Join morning radio, do hard news?

My first six years at The Whig-Standard, I worked as a writer and reporter. I was a music columnist and a news reporter who covered everything from Ryan Malcolm's meteoric rise on the first season of Canadian Idol, to country pie sales, to the Sept. 11 attacks, to the Juno Awards, to breaking crime stories like bikers in the city and standoffs in suburbia. I did some investigative work and wrote humour columns.

Then, I wanted a break and I became an editor.

At first, I loved my new gig. I came up with story ideas for other reporters and supervised the production of The Whig's entertainment magazine. I took part in editors' story meetings. I got to represent the paper at community events, like high school career days. And then, I began to see how much stuff that wasn't "journalism" that I had to do: I sorted mail. I laid out the paper's three crosswords, paginating each tiny clue into perfect columns.**** I typed into our computer system community listings for charity walks and band shows. (Note: Listings are key to a local paper, though, so I was quite anal about getting them perfect). I answered a lot of voicemail. I answered a lot of e-mails. I spent hours on the phone trying to get publicists to send us hi-res jpegs.

I suspect it's like a teacher working her way up to becoming a principal in a school. Some days, you just want to teach. In my case, some days, I just wanted to write again.

So, it's funny that it took leaving newspapers and joining the K-Rock 105.7 Morning Krew to do news again. The morning show came up with the idea of doing the story of Queen's University professor Chris Mueller, who is a cancer researcher. He has a degenerative liver disease and is looking for a live liver donor. The family has basically exhausted their family and friends' potential and needed to look elsewhere, so we invited Mueller's wife, local artist Sally Milne, to our show to ask our "friends", our listeners, to think about becoming an organ donor. We also talked to Dr. Frank Markel of the Trillium Gift of Life Network about organ donation in Ontario and what it takes to become a donor.

By the end of our show on Wednesday, at 10 a.m., we already had listeners - one in New York state - calling and e-mailling us asking how they could help, or get more information about donating a portion of their liver (which, by the way, grows back).

Yes, we do silly stuff on the morning show. We baked Neil Young concert tickets into pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and we gave out lucky lottery tickets on St. Paddy's Day. But today? We did a story that really matters.

Playing reporter was rejuvenating. Loved it.

Read more on our K-Rock Morning Krew blog, including a statement by Sally Milne about her husband and how you can help Chris Mueller and other people waiting for an organ donation.

**** I mean absolutely no disrespect to hardcore crossword lovers like my mother. I appreciate the skill they take, just not the pain in my wrists from making those teeny tiny clues look so damn perfect each and every week.

It wasn't all serious this morning though. We did talk about panties. Just for a minute though. :)

There might be more(or not)

Why am I wearing Band-Aids on my teeth?

We'd all probably look a lot more sensible if clothing stores were run by two year olds. Two year olds say it like it is. I love going into shops and seeing girls and women (and boys and men) trying on ridiculous clothes (too tight, too small, too young, too skanky) and having the salesperson squawk "Oh my god! That's so, like, fabulous! We also have it in red."
You want to gently pull the customer aside and say: "Ah, no. You look like a pregnant elephant in a curtain." (And I can say that because I, too, have looked like pregnant elephant in a curtain.)
Only once in my entire existence has a salesperson told me I looked ludicrous. It was at Agent 99 downtown and I tried on something to slinky and it showed every lump, bump and chunk. I came out of the changeroom and a lovely girl said, "Huh. That doesn't work, does it?" It was a breath of fresh air.
Yesterday, I was prepping for my first day back at work this Thursday. For three months, I have been laid off, so I spent the better part of three months with unstyled hair and no makeup. And, I've lived in elastic-waist track pants. That look was fine for buying diapers at Wal-Mart, but it doesn't exactly say: "I'm a hot radio momma."
And, so, it's back to Sarah Crosbie, circa pre-Dec.16, 2008 - the Sarah who gave a damn.
I'm drinking buckets of water, exercising, pulling my jeans and dress pants out of hibernation and doing other girly things.
My son looked at me yesterday. He was staring at my teeth.
"Mommy? Did you hurt your teeth?"
I couldn't figure out why he thought my teeth were hurt - unless, that is, I'd chipped one of them a couple of days before my new job?!
"Mommy! Why are you wearing Band-Aids on your teeth?!"
That's right. An hour earlier I'd put whitestrips on my teeth so I have a nice, pearly white smile. I'd forgotten about them...
Alone, in the bathroom, it makes so much sense to put strips of jellied bleach on my teeth.
But here, with my son staring at my teeth, I did feel a little strange having Band-Aids on my teeth.
The things we do for beauty.
When you take a step back, it can all seem a little silly.
Still, in two days, I have to say so long to my elastic-waist pants.
Diapers also have elastic-waists ...so enough of that.


And here is the rest of it.

There might be more(or not)

Sarah joins K-Rock 105.7 - laid off no more!

Seventy nine days.
79 days.
Se-vhen-tee nine dayz.

No matter how I say it or type it, I can't believe it. After 79 days, I am employed again. Part of me feels like I've been laid off forever. My god, what have I accomplished in 79 days? Part of me feels like Dec. 16, 2008 was just yesterday.

Today, The Radio Group – Kingston's K-Rock 105.7, Kix 93.5 and The Lake 102.7 – announced that I am joining the K-Rock Morning Krew. We'll be a threesome (isn't that the best way?) with the group led by Darryl Kornicky, along with Tony Orr and myself.

I start Thursday, March 12.

Every morning from 5:45 a.m. to 9 a.m., you can catch us chatting, laughing, playing good songs and holding fun contests. (Last week, while I was guesting on the show I baked Neil Young tickets into a pancake...)

I'm going to keep this short, because many of my friends are still looking for jobs and I'm very conscious of the fact many people are hurting, both emotionally and financially since being laid off.

We'll talk more later, I promise.

Sarah :)

There might be more(or not)

TRAGICALLY HIP CONCERT IN KINGSTON

BREAKING NEWS: Tragically Hip's Paul Langlois announces Tragically Hip will play a benefit show along with The Trews for Glenn "G" Williams who has ALS. The concert is May 23 at the K-Rock Centre.

"Paul and the rest of the guys in the Tragically Hip are unbelievable contributors to this city," Williams said this morning, admitting he's not often speechless but he was this morning during the concert announcement.

"The guys in the band just feel like - no one has ever played the Hip more," Langlois responded.

G said the ALS is not so much affecting him but his family, his wife, Jodi, and two sons.

For more information about the show, visit the K-Rock website at www.krock1057.ca.

"This is going to be a fun thing for us to do," Langlois said.

G ended the interview by thanking all his friends and listeners who've supported him.

Presale at the Hip website starts tomorrow to Friday.

Regular tickets go on sale on Saturday.

"Keep it rollin' baby," G said.

There might be more(or not)