Monday, January 15

glad i got that out of my system

well, it was going to happen. each internship must have one bonehead intern move in it somewhere. today was that day for me at the daily herald.

6:00am - i woke up extra super special early
to commence my first "dig" out after a big snow. turns out only an inch of splenda fell. my neighbors probably thought i was nuts for going out all bundled up and using the big ice scraper. in fact, i think my neighbor cleared all the snow off his car with a sneeze. in fact, i think that neighbor was wearing a bathing suit. it was only in the 30's after all. perfect tanning weather.

7:30 - so, i head to the office early and arrive without my electronic IDcard to get in the door. d'oh. back in the car for a quick 7-minute trip home. i decide that i know enough of this town by now to improvise my way back. wrong. sigh.

9:00 - back at the office, suitably humbled, i grab my assignments and race across town to a business portrait. oh joy. it's a story about female CEO's though and the owner is very nice. photos are so-so, but that's alright, you win some, you lose some.

11:30 - call from editor:

Ed: you can forget that 3 o'clock assignment. the reporter got the days wrong.
Me: uh...ok...umm...you mean the 2 o'clock assignment with the hockey players and the supermarket sweep?
Ed: no, umm, that's tomorrow's assignment...did you uh go to this morning's assignment? that MLK day celebration?
Me: (gulp. yipe. holy %$@*&!)
Ed: uh, well, here's the number. call the guy and see if anything is still going on.
Me: heh heh, right, ok, sure, you got it, no problem...
Ed: -click!-
Me: *&%$#@+*!!

11:45 - call bf for backup. i need directions stat and the map they gave me has just fallen completely apart! ach! tell me how to time travel!

12:15 - (in the office that i was supposed to be in three hours ago) there is nothing going on anymore for MLK day (crap!). Kind, wonderful PR guy tells me events had happened the friday before. the reporter had goofed on the days. (woo-hoo! i'm off the hook!!!!)

12:30 - gleeful call to editor:
Me: good news (sort of) the reporter got the wrong day. everything happened friday.
Ed: great. it's not our fault. we need some weather art. go. -click!-
Me: (napolean dynamite style: yessssssssssssss!)

1:30 - find crazy teenage boys playing football in sweatshirts in 20 degree weather. my hands are frozen numb in the first 10 minutes and these guys are playing without gloves, full contact, in a slushy field. my pen is frozen by the end so i have to etch all 10 boys' names, ages, hometowns, and high schools into a piece of paper with the tip.

2:45 - head back to the office to finish soundslide of laughing yoga class i shot last week. it just needs to be sequenced. no big deal. 30 minutes. max.

7:30 - i have just sacrificed a goat, two weasels, and a photo editor to joe weiss in hopes that his software will become bug free. audio scrubber refuses to be edited permanently. alignment of photos shifts a critical 2-4 seconds. i have tried my bag of tricks and the tricks of all my gurus (where do you think i got the idea about the goat?). this crap is busticated. consider a career in lithography.

8:00 - home again, home again. at least half my tuesday assignments are already shot. heh. yeah. there's something to be proud of...

3 comments:

  1. Keep up the great work, Julia! We'll miss you here in SF(where it is pretty darn cold too). Stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hahah. Oh girl, great writing and intern epics and, oh yeah, welcome to newspaper life. Don't worry, it grows less hectic and becomes more the norm. ;-)

    Big hugs from Sin city!
    Tiff

    ReplyDelete
  3. julia- oh how i feel your pain!! i love how your beginnings are so very similar to mine. makes me feel like i'm not in the boat all by my lonesome. and btw, REI sells a very awesome thing that all journalists should have.. esp in the winter.. a pen that works in SUPER cold weather, and a notebook with waterproof paper. it's basically the most amazing thing ever.

    ReplyDelete