It strange, but more and more recently, I have found myself unsatisfied with life.

I’m hesitant to say that something is missing because it’s not like very much has disappeared, but things that used to make me happy no longer do.

For instance: writing.

I don’t know what it is. It started with a simple blog funk at the end of the summer where not only did I wrap up this one, but I also posted fewer and fewer MySpace blogs, which had previously been my primary method of procrastination.

I feel a little like I’m wandering down a road that’s really a dream road that keeps pushing me in directions I didn’t expect.

Instead, I am finding little diversions to keep me busy. Which is good for a little while, but then what?

Which is why I am applying to programs. This way, when I’m out of my funk and back on track I won’t have lost too much ground.

*I Hope*

My internship is officially over! And it ended in the most interesting way.

Our JimmyTube video for this week featured Champ Bailey, who by the way is a Broncos player. Unfortunately, the NFL restrictions limit our publication to 45 seconds of player interviews, voices, or action on the practice field, which has to be removed from the Internet within 24 hours. This left us to compromise in creative ways.

Which is why Champ was cardboard. Not only was he cardboard, but he was a Fathead cutout that we (the other sports intern and I) pasted on to the cardboard we went dumpster diving for (I made the other intern do the diving, since I was wearing a skirt) and cut out over a period of three and a half hours.

“Wouldn’t it be funny if Champ sees us out there with this?” we joked as we sliced and diced, hoping that it wouldn’t happen.

It didn’t, but it felt like I got the next worse thing.

After filming, I turned out larger-than-life Champ (#24) so not that many people would be able to see him and started walking past the practice field and back to the  media room.

(Jimmy was so embarrassed that he wouldn’t walk next to me the whole day. He was either not around or 30 yards ahead.)

I was almost home free when Nick Ferguson (#25) ran up to me, “Wait let me see that!” he said before grabbing cardboard Champ and running onto the practice field, shouting for his teammates to look as he held up cardboard Champ to fake-jump and touch the goal post.

“Who is this, who is this?” he said loudly before yelling for Dre’ Bly across the practice field.

Before long, I got it back. I don’t think the players want Shanny’s wrath anymore than the media do. I was just really glad Ferguson’s number was 25 and not 24. And that it was our last day of filming, ’cause who knows if Shanny would have let us back out there.

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In other news: I am leaving for a week in Las Vegas tomorrow!

And here’s our final intern photo (you may notice a dwindling of numbers, but we just like to say the cool interns bother to show up

I remember growing up, watching Barry hit balls. After, he seemed to stand there and watch it go … and watch it … and watch it …

And eventually, he’d begin his way to get around the bases.

At the time it seemed annoying. Isn’t it like a gesture of good faith to at least make an effort to get around the bases when you hit the ball, so you can see how far you can get?

But now, with 756 homers, I guess he’s kind of earned the right to see where they land.

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In other news: My friend, the sports-writing intern, got on Around The Horn with Woody today. It was for about two seconds with a goofy hat, a wad of money and a sign that said “Woody’s Agent.” We had to rush from the place we got lunch to a local sports bar to watch it on ESPN, but it lightened an extremely long day.

Also, we spent 3.5 hours past the end of my shift searching for cardboard and borrowing any number of sharp utensils to cut out a prop that we will be able to use for JimmyTube sometime during the next few days.

And, lastly, I got a awesome Vegas dress. Yay!

Well, obviously, seeing as I am posting a blog, but I can actually been seen in the blooper reel that I helped edit this past week.

Alrighty, as I have to get up with the sun tomorrow morning, I will say good night now. Peace people. 

I have decided that I need to pay more attention to news.

This came about after I found out Bonds met Hank’s record through a MySpace bulletin.

I then, promptly, began looking through ESPN.com for more details and content.

My favorite sentence, by far, is as follows:

“Selig said either he or a representative would attend the Giants’ next few games ‘out of respect for the tradition of the game, the magnitude of the record and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty.’”

Which, to me, says it all.

Anyhow, I don’t think this summer was my best choice for going off TV, and now I am left to figure out a way to get my parents to subscribe to television and internet service for the new school semester… Cable’s not a possibility, which leaves satellite as a second choice…

I would skip it, but, as a journalism student, it’s kind of difficult to get around without knowing what’s up in popular culture or whatever else is deemed newsworthy (this is both because we need common topics to lead into discussions and interviews and also because our teachers may not expect us to read textbooks, but they do expect us to sit in front of the TV for several hours a day).

Ponder that. 

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In other news: Today is one of my days off, so I mostly relaxed and slept all day. But, I also went and saw the Bourne No. 3 and it rocked. Night all. 

I, officially, love Broncomania.

There’s a heady sense of excitement in the air and it’s been there all week.

Mostly, I’ve been working audio for the JimmyTube videos we’ve been putting together at the Post, making sure we get the audio and helping set up the camera. I also spent a lot of my time observing and soaking up information from the videographer, who is generally happy to share details.

Today, we got buttons leading to the videos on the homepage, so even though I didn’t work today, I am super happy about that. Now, hopefully, more than 5 percent of our online visitors will be able to find their ways to our work (I am guessing far more than that, actually…).

As of Monday, I will have five working days left, all on JimmyTube stuff before heading home. I am already sad to be leaving this place and all the cool people I’ve met here. (Not to mention the school thing I’ll be returning to.)

Anyway, I am confident we will be able to keep the flow going at Broncos training camp. Should be lots of gaudy-shirt fun.

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In other news: I started editing the bloopers reel for JimmyTube, so that should be up sometime in the next couple of days.

I dropped a couple of Fall classes, which means I will be staying in school for an extra semester; although, I will be walking in December, still, since Joy-Anna might be in Iraq when I would otherwise walk in June and I want her to be there. Anyway, this means I can get soe ore bylines, and write my book before heading to grad school or to the real world.

Also, I’ve been getting writing pointers from the sports-writing intern on how to cover some sports in general and, specifically, football. I think I have a ways to go (in the sports world), which suggests to me that I should start out in copy-editing or multimedia stuff. Hum…

All right. Kind of exhausted again. Of course. Good Night.

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JimmyTube Day 1

JimmyTube Day 2

JimmyTube Day 3

JimmyTube Day 4

JimmyTube Day 5

JimmyTube Day 6

Today was No. 2 of Broncos training camp, which means I, once again, woke up far earlier than I should have (as in 8.5 hours earlier than I am used to).

But, after our dry run yesterday, I think today went pretty awesomely.

I haven’t yet held a camera, but I edited a little video today. Tomorrow holds promise for even more.

Unfortunately, I am so tired that I will have to cut this entry a bit short. When I start having a little more to do with the filming and editing process, I’ll link to a few from here. But if you’re in a mood for a laugh (and, really, how could you not being, reading this?) check out the videos we have Jim Armstrong doing on the Broncos section of the denverpost.com.

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In other news: My car rolled over 200,000 miles yesterday. I am getting ready for Vegas. Started writing a new story and reading some books on my list.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel newsroom will be leaving the Santa Cruz city, the paper reported today.

I knew this might be happening before I left. I even made sure to check out the roof and its view before leaving for the summer because I had an inkling that I might not get another chance.

It feels strange. The building has been around for as long as I can remember, growing up. It feels like such a finite moment.

In the end, I expect it will be good because it will cut down on my commute time by a decent amount (about 15 minutes from either San Jose or Boulder Creek), but it seems like it might become more difficult to report from the farther reaches of the county.

That, or reporters will have to begin to rely on technologies that can actually make filing on deadline flow smoother.

Hum.

Anyway, I am thinking about cutting down on my school hours this up-coming semester and then saving four units for a final Spring semester. I began thinking about this after talking to my SCS boss, who expressed interest in having me write instead of style agate.

Before, I knew my schedule would be tight.

Now, the thought of creative writing, investigative journalism, the school paper, the English dept. magazine, golf and writing for the paper seems like a bit much.

A course load including investigative journalism, the school paper and the English dept. magazine would be much kinder. I would then fill out my next semester with a glass art class and a hiking class while I write my novel and try to get published. I can still study, then, for the GRE on the side.

It all sounds so simple.

… I only wish it were more so.

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In other news: This is my day off, so I spent some time thrift store shopping and got a great bag for Vegas.

Also, catching up on reading.

Seeing as I have been incredibly busy lately, I am combining the post I intended to write yesterday with the one I will write for today…

Continuing along the lines of scrapping projects, all of the audio slideshow training, work, time and effort I have thus far participated in will have to be chalked up to getting my feet wet and gaining experience and nothing more. Those skills will not be necessary for the new turn my department has taken.

Nope. Indeed.

I’ll be re-training on the job all day Sunday, and I’ll have to hope that’s enough prep for the following two weeks.

A good thing, here, is that the woman training me really knows what she’s doing (she went to film school and everything).

So! I am taking all of the advice I can get, checking up on how to actually film things on the Internet and holding my breath until I’m done here.

The down side is this (be prepared): I will have to drastically switch my schedule and awake with the Sun (that’s right, as in 6 a.m.).

You don’t have to tell me.

I already know how unfair life can be.

As for the Curs’d part of my life,well, I finished it. Reading about Harry, that is. And it was good. It just wasn’t great. I am inclined to believe that I liked Book 6 more than I liked Book 7.

However, I was delighted to find that my theory of Harry being the last Horcrux was correct (especially since I have gotten a lot of flak for that in the past). Anyway, there was another part of the book that honestly shocked me:

Almost at the end of the book, J.K. wrote the B-word in ALL CAPS.

I understand that there were seven of these books, and I understand that any of them exceeded 300-400 page counts. It also makes sense to conclude that those who began reading in 1999, or whenever, have grown up quite a bit.

The context even supported the use (thankfully). 

But I don’t think that those are any excuses for using curse words in a children’s book. I would have a difficult time doing the same for a young adult book, let alone a juvenile one… She could have easily written around it, not had Mrs. Weasley going all hardcore and sent Neville to get revenge.

She did stick to her guns (pardon the pun) about the death-is-final sentiment. I appreciated this because it, if you think about it, would have undermined the focus of Voldy otherwise. Like if Dumbledore was still, somehow alive.

Sigh.

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In other news: I went to the Museum of Nature and Science/Natural Science (I cannot remember which it is) today for the free day in Denver with the other copy-editing intern. It was pretty cool and reminded me how far we’ve come through the process of evolution and made me wonder what’ll happen to us all when global warning sets in.

(According to the extinction chart, we’re on the third level of six stages. We just have global warming instead of intense volcanic eruptions.) 

Also, today was my last day on the copy desk. I think I kind of sprung that on everyone, just because I’ll be working with other departments now. It’s been fun. I didn’t collect as many clips as I should have, probably, but I have saved most papers I wrote headlines for, so I’ll have to start clipping those out.

Lastly, I’ll be going to see the 3-D HP on Friday!

P.S. The strange guy that stared a lot in my home-school grade-school program was just judged criminally insane after stabbing someone on West Cliff back home. Weird right? Right. 

So. I was spoken to today about the content of my blog, and I realized that the said content was becoming increasingly bitter, which was totally not the point to begin with. I think this may have been due to a number of contirbuting factors… dare I say PMS? Anyway, many of my posts have been edited down, and I feel like it would be pertinent to apologize to anyone who might have had hurt feelings because of something I wrote. So, I am sorry. That thought had not entered my mind.