BC Bound

I'm not good at this blogging thing.

Every time I decide I'm really going to start using this forum to update friends and just kind of get my thoughts out there... it lasts about a day.

I'd apologize, but really it's me who is dissapointed. I'd like to have kept track of my thoughts through what has been a really large change in my life.

For those who don't know: I live in British Columbia now.

Why is that significant? The furthest west of Ottawa I'd ever been in my life was Detroit. Not just to live but to visit. When I flew to Calgary and then to Castlegar last Sunday, it was the first time I'd ever been in either Alberta or BC.

I'm here in a small city called Castlegar because of a wonderful opportunity. Anyone who has known me for a long time knows I've dreamed about being a sports broadcaster for a long time. When I was a kid I'd play in the back yard doing play by play for made up games of hockey or baseball. I'd do play by play for video games. I'd watch TV and do play by play. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember caring about sports.

It's actually something I never thought would happen.

I'm not going to get overly dramatic and pretend that suddenly I'm the new play by play voice of the Edmonton Oilers. However, I was offered a job here in Castlegar as the Sports Director for a station called Mountain FM. What that means is I'm responsible for our sports coverage and making sure we're on top of all local sports. It also means I'm going to be the play by play voice of the Jr. A Trail Smoke Eaters at the start of next season (Jr A hockey or "Tier Two" is the level right below Major Jr. hockey like the OHL, WHL, QMJHL, etc). In addition, I'm the morning news guy and co-host. It's a huge responsibility as the morning show is the most important part of the broadcasting day.

It's a lot more than I thought I would by doing just a little more than a year into my on air career, and about 2 years into my professional radio career. To get this kind of job you have to sacrifice some things. For me part of the sacrifice is picking up my life and moving it across the country. It means moving to a _slightly_ smaller city than Owen Sound that isn't as close to a major city like Toronto and is 3 time zones away from my family and friends. Sometimes when I was mulling over the move I thought I was nuts for going so far out of my comfort zone.

But since I've been here I realized that this really isn't that different from Owen Sound. After moving there I hardly got to see my friends anyway. I only got home to Ottawa twice. I barely ever had time to go to Toronto and see friends. I've been here before and I can definately handle it.

So the first step was saying goodbye to my life in Owen Sound. I spent just over a year in the city doing a great number of things that were good for my carer. I got to do newscasts. I reported from council meetings, crimes, sporting events and elections. I even got to host and contribute to talk shows. In my time there I also got the chance to get experience in televised sports by calling Lacrosse games, hosting Jr B games and even doing colour commentary for the OHL. I couldn't have asked for much more from my first job. My boss and co-workers were easy to work with and helped me come a long way. I also learned a lot about what life is like in smaller communities. It's a different lifestyle with different values and priorities. If I'm going to "branch out" in broadcasting I think it's really important that I learn about what it's like in all sorts of diferent markets and parts of the country.

Basically I'm saying I don't regret my time there even a bit. I think it was a really good first move for me and one that I'm much better for having made. Not just professionally but personally as well. I had to live truly on my own for the first time and I survived. I made some good friends I hope to stay in touch with, and I went through some major personal changes in that time. It's hard to imagine many more changes in the last year and a half.

My boss Manny couldn't have been much more understanding when I told him about my move. He knew it was the kind of opportunity I couldn't get in Owen Sound and from what I could tell he was happy for me. It was also nice that the GM and AGM of the station almost immediately approached me to see if they could get me to stay. Sometimes I wonder if maybe these kinds of signs of appreciation shouldn't be shown a bit earlier, but they're appreciate anyway.

I think in a small market like Owen Sound they realize that a lot of younger talents are going to come in and spend time there as kind of a training ground. I figure since we wern't in key spots like morning shows or management roles they just aren't willing to make the financial or you know contractual comitment to young people in those spots. I didn't really push for it either, because I don't think it would've been what I wanted.

I didn't have a real big blow out when leaving Owen Sound. I got together with a few people and had some drinks, then I met up with my friends Becky and Ashleigh to hit the dirty old Harb one more time. Dad and my Uncle were up visiting to move my stuff at the time, and Dad found me on the bathroom floor passed out in the early morning. Clearly I drank more than I planned.

I finally started to build a social life in Owen Sound outside of work in my last few months. I realized that friends just don't come to you... there has to be effort involved and you have to give people a reason. It's too bad I didn't make those pushes earlier, but I'm glad to got to know some new people in the end. Whether it was work friends or new friends outside of work it's nice to have known all of them and I hope I can stay in touch.

With that I packed up all my stuff... including 10 bags of trash and 4 bags of clothes that I gave away. It was kind of surreal to go through that whole process of getting your life together in a couple of days. I packed my parent's Mazda as full as it could possibly be. Even had to leave behind some furniture and one summer tire. With that I said goodbye, and had one trecherous drive that lasted way longer than it should have before I got home to Ottawa.

And with that ends Part 1 of my update. I promise (well I'll TRY) there will be more to come, but this is all ready way too wordy as it is.

Just so you know, all is well in BC. It's gorgeous here with a view of a mountain out every single door or window in the city. My job is going well, and I'm really enthusiastic about what's to come. I think this is the start of something that could be very special for me professionally.

I'm also spending my last day in a motel before moving into my new basement suite. Hopefully my new Telus internet will work and I'll be online tomorrow.

If you want to get in touch with me my e-mails as always are shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com and smullin@gmail.com

Hope everyone is well. Part 2 coming as soon as I can muster the will to sit and type more.

Learn all about my trip home , the flight to BC (without my dog for the first couple weeks) and my first weeks on the west coast.

Oh, and professional sports sucks... Ryan Smyth the Islander? *shudder*