From the newsroom...

I say this with complete understanding and acceptance: Our newsroom is a shabby, dirty place. The cleaning people do a fine job in the bathroom but I think someone told them not to disturb anyone's desk, so each workspace is covered in a fine, or thick layer of dust, depending on how reachable a surface is. I finally brought my own shop vac in one morning to try and suck some of the dust away. It only blew it around and made Mike and me sneeze.

The carpet is rumored to be recycled pig hair. I kid you not. PIG HAIR. Brown and red. Like the Durocs my husband once raised. I believe it's cleaned now and then, but couldn't say for sure.

Our desks are yellow Steelcase from the 1960s. There's a reason Steelcase is so expensive. They really do last forever, and our newsroom is proof of it. One of my desks had duct tape holding the faux woodgrain top down. The drawers don't close all the way. The garbage cans match the desks, and are covered in drips and stains from discarded Coke cans and coffee cups. Yuck.

One reporter, who has been with the paper for 41 years, has a desk literally covered, COVERED, with papers, folders, magazines, letters, newspapers, press kits, a painted coconut, a half dead plant, christmas decorations, and more. You name it, this guy has it on, or in, his desk. He even piles stuff on top of his garbage can, rendering it useless. Sometimes he borrows another reporter's desk to do his work. Here's a picture (see above).

My mentor's desk has a plant that must have been starved for water, and managed to survive by growing out of the BOTTOM of it's pot, from the tiny hole water drains out of. All the plant material coming out of the top of the pot is dead. Seriously. This is a plant that wants to LIVE.

At least the computers are pretty up to date. And the phones work, although I sometimes have to tap my headset to get a signal.

I'm not complaining. Like the song goes: "I've grown accustomed to her face." Or, the place. I think I'll stick around a while. Besides, where else can I display my Barbie trinkets without looking like a cuckoo?