April 29: On the Way Out

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the waning moments of my college career. It finally hit me today. Sort of.

Since the spring semester of my freshman year I have been on the The Towerlight staff. My Sundays and Wednesdays have been dedicated, in one way or another and to varying degrees, to putting out Monday’s and Thursday’s issues. That’s not even beginning to take into consideration the hundreds of games I have covered over the last three-plus years. This has been the case this semester more than any other. My responsibilities were heightened as Associate Sports Editor. I have literally spent full days in the office reading, writing, editing, and podcasting. It’s been stressful, frustrating, exhausting, and at times aggravating. But, as I have said before, it has been my most enjoyable semester at the paper.

And as of tomorrow afternoon, my time as an official member of the sports staff will be over.

Towerlight elections are held a couple weeks before the end of each term so as to give the new regime a chance to get their feet wet before they are truly thrown into the fire at the start of the next semester. With hundreds of issues as a Assistant or Associate Sports Editor behind me, I will be demoted to Senior Writer, along with current Editor in Chief Brian Stelter.

It’s a bit strange.

‘The office’ has become such a major part of my life. I have scheduled my classes around the newspaper. Developed some of my most cherished relationships at Towson in University Union room 313. And have countless memories dating back to my first talk with former Sports Editor Brent Kennedy.

I don’t know if I ever intended to pursue a newspaper job after college. But my time at the Towerlight has solidified writing as a passion, and at the very least a career possibility. It may not be a full-time vocation. But it is something I hope to continue doing in some capacity for the rest of my life. My name may never again be found in a newspaper’s staff box. But whenever someone asks me what I plan on doing after college, I always mention that I plan on pursuing opportunities as a freelance writer (hopefully in the magazine side of things). It’s a unique craft. One I have developed an extremely deep appreciation for.

This is certainly not to say that my days with The Towerlight are finished. I still plan on dedicating a significant portion of my Sundays and Wednesdays to the paper. Not being obligated to go in is like getting a day off of school when you’re a kid. You don’t really know what to do with yourself.

But it won’t be the same. No real responsibilities, other than the occasional story (and the looming Senior Commentary). Things will get done without me (not like they wouldn’t have otherwise…but you know what I mean). My presence is no longer necessary.

My days are either numbered, or over. Depends on how you look at it. But hey, one of my final articles was a Women’s Volleyball spring update, and thanks to Jermon Bushrod, I finished up my official days with my third career cover story. That adds him to the list of people I owe immense gratitude to for a great four years with the paper.

Thanks.

In a little while
I’ll be gone
The moment’s already passed
Yeah it’s gone
And I’m not here
This isn’t happening
I’m not here
I’m not here
-Thom Yorke, Radiohead

*The above picture is the Donut Cake that PSmith literally dreamt up. His girlfriend Kate brought it in this afternoon to help celebrate his 22nd birthday. I wasn’t kidding about the dream thing. A few weeks ago a donut cake, comprised of chocolate frosted donuts, appeared in a dream of his. To be honest I’m a bit surprised I didn’t come up with this idea myself. And in case you’re wondering, it was delicious. Happy birthday, Pat.

April 14: Skip Divided

Before I get started. The title of today’s post has no meaning or purpose whatsoever. I sat at my laptop trying to figure out what to put after ‘April 14:’ and nothing was coming to me. So I just named it after the song that was playing on my iTunes at the time. The song itself is off of Thom Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser. The record came out last July, while I was in Bristol, Connecticut for the summer interning at ESPN. They say smell is the strongest sense tied to memory, but for whatever reason this album takes me back to Connecticut like no other. I have listened to it a ton since then, but when I hit play just minutes ago I felt like I was driving between the Bristol campus and our Residence Inn Marriott. Between that and the ominous tone of the album itself, it makes for a pretty eerie feeling.

I have already run into a problem with this blog, which was somewhat apparent in the two posts this week that did not go up until after midnight (gotta love the ‘Edit timestamp’ feature). Usually my days end the same day the next day begins. I’ll give you a minute to chew on that one…

What I’m trying to say is that I generally go to bed after midnight (I go to bed the same day I wake up, I think that’s a bit clearer). Thus, the most exciting portion of my day might not happen until, well, the next day (sort of). That could have been the case yesterday. I was tempted to put off posting because I knew I was going to a bar later that night that would likely make for some interesting pictures. To resist temptation I decided not to bring my camera at all last night.

But technically my day began at The Ottobar in Baltimore, for their annual Prince vs. Madonna vs. Michael Jackson Dance Party.

I went home. Watched an episode of Extras. Slept. Woke up. Saw Towson’s Lacrosse team crap away an 8-6 lead in the final :57 of play, and lost in overtime. Went back to the University Club for more Burgers and Billiards (I skipped on the Beer, and settled for a New York Strip…and I still suck at pool). And then fulfilled the promise I had made to myself (because it’s a lot easier to break promises made to a dog) to take my dog Rusty out on Burdick Field on the Towson campus. He’s got more useless energy than Jim Cramer, and I decided to try and wear him out a little bit. I had a nice, peaceful picture of him I was going to use but the above shot, while a little terribly out of focus, is a far more accurate representation.

Anyways, I need to go pay some bills. Literally. Sort of. Taxes are due tomorrow and while I am under the belief that I could neglect to do them without any repercussions, it’s probably not the smartest idea to test the IRS. Plus, I apparently have a ’70s themed party to attend tonight. Something tells me a picture taken (after midnight, of course) will end up on tomorrow’s post.

Before I get going. Shot out to a close friend, and UNC Running Back, Justin Warren. Yesterday was his birthday. Today he scored two touchdowns and led the Heels in rushing in their Spring Game. Start him Butchie!