Apologies and the Speech

I haven't posted in a few days due to preparations for a speech, as well as an editing job. I return now with the prepared text for that speech. In delivering it, I diverged from the text only slightly.

My name is Calder Holbrook. I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. My childhood was a fairly conventional one for a boy raised in a middle class household. My mother Priscilla was a graphic artist for a number of print publications, including the leading daily newspaper in Arizona, but left the workforce to care for my sister and I. My father Peter was, and continues to be a cost estimator for a construction contractor with offices in several states. My sister Annie has always been a mystery to me, but is currently finishing her undergraduate degree at Arizona State and hopes to work for a record label or radio station.

As for me, I feel that much about me can be explained by my lifelong participation in Boy Scouts. I was slow to progress in my early years, but was willing to stay with it because I enjoyed so much the company of the friends I had made. Every month, we went on a hiking and camping expedition, and every summer went to a weeklong camp an hour and a half outside of Phoenix. Those experiences were both hard and rewarding, and in between, we attended meetings, worked on badges, and fooled around an exceptional amount.

Ultimately, I was able to attain what is considered the highest rank, Eagle Scout, at the age of 17. At that time I had already started working summers at the camp, which was even more fun than simply attending them. I learned skills of leadership, and had the chance to work with kids, which was difficult, but was a good experience. In the last years I worked at summer camp, I had also been attending college. After the summer of 2004, I worked a summer camp for the last time, and dedicated myself to school as I went off to Columbia College in Chicago.

This was to be a unique experience in almost every sense. I had never been to Chicago, and had never lived away from my family for more than a couple of months. Although I had a roommate, the  arrangement of not having my parents around was hard to get used to. I managed to get by. I got up and went to sleep when I needed to, and got my schoolwork done with few exceptions. Regarding the city of Chicago, it's a really fun place to be, particularly when you're young, I think. There are so many things to see and do, and In two years, I only got to a fraction of them. The parks, the museums, the night life and the phenomenal public transportation were all very memorable.

After college, I hit a dead spot. I came home, and started working at a restaurant while trying to find work in Phoenix. The good media jobs were impossible to get, and the jobs that it was possible to get were lousy and didn't seem to lead to anything. After a year, encouraged by a successful exploratory trip to LA, I knew I was going have to make the move. I came to LA permanently shortly after. It's been hit and miss, and definitely a struggle, but I know this is the place where I'll make it. Today I work some in editing and some on set in various capacities, and am always looking for my chance to truly establish myself. I've had the chance to work on a few tv shows people might be familiar with, but on each occasion, only for brief jobs.

When I'm not working or trying to work, I have a wide range of interests. I'm something of a homebody, so I only sometimes go out to parties and the like, but can certainly enjoy them on occasion. I enjoy working on my blog, and fooling around on the computer in general. I enjoy spectator sports, and root for my Arizona teams, though I also like the Dodgers some, and tend to root for the University of Florida in college sports because of my family's history with that school.

I watch too much TV, a lot of movies, and listen to music most of the time. I like to think of it as work-related research. I take a strong interest in politics, although I don't think I'm as rabid about it as I was in '04, and '05. Maybe that's how it is when things start going your way on the political scene. And now I add a new interest: my Toastmasters Club. My father has been a member since I was a toddler, and went through the prescribed speeches a long time ago. I have fond memories of watching some of them, and watching my father compose them in pen on a legal pad. I couldn't deny that my father has enjoyed significant professional success, and that had to come from something, so attributing it at least partly to his participation in Toastmasters seemed reasonable. I've always liked talking and getting attention, so following my father into the club seemed natural.

I have certain expectations for my time in the club. Although I consider myself fairly eloquent in comparison with people around me, I want to get better. Although I've talked my way into some jobs, I've lost many because of my inability to communicate and sell myself. It's up to me to fulfill my expectations, and so I hope that today I've made a good start.