Flex, Eyes and Audiotape

I want a job in radio.

One of the first things I did here was to go for a long walk up to Ponsonby, listening to my walkman to get a feel for Auckland's many different stations.

Some of them have quite bizarre names, such as Easy-Listening Eye, or i, eye don't know which from just listening. Another seemed even harder to pronounce, as twice the presenter sounded as though he was tripping-over saying his own station's name. That, I later discovered, was the unexpectedly short BFM.

In order to make job applications though, I really need to wow their programme-directors with a good demo-tape.

I brought a bunch of cassettes of my old UK radio shows with me, but what I've really needed since getting here is a cassette-to-cassette copier to run some copies off on regularly.

There is one in the hostel's kitchen, but it doesn't work properly, although it did amuse me to hear myself on West London Radio blaring out of it for a moment! (it made a surreal change from Classic Hits Auckland)

So I prayed for God to get me a tape-to-tape machine.

And, within minutes, I actually found a second-hand one on sale at the market in Aotea Square! Whoa!

It was almost perfect, because as I examined it at the stall, I could see that it was missing a mains lead. I opened-up the battery-compartment on the rear to check the contacts were okay to use instead, and hiding inside I found the mains lead!

Clearly this was God's perfect provision, in answer to my prayer. Wowzers. Prayer works!

And then the woman behind the stall saw me with it and took it off me, saying that it wasn't for sale.

Whu...?

I wanted to stand there and protest that it was. I wanted to stammer "N-no... y-you're wrong... this is my answer from God..." but obviously I didn't. I just went away thoroughly disappointed.

At the Christian college I visited recently, they were kind enough to let me borrow the tape-to-tape of a guy who wasn't even around at the time. I spent much of the second half of the afternoon going into his bedroom, setting my tapes running, and then returning 25 minutes later to reset another one going. When the owner himself eventually showed-up, he was completely cool with finding a complete stranger in his bedroom using his stuff.

Recently, at the back of church, (which I'm regularly arriving at 45-minutes late to avoid the worship) I made a new friend. He's an ice-cream salesman called Trev, and like me he's into a bit of low-budget film-making from time-to-time. Trev gave me a lift back to the hostel, after which we sat for an hour in his car just chatting about stuff.

Last week I told him of my need for a tape-to-tape copier, and he immediately produced one. From inside his car.

That's it – he simply had one on him. God bless Trev. No wait, it was God's doing. Trev bless God.

This morning the hostel's tannoy announced that there was a call for me to take at reception. I leapt out of bed, dressed very quickly, and raced down in the lift.

After a telephone interview, I found I was through to the last 8 for a job as Breakfast Presenter on community radio in Greymouth! (I'm guessing the town was named after a local talking corpse or something) There are 2 positions going, so that means I actually have a 1 in 4 chance.

Meanwhile a Christian TV/radio network within walking-distance up the road is interested in my HR experience too. In the never-in-a-million-years event that I actually get offered both, I think I'd have to take the HR job, as although I wouldn't get on air, I would be working for a Christian company.