Dear dimwit on the phone

Let's just say it's more than five minutes away. And, again, as days grow longer in this racket, days off are a precious commodity.

 

Sometimes popping in is an easy thing to do...often it's not as easy as it sounds. You don't want to change all your families weekend plans around you "popping in" to an event.

I would ask, what keeps these tourney organizers from sending over results after the meet and we can get something in without needing to be there in person.

 

F*ck that.

You know, I can't tell you how many times people say "Oh, you can just go there and get a couple of photos really quick" or "Well, just come down to the office for a half-hour".

A day off is a day off and, no, we shouldn't put the job first every single day just because we like what we do.

Popping in to an event is easy. Sure. But, guess what? If you do that, you're working that day. I don't care if it's for six minutes. Either you have a day off or you don't.

Sorry. I just hate when people use the "Oh, but it would be easy for you to do this thing" excuse to justify someone else having to work on what was supposed to be a day off.

 

Dear writer who wrote the feature on the star player who was suspended for two months because of violation of team rules,

You arent doing the kid a favor by stating the kid immediately thought what would his teammates think about the suspension and how it would hurt the team.

Sorry, I don't buy it. The kid did not care about the ramifications of his behavior and is just another dickhead jock. If he really cared about the team, he wouldn't have done anything to get him suspended for two months.

Nice try, Podunk prep guy, but you could do better than a "star player truly sorry" story.

 

Local high school team won the conference swimming title (as was expected from the traditional powerhouse program) so Tuesday I run a centerpiece "Podunk boys win conference" with a big picture of their top swimmer who won four events. Another are team took a surprising second led by a group of freshman who did well so I ran a feature on the freshmen on Thursday. and what do I find in my inbox today? "You had a story about Podunk North taking second but you never ran anything on Podunk winning the conference! You're biased against our school!"
Never mind that I staffed two of their dual meets, wrote about one of their swimmers coming back from a shoulder injury and wrote a column on their new coach, but no, I ignore them.

 

reply with a list of run dates in which you had stories on Podunk.

No extra reasoning or explanation...just a list of run dates and headlines. Let that speak for itself.

 

It's true. It's so consuming. Hard lines have to be drawn to keep some sanity, not to mention making sure you don't become the office doormat that every can dump assignments on because they know you'll never turn them down.

 

Dear Blackhawks guy,

Yes there will be a paper tomorrow because even though "it is really bad" by your house an inch of snow is not going to stop delivery. And while we're at it, a) I know that Billy Superstar played his A-ball here in Podunkville, b) I do not know what Prince Fielder weighs or when he will sign, c) Podunkville U plays its games at the same place they have for the past 30 years. So would please quit calling every night with your inane questions because we do have work to do.

 

Scary thing is, up three points in a game with 16-percent shooting, they probably do have it. But he's still a tool.

 

Dear crazy lady,

No, I'm not retracting the police report - that doesn't have your name or address - that I ran mentioning that you called police to report that Sum 41 was planning on assaulting you. I run any interesting reports that I stumble upon, since I think people do deserve to know that you're diverting the police from actual crime with your lunacy. No, I wasn't aware that Sum 41 "sang songs about murder" and thus "they're dangerous men," but I think you'll be okay as long as you stay on your medication.

 

Because popping in doesn't matter. Even if it's five minutes, it working on a sixth day.

 

Plus, it's never "just five minutes."
You drive there and back: 10-15 minutes
You shoot your pictures and get results: Unless you get incredibly lucky on the photos and the timing, figure 30 minutes minimum
You end up hobnobbing with people on the way out: Add another 5-10 minutes
Drop your stuff at the office: 10 minutes

All of a sudden you're at an hour, maybe two depending on how everything plays out. On your supposed day off, which means you're probably in a pissy mood. I agree with Schieza. Screw that noise.