Raising my blood pressure

Hi folks!  I am just spending 20 minutes quickly updating my blog before I head back to "attack" the newspapers.  Big sigh...  I like the newspaper, don't get me wrong, but there are so many other things I would prefer to read!  Is that a bad thing to say when one is studying journalism?  Possibly so.  One thing I HAVE been reading about a lot is the Finkelstein Inquiry.  It seems, as I have had more than 15000 hits on this blog (!!) that I will become regulated by the legislation, if it comes to pass.  I would have to comply with journalism ethics when blogging.  Goodness. I didn't really think this blog had anything much of importance to say but of course, I would never seek to defame anyone and am always sure to attribute photos...  So, because the rise of blogs and social media as a form of "news" is growing, I am going to write about Digital Media for my Ethics assignment.  Should be Very Interesting indeed!  I have already read a couple of interesting cases regarding Twitter and defamation and then there is the rise of "citizen journalism" to consider too....  I am sure I will easily be able to come up with 2000 words by 20 April - gulp.

Here I am at the International Women's Day Fun Run last Sunday where I met the ladies from  Women's Running Australia. I have already written my next column but really need to come up with another so that I can always be at least one story ahead.  How does one think of funny, witty, pithy, light-hearted running topics?  And tossed into the mix, I've been asked by Run 4 Your Life to do a 2000-word piece about the Gold Coast Airport Marathon, due in two weeks!  Arrrrgghhh..  I am trying to stay calm and prioritise.  Big breaths....  Be cool.  This is what being a journalist is all about, right?  At least they are not all due in one week's time!! 

Also spotted at the IWD fun run...  scary-looking men in fishnets, with bulging biceps.  Eeek!

The start - crossing the Victoria Bridge.  It was packed and we were forced to shuffle along

The big news for me this week was My First Day Working at The ABC!!  I got there in plenty of time and within five minutes of arriving, was stuck in the lift with my new co-worker.  It was getting a tiny bit warm in there but at least we had my lunch to survive on until we were rescued (ten minutes later).  So, now I know NOT to press the little telephone button because it makes a Hell of a Racket, like the fire alarm at an airport, I suspect.  The building is brand new and in a fantastic location, overlooking the river.  For the first time in seven years, I have natural lighting in my workplace!  Another reason to be excited - as if I needed any more.  I was given The Grand Tour and it took no time at all for me to be totally bamboozled by all the activity.  There is so much going on that it seems inconceivable I will ever know who everyone is. I did see Jessica Van Vonderen (!!) sitting there, just like all the other journos, typing up stories.   I am learning pretty quickly that being starstruck is a No-No so I'd better learn to be ALOOF!  Anyway, I am back tomorrow for another day and of course (tragic), I can't wait!  

This is the view (just about) from the window.  I will be able to swim laps here before work - in the summer only 'cos it's not heated!

Meanwhile, my running is taking a back seat. I seem to have lost my focus there, possibly because I've got so many other things to think about.  Derrr.... d'you really think so?  This afternoon I have forfeited a run to help out with marshalling etc at the Twilight Running Festival at UQ.  I am also going to scrap my running blog (RunTenWithJen) due to lack of time (and content).  My focus is split 50/50 on my study and my new job, and my poor husband isn't getting much of a look-in either!  Maybe I should change those odds to 40/40 with 20% for Spud?

Love this jar - spotted at the markets yesterday

Best of all, my uncle and aunt from St Paul, Minnesota are in Australia visiting and will be here next weekend, just in time for our state election and hotly-contested seat of Ashgrove.  They are currently visiting my brother in Sydney where they visited Luna Park and a groovy little contemporary Chinese art gallery called The White Rabbit, which sounds like an amazing place, although this could be because I'm swayed by the idea of a "dumpling bar" more than the art... 

Right-o!  Enough babble from me. I can't put off the inevitable.  Those newspapers are calling me.  Surprisingly, I am astonished at how much information I am actually absorbing from my daily scanning and how much I am enjoying knowing more about what is going on in my world. It is so easy to "ignore" the news but it's actually quite stimulating to be able to contribute to discussion about issues that I previously was unfamiliar with.  Amazingly, there is more to life than running and chocolate!  Who'd have thunk it?