Welcome back to “In the key of E.” Despite it being week seven of the semester, I have yet to find a routine to fall back on. Every week is different and the workload varies. I think a lot of that comes from being a journalism student. Regardless, I’m staying afloat. For now at least.

Weekly recap

This week surprisingly went by quickly. I think that might be because of how frequently I was counting down the minutes to the weekend.

Classes have been pretty simple. Outside of being a teensy bit behind on the notes for a couple of my classes, the actual school part of this whole college thing is going well.

I filled out my absentee ballot. This is my first time voting in a presidential election, and, as I was about to fill in the bubble, I realized how big of a deal it was. I was contributing to who will run our country for the next four years. Once I sealed the envelope and realized that I had to wait a month to see the results, I realized it was kind of anticlimactic.

For Blugold Radio Monday, I recorded another episode of what Cora and I have decided will be called “Girl’s Guide to College.” I also did the live news hour on Monday night, which was fun.

 For The Spectator, we had our weekly meeting. Instead of it being a casual 25 minutes where I pitch the news stories, listen to the other section editors pitch theirs, divvy them up and go home, it was a print week, so we stayed for layout night. 

I left the office at a calm 1:30 a.m. No, I did not go to my first class the next day. Sue me.

I also led my first Society of Professional Journalists meeting. I think it went pretty well, and I’m excited to see what we get to do this year.

Finally, homecoming weekend arrived. My family came to visit me. I showed them around campus, we went to an apple orchard, ate at my favorite restaurants and saw UW-Eau Claire’s production of “Murder On the Orient Express” (shoutout to Lauren, the best assistant stage manager ever).

Yesterday, Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and current Democratic vice presidential candidate running alongside Kamala Harris, stopped by campus. I got to cover the event as a student journalist.

Attending the Walz event was the most high-profile thing I’ve ever done. The night before, I was terrified. I knew I wouldn’t get close to him, let alone interview him, but still. I had to drop off all my stuff to be looked through, was stared down by a member of the Secret Service for a minute straight and even got a fancy press badge.

In the end, it was really exciting. I watched people from news organizations like CNN and NBC walk in and realized that doing that might be my future. I truly can’t wait.

Lastly, it’s been freezing in my house. The walls have practically no insulation, so the temperature inside isn’t much better than outside. We decided to turn the heat on and I’ve never been more content.

From me to you

I had no idea what I wanted to tell you this week. Instead of continuing my lecture on “Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes, I’ll just give you a really great “From me to you” section next week. Plus, I’m almost over the word count limit, and cannot be bothered to cut things later.

Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.

Reading: “My Life With Words” by Barbara F. Luebke, “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “City of Ashes” by Cassandra Clare.

I’m not even going to say anything about this. I promise I’m trying my best to finish these (kind of).

Eating: Leftovers

Like I said, my family visited this weekend and now I’m stocked up on leftovers. I’m not complaining whatsoever. It just means I don’t have to cook as many meals this week.

Playing: “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi” by Radiohead, “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” by Charli xcx and Lorde, “forwards beckon rebound” by Adrianne Lenker, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez and “Gypsy” by Fleetwood Mac.

This week, I listened more to random individual songs than I did full albums. The songs I listed are the ones I listened to most frequently.     

Obsessing: I’m obsessing over how “Zombies 3” is slightly better than the second movie (Which I complained about last week).

Just when I thought I’d never have to watch another movie with the word “zombie” in the title again, my dear, strange friend Lindsay decided there was more to be seen. If you’re even considering it, watch the “Zombies” series.

Recommending: Take big risks.

I was in a room with the man who might help to run the country for the next four years. Enough said.

Treating: Peppermint ice cream.

I know what you may be thinking … “Why on Earth are you eating a Christmas dessert?” The answer: Because I can. It’s the best kind, and it breaks my heart that it’s only made seasonally.

That’s all I have for you this week. Thank you so much for joining me. 

-E.

Braun can be reached at [email protected].