Yeah. I went there. Star Wars reference, check.

So, Days Dos, Tres and Quattro today (still going Spanish, I think its sinco tomorrow? after that I’m gone). Lets start at the start of the spot where I ended at the end of the last blog and not start at the start of my internship because that’s where I started last time, at the start, and I don’t wish to repeat myself.

So, this day I didn’t do too much. I think. I went out to do the vox, the photographer had another stop to make at the community art gallery. A charity art auction going on there on friday night she had to take a piccie of, and I got given the press release from the people and asked a few questions(wasn’t expecting it at all so it was quite useful to have a press release. It was a charity, they wouldn’t lead me astray right?)

So we go outside the gallery to the Vox and the first ‘victims’ we get happen to be a reasonably famous (the photographer and I had no idea) artist in the area and her husband. So I got to ask her a few questions about the auction, right place right time, and she has an exhibit coming up on the 19th. Free story idea. Local, feel good, relative, timely, it’s all there! I guess it’s just about being lucky…

So we get back to the office, I smack out the Vox, do this little bit on the auction. So because of my amazing typing/writing ability I’m done pretty fast. I ask Melanie who sits next to me (I’m not entirely sure on her yet… I think she’s an aquired taste and I don’t quite have it. Hope she doesn’t read this, I’ll be killed.) if she has anything for me half jokingly. She chucks a photocopied Chronicle piece at me, about a lady who has a gas-fire power station proposed across the road from her house at Laidley and she ain’t happy. She says call the reporter, get her contact details. So, I call The Chronicle(by the way, they’re the APN Towoomba paper so we kinda cross over a little) and the reporter was out. I use my amazing journalism prowess and hit up whitepages.com. And I got her info. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.

So after sitting looking at the phone on my desk for about 10 minutes, hoping that it’ll spontaneously combust so I don’t have to use it (note to self – work on telekinesis skills) but alas, no success. So I bite the bullet, pick it up, plug in the number and hold my breathe. And she picks up. She’s nice, I’m nervous. I thought I was doing really well until Mel asked me to get a photo op. I panicked a tad. I asked her and it was all fine but I messed up and let her go without her proper address and mobile number. I had to call her back. I got the details, arranged the op and feel like I’ve rescued it. First thing Mel says after I get off the phone – “You need to cut the nervousness bull s*** or nobody’s going to speak to you.” Fatality.

Went out, got the photo, talked to her a bit, came back, wrote it up, put it in the Advance Basket. Cool. So, I realise this is getting pretty long, I actually really like this blog kinda thing but I never usually have much to say. I know John is probably the only one still reading and he’s shaking his head at the terrible style. It’s new journalism John, embrace the future. So I’ll give you a rest, go get a coffee and then we can go to day three.

Enough rest! Let’s go. Wednesday morning. Rock up, not much is cracking. Have a news conference, I say the Artist idea, pretty much all I got and Stuart(editor) seems reasonably interested, its just not timely enough since it doesn’t start till the 19th. Maybe next week I’ll give her a call. So I come out of the press conference with a couple of follow up things from Stuart with pretty astronomically improbable results. I think if I had actually pulled something out of the bag he would’ve offered me a job there and then. First one was calling EQ. Second was calling Federal Parliament regarding spending. So Education Queensland was about the flying teachers thing, when is it coming to Ipswich. Ring them up. No idea, they refer me to the press release which says it’s having a trial at 10 Schools up north. Can’t tell me anything more than that. But I had rung a State Government agency!! Next, Federal. So this one is about the printing allowance changes. Stuart wants numbers on the local members and how much they’ve used/abused the last few years. Now this is a rookie story that I’ll be shaking my head at for a while.

So first call in, I get through to a girl who says “Yeah I’ll get look into it for you, what number can I contact you on?” I don’t know my number. I quickly grab someones card near me and adjust it to my extension. Man I’m good. I hang up feeling great, I may get something here. Look back between the card and the phone… Realise I’ve stuffed it up. Damn. I call again, I get a different operator, puts me through to a guy who says I’ll need an FOI… So I’ve stuffed up big time.

We go out and do the Vox, I come back and I have a sticky on my screen telling me to call a guy about printing allowances!! What the!? I still haven’t found who put it there or if someone rang for me but it was what I needed. So I call him. He’s out to lunch, It’s 12.30 so I figure it’s reasonable. Try him again at 2. He’s not in. And 3. And 4. Oh well, can’t win them all… On top of that we had to do another Vox since the last one the story relating wasn’t going in. Huzzah…

I’ve developed an addiction for the NewsWire but. It’s amazing fun sitting watching the AAP stories tick over. Even better is ducking out for a while and coming back to 20 new stories waiting for you to read. And it looks like you’re hard at work. I race home to make my touch game (Won 3-1, I scored one and set up the other two) and end up going to bed at 9pm. That’s the earliest I’ve been in bed since high school I think. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.

OK, this is going a little long. One day. Bear with me. If anyone but John is reading this still, Kudos to you, rest assured I have read all your blogs as well. John, if you’re not reading… I’m not paying $15k for you to not read my stuff, You wanted blogs, you got it.

So this morning, walk in and barely sit down when Felicity comes over (she was off the first few days and at court most of yesterday so we haven’t really met) and says ‘Adrian? Wanna come to court today?’ to which I replied ‘Sure.’ So off we go. Not too much happened, but I love it. I reckon I could do it. Court or Sport. Like really, right up my alley. Don’t have to have news ideas! Best. Job. Ever! Alas, I only got a half day there. We went back to the office for lunch and I got nabbed to do the Vox and help a photographer before I could go back with Flick. Damn. Damn. Damn. But, when we first got back we went in to see Stuart, Flick backed me up that I was awesome so he was keen for me to cover the Mags the next few days (Yesssssssss) so hopefully that comes to fruition. I dropped many positive hints about it. I really liked it :).

So, you are up to date with the exploits of Adrian Demack at the Queensland Times. Cool huh. Oh so I forgot to tell you my articles. On Wednesday I got the worst possible thing for an intern. A page two picture story… without a byline. Noooooooooo! On the art auction, guess they needed to fill space… Bah, at least it was published. Oh, AND, the power station story, the council made a decision on the lead up pipeline the day it was going to publish so the correspondent had to put that in so we had a shared byline… So nothing ideal but I’m having a good time. Better than I thought I would. And this is a 1500 word blog. Can anyone beat that? Damn it feels good to be a gangster.