Well after 4 glorious weeks living la vida loca, I can say with 100% certainty that I am now bored senseless. I actually got excited today when a telemarketer from Karachi called:
"Fred" with thick accent: "Hello m'am (I hate 'm'am' by the way), how are you today? I'm calling from Quality Duct Cleaning..."
Me: (Yay!! A well-mannered gentleman who cares about the air quality of my home and the cleanliness of my ducts) "Go on sir, I'm listening..."
I didn't really want my ducts cleaned, but I was interested in hearing a great and compelling sales pitch. You see, I really miss using my gift-for-the-gab to entice others into buying whatever it is I sold in my former life as a home shopping expert and Host. It's certainly a specialized field and I could always boast, "that I'm only 1 of 13 people in the entire country doing this job!"
So how did this career in TV start? People often ask...(if you didn't, too bad, now you're stuck hearing it).
Going back in time, I remember being interviewed in grade five by CTV News (CFCF 12) in Montreal. They were doing a segment called "The Achievers" and had just featured famed hockey legend Jean Beliveau. They reached out to our school Principal in search of a confident, witty, chatty 10-year old (aka, motor-mouth with adult teeth) who could speak to what it means to be "an achiever". After I was selected (obviously!) I tightened my side-pony, got comfy and gave them the clip they yearned for...and about another 35-minutes of blithering on tape that they immediately tossed into the nearest trash once I pranced off, beaming with pride. I remember the audio guy, drenched in sweat, holding a long weighted boom mic, clutching his quivering arm and begging for mercy, "Please kid....enough...my arm's flippin' killing me here." Yes, I Kasie, was going to take this talent to the people... Someone get me a Sonycam, a tripod and oodles of VHS tapes...
Telling my parents that I was going to be on TV "when I grow up" was as warmly encouraged as bringing home a head-full of lice eggs. "Sure dear....whatever....please stay in advanced math and sciences...(look of skepticism)...just in case you grow up and want a real job...that pays."
Well I showed them. After graduating from Ryerson University's Radio and Television Arts program (with a minor in Science and Math), I immediately busted my hump working anywhere and everywhere that had TV cameras. My first actual salary came from CityTV. I earned a whopping $24,000/year at their retail outlet desperately hoping that Jeannie Beker, or MuchMusic's George Stroumboulolopoulopoupoulous, or even Ed the Sock would discover me. I am not too proud to admit that I soon-after was tasked with a very high-profile gig as the lead hot-tub filler (a volunteer job FYI) on the very low-profile Ed the Sock show. I guess that Jeannie and George just didn't recognize raw talent quite yet... I eventually moved on to a job in marketing and advertising that provided me with immeasurable office skills and business acumen (picture the show The Office, but funnier) - oh, and it also paid my rent and the once-a-week oil top-ups that my 1988 (this was 2001) Pontiac Sundance required due to a less then stellar engine rust-out. During my lunch break I pre-taped clips for a show that I co-hosted called, Our Town (that could have also been called Nobody's Watching). After work, I volunteered as a reporter for Rogers TV (where I reported that the viewership of Our Town was at an all-time low...huge thank you to Mable Fitzsimmons for watching with devotion by the way). All-in-all, between CTV, Rogers and CBC, I might be the most prolific get-me-in-the-door TV volunteer of all time. Dozens of shows, countless TV specials, special appearances, and then of course eventually, product expert on TSC for 12 years and most recently, Host.
So, now that time is once again on my side, what's next? Well, I've always wanted to take sewing lessons, or equestrian...or model railroad. Who knows. But just in case I can get my foot back in the door on TV sometime soon, just remember, you knew me when....
Love getting your emails and comments by the way....
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