The Start of a New Season

6 months later and one move across the country again, and I'm back to hopefully bring you more interesting info of this Radio DJ's life. Sometimes you get so wrapped-up in life and the craziness within that you really don't have time to do anything extra--this including chatting on AOL, watching TV even online, checking a movie out at the Redbox, or even blogging. No apologies this time to my readers--I couldn't do everything, so I had to take a little chill-pill on certain things.

In the last 6 months, I started to realize more and more about who I am and what I need to do in this world, or at least what I need to open myself up to in the whole spectrum of the Lord's plan. I began to really connect with a lot of people in the town, I enjoyed most of my coworkers, I had gained a family in my church and a few little brothers and sisters through theatre, and I had gone through 2 winters--something that most northerners would have never thought a southern gal could do. But I still knew something bigger was in store for me, something that I've always known but was never the right time...or I should say, it wasn't God's time, not even if I begged and pleaded. What I really think kicked things into gear was the work relationship with my co-host and the hamster-in-wheel feeling that continued to grow at work. When you know it's time to move on, there are those truth-telling signs that show up. I think a big one for me was my creative juices continued to bubble up, but they were continually shut down or stifled, whether due to not enough resources, not enough manpower, or just excuses that were getting very annoying and redundant. There was no way to move up, nothing more I could do in a small market, and so I knew it was time. The other factor was the work relationship with one particular person. Don't get me wrong, the man is AWESOME with imaging and mixes and definitely knows how to feel a crowd out (in a club DJ sense), but we just kept on butting heads more and more and more. I don't know what happened and I wish it was something that I could change, but the fact was that things weren't getting better. Maybe (and to what I believe) it was a mix of bitter feelings he had lingering inside (7 years in a very small market can do that to you) plus not really knowing how to deal with a co-host that was actually friendly and fun. His 2 previous co-hosts were extreme feminists, and one was downright mean, and between those 2, he had developed a type of defense mechanism. Well, in walks little 'ol me--nice, funny, and down-to-earth--not something he was use to. The first year was good, all went very smoothly, but than he didn't know how to react after that. Maybe he thought I was going to turn on him, or maybe he thought it was a complete facade I was putting on, but whatever it was, he decided to put up his defense. A little insult here, a little harder tease there, and as time continued, arguments and belittling went on and on. As I said, he is wonderful in the work he does, and I respect him for that and I do thank him for the tips he gave me over the last (almost) 2 years, but I really couldn't work with him anymore.

I started my job search around March, as stated in my last blog entry, and as the weeks and months went on, I was applying to about 3-4 stations a week. It wasn't until around June that I received an email from this Christian music radio station in McAllen, TX -- "Are you still interested in a job with us?" I had to refresh my memory about who the station was and what position I had applied for, but it didn't take me long to write back and say Yes! Around this time, I was working on doing my first (and only) radio project that I co-created and fully took on all by myself--Special Occasions and Magic 104's Cuts for a Cause, a benefit for the Locks of Love Organization. My mentor helped give me the idea, Jim the sales exec helped secure the client to help with the event, and on June 27th, 14 people (including myself) donated hair, totaling 181 inches! The cool thing was that the client did all the haircuts for free and even wants to do it next year...sucks that I'm not there to help out. While in the midst of doing all this, I had interviewed over the phone twice with the station in McAllen, and I guess that they enjoyed me so much, they flew me down July 4th weekend for an in-person interview. After that, the rest is what I'm living now. They offered me the position of Production Director, plus Morning Show Producer AND Radio Personality--lots of responsibility in such a short amount of time. I would say that the titles (and my own office) weren't the only things that made me say yes. There was this inner person, this inner voice saying "Take It!!" It was in a waaayyyyyy bigger market (a really HUGE Medium size, maybe large in the next few years), the pay was a little more, the living expenses in the area were less, and there's been stuff going on with my family down in TX that I knew that I would either need a new job that would pay me A LOT more so I could fly down a lot more w/o breaking the bank, or just be closer so it wouldn't cost so much. This job was what I needed--it got me out of the rut I was in and it got me away from the bitterness and anger that started to develop in me b/c of someone else's beef.

I do miss ALLL of the people who cared for me, befriended me, loved me, and respected me up in the White Mountains, but I know that they knew I wasn't going to stay there for forever, and they know that I will always love them and thank them for the rest of my life! They also know that I will try and visit at least once a year, b/c they did become a type of family to me, and you shouldn't go more than a year without seeing familia. I hope that the way those people touched my life, well, I hope I was able to do the same, because that is one of the few great feelings and joys in between the absurdities that are thrown at us by the world every single day.

So I'm now in McAllen, have been here for a little more than a month, and I must say that it's been good so far. I almost made it 2 full years in the North Country, but I know that even though I didn't stay that long, I know I did all I could do, and hopefully brought a little change to it. I hope that those who aren't Christian saw that not all of us are judgemental or extremely conservative. I hope those who never really had someone to listen to them were able to have that one listening ear. I hope those who see the glass half-empty could start to see the glass half-full. And I hope that those who close their ears and eyes to new music, new thoughts, and new ideas of what the rest of the country is like (especially the southern part) can now see a better, more enjoyable realization of what is around them...and maybe explore and make opinions for themselves.

As I have in the past, and how I always will in the future, it's time to get off of here, prep for tomorrow, and then head to bed early because 4am comes way too quickly. Blessings and PEACE! :)

Oh, and P.S.--I'll probably have to find that list I had made about what I wanted to accomplish this year and start checking some stuff off. I guess that'll be next time!