It just means we have to be more creative...

Rarely there are times when working in an underfunded department is good. I'm not saying the Electronic Media Production department is underfunded *cough* but I think we could be better equipped...at least with accessories. Take our camera for instance. During last night's lecture from Bill Kroyer, my colleague (Renna) and I wanted to set up a boom mic to get better sound. We only have one adapter to attach the mic to the camera, and it was nowhere to be found. So we had to improvise.

Any way, enough of that. Incase anyone is interested, I've been working in the media department for the past few days, recording interesting happenings around campus. This is all for the 25th anniversary of the CSU Summer Arts program. However, once a day for the next few weeks, my team and I have been putting together short webisodes of events that happened the day before. So if anyone would like to see what we've been doing, I've added a link in my Favorite Sites section. Just click on the collegian and try to find the Multimedia section on the site. Some of my stuff may be good. Then again, some stuff might not be.

What a waste

For the past few days I've been working in the media room on campus to help film a documentary about the CSU Summer Arts Program. Apparently it has reached its 25th anniversary, which is quite an accomplishment considering the financial mess that the CSUs are in.

Last night I helped film a lecture by Bill Kroyer. If you don't know who he is, he's been in the field of computer animation since the days of Tron. Now, it wasn't the most interesting lecture, and due to copyright laws we couldn't even film the entire lecture, but it was pretty educational.

On my way from the media room to the music hall where the lecture was being held, I passed by this structure several times.

It's Fresno States amphitheater. Pretty cool right? The only problem is that the structure is condemned. The scaffolding can't support very much weight. So as a result, no one is allowed to set up any kind of large event. How sad...

Think of all the possibilities if the stage were repaired up to code. Think of the money that could be brought in through events that could be held at this venue. We wouldn't have to exclude family members from graduation by having it outside (weather taken into consideration). Or concerts! Think of all the concerts!

But nope. Instead, decision makers at Fresno State think it better to leave it rusting and decaying. The spiders have made their home and we don't want to destroy it.

What a waste.

Kevin's Jerk of the Day

I don't know if you can tell, but this car is double parked. I was trying to take the picture on the down low.

I was on my way to a meeting today to pretty much find out how the next few weeks are going to go. I'm helping out with the production of a small documentary about the CSU Summer Arts program. It's so I can fulfill a requirement that my advisor so conveniently forgot to tell me about. But it shouldn't be too bad.

On my way to the meeting I decided to stop off at Taco Bell to grab a bite to eat. I see this vehicle drive into the parking lot, wait in the extremely long drive-thru line for a few seconds, then give up and park. I don't know if she was just lazy or what, but I rolled my eyes nonetheless.

Way to go, Jerk.

Another strange thing that happened to me at the Bell was how they made my bean burrito. I usually get it with green sauce instead of red (try it, it's delicious). Maybe I was mumbling or something, but I guess they thought I said "cheese sauce." My bean burrito had nacho cheese in it. It wasn't bad, but I was kind of disappointed.

Oh well.

Rock and Roll all night

This weekend was a fun one.

Friday rolled around and my parents came into town. I love when they visit. The main reason for their time down here was to see a show that my brother and his band were playing (check them out at myspace.com/skoutshonor) at Kuppajoe. They were opening for Run Kid Run, who were good, but not great. I liked the opening bands more.

The following night was another show. This time it was apart of a CD release tour for Confide. It was loud. I've finally decided that I'm going to wear earplugs when I go to concerts, not just metal shows. Sharayah and I were there to also see the singer for one of our favorite bands play drums for another band. That was cool.

I was asked to help out with security for Confide's show, so I felt all official. Though I'm not very intimidating without my beard. I kept my arms crossed though, and that seemed to do the trick, cause there weren't any fights, thank goodness.

I also got a free Amp. Yes!

Yeah, I took this picture.

Making the most of an awkward situation.

For those of you who are unaware, I hate the way I look without my beard. I have a pretty weak chin and when you combine that with the fat in my neck, my face pretty much merges into my neck. Think of cankles, but in the face.

Any ways, I've also thought that my beard was lacking. It was really thick in the goatee area, but wispy and thin on the sides of my face. But I was hesitant to try to remedy the situation due to the fact that I would have to shave my precious beard. So in an effort to fix this, I'm going to opt out of having a beard this summer in favor of trying to fortify it for next year.

I can't have a beard at Disney World any way, and despite it being a good two months away, I figured I might as well start now.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, "...but Kevin, consistently shaving your facial hair won't make it come in thicker." I heard that it was even disproven on Myth Busters.

Pish posh. I still don't believe it. I used to shave nothing but my goatee area and I believe that is why it comes in as well as it does.

So come January 7th, the day that Lourin and I are moving back to California, I will release the reins to my mighty follicles and let my beard run wild and free, and we will see if there is truth to my belief. We will see...

This'll take a while to get used to.

Have you ever done something that you instantly regret?

I did last night.

Now you all know what's behind the beard...and I have to come up with a new title for my blog.

The reason I decided to shave off the ol' beard is because of Disney's policy on facial hair. Beards aren't allowed, sadly. They do allow mustaches, but I looked just too darn creepy with a 'stache.

Now my chin is cold.

I'm a nice guy, I swear.

The original reason I created a blog was to keep people updated on where I'm at. That encompasses everything to what I'm doing in life to how I'm feeling, but mostly what I'm doing. I like to rant and rave every now and then about things that are frustrating me (which falls under the "Feeling" category), but since I'm just about done with school, that'll probably be less frequent.

I wanted to keep people updated with a program that I'm participating in over the summer, hence the title of my blog, which is sounding more and more arrogant the more I read it.

For a brief update on my life right now, I have almost completely graduated from Fresno State. I just need to complete a short internship through the first half of July and I can finally receive my bachelor degree in Mass Communication. The only problem is, I don't know what I want to do with that degree.

So I applied for the Disney College Program.

And I was accepted. So once August rolls around, I'll be packing up and moving to Orlando, Florida.

That's my plan from August to January. For 5 months I'm going to be living and working at Disney World. My acceptance packet says that I'm in Main Entrance Operations, but I'm still not sure what I'll be doing exactly. I'll find that out once I arrive.

While I'm there I'm going to attempt to keep you all as updated as possible. I have a facebook and a twitter for those of you who want even more frequent updates. My (fraternity) brother Lourin and I are also going to attempt to produce a weekly podcast as well. So keep your eyes peeled for Mousekeeping with Lourin and Kevin, soon to be available for free subscription on iTunes everywhere this August.

Another update I'm excited about is my living situation in D-World. I'll be living in an apartment provided by Disney. Each unit is 1-4 bedrooms, fully furnished. All I need to bring are clothes and a tooth brush. There will be 2 people per room, so I get to have a room mate. Luckily, Lourin and I were able to request each other as room mates. So we're officially roomies. That's good news for the podcast.

Getting my money back is hard.

To fill everyone in, I haven't completely graduated. I walked, but was one class short. So, to remedy the problem as soon as possible, I signed up for a summer school class. I had to pay within 24 hours of registering for the class, so after I was dropped twice, I was able to pay.

Then I was told that my class is cancelled due to low enrollment.

Great. So after a week of waiting for my significant refund to arrive in the mail, I decided to take a more active role. I went to the administration building to ask when I'm going to get my money back and they sent me to another department.

Tip #1: Always be prepared to do some walking when dealing with college administrations. You will be referred to at least 1 or 2 other departments. Pack your Scholl's.

Once I arrived at the education building (it's a stretch, but I guess it makes sense) I was told that I have to fill out a form to get my money back. I guess CSU Fresno hoped that I would just forget about it. So I filled out the form only to find out it'll take 4-6 weeks to get my money back.

Are you kidding me? 4-6 weeks? They got my money within a day and I have to wait, at most, 42 days. Can't they provide me with the same convenience?

Tip #2: If it's money you are trying to get back from your school, be prepared to receive it two weeks after your rent is due. I think there's a formula to calculate the exact date you get it back. It's called Murphy's Law of Refunds.

That's how my afternoon went. Pretty lame right?