Your author's name is Shane O. Gill
I was born in the once booming metropolis of Reedsport, OR in
1977. I remember when there were once more than 5 people in the local supermarket at a
time - and not just the employees! I went to school, did all the usual stuff, and
graduated in 1995. Immediately jumped into community college, where I couldn't figure out
what I wanted to do with myself. Worked for several years as production director at the
local radio station, then one day as I finished delivering sandwiches to my fellow
employees and to the computer that stole my job a few weeks prior, I just got fed up with
the whole deal.
Got an itchin' to see the world. Drove all the way to
Washington's Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort(in Olympic Nat'l Park) and made beds for the big
bucks. It was great - saw Seattle, Bremerton, the whole tourist thing. Almost went to
Canada too. Took lots of pictures.
Came back that fall and started college at Southern Oregon
University. It was a rough road there for a while. After trying out almost every major
they offer, I finally settled on Journalism. I should graduate this June with a B.S.
I hope to graduate and not look back.
I like what I'm doing, and that's important. I don't know
If I'd ever want to continue working in radio - it's changed so much even from a few years
ago. But I'm sure I'll decide on something...
Many, many things to do...A little about my hobbies.
- What do I do for fun? I have many, many hobbies that seem to go in a constant
rotation. For one, I'm into ships. Espcially all things Titanic - I've been a huge fanatic
since an early age - I got the bug when it was discovered in '85. I used to bring
really technical Titanic books to my fourth grade classes and read them, while my
classmates read what fourth graders usually read. I didn't really read them as much as I
gazed at the photos. Also into submarines (especially U-boats) as well, since we're on the
topic.
- I'm obviously into computers. I really enjoy games, specifically simulations. I've
been a Flight Simulator and now Train Simulator lover ever since the SubLogic version on
the Commodore 64 - which by the way was my first computer. Still have it, and use it! I
also have become a big fan of the Tom Clancy Rainbow Six series of games - they're loads
of multi-player fun! I enjoy surfing the internet for hobby-related stuff, buying
crap I don't need on eBay, downloading lots of copyright-infringing music on Napster, and
tinkering with internet broadcasting. I like to play around with computer building
also.
- I spend LOTS of time with my car. I've owned my 1980 Mustang Ghia for about four
years now, and put way too much money into it. It likes to ignore my love and caring by
acting up and breaking things every so often. It just got a new engine this last summer.
It's been behaving so far, but I'm always suspicious. What can I say - it's
going to be celebrating its 21st birthday this year. But it's great. It's so great that I
have a web site devoted to it. Call that wierd. I love all
Mustangs, actually. I guess they call freaks like me "Mustangers." I like that.
- Music. I had been playing the Alto and Baritone saxes for almost nine years when I
last picked one up. I sold my sax away a while back for my one true musical love - the
electric bass. I've been playing bass for almost seven years now. I always wanted to
learn, since I was 9 or 10. Never wanted to learn guitar, always bass. For the technical
types, I own a '93 Fender Precision Plus, an el-cheapo Rogue 4 that I pulled the frets
from, and my baby - an Ibanez 1306PM six-stringer. I've owned two others since I started,
and miss them both very much! My amplification is all Peavey - I use a MAXX preamp and 260
watt power amp. It's not a big watter, but it's VERY clean and gets the job done. This
goes into two Black Widow "18 speakers mounted in homebuilt cabinets. I'm planning on
buying an effects unit of some sort very soon as well. I've played in a couple bands over
the years, but as of lately I've just been plugging away at school, hoping for the right
moment.
- I'm also kind of a railroad buff. Been doing some modeling and stuff, buiding my
first serious model railroad in years to pass the time this winter. It'll be an
around-the-wall style layout, about 10' by 10' or so, and based around sawmill and
several other small industries common to the coastal and southern oregon areas. They say
to model what you know best! I now have a page devoted to my railroad interests.
Look for it here.
- Photography. This is a really recent thing I've started to get into.
Over Christmas break I spent a lot of time railfanning (see above) around Reedsport
and Coos Bay, and started taking pictures. The only thing was that my camera wasn't
really up to snuff. So, I have recently bought a Canon Rebel X which I'm SO happy
with. Ever since, I've been taking pictures of pretty much anything and everything I
can - but I really enjoy railroad photography. This link will let you see some
of my work.
- I have all sorts of other hobbies, including but not limited to the following: Scale
models, airplanes, radio/shortwave/scanner/cb/amateur/aircraft monitoring, bicycling,
Sci-Fi, reading, and lots of other calm and subdued nerd-like hobbies.
The center of the known universe: Reedsport, OR
Making the big bucks...
I'm in my second season now at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where I'm an usher.
This makes me very happy. I'll tell you why...
Previously, I worked my way through several terms of college as a janitor.
Let's just say that I am glad to leave that behind. When you're scrapin' turds off
the walls at 3 in the morning for an unappreciative jerk of a boss who thinks he's your
dad, something goes off in the back of your head that says, "this ain't for
me." Oh, the stories I could tell...
More coming soon...
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the
page author
and are not official statements of Southern Oregon University.