WAG - I've never been big on birthdays.

I have commented this on previous years (I re-read last year's birthday post after being reminded about busting the window of the family car during a late-birthday movie marathon celebration) so I'll try not to repeat much.

I'm usually not around too many people when my birthday hits. Every so often I've been on a camping trip or a family vacation (which is where some of my favorite birthday stories have come from [that's where I got my Swedish knife and my birthday twinkie]), but most of the time

Yesterday, I got three birthday cards. It was nice to receive correspondence from the main categories of grandparents and sibling (plus the cat). Now, the confetti in my sister's letter was unexpected (and Lord knows my roommate must have found the zoo of a mess [with all the minirature cutout animals] on the floor to be interesting).

- MORE TO COME -

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WAG - Oh yeah, my birthday’s coming up

I’ve been so busy, I barely realized

Last I remember it seemed to be about a month away. When one day feels like another over the summer (except for Sundays which feel like, surprisingly enough, Sundays), it can be hard to tell time is passing.

Since the concept of summer school involves cramming more things into a limited amount of time than what is usual, the rapid approach, appearance, and subsequent disappearance of items on the calendar can end up blending together.

Here is a sampling of some inner monologues my fast forwarded brain has had:

“Oh. I just took my criminology midterm. Didn’t I just start the class?”

“Election coverage is behind? What do you mean we vote in two weeks?”

“I promised I wouldn’t start doing student staff stuff until July to give myself a break. What do you mean, ‘Break’s over?’”

All this has lead up to me almost missing my own birthday. In the past I'd have the days leading up to the chocolate cake counted up months in advance. Of course, that's when I was still in the phase of using fractions when giving my name "I'm 8 and a HALF!" I would boast because I'd want credit for that extra six months I'd been around (because on the playground, dominance was sometimes determined by a few mere months). I don’t quite recall when I stopped counting the extra months, but without that reminder (I’m 21 and three-quarters) it can be easier to forget where you are.

A phone call put me straight, however. My mother reminded me of it last Thursday night. She wanted to make sure she had my address down for any letters or cards that would be sent my way.

In the same conversation, I learned my mail has been forwarded to Sullivan despite the fact I still am on the MU campus and have given the mailroom attendants multiple reminders to this fact. These prompts are occurring about once a month (following an approximate two week period where I receive no mail). I dropped off another note Thursday night, but I wonder how many cards may end up going on a longer trip than necessary to reach me.

An exception is the first birthday present I received Sunday night. Jessie bought be a new watch (since the band on the last one seemed to be permanently out of commission [thanks to the Wal-Mart employee who jerry-rigged my band the last time and postponed the inevitable for about a month]).

It was just what I needed (other than a dehydrator, skillet, and a dozen eggs – but that’s another project) and it reminded me I’m about to be 22.

As was pointed out by a friend who recently turned the big 2-2, not much happens at 22 other than your age is now divisible by 11, a prime number.

As far as birthdays to be looking forward to, there’s 25 (when the car insurance rates for males begin to go down) and 55 (when you can enjoy the senior citizen discount, though I'm sure it will be higher by the time I get there). It was noted by another friend (alas, one with no webpage), one can also count on a midlife crisis occurring around 35 – but that date fluctuates and it is debatable whether or not that is something to be looking forward to (largely depending on whether you can afford the luxury sports car without otherwise damaging your financial situation when you reach that age [I think I’ll be eyeballing a Hot Wheels car when that time comes, but I could be wrong]).

So I’m almost 22. Whee… I don’t have much to look forward to because I don’t really have anything planned other than working at the paper and maybe showing up to criminology.

As I’ve long stated, I’m a pretty easygoing guy who doesn’t need much to be happy. We’ll see what happens.

'the_countdown_began_without_me'

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WAG - Update from the Missouri Ethics Commission:
No Dice.

Miscommunication? Stonewalling? Snafu?

No matter what has dropped into the spokes the jam the cogs, all I know is that the machinery has stalled and we're not going anywhere.

(Typed, in frustration at the public computer terminal at the MEC in JC)

Update from Columbia:
Correction: We did eventually come across some dice in Jefferson City. Unfortunately, they added up to snake eyes.

Okay. It was a simple plan:

1) The Missouri Ethics Commission were responsible for collecting and later redistributing the latest financial statements for all the candidates in Missouri. They are turned in either in electronic or hard copy.

2) As had been practice in the past, a team of Missourian reporters were to go to their office and get copies of the mailed in packets since they would not be readily available online as would the electronic filings.

3) I was part of the duo who planned to take the newspaper sponsored road trip to JC. My partner and I set up things in advance, even calling the day before to confirm things would be alright when we arrived the next day.

The next day Be-4) you know it, we’d have the hard copies and would be well on our way toward deciphering the results of the 20-odd state and local races we were interested.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, a secretary got in the way.

The woman who worked the front desk at the MEC had no idea we were coming and didn’t think there’d be the time to get us any hard copies, though she often told us the electronic reports could readily be available online. With a smile, and while repeating the same comment over and over, she shut us down cold. I had to wonder how new she was, because she seemed surprised that we would show up on a busy day like this.

When asked, as politely as we could, wasn’t it common place for other news outlets in the state to be requesting the reports the day they were to become public (or put another way, was the Missourian the only paper interested in campaign finances in Missouri?).

Yes, we were the only ones she told us.

It was not a fun phone call back to the Missourian to our editor who was absolutely incredulous. When told there might even be a delay of 48 hours, he went a bit nuts and couldn’t fathom where this woman was channeling these numbers or this policy.

We asked her, if she found the time, to make copies of some of the local races and went on our way. We didn’t cuss her out, we didn’t raise our voices (though we did raise our eyebrows), and despite my petty urge to do so, I did not steal the pen that was on her desk.

The trip wasn’t a total bust, however. My friend and I stopped at a hotdog stand within view of the capitol and chowed down on foot-long chilidogs before returning to Columbia.

I spent most of my afternoon and early evening compiling the online number reports and looking at the sparse number of mailed in reports that had been scanned. She told us she hadn’t made any of our copies yet, it had been busy, but there were online reports. I wager she had a busy day at the phones. Because the attempts to compile the reports for the group failed, the Missourian reporters started calling in requests individually. The fact the other paper in town didn’t have the numbers at press time also shows this lady slowed up other news outlets in the area, if not the whole state.

I wish the lady good luck in her future job search.

Anyway, I became the go-to person for compiling everyone’s numbers. The byline for the end article was credited as “compiled by Missourian staff.” It wasn’t the biggest story of the day (which was the breaking of the story that Vice President Dick Cheney is coming to Columbia), but I’m still proud of it.

It’s just another place where the political machinery meant to help the public was gummed up by a sweet person who meant well but lacked the ability to back it up.

It happens, no big deal, time for the rest of us to more on.

'political_processes_move_slowly'

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WAG - I(t) figure(s)...

Every time I start to put together a decent string of posts, life riles up and threatens to buck me if I don't hang on tight enough.

For those of you joining this rant late, this is another tirade in the regularly appearing series of "Boy, is that boy busy!"

It feels like I've been doing a bit of everything from downing "suicide drinks" (I can now say I've eaten octopus) in a Fear Factor-like contest, I have harrassed state represenatives from one side of the state to the next, I've had my big story continuously bumped and held for retooling (I'm told I have the start to two great articles and I'm better off splitting it up than throwing them both together and having less to write about next time), I've tearing my way through Orwell's 1984, I beat another one of my roommate's X-Box games (Dues Ex: Invisible War, all four endings), I snuck into a closed dorm (Defoe) to count the number of bulletin boards, I met a new secretary in the Residencial Life office, I have almost purchased all the ingredients necessary to bake corn bread, I am less than a week away from my birthday, I have combed through hundreds of articles, and I seem to be doing well in my criminology class despite the fact I fall asleep/zone out every time I attend.

I'm learning a lot this summer. I don't know how much I've learned will be represented in grades, but I am certainly enjoying myself.

Either that or I'm insane and I've been moving too fast to notice.

On further reflection, it's probably a combination of the two.

Here's hoping the speed keeps the side affects from hitting me long enough to make it to the other side of summer.

Think I'll make it?

Here's a hint: Tomorrow I'm slated to go on a mini road trip for the Missourian to collect the latest financial records for the candidates in the major races at the capitol.

I think that should do the trick.

'Mr_Smith_is_going_to_JC'

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WAG - I'm on the run today. My first article in my series on the Missouri marriage amendment (or more accurately, the Missouri amendment that would define marraige as a between a man and a woman designed to prevent lawsuits or activist judges from reinterpreting the law to allow same sex marriages in Missouri or is a bigoted, frightened attempt to curb the civil rights of gay and lesbians that is actually a waste of time because Missouri already has similar laws in the books about the subject - depending on your point of view) runs on Monday, so I am going nuts trying to make sure everything is kosher for it.

I have a longer post to summarize the week, but for now, let me borrow my sister's technique of using bullet points, and after one last comma, quickly tell about my day...

Friday in Recap:

* Slept through alarm clock, again.

* Had breakfast in the dining hall for the first time this summer semester (and for about the fifth time in all my years at Mizzou).

* Found an open computer despite the multitude of high school journalists that have filled the newsroom for a conference this week.

* Got in touch with an important source who is on vacation.

* Failed to get in touch with some local senators.

* Got some help from one volunteer and no help whatsoever during my two calls to U.S. Senator Jim Talent's office.

* Did well on my first criminology quiz despite having studied for it only about 12 minutes.

* Watched an anti-drug film from the 1950s produced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

* Got an extra package of Peanut M&Ms when the vending machine dropped two.

* Decided to post to blog before harassing local senators at their homes (a tactic I have kept from resorting to for the last three days).

Future forecast I plan to call senators, go to youth tonight, and stay up reading before returning to the Missourian tommorrow to work things out with the graphics desk, massage my article some more, do an accuracy check and pray that nothing creeps up over Sunday that would put an end to the Monday edition.

I've got some phone calls to make, so I'll let you go now.

In the words of Robert Frost, if he had typed something completely different than what actually ended up on the page, I have many lines to type before I sleep.

Take care and I hope you have more free time over this weekend than I do.

'TGI_wish__this_actually_felt_like_a_Friday'

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WAG - Guest Lecturing Today: Mr. Smith

So...

It seems my part in the reporting of the MU-NCAA continuing drama is not yet done.

I spent a decent portion of my Fourth of July weekend helping analyze Mizzou's 197-page response to the NCAA allegations. My job was tallying up what we were pleading guilty or no contest two, what violations we were partially true, which issues the university contested were even illegal, and what allegations we flat out denied.

I then helped with a breakdown of the 10 core allegations and a summary of the most serious charges.

After making copying about a dozen pages to make a "Highlights of the Mizzou response" board in the corner of the newsroom (which included statements about Ricky Clemons's alleged $250 payoff, why Christmas presents from Coach Snyder were receieved in February [because his wife gave birth on the 25], and a nine-page section that is largely redacted or blocked out concerning a prospective student gettting free housing at the residence of another MU student), I went home and had the luxury of forgetting about it.

I smiled when I saw my name in the paper Tuesday, for I took Monday off because I'd sacrificed my Saturday, but went back to ignorance.

Today, since I was the only reporter in the newsroom out of the three who had worked on the NCAA articles, I was asked to speak to the J-306 lecture about my part in the analysis.

When I came in, the topic on the board read "Parrot vs. Translate." After a brief introduction, I spent about 15 minutes speaking about interpretting the lawyer and the sports talk to give answers to the public.

I recounted the frantic pace we worked at when the response first came out and then how we slowed down to give structure to the chaotic mess of claims, counter claims, and "mitigating circumstances."

I bounced of a series questions or topic directions given to me by the main lecturer, who was coincidentally the editor I worked with over the weekend. Then, after a brief final reminder that organizing your notes can help you be more efficienty report and also provides good material for graphics or sidebars, I left.

I'll let you know later what the verdicts of the class were, but for now, I'm thrilled that I got to do an interesting "show and tell" before my peers. It will also make an interesting note in my end of the semester memo when I'm pleading for a decent grade.

(My part of the) class dismissed.

'Any_questions______Good'

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WAG - People let me tell you 'bout my best friend...

Note from 2005: The post is dead, but it featured a picture of Johns Kerry and Edwards looking all buddy-buddy.

Click here and tell me you don't hear the following song playing:
He's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end.

People let me tell you bout my best friend,
He's a one boy cuddly toy, my up, my down, my pride and joy.

People let me tell you 'bout him he's so much fun
Whether we're talkin' man to man or whether we're talking son to son.
Cause he's my best friend.
Yes he's my best friend.

My apologies go out to Harry Nilsson, Eddie's Father, and Eddie himself for the increasingly common public displays of affection between these two would be leaders of the free world.

'But_cant_you_just_see_the_Friendship_montage'

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WAG - Life among Liberals

AKA: Knee Deep in Johns...
So...

This has been one of the most liberal semesters I've spent in college. Part of this is by design and part of this I just stumbled into.

Working at the Missourian for countless (if I added it up, I may become seriously depressed) hours a week, one is sure to be exposed to many views. Being more conservative (not Republican. There is a difference. It means I follow issues and philosophies and don't automatically line up behind a certain party) in a world where more people are likely to lean to the left, I know there would be lots of times when I would view things differently than others.

The death of Ronald Reagan was a telling watermark. While there were lots of people across the nation lamenting the loss of the president who helped end the Cold War, not everyone in the newsroom could understand the outpouring. "Isn't this a bit much?" or "Couldn't the coverage have been more realistic [to the life he lived]?" were questions I heard asked. When "Fahrenheit 9/11" came out shortly afterwards, there were similar questions about dedicating our coverage to it, but the debate was much more quiet. Also I never heard any jokes slamming Moore in the way Reagan was joked about

Example:
Editor during a morning budget meeting - "How many people actually remember Reagan being in the White House?"
(Only a few people, including me, raise their hands)
Another editor - "Even Reagan didn't remember being in the White House."
(Collective groan from the newsroom)

While a more leftist view is to be expected in journalism, I was surrounded by more liberal leanings in the two other classes I was taking this summer.

I enjoyed my Introduction to Literary Criticism teacher, and I think I earned a good grade in the class, she definately wasn't a Republican. The course was meant to act as a sampler of different approaches to writing. While she talked of Marxism and Post-Colonialism, you could tell these reflected attitudes she held dearly. Occasional off-topic tirades on the anti-common man bent of Republican tort reforms, bigotry in the White House, and the problem with capitalism (especially the unhuman evils of Wal-Mart [of which, with my personal experience, I had no complaints]).

On a day when the teacher was absent, though she had provided a substitute, another student in the class who identified herself as a conservative asked how I felt about earlier statements made by the instructor. I said I didn't believe all of them, but one can get used to disagreeing with another's opinion and still be able to get along. I cited my experience as a political minority in the newsroom, and said you can be respectful and understand where they are coming from even if you don't except their conclusions.

I thought my English instructor had been the most liberal teacher I'd had (and this tops certain journalism proffessors I've had)... until I started my summer criminology class.

I took this class because I needed to close out my sociology credits before graduation and because I'd enjoyed sitting in on earlier sessions of the class. I had a friend who took the course last year in the same building I had an English class. We would wait for the other, depending on who got out first, and I enjoyed what I heard when I crashed a lecture.

The key thing I forgot, other than you never know what teachers will choose to keep chugging away in the summer, is that there are two ways to teach criminology. You can look at it from an institutional standpoint, which will give the side of law enforcement and fill the lecture with true crime annecdotes (like the kind I would hear in my friend's class), OR you can look at it from a sociologist's standpoint and question the system and not always assume the police are working toward the public's favor.

My summer criminology class was taught by a sociologist.

The first day when we learned that marijuana smoking shouldn't really be criminalized and that the government was purposely trying to block information that would prove otherwise (and as a side note, that Karl Marx was one of the best sociologists ever [though in my professor's view, his book on Communism, interestingly enough, was actually the least of Karl's works]). After that, I had a good idea of how things would be.

Truth be told, in a weird way it has made the class easier. In our multiple choice quizes, questions that are editorial in nature are the easiest. When reading "research shows," one must realize a different batch of research may indicate the opposite and you need to keep in mind what direction the questioner wants you to lean.

I'm also earning a good grade in this class - even if my notes are coded (reading "My professor says..." in areas where I don't believe his fundamental beliefs are true, but I need to know the wind blows when test time comes).

The day I most felt alone in the newsroom was when I was tapped to do the local coverage for John Kerry's announcement that John Edwards would be his running mate.

MORE TO COME

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WAG - Working on it

Bad Caleb.

No post for many moons. Or about a week. Same thing.

I am working to do some better prioritizing and actually scrape togeher the time to write.

I also need to have a topic worth writing about - which may actually require a bit more time than the first.

Anyway, this is an acknowledge I have a problem and that I'm working on it.

What else is new?

'deja_vu'

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