Blog EXCLUSIVE!

Sources tell me a well-known Columbus blogger is planning a new venture that will start in 2006.

I've been told it has something to do with Frisbees, and there is already a website in the works for said venture.

Care to take a guess at who this secret blogger is?

525, 600 Minutes

I've been in Columbus for almost a year. If you want to get exact, February 14 is my one year anniversary at WTVM. That's right. I started work on Valentine's Day. One year later, I still don't understand this city. Don't understand what causes people to plant and grow here. Don't understand how the gap between the haves and have-nots got so vast. Don't understand why there's not some sense of community. I have theories, mind you, but not any sort of complete understanding.

I think the thing that has completely thrown me for a loop is the racial tension. I know I'm only 23-years-old, and to some, that might seem like a drop in the ol' proverbial bucket. But, I like to think that in those years, I've acquired some wisdom. I have never been in a place where race issues are living, breathing entities, the pink elephant in every single room. It's trite, naive, and simplistic, but I really don't understand why we can't all get along. I know there's history behind it. U.S. history. A history of believing anybody who wasn't white was lower than anybody who was. That simply isn't true. I hear excuses all the time about so and so who learned racism from their parents. Any kind of racism. There's a time to grow up, and a time to accept the fact that your parents don't know everything. And a time to really look at your opinions and know exactly why they're yours. Because 'that's the way mommy and daddy did it' ain't cuttin' anymore. Know history. Back up what you believe.

That goes for any kind of discrimination too. Nothing, nothing at all, infuriates me more than to hear people pass judgements on someone who is different than them. Does it really matter who loves whom how? No. It's no one's business. Not mine, not my neighbor's, and, despite what he thinks, it's not even the business of the leader of the free world.

Everyone has a right to live how they want to, and no one deserves to be punished for who or what they are.

Kaos, You SUCK!

We both found out about the Sportslady's move this evening, and we both agreed to break the story in our blogs at the same time. But Kaos just couldn't hold his wad. He HAD to be first. Just for that Kaos, no you know what. So there!

On an up note, we both beat one well-known blogger to the punch. Ah, the sweet smell of victory!

Stay tuned for more on tonight's WRBL/WTVM Thanksgiving extravaganza.

We're Headed For A Better Life

Lines from a Keith Urban song, but true words to me, as the days pass faster and faster. Soon, it'll be November a year from now, and anyone who's close to me knows what that means.....

I covered the School of the Americas Watch protest this weekend. For those of you who aren't familiar, the School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC, trains foreign soldiers in different things, including human rights and combat. It's based at Fort Benning. The protestors who come to Columbus each year firmly believe the school teaches soldiers from El Salvador, Colombia, and other Latin American countries to return to their home countries and oppress, torture, and kill people. WHINSEC firmly denies that, and calls the claim insulting. They say they, in fact, teach democracy and human rights.

There are some pretty infamous graduates of SOA/WHINSEC, including Manuel Noriega. Thousands of people show up every year to chant, sing, and yell outside Fort Benning's main gate. This year the number topped 15,000. Another event coincides with the SOA/WHINSEC protest, and that's God Bless Fort Benning Day. A family in town started GBFBD, and they're quick to tell you it's not a counter-protest, but, rather, a show of support for U.S. soldiers. I have a hard time believing that considering it happens at the same time as the protest, and the organizers themselves told me they want GBFBD, which is just like a big carnival complete with food vendors, rides, and musical acts, to send a message to the thousands gathered just outside of Fort Benning. A good number of soldiers show up for GBFBD, but when I talked to them, I found out that, while many enjoyed being away from the base, coming out was not their choice.

I really enjoyed covering the SOA/WHINSEC protest. Do I believe some of what protestors say is extreme? Of course. But I liked seeing that much passion in one place. And I liked the learning aspect. I had to do some pretty extensive research to get up to speed on SOA/WHINSEC and the protest itself. As far as GBFBD goes, I can see why people enjoy it. However, in covering it, I felt like a cheerleader for the Army, and I don't like that.

Thanksgiving is only a few days away and I will be here working. This is the first time ever I'll be away from my family for the holidays. And it's not like I'm away in Chapel Hill. I'm away in Columbus/Phenix City. I think this is going to be my grandfather's last holiday season. He has Parkinson's disease, and needs round-the-clock care now. My mom has moved in with my grandparents to help my grandma take care of him. Before he got sick, he was this strong, opinionated, dignified man. A former professor of speech and drama, he was one of those people whose presence would take up an entire room. As a child, it was intimidating. As I got older, and into my college years, I think I developed into the same type of person he was: dramatic, strong, opinionated, and not able to put up with much shit. I'm having a hard time with the fact that I won't be there this year. But, on the brighter side, I will be home Christmas Eve.

My friend, Alicia, also know as the Harlot, now has her own blog. So, you better check it out!

Roar!

You know what my problem is? I'm a hothead. When something pisses me off, I have a hard time not showing that I'm pissed off. I run into this a lot in the newsroom. Somebody will be rude, or something will happen that I don't agree with, and I just can't play the game and act like I don't care. I get pissy and somewhat passive-agressive because I can't be fully aggressive in that setting. I need to control my attitude, at least at work. Then, when I come home, I can vent it all out by whatever means I choose.

Right here, right now, I'm about 95% certain I'm going to pursue a different career path when my contract is up. I'm trying to take a Kaplan GRE course (it's freaking EXPENSIVE!), and then I'll start applying for grad. school for fall of 2007. I have a friend whose working in D.C. at a research firm. I wouldn't mind doing something like that. Or working for a PAC. Or lobbying, if I really cared about what I was fighting for. Or even doing media relations for a government agency. You don't need a Master's degree for all of this, so I think the plan of attack will be to just start sending resumes and sending grad applications, and seeing what my options are.

I haven't forgotten about law school. I've got that blue suit. I could be AG Janet Reno #2. Sweet.

It's all going to come down to figuring out what I want, which, right now, feels a little bit like wandering around in a dark room trying to find the light switch.

There are some aspects that come with tv that I don't agree with. Of course money is a big deal in anything you do, but I didn't realize, starting out as a naive college graduate, just HOW big a deal it is and how much it influences everything.

Unfortunately, self protection steps in right here. There are too many people that have access to this blog to go into great detail about my opinions. I will say they are very strong, and not incredibly nice. Moving on....

Sean and I got a house! 3 bedroom, hard wood floors, and actually right next to the original one we wanted. We have to put money down on it tomorrow. My mom is helping with part of it, and then Sean is going to use his credit card for part. One day, I will learn how to manage money. If I knew how, maybe I would have saved enough to pay the first month's rent and the rent on my current apartment. Or maybe I would have resorted to old habits, like buying fabulous dresses off of ardenb.com, which happened a couple of nights ago.

The end. (I know, I know. I'm a creative genius!)

It's A Miracle!

Two posts in one day!


You are the Pirates of the Caribbean kiss!

Which Movie Kiss Are You? (With Pics!!!)
brought to you by

Believe It Or Not....

This is the second time I have posted in like five days. However, the first post is somewhere out in cyberspace because I was writing from Sean's computer and it turned itself off, losing everything I had done up to that point. I had too much frustration, and not enough patience, to sit down and re-write the entire entry.

I know I have to address the blog tease I wrote in the post about my vacation. In a nutshell, it was a fabulous time, and, needless to say, it was a little difficult to return to Columbus after being gone for a week. The last picture I posted was from one of the oldest graveyards in North Carolina. It's in Beaufort, a small town that's also home to one of Blackbeard's many houses. While we were on vacation, I got very into taking pictures. Not just the say-cheese-don't-put bunny-ears-on-your-sister-look-like-you-love-each-other type of pictures, but creative ones also. That picture was on of those I took in the graveyard. I would like to take a photography class at some point in the near future. It's something I really enjoy.

Moving on to more recent news.

As soon as our leases on our current apartments are up, Sean and I are moving in together. We've been lazily looking at apartments, rather than aggressively searching. This weekend, Sean came across a few houses for us to look at. We're pretty much decided that we would like to rent a house. I, for one, am tired of apartments. However, I don't have any desire to buy a house because I'm not ready to settle, or even feel like I'm getting anywhere near settling down, in one place. Today, we went to look at one of the houses he found, and it was perfect. Hardwood floors. 3 bedrooms. A small, fenced-in backyard for Katie. Good location. And I could go on and on. We go back to the realty company and tell them we like it, and are interested in going ahead and putting down a deposit. Before you pop the cork on the champagne, they tell us we aren't allowed to rent the house because, individually, we don't make enough money a month. We're not allowed to combine incomes because we're not married. What kind of BS is that? I've never heard that before in my life. First of all, both our names would be on the lease, therefore both of us would be legally obligated to make sure the rent is paid. Second of all, I don't like being made to feel two feet tall because I don't rake in the dough at this point in my life. Has this happened to anyone else? And a better question, is it legal? I talked to Lover, who's in law school, and she believes it's not. Maybe laws are different in Georgia. Who knows.

I'm about a year into my time at WTVM, and I've been trying to figure out where I want to go and what I want to do next. I haven't figured out if I want to keep reporting, get a different type of job completely, or go back to school. I went to CSU today to see about taking a few courses that would go towards an MA in Political Science. I already have a BA. I would take them as a non-degree seeking student, so I wouldn't have to worry about taking the GRE. I learned the only thing resembling masters level courses CSU has is a program in government administration. Disappointing because that's not what I want. My political science concentration at Carolina (the REAL Carolina, not that crap in South Carolina) was international relations, and I'd like to stick with something similar to that. The other thing that keeps running through my head is going to law school and specializing in media law. That's why I haven't taken the GRE. I might need to take the LSAT. I'm going to call Auburn tomorrow and see if I can enroll and take a couple of upper level courses without taking any graduate standardized tests. Bottom line is, I'm not looking to get a degree from any of these schools, so I don't see where it would be a big deal. Hopefully, and this is a keep your fingers crossed kinda thing, I can get into the University of Chicago, or Northwestern, and pursue a Masters, or a law degree, there. NYU has good programs also. I wouldn't mind that either.

Of course, when my time is up here, I'm going to send out tapes also. I'm a firm believer in keeping my options open, and being able to pick and choose.