Queenkv’s Brainpickings

i should be catching up on my papers….but i felt like blogging…

all this heat and rain, it reminds me of the Philippines. I like it. Anything is better than snow.

school is hard. it’s easy to freak out….or, honestly, it’s easy to let myself freak out over some pretty petty things.

the other day, i worked on a Netflix story. My prof/editor said straight off that this sounded more like a PR piece, than a news story. He sounded ticked off. I got scared. so, I scrambled for analysts, data, anything to show that it’s more than a pr piece. I think did pretty good, called up two analysts from SF and NY. Got the low down on how blockbuster figured into the DVD rental game. Found some interesting articles on the stock price for Netflix.

I talked more to my prof about it. One girl overheard me talking about Blockbuster’s attempts at online rentals. She told me that she heard me talking about it and she said straight off that I could be wrong, because of something she “thought I read a while ago.”

Ok - yeah…..so….we’re comparing something she “thought” she read vs. a subject I researched intensely for the last 4 hours - plus the information I got after I interviewed three experts. Uh-uh….I did my best to stay patient. I was about to sweep the comment under my desk and get back to work. Then she said, “I better look that up for you in case you’re wrong.”

I called on whatever last reserve of quiet well-being I stored/had left over from yoga that morning and kept a straight face. I shruged. Internally, I blew up and rained down a mess load of curses and insults in the back of mind. I called Mark and vented in the empty classroom next door to the newsroom. That helped me focus a bit. She finally left the newsroom and that helped too, because it removed the physcial reminder of someone who basically told me my research is shit. Since she was a self-proclaimed lover of all things techie, it seemed liked she expected me to roll over on my stomach and to pant gratefully for her analysis of my shoddy reporting. I couldn’t help but think the nerve of this chick who didn’t work a serious day in her life and the attitude she had over me, who had real tech support experience for the last three years before Medill.

But when came down to it, I filed the story on time. My prof said he was surprised and impressed that I managed to get more out of this subject than a PR piece for Netflix. I told him that he kinda scared me into looking for analysis on the whole DVD rental gig. He said I did a good job….

when it comes down to it, that’s all that matters, his opinion…and not the arrogance of a former undergrad with some sad delusions of techie grandeur.

i’m turning 26 in a few weeks. damn I’m old….but I do remember graduating from UC Berkeley. I thought I had this whole living-on-this-earth routine under my belt. I thought I knew a lot. But I learned that there was more to life than my undergrad experiences.

So will she.

Dachshund puppies for sale, Dachshund breeders

these little guys are sooooo cute!!! mark sent this link over to me via icq today…

[fromt http://www.puppyfind.com/]
i know they want to come home with me! yes they do! Tamara Keith did a great radio piece on the Doxie Derby for B-Side radio on KALX. I remember previewing the tape, before I submitted to go on air….it was one of my favorite pieces. Tamara’s an amazing radio writer. She said something like, one of the most inspiring things to see at this state fair, the flapping ears of these cute little dogs, heading towards the finish line.

mark also sent this pix as well….

[from http://www.sfgate.com/]
one of the things that’s keeping me going in the program - a dream i can hold on to…settling down with mark and getting a house and a puppy in Cali. that would be so nice.

and doable…when I told my Ate’ Gigi about my plans with Mark, she went off on how I had to have kids, right away. The thought of getting married, scrounging around for a job and getting knocked up, made my stomach churn more so than the jerky El tracks I was riding on, during our phone conversation. Kids are cool, for later….when I can get health insurance that includes eye and dental….when I can start up some retirement plan, again….when I can put a down payment on a house with Mark…yeah…gotta take care of all those things first before the whole getting-knocked-up process.

besides a dog….I won’t be able to mess with a dog’s life. they love you unconditionally….when they hit puberty, they won’t hate you and wish you wouldn’t act so damn dorky. a dog’s simply happy to roll on its back and get a belly rub. he’ll adore you because you put food in his dish, everyday. he’ll think you’re the best of friends because you walk together, around the neighborhood and out a the park. heck, he’ll think you’re on the same baseball team - he’ll be the catcher and you the pitcher….even though, sometimes the dog has problems with the concept of letting go of the ball, once he caught it…..yeah, Bernie did that…he’d run off with soggy tennis ball, teasing us into running after him. silly dog.

i want a dog.