Is it too soon?

I'm bored. I kinda want to put my Christmas tree up, but in the back of my head I keep telling myself "NO!". Growing up I thought it was just plain wrong and crazy to put the tree up before celebrating Thanksgiving. When is it too soon to put your Christmas tree up? I guess having my own place and Christmas tree (I got a six footer this year!) I feel the need to put it up sooner. Like it would make coming home that much better and just brighten up my mood and spirit.

I am going to budge a little this year. Now matter how much I want to whip out the tree, ornaments, and lights right now... I'm going to wait until next Wednesday to put it up. That way it will be up when I get back from Thanksgiving in St. Louis. :)

Week 21: November 9-15

Sunday, November 9, 2008: Brought Bailey to Springfield!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008: Went to Wingapalooza for the 1st time. Yummy.

And the winning name is...

...Bailey!

I think it's a cute, and fitting, name for the little stud.

The poor little guy has an upper respiratory infection right now. The vet gave me medicine to give him (the yummy pink stuff you take when you're a kid) and boy is it fun making him drink it! His sneezing has all but stopped. However, his nose is now a snot factory. I just wish I could tell him to blow into the kleenex!

I got a kitten!

I have a new man in my life. Of course I didn't replace Jason... I got a kitten!

I haven't named him yet, but I do have a couple names in mind. I got him Saturday at the Humane Society in St. Louis. He's not even 4 months old yet and he's so soft! Mom and I went Friday when I got home and he was one of the first kittens I saw when we walked in. He was exactly what I was looking for: a long-haired, gray kitten. We waited around about an hour and a half so we could sit in a room with him for a bit. He was so shy and just wanted to sit in the corner.

Saturday we decided to go back and see if he was still there. Good thing we went when we did. About 5 minutes after we got in the room to visit with him again, Mom and I saw some other girl staring us down. We overheard her say she came in to see him in particular. After waiting around for Jason to stop by and see if he was allergic... I adopted him!

The trip to Springfield was a breeze. He didn't cry or meow... just sat in his carrier and slept. He's adjusting well to my apartment. He won't let me out of his sights for more than a minute. He's really not into playing so much. I bought him some toys, but the only things he's interested in are a piece of ribbon I got from home and the mouse on my laptop screen. He's always purring, literally, and just loves to lay in my lap. I love him! He's the cutest little thing.

He might have a cold though. He keeps sneezing. I even caught him making a snot bubble a couple minutes ago.

Week 20: November 2-8

Not a boring week by any means.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008: Worked Election Night.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008: Watched Obama make history by winning the Presidential election.Tuesday, November 4, 2008: I voted! That's my "I voted, then worked 15 hours and am ready for bed" face.

Saturday, November 8, 2008: Adopted a kitten!

Campaign '08 is History

I wonder how Barack Obama felt this morning when he woke up. It must have been a pretty cool feeling knowing you're the President-elect. Surreal is probably the best word.

What a day yesterday was. It got a little crazy, but it wasn't complete madness like I was expecting. I guess it helped that the AP called the governor's race within 10 minutes of polls closing. One big race down, one big race to go.

Yesterday I produced the 4:30 and tried to keep the madness under control from then on out. I mostly coordinated live shots and hits with all the reporters/photogs in the field and update the web as much as possible. It was really cool to watch the returns roll in through the wires... every time I saw "APNewsAlert" I got excited thinking it would be the one declaring who our nation's president would be.

However, I didn't end up finding out that way. I was back in the control room with half the crew helping get things ready for the 10:00 cast. The show didn't go on as normal because right before we went on air ABC called it for Obama. So that's how I found out... watching a muted TV in the control room, hearing my boss scream from master control that Barack Obama is the President-elect. It's definitely one of those moments that will burn in your memory. Where were you when the first black man was elected president? I'm proud to say I was helping cover it at KSPR.

The whole night was a blur. It's hard to take in the atmosphere when you're so focused on answering phones, getting stuff on the web, making sure a reporter knows when they're going on and what we expect from them, and taking care of this and that in between. The first bit of network coverage I got to watch was right when they declared Obama the winner. When McCain and Obama made their speeches I made sure to take a minute or two by myself and absorb history.

This was my first time covering a presidential election. I must say it was pretty cool and in the end a lot of fun.

Pet Poll

It's no secret I love my cats. I've always thought they were just the cutest, prettiest things. So when I found out about a Purina Pet Calendar photo contest I had to enter some pics of my babies. Yes, I know this is on the verge of being the crazy cat lady, but I just couldn't resist.

You can see the pictures I entered by clicking the links below... please vote for them! They're cute, I promise! If they win the pics go in the Purina Pet Calendar.

Happy, Healthy, Playful Entry #1

Happy, Healthy, Playful Entry #2

Hide-a-pet

Ultimate Snoozer

Election Eve

Election day is just hours away. I can't believe it's here already! To be honest, I'm glad, and I'm sorta ready for it all to be over with.

Covering campaigns and candidates can be an exhausting task in a newsroom. We bend over backwards to be fair to all sides, yet still someone calls in saying we "obviously" lean left or right. I remember there was one period within a week where I got two different calls... one accusing my show of being too liberal, one accusing my show of being too conservative. I took a big offense to that because I think I just cover whatever is news, whether it be something to do with McCain or Obama. Sherwood told me I should take it as a compliment, that I must be doing something right. Ever since then I've been trying to have that attitude, but it's difficult considering we get a least a couple calls like that every day.

I really do believe people see and hear what they want to see and hear. They deliberately look for things to point out and once they find one they can't dial our number fast enough. A big issue we had this political season was how we covered the candidates when they came to town. I think we did the best we could to be fair... live streaming of speeches on the web. The web doesn't interfere with commercials, TV shows, or newscasts. Also, early on we had no idea all four candidates would come to Springfield at least once. So if we aired McCain's speech live on air and Obama never ended up coming to town, we give off the impression we're all about the GOP.

Politics is a tricky thing to cover. Every day I feel like I'm walking on eggshells. Just one more big test...

Week 19: October 26- November 1

Saturday, November 1, 2008: Began my search for a cat. I didn't take pictures of any kitties, but I did look at the Southwest Missouri Humane Society and PetsMart.

The following pictures really don't have anything to do with my weekly update. I just can't resist putting them on here.

Friday, October 31, 2008: That pretty lady with the golden blond hair isn't the newest intern... that's the ever-so-tantalizing Ron Davis. :)

Friday, October 31, 2008: Luckily he didn't go on air like that. In all fairness, we all took a turn trying on the wig. Halloween was a fun day in the newsroom.

Looking for a Feline Friend

I've made a big decision in the last day... I want to get a cat. It's an idea I've been tossing around for a while now, but for one reason or another the timing was never right. However, on the drive home from work yesterday I came to the conclusion I officially want a cat. Now that I've made up my mind, I can't wait to get one. I keep thinking about it and getting excited. I basically want to go out right now and get a cat. But I don't want to make a hasty decision, so I'm going to take my time. I'm guessing I'll have one by the end of November :)