Today was my last day at CBS. It was an awesome day (we got to sit in on an interview with Russ Mitchell and Jimmy Fallon) a busy day, and a very sad day. I've grown to love and appreciate every single person at the Weekend News. They are truly a remarkable and extremely talented staff and it really was a privileged to work with them.speaking of remarkable- this is Sally. Sally is only 25 and she's already an associate producer at weekend. She worked her way up to her position after she started out as a page. Sally is one of the sweetest people around. She is so down to earth and was so patient and willing to help me out with anything. I'm really sad that this picture didn't turn out better but this is me, Nick (the weekend page) and Andy. Nick was our life line/ biggest help throughout this entire process. He was very patient with us (despite the millions of questions that I pestered him with on a daily basis) and I will miss him a lot.
As I walked out of the building after the show I couldn't believe that it's over. It honestly feels like I've been here for a week- yet I don't know if I could last any longer without Jace. I'm extremely sad that it's over but I'm ready to pack everything up and go home to my husband.
I only have one week left here... 5 more days of work... 7 more days of city adventures... and 7 more days until I never have to leave Jace. This has been one of the most rewarding/overwhelming/amazing experiences of my life. It's been hard... it's been fun... it's been stressful... but it's been completely wonderful... and completely worth it. It's really put the whole news world into perspective for me... it's made me realize how much I love it... how much I long to be apart of it... and also how easily I could get caught up in it all. It's made me excited as I begin to close the "college chapter" in my life and turn the page to a whole new world of opportunities. And though I'm sad that I probably won't be reporting in NYC again... I know that wherever I go... I'll be doing what I love... and I'll be with my best friend... and that sounds pretty great to me.
This is my Anchor Read that I did last week. Basically the news director took some of the pieces from the night before and organized them so I could read them and use it for my resume reel. They did my hair... and my makeup (airbrushed makeup is insanely cool)... and even put my name in a font. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done... I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest during the first story... but by end my adrenaline was going and I was on cloud nine!
I read the intro to the stories and then they included 10-12 sections of each story. There is also a big break before my last story so watch it through to the end... if you're not too tired of it. This is me at a shoot from last week at ground zero.
Aside from all of the amazing experiences at work... one of my favorite things to do here is find cool places to eat (so if I come back huge...you'll know why). The other day Anna, Elora and I headed over to the Peanut Butter Co to try their famous pb&j sandwiches. I ordered a maple peanut butter and jelly sandwich... it was to do for! Anna and Elora with all of assortments of peanut butterLast week I was really craving Ritas Italian Ice. I grew up on it... and it made me sad that I was so close to home but couldn't have any. So I decided to look up the closest one and it turns out it was only two subways stops away from Columbia! Needless to say I was there the next day. I took Anna- it was her first Ritas experience- but she is fully converted!Yesterday my great friend Kelly French came into town to see me! I decided to show her parts of soho and chelsea because they are my favorite parts of the city. It's so clean and charming in those parts. We literally walked nonstop from 11 AM to 9 PM. our feet were throbbing but it was so much fun catching up. It really meant a lot to me that she came the whole way up here just to see me! We ate lunch at this Mac and Cheese place called Smac. We split the sampler plate and got to try 8 different kinds of mac and cheeses. Demarie- I thought of you the whole time here... you would love this place! Then we went on the highline. A bunch of people at work have told me that this is a must before a leave the city and it definitely did not disappoint. It's basically a park above the city. It's beautiful and I've been so homesick for trees/grass so I really enjoyed this. Strolling through central park- we tried to ride the carousel but it was closed... fail.
I took Kelly to Mariella Pizza. It's my favorite pizza place here... Oprah rated it her favorite place in the city... and it's cheap (seriously though... I eat here at least once a week). We made a final stop at Crumbs Cupcake shop. I've always been a fan of Magnolias... but I'm completely converted... Crumbs is by far the best in NYC (and I'm clearly a cupspert since I've been to a whopping two places).
I can't believe I've been here for five weeks! I feel like I've only worked a week, but yet it feels like I've been away from Jace for over a year... needless to say I'm dealing with a whirlwind of emotions in regards to leaving. I'm sad for the broadcasting aspect to be over. I've learned so so much... seriously though... I'm going to kick my advanced reporting class in the butt! Nevertheless I've got someone pretty great waiting for me in Utah... and I don't think I could make it any longer with out him... seriously though...I'm going crazy.
I've been trying to cram as much as possible into this past week so if this post seems list-like... it's probably because it is.
I've never been to a movie by myself... but I decided to go to a Broadway Show completely alone... is that weird? No one else could go and I really wanted to see Catch me if you Can. So I went to the box office... snagged a student rush ticket... and was very pleased with the show. It's exactly like the movie.... jokes and all... so if you weren't too thrilled with the Hanks/DeCaprio version this might not be for you. I was too shy to ask someone to take my picture in front of the theatre so this is all you're gettin.
One of my best friends from high school, Jamie Weist came into town earlier last week and it was wonderful catching up with her. We ate pirogies from Veselka... walked across the Brooklyn Bridge... and stayed up super late talking... it brought me back to our many late-night sleep overs in the weist basement.
Last week was Fleet Week here in NYC so a bunch of us headed over to the U.S. Intrepid to watch Top Gun on the Deck... it was way fun...way free...and I forgot how creepy Tom Cruise is. Elora and I before boarding the Intrepid My dad came up to spend memorial day with me and we had a wonderful day. We hit up the MOMA...a precious fish and chips place called A Salt and Battery (it's been featured on the food network a bunch)... people watching in central park... pizza at Mariella's... and Momma Mia! I am so glad I got to spend time with my dad... he really made me feel at home in this huge city. See Tiff- I told you I would get around to seeing it! (Tiff's one request was that I go see Starry Night while in New York)
Water Lilies is actually a whole lot bigger than my postcard version
...And today we toured the United Nations for our class...Did you know that even though it's in NYC...the U.N is International territory...AKA no man's land?
Jace and I have officially been married for over a year! Last week I headed to Louisiana where he is selling to spend the weekend with him. It was perfect. He was perfect. We were perfect.... minus one major case of food poisoning... I guess it's not a wedding celebration unless one of us is sick.
For our anniversary dinner we celebrated cajun style... with a whole platter of crawfish. They were awesome (until Jace got sick). Turns out southern folk aren't much for movies...I begged Jace to take me to Water for Elephants...and we were actually the only ones in the theatre... take that Provo!
We spent about 4 days together but it honestly felt like 2 hours. I couldn't believe it when it was time to go back to NYC. Back to skype dates and phone calls... Don't get me wrong I'm totally loving this experience... I'm learning a ton and taking in the whole city...I just love my husband a whole lot more.
Time is flying by here! Work has been incredible... seriously though... the best news stories seem to be breaking during my stay here and it's awesome to be apart of it all! Last week the entire BYU group went to see Wonderland. The play is a spin off of Alice and Wonderland, which I've never seen before because my mom always told me it wasn't worth my time. If the movie is anything like the musical then my mom was spot on.... it was the most random/ obscure/ pointless show I've ever seen. It opened last month and closed two days ago because it got such bad reviews. The only picture I managed to take that night was this one of a huge camera screen in time square outside the theater. Can you find me and Anna? (hint: look for my pink coat)
This past weekend I hopped on a bus and headed down to PA to see my family and some of my best friends from high school. Even though it only lasted a little over a day, it was the perfect getaway. I loved spending time with my mom. We went out to eat, saw a movie, and just lounged around which is exactly what I needed. Later that night I headed over to see Jamie, Christine, and Kelly. I hadn't seen them in over a year but it honestly felt like I never left. We talked well into the night and I actually didn't get home until 4:45 AM...Christine Jamie Kelly and Me *taken at 4 AM so you'll have to excuse our faces
I was so sad to leave home. I tried to act tough in front of my mom but all I wanted to do was stay home with her and watch hours of desperate housewives and greys anatomy (my mom is a big McDreamy fan). When I got off the bus and stepped into the subway everything was so fast-paced and busy again... Don't get me wrong- New York is amazing- but it's just so fast and different from everything I'm used to
Today is Anna's birthday so we decided to celebrate with Magnolias! So all of us broadcasters headed downtown for some desert.
These signs advertising the end of the world are all over the place here. Supposedly the judgment day is this Saturday which would really get in the way of my anniversary plans....
Many changes are happening around CBS... and although I'm sad to see Katie Couric leave... I'm thrilled that I get to be here to see everything happen first hand. Katie will be leaving soon and Scott Pelley (isn't he dashing!?) will be replacing her as the anchor for the evening news. I decided to take this picture on my lunch break before they take it down... oh Katie... how will I ever recognize this building without your ginormous face all over it!? I swear this picture doesn't do her (or me) justice... she's actually stunning in person.
After work/exploring I usually come home and get my skype on with this guy. In case you're wondering Jace is currently in Louisiana selling pest control... and he's killin it! 2 weeks down... only 5 more to go (34 days to be exact... but who's counting...)
Another week down here in New York. Tiff just left (literally like five minutes ago) and I've decided to blog everything we did in order to keep me from missing her. I'm so so glad she came... because I seriously checked off almost all of the things I wanted to do here with her. Yesterday we explored from 9 AM till about 11:30 PM. And even though my feet felt like they were going to fall off... it was seriously an awesome day! First we went to the 9/11 memorial museum which was especially patriotic given all of the recent news events. I really liked this because I've spent so much time doing research on stories about 9/11 at CBS. It was really cool to actually go to the sight, see the museum, and see the nearly finished memorial building (which should be completely done by this upcoming 9/11).
Next we hopped on the Staten Island Ferry (for free) and got to see an awesome view of the City and the Statue of Liberty. China town was next. This was a fun experience because I felt like I was walking on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Every shop literally sells the same things... so once you've walked one block... you've pretty much seen it all! Later that night we went and saw Chicago. We were both super excited to see this show because we love the music... we scored awesome seats... and it was a great break from all of the previous walking. But we actually left the play really disappointed. Christie Brinkley starred as Roxy Hart and not only was she a bad singer... but she couldn't act... and they had to simplify all of the dances so she could keep up. I didn't know it was possible for Broadway talent to be lousy ... but she was downright terrible. As soon as she started singing Tiff looked at me and said, "Oh no..." It was the first Broadway show I've been to where the audience didn't give a standing ovation.
We decided to make up for our crumby Chicago experience by doing something fun this morning... so we rented bikes for an hour and explored Central Park! This has by far been one of the coolest things I've done here. Central Park is absolutely breathtaking... and HUGE! I will definitely be taking advantage of this more often. Even though I'm glad to have my tiny bed all to myself again... I miss having Tiff here. She's an excellent traveler because she plans and then she executes. She gets everything done that she wants to see... no matter how far she has to walk. I seriously don't think I would have seen half as much in 7 weeks as I did this past week with her here. Thanks for an awesome time Tiff!
Today was my last day at CBS. It was an awesome day (we got to sit in on an interview with Russ Mitchell and Jimmy Fallon) a busy day, and a very sad day. I've grown to love and appreciate every single person at the Weekend News. They are truly a remarkable and extremely talented staff and it really was a privileged to work with them.
speaking of remarkable- this is Sally. Sally is only 25 and she's already an associate producer at weekend. She worked her way up to her position after she started out as a page. Sally is one of the sweetest people around. She is so down to earth and was so patient and willing to help me out with anything.
I'm really sad that this picture didn't turn out better but this is me, Nick (the weekend page) and Andy. Nick was our life line/ biggest help throughout this entire process. He was very patient with us (despite the millions of questions that I pestered him with on a daily basis) and I will miss him a lot.
