February and March Reading Goal

 

Busy! That’s my main word right now. But I did want to update you all on my reading goal.

Full disclosure: I only read one book in February instead of two. Combining the move, my long commute, lack of free time and the shorter month that’s just all I could do. And I finished March’s second book yesterday. Oh well.

“The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate’s Deep Throat”

This was the book I read in February. Incredible! I am a journo-nerd and I love it. If you don’t know the story of Watergate and Deep Throat, check it out. This book was written by Bob Woodward, the journalist who was able to use Deep Throat as a source to lead him to info on the Watergate scandal.

Woodward really opens up in the book about how he met former FBI assistant director W. Mark Felt, his relationship with him even before Woodward turned to journalism and the wonderful and complex way Felt communicated with Woodward through the whole scandal (and how he covered his tracks back at the FBI).

If you like journalism or have seen “All the President’s Men” or have any interest in American history, I highly recommend this book. Very interesting, well written and honest.

The good, the bad and the ugly

(This post also could be called “I know I haven’t posted in a long time and this is what I’ve been doing.”)

The Good

Reading

I’ve been reading a lot more, folks. And here’s a confession: Growing up I never actually read the “Harry Potter” novels. Yep. Just never did it. I was reading other things when they came out and then just never really had any kind of desire to read them (except this one time when I was in improv and I was supposed to be playing Quidditch, which, of course, I had no idea how to act out.) So I’m reading those as a break from super serious books about the First Amendment and HTML and such. Hey, it’s election season and I need a break when I get home!

Family and fishies!

TK’s parents came to town for July 4 and we got to hang out with them for a few nights! I’m lucky in that we live pretty close to my parents and I get to see them with just a short drive a couple towns over, but TK’s parents live several states away and it was nice to see them. We went to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke and had a blast! We also went out for hibachi (where our chef was a Hispanic man) for the Fourth, so I’m fairly certain we were incredibly culturally confused that day.

Donkeys, Elephants and TSPLOST

As I’ve already mentioned, it’s election season here in Georgia. I’ve been covering local races, transportation referendums and conveniently-timed political announcements for a while now and with the primaries Tuesday we’ll have the results for several of these races! I will be happy when the votes are cast and the results are in. Also, in my nerdy journalist way, I’m pretty excited about being in the office on election night so we can report on these races. Nerd? Yes. But you probably already knew that.

The Bad

Fitness fail

Once upon a time I was super excited about training for and running a 5k. Then the crazy-hot Georgia weather kicked in where it was in the 80s and 90s AT NIGHT (not to mention 112 during the day), followed by several weeks of thunderstorms. So I kind of stopped running. There is a 5k in September I still want to try and run. Maybe if I start now I’ll be able to do it!

Can’t-finish-a-project-itis

Yes, I’ve self-diagnosed myself with can’t-finish-a-project-itis. I have a giant “S” I am in the process of painting to hang on the wall above our bed. I’ve been in this process for about two weeks now. I also have lots of ideas that I just need to do. Hopefully I’ll have updates for you soon.

The Ugly

I’m not quite a model

Once upon a time I got a gift card to an online boutique and gleefully visited the site to pick out my prize. I was so excited and got a dress that looked wonderful on the model. When I got it, however, it didn’t look so good on me. The sizing guide said to purchase a size smaller than usual, but it was still too big for me. And you know how something looks awesome on a model and it doesn’t look at all like that on you? The model for this dress looked like she was effortlessly sailing on a grand boat in this beautiful yet carefree dress. I looked like Primrose Everdeen from “The Hunger Games” playing dress-up in Katnise’s reaping dress. Oh well! I’ll be exchanging that one in for another dress and hopefully redeem this unfortunate online shopping disaster.

 

This past weekend I visited friends up in Richmond, Va. Be on the lookout for a post on our fantastic food and friendship adventure.

Please don’t ask a photojournalist to do this…

People have asked me a couple times to do a certain task since I’ve been a working (photo)journalist – sometimes jokingly and sometimes with a straight face.

“Can you just Photoshop this for me?”

I know because of the Internet – between memes, trolls claiming any interesting photo is Photoshopped and the occasional and unfortunate photojournalist who does alter a photo – people know the capabilities of Photoshop and would love for me to give them a facelift or fix their sign in post-production.

Yes, I can. No, I won’t.

The new ‘real life’

A month ago TK and I were on the road to Disney World for our honeymoon. 31 days later we are back to “real life,” but it’s a very different real life than what we were used to.

We’ve started going to a church we both really like. I’m excited to get more involved, but we also know it’s very important to establish our little family and explore our marital dynamics before plunging ourselves into other groups and organizations.

TK’s been working on learning more computer-y things so he can take certification tests for his job. The first test he took he made a 97 percent. Yeah! That’s my smart husband!

First or best – which should journalists strive for?

As a journalist who occasionally works on breaking stories (I work at a weekly so not every story is extremely time sensitive), I’ve been thinking a lot about which is better – being faster than my competitors or putting out a better product than my competitors.

Last week Ann Romney, Mitt Romney’s wife, came to our city for a little meet and greet (and by “little” I mean “insanely packed” and my media badge was the only thing getting me in that room).

After her speech I ran out to get back to the office and post the story. Traffic never seemed so slow…

Alot of words (read before you judge me)

I’m a journalist. Consequently, I like grammar and correct spelling. I’m not saying this blog is written in perfect AP Style or doesn’t resemble a stream of consciousness rather than a well-constructed news story, but I try to adhere to the basic grammar tenets of our wacko language.

That being said, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Alot of Words:

Alot of Words