen a robin yet but was watching for one. I thanked her for the call, she hung up and I went on with the show.

After the show was over today, another lady called the business line of the station and talked to our office lady. She called just to say that she had tried calling into the show but couldn’t get through but wanted me to know that she had had three robins at her house. That is why I love doing this show. I have a huge soft spot for the elderly and I love that they think to call in and tell me these things. I left myself a note in the AM studio to mention her robins tomorrow on the show.

So, it seems that spring is starting to rear its dainty little green head and hopefully it will start warming up soon. Meanwhile, it’s now March 4th and no word on whether or not we are going to get that contract for baseball. My program director thinks its a lost cause at this point. We shall see…

I work at a very, VERY small market radio station.  I have been in radio for 17 years, have worked in big markets and was even on a syndicated morning show for three years, but I choose to work here at this tiny, fantastically low-budget radio station (actually stationS because there is the AM and FM) because it’s close to home, it’s where I got my start all those years ago and it’s a big part of my home town community.  I love working at this station.  The people are great (all five of us), and as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I’m giving back to my community.  I want the best for this station and I will do anything I can to make it sound the very best it can.

That being said, the general manager of the stations is also the publisher of the local newspaper.  I did not know this, but a newspaper can own radio stations in the same market as the paper when the newspaper doesn’t publish more than three times per week - or something like that.  And yes, our local newspaper only publishes twice per week.  As I said, it’s a small, miniscule market.  So, the ‘big guy’ runs both the newspaper and the radio stations.  That would be all fine and dandy, except he’s a NEWSPAPER guy.  He knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT RADIO.  He used to be the sports editor for the paper, worked his way up to editor and then weaseled (or blew) his way into being the publisher.  Good for him.  Obviously he knows a little something about the newspaper biz.  I only wish that meant he knew something about the radio biz.  But he doesn’t.

It’s a funny story how the newspaper ended up owning the radio stations.  The past owner of the stations didn’t like to pay taxes, the IRS took the stations, the corporate owners of the small town newspaper thought it would be a good idea to buy the small town radio stations so there would be no competition for sales and the rest is history.  Here we are, all cozy and sharing a general manager who obviously likes print media MUCH better than he does we icky radio-types.

Now that we are all caught up, here’s what happened today…

My program director and general manager have both been in talks with a major league baseball team to air their games on our AM  station.  It would be a pretty nice coup for the station and hopefully more revenue.  Friday, February 29th was the deadline to get the contract signed.  My program director wasn’t at work that day after drinking a tainted shamrock shake the day before.  Guess what wasn’t signed that day?  It’s as though my general manager has never heard of a deadline, which is funny considering he is Mr. Print Media and used to be the editor of the paper.  I thought print people lived from deadline to deadline.  Anyhoo, since I am not in any position of power (which makes me very happy), I was not given explicit details as to the reason(s) as to why the contract wasn’t signed and turned in…so there very well could be a good reason.  I have no idea.  But everyone at the station is painfully aware that the deadline has been missed, nobody knows if there will be any kind of extension given and if not, then the AM station is just screwed.

It might be okay if this were the first time this happened.  However, we had issues back in the fall with our voice guy.  His contract was about to end and my program director wanted to get a different voice guy.  He had the new guy all lined up, all we needed was approval from the G.M.  Nope, the old voice guy’s contract ended, we had to get him off the air and then rush to get copy to the new voice guy so that my P.D. could get everything produced and on the air in a weekend - because Print Boy took his sweet time.  It was very stressful and didn’t need to be.  But then, we all decided that the G.M. had no idea how not having a voice guy would affect the station.  Why?  Because he’s a FREAKING NEWSPAPER GUY AND NOT A RADIO GUY!

The longer I blog, the more and more I’ll get to discuss my general manager.  He’s a peach…a fuzzy little radio-tarded, newspaper-loving peach.

And I am so ashamed to say that I was the one who was puking drunk last night. The sad thing is, I wasn’t really drunk. I had a few rum & Cokes which is my normal choice for an adult beverage. But Kim and I started doing shots of ‘buttery nipples’ (I think it’s Bailey’s and Butterscotch schnapps). Very tasty and very sweet - and I think it’s the sweetness that didn’t set well in my tummy with all that rum.

And yes, I puked in the bar, not at home. Now in my defense, I was in the bathroom, and made it into the toilet. I even cleaned up after myself. Nobody coming in after would ever know what had just happened. I’ve always been a very conscientious drunk - which I’m sure would make my mom proud. I leave no mess. Afterwards, I went and found my hubby and we went home. We were home well before 1AM, probably more around 12:30.

Please don’t get the wrong impression of me. My hubby and I go out MAYBE once a month and have a few drinks. He will have a few beers at home and once in a while I will imbibe at home, but I’m not out every night having drinks, getting shit-faced and then driving home. Last night was a birthday celebration and those pesky ‘buttery nipples’ decided to bite me in the rear. DARN YOU BUTTERY NIPPLES! It’s going to be awhile before I can enjoy butterscotch again.

Tomorrow is my cousin Jerry’s 39th birthday. Tonight we are all going out and whooping it up. It’s always a pretty darn good time when we go out with Jerry. Jerry is the consummate partier. He has taken it to an artful level. Now, don’t get the wrong impression of him. He’s been married for around 17 years. They’ve either just celebrated their 17th anniversary or are going to this year. He is a great husband and loves his wife very much. He and his wife, Kim, have two wonderful daughters, they are active in their church, they both have good jobs and are loved by everyone who knows them. And they are known by just about everybody.

Ever since we were in high school, Jerry was the social one who knew everyone, went everywhere and did everything. When we go out now, there is always a bar full of people who want to say ‘hi’ to him, shake his hand and buy him a drink. And Jerry isn’t stingy on buying the drinks for others either. It’s always a party when Jerry is out and about.

Jerry also has an uncanny knack for finding other people who smoke pot. It’s a sixth sense that he has finely honed. Jerry is a professional who wears a tie to work every day. He isn’t a long-haired stoner-looking hippie. But he can go to conventions with other professionals and he always finds ‘that guy’ who also smokes. If there were 10,000 brain surgeons in a room, Jerry could find the one who smokes pot. It’s a gift. For the record, I haven’t smoked pot in at least a decade, but I don’t care if other people do. Jerry smokes around me on occasion (when the girls aren’t around), and I have other cousins and friends who also partake. It’s just not my thang. Never really liked the feeling.

So my hubby and I are supposed to be meeting at Jerry and Kim’s place around 7:30 so we can go out and begin a night of serious drinking. I will probably be the one to take it easy tonight so my hubby can tie one on. It’s usually a competition when he and Jerry get together. I’m pretty much just killing time at this point before I head for the shower. So wish us luck tonight, and if you also are going out, be sure to have a drink in honor of my cousin Jerry’s 39th birthday. He would do the same for you.

After my frustrating evening with Windows Live Messenger, I have installed Yahoo Messenger. I’ve always liked using Yahoo, I especially LOVE the radio (I listened to the big hits of the 80’s all last evening - LOVED IT!). I had made the move to Windows Live because that’s what my brother uses and he refuses to use anything else. So everyone in the family agreed to use that to make him happy. And since I really hate having all kinds of stuff running on my computer, I got rid of Yahoo and AIM. But I’m back with Yahoo now. What makes Yahoo even better is that you can chat with people who are using Windows Live, so I’ll still be able to talk with everyone who was on my old contact list. Happy day!

So, I invite you to look me up and say ‘hi’.  My Yahoo ID is fracturedblog.  I look forward to making some new friends.

There was an update to my Windows Live Messenger last night. Everything seemed to be fine, but I didn’t try it out because nobody on my list was online.

I got home early from work today and thought I’d pop on and say ‘hi’ to my hubby and my brother. However, when I double-clicked on either of their names to open a chat window, the program crashed, closed and I had to send an error report to Microsoft. This happened three times in a row and I’m sure I was probably annoying everyone on my list with my coming on and off-line rapidly. I have never had any issues with Messenger before.

If anyone has any idea on what’s going on…if there will be an update to correct this…or if I should just download and reinstall the darn thing, please let me know.

*UPDATE* I un-installed Messenger, downloaded the latest version and reinstalled it. The same thing happened again. I have now completely removed Messenger from my computer in complete disgust.

I have had this site - FracturedBlog.com - set up for over a month now. I wanted to make sure everything was just perfect before I started blogging. But then, time passed and I began to overthink about when I should make that first post. After all, the site is perfect now, so my first post should be perfect too. Ah! The pressure!

Should I wait and blog about something exciting that could might never happens in my life? But how LONG should I wait before that ‘exciting thing’ could might never happens? I did want to blog sometime in what’s left of this decade.

Or should I just jump in and post about what I had for breakfast and how my drive to work was, and just be done with it? While I’m sure it would be interesting to one person in the cereal industry, it would be a rather fuddy-duddy way to kick off my new blog. After all, I feel that the first post kind of sets the tone for a blog, and that my eating habits aren’t exactly the tone I want. What’s a girl to do?

So I’ve been sitting here at my computer desk, tinkering around with the site tonight, puzzling over what I should post about. And here it is. I’m writing about what I should post about. How deep!

So, to answer the question I asked in the subject of this post, I guess the right time for me to blog was just now…when the spirit moved me. I now have the first post out of the way, and the pressure is off. From now on, I won’t be putting off posting to my new blog because there are no more expectations. Whew…stayed tuned tomorrow when I tell you all about my breakfast and my drive to work.