Well, here I am again after another long absence. Hurricane Ike played a big part in this absence, though. Recently, Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston and the Bolivar peninsula and on up into Houston and beyond. The little town of Bridge City, Tx, where my parents lived for almost 40 years, that had suffered a great deal of wind damage from Hurricane Rita in 2005 was flooded as never in it's history with the storm surge from Ike which reached up to the ceilings in many homes. There are many people who lost everything. The devastation is immense.
In Houston, many are still without power after 14 days. The beautiful pine and oak trees that fill Houston making it lush and green can also come crashing down damaging power lines and creating a huge job for power companies in removing the debris and repairing or replacing the lines and transformers.
Fortunately, we had a generator to run my studio and although I had no internet service, I was still able to work on a limited basis. My ISDN lines were not affected, so with generator power, I was able to participate in ISDN and phone patch sessions. I managed to find a friend whose power and internet service had been restored to carry my flash drive loaded with audio files to for uploading. I'd also download job and audition scripts to take back to my studio for recording, so some work did continue with determination and creativity.
I really appreciate the fact that our power was restored ahead of the projected schedule, and I feel for the folks who are still without. But my heart aches for those who have overwhelming damage to their homes and worse yet, for those who have lost loved ones.
Melanie Haynes blogs from her voice over studio on all topics related to voice over and voice talent. Topics range from current projects to marketing, current trends in voice over, advice for beginners or voice over professionals new to the internet, and everything in between.
It's so interesting and fitting that this man has had such an affect on us all. Although I never met him and certainly never worked with him, his passing has truly moved me as it has so many others. I have found myself thinking of him and his family often over the past several weeks and certainly the past several days.
I think much of this feeling of closeness comes from our online community, comradery, and friendship. Never before in this business have so many of us been able to communicate on a daily basis with mentors, peers, and students. We truly feel a part of the big picture, the whole. We're not just voice over artists in one city, small town, or even out in the countryside working from home - a concept unfathomable in this business just a few years ago! Because of the internet, we've been able to join together in this and many other forums to share our knowledge, joys and sorrows. I'm amazed by it and truly grateful for it every day.
Because we all have such access to our peers as well as those we aspire to emulate, it seems that anything is possible. Our dreams are within reach.
Thank you to Don for his generosity of spirit and candor in sharing his knowledge, experience, and humor. We are grateful for his monolithic talent and soul.
May we all infuse every project we work on completely with our own talent, spirit, and humor in his honor and in ours.