Like this:

Overheard in the Newsroom #2593: Staffer brings in holiday leftovers to share: Copy Editor: “Ohh, what is it?” Reporter: “Who cares; it’s free food.”

Overheard in the Newsroom #2546: At the newsroom Christmas party: “He’d eat a roofing shingle if it was free and had sugar on it.” Yay, my first real solo. From the schedule, it seems like another chance for PR personnel of the money industry to fuck with me.

 Traffic tests me, both LDP and Federal, but I didn’t lose half an hour’s extra sleep for nothing. Still, it didn’t help that the night before I rewatched Grey’s S02E12 and E13. Denny Duquette so pawned MasterCard in the battle for my attention. Needless to say, lack of sleep and research made me a very angry driver.

Soon anxious driver, barely got to Giant Shah Alam in time for 9am, breathing “Thank God thank God thank God.” Then angry when discovered Giant only opens at 9.30am. WTFFF?!

Walk through the whole Giant and see a group of equally bemused people at Giant entrance, shutters only half up. MasterCard I ask and some well dressed females say yes. They’re the PR Weber Shandwick people who basically ran the whole show for the day.

Four couples given RM1000 to spend in 6 minutes. So this turns out into a human interest story. The Sinar Harian reporter and I strike up conversation, interview the winners and have the pretty biasa breakfast Giant provides – currypuffs, packed drinks and sandwiches.

Make nice talk with PR people, but I can see the Berita Harian guy is let down. He’s from Business desk but he ain’t getting any story here. Somehow, SOMEHOW the PR people feel sorry for him – “Sorry sorry tapi kita tak boleh disclose apa-apa.”

Poor guy. I drop the Sinar Harian reporter and photographer off at their office then take the long drive back to the office via Federal. See F first, he says to put in M&M with a human interest angle. Nice. I get to practice feature stuff in news length. Grab coffee cos I’m still yawning.

I decide to finish the press release F sent me yesterday to cook into a story. But after coffee and a grumbly stomach; I feed the pangs at the cafeteria with Spanks – he’s got a story to dig – pretty hard news. When I come back only slightly awaker, N is back from Kiara and is very excited. Oh-kay.

“What are you doing?” “Oh, just exciting Ricoh office printers, really.” Sigh. If I do the Giant story first, I would be so unmotivated to do the release and balik lewat again.

Ah!! I do a little jig around 3.30 when I’ve done the Ricoh thing – too bad the entertainment senior notices and gives me a look. Yeah, I know. I’d be super-pissed if I was chasing a deadline and some idiot rubbed it in.

 I feel this later when, excited, I pursue my people angle on the Giant story and N makes calls to write hers – and we are interrupted by some bloody bloddy lions (dance) and NOISE and oranges. N says “I’ll call you back, there’s a lion in the office.” but I stare determinedly at my screen and somehow keep my thoughts in order. Looking around, I see everyone but F and I looking at the lions. Like WTF, they’re nothing new.

Much later, there are orange skins lying on the floor. I make a less elaborate celebration upon finishing the Giant story at 5.30, send it in. Then I try to get F to sign my weekly report. Like me earlier, he grunts, “Do I have to do this now?” Signs it. “I’m doing this story.”

I sympathise with him, I really do. After all, he was correcting a court story headline and flow. On the same note, A is a really fast worker and she’s been hopping around since 4pm when she was done, chatting with others. I head home at 6.30 – like hell jam will be, but much worse if it was an hour later. Not so N, I think she waits out the jam till 8pm and takes a while over her stories. She is such a perfectionist.

Which is good really, but for M&M? Just before leaving, I glance at her two pages of text and say, “Wow, two pages?” N says, “Oh I’ve just been putting down everything and deleting it.” I’ve glanced through some of her past articles, she really puts effort into the lead and flow.

Off Friday and Saturday, back on duty Sunday. I am loving working for a less harried paper (at least not before 4.30pm) but I don’t know what I’m doing Sunday – guess I’ll have to wake up early again argh.

By the way, yes the above quote really did happen on the second day when a staffer brought leftover yeesang. Upon the quasi-tossing and eating, she observed casually, “Oh, so it’s still fine.” Since then, orange peel on the tables and floors – 100% sugar and cake finished in under 10 minutes.

This summarises me. I am happy to note that the TARC idiots who went through diploma with me and could barely string words together are not present. Everyone here can write real snappy (they’ll just put it off XD) and love the sound of their own voices – essential, of course.

Reading Tabby’s Star stories.

Listening to The Good Life by Tony Bennett.

Looking forward to a peaceful Sunday in church sans family – FOR ONCE!

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