Okay Winter, I'm So Over You

At this moment, weather.com is telling me that it is 9 degrees outside, but feels like -7.  

Negative seven.

And it totally does. I am so over being cold. 

Anyway, the week is winding down, but I've got an assignment for the weekend and have no clue what to write about. I also have radio to do today (4:45 on WICB.org is the best one to listen to). I have another shift for the six o'clock hour tomorrow. In the morning. Fun. 

I'm really just going through my schedule these days, without any significant mess-ups or fantastic happenings. I did, however, read the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini for my global studies class, and it was pretty eye opening. 

Mostly I'm just tired by this point of the week.

Just like Christian Slater on that cancelled show, I'm my own worst enemy

**EDIT

So I was sifting through files, and I found some pictures that my sister and I took on my computer over break. And they made me happy. She's kind of sick, so these pics will have to do for my get-well hug!

Anyway, back to the point...

The same day I quit the Inquirer, because I am over-scheduled...actually, the same HOUR that I quit the Inquirer, I picked up another radio news shift. The five o'clock (p.m, thank god) hour on Wednesdays. 

Because I'm a psychopath. 

I'm done with classes for the day, which is awesome, but I have tons of things to get done. 

Today my short story Professor used me as an example in front of the class. He discussed our assignment for next class, and as we all stood up to go, he said:

"Oh, and see her? Abby, with the coffee? I know it's an eight o'clock class but some of us know how to fix that. I want you all awake next class." 

He may not like me very much but at least he is aware that I remain conscious during his class. Unlike the music majors. 

Also, if we're keeping track of my maturation or development as a relatively independent human being, I realized this morning that I haven't bothered to match my socks in approximately a month.

I'm awesome.

Something Had to Give

I thought I could make it all work, but then I realized that I was supposed to be exactly THREE places at 7 p.m tonight: my news radio meeting, the Society for Professional Journalists meeting, and the Inquirer taping. 

When it all came down to it, the Inquirer gave. I love those guys, it's loads of fun, but right now, it just doesn't fit. The others are just too crucial. I had a great talk with friend A (all the way in wise-old Boston) yesterday and she made me realize that sometimes it is straight up impossible to do it all, and THAT'S OKAY. Which is something, especially in high school, I'd never realized before. 

Anyway, I had a blast at the IC Super Bowl party in Emerson Suites, watching the game on a huge projector, and consuming free food. I chilled with football buddies K and D, and helped friend L learn to love the game. What an amazing game to watch with a 100 or so people. The cheering, gasping, and clapping never ended. 

I missed watching the game with my family though, because I would have then watched all the hours of the pre-game and consumed ridiculous amounts of nachos. I would have also liked to see my mother react to Bruce Springsteen rock the halftime show. 

There are many things to get done tonight, and I better get started. But I'll keep you all updated, as usual. 

The Rumors Are True...I'm Actually Alive

It's my hundredth post, which I've been putting off for quite a while. I had it in my head that it should be special, reflective, or even thoughtful. 

But then, life happened. 

In this life, I somehow became a real Parkie. 

I guess I became a Parkie technically when I chose the school last year. Maybe it was even first semester, when I dabbled in shows and wrote up some articles. It still didn't feel like I was consumed by the idea. I wasn't totally integrated yet. Then, on Monday, after my sixth hour in Park, I looked at my friend during a t.v meeting and wondered out loud, "Doesn't it feel like you never leave?" 

Suddenly I was a Parkie. 

Then, this morning, I stumbled over to Park at 5:45 in the morning, all the while wondering if the building would be unlocked. I wrote up my newscast with blurry eyes, being serenaded by WICB and read it through a few times. Then, on air, I realized that I should really wake up because some of the grammar I used was absolutely comical.  And I forgot to write down how to sign off. Yesterday's WICB cast was definitely the best I've done. I even said nuclear correctly. My mom called me after my first cast and reminded me that I said it like I had grown up under the George Bush administration. So now, I write it out phonetically. I do the same with Rod Blagojevich.  I've officially caught the radio bug. I guess I'll have to blame my Amma for that one. 

It's funny because I had absolutely no intentions to ever do radio. EVER. I ended up at the rush night this semester because the Ithacan was meeting directly after. Now, I'm doing two newscasts a week and working for a TV show that has a radio counterpart. I honestly couldn't be happier with it. If only everything in the world wasn't on Mondays. Because guess when the Inquirer tapes. Monday nights. 

Someone upstairs thinks this is totally hilarious. 

I must say, if I look at my situation objectively, I am mildly enthused.

And exhausted. 

Thank God it's the weekend!

And God Said, Let Abby Not Sleep Second Semester

After being away from my dorm for 12 hours with two more meetings to attend and a good amount of homework waiting for me at my dorm, I shut myself in the Park basement bathroom just to have a good two minutes to myself. 

Second semester is ridiculous. 

Yesterday was insane. Mondays are going to be like that. I roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m, get out of Boothroyd at 6:15, and work at the dining hall for four hours then go to three classes, and luckily now I'll be able to head back to the dorm for an hour and a half, but yesterday I could not. Then I attend two meetings back to back, and get back to the dorm around 8. I have about an hour for lunch. During that time I was not able to totally finish the 50 pages of reading assigned for Global Studies, or the 30 assigned for Short Story. THAT STORY WAS NOT SHORT. It wasn't even a story. It was De Las Casas' Account of the Destruction of the Indies. WHAT KIND OF CLASS IS THIS?! 

I had an 8 o'clock today, followed by another class, and I'm out by 10:40. For the day. Which would be verifiably awesome, if I took naps. Which I physically cannot do. If I try to lay down on my bed, I think about all the things I should be doing. My only available sleeping days USED to be Wednesdays and Fridays. Now, it's whittled down to a single day. Because today they assigned permanent shifts for radio news. And because of God's decree or something, I got the 6 A.M Friday SHIFT. Meaning, I have to be in the newsroom around 5:40 to write my cast. REALLY. I know the morning shifts are the most heard, based on the numbers they get, but seriously. Friday. That sucks. I'm also casting at the non-crappy time of the four o'clock hour on Thursdays.  I would say I could sleep in on weekends, but that's pretty much false. On weekends I'm always busy with Ithacan games and Inquirer business. It's always a party.

On the bright side, my first cast went well yesterday, even though I felt the ridiculous pressure, printing the cast for WICB a minute before I had to go on, throwing on the ear phones only to find out that they didn't work and I had to be cued awkwardly by the DJ. Writing the cast was harder than I expected, choosing what's newsworthy, and being careful to word things differently than the wires. Chris Wheatly, the radio sponsor, pointed out why radio news is so hard. "The Ithacan has a deadline once a week. We have a deadline every hour." 

The meeting for Now Hear This! was pretty exciting. We have a massive crew because the sheer magnitude and quality of what we're trying to do is daunting. We have an entire studio crew, two field crews, six reporters, and four associate producers, not to mention special entertainment, business, and music segment reporters, and then a whole editing squadron for both television and the radio. See, Now Hear This! is trying to encapsulate the entire multimedia movement for journalism at Ithaca. We'll be running a half-hour long segment show (60 Minutes style) every week, PLUS an hour-long radio show and updating a website constantly with videos, blogs, and community news. Now Hear This! is for the community, not really for the college itself. 

Luckily, the whole crew is a talented group of kids. So hopefully, it'll be awesome. 

And hey, who needs sleep anyway? You're only in college once. 

Saturdays are Gorges

Okay first off, it is so ridiculously cold outside. About -5 degrees. I just came back to Park, and was pretty sure my face was going to fall off. Or shatter. Yesterday there was a high of about 38 degrees and boys were wearing shorts. It felt like SPRING. That's when you realize, it's all relative. 

You are also looking at the newest member of the WICB and VIC radio news staff! I went and got trained today. Basically, I will probably have about two shifts a week, and I do radio news cast on both stations, pretty much the same ones, but with local news and weather on WICB. What I do, is sort through the AP wire, the faxes we get from the county, and police reports and such, and write up a 3 minute newscast with a top story, 2 international stories and 2 domestic stories. On WICB, the local station, I'll add weather and a local story. VIC is a internet only station, so no local stories or weather apply. Sometimes I'll be responsible for putting in sound clips and such. 

My first practice shift, before we settle down on permanent shifts, is on Monday for the five o'clock hour. That means I'll be doing the news at 5:28 on VIC and 5:46 on WICB.  

Want to listen? VIC streams live from vicradio.org, and WICB streams live from WICB.org. Oh yeah, and WICB won the MTV Woodie Award for best college radio station in the country. Check it out. It's pretty awesome. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Just so y'all know, my Dad is pretty awesome. And it's his birthday. 

My Dad has always had my back. He made it clear that there weren't any limits to what Claire and I could achieve, as cheesy as it sounds. If you wanted to do it, we can find a way to get it done. With the lofty goals Dad also taught me that you have to work hard to get anything worthwhile. You have to practice. You have to climb ladders. He was there the whole way, no matter what. He was there whether it was showing me how to follow through on a jump shot, edit a paragraph, dress appropriately for the weather (okay, I have typically ignored this) or to put yourself out there and take the lead. Even today he offered tips on the resume I'm drafting. 

How many dads are willing to stand on a pool deck meet after meet, year after year, wearing a funny hat and watching small children disqualify themselves in swim competitions? 

How many dads ski double black diamonds, slalom water ski, and bike miles and miles to work?

How many dads learn to play the bass in their free time?

How many dads share their daughters' enthusiasm for Chipotle? (It's a tight bond we three share)

How many dads sit down with their daughter and explain a Cover-Two defensive scheme for football?

MY Dad does all these things. Be jealous. 

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you!