February 3, 2012
Here’s the headline: I found a way to survive my first month as a full-time, 21st century journalist. Despite overwhelming exhaustion and personal chaos, punting is helping me to make progress.
Actually, I have no interest in Sunday’s Super Bowl game or the half-time ritual of watching the (hopefully) funny commercials that cost millions of dollars to make.
But this year, I’m using the hype as a personal reminder. Every time I hear anything about this upcoming event, I think to myself, “punt.”
Even a sports idiot like me can understand the American football concept of punting: it’s all about kicking the ball before it hits the ground.
My life, my work — can I keep them airborne? Or will I thud to earth in a big, sad splat?
On Jan. 1, I started a full-time job as an online reporter for Newsday. Very soon, we’ll be launching a news website to rock the Hudson Valley, which covers a very interesting lower stretch of New York State. To get ready, January became a mad month of reorganization. From week-to-week, this is what happened at work:
In focusing on work, my household routine fell apart. Cooking dinner — what’s that? I barely had time to walk the dog. Haven’t picked up a paint brush since December. And forget about hanging out with friends.
Thankfully, things are starting to settle down a bit. I’m making progress because I’ve realized:
That’s how I’m managing things. How about you? If you’ve got tips, we need to hear them.And if you’d like to read some related posts:
P.S. — For a fun place to watch the game, I highly recommend the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in White Plains, N.Y. It’s located in an old bank. (Click here to read my Yelp.com review of this restaurant.) The other night, I was there for a meetup sponsored by Westchester Web Presence. Let the games begin!
What a pretty restaurant. I really enjoyed taking this shot on my new iPhone. So easy to use.