The J School Journey Begins

Monday marked the close of the HK chapter of my life and the beginning of the journalism school short novella. I took the Bolt Bus to New York on Tuesday. (I must note that the Bolt Bus is amazing-- big leather seats, electrical outlets, wireless internet, and $17 roundtrip! I am happily blogging away on the bus back to D.C. at this very moment.)

I had student orientation yesterday. There are approximately 200 students starting NYU's journalism program this year, with a little over twenty in the magazine journalism track. Our magazine group gathered in the morning. Dean Rob Boynton started out by talking about the journalism industry being in flux. Though entering an industry in mild crisis is a bit scary, it may offer interesting opportunities to those who are adaptable.

The orientation wisdom that resonated with me:

• Being a good j school student means letting go of the regurgitation that makes a good undergrad student, and being aggressive, "nagging," independently-minded, and getting out of the classroom and into the city.

• A sign of a good story is actually wanting to talk about it with your friends.

• In j school, you're sheltered from workplace pressures, and can take more risks.

Going back to school feels really strange. There's this weird mixture of apprehension, skepticism, excitement, insecurity, and loss of authority. In my work at the National Press Foundation, I had reached a certain level of autonomy/seniority. In embracing the student identity, I am admitting that I have a lot to learn and am letting my professors determine the pace and principles. It's humbling and vaguely discomforting.

Classes start Wednesday. In the meantime, I have to move from D.C. to NYC. Ugh.

Last week in Hong Kong

My summer in Hong Kong is winding down, though work has winded up, up, up. The Olympics are keeping me incredibly busy these days. The most time-consuming of my IHT tasks is the creation of the "Olympics Scoreboard." It runs in the Olympics section of the paper, and lists all of the event results from the day, along with the medal winners and country standings. I compile the information from the wires and lay it out.

I often wonder how many people actually use this section of the paper given the ability to get all this information so easily online. But last week, in the country standings table that I had selected, the AP had made a mistake and given France a gold medal. Some reader in Paris sent an e-mail pointing out the mistake, and we issued a correction. So now I know that there is at least one guy in Paris who looks at the Scoreboard. I am greatly relieved.

I found this video from BBC News kind of hilarious. A BBC TV pundit is the recipient of misplaced adoration from Michael Phelps fans in Tiananmen Square. "My name is Steve."

Video - Fans mob Parry thinking he is Phelps (BBC News)

Kash appreciates the write-in votes, but…

There are big changes afoot at Above The Law, the legal tabloid blog where Kash holds the title of associate editor. [FN1] Above The Law editor-in-chief David Lat is leaving behind the pajamas-til-noon life of a full-time blogger for a managing role at Breaking Media, the blog’s publisher.

During a brainstorming session on one of their many runs, David and Kash came up with an “American Idol”-inspired plan to identify the new editor-in-chief. After calling for applications for the position, David chose six finalists to compete to be the next "ATL Idol." The contest has been running for the last few weeks, and it’s down to two contestants—the winner will be announced Monday.

During the contest, Kash received some write-in votes, which warmed her little heart. Someone even created a shadow poll that included her. Very snarky. This is the love part of the love-hate relationship with the ATL commentators. She greatly appreciates the support from ye anonymous readers… and the Pacific Reporter.

However, as others have pointed out, she is not the ideal candidate. Though Tom Goldstein objects to lists as the tool of the lazy, here are the top ten reasons why Kash would not make a good ATL EIC:

1. She’s not a lawyer. While fully capable of poking fun at judges and attorneys, she’s not up to the task of nitty-gritty legal analysis.

2. She hasn’t been to law school. LSAT insight- yes, did that. Law school insight- no.

3. She does not even have a law-related degree. She majored in Italian and European Studies. Seriously. She did take International Law as a Duke undergrad, but as Sophist concluded, that course is a big ole waste of time.

4. David’s shoes are way too big for her.

Having lots of lawyerly friends has provided a good amount of legal insight useful in writing for ATL, but per reasons one, two, and three, she doesn’t have the legal cred that the new EIC needs. As for more personal reasons:

5. She’s heading to journalism school in the fall. New York University and grad school life await her.

6. She has been hooked up with fellowship money. Many commentators suggest that journalism school is a waste of time and money. Kash agrees that this is possible. But thanks to NYU’s generosity, the loans she takes out should amount to less than the salary of her first real journalism job. Hopefully.

7. She wants the degree. Another true-to-life stereotype from the Stuff White People Like blog.

8. She fears getting sucked into the trade journalism world and never escaping. She likes writing about non-legal stuff too. Important stuff. You know, the really pressing matters. Like a Boy Scout troop’s stolen Christmas trees and chocolate tasting.

9. Within trade journalism, she fears getting sucked even further into the salacious legal beat niche. How many posts with the word “fellate” in the title before she ruins her chances of being a serious-for-realz journalist?

10. She likes the title of Ass. Editor.

[FN1] Kash uses the royal “we” on Above The Law, and the first person on Moving into the Fourth Estate. Since this post bridges the two worlds, she’s chosen the third person voice for the occasion.

Remembering Nicole

I've received news today that a friend of mine from D.C. was murdered in Afghanistan. I met Nicole Dial in the summer of 2006. It was a difficult time for me—many of my friends were leaving D.C. to go on to grad school, and I was breaking up with my boyfriend of three years. It felt like I was starting out anew in D.C., despite having lived there for three years at that point.

There is a bar called Wonderland in Columbia Heights, a developing/gentrifying neighborhood in D.C. In 2006, Wonderland was this cool, unknown dive bar frequented mostly by the neighborhood crowd. Nicole was there for "Balkan music night," which involved lots of dancing in circles. We had fun folk-dancing together, and I sought her out at an Irish band's concert at Fado in Chinatown the next week. Thus began our friendship. She helped me re-discover D.C.

Nicole was a save-the-world type. In D.C., she was working on child soldier projects. Trying to prevent the enlistment of children into third-world militaries, and rehabilitate children scarred by war. I often felt that my professional pursuits were so frivolous by comparison. Nicole was always weighed down by the ills of the world, and the desire to make it a better place. I admired her for that, but also wished she could let go of it sometimes and enjoy the privileged life we had in the States.

That was not her way though. She was dissatisfied with D.C. and wanted to be doing more to change the world. And as a Trinidadian-born American, she had the desire for international living in her blood. She traveled often-- to Liberia, for work; to Canada, for conferences; to Tibet, with her mother... We had vague plans to go hiking in Tibet together, but those plans will never come to fruition.

She found an opportunity to work abroad and moved to Indonesia last year. We were in infrequent communication-- there were monsoon rains on her 31st birthday on February 14th. (The year before, D.C. nearly shut down on her 30th birthday due to a good amount of snow, though a bunch of us managed to find an open bar on U Street. We joked about nasty weather being a necessity for her birth celebration.) In June, she sent me an e-mail saying she had moved to Kabul to work for the International Rescue Committee.

I was concerned when I got that e-mail, with the continuing instability and violence in Afghanistan. But I thought she would manage to steer clear of the violence. She was an aid worker. Why would anyone target her? I don't know why, but they did: "Three aid workers killed in Afghan attack."

I keep thinking about Nicole-- remembering the times we spent together, and imagining her life and death in Afghanistan. The photos of the coffins that accompany the articles online haunt me. I know that what is left of Nicole is in one of those wooden boxes, and that it's a symbol for an online reader of the terrible violence of Afghanistan. But for me, it's my friend. The girl with whom I went on walking tours of D.C. The girl that I helped move from Mt. Pleasant to Dupont Circle on a snowy day. The girl with whom I watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, before we decided that the show had turned too horrible to watch.

Her death is too horrible. And senseless. She wanted to save the world, but she was in a country with some people who don't want to be saved.

All eyes on Beijing

The Olympics kicked off on Friday (8-8-08). It was a crazy day in the IHT newsroom, as we geared up for two weeks of sports coverage mayhem. Sports are not exactly the IHT forte-- the regular Sports page tends to be a bit haphazard. But during the Olympics, IHT is quite serious about the sports coverage, with thirty or so journalists in Beijing.

I watched the opening ceremony on Friday night from the newsroom. It ran from 8 p.m. to midnight, Beijing time. (I think it was embargoed in the States til Friday night EST-- I am amazed NBC managed to block access online for the most part.) Everyone was appropriately "wowed." China put on quite a show for their debut on the world stage.

At the same time, it seemed a bit over the top. So many performers, so many moving parts, and SO many fireworks. My favorite part was near the beginning with fireworks in the shape of giant footprints going off across Beijing, as if an invisible giant were walking through the city toward the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest. Update: But now I read that was partly faked.

I left the newsroom during the parade of Olympic teams through the stadium. The roads of HK were eerily empty for 10 p.m. on a Friday night. Everyone was inside watching the ceremony! For the first time, I saw people really excited about the Games, and proud to be in China during the Olympics. So, mission accomplished with the ceremony, China!

I found this article in China Daily very illuminating, in terms of China's hyper-awareness of the eyes of the world: Opening ceremony draws worldwide attention. It's all about how the ceremony was received by the international press:

The British press spoke in praise of the spectacular Beijing Olympics opening ceremony unanimously, calling it the best ever and a stunning display of China's rising confidence...

A presenter with Eurosport hailed the Games as "bigger than anything imaginable", calling the ceremony an "extraordinary" and "extravagant" presentation.

The Financial Times said "the most certain victory of the Olympic Games was duly ratified on Friday night when China won the gold medal in the opening ceremony competition - presumably for all time".

The paper noted that no country in the world ever has - or will - match the Chinese in effort, human power, synchronicity, and ingenuity...

The Guardian said the ceremony that opened the 29th Olympic Games on Friday night outdid all of its predecessors in numbers, color, demonstrating to the world that the new China intends to make its presence felt...

The tabloid Daily Mail said Hollywood "will study the DVD of the performances for years to come and plunder Beijing's visual tricks".

Have I mentioned that China's really, really proud? Xinhua News Service is claiming the ceremony was watched by "4 billion eyes." Maybe if you count each eye and glasses... The far-fetched audience number reminds me of the Oscars and the one-billion viewers myth.

The day was darkened though by the news of a suicide attack on an American couple in Beijing that left the father-in-law of an Olympic volleyball coach dead, as well as weekend bombings in Xinjiang, the same city where suspected terrorists killed 16 policemen last week.

My life will be all Olympics all the time for the next two weeks. I'll be working 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Friday. Does that count as an endurance event? Can I get a medal?

I survived an HK typhoon

Today was a typhoon day in Hong Kong. Tropical storm Kammuri passed by Hong Kong on its way toward western Guangdong.

IHT's deputy managing editor told me that if the storm was "level 8," HK would shut down. It wouldn't be worth going to work, because they shutter the building and won't let people in. When I woke up this morning, the Hong Kong Observatory reported that "No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal is in force." It stayed in force until about 3 p.m. so no work for me today.

All the shops in the area were indeed closed, and the HK streets were uncharacteristically empty. Indian Village restaurant opened at 2 p.m., thankfully, as I hadn't stocked up on groceries. Saag paneer and naan saved me from typhoon starvation.

Weather-wise: it was a little rainy and a little windy. It was reminiscent of hurricane days in Sarasota and snow days in D.C. Unnecessary hype leading to an unexpected (and appreciated) day off. A couple of snowflakes in D.C. shuts the whole city down!

Highlights of the day were a long nap and a foot massage at Happy Feet, when the city came back to life after the storm rating dropped to "strong wind signal, no. 3."

Weekend excursion: Singapore

Coming to Hong Kong, I told many people that I was sick of traveling-- after Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Canada, Jamaica, Australia, China, New Zealand, and Mexico, all in the last two years, I thought that my travel lust had been quenched... Now that I'm here though, my biggest regret is not building in more time for traveling. There are so many southeast Asian countries just a plane hop away!

I managed to schedule one trip before the massive work explosion that is the Olympics (I found out yesterday that my hours will be 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. once the Games start!). This past weekend, my roommate and I went to Singapore.

Many call Singapore the other NYC of Asia. I think Hong Kong is safe in claiming rights to the title. Singapore is too clean to be an NYC contender. Little ladies kept appearing out of thin air to sweep up nonexistent trash in the MRT (Singapore's subway, not to be confused with the MTR, Hong Kong's subway).

Singapore was a nice break from HK. It had a cool breeze, less humidity, less pollution, trees, and wide avenues, so you're not constantly bumping into people on the sidewalks. And the food trumps HK's cuisine. It's a mix of Singaporean Chinese, Malay, and Indian food, and it's all super cheap. There are "hawker centers" all over the place, which are basically big food courts. Here's one in the Bedok neighborhood:

Singapore is a really interesting "nanny state." Seventy percent of the housing is government-subsidized. Priority is given to married couples for the subsidized apartments, in part because the government is trying to encourage people to get married and have kiddies. The replacement rate is something like 1.2 children per couple. The population of Singapore is currently just over four million, but the government is aiming for six million in the near future, which is difficult with that 1.2 child per couple rate.

The single friends I hung out with reported on some of the things the government is doing to try to boost the nation's numbers. One way is by sending expatriates "permanent resident invitations." (If you can't get your own to procreate, recruit!) Another way is by organizing events for singles, such as "marriage cruises." Government-sponsored mixers. Very cool. Interestingly, the government tends to organize different events for college grads and non-college grads.

We did lots of sight-seeing, exploring the Arab, Malay, and Indian districts and going on a night safari at the Singapore Zoo. Also stopped by the famous Raffles Hotel that dates back to the British colonial days:

Now, I am back in Hong Kong with just 20 days left. Time is flying. With the Olympics three days away, work is getting crazy. I've been managing much of the content on the IHT Olympics page. At this point, I still have time for non-Olympics stuff, but that will change soon. Here's a slideshow I made about President Bush's reception in South Korea.