Off the Beaten Path

I'm sure most people are expecting pictures of a certain adventure, a place I said I'd visit this week. I would have gone to Union Terminal, but I got completely distracted by something I didn't even know existed in Ohio. I found a real castle about 20 minutes north of Cincinnati.

I don't really remember how I found it, but when I knew I had to see it. Chateau Laroche, otherwise known as Loveland Castle is a historical castle that sits in Loveland, Ohio. This medieval
castle was built by hand by a man of the name of Harry D. Andrews. Legend says that Harry used to bring his friends, Boy Scout Troops  and Sunday school students to the banks of the Little Miami River. He must have decided this was the perfect spot to built his European castle.

Work was started in 1929, and he spent his whole life until 1981 working on the project. He willed the castle to his Boy Scout troop, The Knights of the Golden Trail. Today, admission is a cheap three bucks. Admittedly, it doesn't take long to walk through. Some of the rooms are closed off, as is the top terrace of the castle. It's worth a trip though, just to say you got to see a real castle. If you stand quietly enough, you can imagine why it's rumored to be haunted.

The office was quiet Tuesday, well quiet for the interns. With Cincinnati Wedding shipping next week, there was a lot of last minute editing for the editors, but not a lot of fact checking or research to be done. The best part of Tuesday, Sue asked if I wanted to see what my personnel essay will look like when it runs.

I didn't know whether to jump up and down or cry as I read my story, there on that glossy page. Admittedly, it's a short piece, but it's mine. Someone will read that, and maybe make the decision to go to college. It's proof that I'm starting to arrive, and headed in the right direction.

Wednesday started off quietly enough. I browsed magazines looking for things that are currently trending, and that could be used in Cincinnati. I also got to work in InDesign, for a few quick moments, thanks to Kara. I admitted to her that I'm terrified of the design programs, but have plans to conquer it.

At lunch, Shelly and I walked quickly, making attempts to avoid Fountain Square, where I'm pretty sure I heard an evangelist on the microphone, and an anti-abortion rally seemed to be going on.  There were pictures of fetuses set up. I try to keep politics off here, but I'm firm believer that a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body.

On the way back from lunch however; I couldn't avoid Fountain Square. See, several years ago on a night where I was the designated driver, one of my friends (whose name I have promised to never publicly out until he has grandkids) drunkenly stripped, and ran across the street to climb and hump Big Boy. There getting ready to leave Fountain Square, stood Big Boy! I knew I had to get my picture with him, to send to my mischievous friend. "I'm cracking up laughing." came the reply.

Thanks to all the storms, I received a text from my boys letting me know the power was out. Being three hours away, I wasn't quite sure what they wanted me to do. I called to make sure they were okay, and reassured them I'd put in a call to the power company to find out how long the outage would last.

Little did I know, those storms were about to affect me too. Interstate 75 north was closed, due to high water, as I looked around I realized I-71 was at a complete standstill.

"Hi, my favorite human navigator system!" I said a little too brightly, as I called Grandpa to explain my precarious position.
"I think you're in trouble." He replied, and when Grandpa can't figure it out, well, there isn't much that can be done.

A few minutes later when Grandpa called me, with his map in hand to help me find a route, I had already established a route out of the city that led directly to route 4. I guess I've got some of Grandpa in me after all.

So there were no fountains this week, but I think the castle more than makes up for that. There are only a couple more weeks of Cincinnati adventures. I'm looking forward to each one.

Crossing borders

I finally crossed the bridge into Covington, KY this weekend, with my purpose in mind. Reading wedding stories and seeing wedding pictures for the last few weeks, I have noticed a stunning building, and even had my editor correct me on the name once.

My destination was Saint Mary's Basilica of the Assumption. As anyone that knows me is aware, I'm fascinated by old buildings, old gothic architecture captures my attention every time. Standing outside, I gazed up at this wonderous building and quickly noted the gargoyles sitting atop the Cathedral.

Before I went inside, I walked through an old iron wrought gate, into the path of a garden lined with statues and fountains. It's very peaceful and quiet back there. Finally it was time to go in. I was greeted at the door by a very sweet elder lady that asked if I had any questions and pointed me to the brochures.

The view inside was breathtaking. The air smelled of incense and it is important to remember that there are people praying and taking mass. I sat in a pew and gazed all around me at the 82 stained glass windows. These windows were why I had earlier been corrected on the churches name. St. Mary's boast one of the largest stain glass windows in the world.

Surrounding on the walls are mosaic tiles showing scenes from the life of Jesus. I always finIt boasts a gold-plated tabernacle, and was created in Ghent in 1913 as a gift to a former Bishop from the people of d peace in those old churches, there's a serenity to be had in the quietness, and the traditions. The one Chapel that tourists are not allowed to take pictures of is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. It boasts a gold-plated tabernacle, and was created in 1913 in Ghent as a gift to a former Bishop from the people of Belgium.

After observing others in prayer and my own quiet reflections, it was time for me to head back to the quietness of my second home. There I frustratingly and painstaking tried to grasp the concept of Graphic Design glass. It's quite the struggle, more than you'd think.

The next morning I was ecstatic to open my office e-mail and discover another writing assignment. This time it involves interviews, and doing the write up of a local fundraising event. I was really excited to get to work.

Something you might not realize about interviewing people, sometimes it's a lot of hurry up and wait. You hurry up and contact people, and have to wait for their schedules to open to have time to talk to you. By the end of the day I was finally able to get in touch with everyone, and begin writing my assignment.

Which was good, because I got to see the pagination for the Wedding magazine. I know, I should be immune to the excitement of it by now. I'm not though. It's still fascinating to me to watch these teams of people come together and compromise on ad placement, and editorial pages and content. Even as I left the office that day I was fascinated by how quickly the design team was able to post the pagination for review.

As I had flipped through wedding photos that day, I noticed a picture of a bride and groom sitting on top of a fountain statue of books. Through a quick search I was able to find out that the statue sits in front of the Cincinnati Main Library. The statue known as the book fountain, is the Amelia Valerio Weinberg Memorial Fountain, founded in 1990. Of course, I had to walk the numerous city blocks to take a picture of that beautiful statue.

The next day was fairly quiet. (Well, other than me and my headphones letting out a loud shriek when one of the other interns stopped to say hello and stood in my door way waiting for me to turn and notice she had caught me dancing) The other two interns (i'm going to name them now, Shelly and Kristen) went to lunch at Panera and then it was back to the office.

I left slightly early hoping to beat the city holiday traffic. Tomorrow is the fourth, I hear the fireworks in Cincinnati are phenomenal and I'm a little sad that I will miss them. I remember when I was little my mom used to drive to Toledo, and we would spend the fourth with my Uncle and my four crazy cousins. (Look Cannon boys, you made my blog)  Friday night is fireworks at my Aunt's house this summer, and as I haven't seen my family all summer, it sounds like a plan. The boys will be with their dad for his families fourth of July event, and I have to work at the "paying job."

Next week,  will be a crazy week I'm told. It's the week before Wedding gets sent to print. I told Kara today that I'm excited to see it laid to rest. It's been wonderful seeing what all goes into the production of it, and how many people are involved.

So, I found out that Union Terminal is opened on Mondays, wonder if that will be next weeks adventure?

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?