The majority of the time you listen to the news, it's always something sad. But today I ran across a website that is devoted to happy stories. If you need a pick me up, go to www.gnn.com. It stands for good news now.

Also, I'm on the last book of a new vampire series I've been reading (I guess that's the trend now, huh?). I started it just a little over a week ago and there are seven books in the series... that means lots of hours plugged into the fictional world. They just started a TV series based on it (HBO: True Blood) and you can rent the first season on DVD now. The books are way better though. So Gwen/Kim, if you're interested, the author is Charlaine Harris and the first book is called Dead Until Dark.

PS--Gwen, what's the best Anne Rice book to start on? I'm considering it... Pre her-becoming-a-devout-Mormon-days, of course.

...and then I was eating blueberry pancakes

Mom requested I write a blog about this, so here it is...

My internship at Montecito Journal requires me to write the weekly Sheriff's Blotter for the paper. Once in a while, they'll give me a little project to do on the side. Last week, they told me that the owner--Jim--wanted to start a new column called Montecito Favorites. The staff picked a few of their favorites and my job was to schedule appointments with managers to get a little bit of information for each and to take pictures.

So first I went to Tre Lune on Coast Village Road. I took pictures of their Mistacanza salad, asked a few questions, and then they offered me to go ahead and eat it. Sweet! Free lunch! So I did.
Then I went to the Chevron car wash (favorite car wash) and did the same thing. No free perks this time--even though I really need a car wash! At least I know the name of the manager now...
Next stop wasCantwell's market. I took a picture of their marinated salmon and got some more info, but no taste-test this time.
Then Montecito Cafe let me take pictures of their Coconut Cake and even gave me a taste. Now, I am not one for coconut, but that vanilla glaze was to die for!
My last stop was Lucky's, where I took a picture of their drink--The Snowball--that Tom Snow made up and named after himself. Apparently, locals never get it and Mr. Snow is a regular there and just expects everyone to know what he's talking about... He seems egotistical and the staff doesn't seem to really like him. (I looked him up, by the way, and he's a songwriter.)
Before I hit Lucky's, though, I went to the Montecito Coffee Shop to report on their blueberry pancakes. So I went through the normal procedure of asking questions and taking pictures. I knew what was coming next and I really hoped I didn't have to do it, but how rude would that be! Paul, the waiter I met with, told me to go ahead and eat them. I had no choice. No matter how much I don't like blueberries, it was free food and they had been more than gracious in helping me out with the story. So that is how I found myself eating a stack of two blueberry pancakes last Saturday morning. But Emily--you be sure to tell Clint that I still prefer regular ones!!

Missing you all and sending love your way!

In the Summertime, When the Weather is Fine...

...well, the weather isn't really so fine. It's been pretty cloudy in Santa Barbara, actually. We've even had some rain! That umbrella I store in my car came in handy for once.

I've been in SB for a little over two weeks now and I'd like to think I'm making an impression on everyone here. Right now, I'm working two internships, and attempting to work my way into one or two more. Monday through Friday, I work at the KZSB am1290 radio station. Unless there is a female host or guest in for an hour or so, I provide the most estrogen these old men see all day. Working with all men, however, is no picnic when it comes to sharing one tiny bathroom. I don't think anyone ever cleans it, and clearly some of these men have never had a female to yell at them to, "KEEP THE SEAT DOWN!" Well, I don't yell at them, just saying that someone should. On top of that, the door to that bathroom is pretty thin, so you can hear people's bathroom noises... and then hear them spraying the Febreeze before they leave the bathroom... Um, ew!

Besides that though, this internship hasn't been too difficult. Most days, I just write copy, meaning I scope the newspress.com for local news stories that I can turn into 30-60 second pieces. I also write copy of any Press/News Releases or PSAs that come in. Then some of them are recorded for broadcast later in the day. Apparently they've been using a lot of them, but I really don't have the patience to go home after working here and listen to the station for three hours to hear them.

Last Thursday, I walked in the door at 10am and the host of the show that begins just after ten (who is also co-owner of the newspaper), Arthur Von Wiesenberger, walked into the room and said, "Hey, wanna co-host with me for a bit?" It was a rhetorical question. I squeaked, "Uh... okay," completely unsure of what I was getting myself into. It wasn't too bad though, I just provided some commentary for the first few minutes of the show. He seemed happy with it. His travel show won a prestigious award last year and they stream it live on the newspress.com. I'll provide the link to the show at the end so you can see how awkward I was. They also had be record a promo for a contest Arthur's show is having and it's supposed to run intermittently with the promo another lady recorded.

Wow! All in my first week!

I also started doing a couple of little projects for the Montecito Journal. They have given me the weekly task of writing the Sheriff's Blotter, which is apparently pretty popular with the public. Last week, Kelly Mahem (the paper's editor/writer) showed me where the Sheriff's office was and what I need to do. Yesterday, I was all on my own. There was only one story I could write on, so I wrote up the details and sent it to her. Less than ten minutes later, she called me and praised me for the piece. She was surprised and very impressed, saying that she really didn't need to do any editing. She even let me know today that Jim, the owner of the Journal, was impressed as well. Maybe this means they'll be giving me more responsibilities!!

I've been sending my resume to the SB Magazine, but haven't heard anything from them yet. I also sent it along to the News Press today (with Arthur's recommendation... and I mean, he owns it, so that's a pretty big rec.), so hopefully I'll be even more busy.

I've done a few catering jobs for Dad so far. And let me tell you, when people have excess money and are very happy and a little tipsy at the end of the night, they tip well! One night I got $80 and a bottle of wine! (I think I was more excited about the wine though... no need to mention I still have five more months until I'm legal!)

The only difficult part is that I don't really know anyone in Santa Barbara. One of my three grandlittles in my sorority came to visit me for a few days, but that's the only 'friend' I've seen this summer. I'm sure I'll run into a cute boy at some point! Maybe I should hang out at the beach or walk along state street? Sit at a Starbucks for a few hours (maybe one close to UCSB)?

I'm looking forward to seeing Mom, Kim and Eric this weekend. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the growing belly that she seems so keen on hiding, since none of us have seen pictures in quite a while!

Love and miss you all,

Bev

ps--I got 3 As and 2 B+s this last semester!!
pps--here's the link to the radio show I was on briefly--> http://www.newspress.tv/main.jsp?category=Travel&id=95
ppps--I haven't watched this yet because I do not think I have a good radio voice!!