I have moved...

For any of you who see this, I will begin my blogging again in a new location (not just physical, but electronic as well.)
My new blog is: www.divajournalist.wordpress.com
Come check me out!!

My life in a nutshell

1.) Sickness
2.) Sleep 
3.) Stress
These are the things that have taken over my life recently. I am overwhelmed by the first and last, and can't seem to get enough of the second no matter how hard I try. Number 3 only makes number 1 worse, and both are preventing me from catching up on number 2. Needless to say this vicious cycle is rather annoying and mostly makes me want to curl up under my blanket and bawl for a good couple hours. 


Since that is not an option, or at least it shouldn't be, I am attempting to push on. I really want to spend my last few weeks here getting as much experience as I can. Soon enough I'll be back at home spending my summer at Best Buy and CVS working in menial jobs without emotional reward. At least here I can see the fruits of my labor in physical tangible form. I must say, I'm definitely going to miss that. 


Considering all of what I just wrote, I think I need to pry myself away from blogging for now and get down to some good ole fashioned hard research. I have a feature to write for internship tomorrow, and a term paper due in a week. Am I ready? No! Will I fake it till I make it? Why of course :) 

Quick update

So life has been a whirlwind rollercoaster lately, both for good and bad (mostly on the not so pleasant side unfortunately.) The best thing recently was my trip home. I know I've talked a lot about how great it is to get out and have new experiences, but sometimes a trip down memory lane can really heal the heart a little bit. It also helps that while home its easy to forget the pile of homework I'm accumulating here. I can't believe I only have 3 more days at my internship and only 11 more days until my term paper is due *gulp* plus I've been falling behind on reading and doing critiques for class.


Its easy to blame all of this on feeling sick, and most of it truly has to do with that, but sometimes I feel like I use that as a bit of a crutch especially at my internship. I have produced diddly squat at 6 of the last 7 days I've had scheduled for internship. Sometimes it was not for lack of trying (like yesterday) but others it was out of sheer contempt for everything having to do with hard work. Even today I had the whole morning gifted to me by choosing an event scheduled for the afternoon, what did I do with it? Beyond sleeping in of course, I did almost nothing even though I left my apartment almost 3 hours later than I usually do.


Anyways, I think its really sinking in that this is almost over. In 3 weeks I'll be packing up and shipping out, I can't quite decide the level of relief that is supposed to bring me yet though. I've really enjoyed living in the city, getting star treatment as a journalist and networking (even though its failed miserably every time I've tried!) I'll be sad to see it go, and as I'm feeling good (physically) at this exact moment, I don't want it to end. But then there are the times when I'm completely doubled over in pain, writing a paper, or interviewing someone and the only thing I can think of is going home or being a normal college kid again. What am I going to do when that knowledge of relief won't be there to save me once I enter the job force for real?


I just got done discussing my plans for after college  with my editor and it stresses me out that I still have NO idea what I would like to do. There are still so many paths that seem appealing to me. This semester was supposed to help me figure out what I was going to do later. Looking back, I can see how its given me a fresh perspective, but it definitely has not laid out a clear path like I'd hoped. As a final though, and I know this is going to sound cliche and really lame, but no matter what this semester I've gotten experience and "padded my resume" and for now, that will just have to be enough :)

article link

Oh and here is the link to my article from last Wednesday if you are interested in reading about big business, exporting and the job market :)

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

If one word could describe my experiences since my last post it would have to be Exhaustive. Both in quantity and quality, experiences recently have been overwhelming me. 


On the upside, Spring is finally arriving which lightens my spirit. The cherry-blossom trees are pretty much at peak and you can tell people are just generally happier the closer it gets to summer. I know that Spring makes me drag out my camera and document all the amazing flowers (like always, all of the pictures in this blog were taken by me) 


Quick bullet point rundown on my recent adventures...


~Went to the Newseum: pretty much the coolest museum ever, completely dedicated to the history of news, I could spend all day in there, and guess what, I did! 


~Saw the United States Navy Memorial: I even found a special plaque dedicated to the Seabeas (the division my father was a part of) 


~Saw a protest: two of them in fact. The first one was anti-war and the second was anti-healthcare. Both were pretty intense although the latter was the only one to receive press.

 
~Experienced the Healthcare vote: I sat in the House Gallery for one of the votes before the actual healthcare vote on Sunday night, It was pretty monumental. 

~Toured the Capitol Building: I spent a couple hours off work looking at the beautiful architecture and art that it holds, this is also when I sat in on the vote. 

~Went to an event on young professionals who cover the white house: going to events after work makes me feel pretty professional, its great let me tell you :) 

~Ate legitimate Baltimore crab cakes: part of a weekend trip with Amy, Sari, and Kaitlin to Baltimore where we stayed at my professor's house. 

~Spent 4 hours on a train/bus/ another train on the trip into Baltimore: at least it was sunny out! It also gave me time to hang with Amy :) 

~Went to an Eastern Orthodox Service on Palm Sunday: It was a 3 hour service with... lots of chanting/ singing, no pews, incense, a march around the outside of the building with palm branches, communion I couldn't take, and a lenten feast after service because the members had fasted since midnight. Would I recommend it? Yes, as long as you have someone with you who can explain what is going on. 

~Took a "class" on how to use Excel: pretty much, how to use basic formulas to show you the information spreadsheets can give you. Ice cream was provided which was a plus :) 

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Synopsis...

Because I'm so behind on blogging, I've decided just to do a quick run-down of my past few days that way I can get back to writing about how I've been feeling instead of just agonizing over details of where I've been. Analyzing my experience is why I made the blog in the first place, I don't know why its turned into a Washington DC itinerary, maybe I've just been lazy. 


Anyway, Monday meant a field trip to the Washington Post, an interesting experience to be sure. Hamil Harris brought us around the newsroom likes ducks following their mother from place to place, and our tour was quite long and extensive. According to Hamil, every person in the building "is the best" at what they do and they all have accomplished something groundbreaking in their field. This might explain why everyone blushes and smiles around him all the time, and it definitely is linked to his personal thesis that "journalism is all about relationships." 

Saturday in the City

I wish I could say that Saturday dawned sunny and warm - my favorite kind of weather- but alas, rain and clouds greeted me when I rolled out of bed. I am proud to say that I didn't let that keep me inside all day as I've done in the past. Instead, I went out on a day long adventure with fellow WJCers Alaina and Amy to experience the city in all of its slippery glory. 


We started out with a trip to a little shop by Eastern Market called "Hill's Kitchen" which -- no surprise-- sells cute accessories for capitol city cooks. Although we didn't buy anything, we were enthralled by all the possibilities. There was a cookie cutter in the shape of the capitol building, a spatula for left-handed people, and even a whisk with a handle that looked like a baby chicken. WIth all their crazy products and practical stuff too, it's definitely the type of place I would like to frequent once I have my own kitchen to furnish.