i can't find the words

So I saved the day yesterday by remembering that time slips were due as Lisa and I were walking out of the building. She asked how my car was (my car having suffered moderate injury at the hands of one of those concrete parking-space barriers last week), and I started thinking about how I was going to pay for its repair, and where that money was going to come from. So I blurted out “Time slips!” in response to the question Lisa asked 15 seconds earlier. She said “Oh my god!” and then ran to the lunchroom to grab Marvin.

One thing I didn’t mention about Marvin earlier is that he rides a bike to work every day. I assume he does, at least; I suppose he might do something else in the winter. But it is a badass bike complete with a headlight (which is great, because we don’t leave until midnight or so), and he puts it in the lunchroom next to one of the windows. I see it every time I go in there to get dinner out of the vending machine, and usually I want to steal it and ride around town.

But I don’t. Marvin could probably kick my ass. It’s funny, too — he’s so soft-spoken. If he’s talking on the phone or having a conversation with Lisa, I can’t make out three-quarters of what he says, and he sits directly across from me. It’s a shame; I think I’d like to hear what he has to say.

Anyway, we all get paid for our last 75 hours of service, which amounts to about $600 after taxes for me. (Marvin and Lisa probably get a little more, but you never know with copy editors.) After $150 a week in rent, I’m left with $300 for every 14 days I’m at Cape Cod. I haven’t written down a budget yet, but I probably need to, as that’s not a lot of money. Figuring $60/week for groceries and eating out, I’m down to $180. Gasoline probably knocks it under $150. After that, I guess I don’t really have any necessities, so I’m still coming out on top. Good to know, good to know.

But having to budget this as a career? I don’t know. That’s the one thing law school had going for it.

I am at work.

I am spending the summer on Cape Cod working as a copy editing intern at the Cape Cod Times. It’s through the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, so I was assigned here (not that I’m complaining). Before I started, I had two weeks of training at Penn State. Apparently some people take newspapers very seriously.

The early evening is usually slow enough that I can use the Internet or kill time in any other way I see fit (non-Internet methods include reading the newspaper and reading stories on our wire feeds). If I’m not working on the obituary page on a given night, I may not have any actual work until 7 p.m. or later. Often this makes me feel like a slacker, but then I’ll glance over and see that Lisa is reading The New York Times.

The copy desk at the Cape Cod Times is a hybrid in that designers sit at it, too. It’s a group of 10 desks — two sets of four corner desks arranged in squares and then two desks briding the gap between these groups — that forms a rather large island in the northeast corner of the newsroom. I usually sit in the middle, at one of the bridging desks, facing south. Although any one of the eight corner desks would give me oodles of room and, possibly, a drawer or two, my set does afford a good view of the newsroom, and my co-workers.

Today is a Saturday and is therefore relaxed. Far fewer people are here and the newsroom doesn’t hum, but there is a dog wandering about.

To my left is Charlie, the assistant night editor. This means he is also my secondary boss. Charlie is not slow to let you know if you’ve screwed something up. The night editor (and my boss), Craig, is on vacation this week, and there have been grumblings about having to deal with Charlie every day. But really, he’s not so bad; he just wants us whipped into shape. I will admit that I’m surprised, and a little pleased, on the rare occasion that one of my heds makes it through him unscathed.

Directly across from me is Marvin, another copy editor. Marvin is the oldest copy editor — he’s maybe in his mid-50s. He may best be described by the word “salty,” as he lets the sarcasm fly when he tells us how excited he is to do obits whenever they’re assigned to him. Judging from his clothes, which are of the T-shirt, shorts and hat variety, he likes to fish. He also likes Wilco, from what I’ve overheard.

To the left of Marvin (to my left) is Eric, one of the page designers. Eric is one of the funniest people on the desk, I think. Mention anything and, well, Eric will say something funny. His designs are really good, too, so I enjoy working on his pages. He wears a wedding band, but I don’t know much else about him, unfortunately.

Lisa is on Marvin’s other side (to my right). She is the newest non-me member of the copy desk, having worked here a scant three months. She is also the youngest copy other than me and, with Marvin, shares my awesome Tuesday-Saturday shift. At first I had pegged Lisa as being 27 or so, but then I found out that she worked 10 years at the Christian Science Monitor, so now I know that estimate was a bit low. She is married and pregnant, due in November, and I am hoping her maternity leave will turn into a job offer for me.

And somehow we put out the Sunday Cape Cod Times.

Hi.

This will serve as a first post for now. I’m copying old entries from diary-x, which I’m sure will take forever. But I’ll get bored and post for real before long.