Day #78: Finishing Projects
Back in the early days of this I said that if James was going to spend so much time staring at TV we should do something productive like start a Magic School Bus podcast. We made the initial recording of the first episode on April 5 (isn't it nice of computers to give you a date to pinpoint how far behind you are on things?) and as of today I am pleased to announce that we finally have a podcast! It is still awaiting approval from Apple Podcasts and Spotify but should be accessible right now at seatbeltseveryone.libsyn.com. Right now it has one episode but I should be able to get the next two out tomorrow, they are all recorded and edited, they just need to be encoded and uploaded.
I started podcasting in the spring of 2015. To be exact, my first podcast episode of my first show launched May 29, 2015. James was thirteen months old and I had restarted my writing attempts that spring by writing flash fiction, so I launched what was at that time "the flash fiction podcast." I read short short stories by writers from all over (at that time you could get a free launch ad with one of the writer sites.) I bought a decent microphone and started recording in my basement. It was really fun. I got to be part of the podcast community, which is a cool group of people. It was *really* fun. But it was also completely exhausting. I started out doing it once a week...I look back on that time and wonder how in the heck I did that and then I remember that James was in what I lovingly look back on as The Golden Age of Naps where he would nap by himself for 90 minutes a day. Silly me, I thought that would last longer than six months. I was wrong. When I got to 50 episodes and one year I started releasing episodes every 2 weeks which was more sustainable. But I was still doing a lot. I did specials, I did segments, I did all kinds of things. And I had a blast. I took a ferry ride out to Kingston, WA one day to interview a poet in person in her office. I did a chat with a fellow short story podcaster that we released on both our shows. I did 100 word short story bonus episodes, and I put together 12 100 word stories for an episode once. We did Christmas specials, baseball opening day specials, poetry month specials, whatever I could think of. I joined women's podcasting communities.
By the time I got to episode 100 in late January 2018, I was exhausted and burned out on short short stories. I have two pieces of advice for people who want to start podcasts: don't underestimate how much work it is, and pick something you are super passionate about. I liked short short stories and the occasional poem. I wouldn't have started the thing if I didn't. But it wasn't ever like this was my thing...and I had devoted 2 and a half years to this topic. I was tired, I was burned out, and I was also pregnant.
I kept the show up. I did a season where I just talked about books I liked, pairing them up two by two. I enjoyed that a lot but without contributors or a hook it was hard to get people to listen. And after Max came it was hard to do even that. I released thirteen episodes in the first year after Max was born, the last of which was released May 26, 2019, almost a year ago (it was about 5 magical services your public library doesn't brag about enough.) They were pretty low tech...I bought a new USB mic so I could record and release them right from the iPad, it didn't even necessitate going into my office that I had set up as a recording space. They were just me having a conversation about topics that I liked and wanted to talk about, everything from graphic novels to the joy of indie bookstores to my tips for raising readers. It was nice to still feel connected to that podcaster life but with two small kids and a very occasional job it just became impossible and I, to use the term insiders use, podfaded. As in, I just stopped releasing the show.
It's still available. You can still find it in all of its seasons at noextrawords.wordpress.com.
I have missed podcasting FOR SURE, but I realized it was coming down to I could write or I could record. I just don't have the bandwidth in my life to do both, in fact as I have said here many times I often don't have the time to be either. But it's a really fun medium to be a part of. I'm a mega-listener to podcasts and I love indie podcasts that are produced kind of outside of the public radio level. Just for the record, some favorite podcasts of mine: The History Chicks, The West Wing Weekly, Ice Town Clowns, How to Be a Girl, and Write Now with Sarah Werner. So while I think my "original" show is going to stay on hiatus indefinitely, wading back into the water a little is exciting, even if it's just so I can talk to and hang out with James in a space that isn't us arguing about school.
The other project I got to work on tonight was recording my part of a choir piece for a virtual choir we are putting together. No one knows right now when it's going to be possible for us to come back together and sing, singing has been identified as a virus super spreader. There is a now infamous story of a church choir up in Skagit county that had rehearsal on March 10, which was also the last night my choir had rehearsal. One asymptomatic carrier spread the virus at that rehearsal, of the 60 people who were there, even with social distancing, 45 got sick and 2 died. It's such a scary thing. So singing has become scary which is just so frightfully sad because singing has meant so much to me in recent years. I started with my current choir in the fall of 2014 when James was four months old. I've been to New York with them. I've sung at Carnegie Hall with them. I've yet to miss a season, coming to the fall 2018 first rehearsal when Max was just like three weeks old. So each of us are being asked to record ourselves singing our part and some volunteer video editors are going to put it together. I've seen this from other choirs on YouTube and it's very powerful. You would think I would be well set up to do this, since I have the mic and everything ready to go for podcasting, but video is a whole different ballgame plus there's the relearning the music after 10 weeks with no rehearsals thing. The original deadline was tomorrow and I really didn't know how I was going to make it but apparently I am not the only one because the latest message is please get it to us when you can. So it is a work in progress, but I think after an hour or so of playing with it I finally have a recording setup that will work now I just need to get a good take.
So today has been kind of an odd one...James also had a one-on-one with his teacher to check his reading level, which joy of joys has gone up even though we haven't been doing the reading app like we are supposed to. One thing we are good at around here is practicing our reading. And in and amongst that we also bought a new washing machine which arrives Saturday. So it was a productive but kind of wild and crazy day today, but it feels really good to be finally making progress on things I've been saying for weeks that "I"m gonna get to." Almost makes life feel just a tiny bit normal.
Media consumption today: I read a whole book! Okay, I read a 79 page book of E.L. Konigsberg short stories, but it counts. It was okay. I also started a new book called Alphamaniacs: builders of 26 wonders of the word. I love both the author and the illustrator on this book and it is the reason I placed my last bookstore order because this book is new and I wanted to have it. I bought it for me but thought I'd give it a try reading to James tonight, he wasn't into it. Too bad. Mama will read it to Mama and enjoy it.
Today I'm thankful for music, podcasting, a sense of purpose, time to hang out with James, time to hang out with Max, time to hang out with Josh, a coming long weekend to hopefully get naps, a new washer on its way on Saturday, another day of health and life and love.
I started podcasting in the spring of 2015. To be exact, my first podcast episode of my first show launched May 29, 2015. James was thirteen months old and I had restarted my writing attempts that spring by writing flash fiction, so I launched what was at that time "the flash fiction podcast." I read short short stories by writers from all over (at that time you could get a free launch ad with one of the writer sites.) I bought a decent microphone and started recording in my basement. It was really fun. I got to be part of the podcast community, which is a cool group of people. It was *really* fun. But it was also completely exhausting. I started out doing it once a week...I look back on that time and wonder how in the heck I did that and then I remember that James was in what I lovingly look back on as The Golden Age of Naps where he would nap by himself for 90 minutes a day. Silly me, I thought that would last longer than six months. I was wrong. When I got to 50 episodes and one year I started releasing episodes every 2 weeks which was more sustainable. But I was still doing a lot. I did specials, I did segments, I did all kinds of things. And I had a blast. I took a ferry ride out to Kingston, WA one day to interview a poet in person in her office. I did a chat with a fellow short story podcaster that we released on both our shows. I did 100 word short story bonus episodes, and I put together 12 100 word stories for an episode once. We did Christmas specials, baseball opening day specials, poetry month specials, whatever I could think of. I joined women's podcasting communities.
By the time I got to episode 100 in late January 2018, I was exhausted and burned out on short short stories. I have two pieces of advice for people who want to start podcasts: don't underestimate how much work it is, and pick something you are super passionate about. I liked short short stories and the occasional poem. I wouldn't have started the thing if I didn't. But it wasn't ever like this was my thing...and I had devoted 2 and a half years to this topic. I was tired, I was burned out, and I was also pregnant.
I kept the show up. I did a season where I just talked about books I liked, pairing them up two by two. I enjoyed that a lot but without contributors or a hook it was hard to get people to listen. And after Max came it was hard to do even that. I released thirteen episodes in the first year after Max was born, the last of which was released May 26, 2019, almost a year ago (it was about 5 magical services your public library doesn't brag about enough.) They were pretty low tech...I bought a new USB mic so I could record and release them right from the iPad, it didn't even necessitate going into my office that I had set up as a recording space. They were just me having a conversation about topics that I liked and wanted to talk about, everything from graphic novels to the joy of indie bookstores to my tips for raising readers. It was nice to still feel connected to that podcaster life but with two small kids and a very occasional job it just became impossible and I, to use the term insiders use, podfaded. As in, I just stopped releasing the show.
It's still available. You can still find it in all of its seasons at noextrawords.wordpress.com.
I have missed podcasting FOR SURE, but I realized it was coming down to I could write or I could record. I just don't have the bandwidth in my life to do both, in fact as I have said here many times I often don't have the time to be either. But it's a really fun medium to be a part of. I'm a mega-listener to podcasts and I love indie podcasts that are produced kind of outside of the public radio level. Just for the record, some favorite podcasts of mine: The History Chicks, The West Wing Weekly, Ice Town Clowns, How to Be a Girl, and Write Now with Sarah Werner. So while I think my "original" show is going to stay on hiatus indefinitely, wading back into the water a little is exciting, even if it's just so I can talk to and hang out with James in a space that isn't us arguing about school.
The other project I got to work on tonight was recording my part of a choir piece for a virtual choir we are putting together. No one knows right now when it's going to be possible for us to come back together and sing, singing has been identified as a virus super spreader. There is a now infamous story of a church choir up in Skagit county that had rehearsal on March 10, which was also the last night my choir had rehearsal. One asymptomatic carrier spread the virus at that rehearsal, of the 60 people who were there, even with social distancing, 45 got sick and 2 died. It's such a scary thing. So singing has become scary which is just so frightfully sad because singing has meant so much to me in recent years. I started with my current choir in the fall of 2014 when James was four months old. I've been to New York with them. I've sung at Carnegie Hall with them. I've yet to miss a season, coming to the fall 2018 first rehearsal when Max was just like three weeks old. So each of us are being asked to record ourselves singing our part and some volunteer video editors are going to put it together. I've seen this from other choirs on YouTube and it's very powerful. You would think I would be well set up to do this, since I have the mic and everything ready to go for podcasting, but video is a whole different ballgame plus there's the relearning the music after 10 weeks with no rehearsals thing. The original deadline was tomorrow and I really didn't know how I was going to make it but apparently I am not the only one because the latest message is please get it to us when you can. So it is a work in progress, but I think after an hour or so of playing with it I finally have a recording setup that will work now I just need to get a good take.
So today has been kind of an odd one...James also had a one-on-one with his teacher to check his reading level, which joy of joys has gone up even though we haven't been doing the reading app like we are supposed to. One thing we are good at around here is practicing our reading. And in and amongst that we also bought a new washing machine which arrives Saturday. So it was a productive but kind of wild and crazy day today, but it feels really good to be finally making progress on things I've been saying for weeks that "I"m gonna get to." Almost makes life feel just a tiny bit normal.
Media consumption today: I read a whole book! Okay, I read a 79 page book of E.L. Konigsberg short stories, but it counts. It was okay. I also started a new book called Alphamaniacs: builders of 26 wonders of the word. I love both the author and the illustrator on this book and it is the reason I placed my last bookstore order because this book is new and I wanted to have it. I bought it for me but thought I'd give it a try reading to James tonight, he wasn't into it. Too bad. Mama will read it to Mama and enjoy it.
Today I'm thankful for music, podcasting, a sense of purpose, time to hang out with James, time to hang out with Max, time to hang out with Josh, a coming long weekend to hopefully get naps, a new washer on its way on Saturday, another day of health and life and love.
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