I had posted this earlier but apparently the internet got hungry. Well, to reprise:

The DJNF workshop at the University of Texas was a huge success. I was lucky enough to be among the 11 intelligent and visionary interns now spread across the country. Our final three days were spent turning out the Southwest Journalist, a six-page broadsheet and online publication. It was serious workflow, from the budget meeting at 2:30 to the hands-in-the-air “good enough” at 11. I edited on the first night, designed the front page then wrapped up with a pretty great feature page:

Which was all good and necessary practice, because I did just that today at my first shift with the Idaho Falls Post Register. A wire page, edited, designed and rimmed all by myself (under the loose supervision of the copy desk proper). At this point, I’m feeling good, but I need to get faster. “Repetition,” they said. No problem.

A quick side note: Language immersion is a very real thing. After only ten days in Austin, a y’all managed to slip into my speech, in that I said “Are y’all following me on Twitter?” I miss that place, despite the ridiculous humidity. I met up with an old friend from Fargo, saw the hipster cowboys and attempted a two-step, saw the swarms of Sixth Street and vowed never to eat a taco this far north again. Plus, I met some amazing people I don’t plan to forget.