See you later...

Journalism, I'm over you.

All through grade school and college I was so in love with you. Even through my first couple of years as a journalist, the romance continued. But as I'm creeping of on five years as a professional journalist, I think I'm over you.

My eye is starting to wander. I've been looking into public relations and communication work with non-profits.

I won't stray too far from you though. I'm hoping to work with a non-profit or organization with a mission I believe in and help them get their word out.

You're just not your old self anymore, I know I've said it before. Nowadays it's just about "feeding the beast," and it doesn't matter with what. Celebrity gossip and cute pets take front page while news on local government and keeping tabs on elected officials gets buried between the obituaries and an advertisement.

I could go on and on about the differences between you and your former self, but I won't. And maybe this won't be a permanent goodbye, just a "see you later." Maybe after the industry stabilizes and emphasis is put back on your practice rather than how much (excess) money you can make, we can give it anther try. I wish I could hang on and wait it out, but I can't.

Best,
Janelle

Change is coming...

I was shocked when I looked at the blog today and realized I hadn't posted anything for over a year.

The blogosphere has probably forgotten about me by now, so I'm probably talking to myself, but that's OK. This weekend I'm going to plot out a way to revive the blog and return Monday with a new look and new ideas.

A lot has changed in the past 16 months: I've moved to Virginia for a job that's a much better fit for me; the boyfriend has been home for about a year, but is deploying again next week; I've left some people behind but met some new ones; the newspaper industry, my bread and butter, is falling apart.

Other than my personal changes, the world is changing. The economy is a mess and our country's first black president is about to take office.

So I've got a lot of questions - and opinions - and I hope you'll give me another chance as I try this one more time.

See ya Monday

Tables turned

Yesterday I was able to meet six people from different walks of life within a 6-hour time span.

The first was 10-year-old Jessica who I met in a new home set to be raffled off in Bossier City. The proceeds went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a place Jessica knows very well.

I never would have guessed that this friendly little girl, bright-eyed and full of smiles, was 10 – or a cancer survivor.

When she was 7, she was diagnosed with Level 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma (and when I asked how to spell it, Jessica rattled it off like a pro.) It was discovered when she developed a tumor the size of a softball on her right thigh.

Now that she’s doing better, Jessica wants to educate others on the rare disease, “Because me and my mommy weren’t aware,” she said.

I was amazed by this little girl who spoke better than most adults and truly cared about others. She wanted people to donate to the fundraiser to help the other kids at the hospital while she focused on spreading the word about childhood cancer. She also made sure to tell me about her 4th grade teacher who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and she wanted to wish her good luck.

And Jessica didn’t just want to tell her story. Before I left she made sure to suggest that I talk to some of the other kids at St. Jude.

From there I went to one of the poorer neighborhoods in Shreveport where a photographer and I spent time with some shotgun house residents.

Most were 50 years old or older and had lived in their homes for many years. I met one man who had been homeless at one point and now loved his house that only costs him $125 a month. Another man had been relocated to his current house after Interstate 49 was built through his old neighborhood.
I even spoke to a homeless man that is living in an abandoned shotgun house because he’d rather be there than a homeless shelter.

They all had stories to tell, reasons why their lives followed the path they have.

I went home last night feeling a little more enlightened. I think at times even the most open-minded people can have narrow-minded moments, simply because of the fact that it’s hard to think outside of what you know, what you have personally experienced.

I didn’t have to suffer through a terrible childhood disease. I’ve never had to live in low-income housing. I’ve never been homeless. But each of those people touched me and taught me things through their stories that I wouldn't have learned in a classroom or a book.

See, being a journalist isn’t just about what you do for your readers. Sometimes it’s what your readers do for you.

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that's been calling, checking on me and asking about the boyfriend.

He's doing well. The other day he said he's actually having fun. Figure that one out...

Also, I know - as some of you continue to remind me - that I'm falling off with this whole blog thing. I'm going to try to do better and blog atleast once a week.

Who knew I had so many fans? lol.

Genius

I know there are a lot of quotes out there, some inspirational, others funny. Some famous while others aren't quite.

I came across this one the other day that I think will continue to stick with me:

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
~ Bill Cosby

I love it.

Weight gain

I can't believe this.

I just stepped on a scale near my co-worker's desk and was shocked when the needle went past 125, past 130 and right on up to 140! Well, 139 to be exact.

Now, I will admit that I haven't weighed myself for over a year. The last time I went to the doctor I weighed in at about 127.

I knew I had gained some weight lately, but 139?!

An exercise plan is in the works for sure. The problem is I'm not very disciplined. It's hard for me to stay with a routine, so these next few weeks that I try to implement one will be more than a little difficult.

Any advice, or motivation, is much appreciated.

On a happier note...

Some friends and I got together at Photographer Val's to celebrate the 25th birthday of a fellow reporter last Friday. It wasn't much - just food, drank (yes, I said drank), conversation and laughs.

Here are some photos from the party entitled, "David joins the '25 is awesome' club."

The birthday boy and his cake.

Doesn't everyone look like they're having a really good time?

Paparazzi Val (who shot all these photos) strikes again.

Quite a few folks dropped by.

Me and the b/f.

Huddled in the kitchen is where we stayed most of the night.

The party also served to break-in Val's new house, which she bought last month. She's so grown up. Shoot, at 25, I guess we all are.

He's gone...

So, the boyfriend left this morning for his 6-month deployment. Around noon he started on a series of flights that will eventually land him in Iraq.

It was kind of weird this morning when we said goodbye. It was very similar to any other morning that he’d leave for work except the hug lasted a little longer, I had tears in my eyes and we both knew that instead of him coming back at the end of the day, he won’t be back until the end of the year.

I don’t know what I was expecting. Some long, drawn out proclamation of love? A promise of a blossoming future? I think we both knew we have to deal with the situation at hand and though those other thoughts and feelings have to be put on a back burner right now it doesn’t mean they don’t exist or aren’t important.

I’m really not handling it as well as I thought I would. I’ve been crying off and on since he left at 7:30 this morning. (Those that know me know that I’m EXTRA emotional.) I really want to be the strong girlfriend that knows this separation is only temporary and is confident her boyfriend will be back in December, unharmed. For some reason I just can’t be that person right now no matter how hard I try.

This weekend was spent packing, cleaning and just enjoying some down time. He even took me on a mini-tour of his job, showing me their training tools, different types of explosives and their equipment, like the robot they use to disarm bombs. Seeing some of that stuff gave me a better understanding of what he does and, I thought, calmed my fears a little. But all of that was forgotten this morning as he left my apartment.

But, I guess it may be too early to tell since this is only the first day. I can only hope that it gets easier and I can be the person he needs me to be.

Still, December 17 can’t get here fast enough.

It's not just for old ladies

What do you think about when you hear somebody talking about book clubs?

Me, I think of a bunch of older women gathered around a table talking about the plots, similes and allegories in a book I would probably never read.

Well, last month my friend Ashley started a book club and I'm enjoying it. The first book, Things Fall Apart, was a rough one for our group. Not that many people read it (Including me...sorry!) so the discussion was short.

But this month we read The Coldest Winter ever by Sister Souljah and it was drastically different.

I'd read this book before, but I read it again to refresh my memory and really enjoyed our discussion afterwords. Our group of seven had a lengthy discussion and other readers bought up topics, situations and ideas I hadn't thought of before.

For June we're reading my pick, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

So, once again my assumptions about something have been wrong. Our group is young, lively, opinionated and even has a couple of men.

Book clubs definitely aren't just for old ladies...

Forget Los Angeles

Yep. Forget Beverly Hills, all the glitzy events and swanky, exclusive night spots.

I live in Hollywood South.

Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, a prime location for movie production, Shreveport has not only acquired more than a few evacuees, but a substantial portion of the movie industry as well.

It seems like everyone's been in town lately. Rob Corddry from The Daily Show, Mike Epps, Martin Lawrence, Denzel Washingon, Jessica Simpson and Queen Latifah have all been in town or still are, filming movies. And that's a very short list of actors that have come to the area.

Just today I was walking into Starbucks and who was holding the door open for me? Forrest Whitaker.

I was so shocked, I didn't even have time to get star struck. I said hello. He said hello. He was off with two other men, back to whatever they were doing.

I guess that was better than my episode with Rob Corddry, where I followed him to the bathroom in a downtown bar.

Now, I met these two when I wasn't even trying. Just going about my everyday business. I wonder what could happen if I actually tried to put myself in the places I know they're going to be.

Hmmm...maybe I should start carrying around a camera to capture these moments and post it on here for ya'll to see.

Then maybe ya'll will want to move to Hollywood South.