DadJack.com Blog

It’s Halloween weekend and the kids are so excited.  With the holiday falling on a Monday it has given us the whole weekend to fill with costume fun.  Lucy the witch and Bing the frog will be on a whirlwind tour of trick or treats and ghouls and ghosts.

It is always a great time of year for us… although it kicks off the crazy season for us.  It’s Halloween, then one week later Lucy’s 8th and Bing’s 5th birthday, followed shortly thereafter by Thanksgiving and then Christmas craziness.  As fun as the holiday’s are I’m not looking forward to the stress. It’s a tough time of year for many of us who are unemployed, especially those with kids.  You have to get creative on a limited budget!

Some of the things that I found that help are: Keep an eye out at local retailers for pre-holiday clearance sales and grab any deals you see.  Target will sometimes clear out last years toys to make room for new arrivals saving you sometimes over 50%.  Sites like Groupon , Fab.com and others give you credit for referrals, which then gives you credit to spend on gifts.  And let’s not forget one of the best options, a handmade gift.  Go through the photos you’ve shot over the past year, find some good ones of friends and family, print them out and frame. In this age of digital photography we really actually print out our photos, so it makes for a thoughtful, unique gift.

It’s looking like Stench may have a job… and it’s in radio!  I’ll post details as soon as he is able to publicly able to discuss.  I’m really happy for him.  After the slaughter of a bunch of radio people nationwide this week I’m just happy to see anyone actually get hired in the industry.  Not much on the horizon for me, I’ve been trying to escape radio, but so far no other industry wants me!

Stench had technical problems this week so I’ve been posting the Podcast… I’m always amazed when I see how many podcasts we have in the can! 1137 hours of pod power, or over 47 days of non-stop listening!  Thanks for sticking with us!

Have a great Halloween!!!!!! Boo, Jack

Well, maybe!  I’m always dropping sites on you that I like ( Fab.com for really cool designer stuff! Threadless for fun t-shirts at great prices! etc.), but I thought today I’d tip you off to a couple that may actually pay you (and it’s not some scam!)

CrowdSpring and SquadHelp are two sites that offer cash for helping companies come up with URL’s, business names, logos, slogans and other creative stuff.  These crowd source sites offer cash prizes for winning entries, so if you are kind of creative and have a little bit of free time it’s kind of fun (I spent all night submitting entries, I always enjoyed naming our promotions at the radio station!)  Have fun… It may pay off.

Tomorrow is my Pre-K P.E. volunteering day… Always fun, the little kids are always excited, they just want to run like maniacs!

Keep your fingers crossed Stench has a job interview tomorrow!  And it’s actually in radio… So good luck bacon warrior!

I have been solicited by some publicists to review products on here, so you may see some pop-up here in a few weeks… I thought it would be fun and it’ll make me feel like I’m doing something.

Baked a batch of brownies today… the apartment smells amazing, there’s nothing like the aroma of fresh baked stuff!

Rock On, Jack

I know I wrote a few blogs on hope about 4 years ago when the last Presidential election was kicking off.  (Don’t get excited my red state friends, this is not going to be an Obama bashing post, there are plenty of other places you can find those.)  My personal situation is not that different than it was during that last election period… Unemployed.  What has changed is my perception of hope… or the lack of it.  There has been a drastic deterioration in my “hope.”

I have been unemployed 2 of the last 4 years (I know, shut up, I’ve already complained about this), so I’m currently right about where I was 4 years back, the difference is my level of hope.  I used to still hope I could find a job in radio.  I used to hope that someday I may be able to actually better my situation.  I used to hope that things would get better for us all in general.  Now I hope I can pay my bills.  That things won’t get any worse.  That I’ll find a job that won’t require  another massive pay cut.

My only hope is that things are better for my and your kids… I hope by the time they graduate college there are some good opportunities for them. (Especially since they’ll have to support their Dad! Only joking!)

To help to restore some faith I have tried to do some good.  I volunteer at the kids school (which is actually pretty fun!)  and Stench and I are going to jail… But it’s for a good cause!  We will be locked up to help MDA.  Yes, Stench is my cellmate, I guess I’ll have to rough him up and make him my b***h!

I had a great time Friday night hanging with some of the pod peeps at Champ’s in Burbank, although the service was horrible!  I’d say avoid it if you’re looking for a cold one in Burbank!  I recommend The Snug (drinks only, no food), The Hollywood Way (for food and drink), Gordon Biersch (food and drink), The Tallyrand (breakfast and drinking with old people), Mo’s (small bar, great food) and Tony’s Darts away (currently the hip spot in Burbank – food -beer and wine only).

I was originally bummed about Halloween being on a Monday this year, but it has made it possible for lots of cool stuff to happen on the weekend.  Some ideas: Enchanted Hallow’ Eve at the Eco Station, Boo at the L.A. Zoo, Mickey’s Halloween party at Disneyland, All About Pumpkins at The Underwood Family Farm, The Harvest Festival at Pierce College, The Anaheim Fall Festival and Parade and tons of other great events!

Have a great Monday! Rock on, Jack

When you’re unemployed people think everyday is like a weekend for you…  Which is only true in that there is nowhere I have to be, but trust me it is incredibly stressful to not have a job.  I’ve tried to keep busy with my free time… Which has included volunteering at the kids school.  Today was P.E. with the second grade… Which was slightly less chaotic than P.E. with the Pre-K kids.  It’s easier this year because a lot of the kids remember me from last year so they listen to me a little (only a little!)  It was fun today, we practiced our soccer skills and played some game with hoola-hoops which required running and push-ups and other things that make old guys sore!

Tomorrow is another Happy Hour, this time at Champs in Burbank from 5p on.  They’re always a good time and last time we had a lot of people show up.  I like to throw these together and see what happens… It reminds me of the old radio days!

The kids are pumped up for Halloween.  As of right now Lucy is going to be a witch (good or evil she has yet to decide) and Bing is going to be a frog.  The older they get the harder it gets because they stop making cute costumes in sizes larger than 6X.  It will always amaze me the slutty costumes they market in little girls (and I’m not just talking teens), they have fishnets in toddler sizes.  If I had any talent what-so-ever I would market my own line of costumes for sizes 6 and up that are fun and cute, instead of trampy and whore-like!

The pod continues on, hot topics recently:  Should adults go to Disneyland alone?  Is it dressing in a costume when you wear a sports jersey while watching sports?  After 39 do you have to settle or can you still find true love?  And whatever other random things pop into our minds and out our mouths!

You know I love to share sites I’m into, lately it’s been Fab.com …  They sell cool designer stuff (Housewears, t-shirts, toys, furniture, etc.) at discount prices.  Sales run for about 3 or 4 days and they have some really unique stuff.

Have a great weekend!

Rock on, Jack

(Well besides a paycheck!) Are the friends.  I have always had a close relationship with the people with I have worked with and they were a large part of my personal life.  The great thing is that I have remained friends with many of these people and through the magic of Facebook I get to stay up-to-date with what they are up to… no matter how far apart we are now.

When my divorce started I was working with Tony and Kris in San Diego producing their country music genre morning show.  They were both so great to me during this horrible time in my life and continue to be great friends…  Which makes it even better to watch their syndicated show grow, getting bigger ad better all the time.  They have announced they are hosting a country music cruise next year about this time ( all the details can be found here.)  They have not announced the musical line-up yet, but here’s what I know: 1. They throw a great party (T,K and I tore up San Diego on more than one occasion!) 2. They know everyone in country music (many of which they have tore up San Diego and now Nashville with!), so odds are good they are going to get some great artists for these 5 days cruising Mexico. 3. They didn’t let anyone tell them they couldn’t continue providing quality morning radio, when they presented with a road block they plowed right through it and built their own successful syndicated radio show!  I guess what I’m saying is that you won’t find a better party with better guys than their cruise (and you have plenty of time to plan ahead!)

I was bummed when my friend Bradley moved back to Boston earlier this year, we had some great time over the years at both KROQ and STAR 98.7…  Not to mention in the years since.  I am excited that not only did he find a radio gig there almost right away, but he is now working on building his own advice show on Mix 104.1 in Boston .   It airs Sunday night 7-9pm Pacific, if you get a chance give it a listen online…  you may even hear a familiar voice asking Brad and Meredith for some of their wisdom.

I would love to have an update for you on Stench and I… No news as of right now.  We continue to look and the podcast chugs along with at the time of this posting 1123 hours of pods under our belts!

I’ll be joining whoever shows up this Friday at 5pm at Champ’s in Burbank for some Happy Hour fun…  We do these every once in awhile, they’re always a good time!

Rock on, Jack

It was my first day back this year volunteering at my kids school as a P.E. assistant.  This year I’m alternating between Lucy and Bing’s classes week to week.  I kicked off with Bing’s class… I have a new respect for Kindergarten teachers, it’s not easy keeping 20 4/5 year old’s attention.  The rain forced us indoors… which reminded me of rainy days in elementary school playing rainy day games.  Duck, duck, goose, Heads up – 7 up, Red Rover and anything else you could play in a small class room filled with 20+ kids.  Those days were always fun, probably because they didn’t happen that often here in Burbank.

The kids and I visited Disneyland this weekend which was great (even if it was packed due to Gay Day!)  The best part of the Magic Kingdom is seeing how much your kids enjoy it… Lines, heat, crowds they don’t care, it’s the best place on Earth for them!

Speaking of great things to do:  The Pierce College Pumpkin Fest continues to run.   For walkers and cyclists, CicLAvia is this Sunday (October 9th) from 10a-3p…  They block off 10 miles of roads in the heart of Los Angeles and open them to walkers and cyclists.  Angela, Ethan and I did it last year and it was really cool… When else will you ride your bike down the middle of L.A. streets without fear of a road rage attack!?!?  Next weekend (October 15 & 16th) there is a cool art event going on in the desert, High Desert Test Sites  spreads the works of established and up-and-coming artists all over the desert.  In the Toluca Lake/Burbank/North Hollywood area the Toluca Lake Pumpkin Patch is now open… It’s a smaller, easier to get to pumpkin patch with a haunted maze and petting zoo.  For my Santa Clarita friends (and anyone who wants to go to a classic pumpkin patch) Lombardi Ranch is now open.  There is so much going on around town, no matter where you live, so get out there this weekend and enjoy!

Rock On, Jack