Alaska on hold

Alaska, irrespective of what's written in my description on the right, might have to be put on hold. After a couple of months of off-and-on searching, I have managed to discover only one real media-related job in Anchorage, and a solid lead on another. The real job is blogging for Examiner.com, which is apparently some kind of nationwide news provider that seems primarily web-based, although it claims to have some scions in print. I checked out the website itself and it seems to resemble MSN quite closely. Regardless of what it claims to be, it's not a day job. Blogging for it wouldn't pay the bills, certainly not fund my flying career. The solid lead is NNB, New Northwest Broadcasters, which are a West Coast-based network of radio stations that fancy themselves as being hip, casual and community-focused. Their website (http://careers.nnbradio.com) states that they work hard and play hard: they believe in being competitive, but they do it in a fun way, apparently. Mom somehow got wind of these guys and sent me the link while I was still in Korea. It sounds quite interesting, particularly given that they have a branch in Anchorage. I dithered for my last few weeks in Korea, not sure whether I should call them up six weeks in advance, or wait until I get back from my adventure. I'm trying to get up the nerve to drop them a line right now, in fact. Why call instead of e-mail? Adam's advice, and I think it's good. Shows you're truly interested and want to speak to somebody real. So, in light of the fact that Anchorage is an expensive place to live, and I might be seriously jeopardizing my savings by going out on a limb and moving up there without prospects (as it's looking like right now), I'm hedging my bets. Yesterday I applied for two reporter positions with newspapers that are based nowhere near Alaska. One of them was the Telluride Daily Planet, in Telluride, Colorado. The town's famous; Old West bad boys like Wild Bill Hickok used to hang out there. The place was a mining boom town, full of bars and brothels back in the day. Now, apparently, it's a thriving resort in close proximity to some ridiculous ski slopes, with a reputation of being filled with crack-snorting liberals. Oh well. It won't be the first time I've applied to go into enemy territory. I almost went to school at UC Santa Cruz, did I ever tell you that? The second, and somewhat more exciting, reporter's position I applied for was based in...give up? The Virgin Islands. No, I'm not kidding. A Caribbean-based newspaper was sending out an all-call for reporters with a B.S. in journalism or English and with a penchant for "investigative reporting." They gave me fair warning that it wouldn't be all sun, sand and surfing. I'll be expected to work a full 30-hour weekly schedule, generating and investigating seven or so stories per week. The pay isn't the best ($25,000-$30,000) but that's roughly the same pay scale as I was offered for teaching in Korea. As long as I'm not getting paid less, I'll take it: it's a job in my field, and it's in the freakin' Caribbean Sea, for Pete's sake. National Geographic will have to notice me now after I've done a couple of jobs like this. There might even be flying opportunities down there, who knows? It's another opportunity to travel and work. I'll take it. I haven't ruled Alaska out completely, rest assured. I said I hadn't gotten a line on any jobs in journalism up there, but there are a few more besides. There were no less than 14 openings listed on CareerBuilder.com for a "Ramp Service Agent" with Alaska Airlines or Alaska Air. What's a "ramp service agent," you ask? Well, simply put, they're the people who put the luggage on the plane and take it off again when it reaches its destination. Yep, that'll be me, one of those poor buggers bundled up in fifty layers, driving a tractor pulling people's bags between the terminal and the plane in all kinds of despicable weather. Sounds harsh, but it's better than crab fishing. It pays $15.86 per hour to boot, which is marginal for Alaska (given the cost of housing) but might still be enough for me to live humbly on and still fly. There might be writing opportunities in it, and I will be in close proximity to aircraft and an airport, which is better still. So, anyway, I'm still tossing that stuff around. I reckon today I'll apply for one of those ramp positions with Alaska Airlines, and finally call the general manager of NNB, Anchorage division. (It's about dang time, too.) Moreover I have phone calls to make to three car dealerships in the area: one to Lucerne Valley to inquire about a Range Rover we all saw parked there a couple of days ago as we drove back from Big Bear whence we'd taken Mom to lunch on her birthday; and two to a couple of other car dealerships on 7th Avenue in Victorville about whatever SUVs or trucks they might have in stock. So excuse me, it's almost noon now and I need to get busy. Ta-ta...