Things didn’t start out great.

Without going into details, the concept of “extra” web editor was new–and I was the very first to do it.  Needless to say, some quirks need to be worked out.  Stuff that I thought would take me maybe an hour took closer to two and a half.

Two buttons popped off my shirt.  That wasn’t good.  I sewed them back on later, but still.

The story I was working on that day fell apart when sources didn’t call me back.  That sucked.  It was about a deadline that day, but ended up not really being a story.  Again, it sucked.

I was in the newsroom until 5:45 on Friday.  I was done with class at 12.  That sucked.

I found out some time in there that my grandma had less than 10 days left on this earth.

So that night, I went out for a drink with some friends from school.  We were in Andersonville, keeping it low-key.  I felt bad because one of my friends is now seeing a girl I go to school with, who happens to be close friends with the girl I was seeing before.  Not wanting to deal with that whole situation, I reluctantly didn’t call back, figuring they’d all be together.

I get to the bar, and my friend is not there, but the girl he is seeing, along with the girl I was seeing, are there.  Begin awkward dynamic.  Others told me after the fact that they felt uncomfortable.  I tried to play it cool and talked to other people.  Apparently things still need to be ironed out.

Saturday and Sunday were spent watching football.  Good.

Monday, I had the day off and ran errands.  Good.

Tuesday, my brother called me on my way to the newsroom to say my grandma had less than 48 hours left.  That didn’t start my day well.  By noon, she was gone.  That wasn’t easy to deal with.  I carried on through my day and told a couple of people that she had died, but I finished the story I’d been working on Friday.  I didn’t want to cause a scene.

Wednesday I covered a CTA protest, but was more or less backup for another reporter, since it was in his beat. I didn’t want to step on his toes.  I tried to film video and take still photos, but neither turned out well–you can only do one or the other.  Not both.  I turned my pictures into a slideshow, which I ended up unhappy with.  I had to take audio from the video I’d shot, chop that, export audio only, convert the audio, open that in Audacity, chop that, edit down, export for Soundslides.  Needless to say, with all the technical difficulties on top of being distracted, my project wasn’t crisp.  It wasn’t even good.

Then, I couldn’t get my story uploaded for about an hour.  The CMS was so slow.  I was going nuts.

Today, I flew home to be with family and to bury my grandmother.  It has been a tough 7 days.  Will I get through it?  Surely.  I’m not one to stay down long.  But I was near my breaking point about 36 hours ago.

I spent the day moving furniture from my grandmother’s room in the old folks’ home.  It wasn’t fun.  But it had to be done.  This is what you do for family.

One of the few people on this earth I can say I love with no reservations was taken away this week.  That hurts.  But I will make her proud in the coming weeks and years.  She wouldn’t want me to mope over this.   And I don’t plan to.

Nevertheless, here is my second story.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=153987

From  9-1, I have a broadcast producing class.  From 1:30-4:30, I have global journalism.  It’s a lot of class in one day, for sure.  Not to mention, it’s the only time I’m up in Evanston, and there are plenty of administrative things to take care of–getting my new CTA pass, paying the deposit on the camera for broadcast, buying books, scheduling a doctor’s appointment–whew.

So yeah, that was a kind of long day, but the real meat and potatoes of this quarter will be spent in Urban Reporting.  There I will function as a full-fledged reporter in the city of Chicago.  Day one was spent going over administrative stuff and figuring out what sorts of beats we’d like to be on.  I chose the community/politics beat.  Specifically, I will focus on stimulus spending.  I’d like to see where the money is being spent.  It should be a good challenge, and will help me do some good stories.  I am very pleased about that development.

Furthermore, my desk setup is fantastic in the newsroom.  There are a couple of undesirables, I guess you could call them, and they are nowhere near my desk.  Instead, I am surrounded by a number of friends.  I laugh a lot at my desk between periods of doing work.  It’s terrific.

Last, but probably most important, our professors are the best I’ve encountered yet.  While my broadcast professor seems kind of like a dick, and global is a bit dry, reporting professors are incredibly charismatic.  Marcel Pacatte and Steve Duke are the urban guys, and damn if i’m not excited to work with the both of them.  Already I’ve developed a rapport with Marcel.  I can tell he will be my mentor–even more so than my peers.  Yesterday, I cracked a number of jokes with him, and this morning I sent him a haiku.  He said it really made his day.

This quarter I will become a better reporter.  I look forward to it more all the time.

Increasingly, I am happier every day with the people I am surrounded. I am constantly challenged by new technologies, new people, and new ideas. This is my idea of a good life. It is examined, informed, and varied. Not to mention, I find myself laughing on a more regular basis, even in the face of great stress and a boatload of work.

It also doesn’t hurt that I’m constantly surrounded by a slew of attractive, intelligent women. That’s surely a post for another day. Still, it ain’t hurtin’.

Today, rather than going to Evanston, my day was spent in the downtown newsroom going over administrative matters. Essentially, we were lumped to figure out our second quarter and future schedules. Nothing in stone, but hearing what options we had. More or less a throwaway day.

Most of the day was spent listening, though plenty of snide remarks and jokes were in there. Nothing hurtful, just fun. Not to mention, it was my birthday, and I passed around a bag of candy for all to share. I feel I have accomplished the goal of getting to know more people and being more open. I am proud of this. Like genuinely proud. I cannot harp enough on how many cool and different people I have met in the last six weeks. I look forward to getting up every single day.

So yeah, it was boring to sit through lectures about classes and media techniques. But I had a good lunch, talked with the rents, and had plenty of social time with people I’m not always exposed to.

God knows I love exposing myself to people I don’t know.

Nevertheless, we went out for drinks downtown after class at 3:00. I was there until 8 and had a terrific time. Again, everyone wanted to buy me a drink. Sure beats my 23rd birthday, when my roommates forgot it was my birthday. I’m not one to make a big commotion over the day, but I do appreciate being remembered. Today, it was all that and then some. I have made friends in the last six weeks I anticipate having for a long time. I can’t always say that about people I meet, but I have that premonition already.

I am beyond happy. Medill is treating me well. Let the next quarter century be as good as this one has.