It suddenly hit me that I have only four days left at my internship at La Opinion, and only two weeks left in LA. Many of those final days will be spent on the couch nursing my missing wisdom teeth, high on painkillers and slurping down milkshakes. The rest, I hope, will be spent seeing friends and family, cooking, running around getting everything I need, and taking advantage of the beach while I still can.
I'm excited to head back to school, especially to move into our beautiful off-campus house. I was a little annoyed to learn that we'd have to order our own Internet service, but really, the more "real life" experience we get the better. Although if we can mooch off Keep Co-op's wireless from across the street I won't complain. Another big item on the to-do list is to buy as much toilet paper as can fit into my housemate's car, so as never ever to run out. Running out of toilet paper, along with finding gross expired food in the fridge, is on my zero-tolerance list. I'm thrilled to be living with three sweet females who share my values, and know well the difference between messy (which is okay) and dirty (absolutely not).
Side note: Many students prefer to live in Village Housing (college-owned apartments and houses) because they're generally in better condition and the college fixes everything for you if there's a problem. But my friends and I entered the off-campus lottery (chances dwindle with each passing year) because off-campus is far cheaper, lets you live with more independence, and teaches you important life skills like, say, paying rent.
As for my final days at the newspaper, I only hope that I can go out with a bang. I've had an article nearly every day recently, which is exciting, but exhausting, but nothing on the front page. Now that I've gotten a taste of the glory that is the front page, it's hard to be satisfied with a perfectly good third-page piece. But all in all, this internship has been amazing. I've gotten to write about issues that matter to me, improve my vocabulary by leaps and bounds, and work for a paper that has some clout.
Straw poll: Would baking cookies for my editors be...
a) A nice way to thank them and help them remember me
b) Childish and unprofessional
c) Delicious and nutritious
d) A and C
