Make me over...

In other news, I'm getting restless.

I might either try to redesign the look of the site, or move it to my professional site so I only have to update one of them.

And I need a Web cam. Sigh.

I'll keep you posted.

Goals of 2009: A Report Card

Still reeling from the holidays and slightly sluggish at work, it's time to check in on the progress I made on the goals I set about this time last year. Let's see how I did:

1. Forgive my father and deal with the issues I've developed with relationships in general because of my relationship with him so that I can stop hurting. F. Honestly, I haven't tried to work on this so I guess it's a failure.
2. Begin yoga/Pilates/stretching 2-3 times a week to alleviate back pain and increase flexibility, strength. D. Spotty success. I was better about doing it once or so a week while I was training, or if I had back pain, but nothing on a consistent basis. I need to do this to alleviate my back pain.
3. Do 15 -30 minutes of cardio at least once a week; work up to two (or three) times a week by July. B-. Spotty success. I did two 5 K road races this year, so while I was training, I was on top of my cardio. But afterwards, I dropped off significantly. And when the weather turned cold, I gave up entirely. I got on a kick a few times and hit the gym for a week or two straight, but then my interest wained again. I plan to restart running before the new year (consistency is the key to avoiding knee injuries from running) because I'd like to be able to run in the summer. And I'm going to look into taking a class at a gym to combat my boredom with routine workout equipment.
4. Sit up straight. C. Eh. Better at it, but my sister still threatened that I would have a slouch back when I got older if I didn't sit up straight while I was at her house over Christmas.
   
5. Set up a monthly budget cutting out unnecessary expenses and stick to it. A-. I didn't set up a budget, but I did cut out a lot of spending. I still eat lunch out too much, but I tried to keep it at a minimum.
   
6. Set up and begin a payment plan to pay off all credit cards and other debt by July 2010. A+. DONE! I've dipped into it a few times (like for my trip to Spain) but I immediately reimbursed the funds or set up a payment plan to do so.
   
7. Set up another savings account so that I can have three: emergency (3-6 months salary); a life happens fund (for unexpected expenses) and a vacation fund. A. DONE! Instead of it being a vacation fund, I turned my third savings account into my graduate school account and set up weekly deductions from my bank account. It has grown well, but as a result of the additional drain on my paycheck, my other two savings account are pretty much empty. Trying to rectify that.
8. Increase savings contributions to E-trade to finance trip to Spain in fall. Devote tax returns to building up savings reserves and contributing to vacation fund. A+. I did end up using the E-trade (and my checking) to finance Spain, but I've made arrangements to re-up that money. Should be done by the middle of January. Unsure what to do with my tax returns for this year -- grad school or general savings? But definitely it's going in the bank.
9. Do something every month to pamper myself. Get a mani/pedi. Get my hair done. Get a massage. Take a long bath. Buy myself something nice. B-. Failing more at this. I've done some things and it was much easier in the summer to do these types of things. But some of the things I did were: mani/pedis, hair appointments (it's pretty healthy now!), the trip to Spain, visits to my sister in NYC, bubble baths.
   
10. Try out a new healthy recipe at least once a month. Build up my repetoire to include more than fried foods and fatty sauces. C-. Alas, a failure. I started off strong, but fell off at some point. I think I'm up to 9 now and there are only a few more days left in the year. I think my other problem was that I tried some recipies, but they weren't necessarily healthy. Seeking to rectify that in 2010.
    
11. Eat out at a new restaurant at least once a month. Use this time to try different cuisines and experiment. D+. Marginal success. I've tried some new things, mostly at the begining of the year, but in the second half, I reverted back to my old standbys (P.F. Chang's anyone?). I'd like to change this in 2010 as well.
    
12. Read. Whatever I want. Magazines. Books. Whatever. Just read. A-. SUCCESS! I got subscriptions to two magazines -- Women's Health and In Style, and I read a boatload of books, including: The Namesake, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Drown, The Time Traveler's Wife, Olive Kitteridge,
13. Go see "Raisin in the Sun" at Trinity Jan. 30 - March 30. Go see a show on Broadway with Setta B. A+. DONE and DONE. Setta B. and I went to go see Phantom of the Opera and it was fantastic. We plan to see another play in the next two months as well.
14. Keep clips up and network; send update mailings to potential employees two times a year (March and September, maybe?) C+. Marginal fail. I didn't do updated mailings, but I networked well at the NABJ conference in August. I plan on sending out updated packets this spring/summer before I begin graduate school so people can be on the lookout for me.
15. Write something that makes me proud, whether it wins any award or not. A. SUCCESS. I can't point to a particular story, but I think my court coverage has been pretty solid this year. I definitely see areas where I'd like to improve, but overall, I think I've done pretty well for myself as a reporter this year. I may not win an award (I didn't have any sexy stories) but I'm proud of my work.
16. Find an organization to volunteer with and do so, regularly. Can either be one organization with a long term commitment, or various organizations with one time commitments F-. EPIC FAIL. I tried volunteering with a sorority, but got the brush off. Then I lost motivation to find another place. I want to change that in 2010.
    
17. Go on dates with the BF that (sometimes) require more than just driving to Boston and cooking food. C-. Not sure how I document this. We've done some stuff -- Maxwell concert, comedy show -- that were cool. And we go to the movies a lot. But nothing necessarily off of the beaten path. I'll try to work on that more.
18. Take pictures to document life and stretch my creative muscles. B+. Marginal success, again. I took a photography class this fall at the Rhode Island School of Design which I loved. I was able to take portrait, landscape, indepth and self-portrait shots and I think I did pretty well. I also took a ton of pictures in Spain. I'm a little dismayed at my lack of a camera, but it's not a priority for me at this juncture. I have graduate school to pay for. I just need to start using my point and shoot more often.
19. Start doing crosswords to exercise my mind. B+. DONE. Not on a regular basis, but I bought a NY Times Crossword puzzle book and I do it periodically. The BF and I also do crosswords together on Yahoo every so often.
20. Be present at all times. Start each day as if it were on purpose, not an accident. A-. I feel like I've done a pretty decent job with this. I've tried to be more cheerful and appreciative of the things I'm doing, but I'll admit I still like to zone out once in a while. Again, something I plan to work on this year.
    

So, based on my crude math, I got a C+. Funny, I don't feel like I had a C+ year. Maybe the things that I thought were important to me at the beginning of the year, turned out to not be so important. Guess that goes to show you what the critics always knew: grades don't mean much.

Scattered Shots before the Holiday

Tonight, I'm heading to visit my sister for the Holy Day. A couple of observations about this Christmasy season:

• I've got to learn to travel better. It always stresses me out. Mostly because I make umpteen unnecessary lists and check them 3 million times before packing. And then I always pack a little extra. I gotta learn to be like my photographer friend, who travelled in China for two weeks with a single carryon. I'm going to be gone for 4 days and I feel like I brought 1/2 my closet with me.
  
• Personal inventory post coming again soon. I have to check and see how I've been doing with those resolutions I made oh, about this time last year.
  
• I'm going to be a student again in -- count 'em -- 8 months. Whew. I'm so not ready.
• I am however, ready to be surrounded by my friends again -- Veronica, Soraya, Darby, Jarrod, and everyone else in the DMV -- I'm looking at you.
  
• Though I'll have friends a plenty, I have a feeling this won't be like undergrad. At all.
  
• I'm glad I got my Christmas shopping early. But Oyin, tell me why did I order from you on December 3 and JUST GOT MY ORDER TODAY? Everyone else I ordered from was able to give me my purchases within days. Failure to you, Oyin. Failure. (Amendment: Setta B pointed out that everything Oyin makes is handmade, so it results in a little bit of a delay in shipping. So I guess I'll give them a pass.)
  
• I think I'm going to spend the first quarter of 2010 selling things that I'm purging from my house. Where do you guys sell? Ebay? Etsy? I could use some money for school and I need to simplify my life so it's easier to pack come fall.
  
• I think that's it. Merry Christmas!
  

So, after being chastised at a professional convention for not having multimedia and online clips, I decided to create a Web site.

After some tinkering -- BAM -- here's what I came up with:

www.taliabuford.com

Once I start doing more multimedia, I'll be adding in my slideshows, videos and photos to another page in the site.

Let me know what you think.

I'm taking all suggestions and compliments. :-)

Awesome quotes

Been stumbling across some great quotes lately. Figured I'd share.

"Nothing is too small to know and nothing too big to attempt." -- William Van Horne

"What is written without effort is, in general, read without pleasure." -- Samuel Johnson

"I understand newspapers are a business, (but) I wish newspapers made money to do a better job of serving the readers." -- Geneva Overholser

"Most of us, particularly those of us who would like to think we are wordsmiths, think that we can tell something to someone one time and they will understand it. My experience has proven to me that the odds of that happening are very low indeed." -- Jay T. Harris.

"We aren't that smart. You did the Stanky Leg." -- Me.

On Self Esteem

From the father of a friend of mine:

"You gotta be able to say 'I like me. And if you don't like me, f*ck you, 'cause I like me.'"

I heard that.

It's July -- Time to Take Stock

The year is half gone so I figured now is a good time to check in on how I'm doing with my goals I set for myself at the beginning of the new year.

1. Forgive my father and deal with the issues I've developed with relationships in general because of my relationship with him so that I can stop hurting. . Seriously, I haven't thought about this much. I'm kinda starting to think that while I'm sure the relationship affected me, that he doesn't really have anything to do with how I act in relationships now. Those actions are things that I control. I may revisit this later, but right now, I'm not compelled to.
   
2. Begin yoga/Pilates/stretching 2-3 times a week to alleviate back pain and increase flexibility, strength. Man. I don't know why I stopped this. When I was doing this (during my training for the 5K) I had less back pain and my posture was on point. My back hurts as I type this. I need to get back on this.
   
3. Do 15 -30 minutes of cardio at least once a week; work up to two (or three) times a week by July. So, about that. As you know, I ran a 5K in May, so I did cardio regularly -- about 2-3 times a week. I'm also running another race on July 19, which I've been running about 2 times a week for on good weeks. I'm not up to my goal yet, but that's something to strive for.
   
4. Sit up straight. Doing better. I was doing great with it when I was regularly doing yoga, starting to slack more now. I need to get back on it.
   
5. Set up a monthly budget cutting out unnecessary expenses and stick to it. Eh. Not a strict budget, although I have been putting more money into my savings account and striving to pack my lunch, vs. buying it daily.
   
6. Set up and begin a payment plan to pay off all credit cards and other debt by July 2010. Done. I'll be (credit card) debt free by Spring 2010
   
7. Set up another savings account so that I can have three: emergency (3-6 months salary); a life happens fund (for unexpected expenses) and a vacation fund. Done. I opened an E-Trade account a few months ago to get better returns
   
8. Increase savings contributions to E-trade to finance trip to Spain in fall. Devote tax returns to building up savings reserves and contributing to vacation fund. I did increase my contributions to the E-trade account, but it won't be to finance my Spain trip. Instead, that's the account I'll be using to save up money for grad school in 2010 -- I told ya'll I got in, right?
   
9. Do something every month to pamper myself. Get a mani/pedi. Get my hair done. Get a massage. Take a long bath. Buy myself something nice. I'm slacking on this, but I have started making regular appointments with a hair dresser and got a mani/pedi a few weeks ago that was fantastic.
   
10. Try out a new healthy recipe at least once a month. Build up my repetoire to include more than fried foods and fatty sauces. I'm a little behind, but I've got 5 Healthy Recipes up so far. So I'm two behind. I'll make it up though!
    
11. Eat out at a new restaurant at least once a month. Use this time to try different cuisines and experiment. Not doing so great at this. I need to look around and find some places I want to go.
    
12. Read. Whatever I want. Magazines. Books. Whatever. Just read. Yes! I just finished the Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and I just ordered subscriptions to Women's Health and InStyle Magazine. I'm excited!
    
13. Go see "Raisin in the Sun" at Trinity Jan. 30 - March 30. Go see a show on Broadway with Setta B. I did go see Raisin in the Sun! It was pretty good. I'd never seen it before, so I was pleasantly surprised. I still need to find a show to go see with Setta on Broadway. Sis, if you're reading, let me know if you hear of a good show!
    
14. Keep clips up and network; send update mailings to potential employees two times a year (March and September, maybe?) I'll have to put some clips together for the NABJ convention in August. That will likely count as my mailing for the fall. I'll do another in the Spring, before I go to grad school.
    
15. Write something that makes me proud, whether it wins any award or not. I've been pretty proud of some of the trial coverage I've done so far, but I'd like to do a big project or something intensive that I'm also proud of as well.
    
16. Find an organization to volunteer with and do so, regularly. Can either be one organization with a long term commitment, or various organizations with one time commitments Still haven't found anything, but honestly, haven't looked very hard after getting discouraged earlier this year.
    
17. Go on dates with the BF that (sometimes) require more than just driving to Boston and cooking food. We've done movies, bowling, amusement parks, small gatherings and even an art show or two. Not a complete success because I could be doing more, but it's a start.
    
18. Take pictures to document life and stretch my creative muscles. Epic fail. I've been forgetting to document big things - like events -- in my life, let alone just the regular mundane things. I'll strive to do better with this.
    
19. Start doing crosswords to exercise my mind. Sporadically.
20. Be present at all times. Start each day as if it were on purpose, not an accident. Getting better at it, day by day.

A little belated Independence

It was about 5 p.m. when we started making moves.

My morning was spent in Providence, shopping it up and running (yet somehow, still failing) close to 3 miles in preparation for a race in a few weeks. The BF was there so we hopped in DeeDee and headed towards the Bean -- a friend was having a barbecue we were going to drop through.

Now, this was huge. Ever since I've been in RI, I have wanted to go to a real barbecue. Not just grilled meat in someone's dining room. A barbecue. With music. And watermelon. And pie. And people I don't know. Yeah, I wanted to go to a BBQ. So the BF and I were pretty excited about actually having plans this Independence Day.

They got cut short when we realized that none of our other friends were going to the shindig. And while we were cool with the host, we didn't want to be the only ones we knew there. So as we pulled onto his street around 5 p.m., the plan had already been hatched.

I bought a tabletop grill and charcoal on Friday, because I had a feeling I might want to barbecue this weekend. It was still in the trunk because I'd been too lazy to bring it into the house. But we needed something to grill. We hopped into the car and made a mad dash for the liquor store.

Allow me to explain. GQ had a feature on Fizz -- the bubbly carbonation added to some "adult" drinks. They came with three recipes and the BF and I decided to try a few of them out. We needed to get ingredients from the liquor store because, well, who knows how long they'd be open on a holiday. And you can have a holiday without hot dogs. You cannot have one without cocktails.

Two liquor stores later, we make it to Stop & Shop, split up and grab the fixings for a simple barbecue: beef patties, Ball Parks and baked beans. I already had some chicken marinating in the fridge.

We get to the house and unload our bounty. I ask the BF to assemble the grill -- I figure it's a tabletop, it couldn't take that much, right? I'm unpacking the groceries when I see him whizz by me, grab my car keys and say he'll be right back. I keep unpacking. Five minutes later, I'm done and I head to the back porch to check on the grill progress.

There was little. The BF had gone to get a screwdriver because they didn't have a good one in the house.

I wasn't prepared to wait.

I grabbed a folding chair and whipped out the instructions. I couldn't believe a $20 grill could be this complicated. I started twisting on washers and hand tightening things and before you know it, the BF was standing at the door behind me.

"What step are you on," he asked, a screw driver in his hand.

I peek at the directions. "Six." Of nine steps. He assembles the legs to the grill and we decide that really, we didn't need the screwdriver because everything could be tightened by hand. With a grill firmly assembled, I set about making my first charcoal fire.

The BF was assigned a more important task: mixing up those fabled cocktails.

First, I tried putting the coals in a single layer on the grill floor. They lit, but soon extinguished. So I turned to the Internet. As the sounds of "Summertime" played from the BF's speakers, I googled "how to start a charcoal fire."

I love the Internet.

In no time, I learned I needed to assemble the coals in a pyramid shape. And possibly throw some little newspaper balls (pause) in the midst to keep the fires burning. I assembled, lit and waited. It was getting dark and I was getting hungry. I went to check on the coals. Some were glowing, some were ashen, others were black. I rearranged the black coals so they could get more heat and threw a few more paper balls into the mix. By the time I'd whipped up an impromptu macaroni salad (please get like me), my coals were glowing red and ashen. It was time to cook.

It was about 7:30 when I put the first pieces of chicken on the grill. The vinegar in the marinade made it flame up, and I worried that maybe barbecuing in the dark on a wooden porch wasn't a good idea. I tried to arrange the various meats around the grill so they'd get varying levels of heat. Chicken in the hotter places, burgers next and hot dogs around the perimeter.

Meanwhile, the BF stumbled upon what I believe is my new boogie: the Gin Fizz. And it's super simple: equal parts gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda. That's it! And it tastes like divine lemonade.

It didn't take long for the food to cook and I even caught a glimpse of some fireworks from over the treeline in the backyard. I piled the cooked meat into a disposable pan and headed inside.

"Food's ready, guys," I yelled to the BF, his roomie (Magic) and another friend who'd popped by. We fixed our plates, dilly-dallied a bit and then sat down to eat. By the middle of my pasta salad, I started to feel the fizz creep up on me. The BF and I sat amazed at how (relatively) simple this had all been. And while we were always sulking about not having a barbecue to go to, we realized, it's not that hard to throw one. We did it in about 3 hours.

Now we just gotta find some people to invite.

Never Can Say Goodbye

I didn't even notice the gloves.

I'm halfway watching the memorial to Michael Jackson, who died a week and a half ago as he was preparing to launch his comeback/retirement tour. And I just got a glimpse of his brothers, who were the pallbearers, all wearing MJ's signature sparkly glove on one hand.

In the time since his death, it's been wall to wall coverage of Mike, a lot of it good, fitting, loving tributes to a man who had such an impact on so many people and to music as we know it. I remember the night he died, I had to run back to the newsroom to get by badge. A copy editor remarked that it was hard to imagine what music will be like without him.

"He's the king," I said. "Music is the way it is because of him."

The copy editor agreed (and added James Brown, which I concurred with) and we went about our way.

I'm not going to wax poetic about Mike. I thought he was great and enjoyed his music, a realization I came to only after his death. As radio stations and televisions played his songs in constant rotation, I found myself unable to control my dancing. My joy. Controversial, troubled or not, MJ was a genius who brought so much fun to his music. And you felt it with every beat.

This wasn't what I planned to write about today, but I can't think of anything else. I sit across from the TV in the newsroom and I feel like my eyes have been glued to the screen (with barely no sound) all afternoon.

Just kinda wish this all wasn't happening.

We Had Him

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.
We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.
His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.
And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.
We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square.
In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael.
But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
- Maya Angelou

Can you spell that for me?

How Popular is your name?

From the WashPost:

The Social Security Administration's list of the top baby names of 2008 has been released. And, once again, topping the list are ... drumroll, please ... Jacob and Emma. Do those names sound awfully familiar? That may be because Jacob has topped the list for a decade and Emma was third last year, behind Emily and Isabella. Isabella, by the way, is second again this year and Emily is third. Emily had led the list of girls' names for 12 years before getting the bump. ...

Fast-moving risers in the name game, Social Security says are Chloe (10) and Khloe (up to 196 in 2008 from 665 in 2007), Miley (yes, we can thank Miley Cyrus for that one) and Jacoby. Barack managed not to make the list, though it did skyrocket from 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008.

My name comes in at a solid 389, while similar names come in at: 77 (Aaliyah), 544 (Jaliyah), and 879 (Thalia). I just wasted a good five minutes plugging in the names of my relatives and friends.

So, how popular is your name?

Hot Days, Cool Reads

It's getting warm and I'm hearing about all of these great books that I need to read. I had a bunch of titles on a list from a few years ago -- some that I've bought -- but these seem interesting and I'm really excited about reading them -- especially Lost Paradise and the Diaz book. Here are just a few of the books I'm interested in reading this summer.

What's on your summer reading list?

Lost Paradise: From Mutiny on the Bounty to a Modern-Day Legacy of Sexual Mayhem, the Dark Secrets of Pitcairn Island Revealed by Kathy Marks - Pitcairn Island was first settled more than 200 years ago by Fletcher Christian and other mutinous crew members of the HMS Bounty, along with several Polynesian women from neighboring islands; the community has always been small, but a mythology has built up around it as a remote, idyllic paradise. Pitcairn is thoroughly civilized, agrees Marks, a British journalist based in Australia, except in one respect... children were almost routinely raped and assaulted. The book tells the story uncovered by one of six journalists allowed on Pitcairn to cover the trials of several islanders accused of repeated sexual abuse of teenage and pre-adolescent girls.

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead -- The year is 1985 and 15-year-old Benji Cooper, one of the only black students at his elite Manhattan private school, leaves the city to spend three largely unsupervised months living with his younger brother Reggie in an enclave of Long Island's Sag Harbor, the summer home to many African American urban professionals. Benji's a Converse-wearing, Smiths-loving, Dungeons & Dragons-playing nerd whose favorite Star Wars character is the hapless bounty hunter Greedo (rather than the double-crossing Lando Calrissian). But Sag Harbor is a coming-of-age novel whose plot side-steps life-changing events writ large.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) -- The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.

This is it?

So, I promptly ended my Facebook fast about 17 minutes ago.

It was pretty anticlimactic, I have to say.

I never believed I was an addict, but I did frequently check Facebook and Twitter to pass the time at work. Then my sister issued her challenge. And I realized they are all just serious time wasters and not as interesting as I originally thought.

In the days when Facebook was forbidden, I longed really, to just post my pictures from the Cancer race and receive the accolades that I'm sure would pour in on account of my accomplishments. In its absence, I turned to my blog to post about my triumph. I Google chatted with friends and basically just told them what was up. That was cool.

But when I logged on today, first I wasn't about to take the time to post my pictures (I'm on the clock, afterall). So I cleared out my inbox and checked my friend requests. Some parties in Atlanta and Virginia that I'm not going to. One person wrote on my wall. I was tagged in two pictures. Not super exciting stuff.

I gotta say I was disappointed. I think my hiatus from Facebook made me think it was so much more than it really was. And now that I see it for what it is, it's just kinda like a letdown.

All that to say, I'll be back on Facebook probably this afternoon, checking up on friends, posting pictures and possibly playing WordTwist. It's a time waster, but hey, I like it.

My name is T-Dot and I'm a Social Network addict

So, I'm on a social network fast. Unfortunately, it's not by choice.

While I was at the cancer walk this weekend, I was talking to my sister who claimed I was a social network addict, thanks to a handy dandy quiz she'd just seen on the local news.

How often did I check Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? The first two, usually two or three times a day, the latter, when I get an update.

There were a few other questions, but I forget them. Either way she told me I was addicted. I told her I could stop anytime I wanted to. She held me to it.

So, from Sunday, May 3 to midnight on Friday, May 8, I am not allowed to Tweet, check Facebook, write on walls, or otherwise engage in social networking.

It was fine earlier this week because I didn't really have Internet access. But today was my first day at work and my normal routine is to check Facebook or Twitter while I wait for people to return calls. And I've got those pictures from the weekend burning a hole in my camera. I need to post them to Facebook. How else will people know what I've done?

What's worse is that it seems to be everywhere I turn. Veronica's mentioning a magic post on Facebook. I'm doing a story about how Twittering, Facebook and blogs are changing the way judges instruct juries in an effort to curb mistrials. Plus, I want to update my statuses so I can get people to say congrats to me for running my race. By Thursday, no one will care.

Anyway, so I write this post, instead of checking Facebook, or Tweeting, or writing my story, to say that I'm going through withdrawal. Got. To. Stay. Strong.

It's a gorgeous day today, seriously

So, I didn't get into the Yale program.

Remember I was applying for grad schools? I got a rejection letter yesterday from Yale. I guess it was expected since I'd started out the week with a rejection from this program, I figured why break the streak? Now I'm just waiting for my Georgetown rejection letter. Kinda makes me regret spending the application fee and postage (I overnighted both of them).

Anyway, it was crazy because I got this suspect letter and was like, wtf? no return address on the front. I knew it was a rejection letter. Either that or a plea for money. So I opened it (and see Yale on the envelope flap) and knew I didn't get in. Remember when you were in high school and they talked about the fat envelope vs. the skinny envelope? Yeah, I figure the same applies for grad schools. And my envelope was thin as a mug.

I wasn't even upset about it. I just text the BF like "I didn't get into Yale." He called back immediately and I didn't even bring it up. It was kind of a non issue. Whatever. Yale doesn't know what they're missing.

I was cleaning my house yesterday (after I cleaned my car on that gloriously beautiful Saturday!) and ran across some old newspapers I'd saved forever to mount as clips but never got around to. I decided to toss them since a) I use electronic or web print outs now and b) I've written better stuff since I saved those papers, so I wouldn't use those as clips anyway. Anyway, I was reading some of my old stories and I used to be really good. Well, okay, I used to be good. I did a lot more features when I was in the bureaus because we needed centerpieces. Now that I'm in the main newsroom, most of my stories are briefs or my big features get whittled down to shorts (did I mention a 40 inch story I wrote on domestic violence -- that everyone thought was banging -- got cut in half? And still hasn't run? They're going to make me stop reporting as much because soon as I put in a national expert, when it comes time to print, they just cut them anyway. Save my time and post an update to twitter or something instead.)

So yeah, that was a nice trip down memory lane.

Then, I get a text in the middle of the night from Vandy about this foolishness at my alma mater:

An 18-year-old man shot the night manager and another man inside a Hampton University dorm before turning the gun on himself, police and school officials said Sunday. All three were hospitalized.

No students were injured in the shooting reported about 1 a.m., Hampton police said.

The suspect, who is from Richmond, shot two Hampton men, ages 62 and 43, before shooting himself, police said in a statement.

The shooter is a former student and the older victim is the night manager of the dormitory, Harkness Hall, said school spokeswoman Yuri Rodgers Milligan.

It's like, is the entire world going crazy? I don't know if the two men have died. I think when I first heard about it, I was upset because I thought it was students who were causing silly drama. I'm a firm believer that thugs don't go to college, so if you're in a university, you shouldn't be packing heat or slanging rock. It's just an oxymoron. But when I read the story, I can so see how it happened. Our security is so lax on campus that people can literally just walk on. And from what I hear, the kid was in school last semester, but wasn't enrolled this spring, so it wasn't like people would have been alarmed to see him walking around campus. I just wonder what beef he had with Harkness Hall. My prayers are going out to the entire HIU community.

I've been busy

Actually, no. I've just been tired.

I feel like I did like two trials non-stop last month. I didn't. But the one I did do was a doozy that my newsroom was having wet dreams over so it was causing me much angst. First day of testimony, they're like, give me 175-190 lines.

'scuse me? That's like 25 to 30 inches, sir. People seem to think a bunch of stuff happens during a day of testimony, like it does on TV. They lie. This is how testimony goes in real life.

Prosecutor: What's your name?
Witness: Joe Smith.
P: Where are you employed?
W: Widgets and Stuff.
P: What do yo do there?
W: I'm a janitor
P: How long have you been there?
W: 15 years
P: Do you have a family?
W: Yes.
P: Are you married?
W: Yes.
P: To whom?
W: Sally Smith.
P: How long have you been married?
W: 25 years.
P: Did you have chance to be working on March 23, 2005?
W: yes I did.
P: And how did you start that day?
W: I cleaned the trash cans and picked my nose and read people's mail like I always do. ....

But it takes a lot longer than it took you to read that. Trust me. And cats don't want to believe me when I tell them that

Pause for the cause.

I think Dan Barry just walked into my newsroom. Ahh, I think he's speaking (or spoke) at a journalism class taught by one of my colleagues. Apparently he's got local ties. From wiki: Dan Barry is a reporter for The New York Times. His column, "About New York", appeared on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the NY Region section of the paper. While working for the Providence Journal-Bulletin in 1994, Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting after exposing corruption in the Rhode Island court system. Well, dang.

Back to our regularly scheduled post.

So anyway, they want me to pull 30 inches of crap out of my neck when they don't understand that the first few witnesses aren't necessarily the juicy ones. Like, they have to set scene and establish all these things before they get to the juicy stuff. Let ME -- the person who sat in court all day -- tell you how much I can pull out of my neck, please.

But I wrote it anyway. Here it is. I got in trouble for not having enough attribution. I complied in later stories.

So after that, I started writing this other story that keeps getting held. Shoot, actually two stories. I know it's the nature of the beast, it just is MAD irritating. Because they keep coming to me with stuff that's in the story asking me about it. And I fix it, or bring their point up higher in the story and the joints still haven't run. Someone kill me.

Beyond that, training has been beating me. And I'm lazy. I did do 30 minutes of core strengthening yoga this afternoon followed by a 45 minute run/walk that covers the 3.1 miles I'll be running on May 2. I was proud because I got further than I had been before I stopped to walk, but still kinda discouraged because I had to stop. I'm building up slowly, so I figured it best to at least get used to the distance, even if I didn't run it the entire time. I ran in intervals. So I guess that's improvement, huh?

I'm hungry and I'm about to go to a Town Council budget workshop session. Joy.

Since I've been gone

A few things, since I haven't updated in forever:

I didn't get my hair done. Loser, right? I was in the middle of covering a murder trial and I wasn't committed to paying for someone to do my hair for the Follies.

So I did it myself instead.

It's not the same style. I originally did two strand twists with the intent to do a twist out the night of the show (an old standby from Follies past). But then, I twisted up a few of the twists and realized it looked pretty cute as it was. So I left it. Here it is:

I'll post a better picture a little lower.

So anyway, the Follies were a hit. The show went off pretty well and I only forgot a few of my words -- That's a success in my eyes.

I didn't get mentioned, but the Phoenix gave us a pretty good review. Overall, we've been getting a lot of good feedback about the show. I wasn't in that many numbers -- I think three, not counting the opener and closer, so it was a low key night for me. Which was actually good because I wasn't completely exhausted as I have been in previous years where I'm on stage constantly. This year, I played Sasha Obama with another coworker and sung a song about how cute we Obama girls are, I was in a song about the layoffs at my newspaper, and I was in a song about Steve Alves - a former senator in West Warwick who was ousted by a baker. Good times indeed.

In other news, the BF went with me to the show. I fought him on the outfit (which was his idea) but we turned out to be "the best dressed couple in Swansea." I'll take it. He was excited about the Urkel glasses. I was skeptical at first, but they turned out to be a nice addition.

After the show, we went out to a local bar and hung out with some of my coworkers and the other folks who went to the show. Then we went to my coworker's house and played Rockband until like, 3:30, 4 a.m. It was ridiculous. A good night though. A really good night.

At work, things have been kinda rocky -- no pun intended. We laid off an additional 100 people, including two of my favorite office assistants ever in life. They were my friends -- one even my "adopted mom" who always looked out for me when I first came to the Journal and was assigned to her bureau. I didn't get a chance to say goodby because I've been working on a murder trial and was out of the office most days. After they got the news, thankfully the company didn't make them continue to work - like they did the last round of layoffs we had. So when I came in to joke with one of them, their desks were cleared out. Good for them, sad for me. I'm going to get some cards and write nice notes to them and send them to them, because I honestly don't know if I'll see them again. Which is pretty sad.

The good note is that, as I mentioned, I've been covering a murder trial the last few weeks. You know I LOVE trials right? You do. Anyway, I think I've been writing some really good stories -- I even got front page two days in a row. Yesterday, I was the front page centerpiece! How cool is that? Wanna read my stuff? Here's some of it. You can also google me. I got hits, yo.

Bishop tells his story

Alfred "Freddie" Bishop guilty in 2007 murder

Brother of slaying victim tells of fatal struggle with intruder in Warwick home

And I was a freaking blog superstar all during the trial. I was calling in updates, e-mailing posts and just all around being a "blog-centered" superstar. I rock. Hard.

Anyway, um, other than that, things have been cool. I'm completely slacking on my exercise, which I fully plan to get back on this weekend. I've just been pooped lately. But I gotta start running again or I'll never be ready for this 5K. Oh, and just in case you haven't already, there's still time to donate!

It's getting kinda hectic

A few things, randomly:

• I just filed my taxes!
• I filed them so early because I wanted my return, but mostly because I needed to file my FASFA. I would have filed them sooner if I'd gotten all of my documents a little earlier.
  
• I'm scared out of my mind of applying to school.
• Oh yeah, I'm applying to school. There are two really cool Master's programs I'm applying for. One at Yale and another at Georgetown.
  
• I'd planned to apply for the 2010 school year, but the state of the economy and pending layoffs at my job made me want to, at least, apply so I'd be in the position to turn it down if necessary.
• I made this decision on Monday. One of the applications is due Feb. 15.
  
• Three other people in my department have to be laid off before I lose my job. The company wants to lose 500 positions throughout the entire company (across a number of newspapers)
  
• I'll be writing my essay this weekend.
• I'm not so much worried about getting accepted, but rather paying for it all.
  
• I'm debating what I want to do with my return -- pay down my credit card debt, pay some on my credit debt and put the rest into savings, or put it all into savings
• I've knocked off some of my goals for this year, well, at least one. I got to go see Raisin in the Sun yesterday -- for free -- because a friend of mine works at the theatre.
• I'd never seen Raisin in the Sun or read the play.
  
• I've bought "The Little Black and White book of Crosswords" -- it's a collection of NYTimes crosswords of increasing difficulty.
  
• I've yet to do one without looking -- at least once -- at the answers in the back.
  
• Blue Streak is on. Remember that? All I can think of is the Jay Z single with the CGI images of diamonds floating in the air.
• I can't be the only one who remembers that.
• Yes, I'm watching it now.
• I've been doing pretty well with trying new restaurants as well. I went to a sushi restaurant with my friend Brandie (yay, sushi!) in January. I've got my eye on this Mexican restaurant for this month. It'll be that unless something else interesting catches my eye.
• Mmm, I need to do my bible reading. My sister and I are reading the Bible in a year.
  
• I didn't do yesterday's reading, so I really need to catch up.
  
• I think I'll do that now.
  

Considering the crack

I think I might be breaking down because it just. keeps. calling. my. name.

I might get a smartphone.

Shussh. Don't tell nobody.

So, here's how this potential breakdown/silent protest against the 24 hour workday came about.

The BF has an iPhone. You've seen them. They're cool. And so daggone functional. Like, oh, we're going out to the mall, let me scroll to Bank of America to check my account balance. Some downtime on the train? Veronica just put up a funny facebook status. Wanna make an appointment to get fitted? Let me check my calendar.

Like I said. Super functional.

And here's how I came to envy it. (I know, horrible, right?)

I'm all about paper planners. I love the idea of writing things down and making notes and being able to flip through pages. But it's becoming a lot less convenient. I'm all on my Outlook tip these days, using the calendar and contacts function and e-mailing up a storm with my boss. So, as I'm talking to a source who wants me to stop by Town Hall on Thursday, I just go to my calendar, type in the info and tell him I'll see him then.

I don't transfer it to the paper calendar. Which becomes a problem.

So when I'm not near my computer, I literally have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing on any given day. I feel like I'm just drifting through space because I don't have those little white boxes (on the teal background, thank you) telling me that I need to check on that child porn case from 2 to 2:30 p.m. I also would love having access to all of my contacts on my phone, especially since with the new position, I spend a lot of my time in the courthouse away from my Rolodex (yes, I was old school until I upgraded) and Outlook contacts.

Now, the obvious problem with getting a smartphone will be that it will cost me money. Probably lots of it over the course of life. Actually, let's do some math.

My monthly bill now is about $60. Which means that for a year, I pay roughly $720 to call and text all the important and/or necessary people in my life. The data/internet/call/text plan I'd have to get from Sprint is about $99, which would up my bill to $1,188.

In case you missed it, that would be an additional $468 a year -- an extra $39 a month.

And I'm not sure I want the committment.

Today, I bugged an AP reporter in court about his (work sponsored) Palm and how he liked it (he's addicted) and talked to my girl over sushi about her Blackberry (she wants me to get one). But I'm not sure. Some of them are kinda ugly. This one seems to do what I want. Not sure how I feel about the design. And everyone and their mama have the Blackberry Curve it seems.

The BF did find this one, which makes me drool. It links your AIM and text message conversations with one person so you can see them in one place. And it's touch screen.

I don't know if I can deal.

The List

You're supposed to bold all of the things on the list you've done. I don't think I've done too badly. Definitely a few more I'd like to try. And a handful I'll do just about anything to avoid.

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (Trombones stand up!)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (I was in a car that climbed Mt. Washington)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (senior year voice class at Hampton)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (my mom had a garden when I was growing up)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (I'm counting Shaker Village)
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (Oh so fresh and oh so clean)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (I served as a model for a watercolor class last year)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (got the badges to prove it!)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (overdraft on debit cards count?)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Oh, Christmas Tree

I was going to put up a tree this year. I promise I was.

I went to Target and bought a thrifty artificial one -- that is still in the box on my living room floor.

I have ornaments, including the ones Jessie and I exchange each year.

But, with less than a week to go before Christmas, and me literally days away from traveling to NYC to visit my sister, I realized it wasn't worth it. Plus, all the presents I had so lovingly wrapped for friends and family were shipped off (at the cost of $50!) or otherwise delivered last week.

So again, what's the point?

Thankfully, the BF and his roommate, the Magic man, were decorating their tannenbaum and allowed me to join them. See the Christmas pin in full effect??

We decked Magic's 7 foot tree. His reasoning for getting such a large tree? "If you're taller than your tree, it's a Charlie Brown tree."

I disagree, obviously.

We strung the lights and hung the bulbs all while the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory played in the living room. (Aside, have you seen that movie? Gene Wilder, though not as disturbing as Johnny Depp in the remake, is pretty peculiar. And the oompa loompas? Absolutely fantastic.)

We had to make sure we broke out the tinsel and fake snow, Gigli was in the house.

We'd hung all the bulbs and admired our work. All that was left, was to hang the star. But being that Greg got the most ginormous tree he could find, there were some technical difficulties.

Four hands were able to finally get the star in it's rightful place. Just when we thought we were done...

The candy canes!

Greg and I hung the peppermint treats high enough to keep out of Deuce's hungry grasp.

Here's the final result:

Merry Christmas, indeed.