Working a double

I'm down in the basement of Texas Student Publications right now, trying out for a copyediting position on the Daily Texan, our student-run paper. It looks like the job, which pays almost nothing, has a lot of downtime. Cool, because it will leave me no choice but to work on my thesis. Of course, I have to get the job first, but I don't imagine that will be a problem, considering this is also my day job.

The two girls working with me, Mandy and Jill, seem about the same skill level and are actually a lot of fun to work with. Looking at the try-out sheet, I notice that of the 20 or so names, only two, including mine, are male. Excellent.

It's strange, but I already feel at ease here in the basement. I guess the laid-back nature of a newsroom suits me, especially given its frequent, but short, bursts of intense concentration. I work well in short spurts, much to the disappointment of a couple ladies in the past, I'm guessing.

I also picked up an app for a columnist position. Once a week, six to seven hundred words. Should be fun. I get to write about whatever I want. Hopefully, I can turn those pieces into prime fodder for my thesis. Or maybe I can adapt some of what I've already written in spirals and in my weblog for use in columns.

But already, I can tell the days when I have to work down here will feel strange. Thinking back, I feel like work this morning was ages ago. If anything, this new job will acclimate me to an entirely different publishing environment, which I find somewhat exciting, nerd that I am. And it will let me meet a bunch of new people. Nothing wrong with that.

Words, words, words this summer. Don't let me ignore my pictures.