Queenkv’s Brainpickings

TERRE HAUTE — I walked into a Starbucks, off the I-70….trying to find a wifi spot…I picked up a NY Times and some advice. The barista asked if I was traveling through…then she said: “You should go over to our friends, the Drury Hotel.”

She said they had free wi-fi in the parking lot and in the hotel lobby.

“Let’s go war driving!” Mark said.

Sure enough, his laptop had wireless acess, near the front of the hotel.

So, he checked e-mail and I uploaded some writing samples and fired them off for a job interview….sheesh…I’m going to NY next Monday.

“So, you’re driving across the country and we’re flying you back to NY, next week,” said the lady scheduling my interview.

“Yup.”

I remember on Jen’s b-day, on Easter Sunday, she said she wanted me to find a job. Then I could concentrate on the wedding. Well, I hope she get’s her wish.

It rained cats and dogs yesterday…..miserable weather to drive through. From DC - we went through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virgnia, Ohio and Indiana. I’m pretty sure the rain screwed us up.

We spent the night at a Super 8 in Richmond, IN.

This morning, an SUV driver signaled with his lights that it was cool for Mark to pass in front of him. A welcome change from the psycho drivers in the district…..drivers with manners exist in the US, afterall.

So far…so good. Cross you fingers and hope it doesn’t rain anymore.

I woke up half-an-hour before the alarm…..Mark woke up shortly afterwards…

I rolled out my yoga mat and lit candles. But I felt a bit self-concious doing yoga in front of Mark…typically he’s asleep when I’m doing my yoga stuff….so…I did some cat poses and then child pose. Then I let out a refreshing yawn.

Then Mark snickered….

“It sounds like you’re a retarded whale doing yoga.”

Good morning to you, honey.

We’re leaving for Cali today….

…putting the finishing touches on my resume tapes….looking for jobs…I’m getting ready to head out DC and head back home to Cali.

In the meantime - I’m closing the comment portion of ALL my blogs. I won’t have access to the internet - while I’m driving down the 70 - through the rest of the United States. Too many spammers and not enough time or resources to block their sorry asses. I’ll turn on the comment system when I get back home.

It’s been raining in DC….when we parked the car at the Basilica, Mark got out of the car first and had the umbrella opened up over me….such a gentleman.

“It looks like we’re going to a funeral,” he said.

“Well, sort of…,” I replied, “God kinda died today….

“You mean the Son of God.”

We went to a Stations of the Cross meditation service at Noon.

Andre walks down the National Mall

Originally uploaded by queenkv.

My next submission for Photo Friday: Tiny…

Yeah…my bears tend to be dwarfed by the rest of the scenery….

Yeah…new look - by popular demand (almost everyone liked the new design) - I went ahead and updated this blog…I miss Europe.

Let’s see…Mark has a way of saying things that not only make you laugh….but his words could also make you say something…”You did not go there….”

spring

Originally uploaded by queenkv.

This is my entry for Moody Monday: Spring.

I took this pix at Colonial Willamsburg…in VA. Cute little town, with their Colonial buildings, colonial costumes, colonial cats…colonial gardens…like this one…however, Mark said if they wanted to keep it real to the colonial vibe…they should have been growing hemp.

spring1
Originally uploaded by queenkv.

Ok - so I guess in Colonial times…the colonia peeps used these bell-jar-like glasses to keep their crops warm…you know how the sun looks warm - but it’s not? So…they can trap the heat of the sun’s rays…in these glasses…pretty nifty.

And on a completely different tangent….from this awesome quotes site:

“It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.”
- Jerry Seinfeld

« Hide it

Hey folks…

Well…it’s Monday and who wants to go into work on a Monday? So…I’m taking my time on getting into the newsroom….I’ll probably leave around noon or so.

I’m finished my graduate program on Friday. When I walk in June, I will have a Masters of Science in Journalism. It feels bloody awesome!

I’m spending an extra week in DC to finish editing footage from Paris and Normandy. I owe my professors in Evanston some documentary-like video pieces. We’ll see how that goes.

I also got distracted by my blog. This morning, I wanted to experiment with a new style. I missed Europe…so I used this photograph I took from our visit to Bath. That was a lovely trip.

I’m thinking about making my brainpickings look like this.

What do you think? Which one do you like better? The current layout - all in purple OR the one with the Bath photograph?

Let me know please…

*** one more thing…Internet Explorer sucks - so the blog design will always look a bit funky in that browser. I am currently using Firefox. This browser rocks my world and it’s totally customize-able. So - the best viewing of this blog is in Firefox.

…for Photo Friday - Glow

It’s one of my shots from London….Christmas times….a snazzy window display on near Bond Street.

Our press credentials expire on the last day of class….this Friday. I headed up to the House side for one more Illinois story on Chicago doctors….they visisted a bunch of congress-folks and Senators.

Last night - we went to yoga. I had some horrible love song stuck in my head: “…hit me with your best shot…Fire awaaaaaay….” by Pat Benatar. I hate it when I get song lyrics stuck in my head.

After yoga - I still had that song stuck in my head…
“Well you’re the real tough cookie with the long history….Of breaking little hearts, like the one in me…”

Then we went to Giant supermarket for some bread and milk. We drove into the parking lot and found the store surrounded by yellow police tape. An army of news vans had one parking row staked out. I rolled down my window and asked a reporter what was going on.

“Shooting,” she said and turned away to write her stand-up.

We drove home. We both felt a bit disturbed about a shooting that’s only a 5-7 minute drive away from our house.

As we drove up to our street…I still had that song stuck in my head…I bursted out crooning: “…hit me with your best shot…Fire awaaaaaay….”

Mark smirked and mentioned that the song could be inappropriate…given what just happened…

Damn, I could be so tactless sometimes.

One of our Medill Alums is now a producer at Nightline. She invited us over to check out their news operation at ABC. Why not?

I have pix. Will post later.

I felt a bit drained…but I went anyways.

We watched George Stephanopoulos interview a soldier and his wife - from the control room.

George popped his head in the control and said “hi.”

We took a tour of the offices and the edit bays. Then a producer from “This Week” - gave us some words of wisdom. He’s a Medill alum as well.

Then a producer for “Nightline” answered questions and gave us some advice on how to get a job.

During the job hunting portion of his talk…he said his son attended Stanfurd. So he spoke to journalism students at Stanfurd. The eager beavers came up to him and said, “Someday, I want to be your anchor.”
Then he told us….”Then the Berkeley students would tell me: I’ll be your janitor, I’ll sweep floors, I’ll do anything you need. Just so that they could a foot int the door.”

He told us he would never hire those fools from Stanfurd. I said, “Go bears!”

Another good piece of advice. Open up a separate account and put money it. Use the savings as your “Go to hell” account. So, if you ever have an editor who sends you out on a sleezy/questionable story - you know you can refuse and fall back on your “Go to hell” account. He still keeps one, to this day.