The Process: Take 2

Building a hockey rink your backyard, you need two things; fairly level ground, and cold. Now in the process of waiting for the weather to cool before I complete the last step of securing the liner in place and filling my temporary backyard pool with H20. I have found a company that will come and pump in chlorinated water and fill it in about 20 minutes... but you know, I much perfer the all day hose run. I'm hoping to borrow water hoses from three neighbors this year and if I can line it up, should be able to fill the rink in about 3-4 hours. It's a longer process, but I'll get the neighbors excited about being a part of the rink, which they all love watching the kids skate during the winter, and sometimes half the fun of getting there is getting there.

I wish I could say the same about renewing the process of finding employment again. I was laid off for about 7 months starting back in January after ShopNBC cut it's work force by about 15% in the series of 2 lay offs. I had worked my way up the "corporate ladder" for six years at home shopping's number three. A unique blend of infomercial and reality programming. Motivating viewers to action. I've often classified it as the third form of tv production. Of course there's news, which is informative television. There's couch potato tv, which is pretty much 80% of television. All entertainment type shows. Sit-coms, dramas, entertainment news, reality shows... mind numbing dribble which might make you laugh or cry or feel something, but most often just time wasting entertainment, and then there's motivation tv... aka home shopping. Trying to entice the viewer to pick up the phone, reach into their wallets and spend money.

I've now worked in all three areas, producing news programs, entertainment series, (Kent Hrbek Outdoors for example) and home shopping/commercials. I've developed a Jack of all Trade mentality and feel comfortable producing any type of programming for the television industry. But folks, it's not the most stable industry to be in and as I've found in bad economic times, especially here in the midwest, not the most secure. So, I now look at other options. 

A producer is in essence the guy who makes sure everything you need to have happen, happens. Every last detail, staying under budget, developing an end product and in the process, making it worth watching. There are tricks to the trade, and are good crews and bad crews, but being the producer, regardless of your parameters you are ultimately the one responsible for making sure the job gets done. That translates to a number of other corporate jobs, but getting young HR recruiters to see that connection, I've found, is tricky.

With the new hope for our country now voted into office, my hope is that our nation takes on a new direction, and because of that I'm also considering a new direction. I certainly feel I have a higher purpose they battling around from one production to the next, and that is why I'm strongly considering getting my teaching degree and teaching and coaching hockey full time. There is so much satisfaction, giving back and I've found over the last 4-5 years of coaching, I'm pretty good at it.

So as that process unfolds, it will be one of the topics of conversation. Keep plugging through the "tv industry" or get out of the television business and into b2b or b2c corporate life, or get the teaching certificate and teach. Regardless, it will be a major focus as we roll through the end of 2008. 

In the meantime, there are rinks to build, basements and 3rd floors to renovate and of course hockey. Enjoy the chill... winter is coming.