1000+ email and counting...

Back in the saddle, the big chair.

As I drove up to the building, I saw yellow crime tape draping the entrance-way and said, 'oh my?' Don't worry folks, it appears that we've re-done our front walkway.

Then I entered the newsroom and saw a new desk person sitting at the news assignment desk (much anticipated and quite expected). I met her before I left for vacation. A bright young woman looking forward to this experience welcoming everything and anything with open arms.

Our main web woman is off so for the next week or so, I am web girl as well attaching video from our news shows as well as the normal web work I do.

And next, we have a few new monitors back near sports. I never made it out of the newsroom but apparently, a lot can happen in a week!


I'd like to say I'm back 100% refreshed, but really, do any of us ever get totally rejuvenated in today's world?

I had a wonderful vacation (though much of it was spent chasing fruit flies--those pesky critters).

I still had home obligations but did not have to race into work each day. I had the luxury to finish a chore, an errand, a phone call, or just finish my sudoku without having to put it down and head into the office.

Cleveland Indians games night after night--and they had a great stretch!

Seeing college friends, former co-workers, and neighbors normally not in the mix.

My time away from the news desk was well spent in preparing myself for coming back to the news assignment desk!

It did not go too fast or too slowly. As Goldilocks said, it was 'just right!'

And for some reason, I did not freak out a few days before (like I normally do) realizing the daunting task of 'catching up.'

I knew full well that I'd have email up the kazoo....I made a point of watching any newscast I could so I was kind of up to speed on our coverage as well as keeping track of the local papers to be aware of the happenings around town.

But I knew the email would be tremendous.

And at last count I am over 1000+ and still counting...

The 'new' Danielle takes one email at a time knowing her limits and capabilities.

Glad to be back aching to kick a little booty!

Fur-cation over...

OK, Folks.

It's been a crazy month and my erratic and sporadic postings tell the story.

There have been furlough days, vacation days, people changing departments so added duties, and the normal insanity surrounding the inner-workings of not only a news assignment desk but a news room!

Well, for now at least, for this quarter, I believe all of my furlough time is over.

Today I arrived back at work.

Let me tell you, for not being in the office for 7 days, it was really strange driving into work. I can not pinpoint it because obviously I've been off before. But, I had to re-program my car where to go.

I'd already heard a few 'nuggets' of happenings going on before I even entered the door. It's nice to have good and true friends at work!

Our annual Cedar Point ticket memo came out. Believe it or not, this will become one of my first priorities so I don't get shut out!

And, I'm hearing rumblings that we lost one of our desk people. I'm sure this will have an impact on all of us. But in the words of REO Speedwagon, 'just roll with the changes.'

I'd like to say I'm back refreshed and better than ever. But as I stated in a recent Facebook profile comment, "no matter how much free time you have, it's never enough and it's never free!"

Here here. There's always a catch and responsibilities. At least for me.

Free time from the work place constitutes work load pileup from everyone else in your life.

But, I'm back in the saddle, and in a heart beat, it's like a never left.

Let's see.

I found my normal parking spot.

Before I even took off my TJ Maxx sunglasses (which still broke after a month), and have put my 4 bags down, I have people coming up to me alerting me of schedule changes, stories already set up for our reporter, and 'what do you think about this?'

It's nice to be needed.

Let me say it again. I only had a few vacation days, a weekend, and then 2 furlough days but I have people coming up to me left and right welcoming me back, telling me they are glad to see me, spouting how much I was missed.

I don't mean to drone on...but like I've stated before, I don't feel like I was off for an extended period of time yet maybe because the days were abutted with a weekend, it appears that I was off the entire month of June?!?!

One fellow co-worker, who happens to be a very good friend and a jokester, came up to me, shook my hand and welcomed me asking if I was the new person on the desk! Ha ha, very funny! I do work with some amazing people and that's what keeps me sane! Thank you friends!

Anyway, here comes the 'feel like I never left.'

You know me and computers. I can not log onto our Microsoft system. Now, I don't feel so bad. There were a handful of folks off last week as well and all of them said they had to have an administrator re-start their computers. Whew! A simple fix.

You all know my next favorite item in the newsroom: the printers!

Whew hoo. I attempt to print out our assignment sheets and sure enough, the orange light is on and nothing. I don't hear the sweet sounds of paper piling up, information being disseminated, smoke coming out, nothing.

I guess I would not have known what to do had the printer actually worked on the first try.

After being off, I did have some pretty kick butt story ideas.

Yet they all went by the wayside with our first big thunderstorm of the season!

And that is Mother Nature's way of saying, 'Welcome back, Danielle!'