Wednesday at the paper, and although we put out the special weekend paper this morning, this afternoon has been really slow. Today's paper looks good, if I say so myself *blows on fingernails*.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was the fact that I got a letter from Cocoa Mill Chocolates yesterday. It was basically a rejection letter on my resume for the position they had open. However, they sent something along with it that made me smile:

A $5 gift certificate. Woo-hoo!!!

In any case, I plan to use that sucker sometime soon. Valentine's Day is coming up. Hmmm...

Ooops, almost forgot it's This or That Tuesday time!

1. Bacon or sausage?
BACON!!! Baconbaconismellbaconthere'sonlyonethingthatsmellslikebaconandthat'sBACON!!!!

2. Eggs: scrambled or not?
Scrambled sometimes, but mostly fried over hard with the yolks broken.

3. French toast or regular toast?
Mmmmmmmm, French Toast.

4. Pancakes or waffles?
Must I choose? Darn you!!! Pancakes.

5. Mufins or bagels?
Nothin' says lovin' like a blueberry muffin! :)

6. Coffee or tea?
Iced, tea. Hot, coffee. Although I will readily take the vice versa.

7. Juice: orange or grapefruit?
OJ OJ OJ!

8. Hot or cold cereal?
I'll admit I'm more inclined to go for cold cereal in the AM, but I'd sure like a bowl of oatmeal once in a while.

9. To put in cereal: bananas or strawberries (or some other fruit)?
Bananas. They're always in season.

10. Eat breakfast at home or at a restaurant?
Gimme a home cooked breakfast at...

wait for it...

home. (der!)

Second day on the job and all's well. I shot most of the paper for this week and cleaned it up for printing. I left shortly before it was "put to bed", but rest assured I shall see many issues through to the bitter end for a time to come. :)

I just got back from the last performance of Working. It was not exactly a down note, but rather a "grace note" that we ended on. The audience was slow to warm to the show tonight, but once they did, it was fetes and fireworks all the way! I hope that I can do more theatre of some kind in the near future, but I think I've fulfilled myself for the next little while, anyway.

Tomorrow morning I get my first actual photo assignment for the paper. I will be taking shots of an award presentation at the local high school. At 8 in the morning. No one said it was gonna be a glamorous job! :P

First day at work today, under a blanket of snow (that melted by late afternoon, mostly). I think this is going to be a great place to work. I took it as a good sign when I saw the owner of the paper shoveling snow off the walkway as I approached the office.

The guy that I'm replacing is pretty cool. He's leaving to start his own web-design venture that he's been "side projecting" for a while now. The job itself looks like it's going to be a blast. Once I got the basics I was editing photos like nobody's business. :) Thank God for Photoshop is all I have to say. Kathy and I even got to have lunch together and walk a little around downtown Lex.

Tonight was "taping night" for Working. This was the show that's going to live on in audio/visual form forever, or damn near it. The guy taping it said he'd have DVDs of the show (yes, you read right; DVDs!!!) sometime in the near future. It was okay, except for the fact that I forgot my hat for the last number. Or at least I think I forgot. I'll know when I see the show tape, or DVD, or whatever.

Tomorrow is gonna be a long day. I'm working at the paper and getting it ready for printing, which I'm told can be a long day, indeed! Then, I have the last performance of Working, followed by strike, which will last no later than midnight, or so I'm told. We shall see. We shall see.

So, here I am, having gone through the weekend of Working. It has gone incredibly well. Full or near full houses since we previewed on Thursday. This afternoon's matinee was one of the best Sunday matinee performances I have ever been a part of.

Mom and Dad didn't make it up for the show (the weather and Dad's health conspired to make it happen). Still, it was nice to have Kathy there to see it and lend her support. It was also nice to walk the streets of Lexington yesterday and be recognized by some people.

Tomorrow starts the new job. I'm hoping that I will be able to fit in well, and quickly. This looks to be a better job than my last one, and everyone I've talked to have had nothing but nice things to say about my new boss. Cross your fingers for a good career experience for the Clintster.

This is my Friday Five...

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn't have breakfast, why not?

Some toast with butter and jelly.

2. What's your favorite cereal?

I'd have to say it's a tie between Oreo-O's and Count Chocula. Of cereals that are "good for me", my favorite is Raisin Bran.

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?

About 2-3 times a week. I'd like it to change, but I'm not sure in which direction. :P

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?

Filet mignon. And I have a kickass recipe for it, thankyouverymuch!

5. What's your favorite restaurant? Why?

MY personal favorite is The Bistro, in Boone NC. It's in a strip mall, but once you walk inside, the ambience is fantastic. So's their food, of course (NPI). A definite "go-to" place!!!

OK, more on the new job.

Last month, I saw an ad in the News-Gazette advertising for a part-time receptionist. Seeing as how I had been unemployed for three months, I decided half a loaf was better than none and applied for the position.

Well, last week I got a call from the owner of the paper. He told me he had filled the position, but wanted me to come in and talk to him so he could get a better idea of my abilities and see if he could find something for me through his contacts.

Yesterday he calls me up and says that he wants to talk to me about a position at the paper that had just opened up. He told me it involved "digital imaging, web design, and photography". We agreed to meet this morning at 10 to discuss it.

When I went in this AM, Matt (the owner) sat down with me and told me about the position. It's as photographer for the paper. I'd need to be available during the day, I would take photos and clean them up and prep them for use in the paper, and I'd photograph the set layout for the paper for offset printing.

He took me around the office and showed me the various departments, all the while answering my questions about the position. At the end, he turned to me and said "When can you start?"

It was like he had asked me to marry him. LOL I stood there for a moment, shocked that someone was this ready to hire me that WASN'T part of the food service industry. I looked at him and said "How about Monday?"

He said that was fine and shook my hand, saying "Welcome aboard!"

So I am now gainfully employed as a member of the media. *thankful sigh* And to think that I thought all I'd have to write about was a disturbing e-mail I got from a friend of mine. Maybe I'll work on that later.

I got some news:

I'M EMPLOYED !!!!! WOO-HOOO!!!!!!!!

I'm gonna be working at the Lexington News-Gazette as a photographer/digital imager/computer geek! :) I'll tell the whole story later; right now I'm gettin' some lunch with my Honey Bunny!!!!

YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!!

Counting down to opening night, which is Friday, officially. However, we have a preview going up Thursday, which means that our true grand dress is tonight. Wish me luck.

Last night's rehearsal was all well and good, except for the moment when one of the actresses had a wooden box dropped on her head. I was next to her and grabbed the box before it could do any more damage. She got a knot on her head, but otherwise was fine, and after a few minutes she was ready to do her solo.

Oh yes, my parents are coming up this weekend to see the show. We think we're ready for them to come up. We've offered them our couch to sleep on, but I'm betting that the odds are they'll end up sleeping in our bed. Not that that's a big deal, mind you. I just hope we can have a good visit from them. :)

Finally, it's entirely possible I might have a job by the end of this week. More later.

This is Tuesday, That is a list :)

1. Morning or night person?
I'm a night person, guar-on-tee!

2. Heavy or light sleeper?
I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.

3. Remember your dreams or not?
Depends on the dream. If it's intense or excessively weird, I'll be sure to remember it.

4. Do you need a lot of sleep, or just a little?
Lots of sleep!

5. Do you need something like a nightlight or TV to sleep, or do you prefer complete darkness?
I prefer darkness and quiet.

6. Flannel sheets or some other kind?
Using regular percale sheets, though flannels would be nice right now.

7. One pillow, or more?
More, more, MORE!

8. Bedroom door opened or closed at night?
Open.

9. Wrap yourself into blankets like a cocoon, or just cover yourself with them?
I just like to cover myself, although as morning approaches, I like snuggling in them a bit more.

10. Alarm clock: wake to music or buzzer?
We wake to a buzzer. I like to wake to music, though.

Saturday morning, I woke up and turned on the television. And as has happened all too often in the past, I saw an awful event unfold before my eyes. CNN was reporting that the space shuttle Columbia was overdue for its landing at the Kennedy Space Center. Just then, they reported that they had gotten video of the shuttle flying over Dallas, TX on its final approach.

As I watched, I saw a bright dot move across the screen. The dot soon became two, and then four. I realized that the shuttle was breaking apart in midair. Still, I held out hope that somehow the astronauts would survive, through a combination of miracles and suitable protection. I realize that it was a vain hope, but still I crossed my fingers.

Within an hour the news exploded. More footage came in, this time of debris falling over eastern Texas. A ceramic tile in a yard; what looked to be a shredded tire in a driveway. I saw footage of a scorched field, obviously set aflame by falling debris. And I saw radar footage of the debris path as it made an angry red swath between Tyler TX and Shreveport LA, like a scar across the nation.

Like many people, my mind flashed back to the last time this happened. It was January 27, 1986. I was 19 and I had just been fired from a factory job I had been working at for only a week. I had been sleeping off the effects of the job (it was at night), and I had just woken up, groggy and grumpy.

Suddenly my aunt Sue appeared at the front door. She had come to town to do some shopping. Aunt Sue asked me, “Have you been watching the TV?”

“No,” I replied, “Why?”

“The space shuttle exploded”, she told me. Aunt Sue kidded around with me quite a bit, so I didn’t believe her at first. The look in her eyes, however, told me that maybe I should turn on the TV and check it out.

There it was, splayed all over ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN. The Challenger rising from the launch pad, in what had quickly become a routine event, only to transform into a ball of flame just over a minute later.

There were the Corrigans, Christa McAuliffe’s parents, watching the sky with pride, then confusion, then panic, as their daughter rose to and became one with the heavens. There was the shot of her students in Concord NH, cheering the launch only to turn to grief within a span of two minutes.

I grieved as well. I had been following NASA as long as I could remember. One of my first memories was watching the launch of Apollo 16 in 1972. I saw men walking on the moon. I saw Americans and Russians shaking hands in space, when that was considered to be a monumental event. I sweated out the years between Apollo and the Space Shuttle, contenting myself with coverage of the Voyager missions and dreams of someday experiencing weightlessness myself.

It all came crashing with a sickening thud on January 27, 1986, and it happened again Saturday. The ironic thing is that the night before the Columbia fell apart, I was doing online research on the Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 tragedies. I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have died on the way home from a space mission. That had never happened before on an American space mission. Unfortunately, we can no longer make that claim.

So what happens now? I honestly don’t know. In ‘86, the Challenger tragedy kept the US out of space for almost 3 years. Of course, back then we didn’t have a space station in progress to worry about. We still have Americans aboard the International Space Station. The Russians can give them a ride home, I suppose, but then what? There are several modules to be taken to the ISS. Hopefully something can be done to complete it.




May the spirit of exploration continue...

I had a post ready on the Columbia tragedy that I typed on my laptop, but I can't get the file transferred properly. Well, I'll try later.

We had wet tech today. It went from 10am until 5pm. Kathy and I had lunch during our break, which was good for her since she was having car trauma, and good for me since I wanted to have lunch with her anyway. That said, this was the LONGEST tech rehearsal I have EVER sat through!

5 days until opening.

Some history on spacefaring tragedies:

Apollo I - Although Apollo I never officially lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, it became America's first space tragedy when three astronauts were killed in a fire which swept through the command module during a routine systems test.

Edward White

Roger Chaffee

Virgil "Gus" Grissom

Soyuz I - The first launch of the Soyuz spacecraft (still in use today) was supposed to rendezvous with a second Soyuz spacecraft, but that launch was scrubbed after Komarov reported problems with deploying the craft's solar panels. After a day in orbit, Soyuz I was ordered back to land. During reentry, the main chute did not deploy. Komarov deployed the reserve, but became entangled with the main, and the Soyuz I descent module crashed into the ground. Komarov became the first official spacefaring fatality.

Vladimir Komarov

Soyuz XI - This mission was the first to link up to Salyut I, the first space station. The mission itself was supposed to last 30 days, but the mission was cut short due to a small fire in the station and difficult working conditions. Upon separation from the Salyut, a pressure valve was accidently loosened. One of the cosmonauts attempted to reseal it, but all the oxygen leaked out of the capsule. Although the capsule automatically deployed its chute and made a soft landing, the crew of three were found dead in their seats.

Georgi Dobrovolsky

Viktor Patsayev

Vladislav Volkov

STS 51L - The United States' first in-flight space stragedy. 73 seconds into the flight, the space shuttle Challenger exploded in a fireball, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The crew included Christa McAuliffe, a civilian who was to have become the first teacher in space. An investigatory panel later determined the cause of the explosion to be a faulty O-ring on one of the solid rocket boosters (SRB).

Gregory Jarvis

Christa McAuliffe

Ron McNair

Ellison Onizuka

Judith Resnik

Francis (Dick) Scobee

Michael Smith

The STS-107 crew includes, from the left, Mission Specialist David Brown, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialists Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla and Michael Anderson, Pilot William McCool and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon.

In case you happen to be reading this at the time that I'm posting this, there is something major going on. NASA list contact with the space shuttle Columbia this morning as it was coming in for a landing. Footage from Dallas, TX shows what could be Columbia breaking up. This is awful. I'll post more in a few.

And if you are reading this between 9-10 am, go to the television and watch.