I have a new job at the paper. I'm the entertainment editor. This means I'm in charge of gathering content for our weekly entertainment section. We have stories about movies, music, theater, art, dining, etc. Most of the stories are local, written by our arts reporter or freelance writers that I assign the stories to.
It's very different from what I was doing before.
In my previous job, I was on the tail-end of the process. I had stories, pictures and graphics and a blank page. I figured out how everything was going to fit together -- whether the main headline was going to run all the way across the page, or if the biggest photo was going to be at the top. I wrote headlines, photo captions and did the final edit on stories. I worked on a daily deadline where my pages were released at the end of my work day.
Now, after more than 15 years on a daily deadline, I have one weekly deadline. Sounds easier, right? Well, it isn't really.
The pace isn't as frantic as it was in my last job, mainly because of the weekly deadline. But there's a lot more juggling and multitasking involved. I have many, many irons in the fire, and it's taking a little bit of time to get any sort of a routine going.
In my previous job, on Mondays, we did the Tuesday section. On Tuesdays, we did the Wednesday section. But in this job, I might be working on this week's section, next week's section and a random section in April, all at the same time. It's using a completely different set of skills.
I'm also the first person to edit stories. Luckily, I have some talented freelancers to work with. I also work with one in-house reporter who is just about as particular as I am about how things get done. So that's good. I couldn't imagine doing this job without having some talented people at my disposal.
Along with the new job came a new position in the newsroom. And I mean a new physical position. I used to be tucked in a corner with a window at my back. Now, I sit dead-center of the newsroom. And I'm surrounded by people. I have people walking back and forth behind me all day. It's quite unnerving, especially when you're editing a story, or looking at a website, or typing an email and someone stops to make a comment about what's on your computer screen. It's enough to make somebody paranoid. It's also hard to have phone conversations because everybody within a three- or four-desk radius can hear you.
I think I'm finding some rhythms to the job, but I'm not adjusting well to my new physical position. It's just so hard to concentrate. And if there's one thing that is absolutely necessary in my new job, it's concentration.
One other thing about my job is that I have to write a lot more. It seems like I get 50,000 press releases every day, and any that I decide to run have to be rewritten and boiled down to the facts and only the facts. I also have a column to write. The previous editor of this section wrote occasionally, but I'd really like to try to write each week. This is my third week, and I've written a column each week so far.
Which brings me to why I haven't been writing much on this blog.
By the time I've spent my day writing and rewriting and editing, I'm sort of written out. I'm hoping this is just an adjustment phase because there's still plenty to share about Biscuit.
Like today ... Biscuit and I had back-to-back dentist appointments. Biscuit went first. He did great, as usual. I usually read to him while they're cleaning his teeth. I think the combination of my voice and the plot of the stories tend to calm him down. It also keeps the hygienists from having to keep up with him in conversation. You know how Biscuit likes to talk.
So after Biscuit was done, it was my turn. I teased him a little and said, "If I get scared, will you hold my hand?"
Biscuit grabbed my hand, tilted his head to the side, and with the sweetest, most sincere look, said, "Mom, you shouldn't be afraid of the dentist. The dentist is a friend to our teeth."
The dentist and hygienist got a kick out of it. Biscuit might get a new job, too -- working PR for the dental association!
Anyway, Biscuit is still learning and growing and doing and saying fun things. And hopefully, it won't be long until I'm back on a regular schedule of sharing it all.
For now, here are a couple of pictures of Biscuit in one of his favorite spots:
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| I'm not sure why, but Biscuit has taken to saluting us when we tell him to do something. |
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| Jeff calls Biscuit his little parrot. |
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