THE SEARCH

Reinspired

2009-11-15T19:01:00.003-05:00

I've been inspired to get back to blogging. Or just communication, in general. I've been pretty bad about keeping in touch with people through Facebook, etc. For a while the most it's been is a sporadic status update or an occasional Google chat conversation.

Wow....my last post was July! Sheez....

Okay, I guess the key to successfully remaining committed to something like this is to keep it small, manageable.

So today was my friend Helen's 49th birthday. I just baked iced pumpkin cookies (this is a tried and true recipe that I highly recommend. Plus, if you gather all these ingredients, you'll have everything you need for homemade pumpkin pie, too). We're celebrating tonight!

TGIF

2009-07-17T09:53:00.002-04:00

I remember watching the Friday night line-up of shows that made up TGIF: Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Boy Meets World, Sister Sister, etc. Boy, those were great shows. I didn't even know about cable television back in the day - and I was content without it.

I'm glad today is Friday. It's time to rest and time to play!

Snowmen melting

2009-07-11T04:07:00.006-04:00

Every so often these past couple weeks, I catch myself dreaming about wearing scarves again. I cannot wait for scarf weather to return. Sharp winds catching bright cheeks. Burrowing deeper into a scarf. Hugging the warmth.

It's been over 105 degrees the majority of the last several weeks. I need relief.

In other news, I've found my alternative calling in case this whole journalism thing flops - painting!

Just kidding, but really I've been doing some serious painting lately, of the HGTV sort. Tomorrow, I'll be going down to Apple Valley with a group of folks to paint inside Dariesa's new house. About three weeks ago, a bunch of us got together to paint the outside of Melody's house. According to some observers, I've got a pretty mean rolling technique. I'm working on honing that skill. Perhaps it can earn me a dollar or two one day. Maybe.

What time is it?

2009-06-16T01:16:00.003-04:00

Holy shmoly, it's been practically three whole months of solid abandonment. Sorry. Not that you were incessantly checking or anything, but I don't like creating a blog and then being flaky. How about a quick Cliff Notes version of a life update?

1. Gym: I joined this gym that's less than five minutes from where I live and it has suddenly become my second home. If I'm bored, I just go there. I've become one of those people who have "gym friends." It still weirds me out a little. I've gotten hooked on the early morning yoga classes. I'm starting to sound pretty cliche, right? Anyway, I'm loving this new hobby, it's making me feel a lot healthier, and I'm actually committing to it - not just going gung-ho then fizzing out.

2. Home: I went home to Oregon over Memorial weekend, which was strangely not relaxing but a lot of fun. Usually when I go home my parents just want me and my brother to hole up and not go anywhere out of their sight, but they actually planned activities to do (all together, of course), which was cute. We went hiking at a waterfall, BBQed on the back porch, watched Slumdog Millionaire, played lots of ping pong, and rode the new downtown Portland tram (okay, it's not really new, but it's new to me since I hadn't ridden it before). Overall, A+.

3. Work: I'm the most senior reporter now. Not very impressive, really. It just means everybody has left and new people have replaced them. But regardless, I feel like I'm sort of responsible for "stuff" now. Uh-oh, better be careful.

4. Atlanta: I surprised Heej for her 25th birthday and got to catch up with many Atlanta friends. It felt so wonderful to be back there...and to not be in school. I really missed being in a car full of girls, or eating good Asian food, or just talking face to face. Sigh, so good. Overall, A+. The plane ride over there, however, with an early flight out of Vegas was brutal, B-.

5. Hiking boots: I just bought a pair of Timberland hiking boots and plan to wear 'em down this summer. My first excursion is going to be in two weeks. It's just a day trip, but it'll involve multiple water bottles, sunscreen and trail mix, so you better believe it's gonna be intense. And awesome.

That's all for now. I'll be around more often. It's summer time!

One last time

2009-03-23T22:01:00.006-04:00

True story.

I once knew a girl from college who was a true Southern bell. She lived next door in my freshman dorm. We became friends sometime mid-year.

She could be jubilant for ordinary reasons, like no one I've ever met. Kindness came easily to her. We were on the crew team together for almost a year. She was everyone's doll.

She had complex issues in her life, that neither you nor I, God forbid, will ever face, but it was quickly apparent that the friendship she offered was uncomplicated.

A little less than a month ago, I found out some heartbreaking news.

The girl had passed away just after fulfilling one of her dreams: meeting actor Chris North (aka Mr. Big from Sex in the City) in, where else, New York City.

And as the realization hit me, my thoughts immediately went to all the times in the past that I had told myself to write, call, send a Facebook message, or even text a "hey." We'd fallen out of touch the last year or so of college. But in my mind, there would always be another time to really catch up with her, to make minor amends for having let our friendship fall by the wayside. I wasn't hurt - I didn't think she was hurt (I hoped, at least). We had just disconnected.

Since hearing of her death, I've had a tugging feeling of regret. I am sorry.

Then last night, I fell asleep. I hadn't been thinking about my friend in a few days, but she appeared in my dream. I was standing in line somewhere - an airport or a department store - when I saw someone coming up to me and realized it was her.

Before I got out a word of apology, she just hugged me.

And then my alarm woke me up.

California, with the Terminator at the helm

2009-02-11T02:54:00.003-05:00

I have no idea what could have possessed Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for California governor. But now that our state's dealing with a $41.6 billion budget crisis, everyone hates him and he has to wrangle all the people up in Sacramento to help get the state out of this mess. I don't envy him.

This has been on my mind lately because being that deep in the hole at a state level has deeply affected school districts across California, including in Barstow. Tonight I got back from close to six hours of back-to-back meetings about potentially closing three schools in one of our districts because there simply isn't money to keep the doors open and pay teachers.

Sure, this isn't the first time talk of shutting down schools has cropped up, but there's a palpable desperation in the air when person after person stands before the school board and pleads - all with different causes (teachers, parents, principals) - to spare their school. It's such a cruel situation.

So what can be done? People write letters and send emails to legislators in Sacramento. Sixth graders compile lists of how they think the district can cut the necessary $5 million from next year's budget (their ideas range from changing the cafeteria food to installing energy efficient bulbs, all cute and not nearly enough). Teachers write letters to my editor, parents call me to vent, principals ask me to cover a story about their school, eager to cast any positive light as the inevitable axe gets ready to fall.

But mostly, we wait. The state, and hence the district, is in so deep that not much can be done at this point, besides swallowing hard and waiting for the school board to hand down its decision. I anticipate there'll be a firestorm upon announcing which schools will be shuttered. I already have an inkling which one's they'll be, and I'm already dreading writing that story.

Happy Inauguration Day, folks!

2009-01-20T02:03:00.007-05:00

Flying solo

2009-01-15T03:57:00.004-05:00

This past summer, I did the unthinkable - or at least what I previously believed to be unthinkable. I lived with five other girls. In a three bed apartment. And shared one room among three people.

I think I was inwardly cranky about the whole idea at first, but it quickly grew on me. It was comforting to be surrounded by lots of people, even if it meant sinkfuls of dishes on occasion or empty bags of potato chips laying out on the coffee table for weeks.

Now that I live by myself, I have to learn to live with myself. With.

It's a funny thing to spend time with yourself, by yourself, for an extended period of time. Past the point where it's fun or relaxing. It's a solemn place to be.

I crashed on my futon after work today while some sitcom droned on in the background. When I woke up, it was about an hour or so until it would be my normal bedtime. I didn't get up and just laid there, thinking a little.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't think all that much. Reflecting on myself, my character, behavior, habits, goals, isn't always an easy or pleasant task to endure. It takes, for me, a mighty level of brainpower to reflect on things in a productive, meaningful, fruitful fashion - in a way that elicits change. For me, the the purpose of reflection is change.

Looking back, I see it was a lot easier not to be as reflective while constantly being surrounded by people. Some people can swing it - I'm the type that actually needs physical space and seclusion. I like being surrounded by friends, and I want to go back to that kind of environment. But if my current living situation is any indication, I think there's something I am needing to gain from being alone. What is it? I don't know exactly. Maybe more thinking, changing, and thinking, changing. I feel a shift in the winds. It's a new season.

A year in review

2008-12-31T22:48:00.031-05:00

Hello there! I'm going to turn a new leaf in 2009 and begin blogging faithfully (or at least a bit more regularly) once the new year starts. I think I'll be changing the name and theme of this blog as well.

But before looking ahead, here's a look back at the year, in photos. The photos piece together a pretty eventful year of change, stopping, starting again, firsts, lasts, big moves across the country and small steps towards growing. I'm starting from the present and working back to the start of the year, which was oh so long ago.

I can hardly believe so much has passed during this year - I went from graduating to being jobless to being jobful (I made that up). And that's just the skeleton - these photos put some meat on those bones.

My first Christmas away from home, in Barstow.

Ikea threw up in my living room.

The nuts and bolts of it.

My new room - it looks bare here, and has since improved in looking more home-y.

The first breaking of bread in my new home.

On the road, from Atlanta to Barstow.

Checking out the Jamestown Sun in North Dakota.

A walk in the park while in Savannah, visiting Leah.

Chef Liu's one night.

Heej and I after our first 5K together.

Rhoda and I discovered we share the same birthday.

Meeting Jessie for an afternoon romp around downtown Chattanooga.

Picnic lunch at Chastain Park while Grace was in Atlanta, avoiding Hurricane Ike.

Lee and Mike got married.

Watching the Olympics while in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

My AJC mentor, Eileen, and I reporting on a radio show interview.

A random and beautiful night at Spring Hall with oodles of free drinks and goodies.

Hanging with Emory friends during the summer.

First time visiting Jessie's family in Oak Ridge.

I went on a solo hike.

Fourth of July at Centennial Olympic Park, where Grant performed.

Moving into 1413 was one of the biggest events of the year.

Saw a cool exhibit at the High Museum.

Grads!

Checked out the Botanical Garden for the first time.

Lots and lots and lots of ACF, with Lydia and Jane.

Visited my cousin Sam in New York.

I got new glasses last January. Not that big a deal.

But now, they remind me a little of Sarah Palin glasses....doh!

So long, 2008.

2009, we await!

Winter wonderland

2008-12-16T01:21:00.001-05:00

It snowed in the desert today, more specifically in Barstow. Check my first video for the Desert Dispatch right here.

Another day, another chapter

2008-12-03T02:01:00.005-05:00

Hello from sunny California! I completed my second full day of work today and I'm glad to be turning in for the night soon. I think my body forgot a little bit what it's like to be busy. I don't think I've been truly busy since college or maybe a bit this summer during a particularly intense work week. Anyway, I'm happy to be working, to be busy, to have a schedule, to be starting this all.

I know I'm not suppose to blog about work (per a few recommendations I've received) but I'll just give a brief summary. My co-workers are super down-to-earth, which I love. My boss is fairly laid back and let's the reporters work independently. I found an apartment that's less than 10 minutes from work, so that's definitely a blessing. And today, I actually started sort of making friends.

Overall, it's starting to feel less scary out here. I'm out in the middle of nowhere (note: this is not hyperbole in my case), but at least I'm starting to get to know some of the people here.

I'm excited about my job duties, which will have me primarily reporting on education and the military (Fort Irwin, a large military training base, is about 40 minutes away and is a large chunk of the people here). There are two school districts, and today I scheduled a meeting with the superintendent of one of them just to introduce myself to her as the new ed beat reporter and learn more about the district.

Oh, one bad thing was yesterday I had to sit through a 4 hour city council meeting. I'm not even covering government, but I had to tag along with another reporter just to go to observe. It ended almost at 11:30 pm. It was way past my bedtime. I wanted to crawl under the uncomfortable chair I was sitting in and close my eyes.

But other than that, things are pretty aok....

On another note, I'm still deciding just what to do with this blog. I want to continue blogging, but I need a change in direction. Any suggestions are welcome!

On the road again

2008-11-23T07:43:00.002-05:00

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9 days left

2008-11-12T16:08:00.002-05:00

Today was an unremarkable day. I drove under a cloudy sky and did a bunch of errands. I'm getting ready to leave. Packing is always such a monstrous task. Actually, the only reason today merits a post is because I figured out that my last day in Atlanta will be Friday, the 21st. So much to do, so little time!

My days are numbered...in Atlanta

2008-11-09T12:19:00.006-05:00

Without further adieu, here it is: I'm moving to California.

I decided to take their offer and will begin working for the Desert Dispatch on Dec. 1. It took a lot of thinking and weighing to come to this decision and all I can say for now is that I'm determined to make it the right decision. Am I happy with the choice? Well let's just say I'm cautiously allowing my excitement to grow...

There's a lot to do now. I need to find an apartment in Barstow, figure out the logistics of moving, and then execute another cross country roadtrip with my dad (this one will be No. 3). I'm not sure when I'm leaving Atlanta yet, but I'll update once it's figured out.

We're having a 1413 roommate dinner tonight. It feels like goodbyes are already starting to creep in...a last this and a last that. A sobering thought that tempers the excitement.

I've been blizzarded

2008-11-06T21:53:00.011-05:00

I had my interview today. It was very formal. I think it was a good two-way conversation, where they got to know me more and vice versa. It was three vs. me again. They said they'd call me by early next week.

It started lightly snowing in Jamestown around 3 p.m. The local forecast has predicted a blizzard to hit around midnight tonight. Needless to say, my 7 a.m. flight out of here tomorrow got cancelled. Now, I get to play in the snow and make snowmen until my rescheduled afternoon flight. I wish I brought my mittens...and had friends to enjoy the snow with...

I feel so tired and bloated right now. All that happens on interview trips is eating and talking. Going to restaurants and eating and talking. Then sitting in conference rooms and talking some more. Then going on driving tours of the town and listening to someone else talking. Talking is tiresome.

I'm ready to go home. For the first time in my life I'm wishing, "please don't snow too much."

Uh-oh

2008-11-06T00:54:00.004-05:00

I think I have a problem on my hands.

I arrived in Jamestown, North Dakota, this afternoon. The publisher met me at the airport and took me straight to the Jamestown Sun offices where I got the standard building tour and drive-by staff intros. They gave me some copies of the newspaper and ushered me to my motel until dinner (they say "supper"). I was very impressed with the site visit, though it was brief. I also sensed a very high standard of professionalism here (which - now in retrospect - was lacking at the Desert Dispatch). So far, this seems like a pretty good place.

And that's a problem.

I was actually banking on it not being great. Or at least not better than the Desert Dispatch. Because that way, I would have seen enough to have soundly made up my mind by Thursday night that I wasn't missing out on anything here. Then, I could call the editor in Barstow on Friday and tell him to expect me in two weeks. And then I would not be in this very problematic position of an offer that very well may expire if I don't answer in two days while I'm just barely starting to seriously interview with the editor in Jamestown, who may or may not offer me anything in the next week or so.

Basically, I'm (very inconveniently) growing attached to something I had no intention of liking, and was only suppose to serve as reaffirmation to take the California offer.

Problem-o.

In the worst case scenario, I'd turn down California, wait on ND, not get an offer from ND, and then just move in with my brother. Which, like I said before, isn't the end of the world. But, ugh, the thought is just gut wrenching. I'd like to see some fruit from my now four month running job search.

My first in-person interview with the Jamestown Sun is tomorrow. It should be fine. Fun, even. It's the weighing and wondering what'll happen afterwards that'll be more difficult to navigate.

To Barstow and back...

2008-11-05T17:07:00.009-05:00

Welcome, Mr. President

2008-11-04T23:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday in (brief) review

2008-11-04T14:33:00.005-05:00

Gonna make this quick...here are some initial thoughts after visiting the Desert Dispatch:

1. The newspaper is smaller than I'd like, but it has a lot of potential.
2. Barstow is more of a community than I imagined - I was thinking it'd be a glorified truck stop.
3. The desert is sort of cool. Sort of.
4. I broke my red meat fast. They have In-N-Out in Barstow (I'm not about to be a prisoner of my own rules).
5. There's awesome shopping in Barstow, since it's a mid-desert tourist stop and all.
6. I have lots to think about now. They want an answer by Friday latest.
7. Get out and vote today!

'Tripping to Barstow tomorrow

2008-11-03T02:15:00.008-05:00

Hello from the West coast! I'm here in L.A. now and getting ready to settle in for the night since tomorrow will be a pretty big day. I'm driving out to the Desert Dispatch in Barstow, Calif. tomorrow morning which is about a two hour drive north east.

I'm planning on staying there for most of the day and will have lunch with a reporter and probably get a driving tour of the city (we could probably afford to walk it, but for the heat...). I'm excited, nervous and hopeful. It may (or may not) be where I end up. For those who I haven't updated, I'm going to be in one of three places as of the first week of December. Either:

Barstow, CA
Jamestown, ND
Dallas, TX

I'm hoping either the first two, because that'll mean I've gotten a job. If Dallas - well - that'll be okay, too. My brother lives there = free room + board + infinite mooching. And that'll mean that the adventures of The Search will continue as well.

On a different note, I had a long talk on the phone with my brother yesterday and he challenged me to look at my career choice more critically. He mainly wanted me to consider things like job security, location, and future lifestyle choices. I guess it doesn't really put my family at ease to see that the direction I'm heading is a low salaried shrinking industry, largely located in obscure places and an unconventional (for my family's standards) career track.

I take what my family thinks into consideration a lot. Often the line gets blurred between what they want for me and what I think I want for me. Getting my first real job is the first really independent thing I would do - it would make a statement to my family. It separates and distinguishes you from your family, which used to be your primary identity. It's a responsibility that starts to carve out who you want yourself to become, and all the consequences - good, bad, purposeful and unintentional - that come along with that choice.

I feel like college spat me out as a shapeless blob - full of ideas but unformed by the authentic clash of real world variables like time, money, conflicting values, bosses, and problems that demand solutions rather than just debate, to name a few. I'm ready for that molding, that chipping process to begin.

California

2008-10-28T22:05:00.005-04:00

California made me a job offer today. I was in my car driving to Chastain park when my phone ring-a-linged and I saw an unrecognized number pop up. I knew it. I let it go to voice mail because I always screen job related calls - plus driving and trying to hold that conversation probably would have resulted in very bad driving.

I'm flying to Los Angeles this Sunday and am planning on spending most of Monday in Barstow. I feel like I need to check out the place and see if I could survive life in the Mojave Desert.

Next week is gonna be a big week! Sunday to Tuesday in L.A., back to Atlanta on Tuesday = Nov. 4th = Election Day = The Day America Redeems Itself, and Wednesday to Friday in Jamestown, North Dakota. I'm already leaning towards California, but I think I need to be open minded. Ahhh I'm excited!!!

Where the deer and the antelope play...

2008-10-25T05:10:00.003-04:00

I'm flying up to North Dakota in two weeks for an on-site interview. And to see what Jamestown has to offer. Yahooooo....

Sleepless in Seattle

2008-10-22T17:06:00.006-04:00

I had trouble falling asleep last night. I was thinking about the interview I was going to have today with the Jamestown Sun. This newspaper, comparable in size to the California one, is located in North Dakota. The thought of North Dakota kept me tossing for a good 30 min in the dark.

When the prospect of a job gets within range - where you can picture yourself saying goodbye, packing up a U-Haul, and apartment hunting in a foreign place - the once fuzzy picture comes into frighteningly sharp relief.

While waiting to fall asleep, I tried imagining myself living in some small town somewhere (this applies to both papers I've recently interviewed with). It was hard to picture. It was also hard to think that the main reason I turned down the Wisconsin offer was to go to a bigger, better place (paper and city). Well...the prospects I'm facing lately aren't all that grander...

I've had to come to terms with thinking about the job trajectory of my chosen career path. I think I'm going to be starting off small. Smaller than I was originally willing to settle for.

Anyway, back to the interview. I've had conference call phone interviews before but this was the first time I had three people interviewing me at once. It seemed a little excessive, but to their credit, the editor and her assistant editor were originally going to interview me, but the editor had to step away, so another reporter joined in and in the end it just ended up being three vs. me.

I think the interview went okay. The main thing was that since it was a conference call on speaker phone, they sounded all far away and echoey and there was a noticeable lag time. Every time I asked a question or finished a sentence, there was a pause. In my head, I imagined them making eye contact, looking at each other, while I sat and squirmed. I don't like having to imagine what sort of non-verbal cues a group of people are sharing on the other end of the line.

The interview ended with a cool and ominous "we'll be in touch." There weren't many sparks flying with this one.

On the road again

2008-10-20T23:19:00.004-04:00

This week's tag-along trip takes me to Columbia, Tenn. I'm here with my roommate Yen who has meetings to attend to while I have cable tv to attend to. It took us about six hours to get here when it probably only should have taken about four. There were various hold-ups: the delay getting our rental car from The Most Skeevy Enterprise rental place in The Known Universe (it kinda looked like it could have been a crack house not too long ago...), a couple pit stops, and one 45 min phone interview.

We pulled into a Wendy's parking lot where I had Interview Numero Dos with the HR lady from the Desert Dispatch. And thankfully, the interview went very well. Even though I was in a car, sitting with my laptop in my lap, and battling the last flickering bar that T-Mobile was threatening me with, I managed to eke out a pretty decent conversation with my interviewer.

I think there's such a thing as making a Professional Connection - the counterpart to the idea of a Personal Connection. A Personal Connection is when you hit it off easily with a person you're meeting for the first time. The encounter is fresh. There's momentum in your conversation. You hope (and are already plotting ways) to talk to them again in the near future.

A Professional Connection is similar, despite a different agenda and balance of power. Usually for an interview, you put on your happy face, which for me is trying to be a Chatty Cathy. You're trying to break the ice but it only really shatters when the Interviewer acknowledges your effort and responds to it - by being nice. It's simple enough.

If you quickly convince them that you might be friendly/tolerable enough to work with, they feel no need to intimidatingly lord over you. This, in turn, frees you to be more honest and less uptight. In the best case scenario, the Interviewer will genuinely spark to something you say. After all, you're both in your mutual element. This drives the momentum. Even while in the interview mode, you dream of when you'll hopefully speak to them again - gainfully employed, of course.

It's a delicate act, however, to balance being friendly and appearing qualified and wanting to please. And in the end the Professional Connection is always dictated by keeping one's eye on the prize. It can be genuine and enjoyable, but the stakes remain.

I think I made that connection today. I hope I made that today.

The latest news

2008-10-16T00:41:00.003-04:00

I'm having my second round interview by phone with the Desert Dispatch (the California newspaper) on Monday afternoon.

Originally, the Desert Dispatch was suppose to have made their final decision about the position by Friday the 17th and have told me either yay or nay. They had also told me to expect a second round interview call from human resources before that time. As the time passed from my less than illustrious phone interview performance, I grew more certain that I had blown my chances and should chalk one up for a "learning experience."

But today, I received a call. It's the kind of thing that confirms my theory that unemployment = experiencing life as a bipolar person. Manically excited and drooling one moment. Listless the next.

Vacations are for people who don't have jobs

2008-10-15T11:37:00.006-04:00

What better time to travel then now? I have time to burn, after all, and heck with the exorbitant gas prices after Hurricane Ike and generally trying to save money (note: I said time to burn, not cash), I've gotten a bit of cabin fever and needed to get out. So. I have the privilege of living with a few friends who have jobs (like steady-eddie-get-paid-to- travel-job-jobs) so I've taken up their offers to tag along on business-y trips. Don't worry, I won't be crashing any board meetings in sweats and sneakers - I'll be keeping me and my sweats in hotels...web lounging/surfing, reading, sleeping, job searching, etc., essentially the same things I do at home. That's how Hattie convinced me to come, anyway. Made sense.

So this week's trip takes me and Hattie to Macon, Ga. We're staying overnight, which is just about perfect, because I'm not a big fan of motels.

Next week - if I'm good (haha) - I'll be going with Yen to Columbia, Tenn. Heej, are we doing a Savannah trip??

Anyway, in keeping with my blog's theme of journalism-y related topics, keep an eye out for my first book review in the coming days. Last night I finished reading an awesome book that made an incredibly convoluted and dense topic totally riveting. And what, in our day and age, is a better study in complexity than the Iraq war? NBC Middle East correspondent Richard Engel wrote about his five years covering the conflict, from the moment the first American bombs fell in 2003 until, well, he's still there now, so that gives you a feel for his commitment and utter entrenchment in the war, in War Journal: My Five Years In Iraq. So there's the teaser....

The method behind the madness

2008-10-08T23:25:00.004-04:00

Here are my responses to the questions about why certain info was used or omitted from the story. While interviewing with the Desert Dispatch editor I asked him what he thought about my story. "I liked your style," he said, but raised concern about the fact that I included a paraphrased statement about "criminal activity." He said, however that I couched it pretty carefully and it would probably have been safe, but it's one of those things that wouldn't have made it passed an editor. Anyway...

1. What information is missing in your news-gathering that could have made the story more complete?

There are several pieces of information that leave the newsgathering for this story incomplete. First, I need the official coroner’s report stating the cause of death. Next, I want to know why Martha did not call 911. I’m also curious about the smoke detectors – were they purposefully disabled? Tampered with? Did they malfunction?

If the police proceeded to sweep the house after the fire was contained, I would want to know if they found anything out of the ordinary, especially in the bedroom where the fire supposedly started. It seems like determining how the fire started will answer several questions in this case.

I would also want to know on what basis the neighbor, Jeanine Jordan, makes accusations that Jason Blevins uses or possesses meth. This would also require learning more about Jeanine and what kind of history she has with the Blevins (because she clearly has strong feelings towards Jason).

A big looming question, and perhaps the most difficult to determine, is whether the delayed emergency response contributed to Martha Blevins’ death. This would require information from several parties – from doctors and paramedics who could determine Martha’s condition at various times during the incident, from the fire department on how long responses usually take, and from city officials who had been made aware that train crossings were impacting emergency responses to that particular neighborhood.

Lastly, I want to fill in the gaps regarding Jason Blevins. Does he have a criminal record? Why was he with his father that day? Why have both he and his father been unreachable immediately following the incident?

2. What info did you decide not to use and why?

I chose to not include Jeanine Jordan’s quotes that placed blame on Jason Blevins and accused him of using and possessing meth. These are criminal accusations that are potentially libelous. The accusations have not yet been proven true by either police statements or documents, and the accused person has not yet had the opportunity to respond to the statements. Further these statements were made during a crisis situation while Jeanine was likely highly upset and distressed. Jason is also a minor and deserves, I feel, a certain level of protection.

Also, I did not include what Lt. James Henderson stated about not finding any signs of a drug lab in Jason’s room in the past. Although this is a statement from an official, including it in the story without any other information on whether Jason had a criminal record could imply that Jason did, which could be interpreted as libelous. However, I think this statement would be appropriate to use in a future story after investigation confirms Jason’s record.

There were smaller details that I chose not to include, such as the fact that the Jeanine Jordan mistakenly gave police the wrong address because it did not add significant information to the story.

3. Your editor tells you to follow up on the story tomorrow for the following day’s newspaper. What possible angles could you take and whom would you need to contact for the story?

There are many angles to pursue for a follow-up story the next day. The most natural follow-up to the previous story would be to investigate what caused the fire. I would talk to police and other investigators who swept the house after fire was contained and see f they had learned anything new. This would also require further reporting on why Martha did not call 911 by talking to her neighbors and tracking down family members to learn more about Martha and any reason why she might have avoided seeking help. Also wrapped up in this follow-up story would be to explore the meth accusations. This would require asking police if they found any drugs in the house after the fire and going to the police station and reviewing Jason’s record to see if he has a drug-related criminal past.

Another approach would be to see how many emergency responses have been delayed by train crossings in that neighborhood in the past year. This would require contacting the police and fire departments and seeing how many ambulances, fire trucks or police cars were held up at trains during the past year and how much time it added to their normal response time. More importantly, however, would be to investigate how the delay impacted the emergencies – whether criminals got away, medical conditions worsened, or how many people perhaps even died.

Phone interviews gone rusty

2008-10-08T19:40:00.004-04:00

There were several awkward pauses in my phone interview today with the editor of the Desert Dispatch. All on my part. I've had my fair share of interviews and I felt pretty comfortable going into this one - I knew what to expect and knew my lines. I expected to talk about journalism, why I wanted to report for their newspaper, and stuff like that....

So it threw me off a bit when the editor opened -after the typical formalities -by asking me, "What's been your biggest challenge and how have you overcome it?" Then followed straight by, "What are you most proud of?" But let me back up here. Most newspaper interviews, in my experience up 'til now, aren't interested in your life story/world view/idealism. They want to figure out if you can write a story competently and quickly, and that's what I've grown accustom to discussing. So when the editor lobbed his first question at me, I naturally followed up by saying he meant relating to journalism, right?

Wrong - he meant life. In general. Gah. I sputtered for a few moments and then came up with some BS answer that, I think, didn't reek too much of BS. Whew, I thought, dodged that one ok...but then the next 15 minutes proceeded to be more life-y stuff where I just had to scrap together answers off the top of my brain. It was not off to a good start.

Luckily it got much better once we started to talk about more concrete relevant things such as past internships, experiences, stories, etc. I felt like we were back in familiar territory. I have to say, though, I felt really outta practice and rusty today, and I think it showed. It's been two months since my internship ended and my brain's already starting to turn mushy along the edges........oh no.....moan.

After about 80 minutes of talking, we ended and he left me with hope that I might get a second round interview sometime in the coming days. The final decision will be made by the end of next week, he said. After I hung up, I stood up and walked into my room and had to lie down for a bit and recover from Mushy Brain Syndrome.

What I came up with...

2008-10-08T12:41:00.001-04:00

Bedroom blaze claims resident’s life

By EUNICE LEE

A 35-year-old woman was found unconscious in her burning house and died Thursday evening at Barstow Community Hospital.

Two firefighters found Martha Blevins collapsed in the hallway of her house on 1455 W. Elm Ave. around 4 p.m. on Thursday. Although the coroner’s autopsy report has yet to be released, smoke inhalation was likely the cause of death, according to Barstow Fire Protection District Chief James McAlvey.

Blevins and her 16-year-old stepson were the only residents of the now charred house. Martha Blevins had legal custody of Jason Blevins, who was away during the fire with his father who lives in Redlands. Officials have not been able to reach either the teenager or his father, Peter Terwilliger.

The cause of the fire is still unknown; however several factors seemed to have made a bad situation even worse.

Blevins was at home alone when the fire appeared to have started in one of the bedrooms and the smoke detectors did not work, fire department officials said.

When the firefighters rescued Blevins, they found her on the floor next to an empty bucket. They theorize that Blevins – who didn’t call 911 – tried to fight the fire but then collapsed from breathing the smoke.

“If they had working smoke detectors, Martha might have found out about the fire while it was still small enough to manage,” McAlvey said. “We don’t know why she didn’t call 911.”
It was Blevins’ next door neighbor, Jeanine Jordan, who called for help. And it was after 24 minutes that fire trucks arrived at the scene.

“We had to wait about 10 minutes for a train to pass, and there’s just no way to get to this neighborhood without crossing the tracks,” said McAlvey, citing the reason for the delay.

“We’ve complained to the city that this is going to keep happening unless they build some way to bypass the tracks,” McAlvey said, “but they keep saying they don’t have any money.”
Jordan, Blevins’ neighbor, claimed that criminal activity likely sparked the fire and said that police had frequently paid visits to the Blevins’ home.

“I’ve lived here for five years and I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the cops here at the house,” Jordan said. Lt. James Henderson, Barstow Police Department spokesperson, also confirmed that the police have been called to the Blevins house multiple times but said he would not comment on the details.

Firefighters were able to contain the blaze Thursday evening with minimal damage to surrounding houses.

The reporting/writing exercise

2008-10-02T01:27:00.004-04:00

Here's the reporting test the Desert Dispatch gave me to assess my basic reporting, writing and news judgement abilities. Take a gander. I'll post my copy of the story I cobbled together as well as my responses to the follow-up Q's below - but in a few days or until I hear back from them, just to play it safe. Warning: this could take longer than the usual 15 second glance at blog post.

Dear Eunice Lee,

I've received your resume and clips of your work. At this point, I'd like to pass along the writing test we give to all candidates who meet our base requirements to be considered for the position. Below is a sample of the type of on-deadline story a reporter might be asked to pursue at a small community newspaper. While it's not the only kind of reporting we do, it's certainly something each reporter at the Desert Dispatch will likely face at some point.

Please read the information below and then follow the instructions. Due to some difficulties we occasionally have with attachments, I would ask that you submit your sample story and response in the body of an e-mail. Let me know if you have any questions.

Scott Shackford
Editor in Chief
Desert Dispatch
130 Coolwater Lane
Barstow CA 92311
Phone: (760) 256-4104
Fax: (760) 256-0685

Basic news reporting test

Situation:
It’s 4 p.m. on a Thursday in a cold January. It’s been a fairly quiet day and you’re working on a story about the latest crime statistic trends for Barstow when you hear alarms on the scanner. Fire trucks and rescue personnel are being called out to 1457 W. Elm Ave., where there is a structure fire. Your editor sends you out to the scene to get a story for the next day’s paper.

News Gathering:
You arrive at the scene of a burning house, which is actually at 1455 W.Elm Ave. Firefighters are working to put out the fire, as well as keep it from spreading next door to 1453 W. Elm Ave.
By the time you get there (you were delayed by a train crossing), somebody that you couldn’t see has been loaded into a nearby ambulance. The ambulance drives off.

Barstow Fire Protection District Chief James McAlvey is too busy to talk to you at the moment until they have better control of the fire. Jeanine Jordan, 48, the sole resident of 1453 W. Elm Ave., is standing on the sidewalk along with some other spectators. She looks worried and also a bit angry. You don’t even need to approach her, as she stomps over and starts yelling about what happened.

“It was her son!” Jeanine yells. “Everybody knows he’s a meth freak!” She complains about this unnamed man for a little while until you can calm her down and get more information. She tells you that the people who live at1457 W. Elm Ave. are named Martha Blevins and Jason Blevins. Jeanine explains that Martha is Jason’s mom. Jason is a teen (Jeanine’s not sure of his age) and a student at Barstow High School. Jeanine witnessed Martha being loaded into the ambulance.
Jeanine was the one who called the fire department. She claims she heard a“woomph” sound outside. When she went to investigate, she noticed fire through one of the bedroom windows in the Blevins house and called 911.

“That boy of hers is trouble,” Jeanine says. “I’ve lived here for five years and I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the cops here at the house. Everybody knows Jason was on meth. I bet he had a lab in his bedroom and that’s what exploded.”

“And another thing!” Jeanine says. “It took 30 minutes for the fire department to arrive!”
Meanwhile, the fire department has managed to save Jeanine’s house, though she’s upset that one of her favorite rose bushes has been destroyed. Chief McAlvey has time now to fill you in one some details.

The residents of the house are Martha Blevins, 35, and her stepson, Jason Blevins, 16. Jason was not home at the time of the fire, as far as they know, and they don’t know where he is. Police officers are trying to track him down.

The house was on fire when they arrived. Two firemen were able to make their way into the house and rescue Martha. She had collapsed on the floor of a hallway. There was an empty bucket next to her on the floor. They theorize that Martha was perhaps trying to fight the fire herself rather than evacuating and was overcome by the smoke. She has been taken to Barstow Community Hospital for treatment.

The fire department can’t speculate as to the cause of the fire as yet.What they can say is that the fire did appear to start in one of the bedrooms (too soon to say which one) and the home’s smoke detectors didn’t work.

“If they had working smoke detectors, Martha might have found out about the fire while it was still small enough to manage,” McAlvey says. “We don’t know why she didn’t call 911.”
The house is likely a total loss, McAlvey says. You bring up Jeanine’s complaint about the time it took the fire department to arrive.

“Actually, it was 24 minutes, though that’s still too long,” McAlvey says.“We would have been here much sooner if it weren’t for the fact that we had to cross the train tracks at First Street. We had to wait for about 10minutes for a train to pass, and there’s just no way to get to this neighborhood without crossing the tracks. We’ve complained to the city that this is going to keep happening unless they build some way to bypass the tracks, but they keep saying they don’t have any money.”

You decide to stay at the scene a little while longer to see if there are any other developments. But as you wait, you call Lt. James Henderson, the officer who serves as spokesperson for the Barstow Police Department, to ask about Jason. Henderson can only confirm that the police have been called to the Blevins house multiple times. He says he can’t reveal details about any incidents involving Jason, as he is a minor. You bring up Jeanine’s comments. Again he can’t say anything about Jason’s record,but he is willing to say that the police have not found any signs of a drug lab in the Blevins home in the past.

They also still haven’t found Jason. Through some friends of Jason’s police were able to contact, they determined that his father, Peter Terwilliger, had come pick him up earlier in the day, but police have not been able to reach them yet. Terwilliger lives in Redlands, but comes to visit Jason on a regular basis. Martha, however, has legal custody of Jason.

That’s all the information you can get from Lt. Henderson. As you end your call with him, you get some bad news from McAlvey: Martha Blevins died at the hospital. The coroner’s office will have to do an autopsy, but McAlvey is confident in saying it was likely due to smoke inhalation.
And with that bad news, your editor calls and tells you deadline is approaching and you’ve got to come back to the office to write what you’ve got.

WRITING EXERCISE:
Given just the information above, write a story for the next day’s newspaper. You will have to use your best judgment when it comes to confusing or incomplete information. There is no “length requirement”— the story should be as long as it needs to be to be as complete as possible.

FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS:
1. What information is missing in your news-gathering that could have made the story more complete?
2. What information did you decide not to use in the story and why?
3. Your editor tells you to follow up on the story tomorrow for the following day’s newspaper. What possible angles could you take and whom would you need to contact for the story?

Cue the 'hallelujah' chorus

2008-09-29T15:32:00.003-04:00

I heard back from a newspaper in California! Hallelujah (x 5)!

Did they offer me a job? No. But the fact that a living breathing human being personally responded to my application is reason enough for a little celebration. Yeah, kinda pathetic - but that's sorta what I'm living off of these days....

They sent me writing/reporting simulation test to complete via email. Wahooooooo....

Weekend flavor

2008-09-04T01:22:00.003-04:00

I'll be away for four days - traversing the Bay area and San Jose for a friend's wedding this weekend and also for a roundup of relatives I haven't seen for at least 10 years. Good grief. I shall try and see if I can sneak in some job search stuff while I'm there - pick up some helpful tidbits on the newspaper industry/journalism scene on the west coast. Or at the very least pick up a paper or two. I've always been fascinated by what comes out of the San Jose Mercury News, or the Merc, as locals call it.

Expect pictures!

The search: to be continued...

2008-08-30T20:25:00.002-04:00

The offer was made. The offer was negotiated. I hoped it would be give-and-take. It was not give-and-take. I declined their offer. The only way I could have said yes and made the leap was to be absolutely happy and satisfied with the terms of the agreement. I was not - so I said, "sorry."

BUT...the life of this fledgling little blog continues...isn't that good news? I now continue flinging cover letters and clips every which way across the universe....well, actually that's not entirely true. I'm going to try to be a bit more selective: larger cities, near family and papers with a higher circulation (aiming at 50K+).

Now that the Wisconsin decision is over, I now face another set of choices. Should I continue my search from here, Atlanta? Or should I move home? Should I let myself land somewhere in between?

Pro/con lists

2008-08-25T15:19:00.002-04:00

Here's my story as it appeared in the Stevens Point Journal on Saturday. The editor who interviewed me was kind enough to bring me a copy of the paper when she came to pick me up from my motel and take me to the airport. It was sort of weird to see my byline in another paper.

So now that I'm back in Atlanta, it's time to really start thinking about this job, considering the good, the bad and everything in between. I like to start my heavy mental lifting by warming up with a pro/con list. So far, they're running about even...

I survived tryouts

2008-08-23T02:57:00.004-04:00

I finished up my first story today. It's suppose to run in tomorrow's paper so I'll post a link. Sort of strange to think of a stranger writing in your newspaper, isn't it? You're not a "contributing writer" or "special to" whatever paper - you're just, well, a tryout.

In other news - looks like presidential hopeful Barack Obama announced his VP - Deleware senator Joe Biden.

So, what you got?

2008-08-20T20:54:00.010-04:00

I'll need to do some homework tonight. I picked up several copies of the paper so I can catch up on recent news so I can have half a clue about what to do when I get assigned a story tomorrow morning.

The paper is pretty thin. Since it's a small town paper, I'd say it's daily print product is about the thickness of a large metro paper's individual section. It's part of a regional collection of four Gannett-owned daily community newspapers. The managing editor and I went to dinner and I got to ask her a bunch of questions. She's fairly new herself and has a lot of plans in mind (video, multimedia, mentoring, etc.) but says she hasn't put things in motion yet.

Here are some pretty flowers . The scenery here reminds me of Oregon. I've been hearing a lot about this trail called the Green Circle, which is like a 26 mile loop that encircles the town (which also gives you another gauge on the size of this place).

Also, sports are big here. Baseball, hockey, and of course, with the Green Bay Packers, football. But I only like football that involves tv dramas like Friday Night Lights. Ah well.

Apparently another big deal here is fish fry. There are several bodies of water around. Ponds here and there. The great lakes not too far off. A river that cuts through the middle of town. (I guess they ran out of the letter "s" from the other side of the sign.)

I'll close with a nice view from the airplane and some ending thoughts on the day.

I'm feeling a lot more pressure now that I'm actually here. Not necessarily pressure from the company to take the job, but pressure to just make the right decision - a good decision.

I've heard someone say that when it comes to choices, you make a decision and then you make it the right one. When is that attitude/outlook beneficial? Or is it just the only option in some cases?

Wisconsin

2008-08-20T18:16:00.004-04:00

So, I'm here. In Wisconsin. In Stevens Point, to be more specific. It's not what I pictured, really. I'm not sure what exactly I had imagined, but I think I was preparing myself for the worst, just in case. It's a '70's town, for sure, but quite hospitable.

I arrived and met the managing editor at the airport. We chatted on the 40 minute car ride back into town. Mainly rehashing my summer internship, etc. Then I had lunch at a cute little place called The Wooden Chair with the community editor (who, btw, shares the name of an X-Men character - cool or what? I'll leave you to guess which). We actually had a wonderful conversation that was part work/interview-ish, but generally totally enjoyable.

After that, one of the photogs - who's lived here forever - took me on a driving tour of the town. North, south, west, east. Nothing to raise the pulse, but I got a good honest lay of the land. There are a lot of parks here - strange parallel to Gwinnett county...hmmmm.

I took a good long nap after checking into my motel and am now waiting to go to dinner with the ME. Where are the pictures, you ask? They'll be coming soon enough....

Going for a test run

2008-08-19T15:48:00.005-04:00

They've finally given me my schedule for the trip! I just got a call from one of the editors at the Stevens Point Journal and she gave me the breakdown of what I'll be doing there from Wednesday to Saturday.

The biggest news: they're going to test-drive my reporting abilities and have me write a few stories while I'm there. This should be quite interesting and, needless to say, challenging since I have never been to the city, will not have a car and will be in a totally new environment. I just hope there's no silly hoop-jumping....like a try-out tuned bad turned into a scavenger hunt (like find out the mayor's dog's middle name *shudder*).

Where's my coffee?

2008-08-19T01:15:00.009-04:00

I practically became addicted to coffee after working at a place where a machine that produced nice individual cups of hot steaming [fill in the blank: everything ranging from costa rican to french vanilla to chai tea] brewed just steps away from my desk. So now that my internship is over, I must do without a late morning cup of joe in addition to being jobless. Great, just great.

My internship at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was a 10-week whirlwind that left me with memorable experiences, a stack of clips and many new friendships. There are some things that I eagerly leave behind (like banging down doors in a neighborhood where a 4-year-old girl was murdered, and driving around places lost with a map in the dead heat of summer - to name a few), but I have to say, I am fully satisfied with the experience. Now after 10 weeks, they've thrown me out on the street/out to the wolves. I have to find a job. Which is where this blog comes in.

I'm going to chronicle my job search here - the good, the bad, the weird. I'll do my best to post photos because, hey, we all know that those are the best part of blog posts (who wants to actually read this rambling nonsense?).

This all begins at a very opportune time, because I am going to be flying up to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, this week to interview at the Stevens Point Journal.

Any and all feedback is welcome. Don't check back too often, because it's not like I'm going to be updating every hour. In case you haven't checked lately, newspapers are shrinking/morphing like crazy, so those offers aren't exactly piling up. But I do get the job of navigating these waters during very interesting times. So, stay tuned! And welcome to The Search!