Today, there is no tomorrow

by Aditha Dissanayake

Dawn has spilt all her nail polish on to her dark blue denim, I mutter to myself staring at the sky above Maradana as the van with the word Press marked on it speeds towards the Lake House. Warren Rozairo, from 'Production' is seated in the front seat next to the driver.

The time is four thirty in the morning. Saturday. My colleague is away on holiday and I will be "passing" the feature pages of the Sunday Observer today.

The steady stream of traffic on D.R Wijewardene Mawatha is replaced by a cloak of silence.

The sentry at the checkpoint stops us and checks our IDs. "Who's at the back?" he asks Warren, flashing a torch onto my face. "The features editor of the Sunday Observer" explains Warren.

The torch light stays fixed on my face for a few more seconds.

Then he shakes his head to say OK and waves us on. At this time, on a Saturday morning when sensible men and women are still fast asleep, I enter the Printing Department of the Lake House and wait with bated breath to read the first copy of the Features section as it rolls off the press.

Through the deafening noise of the machines, which reminds me of the roar of the sea, magnified, I scribble my signature on the Spectrum cover indicating all is well, the printing can continue and make my way once more back to the transport department to request for a vehicle to take me home. This is the end of the week for us at "Features".

Sunday

Today, there is no tomorrow.

Monday

Monday is almost a simile for procrastination at the Sunday Observer.

Thursday's deadlines seem so far away no other time seems better than Monday to catch up on the latest gossip or to compare ourselves with the other Sunday papers and decide who had had the best scoop.

Though some sections of the paper, Business, Books and Arts, which go to press on Thursday and Friday are supposed to be working today the throb of activity which hums through the office during Tuesday to Friday is missing on Monday.

There is work to do, but there is also a "Monday-morning" feeling around the place. Especially when a call or two come praising or criticising an article in yesterday's paper. It is always good to know we have created a wave or two through our stories, after all no paper is doing its proper job unless it is upsetting somebody.

Tuesday

Today is the symbolic start of the week at the Sunday Observer.

Although there are still three days to go before the Feature pages are printed, and so it ought to be a relaxed day, Tuesday mornings are one of the most stressful days of the week. The editorial meeting is at eleven thirty in the morning and everyone frantically writes down the assignments they are planning to cover during the week.

No one wants the humiliation, so enjoyed by the other colleagues of a public dressing down at the meeting.

Many of the decisions made on Tuesday will be reflected in the feature pages that appear on Sunday. Some assignments will be encouraged while others will be squashed before they are begun because they have already been covered by the daily papers.

Wednesday

With Thursday only twenty-four hours away the stress levels begin to rise. Questions like "Do I have to give the copy today?" "Can I give it first thing tomorrow morning?" is heard over and over. The "dummy' is sent with the sizes of the advertisements marked on the pages.

"Have you got the goods for the pages?" (Badu thiyeda?)ask the Graphic Designers often to get replies like "The top half is there, but not the bottom" or vice versa.

Thursday

With deadlines now staring straight in the face the stress levels reach a crescendo. One by one the text and the pictures get on to the pages, and everyone starts working with one aim giving the best layout using the best pictures available.

From "Can you think of a better headline?" to "Is castoff one word or two words?" to "Do you mean to tell me the library has no pictures of X?" to the final parting dialogue "You are coming to work tomorrow aren't you?" "I will if I don't die tonight". "Do anything you like AFTER you have finished my pages".

Friday

The adrenalin reaches its climax. All the feature pages will be put to bed tonight. Today the deadlines are real and the eternal question on everyone's lips is where is the editor? When is he coming? Is he here? Once he gives his approval the pages are sent to 'production'.

In a nutshell this is the story of the Feature pages of the Sunday Observer. Although they will soon be used to wrap lunch packets or be used as serviettes in roadside restaurants, the Spectrum, Impact and Sunday Observer Plus pages you are holding right now in your hands will till then, hopefully amuse, inform, educate and entertain you.

Wish you an enjoyable read. Catch you again, next Sunday.

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