A week of Reflection

So there wasn't a big adventure this week. That can mostly be chalked up to a surprise storm, in which I hydroplaned down 75 before I slowed down. After that, I decided that was my sign to just kick back for the afternoon and take a nap.With my internship being halfway over, this therefore is time for reflection.

Back at the office on Tuesday, things were fairly routine until Sue popped in and asked me to write a personal essay about my online college experience. I said of course, how could I not. I had it written and turned in by the following morning and am keeping my fingers crossed that it makes copy. When I turned it in, Sue said she loved it. It was exactly what she was looking for.

So, I'm halfway home, halfway done with my internship. I realize I've been learning a lot while I'm there. I am getting better at editing, even if I'm not quite there yet. This afternoon I popped in for a short question and answer session with our graphic designer. I asked her some of the same questions that I've asked Kara and Sue. One of my most popular questions is, "How do you find inspiration?"

The answer is "watch what is trending." Because this is an answer I've gotten from all three of my questionees, I've realized that their offices are covered with magazines, all sorts of magazines. I also realized, I'm becoming obsessed with magazines. A quick trip to the grocery store turns into me admiring a magazine, trying to figure out what it is about the cover that makes people pick it up.

I've also watched how they work together. Each one says that every issue that comes out is a team effort. The sales team can't put out a magazine with no content, but the art team, the editors, and the graphic designer can't put together a magazine with no sales team. 

When I was all done with that, I popped into Kara's office to practically beg for a chance to go on a photo shoot, any photo shoot. If I'm going to see things from the ground up, this is one thing I'd like to experience.

Of course my fellow interns and I had lunch today. We didn't visit any unusual spots and while we did go to Skyline, I opted for a salad (still counting calories). I asked them for directions on how to get to a local park, so that I can visit that sometime soon. I also convinced them that on my last day, we need to go to the top of Carew Towers.  Viewing the city sky line will be my final tribute to the city. (for the time being)

As the skies opened up and poured down rain on my three block back to my car, I realized, I've never seen the John A. Roebling bridge with the lights on. It was a breathtaking sight, even as I stood there drenched, I had to have a picture.

I have an adventure in mind next week. It involves crossing the state line into Convington, KY, to see a certain famous church that working on Wedding, I have seen and read a lot about. 

By the way, the homeless guy who stands outside Starbucks in the mornings with the sign that says "When you give to the poor, you loan to the Lord", he was missing today. Probably due to the storms, but last week I noticed, his shift ends at five when the other offices downtown close.

Are you ready to be an editor?

Luggage thrown in the trunk, I yelled up the stairs to my three sleeping boys "I love you guys." "Love you too Mom." Then it was time to be off. This week I decided to visit Ault Park, after all working on Wedding, I've read a lot about it. Remember, Google the address before you go. Those trusty navigators tell you to make a right hand turn, even though all of the Park signs clearly point for you to turn left.

Ault Park is 224 acres filled with trails, lovely gardens and pathways, spectacular overlooks and a Pavilion, that upon reading the history you find out that in 1905 the founder of the park said "Here is a million dollar view worthy of a structure of no lesser beauty than the Parthenon."  I'd have to say he is right. The large Pavilion is the host of many weddings and receptions, and from what I understand many company gatherings.One could easily imagine themselves looking down the stairs at a waiting public.

From the top of the Pavilion you can look down and see the cascading fountain, and formal gardens. The formal gardens have paths that you can walk along, and each one has a picturesque sitting area. In one garden,  I got to spy on a funny young man that whenever someone came near him he would burst into song. After admiring the kaleidescope of colors, it was time for me to search for lunch.
 
I admit to using my navigator for this, and that's how I came into Clifton. Ludlow is a busy street. It has a very small old town feel to it. There are local shops and boutiques. I chose lunch in a quaint coffee shop called "Stillwell's Coffee House." The coffee was wonderful, service excellent and my turkey on rye was delicious. The walls of the coffee house are filled with artwork done by local children. Particularly, there is a paper mache creation, with a map of Clifton. Often there is live music, and they offer WiFi.

Walking down Ludlow, it should be no surprise that I stumbled upon another bronze fountain. Right underneath it were two guys playing the drums. (Have I mentioned my love for street art and street music)

Alas, after that my adventure was over and I went back to my apartment to do school work and prepare for my work day. During my school assignments, I discovered two things. One of those things is that I finish my very last class in September, that's it, I'll have my degree. The other thing I discovered, is that I'm a little panicked about my graphic design class.

As I walked into the office the next morning, Kara brought me the art book. "Are you ready to be an editor?" "Absolutely!" I said as I started to pour through the book. (More about that in a minute) I took an opportunity that afternoon to ask Sue, (another editor) a lot of the questions I had asked Kara. The reason I asked the same questions, is because the answers are different for a monthly magazine, as compared to the special publications  (quarterly, special orders, etc) With the monthly there s more of a time crunch, and I wanted to know how the ideas are formed from month to month.

Wednesday started out a little rough. My mac and I aren't on friendly terms yet so I had to call our fix-it person. She's excellent by the way. Getting to work, I started on the list for the local wedding. I kept at that attempting to get them done, until it was time for the staff meeting.

This is the first staff meeting that all the interns have been at, so we all had to introduce ourselves. Listening in, I realized there is a lot of language I'm still learning. I'm also still learning about how the sales of magazines work. Afterwords, the other two interns invited me to lunch again.

This time we walked the three or four blocks to visit Cincinnati favorite, Skyline Chili. I'll admit it was good, it's also something I couldn't eat all the time. I've been keeping track of my calories, and I won't even tell you what it takes to work off a "small three-way," which is a dish with spaghetti, their secret recipe chili sauce and a mound of cheese. Over lunch we talked about going out on night. The girls want to take me out in Cincinnati to experience the night life. I'm a little worried about going out with two girls that are 21, but how else am I going to find my way? Besides, we're still bonding over our love of books, and the weddings we've been looking at every day.

When I got back to the office, Kara brought me the fully edited art book. So here's the thing, maybe I'm not ready to be an editor, yet. Editing is about more than just making sure the words are spelled correctly and all the commas are in place (serial commas, serial commas) There is a lot about consistency. If you place a word a certain way in one part of the book, it needs to be consistent throughout. Words like "multimedia" lose the hyphen. Of course, I asked a million questions about the next steps. "How long does it take from the printer to the public? How does it get decided how many are printed?" Yep, I've got a lot to learn.

Walking out that night, I was anxious to get home. I have some sketching to do for that graphic design class. This morning as the boys and I cleaned the house together, we talked about the fact that I do feel guilty that we're not getting a lot of family time this summer. They assured me that they understand why I'm doing what I'm doing.

I haven't decided on next weeks adventure yet. I may have to work a half day of overtime at the paying job Monday morning, so the adventure might get delayed a little. Then again, every week in Cincinnati is turning into an adventure.

Traffic, storms, and homesickness

"How many speeding tickets have you gotten so far?" My grandpa asked me when I called him Monday.

"None, Grandpa," This is how conversations with him normally go. I've always taken it for granted that my Grandpa would always be here, and that I'd always be his baby, but recent circumstances have forced me to stop taking him for granted.

There wasn't a large adventure Monday, partially because I stopped to have lunch with an old time friend and used-to-be boss. I was happy to see the "Old Buzzard," as I fondly call him.  We discussed his new grandbaby, and the upheaval and drama of the Paying Job, we also discussed all the cool things I'm learning.

I admit, that lunch with that Old Buzzard made me anxious to talk to my Grandpa. There's a similarity in the two men raised in the same generation, in the same region. The phone call to my Grandpa left me homesick to talk to my other family, and of course I had to call my Aunt.

"I just feel bad that I'm not around as much this summer." I told her, even as she said she understands, they all understand that what I'm doing is important to me. There's a little homesickness and a little loneliness too. That left me wondering, how do I make friends in the city?

Before I could answer that, I was back at the office and once again learning new things. As I learned how to "cut copy" this week, I got a few minutes to actually sit in my editors chair, and I can admit I thought "This is what power is."

When my editor gave me my first real writing assignment, I felt that surge I always get when it's time to get in front of the paper. It's a little hard to describe a place I've never been just from photos. I admit that I was tempted to call and see if I could get a quick tour, because I want my copy to show my real talent, I wanted it to be perfect. For now, pictures will have to suffice.

I questioned this week, with my limited hours whether I'll get to go on a real photo shoot, and if I'll be able to be there to see an edition of a magazine "Sent home". (Sent to the printers, I'm picking up the lingo).  I love that phrase by the way, it's so appropriate, all of the hard work that goes into every edition, knowing it's going to a printer is like sending it to it's rightful place.

My Weds was going very quickly, when one of the other interns popped her head into my office, "Hey, do you want to go to lunch with us?" I jumped at the chance. One, my stomach was rumbling and two, I haven't really talked to anyone besides the editors since I got there.

Talking to the two young ladies was nice. We went across the way for lunch, to Fountain Square. We stopped at a sandwich shop called Potbelly, and I got to see Downtown Cincinnati having lunch. The Square is filled with business people chatting, reading, and just generally taking a few minutes out of their busy lives for a quick bite. Afterwards, the ladies took me to local Cincinnati favorite, Graeter's Ice cream. My mocha chip ice cream was delicious, and the chips are huge.

As we chatted at lunch, bonding over our shared English majors, I felt a little silly confessing my actual age. "Wow, you're really dedicated." They said after I explained how my weeks are going. These girls are the age of Justin, but it gives me someone to talk to, and they've agreed to take me to another local favorite, Skyline Chili. I also got in touch with a Zumba instructor, and was able to pin down the hours for a local class. I was also able to look up a local place to go horseback riding, I'll have to give it a  try soon.  I guess maybe I've started the ball rolling on making friends.

As the big talk today was the huge storm that is supposed to be hitting several states, my editors let me leave a couple of hours early.  The drive home was only a couple hours with no rush hour traffic to deal with. Of course I came home to a list of things to do for the kids tomorrow.

So what should it be next week, horseback riding?, another park? or a contemporary art museum?

Excitements and Worries

After a disastrous weekend at the paying job, (I will call it that so that I don't get into trouble for naming it outright, when I slip and grumble about it) in which I dented something, ruining my accident free streak, I was excited to get back to Cincinnati Monday. I left early Monday armed with a plan. My first stop was to be to Ikea, since I discovered my room in the sublet has no light. Then I would hit the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Plans ended up getting changed, and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Here's the first piece of advice, the little button on your navigator that says places? There's a good chance you should just Google the address before you go, rather than trusting Navigator. While driving my way around a neighborhood that there is clearly no museum in, I did pass the Krohn Conservatory. Finally I decided that I was already right there, I might as well stop.

Parking was a little bit of a trial and I ended up parking a few blocks away. The seven dollar admission price is cheaper than what I thought it would be. (It was listed as 9 somewhere). The current exhibit is Butterflies of Morocco. Of course I instantly fell in love. As you walk through you can hear the soothing sounds of fountains, and see vibrant colors that give the area a Morrocon  feel. Before you are ushered into the butterfly conservatory, you are given what looks like a cardboard coaster and told only one rule. "Don't touch the butterflies with your hands."

When you enter, the views and sounds are breathtaking. Colorful butterflies take flight, and you can listen as little children tell their mom "Mom, a butterfly landed on your head!" You can read about the different species of butterflies and try to coax one onto your waiting cardboard. When you've had your fill of the color, before you exit you are stopped in a tiny room, and asked to turn around. If you have a purse, flap your purse too, this is just to make sure none of the beauties are trying to escape with you. From there, you can walk through the "rainforest" under glass, which offers a spectacular waterfall, and take the picturesque stone tunnel under the waterfall.

After I exited, I decided to walk to the address for the art museum. There are signs directing you, and it's only a few blocks walk. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that the Cincinnati Museum of Art, is closed on Mondays. Instead I walked through Eden Park.

Eden Park has The Cincinnati Playhouse, an outdoor theater, a beautiful and intensely hued gazebo, walking paths, a wonderful magnolia flower garden, two old architecturally-styled walking bridged, and Bettman Fountain. (again with me and the fountains) All totaled the approximately 6 mile walk around was worth the time.

It dawned on me that like most cities, not only is there a rich cultural offering, but there is also poverty. About two blocks away from Eden Park, I stopped at the gas station and was approached by someone asking for spare change.

Back At the Office

I spent the next morning, doing more research and fact checking. That afternoon Kara asked me to attend a staff meeting with her. This was that moment, I played it completely cool and said of course. I grabbed my notebook and pen, but knew if she hadn't been watching, I would have done my infamous "I'm so cool because" dance.

Watching a soft pagination (a tentative layout)  is pretty exciting, well for a rookie anyway. When you hold glossy magazine  pages in your hand you never stop to think about the team or time that it took to put them together. I can appreciate now that it takes a team of people from sales, to graphics and art, to editing to make it come together smoothly. Magazines get planned sometimes months ahead of time. Needless to say, I walked out with a page full of questions to ask. (I didn't want to interrupt the team while they were working)

Wednesday was more fact checking and researching, a few tweaks here and there. Each new thing that I learn, (like how copy gets edited, or how art gets chosen) makes me more enthusiastic for the steps I'm taking.

I have worries too, inevitably I worry about my kids. I worry about how they're doing with me three hours away, even though we're in constant contact. I worry that I may have to cut an adventure or two short and pick up some extra hours at the "paying" job,  to pay for upcoming expenses. I even worry about what path I'll take when I'm finished with this next few weeks, and how my boys will adapt to a changing path that will force them to change.

As I left the office, I stopped to listen to the Reggae band that was beginning to warm up for the evenings music at Fountain Square. I would have stayed longer, but looking down the street I noticed Moms, Dads, Husbands and wives wearing Reds t-shirts and gear, walking towards the Great American Ball Park. I realized there must be a game tonight and that meant traffic wouldn't die anytime soon.

Sometime soon I will go down late on a Monday and stay until Thursday so that I can visit the Museum of Art, and the National Underground Freedom Center that I pass every day. (both closed Mondays) Kara did encourage me to visit the Botanical Garden, and the Cincinnati Zoo. I'll let you know if I have to choose a shorter adventure next time to put in extra hours at the paying job. What do you think my next adventure should be?

View from Eden Park Walkway

Zebra striped Butterfly

Waterfall Krohn Conservatory

Gazebo Eden Park