Craziness

It's nearing the end of my first week of working at both Summmer College at UD as well as TNJ. Craziness! It's pretty hard to do both. I work from 9-2 at TNJ and then I have to be back at UD and ready for SC activities by 3. I don't really get much free time on the weekdays. It's just another learning experience about how to balance everything. It's kind of good the way it worked out, because in the morning (when I'm tired) I'm at the paper, sitting inside and not exactly doing physically strenuous stuff; in the afternoon, I go to SC and do outside activities and games all day. At least I don't have to be energized and ready to go in the morning, because I never am!

I took a 5 Hour Energy this morning, and don't feel like I'm slowly slipping into a coma at my desk like I have been feeling the past couple days. So that's a bonus.

Anyway, I finished a story about the group Forgotten Cats, Inc. this week. I talked to the president/founder, a volunteer, and a man who has used the organization's services. It's funny, even if I don't need to, I always try to use 3 sources in a story like I'm used to from journalism classes at school. Once, a story really only needed the two great sources I found, and I was still struggling to find a third, and Betsy told me I didn't need it. It was weird.

So with that story pretty much done, I am trying to work on this story about the popularity of fedora hats. I got a great interview with a professor of apparel studies or accessory studies (can't remember now) at FIT in NYC, but I really need to talk to people that actually buy/wear these. It's tough. We even put a little ad on the site saying "if you wear fedoras, call Kala!" But only one person got back and it wouldn't really have worked. Since I've been in Newark, I've been looking around trying to notice what people are wearing, but I'm not really finding anything. Ugh. Frustrating. I might need to just go to a store that sells them and see if anyone's buying them.

Next week is my interview with Paula Deen! I had to send her PR person some questions I could possibly ask (and I wasn't sure--is that a good idea? Do journalists always have to do that? I didn't want to be a jerk and say no, but it felt sort of like giving them my story before it was even written...) and the PR girl told me there are too many, because the interview is only supposed to be 15 minutes, and apparently, "with the way Paula talks, you won't get through them all." So we'll see. I feel like I could talk to her for hours, I just think she's so funny.

The next story I really want to work on is one about lifelong volunteers, i.e., people who have been volunteering for an organization for years and years. I love stories like this about people's personal experiences. I sort of felt like some of the stories I've been getting (manicures, hats, wallpaper) were fun and interesting, yes, but also lacking a bit in substance. I think a story about actual people who have dedicated their lives to working for others would be great. I'm also just really into volunteering myself, so I'm a little biased.

I want to start pitching stories as soon as I get all these ones I have lined up over with. I obviously want to finish the ones Betsy's assigned to me, but after that I'd like to come up with some of my own. Now I just need to think of some!