One of the great things about running Major Spoilers is the short deadlines most of us have when gathering stories, pitching ideas back and forth across the email system, and generally scrambling when a big story or idea hits and we want to get it up fast. The loose schedule of what hits the site when has run well for the last year, and for the most part all the contributors at Major Spoilers have done a tremendous job. But then there are those Mondays that throw a wrench into the system.
HECK WEEK
You may have noticed the site didn’t update as often, or with as much content as it usually does. Over the past five years we get a steady stream of content from publishers, both big and small, to the point where I’m fielding roughly 500 emails a day from around the world, so there’s no lack of news, sneak peeks, review requests, and the like to keep the site humming. Last week was gearing up to be a busy but productive week, until the Real World came knocking on my door with a request (read demand) that had me pushing the limits of my sanity and endurance.
SCOTTY KNEW HOW TO DEAL WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE
Deadlines can be fun. They really push me creatively, emotionally, and often give me reason to sit back and think about what I really want in life. In this case, my Real World Boss paid me a visit at the end of the day on Monday and told me to scrap my plans for a video I had been working on for a Friday presentation. That news would generally have me rejoicing, and doing a happy dance on the inside, but that glimmer of hope was quickly quashed when RWB told me to change the direction and scope of the video and still have it ready first thing Friday morning.
Without turning this into a Woe-Is-Me tale, I will say this, everyone but the RWB (Real World Boss) knew this was a near impossible task, and each person I talked to about the project looked at me with a funny smile on their face, thinking I was joking with them. When they learned it wasn’t a joke, the smiles turned to sympathy, I received hearty pat on the back, and the ever popular “Good luck with that” comment as they made a mad dash to the door before I could rope them in for help.
With a task ahead of me that really requires a large crew to pull of effectively in addition to my regular Real World duties, and a growing website to fill with content, the only thing I could think of at that moment was Scotty from Star Trek. Throughout Scotty’s career, when things looked bleak, when it looked like there was no way to get out of a fix, there he was with an ability to pull everyone’s hash out of the fire. Engineer Montgomery Scott always had a way of under promising and over delivering, and he came off as one of the hardest working cogs in the machine. For the last couple of years, I’ve taken Scotty’s approach to schedules, deadlines, and near impossible tasks, and I’ve always surprised myself when I meet that tight deadline or accomplish something that a few days before I thought would never happen.
Why?
It’s interesting that if something is important to us, we’ll always make time for it. Even though I could have sequestered myself in a studio and edit bay for three and a half days with no sleep, I still found time to take care of regular job duties, spend time with the family, go to meetings, and update the website with some content so it didn’t look like we had all stepped out and left you hanging for a week. Everything I choose (and sometimes am forced) to engage in is important to me, and I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish the task.
THANK GOODNESS FOR BEER, SUNDAYS, AND MAJOR SPOILERS
Even though there are days when I want to turn my back on all things Major Spoilers, it is still one of the happy moments I look forward to each day. I often can’t wait to sit down each evening and begin to prep for the next day. I enjoy reading all the comments and feedback from readers, even if I don’t always agree with them. I can’t wait for each new day to arrive with new tales and stories to share with you. I enjoy writing something that angers some, and causes others to laugh or rejoice. I like seeing people engage and have civil conversations with one another over a topic. I want to make sure I always have time to do something Major Spoilers related each day, because it’s something that is important to me. And maybe more importantly, Major Spoilers tends to be that Zone of Calm and Tranquility I need to keep myself balanced and prevents me from doing something stupid.
The good news is I’m still alive after a week from heck. I may have received little to no sleep, snapped at a few “dummy-dumbs”, as my son calls them, and lost a pound or ten, all while ruining any hope for purging my system from caffeinated products, I realized that no matter what happens, I still love everything that I do. It doesn’t matter if it is a tight deadline, teaching classes, taking care of business as an administrator, being a producer, writing an article in the middle of the night, prepping for a podcast (or four), or shooting and editing video at three o’clock in the morning, at the end of the day I still walk away with a smile on my face knowing that I’ve accomplished something that I enjoy doing. While some days are better than others, and I still can’t wait for the day to arrive when Major Spoilers becomes my Real World Job, and I become my own RWB, I know that I’m in the right place, right now.
I wonder how many of you feel the same way at the end of the day when you’ve been hit upside the head with the woes of the world? Are you still happy regardless of what happens?
THANKS AGAIN TO YOU, DEAR READER
Once again, the thing that keeps me going with Major Spoilers is the positive support we receive on a daily basis. Without the Legion of Major Spoilerites, I’d never have brought the site back from the dead three years ago. I know you probably get tired of hearing it, and some of you may not even believe that my appreciation is genuine, but I truly thank each and every one of you who visit the site each day, visit our advertiser’s sites, listen to the Major Spoilers Podcast, the Critical Hit Podcast, read Major Spoilers Adventures, follow @MajorSpoilers on Twitter, watch The Want List, and hang out and chat it up in the Major Spoilers Forum. When the Real World comes a knocking with his brass knuckles on, and an evil grin on his face, I know I’m not the only one struggling with the daily grind, and I hope Major Spoilers continues to be the bright spot in your day, just like it is mine.
So I say “Bring it on Real World” ‘cause as long as there’s a Major Spoilers, I can deal with anything you can dish out.
11 Comments
Stephen, we appreciate everything you do for us too! Thanks for everything. Hopefully your next week at work will be a lot better.
Hi Stephen
Sorry to hear about your week from hell; I hope things are levelling out for you a bit more now?
I for one am glad we have Major Spoilers, Critical Hit and the website which we can check out umpteen times a day; I appreciate what you, Matthew and Rodrigo do for us listeners in ‘Spoilerland’. The major spoiler experience certainly cheers me up after and during a cruddy week at work.
Just be careful you don’t burn yourself out.
I really enjoyed reading this. One of the best things about the site is the presence of the staff and that they interact with the visitors. Your not the cold, hard corporate machine that others try to be. You deliver the goods while making people feel like they can put their feet on the coffee table and relax.
I loved writing for MS. It’s honestly something that I miss very much. The shape my life is in, however, doesn’t allow me to write and keep (what’s left of) my sanity though. Making time to do what you love is great but you can’t neglect taking time to do what you NEED as well. On that note, God bless you for keeping the train running.
As for me, I love what I do, even if the specifics of it make my teeth itch on occasion…
RWB’s almost never have realistic assessment skills. That’s how they became RWB’s.
I’d like to say thank you Stephen for all the content you and everyone else puts out on Major Spoilers. This site is a haven from the real world for me, I am informed and entertained. I came across Major Spoilers about year ago or so, totally out of the blue, and I have only started becoming one with the Major Spoiler Experiance. I am digging in for the long haul, through the good times, and the bad. I will be here, and it all couldn’t be possible without you.
Stephen, I know your pain of having an already busy schedule and then having a RWB mess it up with an unrealistic deadline because you are the go to person. I also know the frustration of not having any support to get an unrealistic request done, people saying “sorry, sucks to be you” and running out the door before you can say anything. I am grateful for everything you and the MS crew do. It is not easy to balance life and work, and for most work wins.
Having a Zone of Calm and Tranquility is important, but also going is just as important, if not more. You need to have positivity in your life to balance out the negative. Many people forget about this. I am glad to hear you make sure you get to go to your “happy place” everyday. I am hopeful luck is on your side and you become your own RWB soon
What Brian G. said is the truth…the fact that you guys, Stephen, Matthew, Rodrigo, Fakerigo (he’s real, right?), and all the contributors, are so very real and seem close make that site unique.
That is why you were the one I thought about when I heard about the MontrealCon and decided I’d send you pics (you’ll hear from me soon regarding what you mentioned in your reply to me…and I’ll try to have at least one cat…).
*snif*
…that’s it for me…got something in my eye…
Agree with what’s been said here. Thanks for all of the work you put into the site. You guys will weather through one slow week. Honestly, there was still plenty to bring me here all last week.
Stephen,
Sorry to hear you had a heck week. We all have them once in a while. Fortunately, that’s a frequently as they usually come.
To echo the sentiments of the other comments, you, Matthew and Rodrigo do a great job of putting this site toghether. I can only imagine the load you have with the other work you do. My job is done when the day ends, I don’t have anything to bring home. I’m lucky that way.
I look forward to reading the new articles and listening to new podcasts, but if there is a slow day of few posts, I know there were be that much more the next day or the next week. The real paying jobs often take priorty.
I’ll see if I can send in a few more reviews for you, to help lighten the load.
Keep up the great work!
I gotta say, I’d be lost without Major Spoilers. I’m a pretty isolated comic fan, and even other geeks I meet can’t dig as deep in conversation. (Superman, sure, but I mention Chew or Invincible or Locke and Key and I get blank stares.) So the site gives me a much needed outlet for my nerdery. I get great info, I love the three podcasters, the civil attitudes in the comments, the up-to-minute reports and slick polish of everything, and they always make me feel like my voice is being heard, which keeps me coming back.
So as long as there’s a site, I’m a Faithful Spoilerite.
I am more than happy being part of the MS experience. Also, anytime you need a hand, I’m here to be of as much help as I can, (which usually isn’t all that much ’cause I am kinda worthless).