How Not to Die During Your Internships

Today was my first day of class at the Washington Journalism Center. We did what any normal academic course does on the first day — went over the syllabus.

On September 9th we shall apparently be learning how not to die during our internships. I think it will be a very useful skill to learn while in DC.

However, until my internship at the Daily Caller starts in a couple weeks, I plan on just relishing in the fact that I am in our nation's capitol.

 

I shall not, however, be relishing in the fact that the ceiling fan in the bedroom I share with 3 other students sounds like a shotgun. But that's a story for another day. 

In other news, the students and I spent our afternoon learning about the District of Columbia. Most people know about the Washington that fills TV and computer screens all across the world. But what about the other residents of the city? What about the residents that are not dressed in powerful suits and running up the steps of the Capitol each day? Over the summer I tweeted the following message one day while riding the subway to work: 

"I always look around the subway and wonder what other people's stories are. I believe everyone has a neat story."

I truly wonder the same thing to this day. Whether I am running down 8th street or picking up some laundry detergent and the nearest CVS, I look around and wish I knew how the person beside me had gotten to this place in life. What have they gone through? What have they experienced? What has made them who they are?

Apparently I am not the only one have such questions. Check out the website below — the author interviews random people in the city of DC and lets them tell their beautiful stories. It's amazing what you'll find out about life when you simply take the time to listen to the people around you.

http://peoplesdistrict.com/

Grace, the girl who is constantly questioning everything

My existence

It is already mid-August which means that grade schools are back in full gear and college students are clinging to their last few days of summer.

I have just over a week now before I fly back to DC on the 25th. However, my days until then are going to be full of packing up my life for 4 months and editing your beautiful images.

Lately I have been camped out in the den of my house. This is my umm..well my desk for the moment: 

On my desk at any given moment you will find honey roasted peanuts, coffee, two sharpies, ribbon, a credit card bill, a laptop and an external hard drive (and those are in order of importance).

While editing your images I am usually watching reruns of my soaps: Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf, The OC, One Tree Hill and various TLC shows about babies.

Speaking of babies:

Look at her eyes! And her cheeks! Gosh.............. I contemplated kidnapping her but there were too many witnesses.

So all in all my existence as of late has consisted of me sitting in front of the laptop from the first picture while editing images like this one of baby Mia. Doesn't seem like too bad of a life, does it?

More to come later!

Grace

Prom and the Good Old Days

 Saturday was my hometown's high school prom. I have a friend who is still in high school and called me on their way. 

She informed me that I was allowed to come to the restaurant where they were eating and take a few photos of them like a proud momma. 

I was unnecessarily excited. 

Can I just say that these girls are too gorgeous? 

I was awkward in high school — my pants were probably too short and my 

backpack weighed more than I did.

These girls look like MODELS.

Look at her hair! Someone call Pantene because they are missing their model.

LOVED her dress.

This makes me smile. 

Her dress was so fun! I had the strongest urge to twirl her around in a circle. But we were in a public place..... and I can NOT dance. So I merely told her to smile for me. 

Would you look at those eyes? I may or may not have contemplated how to steal her earrings. 

And THIS is my beautiful dearest friend. 

I used to drive her to high school every morning when I was a senior and she was a freshman. 

I also used to make her late by FORCING us to go by McDonalds and 

get a sweet tea every morning, too. 

I taught her every thing she knows. Unless she does something bad — she picked up that junk from someone else. And her sarcasm — NO WAY did she get that from me. 

Oh the old days. 

FLASHBACK:

Aw... aren't we purrty? That girl in the blue is married now. That girl in the black is going to be a famous graphic designer pretty soon (and hasn't grown an inch since this was taken). That girl in the purple and black dress spends her summers in Orlando sharing her faith. I am not sure who that girl in the purple dress is.... oh wait... it is me! Hmmmm. I look a little tired here. Yup — nothing has changed.

Amen. 

Grace

 

Another Wedding and All New Lessons

     I shot another wedding on Saturday. I love weddings — part of being a girl I suppose. It is almost like I still get to play with my Barbie and Ken doll. Except now I get paid to do it. That's beside the point, though.

     Saturday's wedding involved a BABY. If you know anything about me then you know that babies are my absolute weakness. I may or may not have taken MANY photos of this baby — he had a tux on. Kill me now.

     I have to say, though, one of my favorite parts of this wedding was one that probably no one else saw. The father of the bride had just handed the bride's hand to the groom and the minister was saying a prayer. During the prayer, I peaked around (I know, I know, my momma taught me better). However, while I peaked, I saw the groom staring at his bride with the biggest smile on his face. She had her eyes shut as far as I could tell. However, the groom still kept a big grin on his face while he looked at his soon-to-be wife. 

I really, REALLY enjoy small moments like that. They are make this life so worth it. 

Grace's Advice of the Day: Peak when you are not supposed to and try to catch those wonderfully small moments. They are worth it.

  

The office of my life... I mean my life's office... I mean the office I'm spending my life in

This is my wall/office.
See my laptop sitting there? If you look closely at the screen you will notice that the document that I was working on when this photo was taken is blank. I was having a little writer's block.
It happens quite often. 

This is my phone.

I have no idea what any of the buttons mean. I had a message on it yesterday... I ignored it until the annoying red light grew really really SUPER annoying. Then I messed around with it until I figured it out on my own.
It's what big girls do after all.
The message wasn't for me.
Wrong number.
What a let down.                                      

This is my orange highlighter that I use about every five minutes. 

You know why they gave me a orange highlighter?

Because I am from Tennessee.

Tennessee automatically equals orange in New Mexico.

No offense to Tennessee fans, but orange is in the red family and the red family HATES my skin tone. Therefore, I hate orange.

This is my tape dispenser. It appears to have lived a long, hard life. I would love to know my tape dispenser's story. What all has its gluey substance latched together in its years of existence?

That is all the pictures I have from my day at the office. I was very very busy girl, you see. The great people at the Baptist New Mexican put me right to work writing articles and editing other articles.

Maybe I'll take pictures during tomorrow lunch break. Lunch equals all the women in the building coming together in the lunch room and gossiping/talking about everything under the sun. NO BOYS ALLOWED. Today's topics included football, blackbirds dropping from the sky, the Biggest Loser, homemade pizza crust and the newsletter of a tiny electric co-op in Southern New Mexico (thats a story for another post though).

Hoping everyone is having a blessed week!

Grace, intern/slave/writer/photographer/southern gal stuck in the west

Traveling Grace

Goldie Locks invited me to go on vacation with her and her family. I, of course, accepted. So that's where I have been for the past week...on vacation with Goldie Locks in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Let me say one thing before we move on. I live in the flattest part of Tennessee possible. Not that it isn't beautiful in it's own way; it is just really flat. I mean, sure, we have hills and gullies...duh...just no mountains. 

Get the picture?

Okay, let's begin:

We went horse back riding through the mountains, but that is a story for another day. Let me just say that I learned one lesson:  A horse is not a bunny rabbit.

Ripley's Aquarium. 

View from Clingman's Dome (a.ka.: highest point on mountain). 

 I love how the parking lot of Clingman's Dome looks like it is just floating around on the clouds. We really were in the clouds, though. Just not floating in them, but you probably knew that...

Laurel Falls. WARNING: ROCKS ARE SLIPPERIER ( is that a word?) THAN THEY APPEAR. PROCEED WITH CAUTION ACROSS ROCKS SO THAT YOU DO NOT SLIP AND FALL TO YOUR DEATH.

I almost did... fall to me death, that is. I recovered beautifully, though. I don't think anyone even noticed that I slipped and almost fell to my death. However, I don't know if its a good thing or bad thing that no one noticed. While I am glad that I was saved the embarrassment, I would kind of like for someone to notice if I fell to my death. 

I love everything about the mountains. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always wanted to move to some mountainous state like Montana. I may not be a little girl anymore, but I still want to live in the mountains one day, and have horse, and tons of dogs, and a lake, and a cowboy....

Therefore I am going to ask/beg one thing of you:

Is anyone living in the mountains willing to house a eighteen-year-old girl??????

She cooks and cleans!

She loves children and animals!

She doesn't mind getting dirty and working hard on you ranch/ farm/ plantation!

Anyone offers???

*crickets* Anyone listening???

Grace