The Travel Box

Ahhh yes, the semester of Fall 2011 is over. It's been almost an entire month since anything's been posted on this blog, I didn't have any time or energy to find something to put together. But now I'm home on Christmas break for an entire month, plenty of time now...

This was the first semester I had my car up at college with me, basically meaning I was doing all packing & loading to come home by myself, up and down a flight of stairs about 15 times until I had an entirely full car. (And I drive a Buick, I took home A LOT of stuff) It took about 45 minutes or so, but I was glad to at least have complete control of the handling of my stuff down some stairs and at the curb. Ever have someone help you with loading/un-loading a car, and you purposely give them things you don’t mind them carrying? (Pillows, laundry, etc) Then you grab the luggage items you NEVER let anyone else lay their hands on, just to make sure it’s safe?

Yep, for me it’s a 10x10x8 cardboard box. I remember packing for my freshman year at CMU, and I found this box. There couldn’t be a more perfect size for small items that aren’t electronics, cords, or CD’s. It usually includes: 1) My 80’s alarm clock/radio, 2) My most recent journals, 3) A Langenscheidt’s Pocket Dictionary, 4) Whatever book(s) I’m reading for leisure, currently “Travels With Charley” by John Steinbeck, 5) A photo album, and 6) A picture frame, (in the bottom left of the box in this picture) currently holding a photo of me on a long Dryden, Mich. bike ride in 2010.

The best part? Everything always seems to fit. There’s always the right amount of stuff to make it work. I’d hate to know what I would do without this box. I have massive laundry bags for clothes, obviously a backpack for all my schoolwork, a nylon bag I use for small electronic things (CD’s, camera, phone charger, some cords, etc), then boxes for my desktop computer that I transfer back and forth at the start/end of each semester. This 10x10x8 box is perfect for everything else. Wouldn’t let anyone else carry it…

Modern Rock 91-5, where music begins

So it turns out I’m on the radio.

On Wednesday nights from 11-1, I’m on the air for WMHW Modern Rock 91.5, based out of CMU’s BCA department. I basically sit in the studio for two hours, take requests, select songs for airplay, and do talksets. My job on-air is basically the guy that comes in between songs and says something like:

“Modern Rock 91-5, where music begins. Hello again everyone, Justin here, playing all your favorite Modern Rock hits. Right now it’s (band name) with their song (name of song), on Modern Rock 91-5.”
And I’ll do that every ten minutes or so, and record it using an SD card. It’s not a paid position, (nor should it be, the computer hypothetically can run the show by itself, and does overnight) I’m just on there like several other jocks just to get the experience. So far it’s been very enjoyable, of course I have to give up my Wednesday night, but on Thursdays I have no class so I don’t mind at all. In the journey of my Broadcasting major, this is a great way to gain some experience on-air, and of course, it’s always fun to tell your friends you’re on the radio, and have them listen to you.

One thing that I can see shifting because of my time at 91.5 Wednesday nights, is my taste in music. For the past couple of years I’ve been a massive fan of bands from the 80’s, like OMD, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode; and some others. Although that was pretty much the only thing for a while, I’ve slowly ended up liking a lot more stuff once I started hearing it. So I guess being on-air's good for that too.

If you ever want to listen in, here's a link http://www.wmhw.org/modernrock/home.html

I'll be on there Wednesday nights until early December, when I go home at the end of the semester. Take a look!