A little media criticism

I read this headline and lede from a NBC news feed:

ABORTION RIGHTS BACKERS GET ASSURANCES

The White House scrambles to assuage liberal groups that Judge Sonia Sotomayor agrees with Obama's belief in protections for women's right to choose.

Now, at first read, nothing seems amiss. Pretty straightforward, yeah?
But at second look I saw what frustrates me most about the abortion debate and the biased language media often use.

"...protections for women's right to choose."

The reporter of this article has taken a position whether he or she knows it or not. The language speaks of abortion as a right to be protected. By labeling abortion as a woman's right, the reporter makes those against abortion look like the bad guys. After all, we Americans have always been fiercely protective of our rights and demonize anyone who would take them away.

But for those against abortion, the debate has never been about a woman's right to choose--it is about a child's right to live (and that right is in the Declaration of Independence). For them, abortion is no more a right than is genocide. You wouldn't say it's a mother's right to murder her 4-year-old son, would you?

People on both sides of the abortion debate use euphemisms to make their side sound better and the other side worse. The label "pro-choice" makes abortion supporters sound like the noble protector of rights, while at the same time implying the other side is full of women oppressors. The label "pro-life" makes the anti-abortion crowd sound like saviors, while implying the others side is full of murderers.

Both labels are unhelpful. The anti-abortion crowd doesn't see abortion as an issue of women's rights. The pro-abortion crowd doesn't believe a fetus is a legitimate life, so they don't see abortion as murder. A false dichotomy is created with these labels. You're either for rights or you're for life. There is no reason you should have to choose between those fundamental concepts.

The debate truly is about when life begins, not about women's rights. The debate will move nowhere while both sides continued to miscategorize one another. And reporters need to be more careful with their language.

Good 'ole Teddy

I found these at a good time.

Commitment

I've realized something about myself. I'm afraid of commitment.

It's a strange thing to admit because I've always bashed on our non-commitment culture, especially as it applies to men. After all, we should be strong and courageous, right? We should go head-first into relationships, jobs and whatever else with unflinching resolve and dedication.

It's strange because being a Christian is a huge commitment. Coming to Biola was quite the commitment. Getting tattoos on my calves was a heavy commitment. So it's not like I'm totally afraid of commitment. It seems with issues of my faith and its expression I feel much more comfortable. But maybe that's just because I was raised in it and haven't suffered a ton of persecution for it.

But back to the issue:

Take for example my lack of a dating life. Is it lacking because I don't have options; because I'm a geeky loner who's afraid to talk to girls? Not really. I mean, if anything, there are too many options (the Biola ratio kills me sometimes). But I don't do anything about it, even though it wouldn't be that hard.

Why don't I do anything about it? Well, one, because I'm afraid of giving up sovereignty in my life to anyone but God; I want to be able to make decisions freely, without worrying about how I'm affecting someone else. The second reason is because I'm afraid of choosing the wrong person. I'm afraid of committing to someone and then later discovering someone else "better." Obviously this is unhealthy and irrational fear, but it's what I'm feeling, and trying harder rarely makes a feeling go away.

This problem extends to career life too. Several options lay before me right now. I could continue along the straight and narrow, following what I've always thought would be my journey: journalism, media, writing, the like. Now as I've watched the newspaper industry and the economy in general crumble, another option (which I don't want to make public yet) has presented itself.

This second option is very left-field for me and would, I know, surprise a lot of people. This option is very attractive to me right now, however, and wouldn't necessarily mean me giving up my craft--just expressing it in a much different context. But despite how strongly I feel about this option, I haven't committed to it. Why? Well, because something better might come up.

There's certainly wisdom in prudence. People who throw themselves around at everything, committing themselves recklessly without thinking, obviously have their own set of issues. I've always valued deep consideration and self-control. And after all that thinking, when I do decide to commit to something, I commit hard-core.

That's likely why dating is such an issue for me. I can't stand the idea of just casually going out with someone. For me, you should either commit hard-core or do nothing; hanging out in the middle isn't productive in my mind. I imagine this dichotomy I draw isn't always good. I imagine being in the middle often requires the most faith.

But it also makes you so vulnerable to hurt--something I desperately try to avoid.

Viva la vida. La vida sin impossiblidades.

I often hear my friends -- or myself, in my own head -- wish for the day when things will be "stable." You know, the day when you don't have to worry about having different living arrangements or a different job every year; the day when essay writing is a thing of the past, and we leave our work at work.

Maybe there will be a day without essays, but I disbelieve that life will ever be "stable."

Those who have their money safely locked away in 401(k)s or other stock based retirement funds recently got their fill of the erroneous notion of stability. And I've learned the hard way that even family walks teeteringly on the edge of instability.

Five years ago I imagined myself soaking up the books (and rain) in some Oregon college with my high school sweetie no more than a short drive away. I knew what I wanted to do with my life, but aggressive career pursuits were far from my mind -- in fact I thought such thoughts flirted with idolatry. I was confident in my theology. Washington, D.C. was only a place I saw on the news.

Though my family still recognizes me well enough, when I return to Oregon I feel more and more like a stranger and visitor. Granted, I still have my quirks and hobbies and get along well enough, but the pool of experiences in which my life has been dipped -- apart from my family -- has washed away much naivety, innocence and presumptions I once held.

If so much can change in five years, where will I be in the next five? Even just a year ago I imagined myself graduating from college right into a newsroom as a reporter. Now I watch helplessly as the newspaper industry collapses across the nation. I watch unemployment numbers tick-tick-tick up, and read one article after the other about the plight of some family, group or individual that is suffering from an element of the economic blight. I watch my student loans stack up.

This is an unpredictable world. Didn't Jesus warn us not to obsess over the future? After all, he said, we don't even know what tomorrow will bring. We can plan this or plan that, but in the end it's often a roll of the dice; a draw of the cards. I can follow diligently the mist-shrouded land in the distance, but who knows what islands or icebergs will accompany my journey there -- or what mirage my goal will reveal itself to be.

I may or may not make some drastic decisions in this next year. I might surprise some people, and might disappoint others. But I do the best with what I have. It's guess work most of the time. My guiding principle is that which I had tattooed on my right calf a year and a half ago: πίστις--pistis. That is, faith. I am told in the Bible to walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is the "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" says Hebrews 11:1.

There is a lot I can't see; a lot that can undermine any "stability" I find in life. But I have greater promises than stability.

New Chimes Site

We had our site redesigned. So very attractive, I have to say. Can I smell a Webby award?

And I have the privilege of working with it next year as the Web editor. How lucky am I?

chimes.biola.edu

Article for Baptist Press

Biola had a giant debate on campus between a well-know apologist of ours and Christopher Hitchens, a prominent atheist and writer.

I got recruited by the head of our journalism department to write an article about it for a Christian news service called Baptist Press. Here's the link:

http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=30220

I really need to post more.

For those of you wondering why I haven't posted in more than a month, let me detail a typical Monday for you.

7:30 I wake up, eat breakfast, take a shower, etc.
8:30 I arrive at The Chimes office to work for an hour
9:30 I go to chapel
10:30 Tennis class
11:30 Lunch
12:00 Back to The Chimes office. Typically work on page layout, deal with emails.
12:30 Photography class
1:30 Back to The Chimes office. More page layout.
3:00 Theology class
4:30 Back to The Chimes office...again.
6:30 Dinner (this time is different all the time, though).
8:00 Chimes office. Typically work for two three hours, finishing up layout.
12:00 To bed (if I'm lucky).

There also is occasionally an interview for an article stuffed somewhere in there.

Tuesdays are a little freer (by freer, I mean more time to work at The Chimes). Wednesday are even worse. Thursdays are average, and Fridays are actually pretty light. Weekends I spend doing homework. Yeah.

So, that should sufficiently explain my lack of blogging. The only reason I'm able to do it today is because I have an abnormally free Friday. Thank God.

Keep me in your prayers. I'm a little bit nervous about getting a job in a year with the way the economy is -- not to mention the poor state of the newspaper industry.

Back to biz

The new semester started today in much the same fashion as it proceeded last semester--with me buried in Chimes work.

However, I'm elated that we've made some changes at The Chimes, most notably being the addition of apprentices, which will assist editors like myself in their weekly production. I happen to have the best apprentice--one who is very enthusiastic about her job. In a way her attitude has actually inspired even me. When you've been doing something for a while it's easy to just trudge along; so her excitement has given some extra vitality.

We've changed things up a bit in the apartment. One of our roommates moved out because he is studying in Germany this semester. The guy who was sharing my room moved over to fill the departed guy's place, leaving me all to myself. As great as that is, we do NEED to find someone new. I certainly couldn't afford the extra rent if we didn't. It's difficult, though, to find someone mid-way through the school year.

I'm really liking the new computer. It has got some decent specs, and I've been able to play Everquest 2 again (though now that school is in session I doubt I'll log too many hours). I'm being way cautious with it--going through two computers in as many years has spurned that caution in me, understandably. I'm leaving it at home most the time, only taking it with me if I really need it. I figure how much I lugged around my last laptop had something to do with its demise.

Weather here isn't quite as hot as it was a couple weeks ago, but still is around the upper-60s and mid-70s. Very comfortable, I'd say.

Been having some car trouble recently. First it was a sporadic loss of battery charge, and then it was a flat tire from running over a nail. Luckily the tire didn't go flat when I was on the road, but rather in the parking lot while I was in Utah. It sucks when you have practical problems like this and can't afford to do much other than patching up. It's in things like that that make me eager to start making a salary.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. I've been reminded even more this past month how blessed by God I am for my loving family. Without you guys there is no way I could be doing what I'm doing right now. I hope, some day, in some way, I can somehow pay it back.

Redecorating

As you can see, I changed my colors up a bit. I like it, except I'm concerned it might be a bit rough on the eyes (no, that's no an euphemism for "looks bad," I just mean the red might make it a bit hard to read).

Tell me what you think.

BTW, I got my new laptop yesterday--yay! Since I have a computer at home now it might mean I'll write more in the blog. Can't guarantee it...we'll see. :)

From L.A. to Oregon and Back Again

After a wonderful (and wet and cold) week and a half with my family up in Oregon, I am now back in SoCal. This time I had no trouble getting off the ground, and my airport experience was rather calm — that is, despite the baby on my airplane that cried half the flight.

Now, back at my apartment, I'm wondering what I'm going to do for the next three weeks until school starts. The two jobs I applied for on campus did not work out, so I'm left with catering; but I'm not sure how many catering events there will be since I haven't heard back from my boss yet. I've thought about looking into some temp agencies around here as my last resort. Whatever it is, though, I really could use some work. School (again) is going to be hard to pay for, and I don't have too much money to spare right now. Luckily I have a lot of Christmas money, which will allow me to survive comfortably for the next three weeks.

However, I do believe that these next three weeks will give me an opportunity — a luxury, even — of doing something I rarely feel like I have time to do when school is in session: hitting the Word of God hard (and not for a class assignment). Books I've been reading, as well as a meeting I had with my old youth pastor before I left, have given me a hunger for Scripture I haven't had in a while.

And I don't intend to just do devotional reading; I mean to do serious verse by verse, Strong's-Bible-concordance-in-lap type studying.

I got off to a good start today. I went to Panera bread in the morning/afternoon and finished a book about Billy Graham that my dad gave me for Christmas. After three cups of a coffee and a brief reading from Christless Christianity—a book I got a couple months ago but haven't had a ton of time to read—I biked back to my apartment and busted out my gear: my new big, ole' ESV study Bible (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Willhite), Expositors Bible Commentary, my NKJV Bible, my journal, and two Biblical Lexicons — oh yeah, and the Strongest Strong's Bible concordance.

After praying for insight, I proceeded to spend two and a half to three hours digesting, dissecting and reading aloud the first chapter of Romans.

Great stuff. Amazing what the Holy Spirit can do when you give a little effort. I've never read one of Paul's customary greetings with such scrutiny before. But man, it was worth it. And I'm genuinely looking forward to continuing tomorrow.

One thing I took out of today's study was that faith is not only what saves us, but also something a Christian should live by every day. "The righteous shall live by faith," Paul wrote. Faith isn't just the beginning of a Christian's life, but the very means by which God changes a person from "glory to glory" into the likeness of His son. Even though I don't know where money is always going to come from, I do have faith that if God puts me in a place beyond myself He most certainly will provide.

I think with a bit of discipline, the next three weeks could be more productive than my customary Chimes weeks.

Systems Check

End of semesters are kind of like birthdays for older people.

Sure there is the excitement that comes with breaking free of a year's (or semester's) worth of work and beginning anew (not to mention getting a well earned break). But there also is the rather boggling and numbing realization that you don't have too many of them left.

I'm finishing the first semester of my junior year. I've crossed the halfway point. I have only three semesters left.

So what have I got to show for the five semester I've already completed?

Well, here's a list (in no particular order):


--I can tell you what inaugurated eschatology means.
--I've worked for The Washington Times.
--My hair has sat on top of my head an average of a half an inch longer than when I lived in Oregon.
--I say say things like "sick," "legit" and "the 5."
--Flip flops have become an essential piece of footwear.
--I now sit in the desk of the editors I worked under my first two years.
--I have tattoos on both my calves.
--I've lived on the east coast.
--Six GYRADS, multiple coffee/lunch demi-dates, no girlfriend.
--Two broken computers.
--Appreciation of the hyperstatic union :)
--Six roommates, three different dorm rooms and my first apartment (yay).
--A heck of a lot of bylines.
--My first flat tire (in the middle of nowhere, mind you).
--A couple legit friends that better not leave my life.
--Realized the inspiration behind the Beach Boys' California Girls song.
--Dreams that aren't defined by state lines.
--Too many memories to remember; too many people that have made their mark on my life; and a realization that life lived now is the best kind.


:)

--mjf

Shoutout

Dr. Corey (president of Biola) spoke at our Friday chapel about how the university is responding to the rough financial times. Listen to the 10th minute of this video...

http://offices.biola.edu/president/economy/chapel/

All smoked out

If you've been watching the news lately I'm sure you've noticed that the LA area is (again) on fire.

The fires are a lot closer to Biola than last year, actually. The major one they're fighting is only 15 miles away. The sky is definitely nasty, and it hurts a little to breathe. Unfortunately I've been battling a bit of a throat cold this past week, so this fire situation is not helping. Also, it was raining ash today when I got up, and my car was covered--wild.

But I'm okay. Biola's pretty safe because we're not near any large areas of vegetation. It tends to be the outlying areas of LA and Orange counties that get hit.

It's been pretty exciting to cover the situation, though. I've spent many hours in the Chimes office these past few days writing an article and getting information (go to The Chimes Online to see our coverage).

There really has been a lot of devastation. Nearly a thousand homes have burned down, including an entire mobile home park. Tomorrow I'll be following through with Campus Safety and the Health Center to see what they have to say about the situation.


Smelling like smoke,

Michael


P.S. The picture I put at the top is one I took while going through Anaheim. If you look closely you can see the famous Crystal Cathedral church in the background. This picture is gross, but it's much worse in person--especially since you can smell the smoke as well as see it.

What I've been up to

Keeping busy as always. Here are some highlights:

--Covered Sara Palin rally for The Chimes. Pretty crazy event. Had a press pass and everything, so it was the real deal

--Found out I'll be getting to go to Kansas City at the end of this month. Yup, it's for a college journalism conference. Way excited about that. And everything is paid for except $100!!

--Went to Switchfoot/Third Day/ Jars of Clay concert. Got a few amigos together and headed to Irvine for an amazing concert. Was really sweet--I saw more of Jon Foreman's faith at this concert than ever before. It really was the first time in a long time that Switchfoot has performed with Christian label bands.

--Covered California Republican Convention for The Chimes. Saw Mitt Romney speak, got to walk around with a press pass. Wrote an article.


Mid-terms are sneaking up on me, and homework really is starting to pile on. I have two sizable tests this next week, so keep me in your prayers about that. I also have to do a writing test next week (have to take it to graduate from Biola).

I would post some pictures, but my computer is officially broken...yeah, bummer.

Also, if you want to read some of my articles before my parents get the print edition, you can go to http://chimes.biola.edu.

It gets updated everyday.


See ya.

Belated Blog

I'm writing this blog post from The Chimes office, at 3:00 a.m.

This is truly a summary commentary on why you have not seen a new post from me since the beginning of the school year.

Yes, my friends, it is true: The Chimes has claimed my life.

I wake up in the morning at 7:30, and the first thing I do once I leave the apartment is head to the office. Between classes, I head to the office. At night (and at wee hours of the morning) I'm at the office.

Homework has become a sort of sideshow.

However, I have found that this crunch has forced me to be a bit more intentional with my life. I have to intentionally set aside time to do my various tasks. I have a time for homework, a time for Chimes stuff and a time for reading the Word of God. Though I have to admit the last one has been too often sacrificed in the name of the first two.

But I've made improvements even from the beginning of the year till now. I find I am thoroughly enjoying my theology and New Testament classes, even though my mind could be wandering all over the place. I've been going to chapel regularly, and spend a good amount of time in prayer.

But all is not totally well yet. Though I have made improvements, I still am feeling overworked. I still walk around in a somewhat daze sometimes because of all that needs to be done, and my complete inability to process it all at the same time.

And it is very frustrating that, despite my best efforts, I still am one of the last editors done with my pages (and I'm working way more than my allotted hours).

Now, a lot of that has to do with the nature of my section -- people are a little less enthusiastic to write news than they are about their own opinion, or about some new movie. So, I usually end up with people who think they know a lot but can't write news, or people who can write but don't want to because it's too time consuming.

So I'm looking for ways to make this better -- like being more selective in whom I allow to write articles, even going to far as to email people individually. This has worked out good this week, as I am ahead of where I usually am already.


Anywho, aside from all the goo.

I have been getting to hang out more with people, though. Even with all the work I've had, I've somehow managed to fit a lot more social activities into my life.

For the first time in a long time, I actually feel like I have a group of friends that I regularly am around. For me that's really cool, because I've for a very long time felt that my friends are all spread around, with only a few of them being incredibly deep. Thus, though, I'm well known, I never really had much to do on the weekends because I wasn't the first person on anyone's call list -- just maybe the fourth or fifth on everyone's

Apartment life is good. Not home much, as you can imagine, but have been getting along just fine with my roomies. We're gradually accumulating more stuff and food, and I'm feeling pretty comfortable right now. It's kind of a cool feeling, you know? Living comfortably in the L.A. area on my own income -- making myself meals, paying the bills. Kind of empowering :)

Well, it's nearly 5 a.m. now, and we're finally finishing up for the night here. It's a good thing I don't have class Thursday mornings, haha.

Good night--err, Morning everyone.

The Long-Awaited First Post

Alright, I know you all have been hopefully awaiting my next post :p. So here it is. I got a video of my new apartment posted on Facebook now http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=517813406307
Sorry I couldn't post it here---Blogger was being very uncooperative with me. I might try it later.

Been keeping myself busy with moving in furniture and such. Basically every day since I have goten here I've been going out to the store to get something.

Chimes stuff starts tomorrow (Tuesday) with a meeeting and some training; getting pumped about that. The first day of school is Wednesday, and I should be starting my catering job this week as well.

Was able to play some soccer on Sunday in the blistering heat--it's been in the mid-80s since I have gotten here. Also have been doing a lot of late-night swimming in my apartment complex's pool.

Just for your information, my address is 5300 Falls Way Apt C, Buena Park, CA 90621. Either this address or my Biola box number will do for anything you happen to mail.

Alright, that'll conclude this post. Keep me in your prayers.

Departure

It's hard to believe it, but I'm leaving D.C. in under seven hours. I'm writing this blog at 2:40 a.m., just as I finished packing. I know, got to be up early. But hey, I'll get some sleep on the plane, and I have two energy drinks that'll help me get there.

This post won't be too profound; it is after all late and I would like to get some sleep. But I would like to say how strange it is that I am leaving. A person can't help but get attached to a place, or to people, when being there and with them for four months.

I've learned a lot here, not doubt. I've learned a lot about myself, a bit about God and a heck of a lot about public transportation. All in all, I'm am so glad I came. Thank you to everyone, my family, friends, who support me in everything I do. Without you, it would be impossible.

And I would like to thank my God, of who made possible those very people, and who continues to defy the odds in my life. Thank you, Father.

I will try to get some rest now. I never have much to say right after a trip ends--I need a week or so. Be patient, please, if when I see you I don't have a ton to say. It'll come out eventually; in bits and pieces.

--mjf

New York

So last weekend I went to New York.

Fun adventure that was. Took a bus at 3:00 a.m. in the morning because we wanted a full day, and didn't want to stay overnight and spend a fortune on New York hotel prices.

I stayed up till three, hoping I'd be able to fall asleep on the bus. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. So beginning my day I was already wiped. But yeah, New York is an awesome city!

I was able to see so much: Ground Zero, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Madison Square Garden--all very overwhelming.

Navigating the New York subways was quite a trip. I'm glad I had been getting experience with public transit here in D.C., because New York's metro was a lot more complicated--and less user friendly, I'd have to say.

I also went to Coney Island, which is an island south of Brooklyn (Google map it). That's not a spot a lot of tourists go to, but I was determined to go, since it would allow me to see the Atlantic Ocean. It was a pretty long subway ride--nearly an hour out of Manhattan and all the way through Brooklyn. Definitely worth it, though.

One of the coolest moments came near the end, though, when we went up to Columbia University and got an amazing view of the city. The school is seated on a hill above Harlem--you can see almost everything. I got a picture of the view, but it doesn't nearly do it justice.

Still can't believe I'm getting to do all this--it really feels like a dream. I mean, while I'm doing everything it is all so fast and I don't realize it, but after the fact it's really quite awe inspiring. I almost feel like I'm some kind of impostor. But no, this is my life, and I'm really doing it. I'm living in D.C., I'm seeing New York City, I'm working in a professional news room.

Wow, how much more could God want to do?

Anyways, catching the bus at 11:00 p.m. that night, I was exhausted. Needless to say I had no problem falling asleep on that bus ride. And the funny thing is, coming back to D.C., it felt like coming back home.

Winding Down

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been, well, caught up in a 12 page research paper and a 10 page letter about my internship that are both due Friday.

Internship finished off well. Both of the editors I worked for gave me very good reviews. They both offered to be recommendations for me whenever I needed them. It was kind of sad, I must admit, leaving that newsroom. I grew a lot in there, now that I think about it. I took huge steps in my life in there. You don't realize it while you're caught in the middle of the work, but just thinking about it right now, it's quite amazing how far I've come. This has been an amazing experience.

But no more sentimental stuff, I don't want to start crying...

In case you haven't heard, I having a fun little trip back home. May 2 I am flying to Utah to stay with relatives for about a week, and then am flying to LA to visit Biola (SOOO excited to see my friends). I'll be at Biola during the journalism department's awards banquet, so that'll be fun. After that, I flying back to good ole' Oregon, arriving May 13.

The weather is doing a lot better here--it'll be in the 70s all week, almost reaching 80 on Friday. A great change from the 10 degrees that D.C. greeted me with.

The pope arrived in D.C. yesterday, and will be driving around tomorrow. Will be pretty crazy, I can imagine. I wrote an article about how much police work the pope's visit requires--it's insane. If I can, I'd like to maybe catch a glance of him.

This weekend I am going to New York for a day. Got a great deal on bus tickets ($5 each way)! I will be catching a bus on Saturday at 3 a.m. (yeah, I know), and will arrive in Manhattan around 7:30 am or so. We'll get as much done as we can, before catching a bus back to D.C. at 11:00 p.m. Didn't really want to pay Manhattan hotel prices, so we figured this was the best way to do it.

Keep me in your prayers. This is crunch week. This is the last push to the end. I also am still without plans for a job. Despite 4-5 calls and several emails to the editor I had been in contact with at a paper in Washington (state), I have yet to hear back from him. I really don't get it. I've left messages with him twice, and once with the woman who answers the phone (who said she'd deliver him a message). Annoying.

Anyways, here are some fun pictures from the last couple weeks.

Slow but content week

I think I've finally settled into things--just in time for me to leave, right? Got to love it.

But really, I've gotten past the major jitters of D.C. life, I've made my couple mistakes, I've shown the boss what I can do--I feel more and more like I can just be myself. Relieving to say the least.

I'm not a workaholic. I'm not obsessed with success. These are things that I sometimes emulate because of outside converted into internal pressure, but they aren't me.

Me. I'm a laid back guy. I don't get stressed out too easily, and I enjoy playing a good video game. I like the work I do, always seek excellence, but it does not take over my life.

Who I was at the beginning of the semester was a bugged out version of myself. And, honestly, I'm not sure how it could have been any other way. New town, new job, new friends, freezing weather. I was totally out of my element, and was expecting myself to astoud everyone with my journalistic prowesss. I like to think I'm good, but I'm not Superman!

It's been nice to be okay with having a slow couple weeks. These past two weeks for me have been relatively slow, but I'm not too worried. I've been working on some quality feature pieces that I'm quite proud of, and they all will be running within the next two weeks.

I hate comparing myself to my peers. I want to just be okay with my own progress and my own niche. I've felt like I have settled into that more, though I still am fighting it to some extent--which is good, I admit, as a journalist needs a competitve edge.

A story I worked on today was a clear display from God, I think, that this career won't be a total waste for my spiritual life. I got to interview an 88 year old woman who has been attending a Catholic church right next to the new staduim where the pope will be speaking in two weeks. Hearing from her was encouraging, even in a kind of formal interview setting. I didn't flat out tell the woman and her priest I was a Christian, but I think enough of my questions and responses indicated as much.

I'm discovering more and more those are the types of stories I like to tell. Stories about people. Hard news is helpful, I can write a good hard news story. But I am an even better writer of feature pieces, which really capture the essence of a human being. And they are much funner for me to write.

Keep me in your prayer. I got a big ole' term paper to write in the next two weeks, on top of my internship. I also am still clueless on where I am going to be for the summer. Let me know if you hear anything about jobs, too. I'm looking at an internship in Washington (state), but haven't heard back from them since they said a month ago that they were "keeping me in mind." I also am trying to see if Catering at Biola will hire me for the summer. If I was able to do that, I could also look into doing some freelance for the Orange County Register.

I don't knows....

--mjf