Wheels keep on turning

Things haven't slowed down here at the Inquirer. The feature stories I was working on are done, yet awaiting publication and I've continued to be assigned briefs and quick hits on the regular. Tuesday night, my editor Gary Miles assigned me a short story on Heather Mitts, a professional soccer player who was just signed by the Philadelphia Independence, a new women's professional soccer team here in Philadelphia. The story ran the next day.
Gary also assigned me a story on a cross country athlete who ran in two meets on two consecutive days. Unlike the other feature stories I had some trouble with, both the runner and his coach answered the phone on their first try. I got all of the interviews I needed and the story should be written and good to go by the end of the day today.
In addition to the many assignments and never ending projects, there has been some excitement. Last Thursday was probably the most exciting night I've spent in my short tenure as a journalist. The Phillies were in the midst of Game two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies. Cole Hamels was the starting pitcher, but left the game in the fifth inning in order to join his wife, Heidi, who was in labor at Leickenau Hospital. Seeing as I was the only reporter in the news room at the time, one of the editors asked me to drive to the hospital and get an update on Heidi Hamels.
Needless to say, it was an adventure. First, I went the wrong way, which added about 20 minutes to the trip. Once I got to the hospital, I spent about 10 minutes looking for the maternity ward. Once I found it, I took the elevator and found myself in a small room with about three people sitting in it, including a nurse at a desk. Seeing as I wasn't a family member, she told me to leave. I then proceeded to the front desk to ask if they were going to make some kind of announcement. They weren't. I was out of luck. I called the newsroom and the editor thanked me for my efforts and said I could go home.
Never before had I been sent on a mission like that, and it was definitely a rush. I was happy that the editors had confidence in me to give me such a task. I just hope next time is more successful.