Home again!

How is it possible to have been gone for 5 weeks and feel like you never left? On some levels, this is exactly how it is for me.

I came to work on Monday, having returned to Guyana on Saturday to find that the Editor had left that same Saturday for a conference in Geneva, Switzerland after which he will proceed on leave. So for the next 3 weeks, I am running the Stabroek News. My goal to spend less time in the office has just gone out the window, albeit temporarily. The good news is that we are going to be hiring another editor - most likely upgrading a reporter who has already been identified - from January, which means my goal will be realised at some point, though later than I would have planned.

We also have serious power problems countrywide which are affecting not just the newspaper, but everyone's lives. It is frustrating! For this reason, I have also decided to push back the design and other changes I had planned to make to The Scene, since the thrust right now is to get the paper out as quickly as possible to avoid being caught in a late-night blackout.

People keep saying to me that I look re-energised. I feel anything but.  However, on a more positive note, the Editor-in-Chief has been very enthusiastic and receptive to my ideas and we have a meeting planned for early December by when the Editor will be back.

I hope that everyone got back home safely!