This Blog was supposed to be about my adventures in writing my book, and to an extent it still is... I haven't given up on it... but it seems like life has taken me on a completely different path, and so that's what I've got to update you about! I know, right? You're like OH so excited.
Let's start with the Bad. The new guy. The new guy... sucks. It has been 7 weeks, he's missed 5 shifts, and he still doesn't know anything. The guy is a waste of matter, and frankly, he's killing me. HE'S KILLING ME. I've been looking forward to this move for almost 2 months now. Well, here's the most recent update. Two weeks. We have to give the guy two more weeks and then he's either good enough or he's gone. Judging by previous experience with him, it's looking like he's gone. THEN, the hiring process starts anew. This is bad news bears, people. As we inch closer and closer to Comic-Con, I'm getting more and more worried. If they don't have someone trained and ready to go, I'm afraid they are going to try and revoke my vacation time. I wouldn't completely blame them, because this place would fall apart down two dispatchers, but that doesn't mean I won't be completely and utterly pissed. Borderline quitting pissed. I'm just going to hope that it doesn't even come up. Because I don't want to miss Comic-Con. For anyone who may be reading this who may be worried if I miss Comic-Con too, don't worry... I'll still hold up my end of the hotel, etc. Just because I might get effed in the A, doesn't mean everyone should.
Now for a merrier subject... youtube. Remember that one time I mentioned it? Well, I finally got my channel up and running and posted my first Call of Duty: Black Ops Commentary. I honestly don't know how you advertise yourself on youtube to get views and subscriptions, but I feel like my showing for my first video has been decent. I'm already up to 10 subscribers! The feedback has all been positive, so I'm pretty pumped about it. I'm going to most likely be posting my second video tonight. Youtube is one of those things where you have to stay active, or you'll fall to the wayside. It's actually far easier than I thought it would be, once you've got the basics figured out. The real issue is how much time it takes to Render and Upload a video. The good news is, that time will be well spent in writing, when my shift has finally changed.
Once my shift has changed, everything will fall into place, I promise. Meanwhile, I'll keep the updates coming, and feel free to check me out on Youtube.com/SecondRateGamer. Until next time...
Dream Big,
Ian
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Quicksand, Youtube, and Other Random Musings
Well, it has been a while hasn't it? I know, I know... I'm naughty. Even naughtier if you count that the little word count ticker over there is still accurate after a month plus of not moving. I do have an explanation, but it's a pretty lame one. Still, better to know. Every once in a while, when I'm moving through life at a good click, I run into what I like to call "Quicksand." Emotional quicksand might be more appropriate, or maybe mental quicksand. It's something that happens when I've made plans to completely change the way I'm living, and then those plans become delayed. I don't know if you've ever experienced a similar situation, but here is what happened.
I mentioned in previous updates that I was changing shifts at work. I've been working from 6am to 2pm Monday through Friday for about 2 years now, a shift that has plenty of benefits, but ultimately far more drawbacks. The worst of which is a lack of sleep. Because no matter how early I have to wake up, I find it next to impossible to get to bed prior to 11pm. So I'm tired all the time. Now, back about a month and a half ago, I had an opportunity to switch my shift so that I would be working from 2pm to 10pm Tuesday through Saturday. This actually works to achieve a few things for me. Firstly, I'll be able to sleep in and always be fully rested. Secondly, the shift I'll be working is 250 times slower in terms of work load than my current shift. So I'll have tons of time to write while I'm at work, time which I do not have now. And this was all supposed to go down over a month ago.
So Ian, what happened? Well... the new guy they hired, who would be freeing up the spot for me to move shifts, has been bad. Slow learner/preoccupied/bad. I think it took me a week to have the hang of dispatching. We've passed a month with this guy and here I sit. In quicksand. Everything, all my plans, all my hopes, all my everything was tied into this move over a month ago, and every week it's been pushed back another week, and so I'm trapped. Sure, it's my fault for putting everything on the line for this move, but can you blame me? I really, really need this. So that's that. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Well then, Ian, what else have you been up to? In a word, Youtube. I'm a grown adult who loves to play video games, and more than that, I love to watch people play video games. Call me ridiculous, but it's who I am. Through a company called Machinima, I've been enjoying watching gameplay commentary videos of games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Minecraft, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, and Terraria. And more than that, I've become inspired to have a hand at making my own gameplay/commentary videos. As we speak, I have a PVR out for delivery. This is something I'll be able to do for fun in the following week or so before this guy--fingers crossed--gets moved into his shift, thusly moving me to my new shift. Once I'm in my shift, my life will transition into an organized, scheduled regimen. I will start writing again, and I'll have time set aside for gaming and doing commentaries. I don't know how the commentary thing is going to go over, but if I have any level of success, I figure it would then help my cause at advertising my eventual book so... yeah. Call me crazy, but that's the plan. If nothing else, it will be fun for me. I love hearing myself speak.
Beyond that, there has been pretty much nothing. I've been alienating myself from everyone, so if you haven't heard from me... it's the quicksand, not me. I don't really have anything else so, until next time (not a month from now, I promise)...
Dream Big,
Ian
I mentioned in previous updates that I was changing shifts at work. I've been working from 6am to 2pm Monday through Friday for about 2 years now, a shift that has plenty of benefits, but ultimately far more drawbacks. The worst of which is a lack of sleep. Because no matter how early I have to wake up, I find it next to impossible to get to bed prior to 11pm. So I'm tired all the time. Now, back about a month and a half ago, I had an opportunity to switch my shift so that I would be working from 2pm to 10pm Tuesday through Saturday. This actually works to achieve a few things for me. Firstly, I'll be able to sleep in and always be fully rested. Secondly, the shift I'll be working is 250 times slower in terms of work load than my current shift. So I'll have tons of time to write while I'm at work, time which I do not have now. And this was all supposed to go down over a month ago.
So Ian, what happened? Well... the new guy they hired, who would be freeing up the spot for me to move shifts, has been bad. Slow learner/preoccupied/bad. I think it took me a week to have the hang of dispatching. We've passed a month with this guy and here I sit. In quicksand. Everything, all my plans, all my hopes, all my everything was tied into this move over a month ago, and every week it's been pushed back another week, and so I'm trapped. Sure, it's my fault for putting everything on the line for this move, but can you blame me? I really, really need this. So that's that. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Well then, Ian, what else have you been up to? In a word, Youtube. I'm a grown adult who loves to play video games, and more than that, I love to watch people play video games. Call me ridiculous, but it's who I am. Through a company called Machinima, I've been enjoying watching gameplay commentary videos of games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Minecraft, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, and Terraria. And more than that, I've become inspired to have a hand at making my own gameplay/commentary videos. As we speak, I have a PVR out for delivery. This is something I'll be able to do for fun in the following week or so before this guy--fingers crossed--gets moved into his shift, thusly moving me to my new shift. Once I'm in my shift, my life will transition into an organized, scheduled regimen. I will start writing again, and I'll have time set aside for gaming and doing commentaries. I don't know how the commentary thing is going to go over, but if I have any level of success, I figure it would then help my cause at advertising my eventual book so... yeah. Call me crazy, but that's the plan. If nothing else, it will be fun for me. I love hearing myself speak.
Beyond that, there has been pretty much nothing. I've been alienating myself from everyone, so if you haven't heard from me... it's the quicksand, not me. I don't really have anything else so, until next time (not a month from now, I promise)...
Dream Big,
Ian
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