Jan. 8, 2008

Day 2 as an intern.

So I'm going to be honest and tell you that today felt like a big waste of my time. Well except for the game night part of it. The actual "day" part of it sucked.

All, and I repeat, ALL I did today was watch my supervisor work on some projects on Avid. I mean it was cool to see what his standard of work is, but in terms of being useful and actually doing something...that part was null and void. I mean I just felt useless and dumb.

See, I'm the type of guy who is a hands on learner, and if I'm not given a chance to learn hands on...I'm probably not going to learn as much. So when he says to read instead of do, my learning curve is going to be a little more flat lined. Yea, I'm still working on the manual, which by this point in time, I see as useless for me because I'm reading about things I have no clue about. So I don't know where I go from here, but I gotta be honest, even if I'm logging tapes...that's better.

Another thing I'm kind of upset about is how my supervisor kind of came off to me today. He was really kinda cynical towards my aspirations and knowledge of material. Now before I go off and potentially jeopardize myself, let me state that I understand why. I understand he is trying to get me to see things in the real world setting. I understand that. But at the same time, how do you expect an intern to be productive when sometimes all you have to say towards him is negative? I mean let's be real here, no one wants to be surrounded by people who are always talking down to you, especially in the work setting. So hopefully, that's just a training thing and not something personal. We'll see where that goes.

I also feel like I'm being 1) too clingy and 2) a pest. I ask a lot of questions. I talk alot. I don't know where to go around the arena yet. I haven't settled in and therefore am very stiff when it comes to doing things, because I don't know what to do. So I feel like people are thinking "Man, this intern needs to just go somewhere and do something!" Well, the thing is,I don't have the answer to either of those requests simply because I don't know enough yet. But then when I'm asking questions almost all day, how do you not feel like you are just bugging people as they are trying to get things done? I don't know...I just wish I felt a little more valued and a little more trusted. I guess in due time though.

That brings us to the "night" portion...which was amazing. After dinner, which was free, I was able to follow around a camera guy for a while and help him with a few assignments...which was cool. Then I sat in the control room for the arena as the game went on. That was just amazing. You would never believe the amount of work it takes to put on a professional sports game at least within the stadium but these guys know their stuff. It was cool to see how just almost effortless it was for them to go from shot to shot and never miss a beat. It was also nice to see all the different camera angles and aspects that the control room has to deal with. Graphics, live shots, replays, and alot of other things they incorporate. Very good product though, and very well managed live show. I loved it.

I then went and spent the 3rd quarter hanging out with a few of the radio broadcasters. My dream setting. They were a great time, keeping the mood in there very funny. A great group of 4 guys who I'm sure I'll be spending more time with and who knows, maybe even get on the air a few times after the games. We'll see.

I left with about 8 to go in the fourth...but I know the outcome. W anyone? That's right. Say goodbye to that 3-game losing streak and say hello to the win column. Hopefully this is the start of something new. Until tomorrow, it was good seeing the team nab a victory and I hope the trend continues.

Oh, one more thing. I saw Jordan tonight. And I was an arm's reach away from May. Yea, that's right. It was cool.