The Semester of the "Snowpocalypse"

Remember when I put up that picture last week of the alley behind my apartment? Well, it's snowed a lot since then. And I mean 20 inches with more to come. Here's what it looked like this afternoon (left).

The news has dubbed the unwelcomed fluff the "Snowpocalypse" and it's said to be one of the worst blizzards Washington D.C. has ever experienced. Funny websites such as this one have also erupted that give you an idea of what people are feeling here...all aside, people are freaking out and with good reason. Metro lines are closed, trees are falling under the weight of the snow and the threat of possible electricity problems are rumored.

So how would one start a glorious winter day such as this one? Perhaps, brew a cup of coffee or stay in bed protesting the cold? Well not me unfortunately. I woke up at 6 am and marched to Union station (a half mile walk) to interview people stranded at the train station for the Washington Examiner newspaper, where I'm currently interning. The walk was like something out of I am Legend. No one was out and it was difficult to distinguish between the street and the sidewalk. I walked in the middle of the road, the only clear place where I could step without getting snow in my rain boots. I got stopped once by a passing vehicle who was concerned as to why I would be outside in the midsts of the Snowmageddon (this was runner up to Snowpocalypse, I like it better). I wasn't sure why I was out either or why I volunteered in the first place but the experience was still rewarding. I interviewed two people, including a man from London who was waiting to travel to NYC to see his daughter. Here's the article, note the "Examiner intern Kaitlin Schluter contributed to this report."

And so begins the list of bylines by reporter Kaitlin Schluter (I hope). My internship started last Tuesday and within the first day I was writing and sent out covering stories. My editor thankfully allows me to pitch story ideas like crazy and a couple have been picked up. I covered a coalition in the Georgetown area who are fighting to bring streetcars to their district and am currently researching a bill that will grant trainers of guide dog the same rights as the physically disabled with a service animal. Daily I contribute a brief and have been adding the "Heart of the City" brief which gets your name on it (twice now!). Thursday I was asked to write a sidebar about etiquette that got published with the cover story.

The internship has been going well but I would be lying if I denied how stressful it gets. I keep hearing stories from my journalism program about students who reach an emotional breakdown at least once a semester. That was almost my first day. I was handed a brief and a story to cover due that day within the first hour that I entered the newsroom. I freaked out a little, but enough to leave me feeling physically ill from the stress. Not to mention I stayed up til two in the morning writing an article to file the next morning. But don't worry, things have gotten better and I'm in for a very exciting internship experience.

I'm a bundled up journalist, officially.