First Days At Shell

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.72.60
Current Song - Hunger Strike (Temple of the Dog)

Shell is going to be a good experience. I began training there on Wednesday and am starting to get the jist (sp?) of it. Some things are similar to BP, but there's a lot more paperwork than I was used to. Plus, I've never had to actually close a store before. There's a lot more security involved as well. Plus a lot more consenquences than there ever were at BP (until the Ghanshyam jihad took over).

WLLT, on the other hand, didn't give me a clear date as for a hire. But they said they were still interested in me. So for now, it's just a wait-and-see for them. Once I do get the call, I'll do comparing with hours, and if there is a conflict, I'll leave Shell and go to WLLT.

It gives me something to do for the time being; and I'll earn money for it.

There are a couple of college studies to catch up on before I'll go back to writing something sports-related.

Tuesday Job Update

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.42.60
Current Song - Cherie (The Four Seasons)

Went to Shell today. Found out they want me to work weekends and a couple of weekdays. That was going to conflict with the WLLT schedule. So I called WLLT today and let the boss know (left a message) that I want to know exactly when the hire date is going to be. He should call me today.

My options:

1. If I am high on the hire list AND the hire date is soon*, I plan to hold out of Shell. If I do get the WLLT job, I will determine what my work schedule there is. If I have enough time to get Shell as a second job, then I'll ask for it. If I don't get the WLLT job, I'll simply ask Shell for a second chance.

2. If I am high on the hire list AND the hire date is a ways away*, I will work at Shell until I get hired at WLLT. If I am unable to balance a work schedule between the two, I'll have to give my two weeks and move on to WLLT. It won't be a pretty thing for Shell, but I'm hoping that they'll appreciate at least SOME help.

3. If WLLT can't determine where I'm at, then I will work at Shell until I get hired at WLLT. If I am unable to balance a work schedule between the two, I'll have to give my two weeks and move on to WLLT. It won't be a pretty thing for Shell, but I'm hoping that they'll appreciate at least SOME help.

4. If WLLT does not look promising, then I'm at Shell.

*July 15th

Spread-out Sunday

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.22.60
Current Song - Reach Out, I'll Be There (The Four Tops)

I'm going to actually dig in my music studies tonight. There are a couple of power points to look at, and 50 pages to read tonight. No, I've not been assigned 50 pages, but that's what I have to do in order to catch up. I recieved my book not too long ago. I had to make a schedule of things to do before the first batch of assignments are due. This is the same class that I failed two or three semesters ago, because of third shift work difficulty. Now that I'm not working (at this moment), hopefully I can do better this time around.

The family spent the morning and afternoon in Freeport. We had fun in Krape Park (spell that backwards!): had a picnic and played bocche and badminton. I had a fun time moving around and swatting the birdie back and forth. I need the movement. Dad and Chris are into this thing called Geocaching (whatever it is) and they found a couple in the Park, at a church shrub, and one at Highland CC.

Speaking of Highland, I had never seen it before until today. Makes Sauk look like a high school.

Now to the money update: There are two front-runners - WLLT and East End Shell. However, if neither works out, I have a back-up plan, and it isn't pretty. I had to create an advertising plan for NISB. Advertisements are a waste of space for certain viewers of the site and can be distracting.

Shell update

Cutter's Log - Supplemental

Just got a call from East End Shell in Sterling.

This would be a huge step up from working at BP. A whole shift is done by myself, so I'll do twice as much work as I used to at BP. Plus, there are more customers coming into this station than BP. They do scratch-offs differently too.

Boy, will I have questions!

A step closer to radio?

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.12.60
Current Song - Only A Northern Song (The Beatles)

I got word about a reference call about my application for WLLT. I believe I was given positive reviews about me, which brings me closer to the job. Hopefully.

If I do get it, I hope I get it soon. I'm down to my last $95 :( I could also bring an Internet presence and possibly get a website started for them. All looks good for working there, and I'm crossing my fingers every day.

After about a year on the shelf, I finally got my MP3 player to work. It's a COBY about the size of an altoid tin. I had left it unused and accidentally put it under the computer lamp. Stupid me, I couldn't get it to work because the battery was dead.

I've got four songs on it, and hopefully will expand my tune list (and thus act like everyone else who has an MP3 player).

I'm going on a picnic with my family up at Lake Le-Aqua-Na tomorrow. I'm also going to the Rockford Library's local history room (home away from home) for more research. A couple of summer stories will come from the research I am about to do.

Welcome To My World

Cutter's Log - Supplemental

I had a life-changing experience almost three years ago. In half a minute, the billions of questions I had asked to myself over the years during school were answered. The day I found out I had been living with Asperger's Syndrome for the past 15 years was and will always be a very important day in my life.

The billions of questions I asked in school looked like this:

Why can't I talk to anyone?
Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me?
Why do I feel like I'm a ghost everywhere I go?
Will they listen to me if I talk?
Do they care about what I'm saying?
Why am I not entitled to love this girl?
Do others control my love destiny?
Why can't I choose who I like to go out with?
Why can't I choose who I like to hang out with?
Does family wealth really matter in school popularity?
Are football athletes really entitled to everything?

Then it expanded into work situations:

Just why do I have to do what is asked of me?
Why do I feel like I'm being treated like a pawn for your growth?
Why do people say that things "are done for a reason," and not say why?

... all to a point where I feel like I cannot continue to work for anyone anymore. The only thing they'll do is use me as a pawn. This is more typical, IMO, of the journalism industry. They're struggling and worrying more about their importance than anything. I've taken a stance (or heading toward it) on NISB that I don't want to worry about how popular I am amongst other media outlets, as long as I am doing my job and making people happy.

I did that at BP: just doing my job and making people happy. I never wanted to give a rats ass about how important the gas station was, or what I was doing to make the station compete with Johnson's or Mobil. My job is to serve the people, and not to serve the business.

Immediately, bosses who read the above statements are not likely to hire me. That's the unfortunate way business is: everyone wants to compete with another for absolute supremacy. The only companies that value their employees are those who are squashing competition and have no one to compete with.

Here's another thought about me in the workplace. I believe that my Asperger's is the reason why I am a loose cannon. At PSO I was once berated for being a loose cannon. I was ordered to follow suit, even though I was in disagreement. My disagreements with PSO are legendary. I didn't want to follow the company line at the Gazette, which led to me leaving. Crest Foods was just a problem with my ego, that I deeply regret. I felt like I was above others because I was on a track toward success, while everyone else was a temp worker. Then I disagreed with management at BP.

I have a feeling that if I go anywhere, I'm going to disagree with something. I value myself very well. I don't feel like I am a pawn for you.

But at the same time I am running out of money, and could be forced once again to act as a pawn for something or someone.

So Tired

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.81.60
Current Song - That's The Way of the World (Earth Wind & Fire)

It's 1:30 in the AM, I should be asleep. But I'm not. I just did some site work: adding more college bound athletes, links and testimonials. Got someone on the NISB mailing list. The next thing I'm going to do with site stuff is getting my Microsoft Word stories backed up onto floppy discs. I have last year's on two discs, and I've only got three left at the moment. Hopefully those three will be enough. After that, I'll be back into writing.

Still much more to do.

Balancing this with school is tough. I'm concentrating more on my Physics class than my online Music one. I had done well (86%) coming into the lab on Newton's Laws. I'm pretty sure I bombed it. Just a matter of knowing which formulas to use, and way too much scientific notation. I am doing well on my Music course (100% - but that's 6 of 6 points).

I have an idea on what to do with all of those pop cans that are keeping me awake. The garage here is full of absolute crap. I'm surprised the City hasn't condemned it yet. There were 10 garbage bags full of pop cans that Chris and I cleaned out yesterday. They had been put in there with the intention of taking them to a recycling center. That was about 10 years ago. The recycling center in Galt is paying $0.70/lb. I'm probably getting $20 from the garage alone.

Happy Birthday to NISB!

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.51.60
Current Song - Daniel's Song (Elton John)

It was four years ago today when I conferred with a couple of people and decided to create a replacement for NCI Preps. Now, today, Northern Illinois Sports Beat is turning four years old. The State of The Site Address is on the site right now.

There's still a lot of work to be done, but I got the bulk of it accomplished. I hope to get everything done by the start of the upcoming football season. Came up with some more story ideas too. I'm starting to get a timetable accomplished. One of the things I need to do is organize my desktop, and put past stories on floppy disks. Does anyone still use floppy disks anymore?

Still waiting on my Music textbook to come in.

More job possibilities

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.31.60
Current Song - Doin' Time (Sublime)

There is a video store in town that was accepting applications, so I sent one in. I also sent one to the Super Pantry right across the street. I don't think Shell is going to call me back.

So here's what happened along Route 66

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.21.60
Current Song - Then Came You (Dionne Warwick and the Spinners)

It's a habit of mine failing to tell what happened on big trips I make on here.

Anyway, my grandparents and I began our Route 66 trip in Lincoln. We had lunch there. I can't recall the name of the resturaunt, but their specialty was the Horseshoe. I had no idea what a Horseshoe was, but after looking on the menu it looked similar to something I ate at Ross's 24-hour resturaunt in Bettendorf:

Cheddar cheese
Fries
Bacon bits
Texas toast

stacked on itself in that order. The resturaunt was nice and had a bunch of old movie posters, vinyl records and even a western movie that played on a small TV. My grandparents took a few pictures of the Lincoln town square for a friend of theirs. There was also The Palms tavern located on the 66 route, as mention in our tour book, but that had since closed.

Elkville and Broadwell were minor stops. Broadwell was there the old Pig Hip resturaunt was located, until it caught on fire last year.

Williamsville is a nice town. I covered a couple of their softball games down at state in 2005, when they took 2nd. The first attraction was a repair shop with a lot of old 66 items. The owner says a lot of people do not stop and visit it because they think it's just a repair business. But what is inside makes it probably my favorite stop on the Route 66 tour. A lot of old machinery and gizmos used to do repair work. Plus there's a gift shop of really old stuff, you may think. That "really old stuff" are things that I like.

They had an unopened stubby bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon dating back to c. 1950s. I bought it for $2. I'm not going to drink it, of course, but I can say that I bought beer from a dry town (Williamsville is really a dry town). The town also has a museum of town history located in a couple of box cars.

Springfield didn't have a whole lot of stops, except for the old Shea's station and the Cozy Dog Drive-In. I had a corn dog from the first place to sell corn dogs on sticks. From there, the route splits in two. There's the 1930-1977 route, and the 1926-1930 route. We went on the recent route which took us through Waggoner.

We went through some other towns before hitting Litchfield. Litchfield is home to the Aviston Cafe and the world's largest baseball/softball indoor practice complex. It's also home to a furniture store called Small Furniture. Most of the Cutter family is small, as is my grandparents. So they wanted a picture in front of the store as sort of a pun.

We went through some more small towns, including Staunton, where there are a couple of old semis from Campbell's 66 (a turcking company or something). Then we went into Edwardsville, where they have a real nice downtown. From there, we went to Pontoon Beach and Madison where we met the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

The bridge, which goes across the Mississippi River, has been closed to traffic since 1968. The three of us walked on it, and grandpa and I walked the entire distance. That's something I like: being on the middle of a bridge overlooking a wall of water, with wind blowing toward or against me. You can see the tallest buildings of St. Louis from the bridge, as well as the Arch.

We stayed the night at a hotel in Edwardsville.

The next day I wanted to make a side trip to a town called Valmeyer (not on 66). The town is south of the Metro East, and west of Waterloo. I heard about it many years ago as a town that was destroyed by the 1993 flood which rebuilt on higher land. I wanted to see the old town and survey what was damaged. Almost everything had been destroyed, with only a few buildings left. It looked like an unbuilt plot of a town. The downtown was situated along Main Street south of the railroad. There's nothing on the other side of town except ball diamonds, the old fire station and an overgrown tennis court. You could see front steps of downtown buildings overgrown next to the main street's sidewalk. There are overgrown streets that look like small alleys, with stop signs still in place.

We went back home on the old Route 66 route from Staunton. From there to Springfield, remnants of Route 66 took the form of old stretches of pavement. That's pretty much it. Carlinville, along the route, has a very, very neat downtown. Sort of reminded me of the narrow streets in Europe. They have a town square also, and a wonderful county building.

We had dinner at a place called Charlie Parker's in Springfield. It had been featured in Diners, Drives and Dine-Ins on the Food Network. We were told of this place by the man at the Williamsville garage. The place was a throwback to the old diners of the 1950s, with vinyl records and barstools.

Before I get to the menu, I usually eat everything on my plate no matter how big it is. With that being said, I cound not finish the bacon cheeseburger burrito. The thing was 3 inches tall and 10 inches wide with nothing but cheddar cheese, ground beef and bacon bits. Looks like a heart attack, right?

Throughout our trip, we had tried to find the cheapest gas prices. Peoria was at $3.91 when we went down, and $3.99 when we came back. Most Metro East locations were at $4.09. We gassed up in Gillespie at $3.92, and then in Pekin at $3.91. The station in Pekin was an old one, and still had rotating odometer-like numbers on the gas pumps. Having worked at a gas station, that kind of interested me.

I wanted to go on another short side trip in East Peoria. But I thought grandpa and grandma wouldn't like to go up Lake Shore Drive. That's the road that goes across I-74 and is REALLY high up. I went up it once and saw the Peoria skyline while I was at the 2005 state softball finals. Maybe next time.

I took pictures of the trip, and should have them on my MySpace soon.

What's REALLY killing Print Journalism

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.01.60
Current Song - Hells Bells (AC/DC)

Why should thought be contained to themselves? Are there certain thoughts that are not allowed off of one's chest?

Hence, my thoughts.

What is killing print journalism is a simple concept: Following the company line.

Since the newspaper industry is tanking, they all have to bunch together and act alike. Thus, they create one collective mind of their own. Everyone is a clone of another. They all act alike. There's no room for creativity and new ideas. There's no room for difference.

The first sports editor to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart wins my services.

Whole lotta computer time

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.90.60
Current Song - Sweetheart (Franke and the Knockouts)

Today was the first day of Physics class. Seemed like I can do this go-around better than the last time I had a physics class. There's only 8 people in it, and I can get along with people better. I was very shy about group work the last time I took it. Seems okay.

Did some more work with the Music class. Did a short quiz on the syllabus and a brief "why I love the class" assignment. ZZZZZZZZ.

A friend of mine showed me the promised land of textbook buying: Amazon. Looks like my two books are going to cost me only $20 all together. Bookstore charges $270 I believe. My orders would be sent to me next week. Hopefully that will go okay. If so, that's a better alternative than bookstore shopping.

It's going to take me some time to get back in a routine of college studies. I believe the Music assignments seem like a "do all of this by (due date)" format. That worked out well the last couple times I did it. Still got plenty of work to do on NISB. I'm hoping it all fits well in schedule.

St. Louis

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.70.60
Current Song - With A Little Luck (Paul McCartney and Wings)

I'll be going on Leg 3 of the Illinois Route 66 trip this weekend. Leg 1 was from Chicago to Odell, Leg 2 was from Odell to Lincoln, and Leg 3 will be from Lincoln to St. Louis. I'll be staying overnight with my grandparents.

Should be a lot of fun. I like going down these historic routes!

Started working with my Music Appreciation internet class today. I think it'll work out okay.

So little time, so much to do

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.50.60
Current Song - California Soul (Marlena Shaw)

So much to spend, too!

Today I found out my books for this summer would cost a whopping $270! $161.00 is just for the Physics book. Four dollars for the lab manual. Another $105.00 is for the Music package: the book and 2-CD set.

The bookstore is operating in the red, duh! The physics book is only an inch thick, but brand new. There's got to be a CD or something in it. The music book and CDs were sold seperately, but they bunched it up and raised the price. Plus, they are accepting fewer and fewer buybacks. It really sucks. I happen to have the CDs for the music class, but I was lucky to have the book sold back. I don't think I should have sold it back now.

That would wipe me out, and I'll be operating in the red.

WLLT has recieved my app.

Super Pantry will be pending if WLLT doesn't get back to me soon.

Diet pop

Cutter's Log - Supplemental

On my late night pop run at Rock Falls Mobil (cheap 24 oz. 2-for-2.22 deal), I accidentally grabbed a diet pepsi instead of a regular pepsi. Once I had realized my mistake, I shrugged it off thinking it will be good for me.

Of course it's going to be good for me. I opened the diet pepsi at 1:00 a.m. and it is only 2/3 full as of 4:30 this morning.

I downed the regular Dew in 45 minutes.

WLLT?

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.40.60
Current Song - Hold The Line (Toto)

I was made aware of a opening at WLLT. At first, I'm like "shut up, you know my voice sucks." Then I was told there was some sports involved. Ca-Ching!

I guess I'm putting that ahead of the Super Pantry opening right now.

Staying Afloat

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.30.60
Current Song - Stranglehold (Ted Nugent)

I have recieved over 500 bucks in tax rebates and economic stimulus payments. I'm living off of that, money that I have earned at BP, and personal monies. I guess a good thing is that my Insurance payment went down a few bucks for the next session of payments. I'm going to not try to spend a whole lot.

Since it is getting nice, I'm thinking about planning the rummage sale before it gets too cold out. Also, the brothers are getting their bikes out and repaired. I don't know if my bike is fixable, considering that I last rode it a couple of years ago. That's what happens when you have a car. A full tank of gas is just over $50 with the price of gas at $4. I don't have any immediate plans on covering something somewhere this summer. There's a Glory Days research trip into the suburbs that I want to take. There's also the Wyanet school auction, but I do not know when that is. The first series of traveling is when football practices start. I plan on hitting Galena, Dakota, Plano and the Annawan/Wethersfield co-op.

Getting back on the bicycle is something I should start doing. But it's just trying to afford one that's making me feel iffy. I will start shopping around for one. I just have to find a bicycle that will be able to withstand my 290-pound body.

Getting the bicycle is one thing; actually riding it is another. At the 2004 Class A softball tournament, I suffered a severe sunburn while covering a 20-inning softball game. This is why my skin appears more red than most. It became one of the bodily sacrifices just to get a story published. However, the damage was so bad that subsequent times spent outside just got worse. I had to stop covering outside events that took place in open sunlight, unless I wore a long-sleeved shirt and put the maximum-proof sunscreen on. It took me a long time to realize how important sunscreen really is. I wasn't able to buy any until just recently (it's $10 for SPF 55). I think I look dorky with an umbrella.

Who knows, maybe I can do a repeat performance of the Geneseo trek I made in 2002.

If I don't have a bicycle, I could always walk. When the bike was broke, that's what I would do. Then I got the car. Walking does involve more beaming sunlight, however.

Another way I can save money is by eating less fast food ("Cody, you moron!"). My typical fast food meal costs around seven bucks. Cutting back on that will help immensely.

With a boatload of website restructuring and updates left to do, I still need to get back to the normal sleep cycle. This is because my classes begin next week.

I am hearing of a part-time opening at the BP/Super Pantry across town.

The Six-Dollar Man

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.03.50
Current Song - Let My Love Open The Door (Pete Townsend)

Cody Cutter, Sportswriter
A kid barely alive
Sportswriters, we can rebuild him
We have the experience
We have the talent to make him the world's first super sportswriter
Cody Cutter will be that man
Better than he was before
Better
Smarter
Faster

Okay, I'm awake. What a weird dream.

No more gambling!

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.82.50
Current Song - Let's Get Down (Tony, Toni, Tone)

So I recieved a free hotel stay at the Isle of Capri resort in Bettendorf. I used that up last night as I was going to a couple of board meetings. Two new coaching hires were taking place at East Moline UT and Moline.

The UT hire was the sophomore coach. They had a press conference and everything announcing it. That's something you don't see at other schools: press conferences. The other board meeting was at Moline. Moline's district offices are located in a nice, big, old house in the middle of town. There are a couple of Ph.D.s on the board, which is something you don't see a lot of. Coach Webber wasn't there (I should have figured before I went there), so I've only got Polite's hire to write about.

While at the hotel, I wanted to go to the casino. Mind you, that I told my parents that the next time I lost money at a casino, I was never going to gamble again. So I lost $80 there, and exited never looking back. This was at the blackjack table, too.

I went out in climactic fashion. I was down to my last ten dollars when I was dealt an ace-ace. Normally, you split those, but I didn't have any money left. Damn! So I had to hit. I got an 8, which brought my total to 20. Then the dealer gets a 21. Double damn!

At 22, this was my first hotel stay by myself. I got a nice view of K&K Hardware (a true value store in Bettendorf) from my room.

I also did some sightseeing in the Quad Cities, going to places that I had never seen before. Normally, when I'm with the family going to the QC, we take the same stupid roads (John Deere, I-74, Kimberly). I saw St. Ambrose, the QC Times building, the Dispatch/Argus building, TV-6's studios, went into Arsenal Island, Ben Butterworth parkway, East Davenport, etc. It's funny how a little freedom can be exciting. Other than Chicago, the QC is my favorite metro area to go to (sorry Rockford).

The largest commonly visable landmark is the I-74 bridge. If you've never been on that bridge, go on it. Bring someone to hold onto, as well. The bridge is situated high above the Mississippi and is narrow. I never used to be somewhat afraid of going across, until the Minneapolis bridge collapse. You see, the bridge is 70-some years old. But it will be replaced in the next ten years. I cross that thing 5 times when I was there.

I wrote my site's State of the Site Address there too last night. It will be put up on the site's 4th Anniversary (June 15).

No more gambling! But I did recieve another thing in the mail: two $10 free cash coupons. I'm just going to walk in, take the cash, and drive to the nearby Shell and put it in the tank.

Infinite Bogey

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.32.50
Current Song - Enter Sandman (Metallica)

Not even Metallica can wake me up today.

I seem to have lost my typing ability. My hands are weak and can't seem to press down on the keys correctly. I was able to put out a column about high school sports journalism, but was afraid to release it. I feared that they'd all murder me by firing squad. After re-reading it, I did sound like I wanted to anniliate all of them. So that's the end of that column. Stupid me.

College Plans, once again

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.71.50
Current Song - I do (Toya)

Now that Sauk has screwed up my college plans, I've been forced to make some changes to my plans.

I will still take Physics 175 and Music 210 this summer. But I don't know if I will be able to take Humanities 150 this fall. That's because I may have to spend AN ENTIRE YEAR taking a journalism class somewhere else.

I have been awarded 36 credits as of the completion of this spring's classes. GPA: 2.05 :(
I have 7 credits pending upon completion of this summer's classes.
At the end of the summer I will have earned 43 credits.

I could take a whole year with the journalism study at another college: 3 + 3 = 6

I'll have 49 credits at the end of Spring 2009.

I have 15 credits left to go in order to get my Associate's Degree.

1 summer class: Summer 2009.
2 fall classes: Fall 2009.
2 spring classes: Spring 2010.

Graduate in Spring 2010.

***

Course Fees and tuition for other colleges (tack on $10 for other fees):

Sauk Valley CC: $80.00 per credit hour.
Clinton or Scott CC: $153.00 per credit hour. $103.00 per credit hour if I lived there.
Rock Valley CC: $245.00 per credit hour. $61.00 per credit hour if I lived there.
Illinois Valley CC: $242.50 per credit hour. $60.50 per credit hour if I lived there.
Highland CC: $128.00 per credit hour. $76.00 per credit hour if I lived there.

I am going to make another appointment with my academic advisor to see if I can transfer to another institution for one year, and then come back.

Highland's journalism classes run from 5:00 to 6:15 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
JOUR231 and JOUR232

If I am unable to do so, I am going to transfer fully to Clinton CC.

Not a good past 24 hours for me :(

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.41.50
Current Song - Low (REM)

NOTE: THIS BLOG ENTRY IS BROKEN UP INTO SMALLER ENTRIES. IT'S BEEN AN ABSOLUTELY AWFUL LAST 24 HOURS.


FUNDS ARE LOW

Since I quit my job (totally justified) I haven't been able to make any money. Okay, so there was Birthday money.

I had a bad run at a casino on Monday afternoon. Not going to one again.

I'm down to about $500 in my name. I'm in the middle of putting my junk together and starting a rummage sale. I'm selling my electronic keyboard, probably my stereo, small stuff and about 10,000 baseball cards (2/5 of my entire collection).

Plus, it will get rid of clutter that's been piling up all over the house. I've already laid claim to the basement couch and old entertainment center.


SUCK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE REJECTS MY JOURNALISM CLASSES

It seems like everyone has their own Sauk Valley Community College horror story. I can now claim to have one of my own.

I am persuing an Associate's Degree in Mass Communication. In order to get that degree, I have to take two Journalism classes. They were not offered when I first arrived at SVCC in Fall 2005. When I was working with the Voyager, there was a Journalism tutorial class offered. But I had enough in my workload planned by then, so I couldn't take it.

This past March, I had my "academic check-up" (as I like to call it), and there was hope that the Journalism classes would be revived as a tutorial. That decision would be made final by the Vice President of Academics.

Two weeks ago, I asked the VP of A for permission to take the beginning Journalism class. He would come up with a final decision at the end of the school year.

Yesterday, I get an e-mail from the VP of A's secretary, asking me for a reason I would like to take the class:

"I talked with (him) regarding your inquiry about being able to take the ENG 151 as an independent study and he wondered why you wanted to take it. Is it to fulfill a specific requirement for a program or are you just interested in taking it? If you could let me know your reasoning, I would appreciate it."

My response was:

"First, ENG 151 (and 152) are required for the A.A. in Mass Communication, which I am persuing. It is my understanding that these classes were cut due to low enrollment. However, they were revived as tutorials in 2006-07.

Second, I am not fit to transfer to another college. If I did, I may be in violation of a residency requirement."

The VP of A e-mails me later in the day (five hours later):

"I am sorry, but the College will not be in a position of offer ENG 151 to you as a tutorial.
I do not expect the College will offer this class again next year and encourage you to meet with an advisor to see in which other program of study the courses you have completed will fit."

WHAT?

I'm pretty sure my reasoning was clear that since you offer it, I have to take it. Right? If I said that I wanted to take it just for the heck of it, I'm pretty sure that request would have been denied. So do I take this as it was going to be denied anyway? I guess no one in the English department wants to take time to do this. The college President currently has Brian, the journalism instructor, tied up in his PR job.

So the Administration has totally screwed me over.

I'm looking at other institutions. Clinton and Scott CC's and Illinois Valley CC. Now I don't know if I have it better off moving into an apartment, or commuting and paying an out-of-district fee. I will continue to take my two summer classes at Sauk. I may have to pull out of the Norris class in the Fall.


FUTURE OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS SPORTS BEAT UNCERTAIN

Running out of money and gas prices skyrocketing just doesn't mix. I've had to put off A LOT of Spring events because the travel was just too great. I resorted to writing news-like sports stories just to stay fresh in my writing. There hasn't been a whole lot of that, except NCIC expansion and the Steve Sandholm suit.

I want to get into the habit of writing more periodically. Earlier in the blog, I outlined a plan to apply to the Ottawa Times, LaSalle News-Tribune and the Freeport Journal Standard. It looks like Ottawa is looking for some spring help, but I'm going to see if I can be of any help for them in the fall. Freeport I hear takes a long time to cut stringer paychecks. LP I don't know much about, except that it is one of the smaller papers in the area.

If I land at one of those, I'll have to make some drastic changes to the content side of the site, but still retain the message boards.

That's Plan A.

Plan B involves creating a second website called NewRocSter.com - basically a site with articles about Sterling, Rock Falls and Newman sports. It would act as an unofficial text supplement to the Sterling and Rock Falls sites. They have the pictures and video, I'll provide the stories. I'd have to make money selling archives of articles - and get a paper route. That would bring me back to making half of what I did at BP.

Either way, the NISB Message Boards will always be up and running if any changes are made.


INTERNET CONNECTION BITES

The Internet connection here sucks. It disconnects every 30 minutes for some reason. Three times since I began typing this. The computer here is eight years old (that's 80 in computer years), and is a Pentium III processer. It just can't keep up with today's increasing demands.

Dad is thinking about buying a new computer. When he does, he asked if I could possibly have any use of the present one. I'd like to. It's a free computer! I'll just have to pay for an Internet connection. Plus, after transferring 85% or so of the computer's stuff to the new one, I'll have what's left. Maybe that will help the computer run better when I have it for my own.


IT'S ALL ONE BIG KNOT

Everything mentioned has to do with one another. Finding a job right now will affect the newspaper job search, which will affect NISB. It's hard for me to find a filter here. Carrying on with another odd job will further damage my writing.

The LaSalle News-Tribune will be getting an introductary packet soon. I'll be requesting $25-50/story.

Light bulb shines

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.01.50
Current Song - Baba O'Reilly (The Who)

I have an idea to get back into the print journalism world.

I would like to target the Ottawa Times, LaSalle News-Tribune and Freeport Journal-Standard into this idea that will help them save on gas mileage and get those "God awful, parent-bitching" away game stories covered. I chose those three because they have teams that come toward my way regularly, and have later deadlines. The deadlines part is so because I have little-to-no deadline experience.

The three of them are papers that do a very good job covering their local sports teams. Freeport has the whole Upstate Illini covered, Ottawa and LaSalle have the entire Illinois Valley and the Little 10 covered.

Where I'm located, we've got Sterling, Newman, Rock Falls, Dixon, Morrison, Sterling Christian, Amboy, Ohio, Erie, Prophetstown, Fulton, Milledgeville, Polo and a few more. I'll just say I'm able to go to the schools located in the Sauk Valley News coverage area.

Ottawa and LaSalle cover NCIC teams - I am around NCIC teams
Freeport covers NUIC teams - I am around NUIC teams
Ottawa and LaSalle cover Marquette and St. Bede, respectively - I am around Big Rivers teams
Freeport, Ottawa & LaSalle playing in the QCA / Geneseo? - I'm closer to the QCA than they are

I can write columns
I can write sports-like news stories

Stringer pay is fine - $20 or more per article
I can write 7 or more articles a week if necessary

I know street fighting, so I can kick my brothers off of my computer

I'm more of an old school writer; I don't attempt to sprinkle fairy dust on it.
I believe in teamwork, therefore I am not in the business to perk up any one athlete(s).

All, plus more, explained in the cover letter I can write.

Moline Dispatch

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.90.50
Current Song - Fool For The City (Foghat)

Look what just opened up ...

Company: Moline Dispatch Publishing Company, LLC
Position: Sportswriter
Location: Moline, Illinois
Job Status: Full-time
Salary: $25,000 to $30,000
Ad Expires: June 13, 2008
Job ID: 595356
Website: http://QCOnline.com

Description:

Successful candidate will:
* have broad knowledge of sports and strong math skills
* be able to work efficiently and accurately under nightly deadline
* have healthy skepticism coupled with ability to ask probing questions
* have developed sense of curiosity and willingness to offer new ideas
* be comfortable dealing with all types of people
* be thick-skinned
* be open-minded
* be bold, enterprising and able to think on his/her feet
* be able to work well independently in the field but also as a part of the sports reporting team
* have excellent English language skills – both written and verbal
* have degree in journalism (or related field) or equivalent life experience
Prefer candidates with work experience as newspaper or broadcast reporter.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS require: ability to work in all climatic conditions; valid drivers license and safe driving record; ability to effectively and efficiently use editorial computer systems.

EXPECTED WORK SCHEDULE: Generally 40 hours/week, weekend work mandatory, hours will vary.

We offer: base salary plus bonus compensation program. Medical/prescription/dental. Vision care reimbursement, 401k/profit sharing, paid vacation, holidays and personal days and much more.

Send cover letter and resume to: humanresources@qconline.com Subject line: sportswriter(text files only)

Okay, looks like they are asking for too much out of me.
Call me back when you have a part-time or correspondant opening.

Comeback Attempt?

Cutter's Log - Stardate 8002.70.50
Current Song - Sirius (Alan Parsons)

I have been preparing to make a comeback attempt to event articles. It's just a matter of combating these high gas prices and taking time to fit these events into a schedule. I'm out of work at the moment, and am trying to sell stuff I don't want in order to make ends meet. I'll have a listing of stuff for sale on here soon.

I came up with a list of good high school sports events From now until the end of SY 2007-08. I'm probably not going to go to all of the events, but the ones I'll be at I'm going to concentrate on doing Q&As and Team Spotlights. Plus on each stop I make, I'll carry around the NISB/IHSGD flyers.

A while ago, I made a post on the Sports Journalists.com message boards opening myself to any part-time help or desk jobs in Northern Illinois. I only got one response, from the Crystal Lake-based Northwest Herald. They said they were always looking for correspondents. One of the games I plan on going to is a softball game next Wednesday at Burlington Central (who hosts Marengo).

I'm working on a plan to go back to gamers by this upcoming fall, and trying to incorporate it with a job I may get.