I’d continue maintaining that my lack of posting here was due to my sickness, and although it’s partially true, I could at least get a few words in, I think.

In any case, the first part of my entry title is true.  They always say that sickness or medical injuries get worse before they get better, and so that seems to be the case here. Yesterday, I could barely speak, mostly likely due to my throat being blocked up from phlegm (I love that word).  I’ve been able to clear some of it out, via both the physiological way (love those throat muscles) and the medicinal way (I love Robitussin CF so much).  The result is that I can speak closer to my normal pitch again, rather than sounding like some kind of tenor.

I’m still hacking like a lifetime smoker, but that’s usually the case with this allergy/sinus/cold/whatever I get at this time of year, so I know what to expect.  I’m hopeful that on this day next weekend, I’ll be able to report that all is back to normal with my health (as normal as it can be for someone with asthma and Crohn’s).  Perhaps I can make that report before then.  We shall see.

It’s important that I get better, for as I noted in my last entry, I will be attending the back-to-back (and actually slightly overlapping) National Association of Broadcasters and Broadcast Education Association conventions in Las Vegas, NV in mid-April.  For those who don’t know, the NAB convention, one of the biggest in the world, is the place for everybody who is anybody in broadcasting to come and show all their latest and greatest stuff.  I’m talking mobile control rooms perfectly built into RVs, news helicopters (they actually have some there), video cameras, audio equipment, and so much more.  There’s also video servers, routers, amplifiers; you name it, somebody is showing it off there.  There are also training sessions for Avid, Apple, Adobe, and other major video products.

BEA is maybe a bit more boring for someone my age, and who holds more of an interest in the technical side of things, but it is interesting none-the-less.  There are more training sessions, discussion panels, demonstrations of papers by both students and professors, radio and video festivals (alas none of my school’s entries won anything), and most importantly to me, a career fair.  So, it is a lot more academic in nature, but we’re students, right?  So, nothing wrong with that.

Finally, there are some side events that take place at the same time.  The one that I definitely plan to attend is the Final Cut Pro Users Group meeting.  Affiliate groups from all around the country come out to hear from the big boys in video production (Adobe, Apple, etc) on what is new and great in their products.  More fun, though, are raffle prizes!  When I last went to the meeting (April, 2005), I won a Steady Tracker.  It’s a kind of handheld version of a SteadyCam device, that allows one to make moving shots with ease and without shakiness.  There were two available, a lighter version and a heavier version, and guess who got the latter one.  Ooh, the envy eminating through the audience was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife.  Then, the next year, one of the attending members won a very nice video camera.  I’m talking a camera worth about $5000.  So, that’ll be fun.

But, alas!  I digress from the true purpose of this part of my entry.  It is important that I get better, so I can feel good when I go, so I can bring all of you updates!  That’s right.  Foregoing any terrible circumstances to its operation, I will be bringing along my laptop.  I hope to bring everyone some daily updates as to what I’ve seen, along with plenty of pictures!  However, I cannot commit to that entirely, since I’m not sure of our entire itinerary, which really is probably not going to be made until we get there.  Sure, there will be a few things planned out, but outside planned meetings, it’ll all probably be up-in-the-air.  So, I’ll do my best to bring you what I can, but do I promise something everyday?  Well, given my past track record, I cannot do that.  But, expect several entries at least!

Well, I have to get ready for a shoot I’m doing in an hour, so I’m off.  I wanted to do a pre-review of WordPress 2.5, given what I’ve seen so far from their site, but it must wait!  Until next time…