Nebraska Jobs, Dana, and Bitchery

People say the economy is doing pretty good right now. People say that things are looking up after unemployment shot up a few years ago. Those people can try to find a job in Nebraska. About 3 years ago, I had a horrible time finding employment around Blair and Omaha. Even with a college education, I was searching for a job for almost 2 months before APAC threw me a bone. I only took that job because nothing else was available and I needed to pay rent. I hated APAC. I absolutely hated it. When I moved here to Denver, I found a job in 3 days, and I really didn’t look that hard.

Now, even though the economy is supposedly so much better, I know people back in Blair who are having the same problems I had. They have degrees from Dana, yet can only find shit jobs. I’m not saying it’s the Dana part of the degree that holds them back. What I’m saying is that all of these “experts” talking about the economy need to take a closer look at the rural parts of this country to see what’s really happening to a lot of people. My buddy Andy has a degree, and he has writing talent, a lot of talent. I enjoy writing, and I’m not too shabby at it, but Andy is on a whole different level. Andy is actually on a level above some of today’s popular best-selling authors, if you ask me. He looked for a month or two before taking a job at a AAA call center, much like APAC. A shit job for sure. Since then, he’s gotten a job at a Mutual of Omaha call center. So, a slightly better job with better pay. He likes it more. However, a college grad shouldn’t be sitting behind a desk taking calls when there’s so much untapped potential.

Take my ex-roommate William as another example. Sure, William isn’t the most favored person by some, and I completely understand those criticisms. However, he got his degree easily, not like some athletes who squeak by with Cs, and he’s worked in the Dana college library as an employee, not a work-study student, for at least 3 years. Also, he’s pretty good with computers. He thinks he knows more than he does, but nonetheless, he isn’t too shabby with them. He shouldn’t have trouble finding a job either, but after Dana fired a bunch of people, including William, he looked for over 2 moths for a job that meshed with his prior work experiences. He too got shafted. He just took on a job as a janitor at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant because the job market sucks so much. A college degree, and he’s a janitor.

Andy, and his future wife Danielle, are considering moving out to Denver so that she can pursue her further education at DU. I certainly hope they do move here. Sure, not only would I have a good friend here in Denver to chum around with, but he’d have much better luck in finding a job that suits him. Same with William. Not that I’d necessarily want William in the same city as me, but he needs to either get more education, such as a Master’s Degree, or move to a place where he can use the degree he has. I love Nebraska. It’s where I was born and raised. But it’s just not a good place for jobs right now, and I’m glad I’m not living there now, wasting my life at APAC or some other god-forsaken shitbox.

This little topic leads me into another little rant I have, also dealing with jobs. Every so often, I get one of these newsletter things from Dana that list updates on Alumni such as marriages or new jobs. I can’t read these updates anymore without becoming pissed-off. I really enjoyed my field of study while at Dana. I enjoy the Communication field and I thoroughly enjoyed my many years on KDCV. I maybe wasn’t the best D.J., but I had fun and I did actually run the station for a year. Some may say I made some managerial mistakes, but I honestly feel that the station was a better place when I left it then when I came on as Ops Manager. So, I look at these updates and see alumni who were also in the communication field who land these awesome jobs. What pisses me off is that half of these people didn’t do jack shit at Dana. These people got the same degree as I did, but did half as much, or did it all, but did a shitty job. Some bitch, who shall remain nameless, got some high paying job in a television or radio station, yet while she was working for me at the radio station, she did nothing. I mean absolutely fucking nothing. She was given a number of small tasks and in the entire year, zero of tasks got done. She was paid like $85 a month to basically just hold the title. I see these athletes who graduated with me get good jobs, yet while at Dana, they barely survived the easiest courses offered. I’m not saying that my job now is bad, but I’ve worked my ass off, and am going for my Master’s Degree, to get this job and work towards something better. These Dana shitheads I refer to get these good jobs with no sacrifice whatsoever.

And as far as Dana goes, I have one more thing to complain about. Fuck You Vern. That’s right Vern, Fuck Off. As I said, I was KDCV manager for a year. During that year, I, and my staff who actually did something, proposed a bunch of things to better the station. Pretty much every idea was shot down by McComb because she said it wasn’t possible. One of those items was streaming KDCV over the internet. William, as Ops Manager, proposed that to Vern the next year and was also shot down. Now I’m not saying that KDCV was ready for internet streaming at that time. KDCV had it’s problems, and it was probably best that we didn’t stream at that time. However, in one of those lovely Dana newsletters I got 1 year after I graduated, I saw a story on KDCV. This story was pretty much a big ass-kissing festival glorifying Vern and the Ops Manager at the time. Now I can’t remember the guy’s name, but when I was at Dana, he showed absolutely NO interest in KDCV. He showed up at one meeting at the beginning of a year, then failed to do anything else from then on. Now all of a sudden, KDCV not only interests him, but acts as his personal crusade of excellence.

Vern said in the story that internet streaming was now in effect due to his, and the current Ops Manager, work based of THEIR idea to stream. Vern said that thanks to this new Ops Manager and his progressive thinking and outlook, that streaming was made possible. Well piss off and die you dirty bastard. I’m not saying that William and I did all the work, but we worked towards this goal for 2 years, and made KDCV to what is was when this new Ops manager comes in. We worked towards it and were shot down every goddamn time. The minute I graduate, Vern and the fuck-mook take credit for everything. Sure, Vern knows what he’s doing, but he also knows how to shaft a person as well. All he had to say was “Thanks to our current Ops Manger Jimmy Fuckass, and the efforts made over the last few years by other students, streaming audio is now possible.” That would have been just fine. Yeah, Dana can’t give me credit in the least, but they can still throw my picture up on Dana’s Campus Life webpage to advertise KDCV. Yeah, that’s right bitches, that’s me sitting there at the mic. That’s when I came in for 2 ½ hours on my off time for that little photo shoot. Where the fuck were you Vern? Probably had your hand up some poor dummy’s ass.

And the station name. That part of this little story pissed me off to. When I was introduced to the station, it had the name "The Jam." Personally, I've always thought that was a stupid ass name. Everytime I hear that name, I picture Bananarama dancing around the stage in neon tights. When I became Ops Manger, I asked all the staff and deejays at a meeting if they wanted a different name. All but 2 people said yes. I then asked for suggestions. Of all the suggestions, Nowhere Radio was the most liked by everyone there. Now, I can understand where Alumni or faculty wouldn't care for that name. However, it was voted upon and it pushed the outdated "Jam" out of the way. In this story, Vern goes on the say that the station is now back to "The Jam" after a short time as "Nowhere Radio." He then went on to make a snide comment about the name "Nowhere Radio." Fuck you again Vern. You weren't working there when it was changed. You never asked me why it was changed. You didn't bring it to my attention that this name bothered you. However, the minute that the people who voted on it leave Dana, you and the admin change it, and then insult it? At least we tried to be a bit progressive in how we dealt with the station. Change can be a bad thing, but it can be a good thing too if given the chance. But fine Vern, be that way. One thing is for sure, and that's if Dana ever asks me for money, they're not getting it, simply because this little article pissed me off. It was bad journalism, and the only point of it was to make the current faculty/staff seem like Gods.

I'm not saying that I was the best thing that ever happened to KDCV. I'm just saying that the guy the comes in as Ops Manager after William and I didn't give a flying fuck about KDCV before he took it over, and all of a sudden he's the best thing that's ever happened to it. KDCV has been made better by every staff member, deejay, and listener who's taken the time to try to make KDCV better. According to Vern, if it wasn't for him and this shitheel ops manager, the KDCV station wouldn't even have electricity.

Now I feel a lot better. Now get offa’ my porch ‘fore I get the shotgun!