Just A Little Radio Rant...

I’m going to be honest with you. I am pretty honest in my blogs, revealing some of my most embarrassing stories and thoughts because it is generally my safe place. My blog provides me a little piece of mind with a little expressive flare that I can’t always let out on-air. Generally I like to be quick and simple on the radio and writing here gives me the space and freedom to give you weird details to support my strange way of thinking. This blog has been a couple weeks in the making and after a little social media post last night on Facebook I thought I would elaborate more here. I am not really a mushy person here on my blog or on social media so don’t expect this type of thing to happen again…

I have been struggling to blog lately because I have been doing two radio shows a day on top of voice tracking for 4 hours. That’s 12 hours of radio total. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again once this phase of my career is over, it is a reality I am totally okay with but to be honest with you other parts of my life are suffering. I’m still making it to the gym (today was workout #79 in the last 16 weeks) and going through the motions but I am pretty tired all the time. It is a good thing that my boyfriend is in Quebec at Basic Military Training because I am pretty much engulfed with work.

I really actually don’t mind doing the two shows, I have found that it really helps put things in perspective with how things in radio used to be done. People tell me all the time about their long days and nights on-air and I can now say I totally know the feeling of prepping an 8 hour show! Slowly, but surely I am on my way to mastery (let’s hope)!

That is not why I started this blog; I started it as a big shout-out and THANK YOU to our amazing listeners in the Kootenays and around the world. The last couple of weeks have had some big changes and the listeners are why we work so hard and continuously trying to be the best radio station we can be.

Today I had three winners on my show and they totally made my day. There is a 99% chance they will never read this but I really wanted to put out in the universe that they made my day with their excitement and positivity! Chris, Remi and Dave all were so happy to have won passes to GFI and keys to Storage War today and it really helped pick me up and it reminded me why we do what we do in radio. It’s not to be big wigs, it is not to be pseudo small town (or big city) celebrities, it is to make our listeners days a little better any way we can.

Here is Dave’s big moment. He is now 1 of 100 contestants that will have keys for Storage War III coming up on July 5, 2014 at West Kootenay Self Storage. Three keys will unlock thousands of dollars in of prizes in three storage lockers and one of those three keys could be Dave’s! All of the excitement today truly has pumped me up and I can't wait to get back at it tomorrow!  

Again, thank you to everyone for their support and tolerance over the past couple weeks! I can’t wait to get back on-air tomorrow and do it all again!  

Shameless plug alert:

You can listen to me on the new GOAT 10am-6pm (PT) on www.kootenays.thegoat.ca! 

Introducing The GOAT to the Kootenays!

Well it has been a crazy weekend that is for sure! Friday we broke new ground for Vista Radio

Kootenays by flipping our second station in two weeks.

Our sister station 1035 the Bridge flipped a two weeks ago to 1035 Juice FM – Nelson’s Biggest Variety and now what used to be Mountain FM is now The GOAT. I totally get the questions and the laughs over the name change, but once you get that GOAT is an acronym for “Greatest Of All Time” it is easy to get behind. I hope you have been listening and like what you hear. If you missed the big launch you can here the moment we flipped from Mountain to the GOAT right here:

Unlike Nelson and Juice FM the GOAT still sounds the same. I have heard so many great comments and people were so excited to get new GOAT swag at my remote broadcast yesterday. I was on location for the afternoon yesterday at Andre’s in Uptown Centre and lots of people stopped in to pick up water bottles, frisbees and pens! 

Don't worry, John and Jenny are still waking up with you on the Morning Herd and I am currently on-air from 10am until 6pm weekdays. We still have all the local content you loved before but now we have a fresh new polished sound!

Make sure you like the new GOAT on Facebook and follow us on Twitter J

San Diego Part Five: The La Jolla Open Aire Market

I love going to the market. This is a big surprise, when I was a kid I absolutely hated markets. The Open Aire Market in La Jolla is my absolute favourite Market. Halifax and Calgary have great markets but they do not really compare to the market held in La Jolla on Sundays.

Today the Market was a lot less busy than our visit last year. With all the rain I guess it was hard to tell if it would be worth setting up for vendors, our trip was dry and it looks as if the afternoon just keeps getting nicer weather wise.

We decided to skip lunch at home and have street food at the Market, Kevin had gyros and I ordered what they called a breakfast pizza with a gluten-free crust. Unfortunately I have yet to find a gluten-free traditional pizza crust that holds up to a traditional pizza crust. This was the best crust I have had so far that was gluten-free; over all the pizza was great! Cooked in a portable wood-fire oven from Cucina Caprese it was a great quick meal (it took about 10 minutes from order to plating).

I should note, before we actually ate our market meal we were lured in by Sugar & Scribe Bakery. We cannot pass by cupcakes! I had the red velvet mini; it was amazing! We were told it was the top red velvet cupcake in San Diego and I believe it. From what I was told (from Elaine) the vanilla was also very good! It was Sugar & Scribe Bakery’s first trip to the market. I hope they had a good reception; we sure enjoyed their offerings!

After the gyros and pizza we had a mocha Rickaroon. For $3 it was a perfect dessert for two very full people to split. I tried a couple different bites; the mocha was definitely my favourite. Like so many of the vendors at the La Jolla Open Aire Market you are able to have these treats shipped out to you. They were really good, filling snacks. Bonus Rickaroons are gluten-free and paleo friendly, right up our (non on vacation) alley!

You can actually walk the market and sample before you buy. It is so nice to check everything out and then make your decision from the different vendors. Be careful, it is hard not to fill up on samples before you buy! 

Last year when we visited there was an amazing collection of vintage posters and artwork. Incredible old ads for designers, the price tags for these items were steep but they are still fun to look at! 

I love the La Jolla Open Aire Market, you can find everything from Asian-fusion street food to treasure found on scuba diving adventures. You can get a quick massage or have your knives sharpened. There is even live music to entertain you while you shop away your Sunday!

Don't forget to grab a bag of San Diego Kettle Corn before you leave so that you can enjoy the market all day long! 

For more info on the  La Jolla Open Aire Market click here. 

A couple tips to help you enjoy the Market more efficiently:

1.   Bring cash, there is an ATM but it charges you nearly $4 to withdraw money. Add in a cross-border charge if you are Canadian. Many vendors offer the Square for card payments at a much lower cost than withdrawing money, very cool and something you may want to look into if you are a small business.

2.   Bring a bag; we totally forgot to do this! Your arms will fill quickly with items you will pick up.

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Next Level: Candy Crush Saga Leggings!

The debate continues on whether leggings qualify as proper pants, but one thing is for sure if you are a Facebook user you have at least one friend who is a Candy Crush Saga addict. Its simple math, 132 millionactive players each month means pretty much everyone who would read this little blog has a candy crusher in their life. Now you can support their habit this Christmas with a pair of pseudo –pants or leggings with  the Candy Crush design so that this craze is no longer just on one’s mind it’s on their behind too!

You can find this colorful treat online at Bellies and Booties.com. http://www.belliesandbooties.com/products/zara-terez-candy-crush-leggings

For more mind blowing stats on the Candy Crush addiction that has taken over the online world check out this CNET article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57600850-93/candy-crush-you-play-youre-hooked-now-what/

Just another great item that will take your game to the next level and make you look back in the future and wonder "what the hell was I thinking"?!

Kate the Hater: Running

If you are crazy about running you may want to stop reading this blog right here.

If you are super excited to get a run in just to update the world on Facebook or Twitter about your commitment to fitness, you definitely want to stop reading this blog right now.

I have really tried to like running, for a really long time. I have always wanted the long lean body I thought running would give me if I just committed some breathless gasping moments to putting one foot in front of the other at a heightened pace while jamming to my iPod way too loud. Alas, I am coming to the conclusion that it is just not for me. As much as I loved sports and embraced being an athlete early in life, I would always try to find reasons to skip running at my rugby, soccer and tennis practices. I’m not even sure that I was ever ashamed of my laziness; I don’t think I ever really tried to hide it. It was a little different at hockey, because let’s face it skating is awesome.

This is half a new revelation, half an old embarrassing admission I have been harboring for a while. Not so long ago I was in a phase where I thought life would not complete until I crossed running at least a half marathon off my bucket list, I even wrote a blog about it (if you want you can search it out). But, as I turn nearly twenty-four and a half I am completely fine with my lack of ambition to pant in public while looking as unattractive as possible. I have even lost a little luster to chase after people who have the rubber toy I want in this very docile stage of life I am in. Life used to be a battle of chase or be chased, score and stop them from scoring;  but right now I am content to just being warm and not overly hungry (because let’s face it, I am always a little hungry)*.

Now, if you nay-sayers are still reading 1. I told you to stop and 2. I get your to each their own nonsense. I have no problem with people who love running. It is some people’s hockey or soccer or rugby. It is your jam and enjoy it, I doubt any of you will stop your pass time just because of this little ole blog and I would hate to contribute to our general lack of fitness as adults.

Nothing made me happier than a vent tweet about this and getting an instant response from my sister who feels the same way about running that I do. I don’t consider 5k a real run (that is why I am so uppity about this, it is in response to way too many people sharing their minor achievements over social media all the time) and ‘Run or Dye’ is actually one of the few runs I would ever take part in (I like bright colors).  To be honest, ‘Run or Dye’ is the only run that doesn't involve Disney that I would ever consider doing.

Anyways, in conclusion the point I have been scrambling to make here is that I really don’t care if you can run 5k. Like every human being who hasn't run a marathon (or maybe even the ones who have) I will be astonished and marvel at your athleticism if you run anything over 10k, because that will just never happen for me.

I am now going to eat some candy and complete my soft, sloth mood today.

*Reading this back I am realizing I have turned pretty soft, even though I have never been thinner or happier (ever). 

Social Media Frustrations

I put a lot of time and effort into honing my social media skills.

Seriously, I have read ‘Social Media Marketing for Dummies’.

I have taken LYNDA.com’s Social Media courses and spent a lot of time learning about how to craft perfect social media campaigns and posts, so nothing is more frustrating to me than a post like this going viral. Yes, I spent time searching for the perfect rainy day photo to start my show but it was nothing compared to the time I spend writing our stations mandatory blogs.

Yes, rubber boot dogs are adorable. I love that my post went Kootenay viral this morning. But nothing is more frustrating than the love a simple weather related post can get in comparison with things like our station blogs.

To add to the frustration, my blog post showing what I would potentially look like on meth is my most viral blog post. I am pretty happy my second most popular blog post is my ‘In Defense of Nickleback’, which took a long time to write (so I am happy about it).

Here is my face on meth:

Social media, you are madness. No matter what anyone says there is very little science and method to it all. So post rubber boot dogs, hopefully your business sells rubber boots. 

Kate's Reading Challenge Book 4: ‘Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead’ by Sheryl Sandberg

One of my goals I set for myself on my twenty-fourth birthday was reading a book a week.  I am a little behind, moving twice and finishing school put a damper on my plan. To help motivate myself to finish books on time every week my new plan is to share my latest read with you on my blog. I will read anything and everything and I would love your suggestions, feel free to email them to me at kate@mountainfm.net.

Book 4: ‘Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead’ by Sheryl Sandberg

I have heard a lot of criticism about ‘Lean In’. When people asked me, “What are you reading?” I received some pretty negative feedback from people who think Sheryl Sandberg’s arguments were feminist propaganda. I disagree.

I understand a lot of the arguments against ‘Lean In’ and I would advise haters to read this book before judging it. Yes, there is strong message advocating for females to have more equal treatment in the work place (which I completely agree with). Not everyone will agree with the points made with regard to gender barriers and roles in adulthood, but I think everyone can still take something from this read.

‘Lean In’ provides a ton of valuable information useful for professionals seeking leadership or desiring to be leaders in their field. Being new to the permanent work force, I will take some of her messages about mentorship and respect with me for the rest of my career.

I feel like so many people have been rapped up in the gender discussion this book created and forgot to read past the first couple pages. Sandberg’s message has been lost on people trying to combat feminism, which is a total shame because there is a lot of value in this book for everyone.

Kate's Pet Peeves: Social Media Whiners

I hate reading people whine on social media.

It is one of my pet peeves. It seems like people no longer understand how to cope with basic problems in daily life. It is like the new ‘go-to’ response to things is to complain about things online. The only thing worse than the initial complaint or rant about an issue is how offended people get by their ‘followers’ or friends respond unfavorably.

I love using social media, my friends and family are spread across Canada and it is the perfect way to keep in touch on a daily basis. But, do I care that they are angry that people are criticizing their choice to switch their baby’s formula to whatever they can get on sale that week (yes, that is a very specific and real example)? Nope, not even enough to comment about it (except in this rant-like blog).

I really hope schools start teaching children how to use the web properly, because all of us growing up with it kind of suck at it. Okay, that’s not true; all of us radio hosts are Internet-gurus who do not complain and can find you the most adorable animals online.

I am just kidding, kind of. I really do find web-whiners annoying, but recently I have benefitted from a little strategic Twitter complaining. While I do not condone bitching about the onions on your Big Mac, when you are having a problem witch a large corporation and a lot of your money is on the line (to me a lot of money is over $100), than go for it… but only once (per issue).

I have complained via Twitter twice, both times I have received timely appropriate responses on large-scale problems. Why? Because some companies do have people on staff waiting to search you out and ensure that you are one happy customer. And, I used firm language and did not abuse my right to voice my concerns.

My first complaint came nine months ago after a major electronics company lost my iPad they had been repairing (under insurance) two months after they told me it was repaired. My second complaint was last week (August 2013) after waiting nearly a month to hear back from my car insurance company after an accident. In both cases, both companies responded to my indirect tweets (I did not @ message them) within minutes and the situations began to be worked out in a timely manor. Had I have not sent out my tweets than I would have continued to be on their backburners, which would have continued to waste my time and money.

Both of my issues were worked out in amazing fashion once I used a gentle but firm tweet to get my problem out in the Twitterverse. Before I tweeted, people recommended the good-ole angry phone call, but I honestly hate phone calls and I am too busy to sit on hold for an hour. A little firm input online will usually result in a message or email that will get a polite phone call at your earliest convenience (no waits, less angst). Everybody wins!

I have problems all the time, being minorly addicted to fast food I had two imperfect orders at two fast food restaurants within 10 minutes last week (UUUURRRRGGGG!!!!). Like everyone else I am human and wanted to tell the world by picketing outside both restaurants with a sign explaining my slight. But, I only have a half-hour for lunch and need a job to pay off my student loans. Every time I fight the urge to open up my Twitter app and complain, why don’t I? Because I value my followers and would hate from them to think I do not value my place on their news feed. Seriously, 30 cents worth of onions is not as valuable to me as those people’s interactions on a semi-regular basis.

I guess my message in this rant of a blog is that social media is not a time machine that can take you back in time to fix an imperfect situation when you press the post button. Unless you think some specific individuals out there can make the situation better and you don’t mind potentially losing followers because of the post, than keep your complaints to yourself. Especially the age-old complaint, “I’m SOOOOOOO tired”. Being tired is part of being an average adult, have a coffee (like the rest of us) and get over it.  

Okay, maybe I have complained over a smaller issue too… I did once tweet to KFC Canada asking when the Zinger Double-Down would be back; it was August 2012 and as of Spring 2013 the Zinger Double-Down is back in KFC Canada restaurants. Triple-win Kate.

Kate's Guilty Pleasures: Ray Charles The Golden Retriever

Every time I log into my Facebook account I am overcome by cuteness. I ‘like’ Ray Charles the Golden Retriever, one of the cutest dogs I have ever seen. Ray (short for Raymond of course) is a blind Golden Retriever with over 86,000 likes on Facebook (at the time of this post).

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am blue and heart-sick that I don’t have a dog. I totally could, but I know it is not the right time in my life for a permanent pet and that it would be unfair to the dog. Ray is making it a little easier for me to cope without a dog with his multiple Facebook posts a day. I know this sounds SO silly, a Facebook dog does not even come close to the love and affection from a real pet; but it does help.

Everyday I bother everyone around me to come and look at Ray Charles’s latest post when it pops up in my feed. It makes me so happy to see has incredible, loving owners who love him even though he cannot see. And, nothing warms my heart more than seeing posts of Ray Charles cuddling up with his brothers Harley and Jack (he calls them his bruddas.. pause and awe with me).

Until I get to a point in my life where I can have a dog responsibly, Ray Charles you are the closest thing to a pet I will have… your masters are amazing for sharing you (and your furry family) with the world!

To like Ray Charles on Facebook click here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ray-Charles-The-Golden-Retriever/357618627685121?hc_location=stream