Intern David’s Top Ten - Wed April 9, 2008

Over the last two and a half months it has been a privilege to work and learn along side some of the most fun-loving yet professional people I have ever met. My internship with the “Sarah and No Name Morning Show” on RadioAlice has been full of it’s fair share of triumphs and blunders. Nevertheless, I will always be grateful for the opportunities and experiences I was given during my short (but very eventful) time, and I take with me many memories and lessons that are sure to be useful as I continue my pursuit towards my ultimate dream, a career in film writing and production. 

So with that brief introduction, and without further adieu, I present to you my top ten moments and lessons I have collected during my reign as an intern:

1. Dedication
   • Having a job in general has been a new and exciting experience, however the commitment and dedication necessary to perform was unlike anything I had ever faced before. Required to be in the studio well before the sun comes up, I found myself juggling a harsh schedule as a full-time student at the
     University of
     California,
     Santa Cruz with an 80 mile, hour and a half commute, and a call time of 4:30 in the morning. It has been insane! But at the same time has been valuable. This is the type of industry where you have to push yourself towards your goals, so along with gaining experience, this internship has proven to me how capable and focused I really am.
2. Life as a Commuter
   • Among all the other things I have learned, I have gained a profound respect to all of those who deal with a daily commute to work. I always thought driving was fun. That was of course until I had to deal with long commutes back and forth between Santa Cruz and
     San Francisco while often finding myself in a race against the clock to get to class on time.
3. Gotta have love for the meter maids
   • I think my fellow interns would agree with me when I say that the meter maids SUCK!!! Most of us have already gotten our ass kicked by at least two or three tickets, and as a college student working an internship that is non-pay it becomes killer.
   • I will always remember my first ticket. Like a good little intern I remembered to make my way downstairs just before 9 to fill my meter for the next hour. I felt so proud of myself, partly because I avoided another ticket, and secondly because I avoided an “ass beating” from my Dad. However, that was all to be remiss for, when I arrived downstairs an hour later, low and behold a white envelope was gently pressed against my window. I forgot to turn my wheels! Of all the things in the world to get a ticket for, I forgot to turn my wheels! Jesus! They just try to get you for anything these days.
4. Living the Dream
   • One of the most inspirational things I have been able to see day in and day out is Sarah and No name literally living the dream. Each morning, these two get out of bed, drive over to the studio, and simply chit chat for a couple of hours before calling it a day. Who wouldn’t want a job like that? But what makes it work is that I know that at some point they too had to climb the hill just like me. They too had to start from the bottom and work their way up, and it’s encouraging to see that it is possible. It is possible to live the dream, dreams can come true, with a little work and dedication anything is possible. You just have to be patient.
5. Radio Appreciation
   • I have always been a more visual person; therefore working in radio was almost like going back to the Stone Age. However, if anything, I have learned to embrace this forgotten medium and really respect how it is produced. Radio is the progenitor of television, people forget that, but nevertheless, it’s just amazing to see how it affects the everyday lives of its listeners. People fall in love with the voices of Sarah, No Name, Hooman, Hyphy, and Matty without ever seeing their faces. Also, radio is more teamwork, from the producer down to us interns, more than anything. It’s been great, and often invigorating as an intern to have a job where you can literally see the everyday difference you make. We are all cogs that help turn the wheel.
6. Cleaning the dishes
   • It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes, you do get stuck with the “bitch work.” Face it, when it comes down to it, we’re still interns, right? So as it turns out, on my last day, I had to deal with the grease and grime left over from a prime rib breakfast feast (that we interns, I regret to inform you, didn’t get to partake in) from two days before. You have to scrap to get into this industry, as well as clean off the scraps apparently.
7. The Lista Story
   • My senior year in high school I dealt with a teacher who, for lack of a better word was an asshole, and as of recently, a pedophile and meth addict. Who would have guessed, right? Well to make a long story short, I had some beef with this teacher David Lista (nothing major, I made some sweatshirts, he tried to sabotage my college recommendations and referred to me as a “pig” to other students, you know, the usual), so naturally when this story broke I thought, “this is perfect for Half Ass News.” Rather quickly I found myself in the studio with Sarah and No Name and then out in the field collecting interviews from students of my old high school. After more than 340 miles of commuting and 20 hours on one busy Wednesday, I got to enjoy my own little slice of revenge.
8. Being Interviewed
   • Just being in the studio with Sarah and No Name and talking to them has to have been one of the coolest experiences of my life, since, other than the Word of the Day, and a few special tasks here and there; an intern’s actual airtime is rather short. However, being interviewed for my opinion and story by KCBS is a whole different experience all together. I had this overwhelming feeling afterwards of being “legit.”
   • One negative thing about being on the air is hearing the sound of your own voice. I don’t know about you, but I think I sound like a douche, which rather upsets me. Why hadn’t anybody ever told me!?!?!?!
9. My Name is
   Davis… I mean David
   • Sometimes you just get so caught up with getting your word of the day sentence just right that you forget your name. I SLIPPED UP ALL RIGHT! It happens; I was so worried about my whole post-St. Patrick’s day sentence and making sure I had enough time to say it that I flubbed up. The worst part is ever since Hooman has been giving me nothing but crap for it. He just loves to walk pass me, give me his little rapist smile and go “how you doing
     Davis?”
10. The Word of the Day
    • Some interns despise the word of the day, some steer clear of it, and some embrace it. I tried to make every word of the day special. Yes, I’ve had my fair share of stumbles and fumbles, getting up to the mic the first few times is intimidating, but it’s always been in good fun. I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed singing, giving the old RAZZLE-dazzle, to ROCKin out, my word of the days. You just have to make the best of it, it’s your small piece of daily fame, and remember, all of these prizes and more await you at Radio Alice.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 8:16 pm and is filed under Interns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.