I've been busy today working on several things, but it's been one of those days when it feels like I've not accomplished much. It usually seems like the busier I get in my job at the newspaper, the less I'm able to accomplish.

Well, maybe I should rephrase that in a simpler form. When things seem hectic-covering events, interviewing people, answering the phone, going to spot news happenings-I tend to have a hard time getting anything finished and ready to print.

When things are the most quiet, that's when I'm able to get my work caught up.

However, without the hectic times, I wouldn't have anything to type once it did get quiet. In truth, I do my best work during the busy time, with the rush and press of the deadline growing nigh. But it wouldn't be enjoyable at all if I had that much pressure every day.

I suppose that's really one of the best things about my job, the fact that I have lots of variety to which I can look forward. I might be taking photos today, interviewing someone tomorrow, attending an event the next night and at a meeting the following day (or night). While that might sound exciting (and be exciting), it can also be a little nervewracking. And although variety is the spice of life, too much can cause heartburn.

The very things that make my life interesting also mean that I'm never truly off work. I get information in the grocery store, driving down the road and even visiting with my friends. Sometimes just trying to eat a meal at a local establishment can turn into an unscheduled interview.

I remember someone telling me that a former editor said, "If you're talking to me, you are talking to the newspaper." I've never kept that mantra, instead trying to delicately balance the tightrope of having a life outside of the news and still covering and doing what needed to be done. It isn't always easy to separate the two. Many of the people I know have invited me personally to dinners or events and then expected me to cover them at the same time. I don't really mind, but it's hard to tell where the friendship ends and the working relationship begins that way.

My own mother has given me a number of news tips, which can really seem weird since she lives in Galax, Va. In fact, she has more friends in this county whom she calls regularly than I do. I know a lot more people, but she spends more time with those she knows and talks to them more frequently.

At any rate, sometimes I think I might like to try something else, just to do something different, to learn a new skill set. But after spending much time at a newspaper, it's really hard to do anything else. It sort of gets to be a part of you, like having ink in your veins. Most people who leave it either come back or enter a similar field.

As for me, it's become the way I identify myself-it's who I am. I've been at it so long, I can't really imagine doing anything else.

I've done other kinds of work and I do enjoy working on my ‘projects' when I'm not at the paper. While I do enjoy fixing things and building things, it wouldn't be as much fun if I had to do it every day. Just two or three days in a row is enough to wear me completely out. And if I worked for myself, there'd probably be no days off. As it is, whenever I'm not doing my job at the newspaper, I'm usually doing something.

But just like everything else, no kind of work is great all of the time. If jobs were pure pleasure, people wouldn't get paid to do them. Those are called vacations and sometimes even they aren't all fun.

There are moments that aren't enjoyable, such as sitting through long meetings and trying to write everything accurately or covering a tragedy. However, there are things I really like, such as meeting new people and sharing information that helps people and organizations. In addition, I don't have to keep doing the same thing all the time. I usually try to sprinkle things in here and there that require time outside the office and away from the computer. I've always enjoyed working with computers, but too much is too much. I spend the first two days of the week on the computer nearly non-stop, writing stories, placing and sizing photos and laying out pages and headlines.

On Wednesdays, it's always a relief to have the newspaper out and to get away from the office in a quiet vehicle for awhile. That's when I pick up the printed newspapers from the press and then deliver them, later that same day, to a couple of post offices.

By Thursday and Friday, it's time to start gathering news for the next week's newspaper and it all starts over.

It's good to move forward, since anything that comes up from the past weeks' editions is seldom good. If someone contacts us about a story, he or she usually wants to complain, report an error, ask a question or thank us. The order those items are listed are similar to the frequency with which they occur.

And while I might complain about things from time to time, there's really nothing like it and I'm thankful that I have a job and that my needs are met. After all, this is the only thing I've every really wanted to do.
 

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