The Unemployment Diaries

A Home Run, of sorts…24.03.10

A Wednesday blog entry? I know, weird right. But you know I wouldn’t interrupt your hump day without something worthwhile.

I promised I’d save the header “Home Run” for when I found a steady journalism gig at a newspaper, but as that’s looking more and more unlikely, I’ve got the second best thing. I have my first article published in a daily newspaper. Whoop WHOOP! For those of you who know me might be thinking, “BFD, you’ve been published a lot before,” but allow me to explain. I’ve done magazine, website, and alternative weekly newspaper writing, but getting daily newspaper clippings is hard. The news swooshes by like Nike,  and pitching a timely story can be like trying to slow down a stationary bike wheel with your hand (which for some reason I’ve tried a lot): you keep getting beat down.

Other times, it’s just your name that takes a beating. I was able to bask in the glory of my story for the Ottawa Citizen

Can y'all see that?

about Fashion Week for five seconds before I saw it: ANGELINA CREPIN? Who’s Crepin? They got my fucking name wrong! It’s like meeting Justin Bieber and finding out he’s not a real person, just a marionette controlled by Usher. Hopes. Dashed.

Anyway, now the record’s set straight an you can all check out the fabulous story written by ANGELINA CHAPIN here.

News Item #2 is I have a job that’s the closest I’ve come so far to an on-staff reporting gig. I’m working for a group called Alpheus, that does reports of Parliamentary committee meetings. Sounds boring? What were you doing yesterday afternoon? I was watching MP’s scream at each other and rudely walk away from the meeting to take loud calls on their blackberries. Oh, and, the small little matter of $7.2 million in funding being cut to the First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan and a panel of witnesses pleading to the  Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANO) committee for money back so they don’t have to close their doors. The news story is here. But mostly, I was distracted by the hot food being served in the back that said for members only. I think in a few weeks I’ll be part of the club.

News Item #3: To include you guys in on this exclusive experience I’ll be reporting the funniest thing an MP does at these meetings.

Yesterday’s winner gave me a warm welcome. While I was copying down names before the meeting started, a Bloc Quebecois MP leaned back in his chair more as if he were at a bar than a committee meeting and says to me “You owe me $10 for that.” That got him the “creepy old man award.”

That’s all for now kids!

Stay alert and find me a job!