You want an update? I've got your update right here ...

Work has been really busy because we had a budget crunch and a few people left and jobs were reassigned. Then one of my fellow copy editors got promoted to asst. copy chief and her duties changed. So, as a result my duties changed and now I am the primary A section, front page desinger. You can see my work on newsuem five days of the week. Soon I'll be changing schedules so I can design the Sunday front every week. If you ever read my design blog, it has fallen to the wayside as a result of all the changes.

Outside of work, I'm in a relationship. It's going well. I'm still suffering from the financial ramifications of having to buy a new car (see the Christmas story on my blog if you haven't heard this tale of woe), but things are getting better as I climb out of debt. I'm making more friends and going out more, so the social life is good, too.

Prada Paige strikes again!

Hello, friends.
Well I can't say much, seeing as I'm posting from work (bad idea).
Just wanted to say hello and let you know how much I miss you all!
It's been a crazy past few months here at what used to be the Dispatch Tribune, including a merger and a name change: We're now the Sun Tribune Newspapers. The St. Joseph News-Press bought the Sun Publications and it is just one BIG, HAPPY FAMILY here.
Laura and I are still kickin' it here on the copy desk, and when we rearranged the newsroom after a particularly alarming hiring and firing shuffle, we made sure our desks were RIGHT next to each other. It's trouble, I tell you.
Still freelancing for Kansas City Homes & Gardens; I do probably one story every two months or so, but it keeps me sane. The last piece I wrote was about mold and other nasty home stuff. It turned out well, but I want to buy bleach in bulk now.
I definitely can't say much about things outside of work, but if you want to know the most exciting developments you can e-mail me or go to my LiveJournal and friend me there. All the juicy stuff is locked up.
Finally, being single in Kansas City really bites the big one. For anyone wondering, Match.com is a disaster (no matter what that crazy homeowner Ashley says!!) that should be avoided at all costs. I met a great guy who turned out to be 37 and married with two kids. That was fun. Again, more (angry) details on my eljay.
Time to go away now. I'm working on a special section about Down syndrome here at work, and it's keeping me pretty busy. Updates, guys!!

— PP

follow the leader

I guess I will follow Vaupel's lead and do the Ashley Doyle update. Everything is going quite well here. The Examiner is still treating me well, and I get to let my creative juices flow in its entertainment tab.

In super big news, Brent and I bought a house in Fairway (by the plaza) and we move in tomorrow. I am super excited to become a homeowner and just get away from his roommates. Although I fear signing the papers tomorrow because everyone tells me it's the scariest thing because you feel as though you just signed your life away. So that's been my world recently...consumed my boxes. I had no idea I had this much stuff. This of course means, my life for the next several months will be dedicated to unpacking.

In news you don't care about: Brent found out that he passed his last CPA test yesterday. Third times a charm.

Is the blog really dead?

Holy Shit!

OK, so that was just to grab some attention. I can't believe this blog has died. What the fuck? I know everyone has something to talk about.

Where is AKS' latest army report, Courtney's new job in a dry county, Marissa's internship, Kealing's domination of the Kansan, or Nate Karlin's boots. Kealing has made more posts to the Kansan editor blog than we all have to this blog. Not that I have any room to talk. I just responded to an e-mail from November! And I'm about to give the update that Doyle asked for in the middle of December.

So let's see if we can get a news budget made up for this damn thing and get up at least one post a week.

And now for the update. I have not been mugged or killed yet! I've taken to working only 50 hours a week doing my marketing thing for the public relations firm I work for. (I was doing 60 hours at one point, but realized with Marissa's help that it wasn't worth it.)

I went through my company's annual review process last week. The comments were positive, but that still doesn't mean I'll be getting a decent raise.

Somedays I really enjoy the work, and others not so much. I'm going to keep slugging it out until at least the one-year mark. In the mean time, I've continued to put out feelers to find out what is out there and what they pay. And honestly, I'll probably be back in journalism, specifically the online realm inside the next year. So if anyone hears of any kick-ass positions out here, please pass them along.

I am starting to do some freelance web designing, so if you know of anyone or hear of someone that has a need, please pass along their information to me. I need the money and the experience.

Speaking of web design, Kansan.com really is looking great. I'm very happy with where they took it. And I was amazed by the Big 12 Tourney Champions/Big Storm coverage. Keep it up. And I sure hope Jonathan remembered to register for the online Pacemaker.

In other NYC news,

• I started running again. And NYC is so not ready for these nipples.


• I have not been going out much, and thus my tolerance, which was so great during Extreme Drinking Week, is now gone. A few beers will knock me over anymore ... so pathetic.


• I've seen a few people out here, but the rest of you should come out to visit ... or stay.

I'm out of here. Now write something!

Andrew

Poker? I don't even like her

Every Sunday, we run a poker column by some guy named Phil Hellmuth. My friend Erin hates the fact that she has to run him and all of the copyeditors detest proofing his column. All he writes about are his celebrity "friends," moving around the table and card combinations. He uses so much jargon it makes you want to stab your eyes out when you read it.

He usually never writes about anything worth quoting, or at least that I can tell seeing as how I don't understand anything he writes about. However, this week was different. Erin was laying out next Sunday's page (we do Sunday's Feature section in advance) and she stumbled on this gem while editing his column for length.

"As I walked over to my new table I said, 'Deal me in,' to the dealer, who then dealt me in alright. He dealt me all the way in!"

Ew. Or in Erin's words: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Thanks, Phil. Not only do I want to stab out my eyes, I also feel very dirty.

Please, dear God, tell me the Kansan is covering this...

Time to start re-reading The Handmaid's Tale, Missourians

This link will probably want you to register. So, to summarize, the Missouri legislature is considering a bill to make Christianity the "official state religion."

Yes, you read that right.

Highlights from the bill include:
>Official state recognition of "a Christian God"
>no protection for minority religions, but would "protect the majority's right to express religious beliefs."
>The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what teh resolution calls "justified recognition."

Good times. Most Missouri residents didn't know about this until yesterday.
I'm still hoping it turns out to be a hoax or something.

Maggie