Year One

It's kind of weird, but kind of satsifying to be in my position. When I was hired, I was told that people only last at our radio station for about a year before moving on to bigger and better things. Reporters at the newspaper only last for around 10 months or so before being moved on. So here I am, at 13 months, the long-time vet in the Athabasca media.

I was reflecting on this the past couple of days as I covered Athabasca University's convocation. I mentioned it last year. AU's students from all across the world converge on Athabasca to have their moment across the stage and get their degrees. That kind of hammers home what AU tries to achieve. That AU is real. That it's a full-blown university, easily on par with the province's other universities.

But that's a blog entry for another day.

No...I'm just recalling how far I've come as a member of the press here. Being a reporter, I had to go to the front desk in the campus's main building to check in and get my press pass and all that. I remember last year. Having only been here a month, it was the first big thing I was to cover. I walked up to the receptionist, and this coversation played out.

Me>> Umm...hello.
Her>> Can I help you?
Me>> Uh, yeah. I'm the reporter with the radio station....

She got very excited at the mention of that. "RADIO STATION!! Which station? CBC? 630 CHED?"

Me>> Ummm, no. The station here in town.

Her look of excitment quickly switched to one of disappointment. It's like in those teen comedies, when the prom queen opens the front door to see that her blind date isn't the captain of the football team, but is, instead, well, me. With a heavy sigh, she gave a press pass and a media kit.

And now, we flash forward one year. Now, it plays out like this.

Me>> Hey, Dianne!
Her>> Hi Mark! Here's your package.
Me>> Thank you kindly.

It's not bad. Not bad at all.