When it rains, it pours...and I'm allowed to travel

Holy crap, work travel. Three trips in three weeks. First to Virginia Tech, then last week to New Jersey and New York for flood coverage - and now this week it's off to Beaumont, Texas, for a Hurricane Rita Summit.

I guess the squeaky wheel gets sent out of the office. Nice. I didn't agree with traveling to Virginia Tech for work, but a heated discussion with the boss "clarified" it and off I went. Yes, it is important that we cover that VT shootings, but I didn't think it warranted being there in person. The boss disagreed and then lectured me on why being there in person was so much more valuable than doing phone interviews. Blah blah blah, I listened.

Once there, I did all my articles and interviews and came to the conclusion....that I could have done it all via the phone. He still didn't agree and stuck in a little "I told you so" style comment when I called into the office my first afternoon down there, despite my not having said anything worthy of a "I told you so" comment. Whatever, it's not like I wasn't going to do my job well even though I didn't agree with being down there in person. I'm not petty or passive aggressive.

So anyway, once back in the office it was clear that on-site coverage was needed of the flooding in northern New Jersey and southern New York from the big Nor'easter two weekends ago. Super Awesome Kate hooked me up with a sweet hotel deal and so off I went last Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

I went to Bound Brook - which was sort of a full circle moment for me. Back when I interned (summer of 2000) for this current job site, the first big work trip they sent me on was to Bound Brook, NJ, to cover the Hurricane Floyd recovery. And now seven years later, I was unfortunately back there again.

The trip was great and mostly reaffirmed why I enjoy the majority of my job when I'm not in the office. I met great people, wrote some great features (my strength - I'm better at features than at breaking news) and saw some amazing stuff.

I added some photos to this post for fun. The first one is of a tribute board on the VT campus. I'm usually able to shield myself pretty well while hearing and writing about disasters and horrible things. This VT shooting was no different. That doesn't mean I'm an insensitive bastard, it means that I am able to balance my own feelings while also doing my job and conveying the feelings of others.

Anyway, I was doing fine on the VT coverage until I saw a quote on that board. First off the photos and personal messages to the girl in the photo were tough, but the quote in the bottom right of the photograph really got me. It's from the book "Hope for the Flowers" about two caterpillars who are trying to find their way in life. It's a beautiful book, and seeing that quote at such a rough time really hit me hard. There's always something very real at ever disaster I cover that will make things hit home for me at some point or another. I have plenty more photos from VT but just figured I'd share that one.

Also, I was not a douchebag about taking photos - unlike the thousands of other media people on that campus. Those poor students and families - not a moment's peace without cameras and microphones being jammed in their faces. As a member of the media, I understand doing one's job, but there's also a way to do it without being a completely insensitive idiot. Every time a student by these memorials would kneel, or put their heads down, or hug someone, or cry - there would instantly be about 12-15 photographers swarmed around them clicking away. I almost took a photo of that. This poor guy sat down by one memorial, took his hat off, put his head down and just started crying. I was on one side of him about 20 feet away looking at the memorials myself. On the other side of him were 10 photographers clicking away. The photo from my perspective would've been an amazing example of too much media during a tough time, but I refrained from taking it because I didn't want to add to it.

The second photo up there is an accidental shot of me doing my job in Bound Brook, NJ. Don't worry, I wasn't driving at the time. I was touring the hardest hit neighborhoods with a local pastor and snapping some pics as he told what was going on. I like the picture because I didn't know I would be in it, and I've never thought about what I look like while doing my job.

And that's that for now. Oh, in case you wanted to know, Tuesday the Cat's vet appointment was fine. She's still fat and healthy. She growled and hissed the whole time, according to Amy. The vet (who is wonderful) again told us that tortoise shell cats are high-strung and have strong personalities. Tuesday proves that.

And in retaliation for the vet appointment, Tuesday hurled in her cat carrier on the way home. You win this round, Tuesday.