Shameless Self Promotion
Hello my fellow ITR’ers,
For the record, I am ashamed of what will follow, as I understand that it does not address a subject matter that anyone cares about. That being said…
I feel that, in a lot of ways, this ITR group is something of a family. While we may not know specifics about one another, we do know what matter’s most about one another; our opinions on baseball.
- Progmatinee – you’re our older brother who we look up too, yet want to run screaming from every once in a while.
- Ed The Ump – you’re our wise old uncle, who isn’t afraid to speak the truth!
- Agbayani – you’re our own personal Peter Gammons. Damn you know some numbers.
- Bill – you’re our grandfather; always with an amazing story to tell.
- Doctor Christopher – you’re our family pediatrician; always there to give us all a shot of hope.
I know I left a bunch of you out (and I’m sure you’re devastated - as if all of that wasn’t creepy enough), but with the family theme in-mind, I wanted to tell you all a bit about myself and also I want to ask you all a favor.
I am 23 years old and live in Denver. I went to college at CU Boulder, graduated in May of 2010 with a degree in Political Science, and for the past year have been working a ‘real job’ as a Project Manager for a content localization company. Two weeks ago I quit my job to pursue my dream of being a writer. Toward that end, I am in the process of applying to CU’s graduate journalism program, as well as applying for any and all relevant internships and jobs, paid or unpaid. Yes, I went from a real job making 50k a year out of college, to this. My parents are elated.
Also towards my dream, I have set up my own blog, which at this point is awful. But, as bad as it may be I was hoping I could count on you all to become followers, even if you never look at the thing. I will be posting daily about all sorts of things, including, but not limited to, the Rockies. As any of you that have read my comments this year will know, I am far better at capturing the spirit of this game and this team that we love, than I am with analytic breakdowns or technical observations. If you ever have anything to add to my site, which doesn’t take away from your participation on the ITR site, I would really appreciate it.
http://milehightwaddle.blogspot.com/
I will not be upset or offended if none of you choose to check out my little blog, and I really hope this post isn’t taken as an attempt to diminish the ITR following (not that I could if I wanted too). It’s simply a favor for a dreamer.
Many thanks.
Matt G
LOL. I think I have that effect on a lot of people. I’ll definitely check your blog out, Matt. Do what you want to do my friend before its too late. At 23 I wasn’t even out of college yet, so you have the time to explore.
Matt. I will check out your blog. And I am a grandfather. 4 times over. And more if you count the ITR. Good luck on your blog. As an old guy, not really sure what a blog or a tweet is.
Matt…
“Follow your bliss.”-great social philosopher/writer Joseph Campbell. (Google him, his thoughts on life, happiness and the human condition are renowned the world over.)
“If you get up in the morning and don’t LOVE going to your job you had better get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. You will become a miserable, cranky and cynical old man before your time.”-Ed the Ump’s father, who wanted to be a commercial pilot following his stint as a bomber pilot in WW II, but, as was the custom, went into farming with his father. Nonetheless he still became a great father and good guy to all…he hid his frustration well.
“I want to see how an athlete reacts when the ‘shit hits the fan’…when things don’t go his way…when he takes a called third strike with two outs and the bases loaded in the conference championship game. When a big call doesn’t go his way. Then I’ll tell you what kind of coach he had and the role his parents took in his maturation process.”-Ed the Ump, well known self-described know-it-all, on the role of coaches and parents in the great game of life and baseball.
I will be an ardent follower and poster and will think the “good thoughts” regarding your career change.
Always remember, a poor review of your writing is a review none-the-less. Never, ever be afraid to fail. Or try.
Hoping good luck comes your way
MattG, that is awesome, and I am honoured to be counted in, even though I guess I have to stretch the truth sometimes (This wont hurt a bit) to bring a little hope.
I feel like this site is family as well. I check every morning before I get out of bed and get my day going and at least once before bed.
Hey, ITR is the WAltons!
Matt…visited your blog and posted a comment…it did not post.
Solutions?
Thanks fella’s. I truly appreciate all of your support and words of wisdom.
Ed – looking into that now. I’ll get back to you when as soon as I get it figured out.
OK Ed, because my blog is hosted on ‘Blogger’, you have to sign into ‘Blogger’ with either your Yahoo, Gmail, or Twitter account in order to become a follower of ‘Blogger’ blogs, which then will allow you to post a comment. If you have one of these account types, just choose ‘Sign In’ in the upper right corner of the screen. Sign in with your info and you’ll be able to interact with the blog, and become a ‘Follower’. If you don’t have an account that you can sign in with, never fear; I hope to have a real public blog up in a month or two which will be open to you all without needing an account to sign in and post comments.
I am interested,and will be a follower,when I can comment with my “old fart living in the past” AOL email address.So if collectively we are the Walton’s I say:Goodnight Matt,’night Prog,’night Agbayani,’night Ed,’night Doc,’night Bill,and of course-Goodnight Johnboy[wherever you are].
matt…you know, it’s funny – i just finised watching The Company Men and switched over here to see what the ITR family was up to and read your post…if you haven’t seen that movie it is about a group of people dealing with losing their jobs…i guess it is better to quit then get fired and i must say that you have a knack for writing (coming from an english minor and avid reader, which is just one rung higher than your grandma’s praise)…i wish you the best and after watching my father work 30 years in a job he hated, only to switch when he was 50 to a job he loved, i like the idea of you doing it a little earlier…
if i had it to do over again (i’m only 42) i’d for sure go to CU – that campus is amazing! and i’d write every day and play music and never look back…
hey Matt, just tried to post something on your blog and had an issue…i’m not sure if it is because i’m in the Philippines on business, but i was logged into my blogger account when i posted and got an error:
Sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
Found the following error:
Input error: Cookie value is null for FormRestoration
i can try again when i get home…
Hey Jaredean and Gary,
Thanks for the encouraging words. They truly do mean a lot.
I decided I didn’t like Blogger, so I switched hosts. For all that are interested, here is the new site, hosted by WordPress:
http://milehightwaddle.wordpress.com/
I think you’ll find this one easier to interact with. And, it should improve as time goes on and I learn more about the craft.
Thanks, again to you all! Looking forward to reading your comments to my twaddle :)
I was going to suggest wordpress – it really is the standard (even though mine is on Blogger).
Matt,
I’m coming in late because I have been working…as a writer. Good luck on your endeavors!
A bit of advice. A lot of people say they are writers. I always ask “Are you making a living?” And that’s the key. You can write all you want, but if nobody’s paying you, then it’s not a living. You have to be able to market your services. It took me a long time, but that doesn’t mean it will take YOU a long time.
I am coming up on 60 years of life. I worked as a journalist in newspaper, radio and TV beginning in 1970. About five years ago, I decided to try my own ideas to make a living. It was tough at first, but now my office is six feet away from my bed and my office opens when I turn on my computer station. I’m not making a killing, but I am “making a living”.
Find somebody or something that needs your talents and will pay for them. Be responsible to those folks, do good work, and it will happen. The internet offers many opportunities that many of us didn’t have early in our careers, so take advantage.
Best of luck! But remember luck rarely has anything to do with it.
I don’t have much advice but am curious, does writing have to be a “full time thing”? Do you absolutely have to quit your day job to do it or can you get yourself started by working at it around your normal schedule as time permits, build your “portfolio” and then once you’re marketable then quit the job?
Prog,
If you’re asking me I can say I worked at a Subway and a grocery store to get me through some tough times. I hope that answers your questions.