Things are happening…

There are both good things and bad things about waking up a 3 a.m.

First off, it’s cold and quiet and pitch black outside. To be able to wake up so early also requires going to bed an hour or two after dinner. My stomach doesn’t know when to be hungry, and there seems to be no place in my schedule for going out and having a life.

The good things: There’s no traffic, and it’s nice to be the only person on the road. I get off work early and still have my day. And interning at a television station is, I think, worth losing a little sleep.

Today was my second day interning at Citytv. I started at 5:30 a.m. and watched what goes on behind the scene, and basically how the show gets put together. At one point, I got to stand several feet away from the news host, positioned so I could see him and the monitor he was reading off of. Had I been a foot to the right, my head would have been in the shot.

I sat in on a board meeting, where we went over next week’s content line-up. I also got to talk to several people about what they do: I’m trying to soak in everything.

Tomorrow, I get to tag along to an event where one of the hosts will be broadcasting live.

While at work, I got some exciting news. On a whim, I had decided to apply for a practicum course with the University of Athabasca. It’s a two-month online course about journalism in conflict zones. Only 10 applicants are accepted, and are required to have a minimum of three years experience in broadcasting: I have two years of education based primarily in print journalism.

Now for the really interesting part: The course includes a three-week practicum on a military base in Alberta. The 10 selected students get to work with two veteran journalists with experience in foreign correspondence as they follow the military through games and war simulations. From what I understand, there are Afghan villages set up, and the students endure the elements, interview “villagers” and soldiers and put together a 6 p.m. broadcast at the end of each day. It is physically demanding and requires a lot of work.

I’m almost positive my parents never thought that one of their daughters would one day ship off to join the army.

Surprise, surprise: On April 29th, I’m flying to Edmonton to live on a military base for 21 days.

Incredible.

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@HayleyWoodin