A secret told....

Here are some of the "secrets" on the website Dustin and I talked with you about this morning....(if you can't read the postcards,click on them and they will appear larger in a side screen on your computer).Don't forget to check out the website for yourself at postsecret.com

When you're down..get dirty..

Does life ever just become too much for you? What do you do when it does? I used to drive over to my grandparents house and my grandma and I would go on these long bike rides and make a little picnic lunch at this little park.These days I normally chill out with my hubby or I do my other favorite thing and spend time with all of my oldest friends or just one of them.I get something different from all of them and today I was lucky enough to see Jennifer.Like my other best friend Aerin,Jen has been my family for a quarter of a century.If we could have done what we are doing in the picture you see above today,we would have....Instead we opted for lunch and a movie.We saw "The Women". It was a big deal to me since I haven't been to the movies since Jake and I went to see "The Departed".I really need to get out more:)

Another Crazy Obit...this is starting to become a fad!

ANOTHER CRAZY OBITUARY

A month ago we shared with you the wacky obituary written by the family of a woman who, apparently, wasn't very well liked. (See several entries below)Well, we've got another one, from the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming.

James William "Jim" AdamsA celebration of life for James William "Jim" Adams, 53, will be held at a later date. He died Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008 at Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas. Jim, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he lost his battle. It was primarily as a result of being stubborn and not following doctor's orders or maybe for just living life a little too hard for better than five decades.He was born June 8, 1955 in Garrison, N.D. the son of James William and Ruby Helen (Clark) Adams.He was sadly deprived of his final wish, which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a date. True to his personal style, he spent his final hours joking with medical personnel, cussing and begging for narcotics and bargaining with God to look over his loving dog, Biscuit, and his family.He would like to thank all "his ladies" for putting up with him the last 30 years.During his life, he excelled at anything he put his mind to. He loved to hear and tell jokes and spin tales of grand adventures he may or may not have had.He is survived by five sons, Jeremiah Adams and his wife, Nicole, Mica Olivas, Wade Olivas, Brice Simpson and Cole Adams; sister, Jerri Giegerich; two ex-wives, Vickie Harrison and Marilyn Williams; four grandchildren; two nieces; and two great-nieces.He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother-in-law.In lieu of flowers, he asks that you make a sizeable purchase at your favorite watering hole, get rip roaring drunk and tell the stories he no longer can.

Duster Cruster

This is my brother Dustin Legan aka Duster Cruster (a name our auntie Lois Paradise gave him when he was a little boy).I will write more about him later but thank you for welcoming him to the KGFM morning show.Dustin recently moved to Huntington Beach but put his dream of living at the entrance to the sea on hold to pursue this crazy career we call radio! I hope you will love him as much as I do..

Heavy

When I was a senior in high school I remember being in class one day and the teacher asking the football players in the class their 'stats'.My friend Jack Rudnick went first and after hearing his weight (163) I heard nothing else. 163? 163? I weighed 167 at the time and even though I was a bigger girl than most of my friends I had no idea that I weighed more than a football player who easily stood 6inches taller than me.I felt heavy...really heavy.Not just weight wise but heavy with everything going on in my life at the time.My younger brother and I had just moved in with my mom's parents (God,rest their loving souls).My boyfriend at the time (who I amazingly maintain a friendship with today) had just broken up with me because he was afraid of what his wealthy friends would think of him dating a girl who wasn't in his financial class...yes he really said he was embarrassed dating a poor girl LOL!To top it all off,my brother had just entered his teenage years filled with angst and sadness in missing our mom.I also missed her badly but knew that as the oldest I would need to act tough to get through it for everyone.It was indeed a heavy time.

Although I made it my life's mission (or curse depending on perception) to make things 'lighter' for myself when I was old enough to control my own life.I've just recently been made aware again that there are just things I cannot stop from happening.I am right in the middle again of yet another heavy time.

You've heard the saying "Want to make God laugh? Tell him YOUR plans.."

One of the many plans I had mapped out for myself included my morning show partner and dear friend and confidant Dean Novak. After losing my co-host of 9 years Doug DeRoo to some personal issues he had to deal with,I sought Dean out to come have some fun with me on KGFM.It was a long process.Dean had a job at another radio station where he was happy and content.However,being on the air solo is not my strong point and since I knew Dean and liked him, I basically begged him to come over to my company.After months of negotiating with the big bosses,he did.We were happy,things were great (in our eyes) and although Dean had warned me time and time again about the instability of radio I acted like he was nuts because I had known that it took alot to get fired by my management.It just isn't the norm at our stations.Unless you're stealing,being a porno freak on the internet,drinking on the job, going to jail,making more money than you're bringing in, or your station flips formats..you're pretty safe.Dean has always been a little more apprehensive than I am about our profession and when the ratings were low,he would voice his concerns.Again,I would tell him to "stop talking that way you are scaring me, we're fine..we're good employees,it's all good".He would still say "Everyone in radio gets fired at least once Rachel,your employment is just some sort of an anomaly you're really lucky".I'd like to think it's a little more than luck.Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that I have actually grown up at American General Media.I've spent my entire adult life working there.For about 9 years I was on call 24 hours a day as the News Director for each station my company owned.They allowed me to give up that position the year I married Jake and wanted to spend more time with my baby stepdaughter and grandmother who had just been diagnosed with cancer.I will forever be grateful to my bosses for that,as I know other companies who would just say "tough it out".The owner of my company has seen me go through several different traumatic experiences since I have been employed there and each time he always says 'Take as much time as you need".They have been good to me and I think Dean would say that they were good to him as well.To clarify,he would probably actually say they were good to him up until last week.

Neither of us had any idea that Friday would be our last show together.When I left work Friday I said "See ya Monday friend". Then the owner asked me to go to his office where he let me know that Dean was being let go.I was stunned, sad and suddenly very scared.I knew our ratings hadn't been that great lately. I braced myself then asked if I was being let go as well.He told me there were plans being made and that I would be briefed on them the following week.Then I found Dean who was equally as shaken and he and I drove to his house.Dean is very honest,especially with himself and he basically thinks that it all came down to affordability,and the nations economy.In his interview with the Californian last week he admitted as much.Despite wishing he hadn't been fired his only other desire would have been to have had some advance warning.I believe this was why I also was not informed as I am not known around the office for keeping my mouth shut.Had I been told ahead of time,my bosses know me well enough to know that I would have told Dean and that it would have changed the tone of our show.Being a pro,Dean may have been able to carry on as normal but I tend to be a little emotional and frankly I probably would not have held it together.That is why the bosses are the bosses and I am the employee.
Not knowing what the plans for KGFM would be after Dean was fired he simply told me to go home and talk to Jake.Dean and I were both still in shock but his came across to me like an eery calmness.So I did what he said and went home and told Jake the whole story.Jake said "Rachel,AGM has never let you down in the past and whatever happens just know that business is business and this is not personal". I don't have the same mentality as Jake and Dean but I also think that as men,they have to act a little bit stronger than they actually feel sometimes.
When I found out a few days later that the plan KGFM had for the future not only included me but my younger brother as well, I was surprised,relieved, but I also felt guilty.A friend of mine explained to me that as women, we sometimes feel guilty for things that have NOTHING to do with us.Dean has a name for this..it is called the "mother gene". My surprise came from the fact that my brother had just moved to another city.He loves being a DJ so much though that he was driving back to Bakersfield on the weekends to do his normal radio shift on one of our sister stations.Dustin has an incredible personality though and like Dean he just happens to be one of my biggest confidants.Questions were coming out of my mouth at a rapid pace when I was told of the plan and at one point one of my bosses said "Rachel,we're sorry we didn't tell you but this is the way it works". They knew I didn't want to do a solo show and they knew my brother was good.To business people things are black and white.I'm more of what you would call a gray person.
Even though I was asked not to say anything to anyone about the new plan until it was released to the public I called Dean anyway.Surprised as he was he was still supportive and encouraging.Even as I write this though,I know I am writing it so my friend Dean understands how important he is to me.He can be supportive and encouraging and everything else but he's a human being and I don't know if the roles were reversed if I would be as gracious.One of the things I have learned from Dean in the years I have known him is to take a breath and let the dust settle before I react,which is one of the reasons it has taken me over a week to blog again.I just feel bad that all this happened and yet I know it was not in my control.
I'm going to miss seeing Dean every morning and getting among other things, the free therapeutic advice I have received from him over the years.I have also been told that I need to start looking forward to what is next...which is working with my brother.
This new chapter in my and Dustin's life is sure to be an exciting one.While he and I have both been in radio for a long time we have never done a show together.I want to make it clear though that Dustin did not and could not "steal" Dean's job.A newspaper reporter wrote a story about this new development and it was titled "Brotherly Shove".That headline was so upsetting!!Thankfully the story was factual and did not imply impropriety.
Dustin was as surprised as I was when we heard that we were being asked to do the show together.His first thought however was about Dean! Not himself...not me...Dean.
Since saying yes to the job,he hasn't had much time to think about anything else than moving back to Bakersfield.He's still hanging his clothes up as I write,excitedly discussing with an old radio friend about a topic that would be hilarious for us to discuss on air about family quirks.One of ours is that we like eachother...and hope that you like us too!

Take us along tomorrow as usual the microphones will crack at 5am on 101.5.It's the start of a brand new week.Hopefully a less heavy one for me and you....

p.s. If you want to get a hold of Dean you can email him at novakdean@hotmail.com

Treadmill TV.Are you watching these shows?

It's tough to be a runner in Bakersfield--bad air.So my subconscious need to "run it out" whether the "it" be stress or last night's banana peanut-butter smoothie, finds me spending countless hours on my in house treadmill.I used to just watch rental movies while I fed my hour long addiction, but being a cheap-o ,I considered investing in a TIVO or dvr of some sort.

Those devices rope you to one television, unless you got lotsa moola and you can pay to hook up multiple tv's.I am in radio, I do not have lotsa moola:-)So I began seeking out the least expensive alternatives. A friend lent me the entire first season of FOX's "24" several years ago and I became hooked. I started asking people if they had the "complete" season of anything and then a co-worker turned me on to the "full episode" features on network television websites. I was in heaven!!Since that day I have developed a love for several shows that my morning radio hours would never have allowed me to see.The only show I actually make an exception for is CBS's Cold Case. Due to music licensing laws the powers that be can't re-run the show on the net, so I force my eyes to stay open till 10pm on Sunday night just to see it. Music is a huge part of the show which drew me to it in the first place. I love how each Cold Case episode uses tunes from whatever time period the unresolved case is set in. The first episode I stumbled on trapped me forever with a storyline accompanied by a late 80's early 90's Bruce Springsteen soundtrack. I actually went out and bought a Bruce CD the next day.The only other shows I watch in real time are reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond”. No matter what kind of day I am having, I can relax and laugh my head off at 7pm when TBS runs two back to back episodes. The other two are NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and A&E's "Dog the Bounty Hunter". Those are two shows that Jake and I both love. Jake likes FNL because it reminds him of his days as a football star at Tehachapi High School and I like it for the characters. As for "Dog" Chapman, well we first fell in love with the show because it was set in Hawaii (the only place out of state we have been to several times) and we could say "Hey,we know where that is...etc".Then we just started enjoying the whole Chapman family and their unapologetic "this is who we are,how we dress and what we do" attitude.Now here's a rundown of my favorite "Treadmill TV", with a little synopsis on my favorites!
1.Rescue Me (FX): This show isn't for everyone. You may have heard the quick synopsis that it centers on some New York City firemen who survived 9-11 and how they deal with it.Well, it is that and so much more.Denis Leary plays Tommy Gavin,a fireman/husband/father/brother/son/sometime boyfriend/alcoholic/witty,gritty and oddly attractive character who you just can't help rooting for even when he is being a jerk. Got all that? No topic is off limits. This series has it all from sex to racism to religion to faith and back to sex again. It focuses on the hardcore truths of so many family relationships that I can't help but be drawn to the characters. It’s also filled with quick wit. I appreciate that right when I'm moved to tears over some poignant rescue scene, I start laughing at some awesomely snide but true line delivered with perfect timing. The writing is great and although I seriously doubt that a 34-year old woman is the target audience, the creator hit the bull’s-eye with me. If you do decide to watch this, consider renting or downloading the first few seasons as the back story is essential.

2. Mad Men(AMC)): Loved it from episode one. Hard to believe there was a time when everyone smoked and drank to excess in and out of the office, where sexual harassment was graded not punished and where minorities and women were openly disrespected and children were meant to be seen and not heard. Even harder to believe is that time was less than 50 years ago. I watch Mad Men with a true interest in the story and a better understanding of my grandparent’s generation and how things worked when they were in their 20's and beginning their families. Of course the similarities don't extend to the so called premise of Mad Men which is supposed to be about the cut throat world of advertising and the Madison Avenue execs that made products and services into household names back then. That’s what is so great about the show. To me it doesn't matter if the setting is advertising or farming (which is what my grandparents and their relatives did) the arrogance of the male characters and the freakishly silent frustrations of the female characters give me such an appreciation of how life is today. The only thing I wished they had done differently is not let us see so many internal conflicts in center character "Don Draper" so soon. We learn at the beginning that he has the weakness of being a married womanizer, yet we love him because he is so tortured and strong at the same time. It doesn't hurt either that Jon Hamm who plays Draper and has to be one of the sexiest men on TV today. Season two is well underway on AMC and airs at 10pm on Sundays, too late for me so I download it from iTunes.

3. Law and Order- SVU with Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni is my favorite followed by Criminal Intent featuring Vincent D'Onofrio.I also love the actor Sam Waterston, I don't know why but much in the way I feel about Denis Leary there is just something about Waterston that comes through the screen. These men are years older than me and my husband for that matter but they bring me a little closer to understanding the whole "Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher" relationship--ya dig? I could watch all the Law and Order episodes all day long and never get sick of them.

4. Swingtown (CBS): Don't believe that this show is just about some oversexed partner trading couples in the 1970's.It's not.Yes,I was surprised that CBS was going to run a show based on what I heard was the popularity of the "open marriage" boom of the 1970's.That's not something I can relate to, plus I was born in 1974 to a couple of crazy high school kids who had a few years yet to graduate much less get married, so in my mind this would have been show based on their parents who I already wrote were more in the "Mad Men" era. There are 6 main characters in Swingtown. Two of the couples have teenage children and the couples who are childless are the so called "swinging catalysts”. Each couple has been married for a decade or more and they all struggle with problems that couples still deal with today. I’m not sure how the viewership is going for this show but I like it alot.Even when they do delve into the whole 'it's okay to cheat" thing they still show all sides of it and all the sides appear to me that it doesn't work, ever.

5. Brothers and Sisters(ABC): Rob Lowe as a Republican, need I say more? LOL Seriously, I like Calista Flockhart,I like Lowe, I like Sally Field, I even like Balthazar Getty(despite his very public affair with the actress S.Miller).There are so many twists and turns, secrets and not-so-secret secrets in this drama that you can't help but be drawn to it. The show is about a big family with big family problems.Gotta love it because no matter what the problem is they all still love each other and in the end that is what really counts.

6.Grey's Anatomy(ABC): So popular that it needs no explanation. I just wish it would hurry up and come back on!

Rounding out this list are my final guilty pleasures...

MTV's"The Hills"

ABC's "Samantha Who"

NBC's "Lipstick Jungle"

What are your favorite shows?Any I haven't posted here and can download for free?Any you think are compelling enough to spend hours on the treadmill..or couch watching:)

Looking forward to writing about the books I read on the stairclimber at the gym.Yes,it's not enough to just excercise anymore.I must feed my muscles and my mind (even if the food ie:tv show,book is mostly dessert:->)