From the Mission back to the Castro (Blog10)

Today, before going to the Castro, I had gone to the Mission because I had an appointment with Mission Local’s editor, Lydia Chavez. Obviously I wasn’t supposed to be in that neighborhood since the Mission is technically Lisa’s territory (sorry Lisa). However, I wasn’t there to get story ideas so I figured it would be okay to be there just this once. My mother used to live around the Mission area and she wasn’t too thrilled about me being there. She told me it can be very dangerous, especially at night. Luckily my appointment was in the morning so I didn’t think there would be much to worry about.

When I got to the Mission it felt as though I was back in my old neighborhood, Richmond (Contra Costa County). Like Richmond some of the buildings were nearly covered with graffiti and there were Mexican shops in every other corner. I felt that the Mission and the Castro were like night and day, complete polar opposites. Not to bash the Mission, but the Castro is definitely cleaner and a little more intimidating to walk on. However, I loved the Hispanic culture of the neighborhood; it made me feel right at home. When I got to Mission Local’s front door I saw Lydia walk by with her dog on a leash. Before I was able to shake the editor’s hand her dog jumped on me trying to lick my face. The dog was so adorable with its curly light brown fur covering its eyes and friendly personality I didn’t mind it being all over me.

I was a little nervous at first because it was an interview for a summer internship at the paper. When we went inside my mind felt at ease, the paper didn’t seem at all intimidating. The news room was small with only four or five computers and several cameras on a table, which wasn’t quite what I imagined. Mission Local’s news room was casual but still had that professional newspaper aura. After my interview was over the editor said she would love to have me this summer. Lydia also told me I would be getting paid for the work I would be doing for Mission Local. Although the pay wouldn’t be that great I wasn’t too concerned about the money aspect of the internship, in fact I would have done the work free just to have my work published at a professional publication before I graduate from SF State (need to build up my resume).

When I left the Mission I went to the Park police station to see if my sources were available for an interview. Unfortunately the arresting officers were out patrolling their beat, but the lady at the front desk said my sources would probably be back after four. I left the station and went to kill some time at the Castro. I’ve spoken dozens of shop owners, residents, and even dog walkers to see if I can find more story ideas for my final paper. Their suggestions seemed to have led me to the Jane Warner Plaza, Duboce Triangle, and nudists. I may consider writing about nudists in the Castro or the Duboce Triangle, since both topics had come up on several occasions during my visits in my beat. When I went back to the police station, to my avail the arresting officers still weren’t available for an interview. As irritating and frustrating as it was all I could do was dig deeper and hope for the best.