Hello brief mortals!
As you may have seen I have actually blogged again this year! I'm on a roll! A little update on my life - I got into the journalism course I wanted to at napier Uni in the lovely Edinburgh, which was nice. So far its been pretty hectic, we've been studying Broadcast, writing for news, global current affairs reporting, media law (for god's sake don't hack any phones!) and shorthand. The shorthand class is very tough and optional, but we have been told in no uncertain terms that some editors will never employ anyone who don't have at least 100 words per minute - so off to shorthand I went!
I feel that a major part of learning a new craft, skill or set of techniques is finding out what you don't want to do with it, as much as finding out what you do want to do with it. For example, having seen what conflict reporters in places like Palestine have to deal with, I have decided that I never ever want to do that for a living (a particularly grusome image from a documentary of the after effects of a suicide bombing are etched forever into my mind). Yesterday we went for a court visit to see what being a court reporter is like. We visited the High Court in the Royal Mile, and managed to get some pretty interesting hearings. The first one was a fairly short deferred sentence hearing for a sex offender, and the second was the final statements in an attempted murder trial. What amazed me most of all was the ability of the courts to make such interesting cases so mind-numbingly dull. I was literally almost falling asleep by the end. Court reporting, it seems, is not for me either.
I'm getting quite into the idea of documentary filmmaking though, I've always liked making films, and it would give me the opportunity to report of quirky things which most people wouldn't hear about; reporting from Mongolia's annual Naadam sports festival for example, or following the lives of scientists stationed in Antarctica, or making a film about the remanants of the British Stalin Society (it really exists!) and their worldview. I like the idea of making films about odd, eccentric, intetresting and oft-unreported corners of culture. I suppose what I'm heading towards here is basically what Michael Palin's been doing since the 80s. Damn, someone's always got to have done it before haven't they?
My journalistic interests are wider than that of course. Once again I reviewed comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe, and I enjoyed myself a great deal. I think I'd like to do it again next year, but I really should get out of the habit of working for no pay. Speaking of that, I just got a music reviewing gig for a website called Never Enough Notes, which is part of the VICE magazine network (basically: groovy, intependant, advertising-funded cultural reporting). As I imply, its unpaid, but I really do enjoy listening to and commenting on new music, so in this case at least, work is its own reward. They've asked me to contribute at least once a month, which I think I can reasonably do even if I do get a part-time job on the side to get some goddamned money in my pocket.
Speaking of being poor, my initial plan to try and find a flat to live in whilst studying fell through because I have nothing to my name, except a large collection of jackets, a nice bass guitar and two essentially useless computers. So I made the dreaded move to live back with my parents. In general its been ok, though obviously annoying because families are stupid. The most unanticipated annoyance for me is that my tiny room at my parents' place is too small for all my stuff, so I live surrounded by boxes, with barely any room to move. Fortunately I spend most of my days outside at uni or at friends' places so I'm not forced to spend time there, and I'm visiting my girlfriend in Dundee nearly every weekend, which is probably keeping me sane more than any other thing.
The worst thing about living with your parents I feel, is the fact that it proves backwards time travel is possible. I might be 22, I might be 32, I might be 42, it doesn't matter, as soon as I walk through that door, I am 15 again. Not only is it infuriating to be treated in a slightly patronising way after having just done a degree, but it is annoying because it makes me feel younger, less confident, less in-control when I'm in the house. I think a major part of growing up is realising that after a certain point, your parents aren't necessarily very good for you, or even people you would choose to associate with had you the choice, but merely people you share genetic material with and are obliged to spend time with. That's not to say I hate my parents, I don't, its just that I'm not really friends with them either.
Anyway, rant over - this is all in aid of getting me writing every day. Hopefully I can keep this up, if not this sentence is going to look preeeeeety silly.
Rage and vitriol,
Gabe
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