As seen in the Life section

So as a journalism student, it is pretty important to start getting involved. Whether it be in the school paper, school radio station, etc. In my first year I was nervous and self-conscious about my abilities so I made zero effort to write for the paper or get myself out there at all. Then it hit me... scholarship applications, internships and summer jobs in my field all require portfolios. They require at least 2 clippings of work you've had published. I had none. This lack of published work was not a good thing. So I decided to conquer my fears and my laziness and I emailed the editor of the life section at the Concordian. A couple of hours later, I had my first story - Recycled Clothing. The 1000 word limit came with a two week deadline. Now four weeks later I have had three articles published which is nothing in comparison to certain friends of mine (jill) but it is a start and I am proud. So here are my three feature articles that appeared in the life section of The Concordian.

1. Green fashion special

2. Sexin' up Halloween

3. Hotter than Ever (tea)

Milestones & Other Stuff

Seeing as it is The Whiteboard's one year anniversary tomorrow, I decided to reread some old posts. I headed back to my first post ever which describes my addiction to camp and my belief that starting a blog would help me prepare for daily writing as a journalist. It is funny to see how little has changed since my first post ever: a) I am still addicted to camp and just returned home from summer #12 and b) I still feel totally unprepared for journalism school. I don't want to get all sappy but it is hard to believe that soon I will be starting my second year of university, my second year of The Whiteboard AND that I will be turning twenty in a little over a month. They may not seem like the biggest milestones but I find them pretty major.

Anyways... There is still 3 weeks left of summer and I plan to make the most of it before school starts. Which is why today I went to Super Aqua Club and tomorrow I will think of something else that is awesome to do.
On a completely separate note I have to admit how much I am loving the 200 picture limit in facebook albums. I mean now everyone has one album maybe two unlike last year when my entire facebook was engulfed by peoples numerous westcoast or europe albums.

My only complaint of right now is that I feel like a social reject in my group of friends because I don't have a blackberry. I think I am losing friends over the fact I don't BBM.... but the good news is that earlier this month I dropped my phone in the toilette and it died but yesterday I turned it on and it worked! So exciting!

I hope that this post is a start to another year of blogging and I don't get lazy and infrequent about my postings like I did last year...

Too Early for Camp Mode?

So in my pursuit of a career in journalism I decided to run for my student association. Anyways as I have mentioned in an earlier post I was the only person with a running opponent. BUT apparently according to one voter today... the other girl dropped out! So as you all can imagine this makes me very excited :) Although I still need to have enough votes to get elected so if you're in journalism still vote for me.

Camp is getting closer which is great since school is totally overwhelming at the moment. Anyways as a supervisor this summer I am required to make sure my staff "bond" so yesterday I organized what I called a Staff Meet and Eat. Aka all my staff and I went out for breakfast to meet each other. As anyone who knows me can imagine I was so nervous all day Saturday and all morning yesterday but in the end (like always) it was really fun and I wondered why I was nervous in the first place.... Such a camp filled wekeend with the friday night dinner, and allergic reaction the breakfast and tonight which is the YCC Fashion Show... not my favorite of camp events but I am excited to see some campers and make a good impression on whatever parents might be in attendance.

Other interesting events of the weekend included: karaoke birthday festivities and ordering mcdonalds at work... there might be more about these events but no guarantees.Oh and hopefully tomorrow's Concordian will include a really fascinating article about composting written by yours truly, me.

A Day of Past and Present

There is something about doing an interview that makes me exhausted. Every time I finish one I feel like I deserve an hour or five hour break before I start homework again. So dumb seeing as I have tons due this week.

Anyways aside from the homework I've got to do, I decided I would 'involve' myself in the school and I am running for Secretary of the JSA (journalism student association). This is quite unlike me but I am really excited anyways! But in Emily fashion out of five available positions mine is the only one where there is more than one person running. How typical. Not that I am not up for some good competition... because I am! If I do get elected I might need to invest in a laptop battery that lasts more than 20 minutes or in a mac. ALSO people I need you to weigh in on what you think my campaign colour should be. The thing is purple and green would be my first choice but the CSU have clearly overkilled that. So SUGGESTIONS? (leave comments with colour choices!) Ya JSA!

So aside from University drama, for a feature I am doing for the school paper I had to visit my high school to learn about composting. See I graduated in 2006, not very long ago by any standards. EXCEPT the school has completely changed. There is a new lunchroom, and added floor, a brand new second gym, a stage, a weekly podcast, a "green" initiave and you now choose a 'major'... as if I had any of those things. Also I can't forget to mention that there is a whole new set of teachers who were up-downing me trying to figure out why I wasn't in uniform vs the old teachers who barely recognized me and also were trying to decide where my uniform was.
They really mean it when they say you can't go home again.

Mild Freakout

What kind of terrible journalist accidentally plugs the microphone into the headphone jack? So that the entire interview is barely audible? With the assignment already a week late? With an entire grade penalty? With another project in that class due the day after the extension?
The same kind of person who has this comment on their -A test "Maybe you missed the key concept because you have the terrible habit of talking when I am talking" Note: this teacher in his course outline states that a 5% penalty will be deducted from your final mark for every incident you are caught talking. Sounds like I might need to drop this class. But I won't know for sure until I go speak to him Tuesday. Which is fine minus the fact that we have a 10 page research paper due on thursday... meaning I need to start a paper I might not even have to finish.

So Camp sends out a newsletter to all the campers. Being the supervisor means I have a picture and small blurb written about me so parents and kids know who I am. This is fine especially since I get to choose the picture myself. HOWEVER in this blurb they totally messed up my camp legacy saying it was my eleventh summer when really it's my twelfth. They also referred to me as the supervisor of the camp website rather than just simply calling me the camp photographer. So I may be overreacting a little but considering they know who I am and have for TWELVE summers I thought they could have been a little more careful.

K I am done crying... and if you read to the end of this post I apologize for my emoness

Oh and PS - we lose an hours sleep tonight... sucks

Looking Back

Weeks like this one where I have a radio package to produce and an article to write, I wonder why Journalism? And truthfully, I am not so sure.

I guess it started back in my final year of high school when I was asked with a good friend of mine to be the high school newspaper editor. Without hesitation we said yes. What we published that year was less than successful. The editions were short and far apart and lacked any sort of substance. Also I was one of those kids who took double art... not physics and chemistry. So when it came time to apply to Cegep science was out of the picture and my lack of mathematical capabilities made commerce less than desirable. Therefore, I went into Cinema and Communications and found myself in a program I hated. I thought about switching but I was too much of a chicken to let myself fall behind a semester. There were some perks to such a program. I never had more than four days or school or more that two classes a day. The best part though, was becoming friends with everyone else who hated it. As you can imagine, we developped quite a large clique. When University applications came around many of us lacked any creativity or ambition to apply to anything besides communications. That of course was my second choice, Journalism being the first. Getting accepted felt like such an accomplishment and spent the summer excitingly awaiting the fall. Now I find myself already in semester two and totally unsure if I want to pursue Journalism at all....

There was really no point to this story but I was hoping conjuring up some nostalgic memories would help inspired me to get my homework done...

High Expectations

So in an attempt to make the most of my time at University, I decided that I would minor in Political Science because I thought it was a good blend with journalism. This semester I am in Western Philosophy... we are reading Machiavelli the Prince. Not the easiest book to understand but our teacher does a fair job of explaining it. Last night this teacher sent us an email entitled "Midterm Exam." Well really what it was was a two page warning on the exam's difficulty.
This was what was written under the heading Expectations:

- As noted at the beginning of the semester, the mid-term will be detail oriented. The questions are very specific, and to do well you must have a firm grasp of the details of the arguments in The Prince. - Having only a superficial understanding of the material will be of no use and will only lead to a very poor, or, as is more likely, a failing grade. To get a good grade, you must have a detailed grasp of the material. - It is impossible to “improvise” (otherwise known as B.S.) your way through my exams. The questions test your knowledge of specific aspects of the material and only a firm grasp of this material will earn you a good grade. Attempts to improvise are completely obvious and will earn you an F, so don’t make the mistake of thinking you can get by without studying hard.

It doesn't end there but I didn't find the need to share his study/test writing suggestions. I just want to add though that our class is an hour and a half...not very much time to answer 2+ essay questions in prefect essay format. The exam is two weeks away but it looks like studying should start...now?

Hey!

Friday night I decided to be a hermit and stay in and do work. By 10:30 I was productive and working away on my TV package. There was a section I was unsure about so I decided to email my teacher.

So I don't know about the rest of the world, but I find it very hard deciding how to address teachers in emails. Well it always stresses me out (but what doesn't) and I usually go with a simple 'Hi' or I head right into the question.
Friday though, I sent out the email quickly. This is what I wrote:

Hey,
I had a question about broadcast format for websites

(long boring question)
Thanks,
Emily

I didn't reread it I just sent it out and moved on with the assignment. WELL, wasn't I in for a surprise Sunday afternoon when I received the following reply:

"Hey" -- that's a rude way to address one your instructors.
(long boring answer to question)
B. ________

Mortification is the understatement of how I felt. I was totally embarrassed and was freaking out. I figured I would write him an apology explaining that it was a subconscious action... which isn't a lie. I didn't notice the informal heading for my email. So I explained:

Sorry, I wasn't conscious to it. Bad habit from years of informal emails
my apologies
thanks,

Emily

Then I basically spent the next hour clicking refresh in my email inbox. As you can imagine I desperately wanted a reply. Well one should learn to specify when they wish because my reply was less than calming. The reply:

apology accepted...
b.

It made me feel so much better and excited for Monday's class. NOT! Anyways luckily class was okay and instead he picked on other people but I am pretty sure he isn't a fan of me. Unless ... stands for 'you are amazing', which for some reason I highly doubt it does.
FML
oh ps: there are only 18 people in Monday's class, aka - very intimate.

Obviously...

So as part of the journalism curriculum, first year students must attend a play. Our whole year went to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Segal Centre. This theatre is notoriously attended solely by jewish elders, aka old jewish women with short white hair. Based on this reputation, a few of my friends were teasing me about the fact that they assumed by grandmother would be there. I assured them she wouldn't and told them to stop stereotyping the token jew in the crew.

Well sure enough, the joke was on me. My grandmother called to tell me she too was going to see the play. So when I picked up my friends, I had to admit to them that despite anything and everything I had said earlier that week, my grandmother was front and center in the audience. Not that you could find her among all the other little cute old ladies with white and gray hair sitting next to her.

I was a good granddaughter and went to say hi just before the show started. I ended up meeting half the theatre but its okay cause I love my grandma so I kept a smile on my face as strangers pinched my cheecks.

Top 3 - things I should be doing (instead of blogging)

1. History of Journalism essay - worth 30% of my grade - due tomorrow
2. Radio Package Script - worth 25% of my grade - due tomorrow
3. Marketing Assignment 7&8 - already a week late - due last tuesday

Off to try and make some progress in my work load. peace.

Friday's 2nd Fabulous Event

Update: fireplace seems to be empty although nothing ever flew out... my dog however was haunted all night and slept INSIDE the fireplace.

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So last night four of us journalism students attended a women's hockey game in support of a fifth journalism friend Keely. The game was at 7:30, clearly an unpopular time for hockey because the rink was empty (or people don't care about girls hockey). There were maybe 60 people besides for us.
Anyways, its midway through the first period and they announce a contest. I am not paying attention at all to what the DJ is rambling about but journalism friend Evan, reaches into his pocket and takes out his ticket. He gets all excited because they called out #115 and hes was #114. Meaning that most likely, it was one of us who had won.

SURE ENOUGH I scramble in my purse to find winning ticket 115. I am instructed to go up to the DJ booth where a girl tells me I have a chance of winning $650 to Super C. All I have to do is go onto the ice and take a shot from center ice and get it into a tiny slit in front of the net.
Cool that I have never played hockey.
Cooler though, that I felt totally guilty cause Evan is a hockey player and probably could have gotten it in. He told me that whatever I do, don't turn my body and don't use too little power (so it doesn't make it down the ice).

At the end of the period the DJ wishes me luck and I am escorted by the girl onto the ice. I am very focused on not slipping because that would probably be worse than missing it. Then with all my might I attempt the $650 shot. Obviously, I do the exact opposite of everything Evan warned me about and send the puck into the side boards barely making it to the other end of the rink.

Then followed the walk of shame back to my seat...

Luckily though, I received a souvenir puck, I didn't slip and I had the satisfaction in knowing only about 56 people saw me fail!

Fabulous October/November

So in the next month, I have lots to look forward to. Unfortunately though school is interfering with all my excitement. Overall the transition to university has been relatively smooth, but this past week I find myself totally overwhelmed. Of course school has been stressful since day 1 but deep down I knew that I would do everything I needed to....eventually. I don't have that same belief in myself these days however which is lame. There is something about a 10 page research paper on the history of journalism that does that to you.

Anyways, I mostly wanted to write this post to list some of the wonderful events that will happen between now and the end of November.

First there is Halloween. Although I am not really excited actually kind of the opposite but I'm being optimistic and hoping I attend some crazy awesome party. Very doubtful. I am excited about the Halloween Journalism Student Association (JSA) Stache Bash where students are encouraged to wear/grow a mustache in exchange for a free beer. The reason this is so exciting is that at work (toystore), we sell fake mustaches and I am always like WHAT are these for? Now I know! I wonder if I should sport the handle bar or fu manchu.

There is also my trip to BOSTON. So excited. More details to come...

The FEIST concert for which I bought tickets in like april so really it is about time.

Oh and how can I forget? JACK'S MANNEQUIN concert too!

So as I struggle through school I am trying to focus on these fabulous events rather than sulk about all the work I have, that I am not doing.

Warning

For those unaware, The Gazette writers have voted for a strike. This is the email all journalism students received from our head of department. I just had to share it.

"It's come to my attention that some Concordia journalism students have been
approached by CanWest to replace regular newsroom staff should there be a strike
or lock-out at The Gazette. While that decision is ultimately up to you,
I would caution you to think very carefully about accepting such an offer
as it is a form of scab labour. Not only could it harm your reputation
and the reputation of our department within the journalistic community,
it interferes with the ongoing collective bargaining process between Gazette
journalists and their employer."

Moral: DON'T write for The Gazette during their lock-out, it is career suicide. Not that I have much of a career right now...

Summing it Up

A friend pointed out that my blog has lacked substance lately. I agreed, so decided to share a few of the things that made my week oh so pleasant.

Tuesdays there is always a conference for first year Journalism students. This week we had the lucky treat of having recent journalism graduates from 06/07 who are currently "working journalists". I was so impressed one worked at the Gazette, another at Global, CTV, Chom, and CJAD. After they introduced themselves and spoke about their careers, I was so inspired. They then spoke about how they haven't had a weekend or summer in two years and shared embarrassing moments and career costing mistakes they have made. Hearing their first hand accounts and their honesty of bad experiences freaked me so much that after the conference I was ready to switch into psychology.

Signing onto facebook and seeing a friend request is something I used to look forward to. However, recently there has been an epidemic of campers adding me. I mean this is expected in August and September but by October I thought I was free from 10-12 year old girls requesting my facebook friendship. Clearly I was wrong. Not only do they add me 100X a day, but they flood my newsfeed, and my photo albums so that I can no longer do any discreet/effortless stalkage.

Public transport was my worst enemy wednesday. I had my first university midterm at 1015 downtown. I left at 915 more than enough time to get there and get a little studying in before the exam. But instead the bus arrived at 925 so full that standing on top of someone was the only option. Of course, a crowded bus is expected at rush hour but not when you live on the route's second stop. Hoping to do a little refresher on the bus was clearly no longer an option. I dealt with my frustration by realizing I still had the metro portion where I could do a little studying. So I get to the metro and hop on the cart just in time to hear that the orange line is down for an undetermined amount of time. Cool. It is now 9:40 and my class and midterm are so soon that I begin to freak out and contemplate heading out to find a cab. I decide to wait it out but I'm so nervous that I will miss my exam, that studying while waiting is no longer an option. I decide I will wait two more minutes. It is now 9:47 and I can no longer wait. As I am about to get up and go, the doors thankfully shut. But by then I am so nervous I stare at my watch the entire rest of the ride. With no studying done, I get to my exam just in time. This seems like a happy ending unless you know anything about me which means emily + nerves = death. I will be surprised if i get more than 25% on my midterm. Fun times.

So I don't really think this vent session counts as substance but it is a little more personal than my Top 3s. I am just thankful that tomorrow is Friday. Hopefully the weekend will bring me and this blog some more excitement...

Press Pass (and The Hills and My Birthday)

The Hills is my not so guilty pleasure. I am proud t o admit that I watch it and I love it!
I don't aspire to be like them, I don't think the show has any substance or truth. It's funny and enjoyable and it is the perfect endings to my Monday nights.
Anyways... this weeks episode featured the ongoing saga of Lauren and Audrina's dwindling friendship. Generally it looks like made up drama that is acted, staged and totally unemotional. BUT this week the two shared a heart to heart that grabbed my heart. (Lame... I know) Both girls had tears in their eyes, and bared their intimate feelings to the public. Okay fine, maybe its fake intimate feelings but regardless I couldn't help but feel for the first time in my Laguna/Hills career that I was imposing on an intimate exchange between "friends".

The other thing I so desperately need to discuss is my love/hate relationship with the 27th of September. Birthdays are always filled with so much hype but despite endless attempts of perfect plans they are also always a let down. Like many things in life, I am nervously awaiting the day when I must choose how to celebrate my 19th. Decision day is max a week away and this is a problem because I am idealess. I do however intend to have super low expectations so that if it sucks, I have saved myself from extra emotional distress.

I have to brag about what is guaranteed to be the best part of my week. Today I found out that as a Journalism student I get my very own Press Pass :) Can't wait! I hope that I can use it to get into movies and concerts oh and of course use it to write super awesome articles/reviews.

Off to read Twilight (yes I am already hooked).

Goodbye Summer

Today was the big day...
I had my first Journalism class: Writing and Reporting I.

I was hoping that one of the assignments would be to start a blog but my teacher informed us that it is a newspaper writing course. Print journalism only! Guess not then.

Highlights included getting the window seat on the shuttle bus, making my first University friend and surviving the heat in my jeans.

Bad vibe of the day was being awoken by a phone call at 5:30am from a blocked sender. When I answered, I overheard two girls with familiar voices in a conversation about a topic I no longer remember. After saying "hello" to no response, I assumed it was a pocket call by strangers. BUT NO! Moments later this girl on the other end screeched and said "Oh no! I just called Emily White". Then, they hung up before I could ask who was there.

My curiosity concerning the mystery caller has ruined my life not to mention the fact that summer is officially over. Thankfully, I have Thursdays and Fridays off to recover from today's traumatic events.