Oh hi

Welp, it's been a pretty interesting few months since my last blog update. I have been hired as the Online Editor-in-Chief for the Washburn Review, so that's legit. I spent most of my summer working on the website, trying to make it as amazing as possible, and now it seems like I've barely been able to work on it. I've been helping out with the print side of things a lot lately, so that's swallowed up a huge chunk of my time. I'm working on weening myself from the print edition a little bit more so I can focus more on the site. I have some ideas that I'll try to get on there as soon as possible!

I also had my internship this summer at Visit Topeka Inc. It was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed using my public relations skills to promote Topeka. I love this city and I think it's amazing how far this city has come in the past couple years and what all we're planning to do here. We're starting to become a lot more open-minded about change and realizing that things like Google's Fiber Project will be a huge benefit for the city. I'm really proud of everyone for stepping it up.

Otherwise, I'm just having my usual panic attacks and whatnot. Been super stressed out this week and I need to tone that down quite a bit. It's not even that much to do with class, I'm just dumb. Welp, see ya later!

Updating my life

Well it's been a while since I've posted on here. Life is pretty crazy right now.

I'm working at the Washburn Review still, now as the assistant web editor and the sports editor. It's kind of fun doing two jobs for the paper, but it's also pretty hectic. Classes are nuts right now, and I'm taking public speaking... something I'm not a huge fan of.

I've been working out a lot at the SRWC and I've actually lost 17 pounds this year. I know it's a big accomplishment and I'm proud of myself for that, but I know I still have a long way to go. It's something I need to do for myself first and foremost, and I'm trying to remind myself of that.

I'm barely awake as I type this, and I should probably be doing homework... but I feel like blogging about life might be a good way to get rid of some extra stress. We'll see.

Love,

Joshua Lee

Do do do do

Well, I've come to an interesting juncture in my life. It is Jan. 1, 2009 and I will not be doing any sort of hourly labor for a while. Last night was my last night at the Topeka Capital-Journal, which is exciting for me in a way, although I will miss some aspects of it. I won't particularly miss doing the Scoreboard page, which was by and large about as fun as picking a scab (although I was getting rather good at it). I will miss the people. A lot of the older guys were pretty funny and generally had a lot of good experience. I learned a lot there, but I know that it's time to move on and try this new place and see what I can make of myself. The one thing I like about TMI, besides the fact I'm getting paid better, is that I feel like it gives me an opportunity to move up a lot quicker and to eventually be a big shot type of person within the publication. Not that I'm power hungry... quite the opposite. But I do like the idea of being successful and having a say in how things are run, because I think that gives us a good shot to do some things that haven't been done before and that are really revolutionary. I've got ideas that I'd love to see become a reality. Of course, with the economy how it is, it's hard to say how permanent things will be. But I have high hopes.

The exciting this about this whole thing is that, as of right now, I have nowhere that I HAVE to be. I'm still working, because I am writing and may design this month and I will be working at the Review again when the semester starts up, but I've got so much more time on my hands and I can make plans and see my friends and not be tied down by work. Hopefully, this will give me more time to exercise and hunt and study and do the things that I need to do. AND I might just get to read a book for the first time since the summer!

It really is a good thing that I've got this extra time right now, because my sleeping pattern is downright ridiculous. I have been staying up until 6 a.m. and, for whatever reason, I allow myself to sleep for 10 hours. Maybe it's because I know when school starts I'll never be able to get away with it... but I want to enjoy as much of the winter break as I can, and it would help to be awake for as much of it as possible. I think my plans for today are to stay awake as long as I can and try to reset my biological clock so that I'm asleep when the rest of the world is asleep. So that's my plan for today.

Update on my life

Well folks, I haven't written on here in a year, so I thought I would start again. For those who weren't in my Feature Writing class in 2007, this is a blog I started as part of a class assignment and once the class was over I pretty much abadoned it. However, being a writer, I decided that it's probably best for me to hone my craft as often as possible and in different formats. I write differently on here than I do at my blog at work (blogs.washburnreview.org) or on Myspace, so I think it would be worth using this more frequently.

As of right now, I am preparing to enter the second semester of my junior year, although I think I may technically STILL be a sophomore because of credit hours and all that fun stuff. Sometimes I feel like college is a never ending scheme to steal all your money and throw you out into the world feeling hopelessly uncertain if the career you picked is the right one for you. I've considered getting into radio, too. Unfortunately, Topeka radio is basically a monopoly that has been laying off a lot of talented individuals for money reasons, so perhaps that's not the best path for me to take if I plan to live here for the rest of my life. Eh, I'm better at writing than talking anyway. My voice annoys me.

I am currently in the process of ending one job and starting two others. I worked at the Topeka Capital-Journal for a year designing the scoreboard page, but I decided that it just wasn't the right place for me to gain experience and pay for college. It was a decent job, though. I learned a lot about how daily papers are run, and I think I'm better suited for magazine/weekly papers. Which brings me to my new gig, writing for a relatively new magazine in Topeka called TMI (Too Much Information)Weekly. For those who have never heard of it, you can check it out at several locations across NE Kansas or at www.tmi2day.com. So far, I've been pretty happy with it and the fact that I'll get to write and design and hopefully move up through the company in a few years. I also work at the Washburn University student newspaper, The Review, as the arts and entertainment editor. I've decided it's the perfect job for me, sans the stress and unreliable writers. I've been involved in music for years and had a huge fascination with the arts. However, next year I may end up relinquishing my job to pursue a more ambitious position. I've never seen myself as being much of a leader, but as I'll be one of the only returning editors next year, I think it's something that they may need me to become.

Well, that's enough about my life. I want to hear something interesting from anybody who reads this. Blogging is a two-way street; writing is just as fascinating as reading. Take care, everybody.

Josh

It's FINALLY over...

It's that wonderous week that leaves overstressed pupils feeling oddly unbusy... the week after finals! Still trying to adjust to the idea of not doing ANYTHING, students flock to bars, sporting events, or other forms of entertainment that they have been unable to enjoy for the past few months.

With Christmas soon approaching, it's hard to wait for that amazing tradition of stuffing food down your throat, opening a bundle of presents and hanging out with people you only see a handful of times per year.

In the meantime, theaters are flooded with bored students, just trying to pass the time until that great day. However, remember to take your time and enjoy each day... next semester is right around the corner.

The Pirate Fantasy

Josh was a pirate. Deep down, he'd always known it to be true. He wanted to feel the cool, salty mist splash his face as he sailed his scooner around the Ivory Coast of South Africa. He wanted to set sail on his maiden voyage to the far reaches of the globe, searching for buried treasure, cities to pilage and lasses of all shapes and sizes.

He could easily picture himself as a captain, setting sail with the finest crew in the land. He knew that he was the perfect man to lead such a fine crew, since he was a section leader back in his band days. He could sure belt out that tuba, and even though he was past his musical prime, he could still play a fine little diddy on the ukelele.

As he invisioned himself, a strapping young seaman clad with pegged leg and parrot, he couldn't help but smile. Damn he was a good looking pirate.

Grandpa got pulled over

As the car pulled into my grandparents' driveway, my best friend and I piled out.

We had just gotten back from a far away football game: the regional playoffs. It was senior year, and we were both in the band. Since my grandparents were at the game, we decided to ride back with them and get something to eat on the way home.

However, the game had gone horribly awry and our old team came away empty handed. The car ride back to Topeka was much more quiet than normal, with the occasional spurts of fury "What the heck happened?" or "They just didn't have it tonight." My grandfather, a kind old 71-year-old who seems almost loopy at times, had driven us up to the game.

As we were driving on the highway, the car began to slow down and was barely going. We didn't know what was wrong with it, so we decided to drop it off and pick up another car for the drive home. My grandpa, who hauls dirt and plows snow for a living, had a veritable junkyard behind his house that was filled with a museum's worth of ancient, jeep-shaped vehicles called Scouts.

We dropped my Grandma off and piled into the oldest, rustiest, most jankity looking hunk of junk in the yard. My buddy Brendan, looking apprehensively at the decrepit vessel, climbed nervously into the backseat.

"Don't worry," I said. "It should stay together."

He gave a nervous chuckle, and my grandpa pulled out his wallet. Pulling out one of the thousands of credit cards his spouse had gathered over the years, he announced that our first pit stop would be at Dillons to gas up the beast. As he struggled to ignite the dusty old engine into life, smoke rose vividly in the chilly air. Finally getting the motor turned over, he pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the grocery store.

When we arrived, there wasn't a car in sight. The store closed at 9 o'clock back in those days, and there was no Wal-Mart across the street. It was empty. As he gased up the car, we noticed he turned the other way and a strange noise was coming from outside. At first, I thought that the gas was leaking out of the crappy yellow Scout. However, my friend was the first to realize what was going on.

"Is he...peeing?"

I turned around in astonishment, only to realize that my grandpa was taking a leak in the Dillon's parking lot. I felt an odd emotion right then, a mixture of embarassment, confusion, worry and almost peeing myself from laughter. As the got back in the car, I smiled broadly at my grandfather.

"You know there's cameras out here, don't you?" I asked him.

"Oh, it's too cold for them to see anything," he responded matter-of-factly.

Laughing all the way back to the highschool, we realized we were the last people to leave. We continued talking in the parking lot as my grandpa drove off. Moments later, a police car went whizzing by with his lights on and sirens blaring.

Instinctively, I said out loud, "Probably going after Grandpa."

We got in my truck and headed out the same entrance he had left from. Moments later, I realized my fears were correct. Standing outside the yellow Scout, my grandpa was having a heated conversation with the police officer, gesturing with his arms and trying to talk his way out of the ticket.

Giggling madly, I called my grandma on my cellphone.

"Grandma," I said. "Hope you got enough money to bail grandpa out of jail..."