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.

Why yes, I did see Obama today : )

People always ask me as a joke if I've seen/ heard the president since coming to DC and I typically just laugh and say no. Looks like Thursday finally changed my answer. 


After spending hours at the economic conference listening to such important yet tiring speakers as Ambassador Ron Kirk and the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, finally it was time for Obama to arrive. It took him a while to get there as it seems the president has the luxury of running on his own schedule, but arrive finally did. During his entrance into the building we were all "requested" to stay in our seats-- the secret service surrounding the press pool gave a bit more of an intenseness to the suggestion-- and finally Obama strolled onto the stage from a side door I couldn't seem to locate. 


Although Sari and I were seated at the very back of an extremely large ballroom we still managed to get pictures (I took the one above) using zoom or the very large projector screens around the room. The first few minutes of his speech seemed to be almost drowned out by the flashes of cameras but soon the madness died down in respect for one of the most highly publicized men in all of America. 

Sick...bleh

So the reason I haven't posted in a while is because I have been ill. It started on Tuesday, I went to work but was feeling like crap the whole day, so finally around 2 my editor gave me permission to just head back home because I was useless at the office. I got back around 3:30 and pretty much collapsed into bed for the rest of the day. I got up for a bit at dinner time, but went right back to sleep. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I was feeling worse than the day before so I emailed my editor to say I wasn't coming in, and then went back to sleep. I got out of bed for a bit around 1 and had some milk and ibuprofen but after that I'm sure you can all guess what I did, sleep! I began to feel a bit better around dinner time, and so I got up, I think I had reached my sleep quota anyway. 


Around that time Sari, the girl from WJC I intern with, emailed me about going to an event on Thursday where the President, yes that would be Obama, would be speaking. Needless to say, I jumped on that bandwagon real quick even though it would mean an early morning for me after being sick for a while. I was lucky enough to email the contact person for the event right before she left the office for the day so I could still get registered. Phew :) I stayed up for Cereal night (prepared and provided by our RD) which was delicious but then headed back up to bed. 


So I'm sitting at the Export-Import Bank of the US conference and its 8:00 in the morning, which meant I left my apartment at a grizzly 6:30 am to get here in time. Even though the speakers Sari and I are hear to report on aren't speaking until 11, we had to arrive around 7:00 am in order to get through Secret Service Security. So, I'll report more later on what I saw, who I met, and what Obama looks like in person, come back to find out!

Article links

Oh, and here is my article I wrote Thursday that got picked up! 
Article- Thursday March 4, 2010 -- Unemployment linked to business size

Kiss me, I'm Irish :)

Saturday, I, along with 8 other students, had the opportunity to volunteer for a wonderful organization called Martha's Table that provides food to DC area homeless people every day of the year. They take the food out in vans to certain drop off points around the city which the homeless people flock to. We didn't get the chance to help out with food prep or hand out which would have been cool; instead, we were on a "beautification" team. Our duty was to travel around in a big van for about an hour to pick up trash at various food drop off sites. 


While it wasn't the most glamorous of jobs, it was somewhat entertaining, occasionally terrifying, but overall, strangely satisfying. At one of the sites we ran into an older man who was walking around with an unwrapped four-leaf clover shaped lollipop. He would frequently walk up to random women and show them his sweet treat, and ask them repeatedly to kiss him "because he was Irish." This certainly brought a smile to our faces at first, although it became a lot more awkward once he started mentioning to these same women that they had the legal right to go without a bra because they lived in America. Just a little strange, let me tell you! 

The light at the end of the tunnel.

It seems like just yesterday that I was lugging all my suitcases up 3 flights of stairs to my bedroom, but it turns the semester is already half way over. I can't fathom that I only have a couple more weeks here in this wonderful city. There is so much I still have yet to do.


I'm hoping that our "spring break" will help with this, but as its just one day off from classes I'm not quite sure I'll have time to fully appreciate all the city has to offer. I've been warned by current and former residents of the city alike about waiting too long to go out and explore as the tourist season will soon be upon us. Cherry blossoms attract cheesy people with cameras like flies apparently :-) 


As for today, I'm pretty proud of what I accomplished. I returned to the office pretty unsure that I would even produce anything as I felt no confidence in the information I had gathered. The event was not the most stimulating to say the least, I almost fell asleep at one point. I only jumped back to attention when my phone went off, quite loudly I might add. Oops :) 

Thats not going to get published...

These are the most disheartening words a journalist can hear. You've spent hours crafting an article, putting each word into place exactly where it should be to capture the correct emotion and tone of what you're covering. 

As I'm sure you can guess, thats exactly what my editor told me yesterday. 

"Its well written, but its never going out on the wire" she said. It just wasn't quite what our audience was looking for. I'll admit, I agreed with her assessment, my piece was written in more of a feature style instead of the breaking news format we usually publish, but thats what the event I covered catered to. 

Its not always fun and games...How NOT to spend a weekend in the city!

This weekend was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. It came after a stressful week at my internships which didn't really help the situation. I had a great day Friday, class was fun, and the weekly trip to Ebenezer's Coffee house brought a smile to my face. This alleviated some of my stress, but definitely not all of it. 


I went into the weekend rather optimistically and Saturday actually began on a high note. It started with a morning trip to the supermarket with Sonja and Kaitlin (girls in my program) provided by my mentor Jamie. This wonderful turn of events meant that we did not have to trek all the way back to the Dellenback Center with our groceries as Jamie drove us there and back - quite a treat I might add! I came along on the trip even though I only needed a few things. 


The Grocery store is when the weekend stresses began. Safeway wouldn't take my check because it was from out of state (quite annoying), so I had to borrow a bit of cash from Kaitlin. Not really a problem, but definitely not a great part of my day. 

Article link 1

Today, something happened that made me happy, my article from internship actually went somewhere!
Here is a link to the article. This is the first time since coming here that something I've written got picked up.
Note: This does not include the article Sari and I co-wrote our second week about the snow. Our editor changed so much of it, I don't claim it as a legitimate clip.


This also does not include the article I wrote for Asbury's paper (a feature rather than hard news), you can find it here
Its actually a rather funny (in my opinion) look at the snow that hit DC.

Well my life sure isn't "Hard-knock"...

There are many perks associated with being a journalism intern in DC, and I'm beginning to experience, and appreciate, them more and more.
First of all, I get fed well. The past three events I've attended, and several before that, have provided me with lunch. This has varied in substance from sandwiches and soda, to flank steak and mashed potatoes; but whatever the quality or quantity, free food is always a luxury for a poor college kid.


Another benefit is that my traveling expenses are refunded by my newsroom. While it may not seem to cost you much to take a $1.65 metro trip to an event at first, it adds up rather quickly. I've already spent over $30 on travel since starting my internship, and I haven't even taken a taxi yet. (A luxury my internship has offered on occasion.) This was money I had thought I would've had to spend, so getting it back is a little like Christmas. Its great to have a bit of extra cash so I can get some coffee later with some friends, or even buy a gallon of milk with like I did yesterday.

When did I arrive in the land of ummm...?

It seems that upon arriving in DC any sense of grace and etiquette developed in my previous 18 years of life is prone to disappear when I enter a work-related situation. Although I've never been one for poise and posture, it seems I may have stooped to a new low. My new mannerisms seem, at times, to resemble a child in Kindergarten more than a college educated almost adult.


I find myself unable to handle even the most normal of situations like walking and eating. I now seem to enter into hushed rooms in the loudest fashion (i.e. whacking my briefcase into walls and chairs). I also manage to fall repeatedly over flat surfaces (I almost sprained my ankle 9 times; in ONE day). Even eating a sandwich in polite company is somehow a struggle. Note: its never a good thing when food falls down your shirt at a press conference.