Welcome to my blog — a brief weekly glimpse into the life of the
Emerald’s
managing editor.
Ever been in 301A Allen? For those of you who have, I’m sure you can
relate. For those who haven’t, follow along with me for a moment:
It’s 8:03 a.m. on Tuesday, the second day of classes. I pound up the
Allen
Hall stairs and into 301A, flushed, breathless and late for class, as
usual.
Professor Wheeler shoots me a pointed look, but fortunately says
nothing. As
the lecture gets under way, my mind wanders and my eyes drift to the
bulletin board, where I see it — the story of my life. An small sign
near
the top reads, “Most days, I just manage.”
In a nutshell, that’s how my term has started. Hectic. Overwhelming.
One
crisis after another. Is this humanly possible?
***
I wake up at 6:15 a.m. Thursday and am in the office by 7:30 a.m.,
scrambling to do an
assignment at the last minute and preparing to sit in class for the
next six
hours.
I’m back in the office by 1 p.m., dazed, hungry and wanting a nap. My
system
is definitely not used to the torture that accompanies a 6 a.m. rising.
But
instead, there’s a reporter who is eagerly awaiting my arrival because
he
can leave for the day as soon as I edit his story.
While I’m attempting to get this out of the way quickly, the
receptionist
shows in a freelance reporter who needs to type her story into the
computer.
I look around for someone to do this before realizing it would be
faster to
just do it myself.
I return to finish editing the first story, only to find the reporter
had to
take a call. I use this opportunity to get a glass of water. On my way
to
the sink, I field all kinds of questions, from “Is Broadway a street or
an
avenue?” to “Can I use ‘biz-natch’ in my column?” to “Where is the
Women’s Center?”
Then, “Did you know Dr. Jekyll is spelled with two l’s?”
No, apparently not.
So this is what managing is. This, along with making sure the paper
goes out
on time and that everything that’s supposed to be in it is, in fact, in
it.
And, with any luck, that it’s all accurate — and spelled correctly.
Managing — what a job.
***
OK, maybe I’m exaggerating. Things will get back to normal as the term
progresses. Some days, I’ll get more work done than I did the day
before, or
I’ll do my homework and my readings more completely than I did for the
last
class. But in the end, most days, I will still just manage.