Who I am

My name is Erik Strohmeyer. I grew up in North Jersey, and then went to college in Glassboro, NJ (South Jersey, by Philadelphia), graduating with a Communications degree in 1997.

Immediately upon graduation, I moved up to Connecticut to take a job at ESPN, which I interviewed for and procured during my last week as a student.

My degree was more general than job-specific, which is what I wanted. I didn't decide that I wanted to work in television until my Junior year.

So I've been with ESPN for eight years now - I've changed job descriptions several times and I changed departments about two years ago.

I had thought of myself as a sports fan and a writer, and figured that I'd end up in Production. But Production wasn't interested in me. I got a job as a studio technician, figuring that once I was in the door, I could change fairly easily.

But surprise! I was hooked. I found to my great surprise that I had a very analytical way of thinking, and a very technical way of performing. The various machines that I had to learn all fascinated me, and with new equipment rolling in all the time, I was surprisingly satisfied. I stayed in Technical Operations (as a studio technician) for six years.

In that time, I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I have a certain intuitive way of being just good enough with new equipment to put it on the air and learn its nuances. After carrying a lot of stress trying to be perfect, I learned to let it go a bit. While I still strived for no mistakes, I grasped that everyone has moments where they do something dumb. The operators I admired were able to wriggle free of "sudden attacks of stupidity" very quickly, often with no one noticing their initial mistake.

I also learned that I disliked the hours that were being dictated for us to work. Tech Ops is an hourly position at my company - although overtime is not required, many of us got used to the paychecks that went along with long weeks.

I grew older, as most people do. When I was about 28, I realized that I love my girlfriend (same one as today; we met in college and have been together since) and my outside life far more than I love work. I began a search for a position that only expected forty hours a week.

I immediately found a position for "Satellite Access Control Engineer". Not having any idea what that is or what's expected, I applied. I figured that at worst I would learn something about another part of my company and meet a few new people.

Well, I hit it off with the boss right away. Some of the computers in the office were running VAX/VMS software - the same antiquated stuff I became proficient with in college. So I launched into a long series of stories about my deeds and misdeeds with that computer system (probably, in retrospect, not the best idea for a job interview situation). The boss loved it.

I had walked into the interview room a bit disheveled (I was on shift, and had no advance warning of the interview), with no expectations at all. I walked out completely determined to work in this environment.

Sure enough, the job offer came a week later. I had worried and worried about money - my base salary plus overtime were substantial, and I didn't know if this department could pay me. When the Human Resources person contacted me with a figure, I was stunned. It was more money than my salary plus overtime. I reflexively asked for a day to think it over and then chased the poor man down the hallway, screaming that I would take the position.

Anyway, that was two years ago. In that time, I learned a great deal about conditional access (don't get me started), and the specific job and requirements of my current position. After a time I realized that I suddenly had more time to myself - I had been averaging sixty hours a week in Tech Ops, and suddenly was down to about forty. So I decided to do something worthwhile with that time.

I dabbled in part-time employment, but wasn't happy with it. I tried "Continuing Education" at the local community college, and that didn't really get me anywhere I wanted to go. So I applied for the program at Quinnipiac, figuring that a Masters degree would be a wonderful thing to have. And just like before, as I learned more about the program, I got excited and immersed in the idea.

At the moment, I'm concerned about two things. First, I don't really know what kind of student I am. I've been out of school for so long and am such a different person than I was in 1997 that I have no actual idea about study habits or online learning. Second, I feel like I'm behind in the class already. I've never touched Powerpoint, and some of the presentations by my classmates are complete enough to intimidate me. For instance, I know that I can't do something as visually interesting as Serena did if you give me a month instead of a few days.

I hope that this course and this area of study challenge me, and that I respond in a good way to it. Please try to keep in mind that while you are learning about me, I am learning about myself.

Why I called the blog this

I am a tremendous fan of The Simpsons, and I was watching the DVD of Season Five on my recent vacation. There were several scenes that were cut from syndication because the syndicators wanted to get more commercials into the shows. Most of these are stand-alone, and not very funny.

But in this one episode (it's called Secrets of a Successful Marriage and is coded 1F20), Homer passes a classroom with "Funk Dancing for Self-Defense" on a sign by the door. I'll copy and paste from The Simpsons Archive:

In the next class, Moe teaches gangsta rapper self-defense.  "All
right, here's the 4-1-1, folks.  Say some gangsta is dissin' your fly
girl.  You just give 'em one of these."  A rap beat begins and Moe
begins to break.  After a backflip, he grabs a shotgun at blasts three
rounds into the air -- much to the surprise and discomfort of his
students.

You'll need to trust me - it's very funny. I had shared a room with my brother for eighteen years, and have never seen him laugh as long or as loudly as he did on that sofa at Cape Cod.