7:20 AM

My alarm breaks the foggy haze of sleep. I can’t believe it’s already time to get up; there has to be a mistake! Maybe I’m still dreaming? Better shut my eyes and make sure.

7:40 AM

Crap, I definitely wasn’t dreaming, and now I’m late! I am so glad I laid out my outfit last night. All I have to do is put it on, no deliberating over what to wear. A quick face wash, teeth brush, and a dab of make-up, and I’m off to the kitchen.

7:50 AM

I have the coffee brewing, my travel mug ready to go, and toast in the toaster. I don’t have much time, so it’s going to have to be a fast breakfast this morning. Fortunately, there’s nothing faster than toast. Add a smear of peanut butter and I should be good.

Have to pack my lunch now, while breakfast is ‘cooking’. Grab a can of soup for fast but filling lunch, add some carrot sticks for crunch, and pack a banana plus yogurt for snacks.

8:15 AM

I am packed and heading out the door, with breakfast digesting in my stomach. Driving down the interstate, I am thankful that traffic is flying. No rush hour this morning!

8:45 AM

I’m parked, and walking down Gay Street to the office.

8:55 AM

Why is it so dark? Where is everyone? My boss, L., informs me that the advertising meeting is this morning (the only people who actually work at the Metro Pulse office are the editors, the advertising agents, and the interns, of course). Oh, that’s where everyone is! I sit down, log into one of the three intern computers, and begin checking my e-mails.

I have three separate e-mail accounts I have to check now: my work email, my school email, and my personal Gmail account. Whew! What a workout for my fingers!

9:25 AM

On to my daily tasks. The calendar is always a good place to start, as events are updated daily. I open up the Calendar E-mail folder and discover we have 83 new e-mails! What?! Gotta get crackin’!

9:30 AM

My fellow intern, B., just arrived. It’s always good to have someone else to share the load with. She’s working diligently at her computer.

10 AM

I can’t take any more events! I need a break! I head to the staff kitchen to brew some tea and break out the carrots I brought with me. Nutrients to give me energy and tea to satisfy my belly! Now I can get back to work and stay focused.

10:15 AM

I decide to switch over to the Restaurant Guide we are updating, just to mix things up. I cross-check the information we gathered in the computer file with that stored in our website database. If there are any differences, it’s my job to find out which is the correct version (i.e. the file lists an address at 120 Maple Grove, but the website says 130 Maple Grove). This is going to take some time.

11:25 AM

Hurray! I finished all of the American food section of the Restaurant Guide (our biggest section)! I stand up, stretch, and take a celebratory jaunt around the office to stretch my aching limbs.

11:30 AM

Back on events. At least the pile is smaller now.

12:30 PM

Made it through the morning. Time for a refreshing lunch. The soup I packed filled me up and reheated my body that had been growing cold from sitting in the air conditioned office for too long.

I also visit Twitter and Popsugar on the computer to amuse and reward myself for my hard work. L. sees, but smiles knowingly at me. We both love Popsugar, and she doesn’t mind us occasionally using such sites during a break - as long as it doesn’t detract from our work.

12:40 PM

Settling down to work on events again. Will this pile ever disappear? At least R. is here now to help out. He’s taking over the Restaurant Guide while B. and I divide up the events.

1:55 PM

Time to head downstairs to the conference room for the weekly Editors’ Meeting. Not sure how long it will take (can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half), but I am excited to hear about upcoming issues! I also have a few article ideas myself: community gardens around Knoxville and possible Spotlights (quick blurbs about bands playing in Knoxville) on The Melvins and/or Ben Sollee.

3:45 PM

Today’s meeting was long, but we got a lot done. I’m not allowed to reveal what goes on (what happens in the conference room stays in the conference room), and it makes me feel like I’m ‘part of the group’ - I love it! I usually work till 2 PM, so I am definitely ready to get out of here. It’s going to be hard when I actually have to work 9-5 PM - sitting at a desk drives me crazy!