Short Audio Story: Make It Last (2019)

In March 2019 I entered a RODE competition to create a two minute podcast about any topic I wanted, in order to win some great podcasting products. (I didn’t win, but I don’t care).

From my brain was “Make It Last” – a two minute feature based on my grandparents. I was lucky enough to have them in my life until my late 30s, and cherished every moment with them.

In 2014, I recorded interviews with them about their experience living during the World War II period. I had some off-cuts, which showed their personalities more than anything. Grandad (Fred), Nanna Shirley and Nanna Hazel got together over a coffee (with assistance from Mum) and they chatted our ears off. Unfortunately Pa (Ron) had passed away in 1991, so I wasn’t lucky enough to record anything from him… even though I was 10 at the time.

Grandad (Fred) passed away in 2016. Nanna Shirley passed away in 2017. Nanna Hazel passed away in 2021.

I love them and miss them, terribly. But I have these recordings which I will cherish forever.

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Podcast completion and Jive Beans Promo

Why, hello there!

Today, I recorded the last podcast for the season for the Gold Coast Women Of The Year by The Gold Coast Bulletin. Over the next few days I’ll be adding the finishing touches and launch it into the world.

My creative writing class I did at TAFE was thoroughly entertaining and learnt a fair bit. Expect to see some more confident writing from me in the future.

Over the last week, I’ve helped energize a small business on social media by creating more content to help promote their business. You’ll see it here at Jive Beans Mobile Cafe. Here’s an example of a video promo I created, that cost ZERO $. *No secrets revealed!*

 

I have more ideas up my sleeve. Stay tuned.

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Diary Entry Eight

Wow. So much for doing daily entries. I think I had too much time on my hands when I did previous entries.

A fair bit has happened since my last entry (Entry Seven, obviously), so here’s a brief update.

Since late 2018, I’ve been engineering a podcast series for the Gold Coast Bulletin based on their “Women Of The Year” feature. The first episode was launched today, which you can find on iTunes and Spotify.

I enrolled at TAFE earlier in the year to do a weekend course in Creative Writing. I did the first class last Saturday. I enjoyed it. This Saturday, I’ll be doing the final class. I’m looking forward to it.

Now, I’m up to date.

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Dear Diary Seven

Whoops! I accidentally let this lapse. I was going to write an entry yesterday, but I couldn’t get around to it. I then thought I will publish an entry in the evening, but same thing – couldn’t get around to it.

Yesterday – Tuesday 4th December, we had Russell Ingall come in and co-host breakfast.

A new streaming service from Ch 10 / CBS is now available and I naturally got excited. But for some reason my ISP at home does not work for access, which sucks – as I was going to do a review. I’m now in two minds whether to write one up… I’ll think about it.

Last night, I watched an episode of Michael Palin’s travel series where he travels to North Korea. Which reminded me to write this diary entry.

The last few days I have been listening to old Martin/Molloy episodes and feeling inspired on classic sketches and station imaging.

Today, Galey is filling in for breakfast co-host.

14 days until holiday break!

Have a great one.

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Diary Entry Six

So, I missed out on an entry on Sunday 2nd December. But with good reason.

Actually, I don’t have a good reason. I got lazy. It was my day off.

It was hot weather all day. I surfed the interwebs. Did grocery shopping. On Saturday evening we made gingerbread houses. Sunday – munch time.

Today – Monday 3rd December, I’m at work, preparing for the Christmas / Holiday imaging session. Madeleine West is sitting in on the breakfast show.

It was hot at 6am this morning. About 27 degrees. I’m regretting wearing jeans. Already feeling warm.

I’ve knocked down an espresso and had a sugar rush by munching on some gingerbread.

Let’s see how today goes!

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Diary Entry Five

Wasn’t sure if I was going to write an entry today – especially on a weekend. But I found a small bit of time to do so.

This is my second attempt at writing this entry, and my laptop battery is low. So I’ll make this quick.

It’s Saturday – bought candies and decorations to put on our gingerbread houses while sipping eggnog. It’s the 1st December and already enjoying the festivities!

Relaxed and played Red Dead Redemption 2 on the PS4. Two hours of just walking around on a digital map. I don’t know how people “game” or take it seriously. The game really makes you slow down and appreciate game-playing. Maybe it’s just me being impatient.

Scorching hot outside – couldn’t take the dog for a walk.

Tomorrow, another day of R&R as next week is a busy week with production, which I am looking forward to hitting head on and making some of the best imagery I can churn out. Currently listening to another station’s playlist to get some music ideas. Have noted a few down on my list.

Bring it.

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Diary Entry Four

It’s Friday. The end of the working week. I have a lot of production work to do today. Nothing I can’t handle. I’m really looking forward to it.

It’s 7:05am and while I’m having my coffee, I am currently craving a dirty burger for Carl’s Jr for some reason. I’m talking a chunky bit of heart-stopping angus beef burger.

Christmas is less than a month away, I’m looking forward to the holiday break and knock out some PS4 games I’ve been itching to play.

The last few days have been extremely hot, but that’s the Gold Coast weather for you.

nearly didn’t do this diary entry today as I was feeling “meh”, but I’ve pushed on.

An entry is an entry.

My coffee is finished. Back to work!

Stay cool, today.

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I might as well start with ‘Diary Entry’ number 3

Forcing myself to write a diary entry this morning. I didn’t have a good night’s sleep. I was up watching and researching the ARIAs being shown on TV for some production elements. Australian music has evolved so much. It doesn’t mean it’s bad, but doesn’t mean it’s good either. It’s evolution, plus my tastes have changed.

Feeling a little anxious as my list of many things to put together is increasing, but I look at it this way: it’s keeping me busy. It’ll pay off, especially when the holiday period is around the corner. But I’ve got this. Blink, and everything will be complete.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is in the office building today, sitting in for the breakfast show. While I do not agree with his political choices, he comes across as a decent guy.

I’ve had my first coffee of the day – using the Espresso capsule. I need the extra hit as I think I’ve become immune to the basic brown colour.

This may be a short diary entry, but the point being is that I made an entry. It took me a 5 minute coffee break to type this up, so it’s worth it.

See you tomorrow.

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I cannot think of a Diary entry title

I’m encouraging myself to write something today because while there is nothing majorly eventual that has happened today (since I am writing this in the morning, it’s only the beginning of the day), the saying goes “It takes 14 days to make a habit”. Today is only the second day at online diary keeping.

In regards to yesterday’s diary entry about going to purchase a physical diary to write in, I realise I have a bunch of notepads floating around. Especially ones that I received one year for a birthday gift by my old high school mate, Kris. They were inspired by funny pamphlets and satirical videos in The Simpsons.  Like this one: Greatest Sport Injuries. I keep it for work notes, ideas and scribbles in my backpack.

Today there was a car incident on the motorway, which happened right next to the motorway entry ramp. At first it wasn’t affecting my travel to work at 5:45am, but it affected everyone else who was travelling to work, or school, or holidays, or a job interview, or to grab a coffee. Turns out it was a stolen car that two morons decided to take a joyride, crashed it and ran off. Their 30 seconds of thrill cost the Gold Coast economy lots of money and made a heap of people grumpy. Especially on the worst day of the week – Wednesday. Hump Day. The make-or-break day.

Again at work, Andrew Winter from Selling Houses Australia  and Love It Or List It Australia is co-hosting the breakfast show while work’s main talent Flan is on long-service leave. I have a schedule, or a timeline – in front of me on what my next few weeks hold work / production-wise. As I will be on christmas / new years break from the 20th of December, there may be a lot on the document, but I’ll be able to cut through it like a hot knife to butter once the ball is rolling.

Depending on my time-frame today, I might even squeeze in a royalty-free production song. If not, I will make sure I get one finalised by the end of the week. My goal is do create one song a week and unleash it online for the world to hear, if they want a cheap tune for their podcast or community radio show. Just another channel to express my creativity.

I’m onto my second coffee now, so I’m ready to hit today head-on, and looking forward to tomorrow’s diary entry.

Enjoy your day.

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This could be the start of something big

I don’t know how to start this the right way, but typing this sentence is better than staring at a white WordPress screen.

There’s a reason why I put this weblog section here on my site. Since the very birth of owning a domain name or website storage of sorts, I’ve always had the knack to write something. Doesn’t mean it’s 100% creative or intelligent, but just to write. Or blog.

Man, I hate that word. Blog. It sounds like something you make after you have had been on a bender the night before.

But after reading and watching an inspiring piece from Monty Python’s Michael Palin about writing a daily diary of sorts, I thought I should actually try and write – or type – something on my site. After all, I’m paying decent money for this domain and server storage. I could physically write a diary entry in a paper book or pad, but I feel that I can be more distracted. But I may buy a notepad another day and scribble stuff down. Plus I have messy handwriting. Until I get this notepad, I’ll attempt to be a scrivener.

Part of my daily struggle… is ‘struggle’ the right word to use? I think what I’m about to write, the word is a bit drastic to use as a description, but it’ll do for the time being… my struggle on a daily basis is that my brain is running 25 / 8. As a child, I loved drawing. I drew cartoons, comics, mazes, sketches. I thought I’d be the king-shit and one day have my own comic series. But as I got older (mainly my teens) I basically gave up. Lazy. I don’t have any of my old drawings, but it wouldn’t surprise me if my parents have any stored away. In 2009, I found this crappy image I drew as a kid that I found on a notepad at my Nanna’s place. I think I was 11 years old when I drew this. It’s just a scribble, but it’s minor vision on what goes in my head. “John” and “Maria” were no-one in particular – it was just random drawings on what was on my mind.

 

Fast forward to present day – I head to work not long after dawn has risen, stuck in the middle of ‘Tradie Peak Hour’ on the motorway, there is a long, hilly stretch of road that faces east towards the ocean. It’s a beautiful view first thing in the morning, as you can see the sunrise break through the clouds, or the weather that’s approaching in a couple of hours. It’s extremely stimulating. Some days I wish I could just pull up the car in the heart of the traffic, grab my camera and tripod out, and take a photo right there. But it’ll cause accidents and is a tad dangerous. One day I’ll get a dash-cam and take a photo of the view, but it doesn’t capture the same essence that I can see with my own naked eyes.

You see, visualising in my head that I want to just take a photo by standing in the middle of the road, it’s a minor thought, but I have plotted out exactly what I want to do in my head. Shutting down the road, barriers up. Standing on the crest, tripod set up, angry drivers unable to get through, take the shot on an entry-level DSLR I bought in 2013. (It still does the job). Nothing fancy. Just a photo for myself just to admire the view and a reality check that I’ve come a long way since my childhood in Sydney, never thinking back then I’d be where I am today – working in radio as an Imaging Producer, on the Gold Coast.

At the time of this post, I’ve been in the industry for over 13 years, and I have been loving every minute of it. The job makes me think on my toes, constantly trying to create different angles of promotion, all trying to sell the same thing, and aiming my creativity directly at your cerebral cortex. The one minor detail you hear and quite possibly palm-off as nothing but a flashback which makes you smile, has probably taken me years to achieve. It could’ve been a song I heard from that movie you watched as a child, so I take a snippet of it and use it in a promotional spot. You hear it, it reminds you of your childhood, but that’s it. The moment is gone. But that one moment took me ages to think of and craft it into something natural. I get a thrill out of it. As long as that couple of seconds puts a smile on your face. I’m happy.

Anyway, that’s what’s on my mind at the moment. All I did was open this weblog and write. Even the title image I whipped up on the spot (notice the spelling error? That’s what my brain was thinking at the time – just let it go). Plus you get to see how untidy my handwriting is.

Down the track, I’ll hopefully be posting more, including digging up some behind-the-scenes photos that are on Facebook or Instagram with some minor stories behind the photos. I do believe I have accumulated enough stories to log them into a diary. Like, right now, at work, TV personality Andrew Winter is co-hosting the breakfast show. I have recorded him 3 times within three months, but I have not taken a photo or make a note on any social media. All I’ve done is relied on my memory to tell people. But memories only last as long as your brain capacity before it turns to mush. That’s why there’s Diaries to write in and help store and share memories.

This is my diary entry.

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