Windows

When I arrived back at work from my two-day sick leave, there was a gigantic sheet cake on the table in the kitchen. The downtown merchants got together and bought a cake that read, "We will miss you!" The feeling is mutual.

The move for the most part was successful. My desk has a window which is of a little concern to my boss. He doesn't want me to be distracted, but truthfully, the natural sunlight is very nice. I do better with natural light. Because I work for both papers, being in two offices was very difficult for me. But one location has helped me dramatically. I'm much more organized and less scattered. For the rest of the bunch, there is a ton more driving. I guess we'll live.

One interesting part of this whole move is that both staffs are now together in one room. The interaction is interesting. While working on our deadlines the other day we started talking about being Lesser Journalists. One of the reporters, a young guy had to do a career day event as a presenter. (I covered the event as a reporter.) He said he told the students not to get into reporting unless you have a passion and love for it, because it just doesn't pay.

"That's true. I do this because I love it, not because I want to make a lot of money," one of the LJs said. She's addicted to the randomness of it all. A week or two ago a citizen on a ride along with the police tackled a guy who had just kidnapped a little girl and was caught in the act of molesting her. It was big news and it happened to us.

This is the kind of job where you just never know who you are going to meet. The guy down the street might just have a facinating story to tell.

It's up to us Lesser Journalists to uncover that story and write something that people want to read. We're doing the best we can, even with a window office.

TARB