Ross from Adelaide soul band The Transatlantics stopped by Radio Adelaide to talk about playing with Marva Whitney at the Falls Festival, releasing their music on vinyl, and playing the Summer Cherry Festival. Airdate: 14/01/10.
Download Interview (mp3)
I am almost done with my interviews for residency! I have just one left in the next week, and it’s at the program associated with my medical school. I’m hoping it’s less of a real interview day, and more of a gossip session. After all, all of my letters of recommendation come from this department. There’s not much else to say, if you’ve already said it all in your own letters.
Instead, I bring to you, my obsessive organization and deep love for pie charts. Data analysis is the only way to make sense of a mad, mad world, don’t you think?
Here’s a pie chart of the money I’ve spent during interview season.
This total includes the costs of Setup, which was a new suit and three new shirts, and all the registration fees for applying to residency programs. I had two suits that I alternated between, one of which was a holdover from medical school interview season, 4 long years ago. I’m sad to say that though I still fit in it, it’s not looser — that was the goal. In return for med school sucking out my soul and making jam with it, I was supposed to become svelte and model-esque in stature. Once again, med school did not hold up its end of the bargain. My interview shoes (two pairs) were old shoes, though I did have to spring for new shoe inserts in one pair, as well as re-soling and polishing the other pair. My interview purse was a gift from my aunt (yay, Aunt M!), and probably cost more than all my other clothing combined.
Air travel includes only tickets for flights. In total, I flew 11 times through 10 airports, most of the time round-trip, but a couple of times with multiple city destinations as part of the interview trail. I never checked in a bag. I flew stand-by twice, to get on earlier flights. I got delayed 3 times, usually due to weather. I missed no flights (success!). I ate a lot of snack packs on Southwest, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Virgin America. I did not fly Delta (the Devil Airline). I didn’t count the flights from school back to home, because I was going to have to make those flights anyway for the holidays. In all, I think $1045 (that includes tax) for 11 flights is a pretty good deal.
Automobile is probably better described as ground transportation. For the most part, I rented cars after I figured out that a 24-hour car rental was usually cheaper than roundtrip airport shuttles. In some cities with great public transport, I took public transportation. In many cities, especially towards the end, I had made some good friends who were happy to give me a lift to the airport, or split a car rental. In return, I shuttled people to the airport whenever I could. For the most part, we were all really generous about giving our fellow interviewees rides to the airport. Big shout-out goes to Rachel, who picked me up from my hotel the night of our pre-interview dinner, dropped me back off after dinner, and then picked me up from my hotel again the next morning to go to the actual interview. That was above and beyond, man. Also a big thanks to Jess, with whom I had 5 interviews in a row, and when I gave her a ride from City 3 to City 4 (a 2-hour drive), chipped in money for gas.
Hotel refers to when I had to book my own hotels. Some programs pay for hotels the night before, which is key. I have heard that certain programs can even pay for flight + hotel, which is disgustingly generous of them. This category also refers to when I had to PAY for HOTEL PARKING, which I think is a total travesty. Most of the time, I tried to get street parking, because meter parking didn’t kick into effect until 8 AM the next morning, by which time I was long gone.
I did not include all the airport food I ate, simply because I was going to eat anyway, no matter where I was. I suppose airport food always costs more than non-airport food, but then again, I was usually getting dinners and breakfasts for free, so I think the cost of food evened out.
I’ve also made a line graph of each of the interviews I’ve gone to, and how much money I’ve spent for each of them.
The high spike for Interview #12 is a bit falsely elevated (source of error!), because I got lazy and just lumped in the flight and car rental under Interview #12, even though the flight was also done for Interview #13, and the car rental was 26 hours longer because I insisted on staying the weekend with a friend, as a mini-vacation built into the trip. I don’t think the line graph is as telling as the pie chart. The only real findings I can see are that interviews with flights account for all of the spikes above $100. The two small spikes that are below $100 (Interviews #3 and #14) were due to driving to the vicinity in a car, and spending the night in a hotel. Interviews #6 through #11 were, interestingly enough, on two different coasts, but they straddled Christmas, and so I was able to use either my med school home or my parents’ home as home base.
In a future entry, I’ll go through the different ways I saved money, from the art of priceline’s Name Your Own Price to rebate sites (I love you, ebates!). Oh shoot, I didn’t put in how much money I saved or made back via ebates and retail coupon codes. Nuts.
Anyway, the grand total is $2,702, which I think is a pretty neat deal for having gone to 18 interviews. When I’m truly done, I will have gone to 19 interviews. NINETEEN! Most people I know have gone anywhere from 10 to 15 interviews. I’ve been interviewing since late October, and my last interview will be in February. I’m fairly certain I have the longest interview season out of all my classmates.
I do have to say, though, that when I was using my parents’ home as my home base, all interviews that were drive-able distance were done using my brother’s car. And my brother’s car’s gas. I think that I would have to tack on another $100 for gas money, but hey, I didn’t pay for it.
I met this guy who said that he’d spent about $15,000 for interviews and applications. $15,000. I boggled and couldn’t believe it, but then he told me about the foolish, foolish ways it had happened. He flew 5 separate trips from his home base (his medical school in New Orleans) to the West Coast. He took taxis. He booked hotels that the residency programs recommended (generally, these hotels are within walking distance to the hospital, and tend to be nicer places like Sheratons and Marriotts), and though he used the bulk rate negotiated by the hospital, it was still always more expensive than he would have found if he’d hunted a bit harder. He didn’t combine interviews, or “couldn’t combine interviews,” even though I definitely had interviews at some of the same places he did, and had combined them. I think he might not have been quite so dogged in combining interviews, though. Certainly, flying out of a smaller airport didn’t help the expenditures. He also counted the rent and living expenses he incurred while doing away rotations at other hospitals, which I didn’t really count.
Let me backtrack about away rotations. As a 4th year med student, you are sometimes encouraged to go to other programs and do month-long “away” rotations at programs you might be interested in. The goal is to get a letter of recommendation and a foot in the door, because you’ve auditioned for a full month. This can fail horribly if you are a total jerk, really awkward, lazy, or hopelessly stupid, because then the month proves to the program that they really wouldn’t want you, whereas if you hadn’t shown up at all, they might still be ignorant of that fact when you sent your application. I did two away electives. During one of them, my sublet rent was $380 for the whole month, which is approximately 1/2 of what I pay back at school. While I was gone from school, I subletted out my own apartment, which, if you do the math, means I made money that month. Hahaha. During the other away elective, I imposed on the hospitality of my poor younger cousin and stayed with him instead of paying rent (to be fair to myself, I paid for rent by cleaning his apartment a lot).
I guess this guy who had ended up spending $15,000 counted the money he spent during his away rotations. I don’t think that’s entirely fair, though, because it’s not like he would have been not paying rent or not eating meals, even if he had stayed back at his medical school.
Oh, perhaps I should add $300 to the grand total because I bought a netbook at the beginning of interview season, expressly for travel use. Then again, this was a convenient excuse, because since I bought my netbook, I have been using it more and more because my old laptop has decided to crap out on me, frequently, and without warning. Well, interview season done for $3,000 is still a pretty good impressive feat, I think.
Name: Sarah Newlin
We know you’re busy with Bible study and group activities at LODI, what brought you to Twitter to spend your spare time?:
In the beginning, I came to Twitter to support Steve and be the loving wife he needed in his fight against the Vampires. Now that I am not with him any longer *sighs* I don’t have much to do here *tears up* I miss him.
You’re still married to @SteveNewlinJr, yet you two are separated. Can you tell us a bit about what drove you to leave him?:
He started doin’ things I just didn’t approve of. It was one thing to help that Vampire meet the sun, but a whole ‘nother thing to hold that girl in the basement of the church. And *gasps*, he used the “C” word. I felt like I just didn’t know him at all that day! I decided bein’ with Momma for a bit was best.
Since he seems to have changed from when you first met, can you tell us what your initial attraction to Steve was?:
*thinkin’* Well, he was a sweet young man, workin’ as a volunteer chaplain at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Opelousas, Louisiana. I was a hospice worker at the time and I just loved his hair! *giggles* His Momma and Daddy were so sweet and made me feel so welcome. God rest their souls…..When Steve asked me to marry him, I just couldn’t say no. He was so cute bent down on one knee! *smiles* I still love him.
Rumor has it you let @VampireBill into your house. Aren’t you anti-Vampire?:
Who told you that? Now that’s just silly! @VampireBill? *eyes glaze over* I don’t remember anything about that at all.
Many ladies would love to know what it was like to do the horizontal hustle with @jasonBT and why you would violate one of the sacred tenants of Christianity in order to?:
It was a weak moment, I’ll admit. I was lonely, missing the companionship Steve normally gave me. He was spendin’ so much time with that creepy Gabe that he forgot all about me. *tears up* We used to be a team. And that JASON! *narrows eyes* I fell for all his tricks. He was just out to score and didn’t give a hoot about me! I thought he was a sweet man and he was so good lookin’ with his shirt off.*shivers* Ya’ll know exactly what I mean *winks* I made a mistake, and we all make mistakes. Right?
Do you wish you had a real gun when you were shooting at Jason?:
Oh heavens no! I mighta been mad, but I’m still a good Christian woman, despite my flaws *smiles*
What on Earth do you do to your hair to make it so poofy?:
What do ya mean sweetie? Everyone looks like this in Dallas! *giggles* Although my roots are showin’ a bit in this picture *makes hair appointment*
Anything you’d like to tell us about the woman behind the giggly church goer?:
Taking care of Steve and the little Newlins is a full time job. If Sarah returns in Season 3, I will be sure and tweet her more often. Summer is a slow time for me in RL and I can come out into the stream and have fun. I enjoy all of the True Blood Twitter Rp’s and look forward to working with them again. Of course I have some favorites. @SteveNewlinJr is my numero uno. He makes me laugh all day every day of our lives, even when he’s being a pill. *blows Steve a kiss* I do have a favorite Vampire as well. Yes, even zealots like the fangs. @VampireBill makes me laugh and truly embodies the character from the books and TV. I love the way he plays with his Belles. You ladies crack me up! I also love @jasonBT, he was a pleasure for Steve and I to work with during the summer. So funny!
Pharrell Williams was the kenote speaker for the MIDEM 2010 music business conference in Cannes, France, this past week. Co-CEO of Cornerstone, Rob Stone did a lengthy Q&A session with the super producer/media mogul/fashion designer, among a million other titles. GlobalGrind got Rob Stone to speak on the experience of interviewing Pharrell for over 40 minutes. There was a lot going on behind the scenes to make the information sit-down happen. – Global Grind
Key Quotes:
“Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive godlike feature that only the special among us will ever taste. It’s something that truly exists within all of us.”
“If you are not making someone else’s life better, then you’re wasting your time.”
“What’s the point of being realistic? It’s unrealistic to walk in a room and flip a switch and lights come on. Fortunately, Edison didn’t think so.”
hello y’all. we are we are lines. an organically evolving collection of accessories, home goods, and whatever else makes us tick. we want our blog to be a place of inspiration, news, and plain silliness.
a weekly feature will be a three question interveiw with jessica & jessica. each week the interview will consist of an either/or question, a favorite question, and a question that needs a little more explanation. feel free to comment questions that you would like included.
a second weekly feature with be our top ten lists. we will make a top ten list of a subject of our choosing.
looking forward to insights and delights.
Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do.
My name is Kenn Davenport A.K.A. Kenny Knyewtron. I am the managing partner and one of the three founders of Knyew. I handle all the day to day operations including buying, retail organization, logistics, and customer service.
What is life like up in Las Vegas, as far as music, nightlife, fashion, and popular culture?
Las Vegas is a city like no other in a lot of ways. We are a hospitality / service oriented city, so nothing really closes here. Life here is what you make it. There are two sides to Las Vegas. If you want to drink yourself into the ground, lose your life earnings gambling, or party in epic style you can do that. On the other hand, Las Vegas does have a growing sense of community. Vegas is almost like any other city…We just have a lot of hotels, casinos, and nightclubs. Nightlife, Pop culture, and a lot of fashion run hand in hand here…It can be rather corny at times. There are a few of us here trying to buck the trend and offer Las Vegas more.
Tell us a little about KNYEW and the people involved.
Knyew (pronounced new) was founded by DJ Crooked (Richard Sung), DJ Neva (Evan Boyd), and myself. Knyew stands for Keeping New York Every Where. Crooked and Neva have been DJing here in Vegas for over five years, both gents are native New Yorkers. What kind of brands does KNYEW carry? We carry brands that are very recognizable within the street wear and street culture community. Brands such as The Hundreds, Crooks and Castles, Diamond Supply, Huf, 10 Deep, Acapulco Gold, Black Scale…To see the complete listing of what brands we carry peep knyew.blogspot.com.
What are some of your favourite brands out right now?
The Hundreds, I have a lot of respect for what they are doing with the brand and for what they are doing for our industry. I really like what Mega and the boys are doing with Black Scale. Acapulco Gold is also one of my favorites as well.
What new upcoming events or releases are you currently working on?
I would tell you but then I’d have to kill you. Just joking. As I mentioned we are trying to bring more to Las Vegas. We plan on continuing our bi-monthly party here in Vegas called “Backspin” where we play nothing but old school hip-hop, r&b, reggae and classics. DJ legends like Riz from Crooklyn Clan and local favorites like Five and OB-One have made this event a platform for good music in Las Vegas. Everyone looks forward to our “Backspin” parties and we’re proud to bring this type of gathering for our peoples. We also plan on developing some cut and sew pieces this year like button-down shirts, crew neck sweaters and light jackets. Our most recent t-shirt designs like the “MLB” and “Token” have been getting a very positive response so it only seemed natural to further the KNYEW brand by expanding into some outerwear. I have a few collaboration projects in the works too but I can’t tell you about those. Really.
What would you say are the most difficult aspects or being in your line of work?
I only get to slim it down to a few things??? For me the most difficult aspect is…nothing big really. We opened Knyew and built it from the ground up. We have no corporation backing us or a silent partner with deep pockets. We do this for our own reasons with our own beliefs behind it. Everyday presents a new challenge for me, nothing stays the same from day to day. Making adjustments is a big part of what we have to do in our industry. I’m sure there are “purists” out there that want things to stay the same. If that was the case we wouldn’t be where we are today.
The fashion and music worlds are often tied together…What music artists out right now are grabbing your attention?
No one really, I feel that a lot of music artist get their gear for free. So do all of them wear it because they love it or because it is free? That isn’t attention worthy to me.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Kenn. Do you have any last words or shout-outs?
Last words are for death row inmates and we’re far from dead. Much love and respect to my Knyew family DJ Crooked, DJ Neva, and Jazzy. Props to Mega at Black Scale, David at The Hundreds, the whole Triumvir crew, Acapulco Gold, Benny Gold, 10 Deep, Sole Society, and all of our loyal supporters! Thank you all! Thank you as well The Goodie Bag.
