Fort Lauderdale, FL
I’m back at Kinko’s. Traffic is whizzing by out there. Some of them can’t wait to get home and others can’t wait go get to the restaurant or bar. My plans are up in the air. I think a South Beach trip may be in the works, but we’ll see.
I started off the morning with a bug. Not a bang, a bug. I guess it was to be expected from an old house in steamy Florida. Last night I turned back the clock 20 years and attended a sleep over. Mark’s roommate was home, so I made a little bed on Mark’s floor. I laid down 4 blankets, a sleeping bag, and then put a sheet on top of it. I had a long day yesterday and crashed right out. I woke up this morning and laid there for a while. Finally when I put my eyes on, I saw that a little beetle like thing was my bed partner.
Pre-trip, I would’ve freaked out. I guess I’m becoming more of a seasoned traveler. It had not effect on me. I flicked it off and got up. There is no blame to be made on my host. This is only because of the age of the house. I guess I got bugged last night.
I woke up today and got around. While out I got a voice mail. I was cleared to go to a newspaper and sit in on a news meeting with some of the staff. I was psyched for that. I’ve never worked on a school paper or anything like that, so this would be neat to see how it goes down. I also wanted to see how it differed from the TV station I was at. These two forms of media, I guess all forms of media, battle each other for eyes.
I arrived and watched the editor get prepared. There is a lot to it. They see each story, have to make edits, give advice, and figure out what will and won’t run. They then take their info to what was called a budget meeting. We went over all of the different stories and what they thought should run and where it should go. It sounds like it can be pretty wild in there for front page stuff. Everything was pretty calm though.
I left and was a bit surprised. These guys have to go through this every single day, for every single edition. A job at a paper would not be boring. There is always something to work on. I was glad to see this.
I then set out for lunch. I went in search of Mexican. Chips, cheese, and a burrito. I had no idea where one was because I was about 30 minutes from Mark’s. I took an exit I new had a mall and went looking. As usual I tried to let my man skills guide me. I went into a strip mall. Nothing. And another. Nada. And another. I was hungry and starting to get frustrated. I finally stopped in at Home Depot and asked. 2 minutes later I was in.
As with Mexican, too many chips and then the food. I ate it all though. At least all of the meal, burrito and taco. I left most of the rice and beans. I then went immediately to Mark’s and passed out for ten minutes.
He and I were bored, I had no interviews on a Friday afternoon. So I brought up a movie. We headed out to some A/C and Troy. Mr. Pitt played a good Achilles. There was a ton of battling and not enough character building. But, I was still pleased with it. And now, here I am.
Time to see what happens on this Friday night. I may not be a Monday – Friday guy anymore, but weekends are still easier to relax.
Enjoy your weekend. I’m off to Naples, FL tomorrow.