Sandra McDonald
@sn_mcdonald
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LA Times Summer 2024 Fast Break desk intern // past: @ufjschool @WUFTNews @TheAlligator @FreshTakeFla I'm professionally persnickety
Joined April 2021
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
BREAKING NEWS: The Los Angeles Times is pretty cool. Catch some breaking news from me this summer on the Fast Break desk, and send me your tips @ Sandra.McDonald
@latimes
.com
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@sophiamaylo
I periodically enter my friends' names into court records so I can make fun of them for speeding tickets.
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Good news: The LA Times isn't tired of me yet. My internship has been continued until the end of the year. I'll be reporting breaking news (sometimes of the entertainment variety!) from sunny Florida. I'll take a short break to get myself back home.
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Excited to announce my next steps as a breaking news intern at the Los Angeles Times this summer. First LA, then the world.
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A proposed Student Government Senate Bill would mobilize $1.5 million in student tuition fees and reimburse students for 50% of the cost of contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, in and out-of-state abortions, travel and post-abortion counseling. Story to come.
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I'm in Florida reporting on Hurricane Milton for the Los Angeles Times. Updating this story throughout the day.
I'm in a safe area and urge everyone to listen to their local officials to move inland and avoid the worst of the storm.
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Hey pals, according to documents obtained by
@TheAlligator
,
@stephenasmith
was paid 66k by
#UFSG
to speak at UF. Josh Richards was supposed to be paid 60k before the event was postponed.
Howie Mandel was paid $110k in February and the Roddy Ricch concert cost UF $350k.
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Hi guys, I'm watching the
@uf_gau
bargaining session. I'm joining a little late so allow me to get the details of the new proposal. Follow for updates
@TheAlligator
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@cbellantoni
I went to a steak and shake after junior prom in a giant green ballgown and had my friend help me quick change into a mini dress in the bathroom for an after-party. This is simply teenage girl-core.
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Exciting news, pals.
I'll be covering Student Government for
@TheAlligator
this Summer. I'm beyond excited and this is gonna be a fantastic semester!
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Telling my friends how cool journalism is and how neat public records and FOIA requests are this Sunshine Week.
Then sending them photos like this.
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I'm at the Gradute Assistants United March at the Reitz Union North Lawn. Follow for updates.
@TheAlligator
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They told me to write a story about the storm, I wrote a story about horses. Oops.
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Bought a bike this morning impulsively. Haven't had one since I was 10. Took it about three miles to campus. Now I get what my dad was talking about when he said he walked uphill both ways. Isn't Florida supposed to be flat? Why is UF built on a giant hill? I'm so tired.
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Hi pals, I'll be at Tigert Hall all day during the GAU "work-in" outside of President Kent Fuchs and Provost Joe Glover's offices. Story to come.
@TheAlligator
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I know absolutely nothing about soccer but the
@UF
students watching the
#WorldCup2022
in the
@reitzunion
are absolutely electric.
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Last but not least, my final print article for the Alligator.
Jacqueline St. Pierre’s group did everything right, she said, but they still lost funding.
UF’s Florida Players club typically receives $18,000 per semester. This Fall, it will receive $500 after total funding for student clubs decreased about $200,000.
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
"UF is quickly becoming a place where only rich people can go," says Bryn Taylor, co-president.
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Vandana Kumar taught every high school science class you could think of. She was so good at her job, in fact, she got an award for it, her own plaque inlaid in the cement in Woodland Hills.
Until someone ripped it out of the ground to sell for scrap.
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There is something so terribly bittersweet about sharing this with you all. I am so excited to show what we have worked so hard to produce and showcase the experiences we had. I'm also in grief that this experience is drawing to a close.
Here’s a peek at a 25-minute
@WUFTNews
report that my
@UFJSchool
class produced.
@miralowe
and I led seven
@UF
students, four from
@FAMU_1887
and two other advisers on a spring break trip along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Our website publishes Monday; the TV report airs Tuesday.
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Both my sweet puppies are gone now. Tinkerbell, who was always more bite than bark, welcomed her daughter Sierra to dog heaven on Monday. Even a year removed, I miss Tink every day. I now add Sierra to that grief. Thanks for making my childhood amazing. Good girls.
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Hey everybody. My dad brought home a puppy the day before the Super Bowl. Meet Kelce.
@Eagles
@Chiefs
#SuperBowlLVII
@tkelce
@JasonKelce
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According to some sources in downtown Gainesville, someone was shot between Arcade Bar and White Buffalo on Main St. Patrons inside Barcade were told to stay inside behind closed doors. I heard three distinctive pops that I thought was a car misfire. Please be safe.
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I am so upset to hear about more Gannett layoffs, and right before the holidays. It is terrifying to hear as a journalism student and someone with firsthand experience in seeing what a news desert looks like in local areas. It also means that I'll be graduating and competing 1/?
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Feels a little surreal, but I'm gonna go with it.
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Pet peeve: when I go to retweet an article I wrote and TWITTER suggests that I didn’t read the article and I should do that before I retweet I WROTE IT WHAT DO YOU MEEEEEAAANNN
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Me feat. the mimosas I sold to all the moms at Cracker Barrel this morning.
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We see Santa every year. Who's really in the red suit? Read my article here.
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Good morning! Dance session in the hotel for the morning of Day 2 of
#UFxFAMU1963
. Follow along this thread (and others!) to see where we go on our trip. Today we are in Montgomery and Selma!
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Diem Le Nguyen smiled and posed next to the Black Mountain peak elevation sign in San Diego County. Twenty-four hours later, her body was discovered off a trail not far from foothill community streets in eastern San Diego County. What happened?
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Breaking: A third grade teacher at Stephen Foster Elementary School was arrested early Sunday morning for DUI, drug possession and resisting arrest. He has been placed on paid administrative leave. Read about it at WUFT.
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Who do I petition to put white Gatorade on the 3rd floor Weimer Hall vending machine? I think I'll literally keep you in business and I'll also stop drinking dark soda at 8 a.m. It's a win on all sides.
@UFJSchool
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me on archer so i'm not late to Lowe's lecture
GPD IM KIDDING I PROMISE
Ticketed with speeding 116 mph on busy stretch of I-75, University of Florida student says he didn't want to be late for class on first day of fall semester. Spoiler: Professor ended up canceling his physics class.
@elisevelder
@FreshTakeFla
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This was such a cool event! I'm not a sports reporter but
@stephenasmith
's words hit me in a really amazing way.
“You can trust Stephen A. to be Stephen A.”
Stephen A. Smith, in an ACCENT Speaker's Bureau event Wednesday, said his success stems from his authenticity, willingness to defend his takes and unyielding commitment to staying true to his personality.
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EVERYTHING IS A SPORTS STORY WHY IS EVERYTHING A SPORTS STORY I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SPORTS SEND HELP
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I wrote a story about the upcoming referendum which may change the way Alachua County votes for its commissioners. Give it a read here.
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We did it. We finally get to share this with you.
Tuesday. 10 p.m. on WUFT News. Be there.
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Sometimes I second-guess my goal to work in political journalism. Then I have long nights where I'm so stressed out I want to pull out my hair; those are the nights when I realize how important the work is and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
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Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and think about the chances that
@JasonLeopold
has FOIA requests older than me.
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This is Medgar Evers' home. Gunned down in his driveway at 37 by a neighbor Jun. 12, 1963, Evers was the first NAACP field officer in Mississippi. I am in awe.
#UFxFAMU1963
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Hey friends, I'm at the Student Government Senate meeting tonight. Follow for live updates.
@TheAlligator
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Eating good for the next week because mom sent me home with all the graduation party leftovers.
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Before meeting with public officials I often have to remind myself that they, too, are people. Everyone has to put their pants on the same way and I think it helps me to see them as regular humans.
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Guy drove stolen excavator into a Walmart and walked around inside with a machete.
GUY DROVE STOLEN EXCAVATOR INTO A WALMART AND WALKED AROUND INSIDE WITH A MACHETE.
I feel like I'm in a fever dream. Anyway this is the hole they were patching this morning
@WUFTNews
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I've just watched Monsters University for the first time and I can't believe they are committing so many crimes.
The most egregious is when they throw away all the copies of the school newspaper. Just sue them for defamation, dammit.
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I know most people won't care or understand this, but Riot Games, the game publisher, is absolutely destroying the North American League of Legends eSports competition. They are refusing to come to the table with players who have chosen to strike.
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
Rachel Harnett said UF will see decreases in graduate admissions if this continues due to ongoing scandals. "It is an investment, not a cost," she said.
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@kalyani_saxena
I'd really like it if several "firsts" in my life (leaving home, working a job for 30+ hours to support myself, relying on myself to go to college and keep up with my school work) weren't mixed with the impending pressure to do amazing things to differentiate myself for my career
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Now that I'm an adult, I can't believe some of these sitcoms that claim somebody purchased a same-day flight to run away from a boyfriend/girlfriend (WITH A CARRY-ON) AND THEN DIDN'T TAKE THE FLIGHT. I don't care if you chased me to the gate, I'll see you in a week.
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This news cycle is insane. Women and children shot on people's doorsteps for ringing the wrong doorbell. Fox News settling with Dominion. Journalists' lives being threatened in Oklahoma. The first American journalist imprisoned on espionage since the Cold War. This is scary.
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We were at Little Rock Central High School this morning. The bravery of the young people who worked to get to school is so incredibly inspiring. I'm most inspired by the story of Elizabeth Eckford.
#UFxFAMU1963
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Standing on a street in Cedar Key, Fla. yesterday and knowing today it's completely underwater.
One home I witnessed: no one was home and no cars in the driveway except a golf cart, with two Halloween skeletons in the back seat, facing the road around the corner from the Gulf.
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@EWAEmily
My poor Facebook Messenger is filled with "Hello. My name is Sandra McDonald and I work with..."
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@stephenasmith
It was a pleasure to be there! Your words, especially on being a reporter, were amazing and will stick with me for a while.
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So thankful to work alongside my new journalism family made of
@serrasowers
,
@AmandaLaPadura
and
@JackLemnus
. What a beast of a story to tackle.
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Pals, I'm still running on the fumes off the high that this story gave me. My recent article about
@GatorEsports_
and video gaming on campus. Check it out!
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A gut-wrenching followup to some of the work I did over summer surrounding UF's graduate assistants.
OPINION: I moved from a job that paid me just enough to get by, determined to make UF’s much lower stipend work.
Unfortunately, determination wasn’t enough to make that stipend stretch to cover the cost of living.
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My roommates are mad at me. Tonight, continuing a month-long silent treatment, they quite literally took every fork, plate, bowl and pot/pan in the house and made it clear I am not welcome to use them. I have no words. Guess I'm taking a shopping trip tomorrow.
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
The Zoom meeting's chat is active. "How can you ignore these numbers? GAs are literally starving," said Ece Yüksel.
"I’m working a full time and very physically demanding job the entire summer to just be able to pay my rent until the fall semester begins again." - Jade Sierra
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Watching elections coverage from NYT correspondent and UF grad
@ESCochrane
. Not reporting tonight because I have a midterm looming but still looking forward to results.
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Photo taken earlier this morning, I'm breaking for lunch right now. On a side note, my favorite coffee shop has no espresso so I've been relegated to regular iced coffee. Send help soon.
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I changed my own graphics card in my computer today! I deserve an award.
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Whoa! UFxFAMU1963 won an award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The project was about the mid-century civil rights movement and its 60th anniversary. Please go watch our documentary and read everyone's individual pages.
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Gator Party condemns Jonathan C. Stephens, who was voted to be censured by the Rules and Ethics committee but the censure vote never hit the floor.
Pure speculation: wonder if Change Party agreed to remove Stephens from their slate if Gator didn't vote to censure him in Summer.
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I know rejection is part of the industry but it somehow hurts more when you're told that it wasn't your fault. Onto bigger stories and better opportunities.
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Spent the afternoon in Birmingham's heart, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. In 1963, four girls lost their lives to a bombing by Ku Klux Klan members. They are depicted here as they were moments before they died in a woman's powder room.
#UFxFAMU1963
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Hi pals,
I'm NOT at the UF Senate meeting this week because I'm up in Philadelphia visiting family (go birds) but I'll be watching it via live stream and livetweeting with the help of my friend and colleague
@LillianLLawson
Follow for updates
@TheAlligator
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
GAU counterproposal: minimum stipend increase to $20,925 (9 month contract) and $27,900 (12 month contract) plus a $708.40 raise.
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Good morning from Jackson, MS! I had a short conversation with my hotel roommate
@serrasowers
about a sulfuric smell from our water.
Jackson is facing a water crisis: read about it here.
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I'm at the first Replacement & Agenda Committee Meeting for UF Senate of the semester. Follow for live tweets.
@TheAlligator
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In Gainesville, winds are heavy but things are OK.
#HurricaneIdalia
is no joke.
My Fresh Take Florida article from Cedar Key last night, published
@ACTNews
,
@SunSentinel
,
@Fla_Pol
,
@10TampaBay
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LOVE ISN'T REAL I'M GONNA BE A CAT LADY
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This was an incredible experience. I was tasked with describing it.
#Florida
is a beautiful state. Seeing it in such a state of ruin after
#HurricaneIdalia
is heartwrenching. I hope my words explain what it looked like from 1,000 ft.
Our
@FreshTakeFla
program
@UFJSchool
sent student journalists in helicopter to survey damage from Hurricane Idalia over Florida’s hardest-hit region, where President Biden will visit Saturday. Here's their account:
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
Shelly Gaynor speaking now, she was featured in national news recently for speaking on low GA wages. She says the undergraduate experience at UF will suffer if UF doesn't pay their GA's who actively teach the classes.
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@Colleen_Wright
@StPeteFL
Clear violation of Sunshine Laws. If you are able, I believe there's a statute-mandated fee for every violation. A reminder of such might be in order. Good luck on future meetings.
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I knew I needed to start getting into football for some reason.
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@uf_gau
@TheAlligator
Rachel Hartnett thanks UF lawyer, Ryan Fuller, for the expediency in which UF wants to implement a 3% raise and a $1k bonus for those who make the minimum stipend, but GAU President says this proposal is not one they can accept.
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Hi friends, more SG news. The Rules and Ethics Committee met today at 1 p.m.
The committee set a hearing date for the censure investigation into Senate President Hartzog June 1 at 1 p.m. for the censure investigation hearing, so a week from today.
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Today's
#UFSG
Senate meeting getting started soon. This week we are at SW Rec Sports in Meeting Room 3! Follow for updates
@TheAlligator
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Officially requesting every home game Saturday off from work because whenever I don't go to a Gators game we lose.
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@SunSentinel
A lost child with the number to call hidden behind a paywall. I get it, but it isn't very cash money of you.
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STORY UPDATE: The bill discussed in this article was effectively blocked by the Judiciary Committee Sunday afternoon. Update
@TheAlligator
to come.
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When my friends ask me how much I've written after I talk for an hour about my fantasy novel idea
@serrasowers
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Interesting for those who received that UF Kent Fuchs email this morning.
Tonight at 6! 🕔
Join our student fellows at the Pugh Hall Ocora to discuss the history of campus organizing and the future of student activism.
We'll have esteemed professors from
@UfHistory
,
@SPOHP
, &
@GrahamCenter
to break down this topic. More info:
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Flats or heels? This California woman’s innovation is both.
I sat down with Haley Pavone to learn how she went from an impaled foot at a dance to CEO of a multimillion dollar company that turns high heels to flats and back again.
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My roommates moved out and I feel so free! Feels like I'm in a completely new space too. Got to move furniture, decorate, clean and not feel stressed. Hopefully the next set will be better. Sitting in the living room and eating dinner for the first time in eight months.
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According to GAU organizers, graduate assistants will sit outside the University President and Provost's offices from 9-5 p.m. today to protest low wages.
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This info comes after some clubs struggle with funding and some intense SG Senate battles for reappropriations of funds for library support.
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Quick, someone hurt my feelings so I can become a real estate mogul
Many women seeking independence after a breakup or divorce have discovered emotional empowerment and even healing in real estate investment.
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Me sending out emails for interviews: ah yes, I am so good at my job. I am the best reporter. Everyone loves me.
Me when one of those emails get ignored for five days: "Hello, just following up to make sure you saw my previous email. Let me know if you have any questions."
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