Okay

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.30.09
Current Song - My City Was Gone (The Pretenders)

Kewanee may still be looking to get out of the NCIC, a new "reliable source" report from NISB's message boards. My prior report had said that they were going to stay ... "(but) if something were to come up, the district would be ready to address the situation in a timely manner". So it's not like they were lying to me, and it's not like I was misinterpreting it.

It just means I need to have reliable sources. Wait, I already do. It's just that I'd feel a little more better to hear it some those who are not secondary, third-ary, fourth-ary (you get the point) sources.

Somehow I'm getting the feeling that there is/are certain admin(s) that don't want me doing what I'm doing.

Phase II

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.82.90
Current Song - Kind of Blue (Miles Davis)

You can read all about it on NISB - in Cody's Corner.

My mind is ENTIRELY wrapped around the development of this.

Too much work

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.42.90
Current Song - Start Me Up (Rolling Stones)

I put in a 26-hour weekend. I'm glad to be home. 19 of those hours were spent in charge of a shift (all 26 if you count 3rd shift).

I'm sorry to hear about IHSFW (Illinois High School Football Weekly) shutting down. Lack of ad revenue. I can understand that. Streator Sports is in the same boat as well. I never began an advertising plan for NISB, and obviously I have never made a profit. My passion is what keeps me running, and for those who are thinking I too may go under, I intend to plan on keeping NISB until it is absolutely humanly possible that I can't do it anymore.

It is, though, getting harder for me to keep running it. But I have found ways to keep it alive with my brutal schedule: and I hope my next column will help shed some light on what I want to do.

Bags under my eyes

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.12.90
Current Song - West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys)

I've been up nearly 24 hours so far. I'm about to go to sleep right now, and will wake at 5:30 PM and immediately head to Amboy, for a big game against Morrison. Then off to work.

Then either off to the boat in Clinton or work on Saturday night. I don't know which.

Then sleep for 6 hours and head back to work again Sunday morning. It could be a solo day.

By Monday I will need to be carried in a stretcher.

Sports Journalism ... a little different

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.51.90
Current Song - Listen to What the Man Said (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Sports journalists typically go to sporting events, and write about them. They also pick and choose who they want to do a story on. I've been doing this for quite some time.

In college, if you are pursuing a journalism major, you are going to do things that involve just plain news. I can't write sports stories and feature stories and expect a degree in journalism. Thus, I wonder if conference board meetings, and IHSA town hall meetings are open the to public, or media? Think about it, you rarely see this.

I'm planning on attending Kewanee's school board meeting next Monday. They may briefly discuss the possibility of leaving the NCIC. Do I make a story out of that?

Paranoid ... I WAS paranoid, now I'm not

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.21.90
Current Song - Arms of an Angel (Sarah McLaughlin)

I don't know what that song is called.

I was getting worried about my journalism career, my academic career, and my tenure at BP. I've just learned to settle down a bit and take things one at a time.

I've got the three-night stretch of work coming up. I've got to accomplish that along with writing a story fiction story revolving around a character sketch someone gave me. I'm not into writing fiction stuff; in fact, I don't get the whole point of fiction. To me, it is all fluff. My journalism revolves around being straight-to-the-point. I like my fiction to be that way, but then it can't be called fiction w/o the fluff.

I was also thinking about my writing for a bit. I always made myself readily available to work when I was working at SVN. That's why they made my do the little league softball stuff. When I noticed that only one local high school event was covered and the rest left into capsules, I thought about the day when I used to dream about creating a Sterling/Rock Falls/Newman based website. Well, there's Sterling Pride and RF Rockets, so that idea is scrap until the future. I wonder if there is a way SP.com can entice a student into writing articles and recieving credit?

For a website like mine, I can really only be restricted to certain things. The day-to-day beat writing is something that I can do when my mind is off of school and BP. For now, Invitationals, Tournaments, and key friday night games will have to suffice.

Byron has a Volleyball Invite next Saturday, and Sterling has one the week after. Hampshire is currently undefeated at 13-0, but they have Harvard next Tuesday before going to Byron on Saturday. I've already done enough Big Northern, haven't I?

*Idea just popping* Create a Big Event List: every Invitational, Tournament and Shootout all across the board.

Starting with this basketball season, I will only do Invitationals, Tournaments, and Shootouts. I can criss-cross Thursday and Friday night basketball games.

The new schedule

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.11.90
Current Song - Doin' Time (Sublime)

NISB, Work, School

I've done this once already. I'm taking a smaller classload and I have somewhat of a smaller workload than last time, however it feels as if I can't do this.

My work has not been getting done lately.
My articles are NEVER on time.
My attendance is poor and my assignments are poor as a result.

I'm in a mess that I don't know how to get out of. I can't abandon the lone thing that is pumping money into my life. I can't abandon my profession and the reason why I am going to school in the first place. And I can't abandon school because it will make me feel like I have never accomplished much.

Works of fiction

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.40.90
Current Song - Don't Sleep in the Subway (Petula Clark)

Here's my problem with writing works of fiction, which I am supposed to do in Creative Writing class: These things take TIME! We spent 10 minutes writing about regret w/o writing the word regret. The entire 10 minutes was spent writing about preceding information leading up to the regrettal. So I didn't get this story done and it was a crock full of shit when read aloud.

Thankfully, though, our assignment is to expand on this story. It's due on Thursday (12:45 pm).

Master Plan for Future Survival

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.30.90
Current Song - Paradise City (Guns 'N Roses)

I'm seriously thinking about doing this. I figured that if I don't, then I'd be living in my mom and dad's house for the rest of my life. Unlike my brother Mike, who doesn't have a plan and just wants to get out of here, I've been trying to come up with something like this since I graduated high school.

It's taken a long time, as you can tell. I'm still in community college and still living with my parents. There's nothing wrong here. But at sometime, you just got to get up and go.

Hence, the Master Plan for Future Survival.

Tired but alive

Cutter's Log - Stardate 7002.10.90
Current Song - Closer (NIN)

I've been up since 6:00 PM Friday night. I've been up 15 1/2 hours as of this write. I'm heading to the RF Volleyball Invitational soon. However, that's not the record for most hours awake before covering a game. The record is 34 hours before the Marengo-Rock Falls softball game last year.

I'm coving the RF VB Invite today, in place of the Stillman Valley-Woodstock Marian football game 80 miles away.

Then Tuesday is Byron golf vs. Rockford Lutheran - the big rivalry in the Rockford area.

I'll be taking Thursday off.

Friday I will go to Rock Island to see the Rocks take on Chicago Hubbard, a CPL power. The best thing about this is that I have cleared it with Mema and Jess so that I can arrive at work at midnight if I can.

I'll also be taking Saturday off.