Day One

This was yesterday:

Today was a rain cloud. So much for dry, hot and sunny (not that I'm complaining), BUT most importantly it was day one on the job.

The Courier is conveniently located downtown: one block from the marina, three from the beech, two from the courthouse, a couple steps from the police/RCMP office and more. The building itself is a medium-sized, one-story building with a printing press inside (at 3 p.m. when they start the press the whole building vibrates for awhile, it's quite entertaining).

Andrea (the other intern and a fellow Charlatan employee and Carleton journalism student) and I took bets on whether or not amidst all the election drama they would remember us (they didn't).

Turns out that since they all have to stay late tonight to get election results in, none of them planned to show up until 12:30 which left Andrea and I standing there at 9:30 with Micah, a night editor and day-time editor for the Westside Weekly, a bi-weekly publication for West Kelowna (the city across the lake that took great pains to distance themselves from Kelowna and then promptly named themselves West Kelowna, go figure).

Given that Micah had a light load for the day and we had nothing to do she took us on a car tour of Kelowna and West Kelowna, treated us to some baked goods and gave us the run-down on the paper and the town (drama, politics, the local First Nations) and by time we had returned there was a cop presser on our desk, more reporters in and work to be done.

Quick lowdown: the paper has about three reporters which means they're stretched a little thin (their world stories come from the Associated Press so the reporters just cover local), which means Andrea and I will have our work cut out for us and lots and lots to do (which is precisely why I wanted to work here).

Andrea and I hung around polling stations (feeling like creeps) asking people why they though voting was important and compiling streeters before heading back where I interviewed the RCMP spokesman and wrote up a quick brief about a marijuana bust for the Westside Weekly and then got started on rewrites for tomorrow's paper.

Everyone is cheery and fairly good humoured so I would consider it a successful (if sometimes dry) first day. Also, it's a small, small world. One of the night editors is a Carleton graduate and a former employee at Postmedia which for those who don't know, share's an office with Global National in Ottawa (or it did) when I worked there.

Alrighty, off I go for some dinner and some relaxation (I'm walking like crazy and apparently 3-hour jet lag hits me more than 6-hour jet lag, but hey!).

Hope everyone voted and is staying up to see the results! :)

-Jane

PS on sad news I have a massive blister that is causing me great pain and I just thought I would share. Please send your sympathies my way.