apparently this is payback for all the times i've cursed my desire to be a journalist. and how sweet the payback is! *knock on wood*

tonight i'm going to see tom wicker in the international commons. wicker is a pretty big name in journalism--new york times, reported from dallas about the jfk assassination--he's got amazing stories and i'm incredibly excited about being able to listen to him and perhaps speak to him afterwards. it'll be cool to speak to someone who has done so much for the field and has been a witness to some of the major events in recent american history...

monday is new york day. plane tickets have been purchased, erica and i are set to go. i'll only grumble a little about having to be at the airport at 5:30 a.m. at the latest--i have no problems with being awake at 4 a.m., but it's generally because i haven't slept yet, forget waking up that early...a conference at the new york times, then a couple hours to kill in the city before heading back to laguardia for the flight back to burlington. an opportunity to be in the new york times, a chance to meet with other college journalists and make some connections (much as i hate that word because i feel like i'm a corporate shark whenever i use the word). it's a little nerve-wracking to be flying in and out of the city on the six-month anniversary...but making my first trip to the city since before 9-11 will probably be eerie, especially on that day. it looks like we'll be there for the first showing of the "towers of light", which i'm glad i'll be able to witness. well, not glad per se, but i'd like to think you know what i mean. considering that i tend to be a sentimental sap, i think being there on that day will mean a lot to me.

tuesday it looks like i'll be going along with burlington-area kids for chill--a program sponsored by burton snowboards and mitsubishi motors. basically, kids are given the chance to snowboard at bolton mountain for free and learn to ride. it sounds like a cool program, and i'll be writing a piece on it. i spoke with maggie, the head of the program, and she's thrilled that i'm covering it and matt said i could go crazy with the story. i'll ride to bolton with everyone, talk to kids, talk with the coordinators, and they even said i could give boarding a shot myself, which i'm super excited about! i'm sure i'll break myself, but hey, what the hell, it'll be fun.

things are busy, but good busy, and i feel happy that i'm accomplishing things. i called howie's management today and left a voicemail for shawn, so i'm hoping to find out if howie would be able to play at the concert. if not, one of the people from don law said she's got a bunch of artists who would work really well, so maybe we'll be able to even book one of them for a reasonable price and have a good time.

so now i just need to get my defender stuff done, work on my review to send in to ACTF, and make sure i get rest sunday night so i'm not a zombie on monday. crikey!