First couple days working at the News & Observer!

Phew, this week has passed by so quickly!! I came back from Maryland last Monday afternoon and hurried around trying to get everything done. I had to vacuum the apartment (so I wouldn't have allergies.. Boo.), buy groceries (yay for healthy eating! I'll explain more about that later.), do my laundry (it's so expensive! I miss doing laundry at home!!), and grab some things from Duke for the Duke Journal of Public Affairs (http://www.dukejournal.org/ - Look out for our upcoming issue analyzing terrorism!). After finally getting settled, I got ready for my first day of work!

Wednesday, May 26 - Headed in to work at 9:30pm at the News & Observer office in downtown Raleigh (a lovely place!). I got trained with the writing and editing program the newspaper uses and learned some interesting things, like how the N&O shares a Sports section and a Features section with the Charlotte Observer (meaning that some of my stories may be published by both papers!). After being taught that system and being reminded to fact check my stories, I got a brief tour of the newsroom (3rd floor, though Sports is on 2nd floor). After, I met my mentor, Robbi Pickeral and had lunch with her at the Raleigh Times (it used to be a newspaper before its circulation fell too low and it was forced to close). I got to see downtown, which was really cool! After, I met with the two head sports editors in Raleigh and got my first assignment -- to write a feature story on somebody. (I can't tell you who because then that would spoil the surprise, but be on the lookout for a link!!) & Since I didn't get the chance to take a lot of pictures, these are from the Internet.

A picture of downtown

Right near where I work! I want to say a little bit across the street.

A drawing of an angled front view of the office. (It's a fairly large building with 3 stories and a basement).

A small picture of about half of the office.

Thursday, May 27 - Interviewed some people for the story and got started on it. Otherwise, nothing much.

Friday, May 28 - Headed to Zebulon (that should give you a hint about the story!) to interview three people and headed back to the office to keep working on the story. After work, I came back to my apartment and had some dinner and edited the Duke Journal before heading out for a trip downtown with Stephen. We walked around for a little bit and saw the State Capitol before it started raining (and thunder and lightning)! The rest of the evening was spent relaxing while I continued editing the journal and now am about to watch a movie before calling it a night. Below are some photos that Stephen took with his new DSLR camera!

A map of downtown in front of the park across the street from my office

The right-hand side of the office at night

A quaint street leading up to the State Capitol

A picture of the lightning!

This weekend should be more relaxing with Memorial Day (and no work!) on Monday, but I got another story assignment, so I'll be working on both those stories. I also discovered a gem while reading movie reviews about Sex & the City 2 -- there's a film out in Raleigh from the Sundance Festival by street artist (graffiti artist) Banksy called Exit through the Gift Shop at The Colony. I'm thinking of seeing either that or the foreign film The Secrets in Their Eyes at another local theater, The Rialto. It's great how they show independent and foreign films! Otherwise, if the weather holds up (I sure hope so because it was so nice this afternoon!!), I might go for a swim or a jog, or head downtown again for a bit.

I'll try to keep updating more, but the internship is keeping me busy! Oh, and in other exciting news.. I have a work email address (patricia.lee@newsobserver.com) & a work phone number!!