Fireworks

Sorry for the delay everybody, it's been a busy few days:

Last weekend, I did something I haven't done in 4 1/2 years: I went on vacation. It wasn't a very long trip (two days, one night) and my destination wasn't exactly an exotic locale (Bettendorf, Iowa), but goshdarnit, it was a vacation. That might sound strident, but I haven't taken a real trip in 4 1/2 years. Plus, I've been so frustrated with myself that I was desperate for change of scenery. These last nine weeks of unemployment have been simultaneously interesting and boring; this has been the first time I've relaxed since graduating ISU, but it's hard to keep yourself motivated or entertained when funds are low, friends are distant, and a lifelong dream is starting to feel like a distant memory. The only advantage to my down time is that I'm finally catching up with my DVR.

The trip to the Quad Cities was actually quite pleasant. My dad's a St. Louis Cardinals fan and their single-A affiliate plays over in Davenport, and we'd both been wanting to see Modern Woodmen Park. (Click here for more information on the stadium's history.) We left for Iowa at about 10:30am on July 4th, arrived at our hotel just before 2, and headed for the ballpark around 5. The game itself posed a curious matchup. The Quad Cities River Bandits (the Cards' affiliate) features a disproportionate number of their parent organization's top prospects, including pitcher Shelby Miller and shortstop Niko Vasquez. That night's visitors, the Burlington Bees, make up for a lack of blue chip prospects with excellent defense and strong all-around fundamentals. In the end, substance topped flash as the Bees defeated the Bandits 4-1.

As for the job search- it took more than two months, but I finally made some progress; the one drawback is that it's not in the radio industry. Apparently, the hiring process of the life insurance industry has three steps: a company introduction, a one-hour summary of the sales process, and finally a one-on-one job interview. The first step was last Wednesday, the second step a day later. The long-awaited job interview was this afternoon (my first in this entire ordeal) and 90 minutes later the company shipped me right off to training. I've never worked in sales before, but I'm ready to take on a new challenge. This is not by any means my farewell to radio, but the job market of late has not been kind to us twenty-something entry-level types. I thank you all for your support, and I'll try to keep you posted on my adventures in this brand new field inbetween my usual weekly musings.