It's a good time, really.

As I walked into the Missourian after my leisurely lunch , one of the 4450 reporters said, "Wow, you weren't here for an hour." I've spent a lot of time here this week, finishing up a draft of a longer story, working on organizing my shells information and writing the my shells stuff. I've spent a couple of late nights and had a few early mornings. And another friend of mine told me that when I talk about the Missourian, I always sound really excited (unless it's copy editing). The truth is, I am excited. I like working here. I know there are plenty of people who don't and plenty of people who don't understand this job. My brain works completely differently when I'm reporting or writing than it does when I'm doing classwork. Switching from classroom mode to reporting mode is really hard and that's why the Missourian can be so exhausting, not to mention stressful. Class disrupts my flow, keeps me from getting in the zone, or whatever you want to call it. Moral of the story: I've been here a lot and I don't hate it. I think that's a good sign, but it makes deciding what to do after graduation difficult. I've been trying to decide if I want to go to grad school or get a job. I change my mind every week. Today I'm leaning towards a job. But that will probably change a few million times.

On another note, it's really nice to have a back-out schedule. For me, being able to look in one place and see everything that needs to be done and when it should be done is a relief. I feel so much more on top of things. If we had created this two weeks ago, it might have relieved some of the subconscious stress of knowing you had to do something but not knowing when it had to be done by. Now it's down to the wire, and I hope everyone can pull through. I think the product will turn out really well. Another great thing about this schedule: everything is done they day before I go out of town for a friend's wedding. I will be able to enjoy the reception so much more knowing that no matter how much champagne I drink, I don't have a shell story to do tomorrow.