Emerald CIty, here I come

Seattle's nickname is the Emerald CIty but I don't think the WIzard lives there. I am, however, on a search for something to make myself a better person: more real world experience.

If you've been following along, you'll know that I am doing an internship with the Seattle Weekly in the Web and music sections. I'll be bringing my learning back to Moscow as next school year's Web and Opinion editor. Cool beans, eh?

Yes, it is an unpaid internship. (Anyone caring to donate to the T.J. Summer in Seattle Survival Fund can e-mail me for details. I'm not kidding.) My current newspaper adviser hates the idea of me not getting paid, but knows that this is one of those experiences that is worth the trouble.

A little bit about the Seattle Weekly: It's one of those alt-weekly papers. For my Vegas co-horts, it's like the City Life or Las Vegas Weekly-- two papers which never took anything I sent them. I wonder if they'd take my work now? Or after the summer, anyway. Best of all (or worst of all, depending on what your leanings are) SW is owned by The Village Voice, the grand daddy of alt-weeklies. Pretty cool, eh? The office is just a couple blocks away fromPioneer Square in downtown Seattle, right where everything is happening. I'm going to have a nice bus commute from Tacoma (thanks to Aunt Billie for agreeing to put me up for a spell) but I'm no stranger to mass transit. ($108.00 for a month pass, though. See comments about the TSiSSF, again.)

So I'll be going to concerts, small clubs mostly. I'm geared up to be the resident Metal HEad, which means coverage of this year's Ozzfest, kickingoff July 12 in Seattle, is mine. The chance to meet Ozzy Osbourne is one of the only htings I can think of cooler than meeting Rob Zombie. (Search back about a year--wow!--for that day.) I will be sporting a Black Sabbath hat for the occassion. I only packed band T-shirts for my stay, too.

Unless you count the couple Red Sox shirts I popped in my bag, too. I will go to at least one Seattle Mariners baseball game while I am there. Won't get to see the Sox, but might catch them when the Reds come to town and see Griffey, just like the old days. Nah, those games will sell out, too. I might get stuck watching the M's and the Pirates. It's Major League Baseball, though, so who cares who is playing as long as I get to go.

I'm going to keep up the blog as much as possible over the summer, too, so check back for news as often as you like. Also check out www.seattleweekly.com to see if my stuff shows up there.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me on my wild and crazy adventures. I never would have thought to be doing this if Coyote Press in Vegas hadn't come into my life (along with Karen Laing who made it possible for me to do what I wanted) and if the Argonaut here in Moscow hadn't treated me so well. Just goes to show that making plans doesn't always work out the way you want them to.

And, before I go...Hi Julie!