Perpetual Cup

I love babies' birthday parties!

Actually, I love just about any excuse to look at tiny shoes and hats and stuffed animals and such. 

Shhh, don't tell anybody.

Happy 4th of July!

Did I mention...

...that my first news clip appeared in today's paper?

I covered a concert Friday night and turned the article in to my professor Monday morning.  This morning, my professor walked into class, plopped the A section down on the desk in front of me, and said, "Congratulations!"

I was tickled pink, of course.  It was my first writing assignment in my first news writing class.  Not a bad start!

I'm hoping to get at least one more clip out of this class before summer ends.  We have three more writing assignments due over the next few weeks, so I'll get three more shots at it.  We'll see how it goes.

Next semester, I'm taking classes in magazine writing and feature writing.  I'm hoping for some clips to come out of those experiences too.  It would definitely help with the internship possibilities for next summer.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Scientific Sleep

How to nap.

Do we need instructions specifically written for women?  I think not.  Or else this may lie ahead.  And what a sad world that would be.

Facebook Foes? What are we -- fifteen?

Don't you just love it when you get a friend request from someone you've never heard of?  It's not all that uncommon, really.  And I usually just ignore the request and go on about my business.

But something struck me about one of those total-stranger friend requests today.  Something about this particular request piqued my curiosity.

So, I did some cross-checking:  Which, if any, friends do we have in common?  Where is this person located?  Where did she go to school?  Where does she work?  BINGO!

So, here's another question for you:

Don't you just love it when this total stranger who's requesting to be your Facebook Friend is actually a co-worker with someone who doesn't know you personally but who is known to dislike you? 

Isn't it kind of silly -- especially for those of us who are over the age of, say, fifteen -- to get your co-worker to try to friend up with someone you don't like?

Didn't she realize that I would check out her co-worker's profile and realize where this person "knows" me from?  (Because there is no other possible explanation, considering we didn't go to any of the same schools, live in the same city, or work for the same employer.  We don't even have mutual friends on Facebook.  And that's saying a lot, considering how often people "friend up" with all kinds of vague acquaintances whom they don't really know all that well.)

Did she really think I wouldn't figure out that it's her, and not her co-worker, who's trying to keep "tabs" on me?

It's really childish.  And stupid.  And utterly pointless because, per usual, I've ignored the request.

Not to mention that it's completely unnecessary.  If she wants to know something about me, she really could just ask.  I don't bite.  At least, not on the first infraction.

But now, thanks to this little attempt at subterfuge, I know what she looks like.  And which friends we have in common.  And how to reach her, should I ever so desire (which is highly unlikely). 

So, yeah.  It's been childish but educational.  So, thanks to her for the laughs and the extra info.  :) 

 

IN OTHER FACEBOOK NEWS:

I've run into an old friend on Facebook.  Someone I haven't talked to in, oh..., ten-plus years?  Ever know somebody by a silly nickname in high school and not know what to call them when you meet up after ten-plus years?  It's kinda weird.  "Hiya, Piglet!...Oh, I mean, uh, John?"   Too funny.

News Update

My Writing for Mass Media class is really kicking into high gear now.  My first news story was due on Thursday.  The assignment was to take a fictitious set of facts and write an appropriate news story in both print and broadcast formats.  Each student was given a different set of facts. 

Mine was about a campus debate over the university's course withdrawal policy, and the way the facts were set up indicated that my story should be event coverage.  But I found myself wanting to dig deeper.  The issue underlying the debate was a proposal being considered by our Board of Supervisors to limit the number of classes a student may drop in his or her academic career and to fine the student for each course dropped.  The proposal was to be voted on during next week's board meeting, and I really wanted to do an advance on that topic as well.  So, after getting more information from my professor -- who posed as the spokesman for the board so that I could obtain more facts about this fictitious scenario -- I ended up writing the event coverage story in both print and broadcast formats, and I wrote the advance story about the board meeting for print.

The grading on our news stories will get more difficult each week, as we learn more from our AP Stylebook and our textbook about how the stories should be reported and written.  We are being graded on our application of what we have already learned by the due date for the assignment, and any other mistakes we make will be marked but will not cut into our grade for that week. 

Starting this week, though, we are going to be doing some actual reporting.  No pre-packaged fictitious set of facts.  We have to gather real facts and write a real story.  I'm interested to see what we all come up with.  The professor suggests that we start out with event coverage stories because those are easier, but the problem is that there are few events going on -- on-campus or off -- during the summer.  So, already we are faced with the very real problem of hunting for news in a small town.  This will be interesting.

The upside to all this -- besides learning invaluable skills, of course -- is that if our stories are good enough, they will be published in the local paper.  Our professor is actually married to one of the editors of the city paper, and they've worked out a deal for student news stories to be published if they meet the paper's editorial standards.  Awesome.  Of course, that means we not only have to write a great news story, but we also have to scoop the paper's reporters.  It's a wonderful incentive to GOYA/KOD.  (Get off your asses!  Knock on doors!)

I would tell you what I have up my sleeves for my upcoming stories, but I don't want to get scooped.  (What with my million readers per day at this site and all. *lol*)  So, it's hush-hush for now, and I'll fill you in after the fact.  I've got two story ideas in particular that I'm really excited about, though.  So, I guess we'll see.

Other than my writing class, I've also been pretty busy with other things.  I had my first exam in Media Law & Policy on Thursday, and it was a bit tougher than I had anticipated.  I still think that I did pretty well on it, but to be on the safe side, I'll have to buckle down some more for the next couple of tests. 

As for work, I've had a busier-than-usual week, working five shifts this week (up from my usual three to four).  Our catering division has been extremely busy with wedding rehearsal dinners and receptions ("Tis the season"), so I've got three catering shifts on top of two restaurant shifts.  A lot of my co-workers hate catering shifts because you can sometimes make better money working the same night in the restaurant, but personally, I like the relief that catering shifts offer.  It's a more relaxed atmosphere, especially on weekends when the restaurant tends to be very hectic, and it provides a nice change of pace from all the other hectic stuff going on in my life.  Of course, my co-workers love that I feel that way because it makes it easier for them to find someone who'll switch shifts.  So it works for everyone, I guess.

Speaking of pace changes,  I was able to get to the beach again after my exam on Thursday, maintaining my average of one beach trip per week.  It's so relaxing, just lying in the sun, listening to the radio, the waves, the gulls, the kids playing.  These beach trips have definitely become my favorite pressure release and some of my most valued time each week.  And my tan is coming along nicely, too.  I will definitely be sun-glow beautiful by the time that August vacation rolls around!  YAY!

Not much happening on the cooking front this week.  I probably won't have much time for experimentation or big baking projects until later in the week.  But I've got some project ideas percolating already.  One of which involves a strawberry buttercream.  Mmmmmmm....

Speaking of which, I guess I better grab some lunch before heading to work.  Another catering shift today.  Catch you on the flipside.

If you can't stand the heat...

...try this in your kitchen:

Cantaloupe, prosciutto, and bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls) "salad" with a little mint tossed in.

Followed by a pan-sauteed perch (or any white fish, really; perch happened to be our best option yesterday) topped with a tropical salsa (diced mango or nectarine and kiwi, with minced onion, red bell pepper, and a little jalapeno, in a bit of lemon, lime, and pineapple juices).  Serve with herb couscous (we used parsley and a hint of mint for a light freshness) and sauteed asparagus.

Followed by a fruit tartlet (in our case, strawberry, blueberry, and kiwi, set over a whipped vanilla pastry cream in a tart shell). 

The meal is light, refreshing, and oh-so-tasty.  Just what you need when it's 95 degrees outside.

BEACH DAY!!!

Sorry.  Got a little excited there.

What I was trying to say is that, after classes today, I went to the beach.  So far, I've managed to skip on over there twice in the last week.  (The nearest beach is about 35 miles away.)  I know that may not seem like much to anyone else, but I am absolutely loving this trend.  If I can keep it up, I might just be sun-glow beautiful before that summer vacation after all.  (Still haven't decided where to go, but I'm pretty sure waves and little pink umbrellas will be somewhere in the picture.)

In other news, I haven't had much time for creative cooking endeavors in the last week or so.  But I should have plenty of time on Friday, since I'll have neither classes nor work to contend with.  Yay!  I think I'd like to do another three-course dinner.  And I'd also like to dive into some kind of baking project.  So, what should I cook?  Hmmm...

Well, that will have to wait.  I've gotta get some homework done.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This is going to be a busy semester for me.  Surprisingly enough. 

In Writing for Mass Media, we're going to be writing one news story per week (in both print and broadcast formats), in addition to all of our reading and some various other assignments.  In Media Law, I have somehow become the teacher's assistant, thanks to my law degree.  Which means that I have to be on point all the time in class because if no one knows the answer, Heidi gets called on to answer.  If something is unclear after the professor's explanation, Heidi gets called on to provide another explanation or provide examples.  If someone needs help with their legal research for their term paper, Heidi gets called on to help them out.  It's something of an honor, but it also promises to make me a very busy girl this summer.

Of course, I'm still working at the restaurant too.  I might be backing off on that if I feel that it's too much, though, so I guess we'll just see how the semester goes.  Hopefully, I'll still be able to fit in some beach time.  Gotta get that summer glow, you know.

Out of Town Today; Back in School Tomorrow

We drove up to my parents' yesterday afternoon.  Today is Mama's birthday, so we're here to spend some time with her before school kicks back in tomorrow.

This summer I will be taking courses in Writing for Mass Media, Media Law & Policy, and Film Criticism.  The first two courses last both summer terms (both months of June and July), while the third is a Term II class (July only).  I picked up my books yesterday before we left town.   Only one of those courses had its text at the book rental; the rest were at the bookstore only for purchase.  So, I had to drop a few hundred dollars for textbooks, which is quite a lot considering this is only a summer session.  But I understand why most of the books are for purchase only:  they're books that most people who are serious about this profession will want to keep as reference books.  The AP Stylebook, for example.  If you're entering a career in media writing, you can hardly do without it.

I'm pretty excited about getting back into the classroom again.  I know, I'm a dork.  But this downtime in between spring and summer sessions has been long enough; I'm ready to go back now.  Part of that is because I'm starting to get into the classes that concentrate on my primary areas of interest -- mechanics classes for media writing, reporting, editing, etc.  But another part of it is that the sooner summer session starts, the sooner it will end, and the sooner I will get to take my summer vacation!  We haven't yet decided whether we'll go on another cruise or just lounge on the coast somewhere, but either way, little umbrella'd drinks await.  So, let the summer session begin!