In for the Duration

Lifespan

I dropped into AlexKing’s room for the first time before I launched tonight and he was busy making “mean” faces 🙂

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At one time while working in “my previous life” I was asked if I was going to “stay until the bitter end.” My boss asked me that question. He was on his way out and announced his resignation to me after I confirmed affirmatively that I was going to stick it out, although the writing was clearly on the wall for many of us. Things were changing, RIF’s (Reduction in Force) were becoming routine and it was just a matter of time.  But … my parents always stressed how important it was to “not be a quitter.”  This is one compelling reason I have never gone to bed without publishing a new blog post unless I was on a plane or on the few occasions I noted I would take a writing break.  Quitting feels like a major failure and we carry around enough guilt as human beings on a daily basis, don’t we?  So I stick with JTV.

I worry about what the writing is telling me on the walls of JTV. I still like it here. I know there are issues, but most of them can be overcome. It’s easy to forget that JTV is still a fledgling venture. It went live just 7 short months ago. If we look back to what it was when it launched, there has been an evolution with changes and improvements along with some not so positive things that have caused many to jump ship or to threaten to jump ship and to move on to other offerings or to just quit watching or broadcasting altogether.

Lifecasting is not easy work. And it is work. Well, unless you are going to just point the camera at yourself or away from yourself and go about your daily life. But even the it’s work to think about what you are doing when a camera is pointed at you or when you are behind the camera showing life around you.

If you are going to put in the time to put a show together with content that is of interest to viewers and if you are going to interact with them, then there is effort that needs to be expended. My “show” never begins when I turn on the camera and begin talking. Many nights I am in my kitchen talking to myself, knowing there are 0 Live Viewers at that time, but I am prepping the kitchen and food for the time when viewers begin coming in. Prior to that I have scoured cook books and magazines and online culinary sites and have often started writing the blog so that I can include the night’s recipes AND work on something topical to discuss and so that I can get the blog published before the sun comes up.

Summer sunset, 2007

When I really have my act together, I plan future night’s broadcasts and post the recipes in advance so people can prepare with me if they’d like.

And yes, it’s all fun. I enjoy it. I am exhausted. It’s not easy to fight with my Mac for better camera angles and with JTV technology to get up and broadcasting on time and to see that it’s stable, but on the nights when there are little to no technology hurdles, it is a smooth and fun experience. There are steps being taken to enhance the set up to provide better camera angles and more, but it is not fast nor cheap, so it all takes time. Throw a part time job into the mix and things change a bit, but I’m still here, kicking around JTV, cooking every night (with rare exception) writing like a mad woman and enjoying the network and living the Justopian Life.

Light Friday Night Dinner

I had a long day and planned for nothing more than a sandwich for dinner, but it was just what I wanted. There was really no effort involved, it just hit the spot

After dinner, at the request of Tigergreg8 I told another funny story that took place during my life in the Philippines and then we discussed recipes for next week. We came up with a few good menus and I will be heading to the store on Sunday to get stocked up. It should be a good culinary week.

Then we talked about Justopia merchandise. I was getting excited talking about different slogans, tag lines, ideas for artwork, etc. I am not a graphic designer or an artist in any way so I will need help, but people said they would be very interested in buying a tee shirt, or a cookbook or a calendar, so I need to find someone that can create a logo and artwork and will get this going. Seems like a lot of fun to me! I think everyone should have a Justopian life so why not spread the word, right?!