run of the mill?

i suppose i always knew it would become routine, but i didn't think it would happen so quickly.

i was running errands this afternoon, taking care of the day-before-work necessities i had thought of, when i figured i should pick up a copy of the paper, as my last column as a correspondent ran in it. i've actually grown rather lax about making sure to get copies. when i first started (and during my defender days), i made sure to grab numerous copies of each paper that included a column or story i'd written - a copy for myself, a copy for the family, a copy for clips, etc. lately, however, i've simply been picking up a copy for clips purposes - and that's when i'm particularly pleased with what i wrote. i had a story that ran yesterday and completely forgot to get a copy - and when i remembered this morning (well, ok, this afternoon, as i woke up just before noon), it was brief flash through my mind that i quickly set aside for more important things.

it's nothing shocking or particularly profound to note, but it intrigues me, now that i think about it. when i thought about how things would be when i was writing professionally, i assumed i would have stacks upon stacks of papers, all preserved in their newsstand form so i would eventually have an extensive archive of my work. i knew i'd get a copy of the paper as quickly as i could so i could tear through what i'd written and be sure it met my high standards.

now, even just a few months into being published on a semi-regular basis - just before i start working full-time - i already have stacks of papers and realize that while my apartment has ample shelve space, i don't want to keep newspapers everywhere. trying to keep track of every article in a complete newspaper would be a pain and quite wasteful on my part. instead, i'm creating an archive of clips that i'm beginning to file away in my own little system - i plan on ultimately getting a filing cabinet to keep them in.

it's just funny to me, i suppose, to realize that i love writing for a newspaper, but i'm now looking at it as a profession and something to excel at, whereas before there was a good part of me looking at it as a chance to see my byline in print.

in other news ... i wish to offer a counterargument to a certain downtown establishment's owner, who informed me that i hate that establishment and karaeoke a few months ago (the result of a column i'd written about the downtown scene on a particular night). if i hate these things, why was i there for several hours last night, rocking out with friends and singing karaeoke, hmm? i had a grand time ... after being amazed by the work of the improv asylum (yeah boston!) last night at the flynn, we went to enjoy karaeoke goodness for awhile, which turned into almost 2 a.m. and i had a blast.

my last attempt at karaeoke is somewhat blurry in my mind, the result of grateful deads, red death and a mellonball at a bar on the south shore a couple of years ago - i do recall that michelle and i gave a stirring (or is it slurring?) rendition of "bitch" and that we sang several other songs - but the rest of the night (well, the part of the night i would prefer to remember) is hazy, as this little songbird wound up living the rockstar life a bit too much.

this time? johnoghue and i duoed with "babylon" and i went solo on "one week" and "flagpole sitta." johnoghue nailed "cat's cradle" and "you can call me al," while liz rocked the cashbah with "cabaret," "you learn," "hit me with your best shot" and "piano man." it was a great end to an evening of caffeinated goodness, catching up, comedy and carousing (sorry, couldn't help it - i needed to take the alliteration as far as i could).

my captain obvious statement for the day: the pats are in the super bowl, which kicks off this evening. when the pats won two years ago, i was in the defender lab, checking proofs while running to the other room to get the score update on the television. while the rest of campus went crazy, i was sending out my photo editor to get celebration shots he never actually wound up getting. needless to say, i missed out on the fun super bowl victory celebrations. this year, i'd intended to travel down to the boston area to watch the game somewhere and go crazy with the rest of the hometown crowd. but since i start work tomorrow, those plans were pretty much scrapped (as were the plans to travel to tuesday's victory celebration - grr). so i'm going to be smart and hang out at my place to watch the game, enjoying some relaxation and, hopefully, some decent commercials (generally the only reason why i watch the game any non-patriot year). good times. relaxing times, which is probably a wise plan of attack, considering.

i should note, however, because i was so shocked and thrilled about this, that i, not-a-fan-of-american-football-even-though-brady-is-amazing girl, managed to answer a patriots trivia question correctly when my father, mr.-i've-been-a-fan-through-thick-and-thin-former-season-ticket-holder-sat-through-the-snowstorms-with-just-a-coat-and-hat man, answered it incorrectly. and, FURTHERMORE, i added insult to injury by offering the correct score of the 1986 super bowl, when he was off by 10 points and was convinced i was in the wrong.

take that, i say.