2nd anniversary

today is my second anniversary at work. hard to believe. i arrived up here without a job or prospect of one, only knowing there were two papers in town. i applied at both and the sentinel took me in. luck played a part. when i went in with my resume, a lady who'd taken a job opening decided to take another one, thus leaving the night GA still open. i went in several days later for an interview, nervous as hell. i thought i'd failed miserably. thanksgiving interfered with the hiring at that point. so i had to wait. then on tuesday the week after, i got the call from ole randy himself telling me i had the job if i wanted it. i accepted.

i was a wet-behind-the-ears reporter then. still am, although i've learned quite a bit since arriving here. i take a little from here and a little from there and have kept up with the pace. i knew nothing of townships when i started; now, i know all twoo well about them and their meetings and personnel. since i've had the GA job for this long, i've gotten to know pretty much most other reporters' beats since i have to cover for them. in addition, i have had to think on my feet a lot and make quick calls when needed. and although i doubt most people know my face, since i'm never at one place long enough, i've learned the system well enough.

i've met some cool folks. the night desk rocks and we've all clicked and have many things in common -- all nuts about one thing or another.

i think what i've learned over the past two years is confidence at my job, knowing i have to get the job done and do a good job at it.

i've encountered a whle new culture - the dutch - which i never thought i'd know anything about. jeez, i know, can spell, and pronounce a crap load of dutch names. that was the real hard part when i started. now, i breeze right through, for the most part.

never thought i'd be on the big lake. i got my chance last year during a coast guard exercise. that was wild. got to meet ne of the stars of themovie "scar face." have written a handful of interesting stories, including the 2.0 kid (jon cusack 2.0) which got international acclaim. big thumbs up to jim h. for looking at the births and eyeing the oddness of the name. yay, jim. i've gotten yelled at by the same cop here in town for two different circumstances, none of which were my fault. still fun. it does get you recognized. have had my ID checked for possible "freaky" activity at the museum during sinter klaas. kidnapped missionary. and lots of small stuff in between.

i guess so far, so good. but i'm still learning and shaping what i'm doing as much as as i can on the page. it's a never-ending process. i'm starting to look at some other things in my stories now that are still lacking and that can be improved.

cheers mates. brindis.