August 11, 2008

First day at work

Today was the first day of my internship. I woke up at 7:45, showered, got dressed, checked a few things on the computer and then headed downstairs with Cheryl for the Comfort Inn's breakfast spread. Headed out at 9 because I wanted to hit up Starbucks before work. Got there at 9:20 and there was only one other person there. I realized right then that the place was pretty laid back, which is just fine with me. That notion was solidified when everyone started trickling in from 9:30 to 10 — mostly wearing shorts and T-shirts.

Eventually, I got a grand tour, a little history on the magazine and a desk. But, I didn't really have anything to do in the morning, but that was ok, because I wanted a little time to look over craigslist some more in my pursuit of getting out of the Comfort Inn. Basically twiddled my thumbs until about noon until the boss asked if anyone wanted to go out for lunch at a place called The Q Shack. This brought people out of the woodwork and 7 of us piled into one of the editors' SUVs. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the group and I know why everyone was so excited about the place, because the food was spectacular. I had a BBQ beef brisket sandwich with hushpuppies, collard greens and sweet tea. Southern style!

Headed back to the office and finally got something to do — some data entry, compiling a list of each collegiate conference's standings, award winners and league leaders from last season. This will take me a while. But, we also had an editorial meeting to plan out the next issue and I actually got a writing assignment as well. Boo yeah!

The work environment is great. Like I mentioned, it's casual, laid back and everyone is really nice. Aside from the editors, most of the other writers are in their 20s, which is cool. Plus, it's just awesome to be surrounded by so many knowledgeable baseball people. Just listening to the conversations in the office had me excited.

The big news today was of course the Adam Dunn trade and then the fact that Rays top pitching prospect David Price got called up to Durham. Cheryl and I are going to see him pitch on Wednesday and I bet a lot of the other guys from the office will be there as well.

After work Cheryl and I went to dinner at a pizza/pasta place called Ruckus and it was really good. We then drove around for a little bit, looking for a place to live — but no luck. Looks like I might end up in the cheap downtown house, if I don't hear anything else. We'll see. I have a little time to think about it, as the girl that's in the room I'd take is planning to be there until the 19th anyway. She said we can work something out if I need in sooner, but that might give me an extra day or something to make up my mind on what I want to do/where I want to live. I'll ask around at work tomorrow and see if anyone knows anything about the neighborhood I'll be in. Now, we're chillin' back in the hotel room, watching the Olympics — a nice, low key night that also included my first cribbage victory!

Goodnight! :)