These Feelings Are Natural

Day01 at Ft. Belvoir summation: Oh crap crap crap! The woman I am replacing is far more experienced/talented/competant than me. Oh my god what am I doing here? I am going to screw up and everyone is going to hate me oh god. Maybe I should drive my car into a tree and use some disability time to get off the hook. No no no, if I start driving funny the Army guys will think I am a spy and shoot me a thousand times!

Day02 at Ft. Belvoir summation: Ok, I think I can handle this.

The big change between the two? Well, today I got a much more concrete feeling for what needs to be done in the coming weeks. Most of it just nerves; changes in my routine always throw me off like that. It's also kind of nerve wracking for someone like me to work at an army base. I get freaked out when a cop goes by me on a bicycle, so you can imagine what working at a place with Area-51 signs around does to me.
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I don't think I'll be as good a job as the woman I am (temporarily) replacing. But I will learn a hell of a lot about how to be a better writer. She's got years of newspaper and Army experience. She knows how to write for these people, and can make writing a task in a way that I am still learning how to do. She, and others I have worked with at SAIC, are able to build an article like they're building a table.

The closest analog I can think of is writing college essays. You take a stack of information, and you make something cohesive out of it. Now, it's true that I could (and probably still can) churn out college essays like a machine, but this is like a whole other level.

The other skill that I have not fully developed is a journalist's scheduling. These pro-writers track story ideas in terms of what will be available when and from whom, and various aspects of the approval process, in addition to deadlines. I am truly amazed at the information handoff going between the two of us. This is the kind of skill-reinforcing activity that really need.
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So, to my family and my employers: I am OK, and I think I am going to do well.