Thursday, September 25, 2014

This fire, which occurred April 28, was the first I ever covered.

I got a call from a student on campus that there was a fire behind iCafe.

I didn't even think, I just grabbed my notepad and ran out of the University Center basement.

When I got outside, I could smell the smoke in the air. I started running toward iCafe toward the smoke I could see over the Engineering Research Building.

When I arrived, Arlington Fire Department were already on the scene.

I walked around the outside of the apartment to see how much damage the fire caused.

There were about 10 fire trucks lined up along Main Street and Arlington Police Department vehicles prohibiting anyone from entering the area.

This also was the one of the first times I had to compete with professional news organizations for a story. I tried to find the public information officer or battalion chief before one of the other reporters got to him him/her first.


After speaking with Lt. Lee Tovar he gave me all of the information he could and I was able to write a story for online.







Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Here is a quick breaking news story for UTA.

A vehicle caught fire in the iCafe parking lot near UTA.

https://twitter.com/rafael_sears

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Day one of the Jewel of Yavin campaign

Our group began our Star Wars table-top adventure when our extraordinary dungeon master, Jason Amaloo, brought us together to make our ragtag group of misfit heroes.

For many( Or all of us), this was our first time playing a dungeons and dragons-esque role playing game, so our DM (Jason) eased us into the transition from everyday people to travelers of the galaxy.

Day one


Cloud city is home to several million individuals, not including droids. The city floats about 37,000 miles above the planet Bespin, a gas giant.

The city consists 392 levels, which includes luxury hotels and casinos as well as factories and refineries.

A team of six individuals are in Port Town, an area between levels 121 and 160 notorious for being the home of smugglers, criminals and outlaws.

Jack, the leader of this team, received message about a job on Cloud City. In order to complete this particular job, he needed help. He would need a klepto, a hacker, a pilot and a Jedi. His skill set could only get him so far. They must make initial contact with whoever sent the message to get more information about this job.

As they walked through a crowded marketplace, Julius, the Jedi, spots the contact. As they follow the person, they notice they are not the only ones following her.

Six darkly-clad figures are also in pursuit. The only logical choice is to stop them before they get to her.

Jack decides to try and stop two of the figures. Jack's only weapon in his arsenal is his words.

He stops them to ask for directions.

As he distracts these two, Cyrus, the Gungan klepto, takes advantage of the situation. He manages to lift a blaster from one of them.

 Jephora, the droid pilot, decides the best way to grab the attention of the four other figures is to point out the theft of the blaster.

"Thief!" Jephora yells.

Instead of getting the attention of the others, the droid inadvertently informs a nearby guard of this crime.

As the guard moves toward Jack and Cyrus's location, Dumpling, the well-endowed (The player's decision) hacker of the group, searches for a nearby terminal to infiltrate Cloud City's network.

A loud explosion erupts from the street. The crowd scatters. The guard gets lost in the crowd.

Two of the figures, still in pursuit, are now on the ground writhing in pain. The two were burnt by scorching hot steam after a quick reroute from the pipes below the street by Dumpling.

Only two left.

Moving past the two severely damaged men, Jephora, Jack and Cyrus spots Julius only a few feet from the woman and the last two an arms length from him.

Without a thought, Jephora removes his jacket to try and snare one of the pursuers. He throws the jacket into the air.

He misses. A homeless man grabs the jacket and takes off.

As they all start gaining ground toward the contact, the last two figures are revealed. One, who appears to be in command, is a Lutrillian and the other is a human male. Julius's weapon is influence. He has only recently come to terms with what he is, but knows how to control some of his powers.

He turns and places his hand on the Lutrillian. He instills an overwhelming sense of passion within this being. The Lutrillian feels this inside of him but knows his mission comes first.

He does the same to the human.

Julius relays what he has done to the group. Jack knows what needs to happen next.

Jack stops both of the pursuers.

"There is no need to follow this woman anymore. She is nothing compare to the love you two share," he says.

The Lutrillian and the human stare into each other's eyes.

"Leave this city, go somewhere quiet where your love can flourish," Jack says.

The two weave their fingers together and forget their mission.



When we finish this campaign, what would you like to see next?