Lynn "Puffy" Gold Hits the Airwaves -- Again

I had another fill-in radio shift today. The guy who normally does the evening shift was purportedly having root-canal work done yesterday and today, so I got to take his hours. This included one day with holiday pay, so all was cool. I don't really think he's having root canal work done, but I don't care.

Derrick Villa, who does 11pm-7am and was my relief, made me feel good yesterday when he reminded me of our bonus we'll be getting at the end of next month. Everyone at Empire Broadcasting who stays through the end of the sale of KARA will receive, as a bonus, whatever they earned in the last year. This effectively means every shift we work is worth double money. This is also how I will be able to afford that puppy I want so badly.

Derrick and I went to San Jose State together. We worked at KSJS together. We both started out as KARA/KLIV board operators. We're still friends, and we always enjoy working together. I try to leave things nice for Derrick when he comes in after me, and I know he appreciates it.

The swelling is going down in my face, but the prednisone is causing me to retain water -- badly. My weigh-in showed me not losing any weight in the last week, and I know it's because the fluid I normally lose this time of month was coming back on. I'll have to make another lymphatic massage appointment.

The company that said it wanted to interview me Thursday never sent follow-up mail today, so i sent them mail asking whether we were still on for Thursday and if so, when. Another company called today and wanted writing samples, so I gave them the URLs.

I went with Warren to IHOP for brunch, then stopped at the agency where I'd finished up my last contract to pick up some software that had been delivered to Cadence and picked up by them. My agent told me not to bother applying for the opening that she's posting for a tech writer job. She says it's the same one I just finished, "but it isn't a real opening. You know we pay for these things, right? I just put that up so we can get in some more resumes."

"Yeah, sure" I thought. I didn't see the opening on the net when I got home. If I see it, I'm going to suggest to a couple of my friends that they apply for it just to see if it's real. I bet it is. She also claimed she had a couple of jobs "in the pipeline," but that none had come through. This I'll believe when I see it.

Enough of that. I'd rather concentrate on the positive.

My voice was still an octave higher than usual, but I was at least able to keep the placement solid so I didn't sound crappy. Robert, the board op who I normally work with during the last hour of my Sunday shift, was on with me tonight. He noticed my voice sounded "funny." Sigh.

George, the Assistant News Director, had left early, but he left me some sound to cut up. I was glad to do so, even though whoever conducted the interview with the CHP officer didn't get adequate information, like when the accident happened other than "early Tuesday morning." Great.

I got to read some of Derrick's copy from the early morning hours. Derrick right now is one of the best writers at the station, if not the best. He writes crisp, concise, grammatically correct copy. I can't say this for most of the people there. OTOH, we had the same teachers at San Jose State. No wonder I like his writing! :-)

I also got to see Bud Kelly. Bud is a long-time denizen of the bay area's airwaves. Before he came out here he worked in Chicago. He and Harry Karay were up for the same job, but Karay got it, and Bud decided Chicago wasn't his kind of town. Bud worked as the afternoon drive DJ for KBAY for many years, but one day management decided he was "too old" and had him come in on a Saturday so they could fire him. To this day Bud skips out as fast as possible after his shifts.

Anyhow, we have Bud at KLIV. Getting him got KLIV a lot of attention. Bud has also done many commercials over the years. When Bud reads the news, half the time I just start salivating because I can imagine his voice selling me something mouth-watering. I always try to gently pick Bud's brain every time I see him. The man is a treasure, and I enjoy learning from him. Today I asked him about the pseudo-carts we can create from Metro Networks' audio. He said the quality "wasn't quite there yet." I believe him. He may be a senior citizen, but his hearing is first-rate because, like most non-rock radio people, he's taken good care of it. (Warren has superb hearing, too.)

I might not get a day job for a while, but I feel lucky to have the radio gig. As all my friends are falling of the unemployment rosters, I at least know I can collect for a long time.