Dear online diary

Today, I naively volunteered myself for the early shift on Black Friday. That's right - shopping watch.

 

My shift will start at 4 a.m. at Kohl's (yay! i've even got permission to go inside for some shopping!) and then I'll head over to Target where I've been told there have been riots the last two years.

 

Apparently what they do is hover in the parking lot and when the doors open, they try to cram themselves into the doorways amongst the people who properly waited in line. How rude.

 

Anyway, an early shift is a one-time thing (or at least once per year) but the good thing is it gives me the potential to start my holiday weekend at 1:30 p.m. instead of 7. I'll take it.

I'm a Shining Star!

It's about a month late but I have been recognized by corporate for my work! I've never gotten a trophy before... certificates, yes, but not trophy.

 

Here's why:

 

LAURA GRIFFITH, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.

Laura Griffith, Alton's Web news editor, is our Shining Star. She has been a leader in our transformation, spearheading the video and multimedia effort.

 

Laura has trained staff on posting to the Web, blogging and shooting and posting video. She holds weekly meetings to update staff on how The Telegraph is doing on the Web. She gathers stats from corporate and explains Web traffic to fellow staffers in a way they can use to improve.

 

Here's what else she has accomplished since becoming Web news editor:

 

— Laura oversees the posting of Web content, making sure to include links, maps and other multimedia. She helped extend reach on the Web by creating and maintaining a Telegraph MySpace page, by creating a Twitter page and feeds that pull in our latest stories, by creating a Facebook page and application for The Telegraph, by Digging stories to get them out to readers.

 

— She has created a number of widgets at widgetbox.com that pull RSS feeds from our site and our blogs to our MySpace page. She has gone so far as to put those widgets on other outside sites and monitor hits on those.

 

— She has actively worked to "friend" and recruit people to "follow" us on these social networking sites. We have at least a new user or two per day. Laura posted news stories at thetelegraph.com to explain new features and invite readers to make the most of them online. She started a blog called Insider's Look that is another way to tell readers about these features. And she has started a "how-to" video series online to teach people visually how to use new features.

 

—She started a Telegraph page at YouTube.com for posting videos to our blogs until WordPress and Brightcove can get along.

 

—She started working on promotion videos or little commercial shorts we will be able to add to our news videos when we want to promote a feature on the site. She has put a promotional Telegraph commercial on our MySpace page.

 

Laura has started a weekly Web cast called First Edition where she reads upcoming headlines to tease the online and print editions. Also, she is active on Pluck and interacts with users and encourages staffers to do so. She monitors comments and removes those that violate the user agreement.

 

Laura has worked to revamp the navigation bar at thetelegraph.com and has worked to make the site easier to navigate and more user-friendly.

 

— Nominated by Dan Brannan, Editor, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.

 

Yay for me.

Birthday weekend and more

Because my birthday was on a Monday this year, I knew I had to live it up over the weekend.

 

Friday night, David's friend Josh came into town and he, David, I, Amy, Justin, Clancy and Cory went to Bossanova. I drank wine all night, on Josh's bill, and had a great time. McDonalds before bed made me sure I wasn't going to wake up with a hangover.

 

Saturday I woke up feeling groggy, but that's about it, which is completely OK for a lazy day. I laid in bed and read, and cleaned, and laid in bed and read and watched some TV until David came home. At 8:30, we had reservations at EF Carpenters in Jerseyville, Ill. I had written about them when they opened - it was pretty decent. I had steak, he had the "cowboy porkchop," which was topped with nuts and a cherry glaze giving it a very Christmassy taste. The spinach and artichoke dip was delightful.

 

Sunday David went to go watch the Bears/Green Bay game at the Beagle but on my birthday weekend there was to be no football. So I went to my parents' house for presents, cheesecake and visiting. I got a pine scented Christmas candle, a cat grooming glove (more for her than for me), a Christmas tree, a French press coffeemaker, and a fall jacket. The cheesecake has chocolate chips in it ;) Later, David met us at my parents' house and we ate at Hodak's in St. Louis.

 

Monday was my birthday, but David went to work. I went to visit with Dad and we walked at the mall, but pretty much the rest of my day was spent reading "The Kite Runner" and going to class. At least I had a personal day. Any day without work is a good one in my book.

David bought a new car

It's a 2007 Chevy Cobalt, bright red (the color, I don't think, was his choice although I don't mind it), it has 32,000 miles on it and has power everything. Weber even gave him $4,000 down on his new car for his old car - and the Cavalier was only really worth $1100 or less.

 

Because he was able to make this purchase, he knows he won't have to pay for any repairs this week which means I get to go somewhere nice for my birthday! He's taking me to EF Carpenters in Jerseyville, my choice. One of our photgraphers at The Telegraph LOVES that place and said it's amazing, and she knows food and fine dining. Plus, I did the story on the place and I'm excited to check it out.

 

Another good thing is that I might not have to drive everywhere anymore! The "my car has no tail lights" thing is no longer valid at least. I'm very happy for him, and also myself. I'll post photos when I take some. Everybody likes having photos of their first car purchases, don't they?

Thankful Thursday of my own

I totally stole this blog post idea from Erin Miller because in a time when I've been incredibly cynical I thought it would be fun to find out what I can actually be thankful for. Thanksgiving is coming up you know.

*I'm thankful for a boyfriend who loves me and is crazy about me even though I am the single most disgusting person, scratch that - girl - I know. (Can't forget about Ben can we? Sir Barfs-a-Lot over there. And still, we love the guy;))



*I'm thankful that my dad didn't die all those years ago when he had his heart attack and that he is still down for walking at the mall every Tuesday and Thursday to be with me (and attempt to keep healthy).

*I'm thankful that my mom keeps giving me all these decorations and stuff for holidays, which I could never afford on my own :)

*I'm thankful for friends that don't forget about me even though they live far away, and for the fact that I can meet up with them and feel like we haven't spend a day apart after all this time.

*I'm thankful for my kitty, who absorbs more love than any small animal should without exploding.



I think that pretty much covers it.

I watched the new Halloween!

I don't think David liked Rob Zombie's version of "Halloween." He kept saying things were different from the original and that he didn't want to see Michael as a human. I did.

 

I, for one, appreciate backstories on killers and interesting subjects like Michael Myers, and the older movies just made me want more (not that I didn't like them, because I di). Plus that little kid creeped me the hell out and everything was a little scarier because it was so vulgar.

 

I did miss Jamie Leigh Curtis as Laurie Strode, though I didn't mind this girl. I liked how they made her a little bit like him - in that she had some sort of metal band jacket or something that made her look hard. And at the same time, they showed that she was sweet because she was raised by the Strode family. They totally didn't deserve to die, by the way.

 

I read somewhere online that there is supposed to be a sequel to this version. More "Halloween," to me, is always a good idea.

Weather changing, holidays are near

Whenever the weather changes, I start feeling a little poopy. That's the case lately as nice, warm weather has made way for shiver-inducing winter cold.

The good news is holiday season is under way, starting with my birthday on Monday. Well, it's technically on Monday but let's face it, the action begins the minute I leave work on Friday.

Josh is coming back to town and we're all going out to Bossanova - whoever wants to come is welcome. Saturday, David is supposed to be taking me to dinner somewhere nice. Who knows what's in store Sunday and then Monday, I have taken the day off work. I still have class, but that pales in comparison to having to work.

A week after that is Thanksgiving and the official start of shopping season, which means stores will be open late, which I love. Then, Christmas and New Years will be around the corner. Yay for holiday season!

Aww look who remembered

Gives me the warm fuzzies for EIU all over again. They are about 10 days early tho.

Yes, We Did

I went out for a drink last night with some of my co-workers after a llooooonnggg election shift (I got off around midnight, which I understand is actually early for election night), and thank God I wasn't seeking a place to drown my sorrows.

It was indeed, a celebratory Bud Light, for America (or at least more than half of it) has given up its racist ideals in favor of a promising, strapping young candidate with much potential that promises the change we need. (And I think he can deliver it.)

Long gone are the days of depression that followed the 2004 Election, and America has finally restored the hope in me that was all but completely killed off during the Bush administration's terrifying reign.

Yes, We Can, and Yes, We Did.

(Did I mention we're 'bout to have a hot president? Well, we are. Get used to it ;))

Covering the 2008 election with Twitter

I used Twitter last night as one of The Telegraph's means of covering the election. Currently, the paper only has 75 followers, but I thought if nothing else the experience would be good practice for me and a good tool to show readers what is possible with the Twitter web site.

For those of you that don't know, The Telegraph is at http://twitter.com/altontelegraph. I encourage those of you who haven't to sign up for an ID and click to "follow us."

I posted 43 updates from 5:30 p.m. (ish) yesterday to 11 a.m. today. Those updates included advisories, full stories, notices about multimedia postings and notices about anything and everything I observed in the newsroom or on CNN.

I think it worked pretty well.

Check out our work at http://twitter.com/altontelegraph and at www.thetelegraph.com.

A Lincoln Lofts Halloween

A Lincoln Lofts Halloween turned out to be more like Laura and David's Halloween party inside the Lincoln Lofts, but I'd say all (or at least most) went well.



See my complete photo collection.

As you can see, even my mom and dad dressed up. We had snacks and played "Halloween," "Suspiria" and "The Exorcist." We had plenty of beer and even a Halloween-themed vodka drink (Dracula's kiss is grenadine, Black Cherry vodka and cola).

Friends and co-workers were in and out all night. We even dropped by the parade and stopped in Bossanova to catch the costume contest. We ended the night at Tony's and then McDonald's and then were in bed by 2:30, but it was all I could have asked for.

(Except somebody stole my Frankenstein cake and no doubt threw it at something rather than eating it)



:( Bastards.

Enough with the Issues

I was gonna do a scorecard for every issue at issues2008.com but I have decided I am done. I will say I am excited for Election night. Obviously, I wasn't in a professional newsroom the last time a presidential election rolled around, but ever since I have worked at The Telegraph I've gotten banished to a lonely one man (meaning me) Jerseyville office while everyone back in Alton enjoyed the excitement (and pizza) without me.

Not this year.

My most recent post as Web news editor has positioned me in front of my computer, posting stories, making phone calls and monitoring up-to-the-minute results.

Hold onto your pants, I'm in for a wild ride.