Joey

Look what I got!

A brand new nephew, Joseph.


He was born April 25th, 8lbs even.

The whole family is doing well, and the new little guy is certainly a keeper. Joe's older brother, Mark is taking everything in stride.



I have no doubts that he is going to be an awesome big brother.

I wish I could be there for everything now, but you can bet that when he gets older I'll be there to let him do everything his moms won't. Eat cake before dinner... get cotton candy at the fair... Ride the scary rides at the park... Jump off the jungle gym... You know, all the unhealthy stuff.

... And you though Smitty had cornered the market on cute kids:

Premeire

The famed morning show began today at 5 AM sharp.
It's billed as "the only 4 hour live local newcast in town."

I didn't get up at 5, but after all the hype I've heard for the past several months, I had to record it.

It's certainly a morning show.


There's the fancy logo


and the happy anchor team on the comfy couch.

I haven't made it through all 4 hours yet, but I have to say, for the very first day, I was plesantly surprised at how good it all went. A couple technical snafus, a few mispronounced names, but all in all, enjoyable.

But I must say... 4 hours is a long damn time.

Things to do

There are surprising amount of things to do in Prairieville. You wouldn't think it (and I didn't for the first 6 months) but now that I've officially lived here 8 months, I must say, I'm not bored. But today, I finally did something I had wanted to do since I got here.

I got into hiking living in Hippieville. There are so many trails, so many different options, that it took me a week to pick out a frickin' guidebook. I loved getting out into the forest. My apartment was 5 minutes from the national forest. And the whole state is just a feast for the nature lover.

I had hoped to continue down the trails when I moved to Prairieville, but alas, it's a bit more of a challenge. Instead of having 50 books to help me find the trails and give me maps, there are zero. Not a single book that lists any sort of trail in the entire state. I've searched online and nothing is helpful. I can't find a good map, I can't find any recommendations. It's quite frustrating.

The only thing I've got is word of mouth, and someone told me a a place just outside of town with 1 mi, 2 mi and 5 mi loops. I woke up this morning and decided, today is the day.

I strapped on my boots, put water in my pack, drove across town, and hit the trail.



After such a long absence, I had almost forgotten why I enjoy it so much. Being alone, feeling the sun and sweat, listening to the birds and your feet hit the ground.

We are inundated with so much information. At work we are thrown here and there, always in the car, always rushing, always trying to hit that deadline. I think hiking is the exact opposite. There's no time limit. All you have to do is keep going forward. No one is trying to call you, or page you, or e-mail you, or radio you. No one is going to send you to an armed robbery. The birds aren't going to ask you if they can be on TV.



Knowing that I can get out there next weekend helps me face the week full of blaring scanners and over-the-top teases.

One of the best parts about my hike is that I finally got to take a picture of the Arkansas river just south of town. I've been wanting to get a shot to share with y'all. A spot on the trail had a lovely view.



See those puddles amidst the sandy spots there in the middle... That's the river. Gorgeous, ain't it.

Hot

96 degrees with 36% humidity.
In April.

APRIL!

Seriously, now.

Today my story is redistricting of a school district. It's basically exterior shots, an angry parent and a school official. Nothing exciting. But because of the lack of video, my reporter and I decided to do a fancy-schmancy look live intro. It involved going to the 8 schools involved in the redistricting and getting little bits of stand-up for the 9 or 10 part intro. I'm excited to see what it will look like, but I almost don't care. I'm so beat down from the in and out of the car, on and off the tripod and the oppresive heat. I'm tired and I still have to edit.

If it stays like this, or (more likely) gets worse, I don't think I'll make it to the summer.

Catch up

Holy crap, a week and a half has passed. Work is busy, life is busy, time is flying by. Here's a short summary:

Special projects has let me go and once again I'm in the trenches of general assignment. I couldn't have asked for anything better. A whole set of stories from electioneering, school lunches, and tattoo laws, to murders, nursing faculty shortages and even a "peeping tom" massage therapist. It was a fun.

Rehearsals for the new morning show are well under way, and along with four new hours of news, the station has also gotten about twenty new people. New photographers, new reporters, new producers, so many new people to do stuff with. Baseball games, bowling, house parties, just about every night something is going on. It's awesome. I barely see the inside of my apartment anymore.

Thursday was the home opener of the local AA ball team. The top of the first inning was terrible for the home team. Going into the bottom of the 9th the score was 8-3 visitors, and 5 runs later we went into extra innings. Seven innings later (in the 16th), the game ended with a walk off home run by the home team. Helluva way to start the season.

Fridays are now softball nights. The newsroom has assembled a rag-tag group to play other city teams. We aren't great, but it's a good time filled with playing ball and bonding, Awwwwwww.

Now I leave you with a wonderous sight to behold:



A well groomed mullet.

I thank you.