And I'm Back

It's been a minute. Working means waking up at 6 a.m., leaving for work at around 7 a.m., arriving at work around 8:30 a.m., leaving work at around 5:15 p.m., getting home around 6:30 p.m. Generally it means eating, picking out my clothes for the next day of work, maybe checking e-mail, maybe watching a little T.V.

Then we cycle through that for the next four days.

Luckily, I'm on weekday 9 to 5 for the next several week. Then my schedule changes when I rotate through departments.

But anyway back to the life update.

As I write this I'm sitting in the apartment of one of my best friends Epsilonicus. I came here right after work, because I didn't feel like going straight home. I also had to get my cell phone charger which I left over here a week ago.

This week has been only my second full week of work since starting in television news. I worked a whole week, then was on the road for nine days. Then I worked three days last week.

Chicago was great and it's one of my fav cities. NY was okay too, but still it's too big. It's the T.V. mecca of the world, especially for T.V. news but it's just too much for me. Also, I'm settling in for a long haul without any travel. Next time I'm on the road will be in October when I head to New Orleans for a retreat.

This week has been my real adjustment to work. I'm working the assignment desk which is where we help develop stories, decide whose covering what, set up interviews, and facilitate communication between the reporters and photographers, the editors, engineers, artists and other support staff who help make sure we have what we need to complete the story, and the producers who are in charge of all elements of the show. Next week I'll be split between the desk and writing for the web. Then after that I'll shadow writers and producers who work on the shows.

Speaking of my work as a journalist. Eps and I had a heated discussion about journalists and bias. I said that we always need to be mindful of what separates a journalist, from a commentator and an analyst. If a journalist is doing their job right you won't know their biases are. Yes, biases, opinions and perspectives exist but the time for them is not during your the reporting of your story. Also, just because bias remains doesn't mean you stop trying to keep them out of your stories.

If all our arguments ended our friendship Eps and I wouldn't have been friends for eleven years. Though I sometimes, no most times have a different takes on things, I respect that he is atleast an intellectual.

He characterizes the differences in our philosophies with the following:
"I'm the Huey Newton to your Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr... You're evolution I'm revolution. That's how I look at our point of view about life, and only gotten worst as I've gone to college."

Hopefully more time to update or something profound will make me blog.