Survived!

The ‘ol brain is working a lot slower than it used to, let me tell ya, but it’s working. Gradually, the wheels are starting to turn with a little bit less squeak.

I spent Day Two back at work out of the newsroom, gallivanting around Middlesex County with photographer Mike Hensen chasing the Lake Huron pipeline story.  It felt good to be back out on an assignment, taking notes, doing stand-ups, getting quotes and tweeting. It felt a lot more natural, actually, than yesterday’s day of trying to toggle between Tweeting and the cop scanner and the new email system and an education story. . .

The laptop is becoming a bit more “mine,” though I still can’t get the damn TweetDeck app to log me in (it’ll let me do it on the browser, but not in the desktop app…very frustrating). My phone number is now back to being my phone number (519-667-4643 if you’re ever calling in a hot news tip) and the fantastic IT guys (I think it was mostly Dave) made sure my new phone has call display, a new feature I wasn’t expecting but am loving.

I’m actually quite surprised how ‘rusty’ I feel . . . I guess it’s only been two days, so maybe I should give myself a break, but I thought I’d just jump right back in. The technology hasn’t changed, but I’m just slower for lack of a better word. It’s that middle-age creeping up on me

Ever been away from the work force (or school??) for an extended period of time and find it kind of tough to get back in the swing of things?

I’ve got a shiny new laptop, a desk that’s free of clutter and drawers that are ready to be packed with junk.

I’ve also got a phone that’s not my extension, a chair that I can’t quite fit to my liking and an new email system that’s taking some getting used to.

I’ve been checking the main news release computer all day and just noticed a massive sign on it that says ‘This computer is no longer used for email.” I sent out a tweet from a wrong account.

An entire year away from paid employment . . . my brain is coming back to working life, but slowly.

Haven’t really had time to talk to the editors about my new role yet, but there will be some education writing as well as a return to the ‘digital culture’ beat.

So, bring on the story ideas, please. Cool stuff going on in the city, trends you’ve noticed, events you’d like covered. For now, anyway, my phone number is 519-667-4647. I’m hoping to go back to my old number (-4643) when we figure out what’s happened to my phone. My email, as always, is kate.dubinski@sunmedia.ca

On Twitter, I’m @KateatLFPress

Don’t anybody panic — I haven’t been fired, died or anything like that.

I’m on maternity leave, technically starting on Monday, but really starting last week. No baby in sight, by the way. I’m due May 8 and it’s still hangin’ on to its warm, comfortable and dark home.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with this blog — it’s possible one day it’ll just disappear, taken down by the powers-that-be. (I hope that doesn’t happen). For now, I’m going to keep it active and will try to write every once in a while (though I haven’t been doing a very good job, have I?).

I’ve changed my Twitter name to @KateDubinski (from @KateatLFPress) and taken off the LFP logo from my avatar, ’cause that makes me feel less bound to the completely self-imposed rules of a newspaper employee tweeting. I don’t think I can stay off Twitter for a full year.

This whole thing is really an experiment because I, reluctant four years ago to even sign up for Twitter, have come to love it, so we’ll see what happens when I don’t have to do it for work, but want to do it for personal stuff. Follow me, check back here every once in a while, or forget about me until May 2012, when I’ll be back at work.

I’m off tomorrow, but here’s a list of all-candidates debates and when they’re airing on Channel 13. I tried to link to the PDF I got sent, for that’s apparently challenging my technical know-how right now. The debates start airing Tuesday and are broadcast multiple times a day, so check the “schedule” part of the website for more show-times. Enjoy!

At 4:30 p.m., I’ll be watching SunTV (Channel 59 on Rogers) for the launch of the Sun News Network. And no, no one is paying me to promo the channel. I’m just as eager to see what the channel will look like as everyone else, and I think competition in news is only ever a good thing — everyone else will have to step up because of the new competition, I think. I can’t say I agree with everything (anything?) some of the Sun News Network pundits say, but it should make for interesting watching. And really, I can’t wait for a breaking news story here in London that will feature Free Press reporters reporting live on the network!

So, what did you think of the English language debate? I watched the whole thing — my husband went to bed after about an hour. I also tried to follow some of the comments on Twitter, though I found it a bit difficult to focus both on the debate and the Twitter feed at the same time. My multi-tasking skills were lacking last night.

Generally, I thought everyone did as expected. Ignatieff is much nicer in person — on TV he comes off as a towering scowling meanie, I think (that brow! Someone’s gotta tell him to unfurrow it!!). Harper was creepy with his refusal to look anyone else in the eye, but he got his “Look. Let’s be clear. I am very calm and speak in a somewhat hushed tone to lull you into a sense of security” style down pat. Layton had the funniest comebacks (the cane thing, the senate/prison thing, the hashtagfail thing) and was the most human of the three, I think. Duceppe’s presence is always a bit of a weird addition, but succeeded in raising some points that the others don’t dare to (partly ’cause he’s got really the least to lose, so he can afford to).

That’s my take.

I’ve got some cool things I want to write about today, so hopefully you’ll see my name in print after a seven-day dry spell (I was off for five days, then the editors decided to hold my groundbreaking investigation into snow piles in the city).