Football, Exploration and Good Company

Layering up for Friday's night homecoming football game I was not looking forward to being outside, but I survived and the work paid off.

This was my first time every shooting a football game and with the poor weather conditions it wasn't too much fun, but the photos I ended up with were well worth my toes and fingers losing feeling.

I took about 300 photos but ended up with some good ones. These are two of my best and the bottom photo was the one used in the paper. 

After coming home from the office around 10pm last night I rose early to explore Maroon Bells. We got out at the perfect time on an unbelievable day. There was no wind, just the right amount of snow and not too crowded yet. 

The weekend is not even halfway over and I've already accomplished so much. It's crazy to think that I've only been here 2 weeks. I still have not met many people outside work, so I don't have a friend group yet, but I am settled in and adjusted to life in Aspen.

Another week comes to an end

Concluding my second week here in Aspen I have begun to settle in. I have no strict schedule like I am used to and am not running around like crazy suffocating from what I need to get done. It's been a quiet and relaxing week. There was a lot of time spent at the office working on stories, but I also got out had some fun, met new people, got some great exercise and relaxing moments.

On the reporting side, it has been a great week at The Aspen Times. I have worked on four stories that all came together quickly and smoothly. Each was a different type - sports (game and press release), profile and personal. These stories have given me the opportunity to show everyone what skills I do have. I have also snapped a lot of photos for the paper this week since our main photographer has been out of town.

I have definitely learned that if I want to do something I just need to step up and say that I want to do it and am capable of doing it.

Writing about my hike over the weekend showed me the freedom I have here to accomplish what I want to accomplish. If I come up with a story idea my editors will let me run with it. Tuesday, the day my story appeared in the paper, I also had a photo that was my idea. I wrote a story for last week's paper about a local's fundraising efforts and a companion of his was throwing a fundraiser at his restaurant to further their benefits to the Boulder Flood Relief. I knew it didn't deserve a story, but I thought it would make a great photo opp. and my editor agreed.

The Meatball Shack, a local business in downtown Aspen, hosted a fundraiser to support Boulder Flood Relief Monday evening.  Manager Aidan Wynn and his restaurant raised over $10,000 dollars and collected numerous donations. 

Tuesday I was able to finish up my press release story about the Denver Cutthroats minor league hockey team coming to play in Aspen this winter. The story wrote itself and once I got my local quote I was set. It is set to appear over the weekend.

Wednesday, the EIC went out of town so I have been left to do my own thing. I've had enough to keep me busy and have had the chance to get out there. I've stepped up to take photos, write sports, news and features. I'm always talking to someone about what's going on to come up with my next story, so I'm not always assigned something new.

Since day one I told the sports editor I wanted to help cover some sports and Thursday I was given my chance. I was able to go report on the Aspen High School boy's soccer team. Now, compared to my high school team (who won state 8 years in a row) they weren't that impressive, but a gorgeous day made it worth it. The team put up a good fight and it was an entertaining game.

I got to see my byline in Friday's paper for the fourth time this week making my grin a bit bigger than usual (2 photo credits and 2 stories).

Thursday I also got called into action to run over to a hotel to snap a quick photo to accompany a news reporter's story.

Dusty Diaz, right, sponsorship and events coordinator for Aspen Skiing Co., hands over a T-shirt and other materials for The Meeting to David O'Connell, of Edwards. Registration for The Meeting, Skico's annual pre-winter conference, started Thursday. 

New Family Member

I was pleasantly surprised to see a package at my door this morning. When I opened it I not only found the items I left at home but I had a surprise waiting for me. I pulled out the box and read that it was a fish tank with fish.

I am no longer living alone in my new apartment. I now have two new members of my family...okay, maybe they really are fake fish but that doesn't matter. I now have little friends I can talk to.

So, much of my day has become what to name my two new pets in addition to working on a couple articles for the paper. I am responsible here and can multitask.

Using the must trusted search engine of Google I searched for "creative fish names."

I came along many sites but my favorite was this one...http://www.wikihow.com/Name-a-Fish

Now my task when I go home will be to sit in from of my itty bitty fish tank and closely stare at my fish and pray that some creative name comes to my mind.

This is my list so far...

Boomer
Atlantis
Bubbles
Flipper
Goldie
Pearl

Now I have two fish so I need to decide if I want to name them as a cutesy pair or just name them, after all they are fake. There should not be this much effort going into this task right now.

Stay tuned to find out my fishes names and to hear about more of my Colorado experiences.

"Get Lost"

A morning spent exploring the well known mountain known as Smuggler. A trail where as many as 600 people can be spotted in one day. A trail nicknamed "housewife" - now I did see many women walking up the mountain so maybe there is truth to this...I don't really know.

All I know is that the casual 1.5 mile hike I set out on today was a lot more of a grunt than I expected. Mountain = going up did not click in my pretty little head. 

Completely out of breath and drenched in sweat I reached the look out point. 

The views were well worth it. But instead of stopping here I decided to take the advice from a new friend who I met along the way up. He told me, "Get lost, explore, have fun." 

I set out on the Behind the Scene trail on a .65 mile add on. Best decision I made today. I saw a family of deer and stumbled upon a couple mines. 

It was a great day to be out and about exploring. There is so much beauty in the Rockies that I am going to explore all that I can while I'm here these next few months. 

Even if it is only the first day of fall and there's already snow. 

Something unique to The Aspen Times is that the editor encourages the staff to write about their experiences around Aspen, so taking the opportunity I jumped at the chance to share my hike up to smuggler.

Check out the article here (article pg. 2 and photo pg. 3) ... http://aspentimes.co.newsmemory.com/?token=

Just Ask

After I completed my first story Thursday afternoon I came in early to work Friday to get a head start on my next story, however, my story was put on hold. With nothing to do I asked if I could shadow a reporter to a court sentencing that afternoon.

Sitting in court for the first time besides the tour of the courthouse I had in elementary school I was filled with excitement. I was instructed to take careful notes, which I did, and when we returned to the office the story was handed over to me much to my surprise.

Picking up the paper the next day my byline appeared on the front page - a happy accident.

http://aspentimes.co.newsmemory.com/?token=

Work Hard, Play Hard

I have officially wrapped up my first week here at The Aspen Times publishing my first story, meeting new people, trying new things and having one super fun week.

Top 10 Lessons I've learned this week:

1. Altitude really does effect you - Running and walking up a mountain are a lot harder than in St. Louis. I was heaving to catch my breathe and have felt so out of shape this week.
2. Learn to love the game of phone tag - A lot of reporting this week has turned out to be me leaving many messages for sources in the hopes that they will call me back so I can get what I need to write my story.
3. Have confidence - don't be afraid to make a phone call, ask a a question or do something that makes you feel a little uncomfortable.
4. Try new things - this week I have tried hot yoga, learned to hackie sack, play rugby and explore by myself. I have learned new things about myself and have seen beautiful things.
5. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to new people - being in a new place where I know no one I have gone out of my comfort zone to meet new people and this has paid off.
6. Take criticism positively - Turning in a story is always nerve racking because you want your editor to like it and not make any suggestions to it, but the fact is the suggestions make it so much better. Yesterday I completed my first story turning it over to two other editors in my newsroom to give me their feedback. It was a little scary being at a real newspaper, but I wrote a good story that needed only minor fixes. These fixes made my story so much better and I am so happy I had another set of eyes or two look over it.
7. New shoes give you blisters, buy bandaids 
8. Have an open mind - be open to everything that comes your way and take it as an opportunity to grow and learn new things.
9. Go with the flow -  I don't have every moment of my day scheduled out like I normally do and don't know what my days will entail so I have to go with what is sent my way and not worry about anything not happening or what is to come.
10. Have a little fun - you can't work hard and have no time to play a little bit. I'm in a wonderful place where there is so much to do in addition to the hours I spend in the office. It's time to take full advantage of hanging out with new people, trying to new things and enjoying the time I have here.

To read my first article to ever appear in a real town newspaper check it out here:

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/8204078-113/nakagawa-aspen-flood-donations

Trying New Things

Today was my day of first.

Arunja Yoga gained a new student this morning as I walked in, signed up and took my place in the studio. After an hour and a half Bikram I sweated out all my toxins, stretched and lengthened my body and rejuvenated my spirits. I am so excited to see where hot yoga takes my body and my mind these next 3 months. 

After pressing my nose to the Aspen Times front windows Saturday evening I stepped inside the office this afternoon. I am proud to say that I have a desk, a schedule and assignments soon to come. Look for my name and articles online at the aspentimes.com. 

When I walked my six blocks to my office this afternoon it was pouring down rain as was my walk home, but after I came inside my apartment with my peppermint tea and pumpkin bread from the little cafe across the street from my place the sunlight started to shine into my window. The rain after all was only a quick shower, so I put on my hiking boots and went exploring. 

Walking left and then right I followed Original St. up towards Aspen Mountain but veered to the left taking the Ute Trail. 

A 2.2 mile hike up if I had actually stayed on this trail, but instead being me I took my tea with me and could not figure out how to work the first trashcan I saw so I went to the next one I saw at Ajax park. This time I successfully figured out how to open the trashcan and found a new trail that looked cool, so of course I took it and stumbled upon nature's beauty. 

Ute Cemetery - Remembering those who died in the War

A beautiful sight to walk into - The Roaring Fork River

Today has truly been a day of adventures which every day is looking to be. 

Reality Kicks In

I've been talking about coming to Aspen to intern at The Aspen Times for almost a year now. Last fall maybe early winter I heard about this great internship and knew this was the one for me. Without hesitation or taking a second thought I demanded this internship is the one I wanted and no other one would live up to the sounds of this one. And with that, I did not look at any of my other options or second guess my choice.

Now, after all my talk and dreams I am finally here. I am 999 miles from home and there is no going back. I am officially locked into this.

The comforting scent of burnt coffee and warm vanilla surround me in this new space that I will be calling home for the next 12 weeks. My clothes are hung up in the closet and folded neatly on the shelves, my shampoo and conditioner sit in the shower, my makeup on the counter and medicines in the medicine cabinet. I have groceries in the fridge and in the cupboards. Plants sit on my counter and my TV console. A day ago this apartment was abandoned and a bit scary. Today this apartment is mine. It is my new home.

My mom has left leaving me to live the dream I have talked about for so long now. It's no longer just talk or dreams. This is real. I am alone in this foreign city where I know no one. This is the time where I become an adult and this is my time to discover who I really am.

Tomorrow begins my journey and for tonight I take a deep breath and remind myself everything will be okay.

Scoop Found Me

Where oh where do I even begin?!

It all started with a 5a.m. wake up call (why people even wake up before the sun I have no idea. It just makes for an extremely long day especially when one is traveling to another timezone which happens to be an hour earlier). So, I put real clothes on and some make up to not scare normal civilians and we drive to the airport.

Security....check
Coffee...check
On plane...check

Now, we're off the plane (FYI I'm traveling with my mom here) and we hop the shuttle to the rental car place. This is where our trip becomes interesting. Let me start by telling you the lessons we have learned thus far...

1. When you go to pick out your rental car and it is a push start and you are able to push start and therefore start the car the keys must be somewhere in the car, however, when we made it to the gate to take the car the keys were no where to be found. So, we drove back to the little self help area and the nice man came out and searched the entire car finding no such keys....Then I looked down and volia found the keys...yeah they were right next to my seat in between my seat and the car door.

2. Because we are no longer in the midwest the crossings on the road now say WATCH OUT FOR ELK instead of watch out for deer. Shall we take a moment here and remember the article I wrote for WGRE, DePauw's radio station, last fall about what Greencastle,IN police were doing to make sure the deer were safe....it was awesome and so informative let me tell you...go look it up on past WGRE news broadcast

3. When walking into your apartment that you will be staying in for 3 months with no prior knowledge of what it looks like or what is in it STAY CALM. I repeat STAY CALM. Do not do what my mother and I did - FREAK OUT. That was a great 2 hours I never want to relive in my life.

Continuing, we drove up to the beige building I was told to find and claimed our parking spot. Then we carefully studied the fence to figure out which part of the fence pushed open...after figuring this out we walked up to a sliding glass door and slid it open and that was all she wrote...just kidding.

So, we come into the apartment and already I have my first friend (an animal friend must I say). All of a sudden I turn around and on the bed, my bed, a grey little cat is curled up and has made himself at home. Let me inform you I hate cats. But apparently all the cats know I am single and are coming to meet me as I spent my night two nights ago babysitting and all three cats were cuddling with me throughout the entire night. Anyways, I was informed by my friend, who interned here before and the lady at the grocery store, that this cat has a name and he is the Aspen Times Cat. My first official friend in Aspen has been Scoop and I look forward to seeing him more and who knows maybe I'll become a cat person.

Anyways, back to my story...

After our 3.5 hour drive I really had to go to the bathroom and of course the toilet wasn't working and couldn't flush, I was left a sweet note telling me that the front door doesn't work because the handle is not on the door and my screen is not on my sliding glass door - these were the three things that set my mother and I into a world war three freakout.

Now, at this point we discovered the hardware store and the market and the pharmacy and another store and another store. We got all the essentials except for some unknown reason we have yet to find a yummy delicious smelling candle to make the apartment feel a little more homey.

I ask you how hard do you think it is to find a candle? Well let me tell you it is way more difficult than you would think. My mom and I explored four different stores and came home empty handed.

Getting back to the point now, I am settled in - all my groceries are put away, I changed my sheets and organized all of my things.

Tomorrow I will go explore and get used to my surroundings, but for now I am off to a relaxing dinner to fill my tummy with some good food.

T-24 hours till I start my internship!!

Ready, Set, Record...

My new friend just arrived to accompany me to the Aspen Times. 

Not Long Now

Success has been achieved! The last of my belongings have made their way into my suitcases and all my zippers are zipped! Exhaustion has officially set in after three days of packing, babysitting and an array of emotions.

My nerves still have not set in though. I'm officially ready to go and start out on something new and out of my comfort zone, but I'm still not fully aware that this is happening tomorrow.

After everything that happened this past week  in my personal life it's time for a clean start. And what better way to start fresh than in a beautiful mountain city where anything is possible. Colder weather, pilates/yoga/barre classes, hiking, skiing and meeting new and interesting people.

Now, my countdown really begins...twelve hours till I am on a plane to Denver and officially not in St. Louis or on campus at DePauw.

Packing Crisis - Alert the Press!!!!

After entering into the Media Fellows class of 2015 at DePauw University three years ago I never thought this time would actually be upon me. The vague internship I was told that I would go on four years ago seemed so far away, but here it is. Now, it's not what I envisioned I'd be doing. I'm not in Rome or New York or LA. I'm not doing TV or internal communications. I'm continuing my print journalism dream and interning at The Aspen Times in Aspen, CO.

And my suitcases are beginning to tell my story...

So, you would think it would be helpful to hang up all your shirts, dresses, skirts, etc....in your second closet and then fill a laundry basket with everything else you might need two weeks prior to when you will be filling your suitcase to the brim, but of course this way is not working. I decided to start carefully picking out my outfits a few weeks ago after I had a couple big shopping excursions to buy fall/winter intern appropriate clothes for the Colorado weather. This in theory was a great idea.

I laid out all my clothes on my bed, separated my clothes out by pants, tops, blouses, skirts, dresses, workout clothes etc. I then had a very fun fashion show in my room for hours on end one night seeing how many different outfits I could make out of all my clothes - after all I do have a itsy bitty addiction to buying clothes and putting outfits together that say "I am professional, yet young and ready to have fun." It takes a lot of work. And then, I had to narrow down my shoes and scarfs and coats.

 By this time I was completely drenched in sweat and let me remind you that I have not even attempted filling my one large suitcase, on rolling R.E.E. duffle that loved me when I took it to London and Paris last January and finally my carry on duffle because I really do have this much stuff.

Two days ago since I leave Sept. 14th on a 7am flight on Southwest my mom dug through the attic and brought me the luggage I will have to pack in. Better to start packing early than too late. Now, I have packed all three bags once - a lot of stuff is still on my bed, desk and scattered around my floor, but hey at least most of it's in there, right? Well, now I have realized that because I am me and I can not cut down anymore of what I am taking I will just have to unpack myself and repack myself to make all my obnoxious about of stuff fit into 3 bags because I really don't want to pay for an extra bag.

My nerves about leaving St. Louis and traveling to Aspen, Co, a resort town that I have never been to before and know absolutely no one, have not yet set it. I guess I'll just have to get through the stress of packing to actually become nervous about setting out in a new town in a real newspaper environment for the next 3 months of my life.

Here I am less than 48 hours until I embark on a new adventure and I am preoccupied by packing...of course this would be how I am right now. Forget what my actual adventure is at the moment and let's just focus on what I will be wearing throughout al of it and being able to get it there in one piece.

Don't get me wrong, I have stressed a lot about my housing, my reporting skills and what it will be like living on my own for three months in a town I have never been to before, but when you put a girl into a room that looks like her closet threw up a black hole her life suddenly becomes what can fit in those bags and come with her to keep her company before she actually meets new people and starts out on her new adventure.

Packing first, excitement/nerves for adventure second.