Mini Show Update

With Halloween 2 weeks away, I'm in a serious time crunch to get the show done and running. Here's my list to complete-

1. Finish programming the face
2. Program the lightning and pumpkins
3. Put out the lights/spider web/other props the week of.


I procrastinated on buying the projector, and they are currently sold out. It is supposed to ship in the next few days though, so I might have my singing pumpkins in the show. Or might not. Either way, it WILL be here for Christmas!



Christmas- I am still begging for your pictures! It's going to be awesome when your out there, watching the show, and suddenly your pictures comes up. I'm trying to not give away everything, but I still need a lot of them. For those that already sent some to me, thank you!

I recently updated my "Current Projects" page on the website, you can check it out here: Winter Light!

As for everything else to do with Christmas, there's a lot going on, and that needs to be done. It's going to be a busy few weeks, but Thanksgiving night it will pay off! This year is going to be incredible. I'm so excited to show you everything.


If you want to continue to stay updated on it all, please "Like" our Facebook Page.

Thanks!

-Austen

That's Your Lifestyle

While I was at work today, I glanced out the front windows to find a homeless lady sitting outside on the grass. She had a dog, a bag, and a carton of cigarettes, chain smoking her way into happiness. I left work, to find another homeless man on a corner with a sign on how he was a Vet, and how God will bless us if we help.

I really wish I had the time and money to rehabilitate these types of people. I think some do deserve a second chance. However, I also feel that most of these people have chosen this lifestyle. They may have had family trouble, or the simple fact of peer pressure gaining on their lives, pushing them into drugs and other problems.

There is an almost homeless man, close in relation, in my extended family. I'm not quite sure where he went wrong. Perhaps it was the times he cussed out his mom, or bribed his brothers and sister for money, which has continued to this day. My grandma has bought him 2 cars, a motor home, plus hundreds of dollars in food and gas and also has paid his cell phone bill just so she has some type of communication. What was his thanks for all this? Sold both cars, sold the motor home, and cusses her out for not giving him more money.

This guy is 100% able to work. He is an amazing mechanic, and can take a motor apart and put it back together faster than I can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Yet he refuses, and does drugs or whatever it is he does. He has chose that life, when he could very well get out of that horrible lifestyle. I just wonder how many other people refuse to turn their lives around. Perhaps everything is handed to them too often.

I feel bad for sounding so mean and negative. I feel bad that these people freeze on a winters night, when I'm in a warm bed. But I just feel they could change their life around. Maybe they just don't care, or aren't inspired enough to. I don't know. They have a story, and I have mine.

I Need You...

Your pictures, that is! As most of you know, for awhile now I've been asking people to email me their holiday pictures so I could use them in my Christmas light show.

No? Don't know what I'm talking about? Let me explain...


My best friend and I have come up with a new effect for Winter Light! We are going to project YOUR pictures that you send in during certain sections of the show. Why? Because this year's theme is Memories, and what better way to incorporate memories and stories than through pictures? A picture is worth a thousand words, and since our show isn't very long, we are using pictures instead of telling several thousand word stories.

Here's the deal: Find a picture of you and your family or friends in the snow, in front of the Christmas tree, opening presents on Christmas morning, drinking hot chocolate in-front of your own Christmas lights, the list goes on. As long as it's related to Christmas or winter, we will accept it.

We ask that you email your pictures to this address: ehurdag@hotmail.com

However, all I need is to save the picture to my computer, so if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, just send me a message or tweet with your picture and I can grab it.

We  need a ton of pictures, roughly around 100 or more. The more the better though.
Since this project is quite large, and we still have a lot of other things to work on, the deadline to send your pictures in is October 28th. Please don't wait until the last minute, send them in as soon as you can.

You could find more information about this Here.
And don't forget to like us on Facebook to stay updated on all things Christmas and Halloween.
We also have an Event on Facebook going, so please "attend" and "share" it with your friends. Again, the more pictures the better!

If, for any reason, you have a question, I encourage you to ask, via email or comment on this post.


Thank you for helping us to create the best year ever for Winter Light! I promise, you won't want to miss this!

Kern County Fair 2011

Well the fair has finally ended, and I'm sad to say that I missed a lot this year. Out of ten years, this was my least-attended fair. Since I was an adviser for the Jr. Fair Board this year, I wasn't really required to be out there for the activities. Also between school and work, finding time in-between was a little tough. I did make it out there for a few activities though, and I had a few nights to just hang out with friends which is always nice and relaxing.

The fair this year was bittersweet to me. I was pleased with the entertainment, and how that improved from previous years. But even with this improvement, I didn't see a huge attendance increase. Actually, it felt like one of the worst years for attendance. Perhaps that is just due to the economy, which is totally understandable. For a family of four, it can get spendy quick.

For me personally, I'm getting bored of the same things. It's always the same food places, the same rides and games, the same people on the little stages scattered around. I know I'm out there more than most people and I do see everything several times each year, so I'm probably more tired of it than everyone else. However, I still would like to see some small changes throughout the place. Just keep it fresh and updated.

Overall it seemed like a very successful year, and I've heard some positive reviews about everything which is always reassuring.

For any members of the KCJFB reading this- I'm happy with how the group turned out this year, and what you all accomplished. We successfully finished another year, and this year seemed smoother than some of the previous years. My only advice to you all is to stay professional at times. (I hope you get what I'm hinting at here...) Good job though. :)

If Mr. Bill Blair happens to read this, I'd just like to thank him for his time and hard work he has put in to make the Kern County Fair a great one each year. I wish him the best with retirement and the future. So thank you.


While I'm looking forward to 2012, I'm not sure if I'll make it out there with college. I know I probably won't be returning to the Jr. Fair Board as an adviser or member, so if I do come out it will only be once or twice. I'm not sure how I will feel about that... I've never been to the fair just twice. Well, not since I was 5 anyway.

Here are some highlights of this year~


Jr. Fair Board-

 Some awesome Disney collections!

 Around the Fair

 Jr. Fair Board Stage Activities

 Friends

  (Hidden Mickey?)

I can't wait to hear what next year's theme is... I was surprised how well "It's Magic" worked out. Always something to look forward to, I guess.

The wait for a deep fried Snickers, Oreo, Twinky, and Kool-aid begins. And a long wait it will be!


Hope you all had a great time out there this year. And congrats to all the Champions in the barns! Your dedication has finally paid off! (Amazing feeling, isn't it?)

Now time to relax and catch up on some sleep. I have over 12,000 lights that aren't going to hang themselves!


-Austen

Inspiration

I'm a firm believer in inspiration. Everyone should find something that inspires them to help them accomplish a task or goal. Some say they don't know what inspires them, and I beg to differ. Think of something your passionate about. That should be your inspiration, and you should suddenly be in the 'inspired' mood to go out and finish your project.




As many of you know, I'm currently working on my Christmas light show. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, this should explain more.
But for those that do know, I also need inspiration to give this everything I got. I find my inspiration from Disneyland. That's why the majority of my music for my shows are somehow related to Disney. (I never give out the music to my show before it starts. You just have to come and see it to find out. :)  )

Over the past summer, I saw World of Color at Disney California Adventure for the first time. To me that was instant inspiration. Just the lighting around the Disney Parks inspire me. I'm the one who rides Small World, and stares at the ceiling to see the lights, and what techniques the Imagineers used to bring the props to life. And like recently, I'm a single rider. You know, almost 20 year old guy, riding Small World alone, just staring up and occasionally at the dolls to see what lights are where, and how they are used. Hey, I can't help it. It inspires me. (Sadly not a lot of single girls ride Small World alone. They are usually accompanied by their lover.) 


For all those that seek inspiration, and for all those that experience it, you know it's hard to get in that special mood where you can only concentrate on whatever your working on and stay in that mindset. I came across this quote that really explains this problem, and what to do when it occurs.


"It doesn't matter if you're a writer or a baker. When the mood strikes you and you find you can suddenly make things happen, do everything to stay in that mood. Create, build, bake. You can always rework later."
-Randy Murray

That is so very true that many do not follow. Usually we get sidetracked or we are simply too busy to continue working on whatever it is we are working on. The excuses we can come up with are actually pretty pathetic.

I hope that the next time you are inspired, you run with it. It will only benefit your work.

Most Moving Movie Dialogue

Movies all have those characters that you fall in love with. Sometimes they may be the wise ones, or the stupid ones. The one who jokes around, or the shy one that ends up doing something great at the end. Movies are full of inspiration and moving moments, along with some dark parts mixed in. Notice that every great film ever made has a conflict and resolution in it. It's what we as humans like and are attracted to. It's what makes it great.

For me, the following quote is probably the most moving couple of sentences I have ever heard in a movie. Not only does it personally affect me, but it's just about life. It's straight to the point, but has some philosophical thinking mixed in. Overall it's an incredible section in the dialogue to The Lord of The Rings.

Samwise Gamgee: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo; the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end... because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was, when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

 

Frodo Baggins: What are we holding on to, Sam?

 

Samwise Gamgee: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Lion King in 3D

Well, I saw the Lion King in 3D last Friday night, and all I have to say is go see it before it leaves theaters. It was amazing to see this movie once again in theaters, and seeing it in 3D really is incredible. A lot of people are saying how Disney did this just to make money. Even though it has made $61.7 million with it being re-released, I think they did it for another reason also. This new generation of kids surrounded me in the theater. They now get to see a classic Disney-Animation film. Now they can grow up knowing the Lion King story, like I got to. Sure, there are animated films out there these kids are seeing. But none of them compare to an old Disney story.

It's been awhile since I've seen this movie, probably around 5 years. I forgot how good the music is. Not just the sing-along parts, but the overall theme song and score. I might have to buy it...


Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that you should really consider seeing it before it's too late. I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Disney Magic is now very alive in this new generation. 

VF Scavenger Hunt

On September 10th, I participated in the visionsfantastic.com Scavenger Hunt with my good friend Stephanie as a partner. This Hunt took place in Disneyland, Downtown Disney, and the Disneyland Hotels. It was a blast! I finally got to meet the people behind the user names and avatars on the forums, and spent an incredible day scouring the Park for little objects and such. We will definitely be attending next year as well.



Here are a couple group photo shots we took-








Stephanie made our awesome Chip N' Dale "Rescue Rangers" shirts. :D


Thanks again to all the Viffers who made this Hunt possible. It was a ton of fun! And I enjoyed visiting all my fellow VF friends, even if it was just a brief "Hello". We should plan a DL trip soon, yea?




The next few pictures are from DCA's construction. Everything is looking great, and the temporary entrance really works out nicely.



*CoughrealflagsCough*








Absolutely amazing. It's really looking great.







The tracks are in. Looking nice.










And that's all I have. Again, it was a great day. I look forward to next year, and I look forward to my next Disney trip. (Still unsure when, I'm gonna try to make Mickey's Halloween Party).


-Austen

First week at CFA

Well, as most of you already know, I now work at Chick-Fil-A. I just completed my first week yesterday and I can officially say that I love it! The people are so nice and helpful, everyone jokes around and has fun, and management actually has common sense. I really enjoy it so far. :)

Upcoming Posts

Hey everyone. Just wanted to say that I've been super busy, and I have a few posts I'm going to do within the next few days. That is, when I have time.

I'll be sharing stories with you all about my new job, the visionsfantastic Scavenger Hunt that took place in Disneyland last weekend, and another brief Halloween update. (Yep, still working on that face.)


As for right now though, I have work and school and not a lot of free time. So, stay tuned for these short updates. :)


Thanks,
Austen

John's not so Incredible Pizza

Before I start telling my experience at JIPC (John’s Incredible Pizza Co.), I wanted to make a few things clear.
1) I love John’s. I like what John Parlet has created. It is a fun place to go with your family and ride rides, play games, eat all you can at the pizza/salad/pasta/dessert buffet, and just hang out. I am not putting down the Company.
2) I take full responsibility for the things I am about to write. I understand that ANYONE can, and will read this blog.
3) The stories I am about to tell are my own. This is my experience. My thoughts. My opinions.

So, here is my story. From the beginning. You might want to grab some coffee before you start reading though.

It all started in November of 2010. I walked in, wrote my name down on the sign-in sheet, and waited in the old Build-A-Bear section to be called back for the interview. I started to talk to this girl, who worked here before. I asked her why she left. Her reply: “Well, I went to college in Montana. But I was going to leave no matter what because management here was a mess. I heard it’s better now though.” I guess that was my first clue.
I found out that it was group interviews, so all 12 of us were split into 2 groups. My group was second to go, and we quietly talked while waiting. After a few minutes they called us into the party room, where 1 manager and 2 supervisors were sitting. The interview went well. I was a lot more comfortable in a group, and we just told about ourselves and why we decided on John’s as a job. We then were dismissed and sat in another party room. They came in, called out a few names, and those who were called could leave. Everyone else was hired. And so it began.

Shortly after I was hired, not even 3 weeks after, 2 of the people that did my interview left John’s. That left Angie, one of the managers. Another clue? Well, maybe. But I didn’t pay any attention to this.
John (No, not corporate John) was my manager for Funworld when I first started. About 2 months later, John’s Incredible Pizza opened a new store in Oregon, and John was offered a job as Store Manager. He moved his family there, only to be told he is no longer going to become a store manager, but a supervisor for Party Central, almost 3 ranks down. I’m not sure what happened after that, but I wish him the best. I’m pretty sure he was the last one that had the common sense to run a store.
Angie then became manager of Funworld. I was a little nervous of this at first, but decided to give her a chance. (What choice did I have any way? Haha) Shortly after she became my manager, I got sick and called out for 3 days. This was at the end of January, so I was only at John’s for 3 months now, and I really didn’t want to miss work already. To my surprise, Angie was totally alright with it, and she told me if I ever needed to call out to just let her know. I was pretty much speechless after this, because some of my co-workers have told me stories about how she is mean and such. Well, not to me she wasn’t. She always was nice to me, even when I quit. But that part comes later.
As the months passed, I saw her as JIPC’s last hope. New Team Leaders were promoted to Supervisors. They had no clue what they were doing, or how to run a business. They just took the position because it paid better. Drama happened between them, personal lives got in the way of work. It was rumored Angie wanted to ‘clean up’ the store a bit and fire some people. So far it hasn’t happened. It is what it is, I just kept to myself back in Funworld, doing my job and thing.

Something happened that made a huge effect on Funworld, and other departments. Out of the blue, a Team Leader quit. Then one was promoted to supervisor. Then one left after being told they were going to become supervisor, but never did. (Do you see the reoccurring pattern yet?) This meant we had 3 new Team Leader positions to fill, and quick. One of the supervisors, before they left my department, threw my name out there to become 1 of the 3. And one day, a Team Leader and Supervisor came up to me, and my co-worker, and said the last Team Leader position was between us. Weeks went by. Nothing. Then one day I came into work to find a new Team Leader. Another example how this company cannot keep their word if their life depended on it.
These new people, leading this department, were inexperienced, because there were only 2 people who could effectively train them. It was pretty much chaos for awhile.

Let’s fast forward a little more. Six months has passed since Angie was our manager. And every sixth months the managers rotate departments. Angie was getting ready to leave us, and Jake was coming in. And since I began my job, I have heard horror stories about Jake. But again, what can you do? Nothing. The first week Jake became my manager, my hours went from 20+ to 7 a week. Now, at John’s, if you do something wrong, they cut your hours. They don’t come up to you and tell you what you did wrong, or what you can improve on, they just cut your hours. And if your scheduled time is, let’s say, 1-5 on Friday, and they are busy, they come up to you and tell you how you ‘have’ to stay. If you say no, and leave, the next week your hours will be cut. I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with this AT ALL. If I can, I’ll stay and help. That’s more money to me. But this isn’t my career. This isn’t my life. I can’t just stay whenever you say so, and you sure as heck can’t make me. However, this is part of the game John’s likes to play. What will you do for hours? To them we are there for fun, not to make money.
So my hours are low, but it’s not just mine. It’s several people, people that I’m the closest to, my friends. The secret leaked out- Jake has a list of people, in 3 categories. Category 1- Team Leaders. Category 2- names which I’m not going to say here. And Category 3- Me. My friends, and others. After knowing this, I looked at the schedule. CAT 1 people- 30 hours. CAT 2 people- 20+ hours. CAT 3 people- 7 hours.
Jake picked favorites. However, I heard this from a co-worker. It’s just a rumor, right? I talked to a friend in another department. They confirmed that he does make a list of people. They have seen it. Such a great Team Work atmosphere, right? HA!
I live 20 minutes away from John’s. I have bills to pay. I have school to pay for. 7 hours is not worth my time, or gas, to work. Everyone else who got these type of hours also agreed. So we confronted Jake about it. At first, my Supervisor told me that I’m not coming up in the schedule, that there is an error and it will be fixed. I gave it 2 weeks. No difference. Remember, I’m working 2 days a week, at 3 hours each day. (The scheduling at John’s is crap. We often work 3 hour shifts, 4 hour shifts, and if we aren’t busy they can send you home at your 2 hour. Many times have I been sent home at my 2.)
Tuesday came around about a month later. Since games are checked every Wednesday, I cleaned my list of games. That was my last day to work for awhile, I was off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I came into work on Friday. I walked into the office, prepared to ask my Manager or Supervisor about my hours. The first thing they said- “You failed your games.” Me: “What?” Supervisor: “You failed your games. They weren’t clean. When was the last time you cleaned them?” Me:” The Tuesday before I was off.. Then I wasn’t scheduled until today.” Manager: “Well you obviously don’t know our cleaning policy. We will walk you around and show you what you did wrong.”
I was furious. I already wanted to quit, so I was holding myself back from taking off my shirt and hat then and throwing them down… Or at them. Did they really expect me to come to work when I’m not scheduled to clean my freaking games? I spent over an hour that one Tuesday cleaning them. Later on I was told that if I passed my game checks that maybe I’d get more hours. Maybe if I was scheduled to work more I could.
A few weeks later one of my co-workers, who is a good friend, confronted Jake again on their hours. As they sat in the office, Jake said this was a test. He was giving low hours to people to see who can handle it. He called it a stress test. It’s all a game at John’s not so Incredible Pizza. Of course we are going to get stressed. Most of us have school to pay for, with other bills as well. However, this was a ‘legal’ way to make us quit. He didn’t want us there, it was obvious. While some people say it was just a slow time and no one had good hours, there has always been certain people that had more hours than others. Why not even it out? Why not give it to people who actually worked and did something? Because from what I saw they gave the hours to the lazy people.

I was done with John’s at this point. I came, did my shift, and left. I never said much to management. I never complained about my hours. I quietly looked around for another job. While I was looking around, Speedway started to be torn down. They are taking it out, and putting 7 rides in that space. My supervisor came up to me and said that everyone’s hours are going to increase when we get these new rides, and that they will have to hire even more people to help us. I said great. I’m excited. And to be honest, I still am. I can’t wait to see everything when it’s finished. It’s going to be awesome! However, I knew I wouldn’t be operating these rides. This kinda bummed me out too, because my whole life I wanted to be a ride operator at Disneyland, and I felt this was a small version of it, plus experience I can take to Disney, and still can, since I did operate 3 rides and gave spiels, as well as telling people they aren’t tall enough to ride and such. Anyway, John’s is going to be cool after this is all done, I think. But this didn’t stop me from looking around.
My friend told me that Chik-Fil-A was hiring. The next day I went down there, picked up an APP, filled it out and turned it in. A few days later I got a call for an interview. Then the next day I got a call from them, and they told me that I’m hired. This was on 9/7. That night, I used all my pizza bucks and took my family out to dinner at John’s. This was it, I decided to give notice.

We hung out, ate, played a few games, then my family went and waited in the truck. I walked through Funworld, and said a few goodbyes to the people that were there. I told them Sunday would be my last day, and how much I will miss them. I’ve said this before, but I have met some amazing people at John’s. Friends that I will never forget, or lose touch with.
I started the walk from Funworld to the front. I asked them which manager was there, and they said Angie. Instant relief! She walked out of the finance office, and I asked if I could talk to her. I explained that I was offered another job, that has guaranteed me more hours. I said that I took it, and that this Sunday will be my last at John’s Incredible. She was a little shocked, I think. Her reply was that I’m a hard worker, nice, and that Chik-Fil-A is lucky to have me. I was not expecting that! But like I said before, Angie has always been nice to me. She told me to write out my notice, and how she has to help bring the line down out front. So I sat in the office, remembering the first time I came in there, and wrote out what I just told her. I left it on the counter, came out to the front, and told her thanks again. Her voice sounded a little sad, to be honest. And I couldn’t help but already feel nostalgic about the place I called hell two days before.











Sunday, September 11th. The Final Shift.


This day has finally come. The last shift at John’s Incredible. I took my time walking back to Funworld, and I came into the office and clocked in. My final shift was on the redemption counter. My supervisor was helping out, and talked to me about everything briefly. He supported me, like I thought he might. We were packed today, and I needed help on counter, so I called for help over the radio and who came? Jake, my manager. For the whole 20 minutes he helped right next to me, he didn’t say one word to me. About anything. It was probably better that way, but I really wanted to say “You got what you wanted.”
I did some of my last things I wanted to do- last time helping on counter, last time running boogie bump, last time fixing a ticket jam and cleaning the ticket eaters, and helping guests. We closed, and I talked to some of my co-workers for awhile. I said my goodbyes, gave the last handshakes and hugs, and headed out to my truck, which was painted by my awesome Funworld girls. Yes, I became teary eyed, but I know we will still stay friends.

Well, I told a lot of negative things about John’s, and I just wanted to say that even though I complain about that place, I’ve had some great times also. Some of my shifts have been fun, where we all laughed the whole time and just joked around. However, in this post I just wanted to share the drama and what happened behind closed doors. And yes, I know drama is at ANY job, nowhere is perfect, I get that. This place just seems worse, lacking all common sense and respect.

My hope is that management changes their views on things, and until then, I pray my co-workers who want out like I did find better jobs.






It's time for bed now. I have training for my new job early tomorrow morning. Thanks for taking the time to read my long post. I know some of you were really interested on what happened. Again, this is solely my story.





And like my Funworld girls wrote on my car- "Funworld Forever!"



Goodnight.

Super 8 and Mr. Giacchino

I saw Super 8 last Sunday night, and I have to say it passed my expectations. A nice film that should have been more popular. But one thing was better than the film, and that's the score.





Michael Giacchino has done many movies before, but he is probably known for his Pixar scores. From Cars, Up, the Incredibles, Ratatouille, to Mission Impossible 3, Cloverfield, 50/50, and Monte Carlo. Mr. Giacchino has some serious musical talent.

He isn't as popular as Hans, Danny, or a couple other composers. But at the rate that he is going, and what he has created so far, he will quickly become just as good, or better.

In the Super 8 soundtrack, which I highly recommend to those who love soundtracks, Michael Giacchino creates a love melody, and a suspense melody, and merges them. His transitions into each are incredible. Every composer has a trademark, they have something their good at. If the audience listens hard enough, or has musical experience, they can usually tell what their strong points are. For Michael, his strength is creating incredible melodies. You can see this in Up, Super 8, and in a few of his songs for the TV shows he has done.
A composer like John Powell is good at creating rhythms. It just varies between the individual.



So, I hope you get to see the movie, and buy the soundtrack. I promise you'll love it! Now, here's a Youtube video of one of my favorite songs that I think shows off his talent.