Giving Thanks...

The day is almost over, but I want to make sure I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. I can't believe a year ago I was rooting on the Hoosiers in Chicago (no, I won't get into the scores of the games). Boy does time go by fast. Fast forward 12 months and I am all the way across the country, working and making turkey sandwiches/salads with my co-workers. It was a lot of fun and nice not being alone - gathering together and laughing over movies, songs, and whatever else came out of our mouths. Simple, but enjoyable.
It was definitely a strange work day. Driving to work it was a ghost town. No one was on the road and all businesses were closed. I even had a hard time finding a station open after work to get gas. I can't remember what it's like back home because my mom always cooks, but in the area I live in here in WA, all of the restaurants make a pact to close.
Luckily, the reporters were still able to pull out some stories out for us. I even had the chance to report the top story for the 5pm. Talk about a crazy show... starting out on camera fronting the top story and then racing back to the control room to produce the show. It was a crazy thing that happened, one of my reporters covered two important stories that I wanted a reporter on camera for, but I couldn't have him do both so HE suggested I do the first one instead of him. I've anchored webcasts, but this was the first time I was introducing (or fronting a story) standing up at what we call the hot dog. Unfortunately, things didn't go 100% smoothly. My IFB (ear piece) didn't work so I couldn't hear my time cues and I haven't had a chance to watch the aircheck, but I was told the Top Story animation wiped across my face - not resume material. Needless to say, it was fun and I appreciate having the opportunity to step on camera for a bit. I have a lot of practicing to do before I am truly comfortable.

I hope everyone enjoyed their day and took some time to reflect.

Weekly Movie Review: "Four Christmases" was cute and full of laughs. I must add that it was a bit strange at points too. Almost as though the writers or actors were trying too hard. I normally like Vince Vaugh, but he seemed almost too over the the top and annoying. I'm not sure disappointing is the right word for it because I didn't have huge expectations, but it could have been better.

That's it for me now. Be careful if you are planning to shop tomorrow - I'm holding myself back because A. I have to work and B. sales tax is WAY to high here!
I will update you again over the weekend.

Twilight Time...

I saw the movie Thursday night and I am hooked. (It probably helped to that while other viewers were jammed in sold out theatres, we had our own theatre to ourselves to viewer the movie - I'm going to miss these perks, and the company of my friends) The only thing I knew about the story line before I saw it was that it's about Vampires. There were slow parts of the movie and I could definitely tell it was based on a book, but ever since then it's all I can think about. The movie reviewer and I both want to learn more - we're intrigued by the vampires. I know they are geared towards a younger audience, but I want to start reading the books. Right now I'm working on "Marley and Me" which will hit the big screen in December. I'm not too far into it, but so far I like it. This week's movie is "Four Christmases". It's out on Wed. so we'll get to see it tomorrow and NOT at midnight. Those late night showings totally mess up my sleep patterns.

One thing I realized over the weekend is how much the surrounding culture effects your social life. It sounds obvious, but it didn't occur to me until this weekend. Everyone was excited about the big Apple Cup football game. The Apple Cup or "Crapple" Cup which many sports fans call it is between the University of (Washington Huskies) and Washington State University (Cougars). The game was Saturday and it was the topic of conversation both Saturday and Sunday. Bars were full and offering game specials. I didn't know anything about the event and didn't have any desire to watch it because I have no ties to any of the teams. On the other hand, I don't know if I want to be associated to the Oaken Bucket game (IU vs Purdue). Boy was it ugly. The Hoosiers lost 10-62. And, to make the weekend even better (sarcasm noted) Xavier's basketball team beat Memphis in the finals of a Puerto Rico tournament. I, of course, had a phone call from my dad. They are definitely a good team and it will be interesting to watch them excel. At the same time I am curious to see how the new coaching staff at IU will evolve. Regardless, I will be back in the Midwest soon enough to watch them on TV.

One Month and Counting...

I can't believe I'll be home in a month. I know the time will fly by quickly. The moving company brought over a ton of boxes yesterday. I will have plenty to keep me busy. It's funny, at first I was excited to get started and pack things up, but now that I have the boxes I don't have any motivation to fill them. I just keep staring at them. I guess I'll have to see how the weekend turns out. Tonight is another midnight movie. We're going to see Twilight. It was between that and Bolt. I wasn't too excited to see Bolt so the movie reviewer agreed to see Twilight. I found out this week that a part of the movie takes place in a Washington city. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name off the top of my head.

What else is going on... It's beginning to get chilly here. It was cool and a bit rainy here today, but not cold enough for snow. And, gas FINALLY fell below $2! It's about time. It does have me wondering when it will bottom out since it's obviously lower in other areas of the country. The air is still dry and killing my hair. It feels like straw. I'm hoping new shampoo and conditioner will help bring my hair back to life.

Changing thoughts again (sorry, I'm drained and can't think to come of up with good transitions) I have a new guilty pleasure TV show, Knight Rider. I know, I know, it's pretty cheesy, but there is something about it that I like. Not to mention, the car is amazing. If only a car like that really existed. Well, Grey's Anatomy is on now, so I'm going to focus the little concentration on that and whatever comes on after. It's going to be long night... I'll fill you in on Twilight tomorrow :)

So close to the weekend!!!!!!!

Finally...photos!

Here are some pictures I had saved on my camera for some time. I didn't have the disk for the camera program until this weekend so I wasn't able to load anything to the blog until now...

A beautiful sunset from a month or so ago. I don't like how dark it gets so early now. It feels like bedtime at 4:30pm.

Then, there is my friend's puppy, Audrey, who loves the taste of pumpkin. She could not get enough of the juices. She ended up biting off a piece of the eye on my friend's pumpkin. Other than that, she behaves wonderfully.

My witch... I have some more that I will add later. I don't want this post to get too long, plus I'm sleepy. It's been a long day and I am still catching up from Thursday night. I saw the the midnight showing of the new James Bond movie. I don't know if I was tired or the fact that I'm not a Bond fanatic, but I was not impressed with the movie at all. The consensus from those 8 of us who went is: bad directing and a disappointing storyline. Interestingly enough, there does seem to be reviewers and people who did like it, so this might be one for you to judge yourself. The sad thing is that it will cost you $7-10 depending on the time and theatre. Alright, time for bed. I've got a lot to do tomorrow. Only five more weeks....

Blowin' in the Wind

Boy is it windy here! I thought it was spring time the air was so warm, but the wind... it was as though you could feel a tornado brewing. We didn't have one and luckily we didn't have rain either. It has been raining like crazy in Western Wash. We had some bad days during the first part of the week but no flooding. Other areas are on high alert.

Things are starting to come together for December. I will be home the 21st. It's hard to believe that once that day comes, I will have been away for 6 months. It seems longer than that in the sense that I feel like I haven't seen my brothers in FOREVER! It's probably because it's harder to find good times to talk and catch up on the phone. Right now I need to focus on packing and getting my resume tape out!! There are just not enough hours in the day. The past two nights I've been asleep by 9/9:30. Even now as I type this, it feels much later than 10 after 9. Regardless, it's been nice to wake up refreshed. I'm hoping the weekend will be successful. I know a couple of the reporters have things in the morning Saturday so I'm going to try and get to the station early enough to do my editing. If only it was as easy as typing up a letter and using Spellcheck ;) I did get in contact with a news director in Dayton and luckily the station isn't hiring until Sweeps is over in December. That saves me a little time. Plus, I've talked to a handful of friends and sorority sisters who are helping me make contacts.

That's it for now, I can barely keep my eyes open. Enjoy the rest of your week and thanks again for all of the positive thoughts and advice! I can't wait to see some of you soon, or at least be on the same time zone ;)

Weekend wrap-up

It's been a pretty low-key weekend here. I've been searching for job posting and working on my resume tape. I'm hoping I can get a hold of a couple master tapes of newscasts I don't have saved to add those to the most recent newscasts. Once I take care of that, I'll just need to polish up the tape. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to work on the tape today since the weekend crew was using the editing booths. I'm still waiting to get an estimate back from a moving company that came by on Thurs. and another one is coming tomorrow morning.

Thursday night I saw "Role Models". While it's an obnoxious comedy starring Seann William Scott and McLovin from "Superbad", it was exactly what each one of us needed... to laugh out loud at the most ridiculous things. If you're having a bad day or just need to laugh then I say go for it and see the movie. Your mood will definitely perk up. I wouldn't recommend paying full price though. Yesterday, I saw Madagascar 2 with some of the girls. I've never seen the first one, so I didn't really know what I was in for. It was cute. The little kids around us loved every minute of it. I did forget how much movies cost, even during matinee. In an effort to stay out of the house I stopped by TJ Maxx and found some cute, inexpensive Holiday cards to send out in a couple of weeks. I suggest doing the same if you want to keep your cost down.

I've spent most of today doing laundry and cleaning things up. I also started packing. It's going to be weird when my accessories and decorations start disappearing. The place is going to be completely white and empty. I don't have a lot here to begin with so when the extras are packed up it's going to be sad looking. I will say, I am looking forward to spending some time with my family. It's like I've been given a "get out of Washington" card. OK that's a little harsh, but I watched the Sex and the City movie last night and I got so happy and excited thinking that might be able to meet a friend for coffee. Or have someone special to spend New Year's Eve with. I have nothing against living in Washington or the people I work with, but I do miss my family and friends more than I let myself believe. It's going to be a frustrating and stressful process leading up to Dec. 19 and I am trying to remember that things happen for a reason. Only time will tell what's in store for me...

What a day

... it definitely was a long one. I won't even mention how many hours I spent at the station because I feel lucky to be a part of an election year. Election day only comes around once every four years so the extra time is worth it.

I have to say, no one knows what the future holds, but I have NEVER seen so many people excited about one event. The video from New York reminds me of New Year's Eve. Chicago too is overflowing with people. It's really unbelievable how many people this election has brought out from both parties.

On a humerus note, it might be because I work in TV, but did anyone else notice all of the mistakes tonight? I can't remember exactly what stations they occurred on (definitely ABC) but so many times the anchors tossed to a reporter who wasn't ready or didn't have their mic turned on. One station even tossed to a reporter standing in front of the green screen without an image for almost 15 seconds before the image was added. All of us in the newsroom got a kick out of it. It's nice to see that even major networks mess up.

Thank you to everyone who has called or e-mail me since Friday. I really appreciate it. I promise I will get back to you if I haven't. I've been a little preoccupied with preparations for today and trying to get things figured out for the next month. I know the time will pass by extremely fast and I have a lot of things to think about and do before then.

Please continue to keep in touch and I will do the same!