Goin' to Carolina in my mind

30 Years of Justin

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:09:00 +0000

They came, they saw, they gorged themselves on wings and cake, then Wii'd. Tuesday night was just good stuff. Several close friends decided to spend their quality time with yours truly, helping celebrate my 30th. We started the night at Wild Wing Cafe drinking 2 dollar Coors light and eating saucy wings, while not my favorite, did a pretty good job filling the void. I had pre-gamed it with some Miller Lite prior to the offical festivities, so I was feeling pretty good (thank you Harris Teeter). It really is the closest I've come to feeling at home--food, booze, good friends...Then we decided to head back to the shack to feast on cake and try out my new toy and maybe imbibe some more Miller Lite.

This cake tasted as awesome as it looks. K pulled out all the stops. She even got strawberry preserves and smeared them in between the two layers of cake. Throw on some fresh strawberries and you have a recipe for deliciousness. On a technical note, it only takes one box of mix to make two layers...K used two boxes...way two much for the cake...but just enough for me! She decided to make the cake the night before the big day, so I was hovering around like a good husband, making sure that the cake tasted right. On a side note, Miller Lite and chocolate cake...at first glance, not a great combination...in practice, great!!!

I've got to get ready for work so I will continue this post later!!!

-J

The Killers...of Pain

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:25:00 +0000

These bottles have been my constant companions over the last few days. They occupy the seat next to me on the light rail, they watch over me as I sleep and they make sure I wash behind my ears in the shower (okay...maybe not the last one). After taking muscle relaxers for a while, I've begun to wonder how we ever made it without the pharmacopia available today. Granted, our life spans have increased drastically thanks to advancements in medicine, but a twinge of doubt still crosses my mind as I think about the possibility that these medicines are doing more harm then good. Reading the list of possible side-effects is sure to put even the most staunch pill-popping person into rehab. Of course, all this said, it still won't be enough to change me into a card-carrying hollistic health nut.

-Justin

Hurt back? Try the desk...

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:29:00 +0000

So, I find myself stepping over to the darkside for a few days. As luck would have it (or not really) my Dorsal Latimus muscle has decided to take a vacation, leaving in its place, spasms of pain, stiffness, and fatigue. As a result, I am behind the desk as opposed to behind the lens. I already knew that the desk had a thankless job (hell, they have to put up with my grumpy ass), but sitting behind the scanners trying to decifer the incessant chatter of dispatcher-speak, while fielding calls from people trying to entice us to THEIR Bar-B-Q fundraiser or church-sponsored garage sale for the benefit of one-armed lawn gnomes...really puts my job in perspective. While I deal with the end result, they cull through the myriad press releases and photo-op requests and only select those few, the diamonds in the rough. Sure, to me they maybe just another ribbon-cutting, another luncheon in a long and winding path through rubber chicken and muckety-mucks wielding enormous sissors ready to cut through 30 cent ribbon, but the desk has to pick from 50, while keeping an ear out for the latest smash and grab or mangled-metal mayhem.

I could not do it on a daily basis, it would probably drive me insane. I prefer the open road, being able to pick up my gear at the start of the day and not know where I'll be at it's end. Presidental candidates one minute, fatal plane crash the next. Endless possibilities. So, kudos to you O jockey of the desk...where I may bitch and bemoan my fate for getting sent somewhere...it's only fleeting, be sure that there is respect.

-Justin

A little long in coming....

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 01:29:00 +0000

The view from the live truck is one that I have gotten used to. The familiar greens, reds, and yellows of numerous LED's and color bars soothe the anxious patter of my beating heart. All is right in my world.

-Justin

It's 12:23 a.m....

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 05:23:00 +0000

And it's snowing here.

Since we've been North Carolina residents for well over a year, this is officially No Big Deal.*

*Our jobs are exempt from this rule. I'm at work, where snow is a Very Big Deal. Details are here, if you're interested.

An early start to a New Year's resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 21:31:00 +0000

Since one of my resolutions is going to be to post here more often, I'm getting an early start today with a few post-holiday observations.

-There is still so much to eat in my house. Leftovers, snack stuff, food we intended to eat but never got to, plus tons and tons of chocolaty things. And since work and the holidays have worn me out to the point where all I want to do today is sit on the couch watching TV on DVD, it's making for a very unhealthy combination. Let's not talk about how this affects my other New Year's resolutions...

-My mom knows me well enough to know that dark chocolate is my favorite, so it's the only kind she put in my stocking. Either that, or it's the only thing they had left at the store ;)

-We went to see Sweeney Todd on Christmas Day, because nothing says holiday spirit like bloody revenge and cannibalism. I quite liked the movie.

-You should all yell at me for not posting this sooner, because you will absolutely die from its cuteness, and once you see it, you'll be thinking, "Curse you! Why did you make me wait for something so completely adorable?!?" So really, I'm only doing what's best for you in posting this:

That's right. I'm one of those people. I made my dog wear clothes and convinced myself that he liked it. To be fair, after the first time he wore it, I thought for sure he'd never let me near him with that shirt again, because Manny is not shy about the things he doesn't like. But every time I pulled it out again, he jumped into my lap and nuzzled his face into it.

So. He likes it.

And because you can't see it in the picture, the shirt says, "Santa Paws' Little Yelper."

Are you dead yet? From the cuteness?

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Merry Christmas everybody! We're spending Christmas here in Charlotte, and Justin's family is here with us. My parents sent up presents, and we videotaped ourselves opening the gifts. I'm obligated here by my perfectionist husband to note that we weren't really paying attention to the lighting when we shot this, so we're sorry it's so dark.

A Christmas greeting to the Gagnet family:

Still in Charlotte, still making it

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:18:00 +0000

I know it's been ages since either Justin or I have posted here, and I hear some folks are still reading, so I thought I'd try to revive this -- for you and for us.

It's been a rough summer, to be perfectly honest. The heat was brutal. It's crazy to say such a thing after all my summers in Louisiana, but it's true. Something about the combination of the humidity (pretty much the same as home), the air quality (we had a solid month of dangerous ozone days, when the pollution combined with the heat and moisture make it hard to breathe), and the lack of those like-clockwork afternoon thunderstorms to break up the torment, made for two very cranky Castilles. I never thought I'd miss rain so much, but we're in a terrible drought, and I think I'd bake a cake for our meteorologist if we got a week of nothing but thunderstorms.

And our schedules are getting to us, too. Justin works days and weekends, I work nights during the week, and we don't share a day off unless one of us takes vacation. So it's been tough to schedule activities together, much less social time with other people.

Still, there have been some bright spots, so I'll recap a few:

-In August, I went to Charleston, S.C., to cover the American Idol auditions. It was a short weekend trip, during one of those brutally hot spells, so I didn't get to see the sights much. But the auditions were an experience unto themselves, and I didn't even go inside the coliseum. I've never seen so many perfectly polished princesses, boys with blue hair, folks in hot-pink feather boas and leather pants, talking about "what the judges were looking for" and "following a dream."

I met all sorts of them: A really humble gal from a teeny tiny town, who kissed her mom when she made it through. A not-so-humble guy who had this charismatic power to draw a crowd around him while he talked to me about being "hungry" to win. And a teenager who had auditioned for the past three years in a row before making it through. I may not fully understand what drives people to be on the show, but I have a newfound appreciation for what they go through to get there.

-Around Labor Day, we hosted my good friend Jessica for a week, doing all sorts of touristy things in Charlotte and beyond. One of the closest things to home was the U.S. National Whitewater Center, just 15 minutes from our house. We had a blast.

As required by the Whitewater Guide By-laws, our guide was crazy. When he saw Justin, he looked him up and down and said, "You're going swimming."

Sure enough...

Afterward, a funny thing happened that I couldn't fully appreciate until later. We decided to buy a CD of our adventures, and we were in the barn with the photo monitors, trying to find our drowned-rat selves among all the other drowned rats, when the kid behind the counter wearing an Alabama T-shirt spots Jessica wearing one of my LSU T-shirts.

He asks us how LSU played in our game that week (45-0 over Miss. State, thank you very much), and he starts talking about Nick Saban, and the SEC, and how Appalachian State happened to be ahead of Michigan at that very moment, and wasn't that a funny sort of thing? Yes, yes it was, we said. And then Jessica hands him her credit card to pay ($35 for a CD of 4 photos!), and they're still chatting, and Oops, he says, there was some sort of error when he ran the card, and he doesn't want to run it twice and have Jessica be charged twice, so here's your receipt and can I help the next customer?

We're confused, and still standing there trying to pay, and he's kind of ignoring us, and finally we realize. The football thing. Not just any football thing -- SEC football. The strength of that bond is directly proportional to the distance one is from one's alma mater. It makes for instant friends in grocery stores and bank lobbies. It's why I always wear my LSU shirt when flying across the country, soliciting whispered "Go Tigers!" from people in the security checkpoint in Denver, Dallas or Detroit.

Speaking of LSU, we had been, two days earlier, at a game-watching party in an Uptown bar, organized by the alumni associations of all the SEC schools, and boy was that surreal. Charlotteans, whether very new newcomers or long-ago transplants, all sporting the colors of rival SEC schools. Instant friends.

So as a difficult summer fades into fall, with football and festivals (we went to a big Uptown bash called "Blues, Brews & BBQ" last week), we're pushing through. We miss Louisiana like crazy, and on some days Charlotte feels more like our new "home" than on others. But we're working on it. We still love what we do, and most importantly, we love each other. So at least, as our one-year anniversary in this town looms, we've know what's important.

Love and miss you all,
Kayla

(Look for more frequent updates. I promise!)

Sunshine!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:28:00 +0000

I caught some rays today out at the pool at my friend Robin's apartment. It's a good thing, too, because I was starting to look pretty pale. Must be the consequence of working nights, sleeping late, and spending too much time watching TV. The YMCA membership is kicking my butt into action, though. It may not be sunshine, but at least it's activity.

This week I took a beginning yoga class, and I had thought it would be simple enough. I've taken a few yoga classes before, and for a few months I did a yoga tape at home pretty regularly. But dang, I'm out of shape. The class was at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, so I was one of maybe three people in there under the age of 60. And I'm huffing and straining (which you're not supposed to do in yoga), and I can't even hold my poses half as long as some of them. Sheesh. But, it's all the more motivation to keep going; I can't let the old ladies show me up!

Home alone

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 04:01:00 +0000

So Justin's stuck up in the mountains of Montreat, N.C., covering the death of Billy Graham's wife Ruth. And I'm stuck at home with lots of work and no Justin :( He's staying tonight and probably tomorrow night too.

The Graham family is huge in North Carolina, which we didn't know until we moved here (Actually, I'm not sure Justin knew who they were at all, not growing up Southern Baptist.) Billy is from Charlotte, and his worldwide evangelistic association is headquartered just a few blocks from my TV station. In fact, the whole dang highway that runs in front of the station and to the airport is named for him. Last month, they dedicated his new library; you might have seen something about it on TV -- there were just a few important folks there... like, three former presidents of the United States. We did an hour-long Billy Graham special in honor of the occasion, and we have a whole section of our site devoted to him. So we were pretty prepared for today, and it seems like the whole Graham family was, too. She had been very sick for quite a while, and I spent this afternoon going through file photos and video of her through the years. It's strange to be able to watch the evolution and aging of a person who has been in the public eye for as long as she has.
_______

I've got to start updating more. Right? I guess I don't because I feel like I don't have as many "oh, new shiny Charlotte" things to say anymore. We've gotten pretty used to the place. That's not to say it feels like truly home, but it doesn't at all feel foreign anymore. It just is, and we're just here.

We joined the YMCA this week. Yet another cool thing that Charlotte does better than most cities. I've haven't really lived in places with local Y's, and in the few places that had them, they mostly existed for summer camps for kids or specialty classes. Here, there's an extensive network of Y's in the metro area, and I don't think I'd be wrong to say that more people work out at the Y than at local health clubs. It's the cool, hip thing to do, but it also appeals to a broad cross-section of people from different socio-economic backgrounds because they offer a discounted membership program. So you may be on the treadmill between the Jaguar-driving banker at Wachovia and the kid who makes the banker's Starbucks every morning.

Also, I'm proud to announce that Casa Castille has already got its first reservation -- for the last week in August through Labor Day. So get your reservations in soon, folks ;) Seriously, if you're into lots of pretty green space, mountains, and whitewater rafting (or alternatively, tall chrome buildings, hip urban centers, and an active night life), visit Charlotte! Stay at Casa Castille! There's no better rate in town! (And if you're nice to the man of the house, he'll cook you vegetarian lasagna.)

Since you're all reading...

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 26 May 2007 06:12:00 +0000

We had a wonderful trip back to Louisiana to visit everyone, even if my quality time with people was more limited than Justin's. And the most startling revelation of the trip was that so many people are reading this blog (and are fussing because we don't post enough!)

So, here we are. And here's an album of photos from the trip. Harry Potter-related photos are going to have to come later (plus, Mom took all the good ones. I was too busy being HeadlessChicken!Kayla to have time to take many of my own.)

Justin and I drove back to N.C. on Monday afternoon and got home at 3 a.m. We woke up at 7 a.m. and picked up a U-Haul, and then moved as much heavy furniture as possible before I had to be at work at 2 p.m. I think we were running on pure adrenaline, and after we finally did get some sleep this week, we were more tired than ever. Tomorrow, I'll spend the day packing everything in our old apartment that isn't furniture and bringing it over here, to our swanky 2-br, 2-ba, 9-foot ceiling place on the other side of the complex. Ok, it's not that swanky, but it certainly is big, which means we have room for all of you to come visit... just, not all at once. But be sure to get your reservations in early for Casa Castille, because we want to arrange our schedules so that we can spend the maximum amount of time with our guests ;)

Speaking of Casa Castille, have I mentioned that I am official a Castille? I (finally) legally changed my name last month, as a birthday present for Justin. It's a slow process, getting the name changed on all the major things -- driver's license, bank accounts, utilities, etc. But we're getting there. I'll probably keep the Gagnet byline at work for a while, because it would be a huge hassle to change it there.

The Big Race is this weekend -- the Coca-Cola 600. I still have no idea what it's all about. I've been posting the stories and photos, and I'm still not getting it. I think Justin and I could both use a crash course in NASCAR (pun intended, if only because my assistant news director makes bad puns like that all the time, and I think it's starting to rub off on me.)

Quick Phoenix Rising recap, for those interested:
-Yes, there were lots of people in costume.
-No, I wasn't one of them.
-Yes, NBC, MTV, Salon.com and some other folks all covered the conference, and yes, I worked with all of them.
-Yes, it went fabulously well. Everyone had a blast, things ran very smoothly, and I managed to get 3-4 hours of sleep a night, which was more than I expected.

Birthdays

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Man, I'm getting old! So, the 24th of April has now passed and I am officially 1 year older. I am 29! It didn't really hit me until recently that the days of my twenties are almost over. At what age do you offically feel "grown up"? Does that time ever come? Right now, I don't feel really grown up even though technically I am a grown up--I own my own car, have a professional job, married to a wonderful woman, pay insurance---I just don't FEEL like I think my parents feel...Hell, I even got a XBOX 360 for my birthday! Maybe that "adult" feeling will come with kids. Maybe I was hoping that, by now, someone would have mailed me a certificate declaring me an adult. Or maybe it just sneaks up on you and before you know it, you are parents and ARE the old ones in the mix. There are probably no real answers to my questions. Recently, a meteorologist from one of the other stations passed away from a rare form of Cancer...she was 27! Right before she was diagnosed she found out she was pregnant...she delivered in her 6th month so that she could start treatment. It's just crazy....Cancer was something far from my mind...I didn't realize that those of us in our twenties could be candidates...It kind of puts things in perspective. We need to embrace the time that we have and those that are around us.

P.S. Sorry for the depressing bent....I started talking about birthdays and ended with Cancer...hmmmm....I guess it was on my mind. Just do me a favor and hug someone!

N.C. Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:15:00 +0000

Who knew that 400-foot waterfalls, rocky rivers, and mountain lakes were just an hour and a half drive away? Ok, I guess some people knew, but we didn't.

Now, we do.

We took a short weekend trip to the area of Chimney Rock/Lake Lure (where parts of "Dirty Dancing" were filmed). We rented a secluded little cabin at the top of a very steep hill, where we let Manny run around like the crazy dog that he is.

There are lots more pictures where these came from. All in all, we had a blast. My calves are still regretting all that hiking and trails and stairs, but that's what I get for being totally out of shape.

And I thought winter weather was bad...

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 03:49:00 +0000

I should have known that there can be few crazier times than March in North Carolina. I have read more sports stories, watched more video, pulled more photos and monitored more scores in college basketball this week than ever in my life, and it's only just begun. I found myself cheering a little that two of our four local teams got knocked out today. A little hometown-team cheering never hurt, but two teams are much more manageable than four.

In other news, the weather here has been GORGEOUS. We've been taking Manny down to the river behind our house every day, and we let him off his leash to play in the water and generally run around and be crazy. It's supposed to get cold again this weekend, when we'll be hiking in the mountains for our anniversary present to ourselves.

Veggie Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:43:00 +0000

Taking a page from a co-worker's book, I decided to try and impress Kayla with some culinary magic. I went online and found a recipe for Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings. Of course, the only time that I have come into contact with a dumpling, vegetarian or otherwise, is at a Chinese restaurant. How hard could they be to make? Hummm...confidence in self: 100%, actual cooking technique: -30%.
I went to the Teeter to pick up the much needed ingredients..Tofu, cabbage, carrots, Hoisun Sauce, wonton wrappers.....the recipe called for a bunch of others but I reasoned that I wanted to keep it simple...less to screw up!
The prep time on the recipe said about 50 minutes, so when I got back home I started to work. Mixing the Tofu and other ingredients together was probably the easiest part...after that, it was like building the Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks...painstaking! Take 1 wonton wrap, put a teaspoon of mix and fold into desired shape....easier said that d0ne:
After about 45 minutes of crimping, pinching, pulling, and pounding I had about 35 "dumplings" that looked like shriveled-up turds... I was proud of it!...and going to make Kayla eat them! After about a 12-minute steam bath for each batch...the directions "said" they were ready for human consumption. I rounded out the dinner with some asparagus that I broiled in salt and butter, just so the evening wouldn't be a total loss. (Everything tastes better with a little butter gravy on top!) When the missus got home she seemed open to the thought of tasting some of my Epicurean delights. I waited with baited breath as she bit into the first doughy morsel...and loved them! Yay me! I scored some good points with the missus and found a new recipe to add to my arsenal...will I make them ever week...hell no! I think I'll save them for those in-the-doghouse moments that come every now and then. Later Folks!

Me and NASCAR

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:40:00 +0000

About a week ago I was sent to Lowe's Motor Speedway to cover an event sponsored by The Jeff Gordon School of Racing. Several 16-17 year old "drivers" were getting to drive 20 laps around the track. I guess this is priceless experience to hopeful future NASCAR drivers. After I did the obligatory interviews and got plenty of B-Roll, the organizer offered me the opportunity to ride around the track with one of the instructors.
They were offering these 3 lap rides to people for about $80 , and I was going to get one for free? My first thought was hell yeah! but then the voice of mother Laws crept into my mind....tsk, tsk, was this the ethical thing to do? I mean, I wasn't going to be able to bring my camera on board, so what was the journalistic merit to it? At most, this was going to be a VO-SOT and I had already gotten all the elements. Besides, I was going to have to wait until all the paying customers went, surely the station would have need of me and surely I would get another opportunity. So, respectfully I declined.
As I was leaving, I phoned up my friend and fellow photog Adam and asked him; had he ever ridden shotgun in a NASCAR car...he said yes and said it was one of the coolest experiences he's ever had and that I was the stupidest to pass up the opportunity. Well, obviously this didn't help matters. I started questioning myself...railing against the fates for putting me in this situation...looking out for traffic as I cut a u-turn and made a bee-line back to the speedway (sorry Claudia, I'm weak!)
After a bunch of laughter from the organizers and a general assertion that the experience will be like crack...I'll never get enough...I set in to waiting...about an hour an a half later, it was my turn!

I strapped on the helmet and made my way onto the track. These are race cars so, of course, they have no doors...the only option..Dukes of Hazard style. Those who are familiar with me already see the predicament. At 6'4", 275lbs it was like stuffing a giraffe into VW bug...tried to go in frontways, backways, right arm-left leg, you name it, I tried it. Finally, I stuffed my self in, very un-Dukes of Hazard-like. Then, we got going...It seems like I'm writing a lot so I will just sum up my impressions:

I had a Joker-eske smile the entire time while clinging to the roll cage like my life depended on it. The turns are the best part. At 200mph, they go awfully close to the wall, it seemed like inches. Getting out of the car is easier then getting in.

After my experience I have a better appreciation for what the NASCAR drivers do. I was riding in one car going 200mph....they race with a field of 40 and go 200mph. The track does not look as big from the drivers perspective. Was I glad that I did it...yes!

161

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 05:22:00 +0000

That's what I made on the LSAT -- 161. My score was e-mailed to me tonight. That put me in the 84th percentile, namely that I did better than 84 percent of the people who take the test. It's about what I was expecting, though a little lower than I was hoping. But a respectable score, no doubt -- it's actually 10 points higher than the median score of last fall's Charlotte School of Law entering class, but that's not saying much because that median is kind of low. The upside is that means my score plus my undergrad GPA could score me some serious scholarships to CSL.

Granted, I have no idea when I would go to law school. I'm quite enjoying my job, and I'm not sure I could convince my employer that me getting a law degree would benefit the company. So at this point it's sort of a possibility that I'm keeping in my back pocket. Another thing in my back pocket -- a distance education program at UNC Chapel Hill's journalism school offering a graduate certificate in technology and communication. A former co-worker of Justin's was in the program, and he would just write papers and such on the weekends (and his employer paid the tuition -- I suspect mine would too.) I mention this here for the benefit of my other journalism friends, too; it could be a nice resume booster for those of us in the dying newspaper industry. Or, I guess I'm formerly in the dying newspaper industry.

Alright, enough serious business. A year ago today, I think I was making a trip to the Okaloosa (Fla.) County courthouse and going on last-minute runs to Target for nuptial necessities. Our one-year anniversary weekend will be pretty low-key; Justin has to work late, so there might be an after midnight glass of champagne or something. We'll really celebrate in about two weeks, when we take a weekend trip to the mountains (with Manny) for some fresh air and relaxation.

Biscuits and haircuts

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 03:11:00 +0000

As promised, here's that story I wrote about the biscuit-making competition. Be sure to check out the slideshow of photos I took -- they're kinda funny.

And, because I think that this is probably the most drastic thing I've done to my hair in a long time, here are a few pictures.

I can't tell if the pictures really show just how dark it is, but it's dark, and I love it. And, it probably doesn't look much shorter to any of you, but I hadn't gotten a haircut since... June... so the stylist chopped off a good four inches.

Not much else going on here, except I switched my schedule to 2-11 p.m., at my own suggestion. It's crazy of me to want to work later, but my work day was so backloaded that I felt rushed at the end of the night to get everything done by 10 p.m. And, I can get more stuff for the 11 p.m. show on the web before I leave.

So of course this means that Justin and I never see each other. There's a chance that might change, because two photogs have recently left, so he could get a better schedule. *crosses fingers*

And, there's no weekend for me this week. I did my usual Borders shift today, and then I let my manager talk me into coming in tomorrow for inventory -- 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., but at least I get to wear crappy clothes, eat free food, and not have to do happy smilie customer service things at all. It's cool because next weekend I have exactly ZERO shifts at Borders -- I get our entire anniversary weekend to relax.

Also, huge thanks and shout out to Marsha, for sending a king cake to these poor Carnival-depraved souls. It was amazing.

Aaaaaand, just because it's funny, here's Justin's before and after haircut photos:

Happy Mardi Gras!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 01:04:00 +0000

Wanna see something kinda cool?

I got to blog about Mardi Gras on WCNC.com.

That is all.

Well, that's not really all. There's been a haircut and a late-night screening of "Ghost Rider" and stress about what to do for the 1-year anniversary (OH MY GOODNESS A YEAR???), lots of house cleaning, some room rearranging, and a devil's food cake decorated by Justin for Valentine's Day.

And tomorrow, I get to escape from the newsroom and cover an assignment for the Web. Very important, high priority stuff -- a biscuit-making competition at Bojangles (the local equivalent of Popeye's, I suppose.) One of our weather guys is competing, and I'm told that I will be showered with free biscuits while there. I'll be sure to post links and photos from this Very Important Assignment.

An eventful weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 04:12:00 +0000

This weekend I completed a feat of daring not attempted since my college days, when I regularly defied the laws of ~~physics~~ sleep. I awoke at 5:30 a.m. and was in my car by 6:30, on my way to the lovely campus of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. After getting on the wrong interstate twice (WHY does Yahoo Maps like to send you on crazy back roads when there are perfectly good interstates that go straight there????), I arrived just on time to take the LSAT. I feel pretty good about the test -- I don't find out my score for another 2-3 weeks, but I'll be sure to let you all know. Unless of course I bombed, in which case I'll probably just lie and say I did fabulous.

So, after five mind-numbing test sections, one writing sample, and one very annoying test proctor who scarily reminded me of Professor Umbridge, I left the campus at 1:30 p.m., starving. But I didn't dare stop to eat in Winston-Salem, because I would have surely slipped into a food coma and never made it back to Charlotte. So my stomach growled the 90-minute trip back. I hurriedly ate fast food and rushed over to Borders, where I worked until 11 p.m. Yep, I'm crazy. I have no idea why I thought this was perfectly logical. Somehow, I managed to stay upright for the entire shift, and promptly collapsed when I got home.

Sunday, there was much sleeping. And then waking up, eating, walking the dog, and going back to sleep. Then, Sunday night, there was drama.

On his way home from work, Justin got rear-ended by a drunk guy on a moped. Yes, a drunk guy on a moped, who, incidentally, is lucky to be alive. Justin's fine -- don't worry. He just wasn't too thrilled to have a second run-in with Charlotte-Mecklenburg's finest in our four short months here. The guy on the moped was thrown off, but Justin was able to calmly dial 911, told Mr. Moped not to move, and waited for an ambulance. And Mr. Moped will be fine, too, though he had handcuffs waiting for him after his trip to the hospital.

Here's the kicker: Moped drivers are not required to have a driver's license or insurance (making mopeds the vehicle of choice for DUI repeat offenders). So Mr. Moped was uninsured. AND, since his wimpy little bike is not considered a motor vehicle (even though he was going about 35 mph when he rammed into Justin at a stop light), the damage isn't covered under our uninsured motorists coverage. See? Drama.

We may not even file the claim, depending on how much the damage will cost to repair. Still, what kind of crappy luck is that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, moving on. Every town's got at least one -- that crazy guy who goes to all the city council or school board meetings and is good for a conspiracy theory once a month or more. Evidently, in Charlotte, ours is so crazy that he's a viral video star. If you have a few minutes, and brain cells, to kill, check him out on YouTube. He claimed a "rogue helicopter pilot" had been terrorizing him, and he wanted John Walsh and the FBI to investigate.*

*This apparently took place a few months (years?) ago, but people in my newsroom still talk about it.

SnowDay '07 - We survived

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 03:56:00 +0000

The bright white light coming through the blinds roused me at an otherwise ungodly our of 8 a.m. I peeked out the window, and saw this:

We laughed, we cried, we made the dog run around in the snow against his will. Evidently, Charlotte set a daily snowfall record today of 2 inches, beating the previous 1972 record. How do I know this, you say? Because 90 percent of my job right now is knowing everything about the "Winter Blast" in the Carolinas.

Check out more pictures here. Justin and I both had to go to work at 1 p.m. today, and by then, the snow had turned into sleet and rain, and it was mostly just slushy outside. Somehow, Justin only spent 30 minutes at work ... something about having a pain in his neck, or being a pain in the neck, or whatever. I'm not sure. It was his day off anyway.

So yes. Snow is fun.

I'm an INP at WCNC-TV, and that's far too many letters

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:13:00 +0000

Wellllllllllllll, I know you're all just dying to know how my first two days at WCNC have been. It's keeping you up at nights, I'm sure. Let me just put all the speculation to rest:

It's..............drum roll, please................... fabulous.

I worked the day shift yesterday and today, but tomorrow I start my 1-10 shift, which means for the last four hours I'll be on my own, updating the Web site without people right next to me who can answer my stupid questions on the spot. This makes me a tad nervous. But. Back to the working part. Even though I knew I was walking into a big-market Emmy-winning newsroom, there was a teeny part of me that was expecting it to be just like working at a newspaper, only with marginally more egotistical co-workers. I knew I'd have a learning curve on some of the technology, but it hasn't been as steep as I'd imagine. The people I work with (or at least, the ones I know so far) are incredibly smart and talented -- the newsroom won another half a dozen Emmys this weekend. The work is fast-paced and exciting, and it's not just busy work. There's definitely a skill involved in being able to encode video as it airs live at 5 p.m. while also capturing still images, completely re-writing a script for the Web and cajoling the html to do what you want. All before the 5:30 show starts.

My bosses told me today that the goal, in the not-too-distant future, is for me to get into a comfortable routine with the everyday stuff, and then I can start creating Web-exclusive content. Blogs, my own stories, etc. It feels good to be challenged in this way and to feel like I'm putting so many of my skills to use. It's the first time in, gosh, a year maybe, that I've been so excited about going to work.

Oh, and there's a snow/sleet/freezing rain storm coming through on Thursday (this is almost the equivalent of a hurricane entering the Gulf in terms of the panic it causes among residents and news folks.) Can we say "trial by fire" much?

I HAVE A JOB, DUDES

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:30:00 +0000

That's right, my days of whining are finally over. Today, I was offered (and accepted) the job of Internet News Producer at WCNC, the NBC affiliate here. It's owned by Belo, and has arguably the best news Web site in the city. I'll be editing and posting stories, video and such, not to mention fielding call-ins from reporters in the field. They assign Web "buddies" each day, so that every newsgatherer is parterned with a Web person for updates. And that's all I really know about the job so far, but everybody seems super nice, and they made me feel like I was awesome. I met with the GM today, who said he likes to meet with all new employees to make sure they really buy in to the station's mission of journalistic integrity and innovation (How cool is that?!?).

I start on Jan. 29, and I'm making a tad more than I did at the Advertiser, which, after a Borders wage, is plenty fine enough for me. My schedule is still pretty tenative, but I will be M-F, probably 12-9. No matter what, it'll be crazy because of Justin's schedule. But I'm so, so happy, and I feel like a legitimate grown-up again.

A year in review

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 03:58:00 +0000

Yo, 2006, what's your hurry? I feel like we just met, and you're leaving me here in the dust. I guess you brought me some excitement, and that's all a girl can ask of 365 days, right?

This year:

-A wedding was plotted, planned and performed, and I had very little to do with any of it. I just showed up, smiled for pictures, and went on the cruise.
-I traveled to New Orleans; Destin, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, USVI; St. Maarten, Virgin Islands; Jackson, Miss.; Birmingham, Ala.; Ft. Worth, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston and Chicago. One of those places seems to have stuck, though as I look back at the list now, I wonder why it couldn't have been one of those Caribbean islands.
-We shuffled our stuff between three different houses/apartments. The spaces keep getting smaller and smaller, and I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to work that way.
-I applied for jobs in Lafayette, Tallahassee, Nashville, Jackson, Birmingham, Denver and Charlotte. I've gone on at least five in-person job interviews, that I can remember. In all, I have written roughly 25 unique cover letters, and sent my resume to at least 50 job openings.
-I read more books than I feel like listing here, but I still don't feel like it was enough.
-~~I should say something here about how I failed at any plans to improve my level of overall health and physical activity.~~ I gained weight. We'll see about next year.

My mom and sisters left yesterday after a few fun-filled days. Mom took all the pictures, but hopefully I'll post some here soon. There was ice-skating and museum-going and movie-watching and gift-opening.

This week, I have my second interview with WCNC for the internet news producer job. I'll spend all Wednesday morning there, and I'm hoping this is finally "the one." It would be a great way to start 2007.

Oh look, Frank. What's this? It's a toaster!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:18:00 +0000

I start work at Borders in approximately one hour. I train today and tomorrow -- wonderful time to start my career in retail, don't you think?

Our mantle is covered with Christmas cards from around the country. Our tree is decorated. And I've watched two of the three movies that I now must watch before Christmas is allowed to arrive. Love Actually is a new addition to this list, but I watched about two weeks ago. Yesterday, I watched Scrooged, which is so classically funny, and I never get tired of it. The final movie is It's a Wonderful Life, and I keep searching the TV guide for a time that this is coming on, with no luck. I'm hoping we'll get it by Christmas Eve.

My mom and sisters are coming to visit right after Christmas. And since Justin and I both have to work for the actual holiday, it looks like we'll be doing most of our present-opening around the 27th. We're very excited to be getting visitors again :D Hope you all have a very happy holiday!