Absence

Being alone in a place, away from everything I've known, has transformed my thinking.

The question is, has it transformed me?

Stay tuned...

Chapter 1 begins shortly.

C

Sundial

I was working on a story with one of our photographers up here near the station on the Sundial Bridge. He took this photo in between shots. Pretty sweet, huh?

More to come soon.

C

"Crazy Kid"

The other day I brought in the documentary "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" to work for a co-worker. It's a film based on the fans of "The Lord of the Rings." I'm actually in the film and the confessional I recorded is in the special features section. While showing some colleagues the movie, I was reminded of a brief mock advertisement I did back in 2003 for "The Return of the King" video game (released by Electronic Arts). Here's the link below. I, apparently, was entitled the "Crazy Kid." Enjoy!

Goodbye

My brother, John, couldn't have put it any more simply. This is goodbye.
Our grandfather, Homer Freeman, passed away Friday.

Death is something I deal with differently than most, I would think. It is probably one of the most constant thoughts on my mind. In situations like this, it helps me to deal with loss because I'm always afraid I'll lose my loved ones too soon.

In this particular case, I'm glad my grandfather is no longer suffering. He died in his home, sitting in his favorite chair. The culmination of a wonderful man.

As I look back on the time I spent with him, I wish I could have seen him one last time. Just to let him know if I end up being half the man he was, I'd be satisfied.
He never wanted much for himself, but he did his best to provide for his family, myself included.

This man was beyond amazing, almost blessed by some higher power. He had suffered numerous heart attacks, a stroke, even a broken neck recently. This is all in addition to years of dialysis just to keep him alive.

I remember hearing once he wanted to stick around for my grandmother's sake, but despite what his mind wanted, his body just couldn't keep that promise, maybe the only one he ever broke.

A central figure for my entire life is gone. He was a strong, proud man who spoke quietly, and quickly earned the respect of others.

Now it's your time to sit back and relax, gramps, and watch your grandson do the heavylifting.

Goodbye. I love you.

"Stuck" In The Mud

The big question, how is Jim Nielsen tied to all these acupuncture businesses?

After calling nearly 20 businesses, TWO actually picked up the phone and said they were familiar with Mr. Nielsen.

One man actually said Mr. Nielsen was a supporter of acupuncture, and in turn, he supports Jimmy. A woman I spoke with had said she had heard of the name before, but the man who I wanted to talk to was with a patient and would be unable to call me back because he was leaving for China. I asked why he was leaving to China. She said it was none of my business, which she's right, and abruptly hung up on me.

Still my interest was piqued. Turns out, though, a one James Nielsen is an advisory member of the National Oriental Medicine Accredidation Agency. Get this, his wife, Marilyn Nielsen, used to work for the California Acupuncture Board as their Executive Officer.

I'm not willing to give it all up just yet, but it appears (at least from some initial research) this may be legit. My guess is these businesses are somehow associated with the NOMAA and were contacted to contribute to Mr. Nielsen's campaign once it was known he'd be running for state assembly.

I actually just got off the phone with someone from NOMAA who gave me the rundown on how Jimmy-boy got involved with acupuncture. Yes, it most likely was through his wife's activity. Don't see a whole lot else here, unfortunately. Damn!

C

Getting "Stuck" In The Bay?

The latest installment piggybacks on my previous post about some alleged discrepancies with former State Senator and Northstate resident, Jim Nielsen. As you may recall, Mr. Nielsen is now running for State Assembly for our district up here. One of the local papers, The Record Searchlight, published his campaign funds thus far into the assemblyman's race, and he has a seemingly insurmountable lead. Check it:

1. Jim Nielsen (R) - $279,000
2. Pete Stiglich (R) - $14,000
3. John Martinez (R) - $5,000

Let it be known Nielsen's opponents are both running "grass-roots" campaigns, so funding isn't as nearly abundant compared to Nielsen's strong ties to Sac-Town's political big-wigs and corporate homeboys. Far and away, from a monetary perspective, the race looks like a no-contest, but I've also been told two of Nielsen's opponents have either applied for, or already gotten $100,000 loans for their campaigns.

Regardless of the dinero disparity, the interesting thing about this story is WHO Mr. Nielsen has received some of his donations from. Aside from cash he's picked up from the likes of PG&E, Blue Cross of CA and the Chevron Corp., Jimmy also grabbed 60different donations from chinese acupuncturists in California (the vast majority from the Bay Area).

Now I understand he may have friends in high ... and low places ... but 60? Most acupuncturists were "self-employed" and most gave $100.

The question I pose is how does Mr. Nielsen know all these people? I can't imagine their businesses are well-known enough for Mr. Nielsen to know them personally, but then again I could be wrong.

It appears there could be another story here. I'll just have to keep "poking" around.

I'll keep you posted.

C

Scandals and Sunrises

Just wrapped up a story yesterday about a former senator now running for state assembly in one of the local districts up here. One of his opponents and the newspaper he used to work for say he doesn't live in the district he wants to represent, which of course, is illegal.

The story was hearing both sides of the story and trying to determine where Jim Nielsen lays his head down at night. It would appear Nielsen in on the up and up, but determining what his "primary residence" is may still be up in the air. He now has TWO homes. One he recently bought from his in-laws (which is in the district), and another home outside the district where his children live.

It is still a very stick situation, but I would like to think I was somewhat fair and balanced. I was glad I was able to do it, though, a very interesting story that could have some serious implications for the future of district two in the Northstate.

In other news, about 15 minutes ago, I found out I'll be coming in at three-o-clock in the morning instead of four. Obviously, I'm not elated about the news, but I think it will be a good test for me, mentally and physically. If I can prove to myself and my boss, that I can perform at a high level even earlier in the day, it will only help me in the long run.

Then again, we aren't machines. On the other hand, if you can't stand the heat...

Let the adventure continue!

C

Consultant

In just a few minutes from now, I'll be sitting down with a television consultant from our station's corporate offices. This will be the first time I'll be critiqued by someone outside of the newsroom. I'm kinda nervous, but hopefully I can get some great suggestions on what I can do to improve. Wish me luck, I'm heading off!

C

Lucky Lunches

Sometimes hard work really pays off...and apparently it can even quell your appetite at times.

Lately, my days at work have been long. I'm more than willing to put in the hours b/c this is what I want to do, but lately it's been wearing on me a bit. I think it's primarily due to me trying to fight off this demon-cold that's been at war with my immune system the past four days.

I've been covering stories all over the spectrum so far during my tenure at KRCR. From deadly motorcycle accidents to computer-controlled prosthetic limbs, to the absurd amount of coffee shops in Redding to highest unemployment rate in Shasta County in nearly a decade (10%). I've had a chance to cover a wide variety of topics, and today, was a much "fluffier" story.

A coffee-shop established and run by a local church is now expanding to a second coffee house. I talked with the G.M. today about the news and the accompanying details. It was an easy story to do-shot some video and an interview, wrote/edited the story-but I didn't think it would turn out the way it did.

I had a nice conversation with the general manager, a woman by the name of Kerri, and while I was just finishing my work for the day at the station, she took the time to actually stop by the station to drop me off a free salad and coffee.

My parents would always tell me as a child how good vegetables were, and I never believed them. Today, I know what they were trying to get at. Jeez louise, this thing was probably the best salad I've ever had in my life...and it was free to boot!

It is true...what they say...doing something you enjoy for a living really can be "fulfilling."

C

Update

Man, it's been nearly a month since my last post...but I don't think I'm going to disappoint.

Things in Redding seem like they're going about a mile a minute. I'm now 13 shows into my first job, and it's been a blast so far. I'm still very hard on myself because I know I can do much better. I'm going to try and take it a bit easier on myself and hopefully it will come through on camera.

I've also done some sporadic reporting during my brief time here thus far. I did a story last week on the somewhat excessive amount of coffee shops the city of Redding has to offer. I found that in California cities of the same size (Redding has about 90,000 people), Redding has the 4th most coffee shops in the state...per person! North of the Bay Area, Redding is first.

The story turned out pretty well for being the first one off the block, but I'm looking forward to drastic improvements over the course of my tenure here at KRCR.

In other news of the "news" variety...I recorded my anchor-intro that runs just before I come back on camera from a commercial break (you know the ones that go "...and news with Colin McAvoy."). The guy who does our voices is classic, he has this very robotic-like tone that's unforgettable. I can guarantee if you ever ran into this guy you'd know what he did for a living without him ever telling you. What I did was I had to sit in this chair and turn away from the camera. Then I took a bunch of takes of me just turning to the camera and smiliing. I really tried to make it as genuine as possible, but it turned out cheezy nonetheless.

No furniture, no internet/cable yet.

I do, however, picked up a gym membership and a new pair of running shoes. I'm going to try and make exercise a bigger part of my life here because I don't really have a whole lot to do once I get off work. My post-work routine pretty much consists of having something to eat, checking the mail, and falling asleep. As soon as I get my body adjusted to the work schedule, which is happening slowly but surely, I hope to be much more active than I already am.

I'm trying to eat a little better too. Been eating a lot of sandwiches and Doritos as of late, which is a typical diet for me anywhere (at least some thing are staying consistent).

Been out with people from work a couple times, trying to acclimate to the less-than-stellar Redding nightlife. A couple of places with names you'd might enjoy...these are not made-up places, mind you. I've visited a karaoke bar named "The Hen House." Another is bar literally branching from our local shopping mall entitled "The Rusty Nail." Some classic names up here, with some classic characters to go along with them.

Gotta start getting prepared for our next morning cut-in which is set to air at 8:25am which is in a little less than 15 minutes.

Until next time folks!

C

Departure

I mentioned in my last post I had an interview coming up for the morning anchor/reporter position at KRCR in Redding, CA. Fast forward 3 weeks later and I am proud to announce I have been offered the position ... and I've taken it.

Sadly, however, I'm going to be leaving my co-workers at KNTV (NBC11) in San Jose tomorrow. Tuesday, January 22nd will be my last day as a production assistant there. No more will I be rolling the teleprompter, which honestly, was a pretty fun job. It certainly wasn't the most difficult, but you definitely see a different side of the news as compared to when you're watching it on television. So by about 11:30 pm tomorrow night, I will officially be relieved of my duties at NBC11. I will miss a lot of the people here, too many to name in this blog.

My first day at KRCR is a week from today, January 28th. My first on-air day won't be for a couple of weeks in order to give me some time to get acquainted with the hour and a half morning show.

As previously mentioned, I'll be the new morning anchor for the station's 5:30am broadcast. Bedtime, however, will be around 8 'o clock in order to wake up at 3 in the morning every day. I do have my weekends off, though, which is nice ... and I'm certainly not complaining about early rising either.

It's going to be a new and exciting adventure for me and I can't wait to start it. I'll be leaving my family and friends behind, but luckily I'm less than 4 hours away. Sadly though, it is an end of era. This is the first time I'll be away from everyone I know, and that will take some getting used to.

So if you're ever in the Chico-Redding area and you wake up early...turn on channel 7 (ABC) and most likely you'll find me there. Thanks for reading, and hopefully, thanks for watching! I'll keep you posted!

C