The last few days at work have been busy. I’ve been writing a lot and I keep getting assigned more stories. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of art stories, which I find to be challenging, but I think I’m getting better at writing them (at least I hope so).

This weekend was great. David came up for the day on Saturday and we went to the Ohio State Fair. I had never been there before and I had a really great time. We mostly just looked at the animals, and people watched, but a few of the highlights included, eating a deep fried snickers ( which was great, as gross as it sounds) riding the cable cars and of course, seeing the butter cow. I think the butter cow, might have been my favorite part.

I never really though about how important farming was in Ohio, until I came to Columbus and the fair just reinforced that. There is such a big focus on agriculture, but I had not idea that it was such a big part of living in the state.

I guess that’s what living next to Cleveland will do to you.

I was sad to see David go, but I fillef the void by cleaning house. Our bath tub has a giant clog somewhere and won’t let the water drain. But after hours of plunging and an entire bottle of Draino ( the second one we’ve used this summer), I still can’t get it to drain. I guess we are going to have to call the land lord.

That’s about all my news. This week should be pretty busy.  Tomorrow  I’m driving to Hilliard a woman for a story about a dog walk that’s being held to benefit the American Cancer Society. It will probably be a tough interview, because she’s a cancer survivor and most of her family has died from the disease. I’m not really sure what I’ll say to her.  But I’m hoping I can write a nice article that will raise awareness about her fundraiser.

Well, I’m trying to get to bed early because that bathtub took a lot out of me. More later.

But now it is back, good as new and very clean.

It’s hard for me to even remember what all has been going on lately. I’ll try to recap, but I’m sure I’ll forget something.

Work has been going well. I’ve been busy working on a bunch of different stories. Several of them have been section centerpieces and one of them ran A1 ( front page of the Dispatch). I’ll try to post some links later on.

I’ve been enjoying all the reporting and writing I get to do. It’s hard to believe I’ve been there seven weeks. But then again it’s hard to believe it’s August. Summer is flying by.

As for my social life, nothing very eventful has happened since I last posted.  After spening the weekend celebrating my roommates birthday with some OU friends, I worked for 14 days straight and then went home last weekend. After that very long two weeks, it was nice to chill out and see my family.  Hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to do something fun.

The job hunt kind of came to a screeching halt once my computer died, although, now that it’s back, I can continue.  Hopefully my new computer will bring me good luck.

I wish I had more to report, but I guess my life has been boring lately. Hopefully I will have more interesting adventures to share later.

Ultimately my stories will be positive. The story about demensia will be about Alzeimers support groups and the people  who organize them. Hopefully it will encourage more people to seek help. The other story is about a healing garden that’s used by a children’s support group ( the one I went too tonight). I’m sure that one will raise awareness about the support group program and more people will use the garden.

But as a reporter who is supposed to be objective, it’s very difficult not to get emotional during these types of interviews. I guess I need to look on the bright side. An article I wrote  about a calendar that’s being sold as a fundraiser fo cancer survivors was published today. I’ve already gotten several emails from reader who will probably buy the calendar and support the cause.I’m sure the reaction for the other two will be similar.

I just have to keep those kinds of things in mind as I write those stories tomorrow.  Hopefully I will get happier stories next week.

In other news, this weekend a bunch of Posties are coming to C-bus for my roommate’s birthday. It should be a very fun weekend. I can’t wait.

That’s pretty much all I’ve got. I’ve been working a lot this week. So not many adventures to report. But who knows what the weekend will bring.

I had a really nice weekend with David. I left Thursday after work and got to Athens around 8.  I stayed at David’s Thursday and I  brought him back to Columbus Friday for the imfamous  Red White and Boom.  The hype was definitely worth it. It was one of the coolest fireworks shows I’ve ever seen.  Even though we walked 3 miles there and 3 miles back, it was worth it.

Saturday we went back to Athens for “Thunder in the Valley” the Nelsonville Fireworks show. Which I enjoyed.  Sunday afternoon I headed back to C-bus.  It was strange being back in Athens, knowing I wouldn’t be coming back in the fall. But it was great to see  David and I got to eat some of my favorite college foods, Casa Lopez, Big Mammas and Union St. Diner.

Sunday I spent most of  the day getting ready for work  on Monday and did some job applications.

Today at work I did a bunch of interviews. Unfortunately it seems they’ve got me on the depressing medical beat for now because I’m writing stories about cancer and Alzheimers. These interviews are getting to me.  But I’m also writing about hip hop dance and ladies baking cakes at the county fair. So I guess it evens out.

I’m sure I will have more exciting updates later.  But for now I am off to bed. I am attaching some lovely fireworks pictures I took with my Nikon Cool Pix camera.

It will be strange to be in Athens knowing the only connection I have to the place now is my boyfriend and a small number of friends still in college.  But I’m still excited for the trip.

This week at the Dispatch started out slow  with lots of busy work. I was making calendars and lists and doing man on the streets. But today I got assigned about five stories, which should keep me busy for the next week.

Hopefully all the stories I wrote last week will run soon. I’m getting antsy to see my name in the paper again.

In other news,  yesterday we had a Postie Alumni Reunion at a Columbus Clippers game. Even though I don’t really like baseball, Huntington Park was a very nice stadium. Afterwards I spent some time in the Arena District, which I had never been to before.  Today  I explored the Ohio Supreme Court building with some of the other features interns and my aunt and her husband took me to German Village for dinner.

Slowly but surely I’m seeing more of the city.

I probably won’t be blogging until after the 4th, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty to tell when I get back.

Friday at work I finished up two stories and edited a few more.  I think I can officially call my first week a success.

David (the boyfriend) was in Columbus for one of his jobs so when I got work we met downtown and had dinner at Olive Garden. It was by far the best service I’ve ever had at an Olive Garden. So if you are ever in C-bus, eat at the OG on Hamilton Road.

After dinner David went back to OU and  I went back to my apartment. We had a few of the other interns over  and I was able to bond with one of my fellow feature interns. I feel like now I have a friend on the 5th floor.

Saturday I ran errands and worked on some job hunting stuff. Then I went to check out the imfamous Com Fest with my roommate and her friends.  Com Fest (in case you are like me and didn’t know) is a huge 3 day community festival  in Victorian Village which is know for feel good community vibes, drunken revelry and topless women.  Unfortunately this year an OU student was stabbed and died. (http://tinyurl.com/nrgzx2)

Thankfully I didn’t see anything like that.  In fact I didn’t see much of the Fest. It took us about an hour to walk there, and when we got there it was so dark and crowded I didn’t have mush of an experience. I would recommend going during the say.  Needless to say, it was a long walk home.

My first article ran in the today’s Dispatch! It was kind of exciting seeing my name on dispatch.com.  Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/m7woo9

TodayI cleaned my apartment and applied for jobs. So far I’ve sent resumes and clips out to places I’ve worked for  so they can put me on file in case something opens up. I also applied for jobs today in Pennsylvania, West Va. and Maryland.  Who knows what will happen.

Tomorrow I’m back at work for a four day week. I’m looking forward to working on more interesting stories.

Two things to share before I head to bed.

1.  One of the journalism blogs I read posted a list of  30 journalism grads should try to learn this summer. It’s definitely an intimidating list.  But I’ve done of few of them. Hopefully I will learn a few more before I leave Columbus.   Check is out : http://tinyurl.com/msygdm

2. One of my OU friends sent me this article and I knew I had to share it with the world. Let me just say this, it’s about whales. You won’t regret reading it : http://tinyurl.com/lyx4eu

On Tuesday I got to check out the Columbus Museum of Art and write a story about one of their new gallaries. I didn’t realize writing about art was so difficult. It seems like it would be easy beacuse it’s so visual, but it’s definitely challenging to describe  certain things.  That story was, by far, the hardest edit I’ve had in a long time. It was very humbling, that’s for sure.

I also got to meet the editor of The Dispatch, Ben Marrison, who seemed very cool. You can tell he really cares about the interns and wants us to be treated well. I feel lucky that I’m part of an intern program that is so well organized and lets us write alot.

Wednesday  I learned more about farms and the importance of teaching kids about farms for my story about Farm Camp. Today I  interviewed people for my cancer calendar story and started a story about a new type of Botox.

Working on this cancer story has been sortof difficult. Talking to all these women who are fighting cancer is very sad.  But I hope I can make the story great so their calendar can raise lots of money.

Botox just seems strange to me. But I can’t imagine someone putting a needle in my face.

It was particularly interesting to be in the newsroom today when the new of Farah Faccet and Michael Jackson’s death came over the wires. It’s not really Columbus breaking news, but it sparked a flurry of action from the editors. It was kind of cool to watch, al though of course sad at the same time.

Besides work I’ve been  hanging out with my roommates, some of my fellow interns and a friend from home.  I should probably have spent more time looking for jobs. I’ll try to work on that this weekend.

Tomorrow I need to finish two stories. As my first full week comes to a close we’ll see what next week will bring.

Today was  an extremely busy day for me. I went in early to meet my photographer and I headed to farm camp. Luckily The Dispatch’s company cars are Honda Civics. If  they would have been SUV’s I would have been in trouble, at least when it came to parking.

I made it to the farm camp  with no major mishaps and spent the next two hours watching 3 to 5 year olds play in the woods, eat vegetables and visit all the animals. Not only were the kids  adorable but there were baby pigs (think Charlotte’s Web) and baby goats! The only part I didn’t like was when we walked around the chicken coop. After a traumatic childhood experience at the Farm Park, I’ve never much cared for chickens…unless they are served on a plate.

I got back to the office around 1 andthe rest of the day was pretty much non-stop interviews. While the time went by quickly, I’m going to need to take time to write in the next few days  because I have quite a few stories due by the end of the week.

I spent tonight relaxing and working on some job stuff.  I feel like I’ve spent a good about of time on that, but I know I’m just getting started.

Tomorrow I’m going to the Columbus Art Museum for a story and I have my first intern lunch with the managing editor. I’m looking forward to both.

I definitely feel like I know my way around a little better. Hopefully that will continue. That would be nice.

My second and third day(s) at The Dispatch went much more smoothly then the first. Already I feel like I’m becoming part of the newsroom. Everyday I’m figuring more things out, whether it’s where to take photo requests or how to transfer a phone call. They’re stupid little things, but it makes me feel like I belong there. And all the real reporters have been very nice. I’m surprised at how many of them are OU alumns.  We’ve had some really good conversations about Athens. it makes me miss it even more.

Sadly, my land paddling story got out off until August because my main source is on vacation. But I got assigned a bunch of other stories, so it’s ok. On Monday I’m going to a farm camp for little kids in Delaware County and on Tuesday I’m going to the Columbus Art Museum. I’m also writing a feature about a woman who made a calendar to raise money for cancer patients and I’m writing my first Home and Garden piece about this garden for brides.  Not bad for the first week I’d say.

Next week will be busy, but I’m excited to start writing.

Last night I met up with a friend from home and her boyfriend and got my first taste of the Columbus night scene. It’s definitely different from Athens, not that that’s a bad thing.  I’m not sure what’s in store for today It’s a nice day and I’d like to go outside and read, but my yard is really grungy.  I’ll have to think about it.

I woke up this morning at 6:40 and was so nervous I couldn’t  go back to sleep. But luckily I didn’t have anything to worry about really. The bus ride to work was uneventful and my orientation went smoothly.  I filled out a lot of forms and got my press pass and a free coffee mug (which I will be putting  water in.)

I’m working up on the 5th floor at The Dispatch. The features department and the design department are on the same floor so when my friend Lisa starts here internship, she will be close by. Everyone seems really nice and the other interns were very friendly. One of the reporters had lunch with me and the other two interns to lunch and  showed us around the state house. I’ve never been there before. It’s really cool inside. And I saw Athens’ own Debbie Phillips….crazy.

I have my own desk, which is sort of bitter sweet, cause I know the only reason I do is because they laid off so many people. But I’m grateful for my own space.

The way things work on the features desk is that stories are assigned 2 weeks before they run. It’s almost magazine-y. So I’m working on stories to edit next week, which will run during my third week. So far I’ve been assigned two stories– a big feature about land paddling ( which is like skateboarding with a stick) and a short story about old people taking nature hikes.  But I’ll be assigned more stories tomorrow I hope.

After work I met some of the city interns and the business intern. They seem like cool kids.

I’m excited for tomorrow, especially because I won’t be the new kid anymore. I hate the first day of work because I feel so lost. But hopefully as time goes by, I’ll get more comfortable and get to write some awesome stories.