31 July 2007

Almost two months in the city...

And I still don't feel settled. But, I did spend an hour writing about bread that won't go moldy.

I've spent the last two days working out of P.E.I. It was fun, but I also still feel a little awkward at work. I come in to do so many different things, at so many different times, with no regularity, that I don't feel settled. Also, because I'm new and young, I feel incredibly bad any time I screw up, for example when the copy editors call me over with a question or I don't know how to do something or I have a typo or a mistake in my story. It feels like one of the above happens every day, and I have no idea if I'm ever doing an ok job.

But, I know I'm doing ok at something else--my new project. I'm "freelancing" (I use the term loosely because it doesn't pay)for Filly, an online magazine about wedding stuff. So, I'll be filing a blog for them each week based on some wedding topic and be writing articles about wedding planning. I also get to review some wedding related books and the like, so it should be fun. Plus, I get to work towards my own wedding plans in the process.

I've also applied for an internship with the Toronto Star. I have no idea if it will come to anything, but it's a full-year, full-time position and would be a great experience, along with steady work and steady pay. I find out next week if I make it to the interview round, so I'm checking my email like mad, in case it comes in early, but also not trying to check my email because I know it will drive me nuts. It's an interesting paradox.

Luckily now I'm off the night shift, so I have a bit more time to have a life and get errands done.

My tasks for the next week or two?
1. Find an apartment for September
2. Find a wedding venue for July/August next year
3. Clean up the apartment, which has been sorely neglected the last two weeks
4. File my first story or two for Filly

Along with working at the CBC. Eep. Wish me luck:)

25 July 2007

At least two cool things this week

Are two stories I worked on by myself, totally independently (we often use sources from TV and radio):

School burns down I'm kind of proud of this one, because it wasn't reported any where else (yet) and I really hope it can make a difference

And dual core chips because I knew nothing about this, but think I did enough research to pull it off convincingly.

Oh, and Harry Potter was brilliant. Still not sure how I feel about the end, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Anyways, I've got to go get ready for work. I find that I don't have much spare time with this 12-8 shift because I keep sleeping in in the mornings, since I don't have to be up even though there are numerous things I could be doing (apartment hunting, wedding planning, cleaning) then, after rushing out the door for work, I don't get home until 8:30 ish, make supper, eat and then before I know it I'm heading to bed for the night.

So, for the next two days of my shift, I'm going to attempt to get up earlier and get things done in the morning. Then next week, I'm back to kind of schedule I'm more accustomed to, 8-4, which will leave me lots of time to do the aforementioned things as well as blog. I will also be posting pictures soon, once I find the cord to get them off the camera:)

21 July 2007

Harry Potter day!

I am seven hours into the book.

100 more pages and I will know Harry's fate.

This is the highlight of an otherwise routine week (where I did get to work 4 days!)

04 July 2007

I have no excuse...

I enjoy blogging. I try to keep people updated. Yet, I come home at night and make supper, eat a popsicle (blame the popsicle ad at work) and doze off. So, to recap what's happened since my last blogging effort...gasp...almost two weeks ago.

Work has been busy. There have been a lot of things blowing up and a lot of deaths and murders. It's depressing work some days, but I think it's also important.

The hardest story I had lately was the Chris Benoit murder-suicide--the wrestler who killed his wife and seven-year-old son then himself. I was covering it throughout the day, with constant updates, and the details just kept getting gorier. It almost makes you wonder whether we really should know these things. This guy was obviously not quite with it, and he still has two living children from a previous relationship, who had to hear all the details over and over. That day really bothered me.

Luckily, I've been getting three shifts a week, and doing lots of writing, mostly for Canada and World news. I'm finding it really challenging (thus the exhaustion), but also really rewarding. I love the thought that people turn to things that I write and are satisfied and feel informed afterwards. Well, at least some of them do. Many people appear to have nothing more to do during their day than to send criticisms into CBC.ca. Why can't any one submit praise?

James had his birthday on the 27th, and we had a good day, though I got called into work unexpectedly and thus James had to wait quite long for his special home-cooked birthday dinner.

We went to Belleville for the long weekend, and it was nice to get out of the city for a bit, even though the weather sucked! It had been crazy hot here right up until the long weekend, when all of a sudden the temperature dropped down below 20! That's not very summery.

This week, I'm in for three days again. It's been a weird news week, with the holiday on Monday and then the American holiday today. The stories tend to be quirkier at times like these, but there's also been some big stories breaking, like the journalist Alan Johnson being released--I'm so happy for him, it must have been a terrifying four months--and the very sad news of six Canadian soldiers being killed today.

Sometimes it's really hard not to let all the bad things get you down. There are so many terrible stories coming out each day, and they're the ones that are read the most, that sometimes it's hard to remember that there are good things in the world, like shoes and my latest Starbucks favourite--a tall lemonade ice tea made with black tea.

Today was a really different work day for me, I was on the consumer desk, as the regular consumer person was working on a feature on robots. And, as I said, it was kind of a quirky news day, so here are some quick hits to explain:

Tim Hortons' prices rise — but won't double-double

Oh Canada, D'oh Homer

Cirque du Soleil, Ski-Doo among Canada's top iconic brands

Second Life business sues for copyright infringement


No other day has been quite this bizarre, though I did write a story about a bear
but it was a rather nice change.

Well, James' birthday cake is finally done cooking (on my last attempt, my ingredients melted due to heat). I solemnly swear to be a better blogger, at least with short but frequent posts!