It has been a busy time...

For good and for bad, I have been busy - but not in the getting-paid-great-amounts-for-the-time sort of busy. I am, however gaining great experiences and skills. Learning new editing tools and working with other cameras.

I have been enjoying my time with most of the folks at Channel 19 in Oxford, but there are always a few bad apples. To those people I suppose I am the bad apple, but I am not a time waster...and I am progressive and creative...they are stagnant and unmotivated. They get together in little sets and kvetch, and go online and monkey around, but never really do much useful work. The time spent in the studio is mainly blowoff time, and stroke their own ego time, while I don headphones and try to muddle through.

There is a huge need for these folks to hear themselves talk in spite of the fact they say very little which is pertinent to the tasks at hand. They interrupt thoughtful work time for "hey, c'mere and look at this" tomfoolery...or get into heavy-handed discussions of non-sense and (again) non-pertinent work matters, and then attempt to derail my thought processes to make themselves seem/feel/whatever more important.

But why?

If you are good at what you do, and do the things you say you will do - can do - then simply do it. Those things you can help others do - when asked - simply instruct, watch to be certain they are getting it, then leave them to their own devices.

Ah well. I don't suppose there are any areas of employment that won't be filled with prima dona's (and 'don's'), wannbe's and tremendously huge ego's. Everyone is so concerned about making themselves seem better than everyone else, or covering their asses for mistakes made instead of making certain something works and then commiting and owning the finished product, that they can't be happy when someone else creates work which is not so shabby and gets a little attention.

Don't feel threatened! Feel happy the team is stronger.

Sadly, this group is run by another person who may or may not have the skills he hires others to use to the station's benefit. He leads by example, and it is not a stellar one. So, this is why my excellent learning opportunity is tempered with caution and dismay. I am being paid minimum wage to work no more than 20 hours in a week...but it is becoming rapidly stagnant and disgruntling...and I had hoped the shine of a very creative new future would not wear off so quickly.

Take care of yourselves and be happy - I am still wearing my smile.