I Really Am Writing...Just Not Here

All right kids, here's an update of my "You've Got to Taste This" blog posts I've written for MyRecipes.com.

Fun Fall Chocolate Truffles -- Moonstruck actually contacted us and gave a sneak peek of their fall truffles, so I had to order some and host a tasting with the staff.

Sip for a Cure teas -- We photographed these Republic of Tea Sip for the Cure teas for a Shop Pink gallery, and I decided to try them out and share my thoughts.

Great Food in Auburn -- Review of Amsterdam Cafe. I had lunch here with a friend while visiting her in Auburn, Alabama.

Fun Beverage Accessories -- I'm always trolling websites and Design*Sponge for cute home stuff, and this is a collection of my newest favorite beverage/bar accessories.

National Root Beer Float Day -- Yum, I couldn't resist. One of the only ways I'll drink root beer!

Chill Summer Soups -- prompted by my nostalgia for a luscious strawberry soup I had in Budapest. I created my own peach soup, and tried a mango version from Coastal Living.

While I've been out...

I started a new position about a month ago with MyRecipes.com as their intern, so things have been a teensy bit busy. I am very much enjoying learning how to manage content, build galleries and articles for the site, and getting to use social networking in a professional capacity.

I have, however, managed to write a few posts for our blog, You've Got to Taste This, and I thought I'd put up the links for a little blog love, and to show off my own writing skills:). The first is about my great-grandmother's banana bread; the second is a review of a vegetarian slow cooker cook book; and the third is about my attempts at finding water alternatives for the summer. Enjoy!

I have a job! At least until June...

I was sitting on the couch, watching the news Tuesday night when I got a phone call from a 205 number. I knew immediately that this was a Birmingham area code based on my experience with Southern Progress. To say my heart started racing would be exaggerating, but I was definitely nervous.

Somehow I managed to calmly answer the phone. Katie B., one of two ladies I interviewed with for the copy editing department, was calling me to offer me an internship! Yay!

I am so excited to know that I've earned this opportunity, and that I know I'll have something of a purpose and job for the next six months. And to my relief, Katie also sounded very happy that I would be working with them.

The quick turnaround surprised me, since I only interviewed last week, and I turned my ranking sheet in on Monday. But I am surely not complaining! As my aunt Shirley said, and it's true, waiting for a call back can be more stressful than the interview. I'm glad that I know now, and I can start thinking about all the little things I need to get ready.

My family is also very happy for me, and I'm grateful to know that they probably think about these things as much as I do, and that I have their full support.

The intern coordinator will send out information on housing and policies soon, and I am itching to take a look at the e-mail. I'm especially anxious to solve my residence issues, since I only know one other person who interviewed.

During college, I found that as long as I could come home to a quiet, for the most part peaceful apartment, all the other stresses in my life could be easily dealt with. But a crappy living situation can make it hard to get through life.

After visiting last week, it turns out that I know two of the current interns from UGA. Georgia was in my magazine production class, and she has already, very kindly, offered to give me any advice I might need. I know the other girl, Katie, vaguely from Grady, and she offered the same help.

Working for Southern Progress is an amazing opportunity, and will hopefully crack open some more doors for my career. More updates to come as I learn more.

Chattin' Up the Editors

I've been making the rounds of the editors -- slowly, but I will get them all! -- at Atlanta Mag, basically having quick conversations with them about what they do, how they got to their current positions, their views on the industry now, and of course, any and all advice they can give to a young journalism kid. I also have shamelessly offered my help for anything.

It's been fun to hear how the editors have made their way in the industry -- and a little scary. Their stories confirm really how hard it is to be successful. I guess part of me -- the innocent five year old part -- hoped that opportunities would be available, even though I knew I would have to work hard. The economy and seeing the skeleton crew of a staff here has killed that hope.

But, there are other bits of hope still alive! People are still reading papers and magazines, even if they aren't paying for them or paying as often for them. There's still a market, it's just the matter of figuring out how to draw readers in and making it worth their time and money while balancing our own work loads and integrity.

The conversation I most enjoyed was with Rebecca Burns, former editor with a capital E. She currently heads up the website. Her insight into how the magazine developed the website into something sustainable and profitable opened my eyes and answered a lot of my questions. Atlanta Mag works really hard to balance online and print content, and I think they've done well for their audience. In general, the whole staff, editorial and marketing, works incredibly hard.

There's new content on the site in the form of blogs, extras to the print articles, contests and picture galleries, as well as a digital version of the book on sale for ninety-nine cents! Something that has also been successful is the Atlanta Magazine Insiders program. People can sign up to receive newletters, alerts and event offers. All of this is voluntary, and Rebecca says that they have been very careful not to force content on the public.

Having seen things from the inside, I have to say the staff is doing their damndest to make Atlanta Mag a great city pub and a profitable one, and I'm thankful for being able to work with and learn from them.

Intern Fun Day Pt. 1

So, Tuesday, Amy, Jackson and I ate at a new restaurant called Flip Burger Boutique and it was delicious.

I got the Falafel Burger and a side of their french fries (which are fried in duck fat). The fries are big enough to share with two people. They were both great. I got the burger because I had a hankering for falafel a la my trip to Europe. We ate a lot of kabobs and falafel during the trip because it is cheap and tasty. The burger itself was light and really hit the spot. The falafel wasn't heavy or greasy at all and the greens, red onion, cucumber rounded out the flavor.

The restaurant probably seats less than a hundred people, so I'm sure it fills up quicktly. We arrived soon after Flip opened, and there was plenty of room. There are booths along two of the walls and two rows of high tables filling the rest of the space. I would say go early so you're not sharing your meal with the person in the next party.

We decided to split three of their milkshakes and I'm glad we did! We had the pistachio and white truffle, nutella and burnt marshmallow and georgia peach versions. I usually like pistachio a lot, but I wasn't crazy about this one. The nutella was definitely the favorite of the night, but the peach was a close second.

Everything is made fresh with really nice products so the slightly higher price tag is totally worth it.

My time in the spotlight

Or, I'm just overindulging. Betsy, one of the editors assigned Amy and me several small pieces to write for the December issue. Yay! I'm excited that I get to write even some small pieces. Now, if only I could come up with some brilliant pitch for next year...hmm....I'll get back to that sometime.

And, I passed off my super complicated story to our editor so he can look over my fact checking. I really hope I didn't miss anything. I've gone over the story so many times and I've had it for so long that it was hard to catch stuff towards the end. And, oh yeah, a third of it is unchecked because I can't get in touch with some sources. Because I'm me, it makes me feel as if I have done something wrong, when in fact, there's nothing I can do if people don't want to talk to me and/or turn their phones off.

I think my computer is really in trouble...I will have to ask Ben to take a look at it. Besides being my selectively mute brother, he is our resident tech support. I think I have everything backed up elsewhere, so he will have the green light to wipe the hard drive. (I think that's what he said he would recommend.) I'm so over it, and my laptop is so ready to be retired. We're done.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, despite it being my day off. Bleh. But hopefully it will be spent doing things that will further my career. And, maybe some personal reading. We'll see. I'm looking forward to this weekend...Dawgs vs. Arizona State!

I'm an intern...trust me, it's more important than it sounds

Yay, we got all of our positions filled! Okay, this was a week or so ago, but when you're only in the office two times a week, it seems like yesterday. Amy, Sarah and I are editorial and Jackson moved on to be the interactive intern for the fall.

I've really enjoyed all the stories that I've gotten to check so far. There is one in particular whose sources were hilarious! Thanks, Harmon, for the stories, and I loved picturing Jeryl sitting in his well-kept retirement digs reminiscing about the crazy '70s. Hinty-hint, look for this one in November.

My most recent story has been challenging, to say the least. Not only is the current copy twenty-five pages, but it's an incredibly detailed story that is a source of anguish and hurt for a lot of people. It really bummed me out at first -- it's hard to understand sometimes why people are dishonest and hurtful, and sometimes, there aren't any answers. Only speculation, which is probably far from the truth.

But I had to tell myself that this is just a job, and I can step back without feeling (too) bad.

It's frustrating because a lot of people don't want anything to do with the story now that they've done their interview. Um...I just want to confirm what you already said! I promise, no more than that! I can understand their reluctance in this case, but if it's that big of a deal, then don't give an interview in the first place.

This story has also been a perfect opportunity to see how much work goes into an investigative feature. I have a stack at least three inches thick of documents and records to help me, not to mention a huge folder of MORE docs on our server. Plus live sources...who don't necessarily like me by virtue of the topic I'm questioning them about.

We'll see how it goes...check back!