Okay...I cannot say I'm crawling from the wreckage, because I'm probably still in it. What have I been doing?
It's been a Weekend from Hell, in terms of being busy. I had to do what I call the turnaround; Saturday afternoon/evening at WITF, doing KYW Sports. Got some sleep, and was back up there for the first shift Sunday morning.
That ran until just before five, then rushed over to Clear Channel to produce the Bears playoff game on the Ticket.
You know you're dealing with sports junkies when you arrive at the station and find your boss rocking his custom-made Flyers jersey, with Jeff Carter's name and number. The Flyers were still battling the Sabres, and every team of interest was in a win or go home situation. Sixers won, but the Flyers and Bears were both in need of victories.
Now, I've blogged in the past about the hellish nature of Hershey Bears hockey games and the conditions at Clear Channel. Well, this night things worked alright. One hell of a game I'm working, while Art is watching the Flyers in the WHP live studio.
*Walkman Update* -- I'm starting mine because of certain things going on in the Office...I am no longer in a patient mood and must get this done while people talk about ghosts and stuff. You have to be here.
"Rollercoaster," by Black Mountain is first up...well, it was the last song in the shuffle, and when you turn on the Walkman there it is. Loud, heavy shit...NOT the Ohio Players/RHCP disco song, either.
Okay...so the Sixers faced elimination and beat the Heat earlier in the day. Flyers in big trouble with Buffalo; the game goes back and forth, and Art is living and dying with the Flyers. My friend Randy "the Rock" Johnson lives and dies with the Sabres, so there you are.
"Amazing Journey," the Who...Live at Leeds remastered. Nice...
Game goes to overtime...I can see the game on the TV monitor through my window from the Ticket across the hall and into the window of WHP. Art's glued to the screen.
During an intermission interview I get the chance to take the loooong walk down the hall, through the secured doors and into the bathroom. MURPHY'S LAW OF RADIO #69: THE RESTROOM SHALL ALWAYS BE THE FURTHEST PHYSICAL POINT FROM THE AIR STUDIO THAT IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. NO EXCEPTIONS.
So anyway, I'm coming back; I hear a SCREAM!!!
"Down on the Farm," James Blundell is next...interesting segue.
Immediately I wonder...is Art having a coronary or did he fall on his sword? Did the Flyers win or lose?
He screamed more than once. Anyway, yeah...the Flyers pulled it out in OT, so there's a Game 7 in that series. Art was so relieved.
Okay...he leaves not long after, and I continue to work a very contentious playoff game between the Bears and the Charlotte Checkers. This is a Game 6, too; the defending AHL champions are on the verge of getting rolled in the first round by the former Albany River Rats.
1-0 until late in the third, when the Bears finally push one past the Checkers' goalie, a guy named Murphy who has had Hershey's number all year. Jubilation! Redemption! You can just hear it through the voice of John Walton...they might just get 'er done!
Now, I've done pretty well to keep the game tight, and I'm not having any trouble. Except that pesky Macro (told you about those) that's mocking me at 8 pm.
The computer Macro is a command that orders the computer to take over, with specific programming at a specific time. These Macros are also fired usually every hour to keep the computer and the station synced up with the network.
"Bad News is Coming" -- Luther Allison, title track of a Motown album from '72. The only bluesman on Motown. Beautiful, gritty stuff.
Now...I can kill that Macro if I want. My friend and colleague Rob showed me a method of working the computer and the macros so I can get a smoother transition. Easy enough. I actually was able to figure out what to do.
Well, it all goes for nothing, because 90 seconds into OT, Charlotte scores...to again quote Rob, with a borrowing from Walton's own verbiage..."GOOD MORNING, GOOD NIGHT, GOOD LORD!"
Not quite what John says. Anyway, game over, season over, that's it, that's all. Went out well, John said nice things about us, and we're outta there.
Transition set, done and back to regular programming. Okay! Finally ended that season on a good note.
Now, the night ain't done yet!
I decided not to go home, because it was pointless to drive all that way, sleep four hours (maybe) then get up for WITF (again) and Morning Edition. So I availed myself of "Chez WITF."
There is a bed somewhere in the building (I won't say where) for employees who are overnighting due to bad weather. I think that's what it's for...essential personnel or something like that. There are also showers.
Very nice. So I did crash out, and much to my surprise I did get about four hours of sleep before the alarm went off. Okay...last leg of the triple.
"Morning Edition" had some minor glitches of my own doing, but none that anyone would have noticed. News went fine, mechanics getting better.
The stressful part is building a news log from scratch. I mean, the stories are pretty much all there, apart from anything you find on the overnight. Steps, lots of steps and computer stuff to do. On and on and on...
Did the first two hours, and didn't do bad at all. Tim's happy with me, thankfully. So...here I am four hours later, still awake, working on three cups of coffee since early this morning and a large marble mocha and trying to keep enough energy going to finish one or two last tasks before I go to bed. Really.
"Rambunctious Boy," John Fogerty comes over the Walkman. "Blue Moon Swamp" was a great CD, stands up to "Centerfield" easy...in fact, it kills "Centerfield."
More ideas have come for "Silk Road Days," and I'm going to be adding more to the front of the plot. This book could go a bit longer than the others I've written. Not a series, at least not yet. I gotta see where this thing goes. I have no idea.
Damn, it's a nice day out there. Sun's out, gonna be like 80 today, if not hotter. Back to WITF Thursday and Friday for this...so I'll again be awakening at 2:30 in the morning soon. Joy.
But now I've a couple days off. What to do, what to do? Well, I have a lot to do. My brain needs to digest more stuff from the job, and I have to arrange and schedule so much shit.
"I Me Mine" -- The Beatles (the Let it Be Naked version).
With that, I gotta do something...crash, burn, something........................
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