So...

I'm sitting here in the library typing up my exit memo for Southeast Ohio magazine (the winter issue is in the can and will be going to press soon) and I realized: This is my last college assignment. It could be my last school assignment, ever, if I don't get a graduate assistantship at KSU. Did that ever turn on the tears! I am going to miss being a student so much.

The truth is that I hate, hate, HATE change. When I first arrived in Athens three years and three months ago, I loathed the place. I didn't know anybody, or the city; I had to come out of my shell ever-so-slightly; I was a "baby" revert Catholic who hadn't been Confirmed and who hadn't been to Confession in years; I had to make sure to perform exceptionally well academically, if I wanted to have any prayer of getting into the Scripps School. A few years later, I've made great friends, I love Athens, and I'm even sort of getting a kick out of my journalism and academic work. I do adjust to things well. But at the beginning of every new change, I get that kicked-in-the-gut, I-just-want-to-crawl-back-in-bed feeling. That is what I've got, now. Pray for me, please :)

I do have non-angsty, non-emo news to share, ha ha. Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Fan into Flame retreat with some of my friends from Catholic Student Outreach. It was essentially a Catholic charismatic retreat, complete with praise & worship music, "expressive" prayer, and people being baptized in the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues, etc. I enjoyed myself very much, not to mention that I think it was very beneficial for me, spiritually. It was wonderful to see so many young people so in love with the Faith.

I have to say that the charismatic culture is definitely Not My Style. I am very much a traditionalist - bring on the Latin, the chant, the incense and contemplative prayer, please! But I now have greater respect for the charismatic movement within the Catholic Church. The majority seem very orthodox, and many are considering religious vocations. I already had my "conversion experience" years ago, and it happened in a much more conventional, traditional way; nevertheless, I can see how someone who has never had that... for lack of a better term, "born again" experience in their lives could really latch on to the charismatic movement (there is always the danger, of course, of one's religious life becoming entirely emotion-based, but
many of the people I have spoken to seem aware of such possible pitfalls). It's not for me, but if it helps other Catholics grow in their faith, then more power to them.

On Wednesday night I attended The Post's winter quarter All Staff meeting, and I received a number of awards: Best Columnist, Most Improved Copy Editor, etc. Then the editors (who know I am graduating) gave me a mock-up of a front page of the paper. The headline was "Spirituality Columnist Leaves On Top." The "news stories" were all little notes from people on staff congratulating me and telling me I did a good job. It was the sweetest thing ever. As my Copy Chief, Jeff Smith said, "This is turning into a love fest for Maggie Kostendt." I am wondering to myself if they gave me all of those awards just because they knew I was leaving and they wished to make a big show, or because I really deserved them. My roommate Jenn says it was probably a combination of both ;)

Anyway, I really appreciated it. If I ever win the lotto, I will make sure to earmark some of the cash for the betterment of The Post's news operation (not that they'll need it for a while, what with them getting a fancy new high-tech newsroom in the brand-new student center. Incidentally, the Editor in Chief announced that the members of the staff are getting raises for next quarter - I would leave just before the money train arrives.).

All of this was the "news" I mentioned in the blog post below - I finally caught a minute to write!

Oh,and my finals went all right, but I am freaking out a bit over whether I am going to keep my GPA above 3.8 - I really don't want to have to update my resume. Ora pro me St. Jude.

And that's a wrap

For a whole bunch of things. My last column for The Post ran this week - sniff, sniff. I also had my last night of copy-editing, because there's no paper tomorrow, it being the day that the University observes Veteran's Day.

The Last Copy-Editing Night was actually Election Day. I was in the newsroom from 8 on Tuesday night until 6:30 on Wednesday morning because the Athens County Board of Elections had "technological difficulties." We were rushing around trying to think up headlines and edit the copy before the deadline, which was 6:00 (we were a bit late getting it to the press. And we still didn't have all the numbers yet!).

It was very unpleasant to have to read and re-read and think up headlines for all the stories about the Democrats winning this, that and the other. But what a copy-editor does is check copy. If I was just sitting at home I could just switch the TV off and do other things, but no, I had to stay in the newsroom for 10+ hours contemplating the disaster. And the complete sweep made headlines impossible to write - how many ways can you say, "Ohio Flips Blue"?

And most of the "issues" that I voted for - against the smoking ban (I don't smoke, but I have loved ones who do), against the minimum wage increase (my father owns a small business) - all went the wrong way. The only one I "won" on was the gambling issue, which thankfully failed.

I still mostly had a good time. Election Night is always a special night for newspapers, whether it takes place in Athens, Ohio or New York or Bangladesh. The editors all ordered pizza for us - yum, yum. And we had a couple of the famous One Minute Dance Parties in the newsroom, led by the Assistant Managing Editor, Burns, which helped out during periods of stress. Burns' mother actually works (I should say worked) for Republican Betty Montgomery, so I was extra special sad about that one.

And I have to say that there's nothing like walking home through empty city streets as the sun comes up :)

Emerging from the cocoon...

Of warm, fuzzy student-hood.

Well, it's not really that pleasant, but I'm starting to get the... hard swallow... melancholies about bidding adieu to my fair Athens. *Sniffle.* I have really loved my time here. The Appalachian foothills are beautiful this time of year, what with all the leaves changing; the beauty certainly conceals the fact that for miles and miles in every direction there isn't... much... of anything... besides... trees. But really I haven't minded life in the middle of nowhere. I'm not a "city girl" at all; I certainly don't pine for the night life!

Here's a link to my latest column - a bit of a dud. And I can tell because when it's a good column, I get e-mails from my readers. Thus far, nada!

Also, it seems the copy staff messed up a bit on it. See if you can tell where; look for the sentence that doesn't really make sense. I missed it, too, the first time I read it after publication... ;)

I love making lists

First order of business is my latest column.

Secondly... well, it's probably better to do this in list format.

1. I was promoted to a Hot Copy shift at The Post, which means that I actually get paid!

2. I got to march in Ohio University's homecoming parade with my roomie Jenn and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters float.

3. I went to the homecoming football game with Jenn and another roomie, Maureen, and we got to see the band play. We slaughtered Buffalo (the team, not the animal).

4. On Monday I got to participate in the pro-life vigil here! We got some snide remarks from passer-by, but also a lot of smiles and some folks stopping to talk to us. It was coooold, but fun.

5. On Wednesday night, I got to spend a wonderful evening with Sister Mary Emily and Sister Alexandria of the Sisters of St. Cecilia. We had a home-made meal in the basement of St. Paul's, and the Sisters gave our little group of women their vocations talk. They remembered my sister, Sister Elizabeth, from when she went to visit them before she entered with the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word. "You look so familiar!" saith Sister Mary Emily. It's a small world.

Afterward we got to go upstairs and pray the rosary before the Tabernacle. Heavenly.

All in all, it has been a marvelous week. The kind I wish would never end.

Good news, bad news

The good news is as follows: I found out that my five last columns have been picked up by U-Wire, which is the wire service for college media. I am now available in syndication ;) According to my editor, our board in The Post has a nice big sign congratulating me, but I have yet to nip in to the newsroom to see it. Of course, now I will start obsessing over whether each of my remaining (three?) columns is good enough and will be picked up.

I'm not sure how I find out where, and if, any other paper published my work. I would love to see it in The Daily Princetonian, for instance, but somehow I doubt that's going to happen!

The bad news is that the wringing of hands over what I am going to do with my life is still in full swing. I have gotten a bit better about trusting God, but I am still a little anxious. Confession tonight helped - my pastor is such a wonderful confessor! As a penance, he told me to pray the Hail Mary, very slowly. It's amazing what profound meaning each word of that prayer has when you really slow down and consider it.

As always, please ora pro me!

Latest for The Post

Can be seen here. Reportedly the Assistant Managing Editor liked it, but I've had some slightly negative feedback, too. Not with regard to the content, but re: the style. It's sort of a sloppy piece.

Hoah!

This week has been a difficult week, but, it turns out, a good week.

First of all, my editor - the Associate Editor of the paper - loved my column this week (read it here). Like any other writer, when my editor is happy, I am blissful. When my editor is unhappy - well, you can imagine ;)

Last night was my laaaate night with the copy staff, and I got to work with the Assistant Managing Editor and learn a new skill (cutting pages! Whee!). I am still quite useless at headline-writing, but I don't feel nervous going into work anymore. The copy editors who slot for me (check my work) are both very kind, patient people.

Southeast Ohio magazine fact-checking is still a bit of a bear. Grr.

But in other good news, I got an "A" on a massive magazine class presentation on The Atlantic (formerly The Atlantic Monthly). My professor wrote that I delivered my speech "with a voice of gentle authority." HA! Now I have a new line for whenever my friends complain that I speak too softly... ;)

The only bad part about the week is that I've only gotten to daily Mass once... There wasn't any Mass at all on Monday, and today's I had to miss because, as I said, it was my late night and I got home at 1:30 in the morning. It stinks to miss; I can't remember how I got through life before daily Mass was a part of it. Tomorrow, tomorrow.

Let the rain come down

I promised myself I wouldn't title this post with lyrics from a bad pop song. It looks like I lied to myself, oops!

Athens, Ohio received a direct hit from a nasty storm last night, the night on which I had my late night with The Post's copy staff. Today's was a twelve page paper, too - only the second time so far this year that we've been that big, I believe. However, my fervent praying (which, to be honest, was more like whining) obtained for me the miracle of being sent home at 12:30, instead of ye olde 2:00 in the morning.

In other journalism news, I was appointed to lead one of three teams of copy editors at Southeast Ohio Magazine. This will mean slightly more work, but hopefully double the resume umph.

I am going to come right out and ask for prayers from my little readership. As you know, I'm going to be graduating at Thanksgiving time, and will no longer have my reliable "student" status to get me discounts, the forbearance of adults, and an identity. I will, however, have a magnum cum laude bachelor's degree from the Scripps School, and about $6,000 in debt.

I am considering going to grad school, but only if I can get it all paid for by the university; I am thinking about applying for some editing jobs, and for a government position; I am worrying about my vocation and wondering if by doing any of the above I would just be putting off what God wants from me. All in all, preparing to leave the undergraduate world is just as confusing as I thought it would be. I wanna be a freshman again :(

All whining aside, I would appreciate it if you would pray that I am able to figure out my life, preferably in the next five to six weeks. Bit of a tight schedule, I know :)

What am I forgetting? Oh, that's right, my latest for The Post, on Our Lady of Guadalupe. It's very inoffensive and non-controversial, and I wrote it two hours before my deadline. Tisk, tisk.

Thump... thump

Yes, indeed, my heart is still beating and I am still breathing. Sorry for the lack of updates.

Bishop Conlon visited our county this week, and he celebrated the Sunday Mass at St. Paul's. The homily was excellent; he noted the phenomenon of people saying that they do not understand the Church's teaching, when in fact it's simply a matter of not wanting to accept the Church's teaching. I received the Holy Eucharist from his hands both on Sunday and at daily Mass on Thursday, which he concelebrated with our parish priest.

Catholic Student Outreach has been fun, too; it's wonderful and very encouraging to know a bunch of girls who share my values. Who'da thunk it, on OU's campus?

My mother recently received a letter from my sister, Sister Elizabeth. She sounds wonderfully happy in the convent. My mother cried because Sister Elizabeth addressed her as "Mama" in the letter. Mothers can be funny sometimes :)

No blog post would be complete without a link to my latest column. So here it is, enjoy.

Another week

Another column. This time on Papa's recent contretemps with the followers of Allah. Note: This time they identified me as a "junior" journalism major. Maybe that's just a web thing and they got it right in the actual paper ;)

Alas, as is obvious, I did not get a chance to write more "on the weekend," but I do not intend to just post a link to my column every week. That would be boring and unimaginative.

Let me tell you a very non-boring story about my roommates and the lengths they will go to in order to give me a hard time. On Sunday, I spent five or six hours at the library writing this week's column and doing some other homework; Sunday is unfortunately my busy day, between Mass, finishing class work, and my copy staff meeting. On my way home, I noticed that I had gotten a couple of frantic voice mails from two of my roommates detailing how Dearest Roomie Jenn had tripped over the ottoman in the living room, sprained her wrist, and was now at the hospital being attended to. I put some pep in my step, and when I got home, what did I find but Jenny lying in her bed with a most terrible-looking sling on her right arm.

After consoling her, I went up to my room to dither around, which is how I spend most of my time.

Long story short: After about three hours, Jenny and her conspirators(my other roommates) admitted to me that the "sprained wrist" story was, in its entirety, a crock. They regaled me with the information that she had changed the sling from her right arm to her left arm approximately 1,573,477 times without my noticing. She unwrapped her bandage to reveal a perfectly healthy arm.

They had me hook, line, and sinker. Touche, touche! :)

Hola!

My latest for The Post is online.

Hopefully I'll have more time to write this weekend!

J'accuse

Myself, for not updating more often. But I have excuses!

This quarter is shaping up to be the mind-melter I suspected it would be. A fun mind-melter, mind you. Eh, that's quite a mouthful.

So far I have had one column printed in The Post, and today they printed a positive letter from a reader; they don't have the column online yet, or I would link to it. Alas, you will just have to wait.

I have had one night of copy editing, but they only let me read one story. It was a somewhat amusing piece about the new mascot - the old Bobcat was a friendly-looking fellow, while the costume of the new Bobcat makes him look very intimidating and... Hungry. It was a late night, 2 o'clock in the morning, and there was a lot of downtime - but I'm told that probably won't happen again (the downtime, not the late night!).

I have yet to find out what my staff assignment is on Southeast Ohio Magazine, but I'd really rather copy edit than write. I had an interview with the Managing Editor and the Editor-in-Chief yesterday, and I got the distinct impression that they wish I would write - gulp! Since generally people are assigned to two staffs, I would be willing to do both the copy staff and the writing staff, if I was assigned smallish articles.

I am trying to get a hold of the naturalist with the Hocking Hills State Park in my quest to find out some dates for the regional calander we publish in the magazine, but we have thus far elevated phone-tagging to an art form.

And today at daily Mass, a nice young girl named Kate came up to me and informed me that she is starting a little Catholic group on campus, and would I like to come to the ice cream social? Indeed, I would.

As you can see, I am already busy, busy, busy, and it's just the start of the quarter. This is not an apologia for a lack of updates, just an explanation. I will probably not be able to udpate daily again until after I graduate at Thanskgiving time, but I'll be sure to post some things at least a few times a week. After all, with all this stuff going on, I'm sure I'll find I need a way to vent... ;)