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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Rain Sucks
Let me just say that rain sucks! It especially sucks when it's windy and your umbrella keeps getting blown inside out. It sucks that the streets fill up with water extremely fast and taxi cabs race by creating a splashy mess. Ya know what doesn't suck about rain??? Super cute new rain boots!! :)
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Day 25: Chris Rock and Coke Refills
And we'll start this post off right out of the gate with the latest learning regarding New York City:
Random Fact about NYC and NY'ers: There are no free soda refills in New York City. We've now been to several restaurants and have been charged for EACH frickin' soda we end up getting...what the hell is up with that?? And of course, keeping with the theme that everything here costs an arm and a leg...sodas seem to be like 3 to 4 bucks at a restaurant...APIECE!! In this way, the terrorists have already won...
As we continue on here, things are going well...for one of us. That would be me. My job at Metro is going well in the fact that the stations I'm doing news for are telling my boss they're thrilled with the job I'm doing. It sounds like its going to get me more hours (which is always a good thing) and some extra shifts actually hosting/anchoring on our affiliates, so thats exciting. More importantly, I might soon get to fulfill a lifelong dream of doing news on Don Imus' new show...coming to WABC in December. My boss says there's a chance we'll start doing stuff for his show, which would be fantastic...Dad, I'll send you the tapes if this happens...
I had an interview at ABC News Radio, and it went well, but it turned out they only had a freelance position that would have been weekend overnights, so I turned them down today. Looks like I'll get all the work I need at Metro (barring any lawsuits from Ms. Couric)
In as much as my job is going well, Jen's job, unfortunately, is extraordinarily frustrating these days. She can tell you more in future posts, but that frustration was made all the more difficult this week what with Southern California burning to the ground. I actually got the "lets go back to Sacramento" call Tuesday...its gotten a little better since then, but lets just say don't bother trying to call Jen at work these days...even I'm not crazy enough to try it.
We didn't get much of a chance to explore this past week because I was working full shifts all week and Jen was in So-Cal Fire hell, but we're headed to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night for the Rangers-Maple Leafs game, and are planning to take Cooper to Central Park on Sunday.
Time to wrap it up:
Celebrities spotted: Chris Rock (who actually bumped into me while trying to avoid paparazzi near Jen's work). I was hanging out over by Regis and Kelly to see who might be coming out before my ABC interview, and out of the corner of my eye saw some photogs running in the street. I looked up and moved off the wall and was ran into by a guy who said "sorry, dude" and then bolted inside the building. Turns out it was Mr. Rock...hey, at least he said he was sorry....
Also saw Roger Bart walking down Broadway the other day (the pharmacist from Desperate Housewives). He's about to star in the new Broadway production of Young Frankenstein, which I'm TOTALLY going to go see at some point.
Friends who have visited: None, but our dance card is filling up for the fall. Jen's sister Bec and her boyfriend Gabe are coming for a weekend in November. Dave Knight and his sister Jamie are also coming in November for four days, and Jen's parents have scheduled a quick trip in early December for her birthday.
The rest of you??? Stop waiting around and get the f^$k out here!!
Thats all for now...more to come, including me getting potentially beat up by some beligerent Rangers fans at MSG...stay tuned...
Mike
Random Fact about NYC and NY'ers: There are no free soda refills in New York City. We've now been to several restaurants and have been charged for EACH frickin' soda we end up getting...what the hell is up with that?? And of course, keeping with the theme that everything here costs an arm and a leg...sodas seem to be like 3 to 4 bucks at a restaurant...APIECE!! In this way, the terrorists have already won...
As we continue on here, things are going well...for one of us. That would be me. My job at Metro is going well in the fact that the stations I'm doing news for are telling my boss they're thrilled with the job I'm doing. It sounds like its going to get me more hours (which is always a good thing) and some extra shifts actually hosting/anchoring on our affiliates, so thats exciting. More importantly, I might soon get to fulfill a lifelong dream of doing news on Don Imus' new show...coming to WABC in December. My boss says there's a chance we'll start doing stuff for his show, which would be fantastic...Dad, I'll send you the tapes if this happens...
I had an interview at ABC News Radio, and it went well, but it turned out they only had a freelance position that would have been weekend overnights, so I turned them down today. Looks like I'll get all the work I need at Metro (barring any lawsuits from Ms. Couric)
In as much as my job is going well, Jen's job, unfortunately, is extraordinarily frustrating these days. She can tell you more in future posts, but that frustration was made all the more difficult this week what with Southern California burning to the ground. I actually got the "lets go back to Sacramento" call Tuesday...its gotten a little better since then, but lets just say don't bother trying to call Jen at work these days...even I'm not crazy enough to try it.
We didn't get much of a chance to explore this past week because I was working full shifts all week and Jen was in So-Cal Fire hell, but we're headed to Madison Square Garden tomorrow night for the Rangers-Maple Leafs game, and are planning to take Cooper to Central Park on Sunday.
Time to wrap it up:
Celebrities spotted: Chris Rock (who actually bumped into me while trying to avoid paparazzi near Jen's work). I was hanging out over by Regis and Kelly to see who might be coming out before my ABC interview, and out of the corner of my eye saw some photogs running in the street. I looked up and moved off the wall and was ran into by a guy who said "sorry, dude" and then bolted inside the building. Turns out it was Mr. Rock...hey, at least he said he was sorry....
Also saw Roger Bart walking down Broadway the other day (the pharmacist from Desperate Housewives). He's about to star in the new Broadway production of Young Frankenstein, which I'm TOTALLY going to go see at some point.
Friends who have visited: None, but our dance card is filling up for the fall. Jen's sister Bec and her boyfriend Gabe are coming for a weekend in November. Dave Knight and his sister Jamie are also coming in November for four days, and Jen's parents have scheduled a quick trip in early December for her birthday.
The rest of you??? Stop waiting around and get the f^$k out here!!
Thats all for now...more to come, including me getting potentially beat up by some beligerent Rangers fans at MSG...stay tuned...
Mike
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Staten Island Saturday
We spent Saturday night in Staten Island at Chris Spitzer's birthday party. For those of you who don't know Chris he's the guy I used to work with at News10 who is originally from New York who works at ABC also. Chris and his girlfriend Shirley are the ones who let me stay with them my first week in NY.
Here are the pictures from his birthday party.
Here are the pictures from his birthday party.
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$6.66
$6.66 - that was my total at Starbucks on Friday for a Venti Vanilla Latte and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I thought great.. my day is cursed and it's only 9:45am. That wasn't the case though. My Friday was pretty good. It was the four days prior that sucked! Life is hard here, or maybe it's just that my life is hard here. Do you remember that feeling you had when you were a Freshman in High School and everyone seemed so much older, smarter and wiser then you? You tried so hard to fit in and understand how things worked and you kept messing up and feeling like an ass? Well, that's kind of how I've felt all month.
It's hard to go from being at the top of your game to being the little fish in the sea. Having said that, every day is getting better. Everyday I feel like I'm learning more and screwing up less. And I only accidentally called David Westin once this week. Yes, I called him again. I really think that if I call him a 3rd time, I might be coming back to Sacramento sooner then expected. I've been paying more attention to the numbers I'm dialing and I'm actually watching the key pad as I am pressing them!
If I do accidentally call him a third time I have to think of something better to say then, "I'm so sorry, I don't know how I managed to call you again." Please leave suggestions in my comments.
So, since the subject line of this blog is a price... I feel then need to tell you all how frickin' expensive everything is here.
NY Times weekday: $1.25 Sunday edition: $4 (seriously!)
-We're expected to read it everyday- looked down upon if we don't, but we have to pay for it ourselves!
Vanilla Lattes $4.70 (and none are as good as Peets!)
Mojito: $9.00
Risotto at the cafe next to my work: $24 (and it was too watery)
For a bette
r comparison of prices check out my coworker Dawn's blog. She's my first friend here and has a blog too. She just moved here from Cleveland to do what I'm doing at ABC.
http://madtowntomanhattan.blogspot.com/
It's hard to go from being at the top of your game to being the little fish in the sea. Having said that, every day is getting better. Everyday I feel like I'm learning more and screwing up less. And I only accidentally called David Westin once this week. Yes, I called him again. I really think that if I call him a 3rd time, I might be coming back to Sacramento sooner then expected. I've been paying more attention to the numbers I'm dialing and I'm actually watching the key pad as I am pressing them!
If I do accidentally call him a third time I have to think of something better to say then, "I'm so sorry, I don't know how I managed to call you again." Please leave suggestions in my comments.
So, since the subject line of this blog is a price... I feel then need to tell you all how frickin' expensive everything is here.
NY Times weekday: $1.25 Sunday edition: $4 (seriously!)
-We're expected to read it everyday- looked down upon if we don't, but we have to pay for it ourselves!
Vanilla Lattes $4.70 (and none are as good as Peets!)
Mojito: $9.00
Risotto at the cafe next to my work: $24 (and it was too watery)
For a bette
r comparison of prices check out my coworker Dawn's blog. She's my first friend here and has a blog too. She just moved here from Cleveland to do what I'm doing at ABC. http://madtowntomanhattan.blogspot.com/
Read towards the bottom of her first entry and she breaks down the price of everything in NYC.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
White Girls In Harlem
I should probably let Jen post this story, since it actually happened to her, but...
so yesterday, I'm meeting Jen at the subway station near our home with her flip-flops in my hand because she made the poor decision to wear high heels while walking into work, which promptly gave her a pair of blisters the size of Brooklyn on her heels...can someone please tell me why women feel forced to wear what must be HORRENDOUSLY uncomfortable shoes all in the name of fashion? I'll never understand that..."hey, my feet are swollen and my left ring toe feels like its about to come flying off, but look how cute these shoes are!!"....sheesh...but I digress...
Anyways...so being the dutiful husband I am, and not wanting her to hurt her feet of porcelain anymore than she already has, I head to the station with her flip-flops as instructed, and am waiting when I hear over the loudspeaker that there are problems with the A train due to some police activity between 145th and 168 streets, and there are "significant delays"
So now I'm expecting a call from her to let me know where she's stuck, and how she's going to get home, and here's the call and....
"Baby...I'm terrified...I'm in the middle of Harlem and I don't know what to do!"
Now.....
lets imagine the whitest girl we all know shuffling around the streets of Harlem at 830pm with her Coach purse at her side. Scary, eh??
Well, after walking around for a bit ("hey, there's the Apollo Theatre") she makes her way to a bus stop and gets on JUST before it takes off...whooshing her away from Harlem and taking her north to home, safe and sound...
The next time this happens, (and you just KNOW there will be a next time), I'm telling her to work on her bad-ass, "don't F with me" face and possibly some gangster lingo to help her through...hell, maybe I'll even meet her down there and we'll catch the show at the Apollo....
=)
Mike
so yesterday, I'm meeting Jen at the subway station near our home with her flip-flops in my hand because she made the poor decision to wear high heels while walking into work, which promptly gave her a pair of blisters the size of Brooklyn on her heels...can someone please tell me why women feel forced to wear what must be HORRENDOUSLY uncomfortable shoes all in the name of fashion? I'll never understand that..."hey, my feet are swollen and my left ring toe feels like its about to come flying off, but look how cute these shoes are!!"....sheesh...but I digress...
Anyways...so being the dutiful husband I am, and not wanting her to hurt her feet of porcelain anymore than she already has, I head to the station with her flip-flops as instructed, and am waiting when I hear over the loudspeaker that there are problems with the A train due to some police activity between 145th and 168 streets, and there are "significant delays"
So now I'm expecting a call from her to let me know where she's stuck, and how she's going to get home, and here's the call and....
"Baby...I'm terrified...I'm in the middle of Harlem and I don't know what to do!"
Now.....
lets imagine the whitest girl we all know shuffling around the streets of Harlem at 830pm with her Coach purse at her side. Scary, eh??
Well, after walking around for a bit ("hey, there's the Apollo Theatre") she makes her way to a bus stop and gets on JUST before it takes off...whooshing her away from Harlem and taking her north to home, safe and sound...
The next time this happens, (and you just KNOW there will be a next time), I'm telling her to work on her bad-ass, "don't F with me" face and possibly some gangster lingo to help her through...hell, maybe I'll even meet her down there and we'll catch the show at the Apollo....
=)
Mike
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Day 10: Still no Cable TV
Its been a week and a half...still no cable TV....losing will to live....might not be able to go on...still talking in sentence fragments...
So here's the deal...cable guy came last Wednesday and was about to hook us all up, until we realized he needed to get on the roof to wire the cable down to our first floor apartment, and the superintendent wasn't home to let him on the roof...so I had to reschedule for next Tuesday.
I know, I know...I live in NY now...there's too much to do...I shouldn't need TV....to which I say to all of you, "^%W@ that!" I need to know what is going on in the world! I need to be informed! I need to watch the Packers games!
Since we've had no TV, I've had to go to the Irish bar (Piper's Kilt) nearby on a near daily basis to watch the baseball playoffs/hockey games, which means if we don't get TV, I'm going to develop a serious drinking problem...at least more of one than I already have...
In other news, Jen and I took in our first movie in Manhattan last night. Cost of the movie ticket? Eleven bucks! Holy crap! For 11 dollars I'd better get to sit in one of those massage chairs while I watch the movie. Why the hell is everything so damn expensive in this town?? Anyways, go see Michael Clayton...it was a good movie...not 11 dollars worth of good, but what movie would be (I mean besides Caddyshack)... =)
My job at Metro has started...our offices are in the CBS building on 57th Street which means I had to get the same kind of custom photo ID that Jen has for ABC....and of course, my picture looks like I'm a terrorist...not as bad as my passport photo, but I'm still waiting for the guards at the front door to draw their guns on me at some point...HEY DUDE, I'M JUST TRYING TO DO SOME NEWSCASTS!!!
Did a week of training and my first solo shift is tomorrow night on the overnight shift 10pm to 4am (love those hours...not). Fortunately, thats the only shift like that I have. Then I'll be doing 6am to 12pm Thursday and Friday. Part-time hours, but I've been told by my boss that he'll have plenty of extra hours for me on a weekly basis.
Time to wrap it up
Celebrities seen: Since I didn't get a chance to loiter outside Regis and Kelly this week, all I've got is Charles Osgood of the "Osgood Files" (radio bit kinda like Paul Harvey). He tapes across the hall from me. Nice guy...love the bow tie. Still haven't met Katie Couric yet. My boss tells me that she heads down to the commissary for lunch every now and then but doesn't talk to anyone and isn't very nice. Well, we'll soon fix that. The moment I see her there, I'm going to walk right up, sit my tray down, and say "HEY, WHAT'S UP?!?! I'M MIKE FROM SACRAMENTO! MIND IF I SIT HERE?!" and get right up in her grill....just for the uncomfortable reaction shot alone...maybe I can drive her crazy and she'll have to resign from her news shift....stay tuned.
Friends who have visited: none...where the hell are all you people?
Random fact about NY'ers: they walk fast..like REALLY fast...and they don't take kindly to people wandering aimlessly, which I have a tendency to do. Not because I'm staring up at everything like a tourist, just that with bad knees I don't walk very fast to begin with.
So I'm walking to the subway after my shift at CBS yesterday and I'm kinda ambling down the road, when I get whacked in the leg with a walking cane...I turn around and its some old lady, who gives me a glare and says, in a total NY accent, 'WHADDYA DAWDLING FOR?!?!?!" and then proceeds to motor past me while giving me the evil eye and a big sigh....gotta love NY'ers...even the old farts have attitude...
Jen is telling me to wrap it up, as its time to go to the farmer's market....hope everyone is well, and remember to stay in touch....and look for me on the news after i'm thrown out of the CBS building for accosting Ms. Couric...
Mike
So here's the deal...cable guy came last Wednesday and was about to hook us all up, until we realized he needed to get on the roof to wire the cable down to our first floor apartment, and the superintendent wasn't home to let him on the roof...so I had to reschedule for next Tuesday.
I know, I know...I live in NY now...there's too much to do...I shouldn't need TV....to which I say to all of you, "^%W@ that!" I need to know what is going on in the world! I need to be informed! I need to watch the Packers games!
Since we've had no TV, I've had to go to the Irish bar (Piper's Kilt) nearby on a near daily basis to watch the baseball playoffs/hockey games, which means if we don't get TV, I'm going to develop a serious drinking problem...at least more of one than I already have...
In other news, Jen and I took in our first movie in Manhattan last night. Cost of the movie ticket? Eleven bucks! Holy crap! For 11 dollars I'd better get to sit in one of those massage chairs while I watch the movie. Why the hell is everything so damn expensive in this town?? Anyways, go see Michael Clayton...it was a good movie...not 11 dollars worth of good, but what movie would be (I mean besides Caddyshack)... =)
My job at Metro has started...our offices are in the CBS building on 57th Street which means I had to get the same kind of custom photo ID that Jen has for ABC....and of course, my picture looks like I'm a terrorist...not as bad as my passport photo, but I'm still waiting for the guards at the front door to draw their guns on me at some point...HEY DUDE, I'M JUST TRYING TO DO SOME NEWSCASTS!!!
Did a week of training and my first solo shift is tomorrow night on the overnight shift 10pm to 4am (love those hours...not). Fortunately, thats the only shift like that I have. Then I'll be doing 6am to 12pm Thursday and Friday. Part-time hours, but I've been told by my boss that he'll have plenty of extra hours for me on a weekly basis.
Time to wrap it up
Celebrities seen: Since I didn't get a chance to loiter outside Regis and Kelly this week, all I've got is Charles Osgood of the "Osgood Files" (radio bit kinda like Paul Harvey). He tapes across the hall from me. Nice guy...love the bow tie. Still haven't met Katie Couric yet. My boss tells me that she heads down to the commissary for lunch every now and then but doesn't talk to anyone and isn't very nice. Well, we'll soon fix that. The moment I see her there, I'm going to walk right up, sit my tray down, and say "HEY, WHAT'S UP?!?! I'M MIKE FROM SACRAMENTO! MIND IF I SIT HERE?!" and get right up in her grill....just for the uncomfortable reaction shot alone...maybe I can drive her crazy and she'll have to resign from her news shift....stay tuned.
Friends who have visited: none...where the hell are all you people?
Random fact about NY'ers: they walk fast..like REALLY fast...and they don't take kindly to people wandering aimlessly, which I have a tendency to do. Not because I'm staring up at everything like a tourist, just that with bad knees I don't walk very fast to begin with.
So I'm walking to the subway after my shift at CBS yesterday and I'm kinda ambling down the road, when I get whacked in the leg with a walking cane...I turn around and its some old lady, who gives me a glare and says, in a total NY accent, 'WHADDYA DAWDLING FOR?!?!?!" and then proceeds to motor past me while giving me the evil eye and a big sigh....gotta love NY'ers...even the old farts have attitude...
Jen is telling me to wrap it up, as its time to go to the farmer's market....hope everyone is well, and remember to stay in touch....and look for me on the news after i'm thrown out of the CBS building for accosting Ms. Couric...
Mike
Thursday, October 11, 2007
New Apartment & Embarrassing moments
So I realize after talking with some of you after my last blog a lot of you think I still live in Staten Island and ride the ferry every day. That's not the case. We have a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan. The neighborhood is called Inwood. It's like the Upper Upper West side. It's the top tip of Manhattan Island. We're surrounded by parks. Out apartment is a 6 floor elevator building. It's a pre-war building with really nice details in the crown molding and floors. Really cool light fixtures too!
Inwood is VERY residential. It's a mix of people... a lot of Irish folks and Portuguese. Which means a few Spanish restaurants and Irish pubs. There are 2 really cool pubs by us. One is called the Piper's Kilt and the other Keenans. We have a few other restaurants, a grocery store, hardware store, a few pizza joints, a dry cleaners and like 4 Chinese food places.
Our apartment is on the corner of 204th and Cooper streets... for those of you wondering if I picked the place because it was on the corner of Cooper street, well it did have a little something to do with it.
My commute to work isn't bad. I take the A train which is an express train to Columbus Circle and then walk about 6 blocks to work. If it's raining then I transfer to the 1 train at Columbus Circle and get off right at the intersection of the ABC buildings. The A train ride lasts for about 30 minutes... the walk another 7-8 minutes... about 12 if you average in the time to stop for a Vanilla Latte. No Peets here though! =( That sucks but there are a few local coffee shops that are in the area that are better then Starbucks. I think I walk past about 6 Starbucks from 59th street to 66th.
I'm actually really enjoying the commute, I read the NY Times on the way to work... and my stop is the first stop so I always have a good seat.
Back to my neighborhood.... The parks. Seriously they are amazing! The forests are so old and have so much history. There are actually old Indian Caves in there. There's a boat house where you can rent canoes too. It's really cool. Every Saturday there is a farmers market about 2 blocks from our apartment with all locally grown products and yes a few knock off handbags.
The developed part of the park is really cool too. In addition to the typical little kid park stuff they've got about 10 tennis courts, Squash courts, Baseball Diamonds and (drum roll please) An off leash dog park!! Cooper loves it! The dog park is run by the neighborhood dog club. It's called the Inwoof dog club (get it- cause the neighborhood is Inwood!) Haha!
All the dog owners wear their Inwoof dog sweatshirts to the dog park. I need to get one- I feel kinda left out. Gotta keep up with the other doggie parents!
Anyhow- that's the hood.
Now let me leave you with the top 3 embarrassing moments I've had in my time here at ABC. Two of them are actually from today!
1) It's early in the day... I have live pictures coming in of Britney Spears' attorney arriving at court. I need to call editing to make sure they're rolling on it. I look to my cheat sheet of numbers and dial with out looking at the phone key pad... Someone answers, "Hello?" "Hi, It's Jen Newsone, I want to make sure you're rolling on router 126, I've got live pics from Britney."
the response... "Uh, This is David Westin, on my personal line- so I can't roll on 126."
For those of you who don't know David Westin is the President of ABC NEWS... the head haunch- Very Important Person.
Um, I kind of just stuttered at that point.. "Uh Uh I'm sorry??" I replied. He said "Uh good luck with 126" and hung up.
My face was bright red for about an hour. I had 2 people hours later that I didn't even know walk up to me and ask - Are you the one who called David Westin??
So embarrassing.
2) Not nearly as embarrassing- I emailed out a news story today about Her Home Depot. A bay area home depot that caters to women. Well, I had a little typo and the response I got back was are you trying to make an inappropriate Don Imus joke? Yep, I forgot the "m" in home. Opps!
3) First week at newsone, I tripped fell and face planted in front of my 3 bosses (none of which were David Westin)
So, in a nut shell-- same old Jen just in a bigger place and bigger city.. but still the same spaz!
This weekend I will take pics of the neighborhood and the apartment and that my friends is a tease to....
Inwood is VERY residential. It's a mix of people... a lot of Irish folks and Portuguese. Which means a few Spanish restaurants and Irish pubs. There are 2 really cool pubs by us. One is called the Piper's Kilt and the other Keenans. We have a few other restaurants, a grocery store, hardware store, a few pizza joints, a dry cleaners and like 4 Chinese food places.
Our apartment is on the corner of 204th and Cooper streets... for those of you wondering if I picked the place because it was on the corner of Cooper street, well it did have a little something to do with it.
My commute to work isn't bad. I take the A train which is an express train to Columbus Circle and then walk about 6 blocks to work. If it's raining then I transfer to the 1 train at Columbus Circle and get off right at the intersection of the ABC buildings. The A train ride lasts for about 30 minutes... the walk another 7-8 minutes... about 12 if you average in the time to stop for a Vanilla Latte. No Peets here though! =( That sucks but there are a few local coffee shops that are in the area that are better then Starbucks. I think I walk past about 6 Starbucks from 59th street to 66th.
I'm actually really enjoying the commute, I read the NY Times on the way to work... and my stop is the first stop so I always have a good seat.
Back to my neighborhood.... The parks. Seriously they are amazing! The forests are so old and have so much history. There are actually old Indian Caves in there. There's a boat house where you can rent canoes too. It's really cool. Every Saturday there is a farmers market about 2 blocks from our apartment with all locally grown products and yes a few knock off handbags.
The developed part of the park is really cool too. In addition to the typical little kid park stuff they've got about 10 tennis courts, Squash courts, Baseball Diamonds and (drum roll please) An off leash dog park!! Cooper loves it! The dog park is run by the neighborhood dog club. It's called the Inwoof dog club (get it- cause the neighborhood is Inwood!) Haha!
All the dog owners wear their Inwoof dog sweatshirts to the dog park. I need to get one- I feel kinda left out. Gotta keep up with the other doggie parents!
Anyhow- that's the hood.
Now let me leave you with the top 3 embarrassing moments I've had in my time here at ABC. Two of them are actually from today!
1) It's early in the day... I have live pictures coming in of Britney Spears' attorney arriving at court. I need to call editing to make sure they're rolling on it. I look to my cheat sheet of numbers and dial with out looking at the phone key pad... Someone answers, "Hello?" "Hi, It's Jen Newsone, I want to make sure you're rolling on router 126, I've got live pics from Britney."
the response... "Uh, This is David Westin, on my personal line- so I can't roll on 126."
For those of you who don't know David Westin is the President of ABC NEWS... the head haunch- Very Important Person.
Um, I kind of just stuttered at that point.. "Uh Uh I'm sorry??" I replied. He said "Uh good luck with 126" and hung up.
My face was bright red for about an hour. I had 2 people hours later that I didn't even know walk up to me and ask - Are you the one who called David Westin??
So embarrassing.
2) Not nearly as embarrassing- I emailed out a news story today about Her Home Depot. A bay area home depot that caters to women. Well, I had a little typo and the response I got back was are you trying to make an inappropriate Don Imus joke? Yep, I forgot the "m" in home. Opps!
3) First week at newsone, I tripped fell and face planted in front of my 3 bosses (none of which were David Westin)
So, in a nut shell-- same old Jen just in a bigger place and bigger city.. but still the same spaz!
This weekend I will take pics of the neighborhood and the apartment and that my friends is a tease to....
Monday, October 8, 2007
Jen blogs with pictures!
Hi all! I thought I'd begin with the begining!
Sunday 9/16/07- I flew out to NYC and my old News10 coworker and new ABC Newsone coworker Chris Spitzer picked me up at the airport. He and his awesome girl friend Shirley were kind enough to let me stay with them for a few days while I went through some training at work and looked for an apartment. They live in Staten Island and have an amazing view of Manhattan from their balcony window. On Monday 9/17/07 I had to be at work before Chris so he dropped me off at the Staten Island Ferry where I was supposed to get myself to work. As I got out his car I couldn't even speak, let alone thank him for the ride. I was terrified. I was in New York, by myself and I have to get on a ferry and get to work? What? I had to choke back a fear tears (of fear) and navigate my way to the entrance. I sat on a surprisingly clean bench and looked around at all the people reading the paper, putting on make-up, typing away at their laptop and thought wow- I'm one of them.. a commuter! I know that sounds lame, but I have never lived more then 10 minutes from anywhere that I have ever needed to be.
In high school I live directly across the street from Rio Americano. In college I lived on campus my first year and then directly across the street the next 3 years and from Fox 40 and News10 it never took me more then 10 minutes to get to work.
So, here I was on a 30 minute ferry ride and then a 30 minute subway ride. All of the sudden I turned around and saw the Statue of Liberty. Then I went from commuter to tacky tourist. I went to the edge of the boat and asked someone to take my picture, explaining today's my first day at a new job and I had come all the way from California... no one cared, I think they just took my picture to shut me up!
On the way there... On the way home!
Once that was over and done with I made my way to the 1 train and then to ABC. ABC is huge presence in the Lincon Center area on a block of W 66th street from Columbus to Central Park West. I'm still not sure what exactly happens in each building, but I know the first building is where they shoot Regis and Kelly. The back entrance on 67th street is where all of the celeb guests walk in and out of. That's where Mike saw Brooks & Dunn. The street is lined w/ paparazzi. I walked in front of one of them once and got cursed at. It was cool! :)
Now for the important stuff. My building!! My building is the 3rd one in on 66th. The address is 47 W 66th Street. I'm on the 3rd floor in what they call TV-3. It's the main TV studio where they shoot World News Tonight, 20-20, and Nightline. The room is like one big rectangle and in the middle is a smaller rectangle. The smaller one is the studio set and the outer one is all of the Assignment Desks for the network and ABC News Now. We are on the Left side of the rectangle. It goes network desk, international desk, then regional desk (North Central, Southern, Western). My desk is the last in the whole row and part of the camera 1 and 3 shots. Whenever there is a reporter on set the desk and monitors behind them is my desk.
We have strict restrictions about what we are allowed to put on our desk and over or chairs. We can not put jackets on the back of our chairs or anything taller then about 12 inches on top of our desk because it will be in the shot.
Charlie Gibson is nice and every now and then looks over at us and cracks jokes. I've seen Bob Woodruff in the hallway and Liz Vargas. Today Joaquin Phoenix was on the set doing a taped interview for GMA. He was literally like 8 feet away from me. The girl sitting next to me was so excited she could barely work.
The job is going good and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's challenging right now because we don't have all the equipment we need at our desks yet, but that should be resolved by the end of the month.
It was so hard being here by myself the first few weeks. It's so nice having Mike and Cooper here to share it with. Cooper has adjusted amazingly well already. He's riding the subway like a pro!
I hope you enjoy staying updated on our adventures through this blog. Drop a comment and let us know what you think!!
We miss you and love you all so much!
Day 5: And Away We Go...
With us moving up to the NYC, many have asked us to keep them posted on the goings-on and such, so we figured setting up a blog would be the best way to keep people informed of whats happening in our lives. If you like it, give it a read. If you don't, ahhh to heck with you.
Jen's job seems to be getting more smooth with each passing day. I'll let her explain it better in a future post, but she gave me the tour of the newsroom last Friday, and its quite the setup. She's constantly busy, to the point where even I don't attempt to call her at work. She's getting the hang of dealing with all the affiliates and such, and I'm sure its only a matter of time before she's the president of ABC... =)
Cooper and I rolled into town last Wednesday night after a full day of travel. He's gotten used to traveling in his carry-on bag. We had no problems at the airport or on the plane, and he's had to go in it every time we take him on the subway or a bus or the Long Island RailRoad. Likes to pop his head out occasionally to see what's happening, but otherwise just lies in it curled up. What a good dog!
On the other hand, try carrying 30 pounds of dog through the NYC subway entrance sometime. Not good times....bad times...ahh, but I'm developing a system.
Our neighborhood is nice, with a couple of large parks two blocks away that Cooper has already enjoyed multiple times. Lots of room for him to run around and chase pigeons and squirrels. Its quite the melting pot here in the Inwood neighborhood...don't hear English very often. Lots of Portugeuse, lots of Dominicans. I've already made close friends at the local Irish pub (shocker there) and have tracked down a good late night pizza joint.
Our apartment is much more spacious than I thought it would be, but no central air conditioner, which is literally killing me right now because "we're having a heatwave...a tropical heatwave" right now. Its been 80 plus degrees since I got here with a S&^%load of humidity, which is as uncomfortable as it sounds. We have an air conditioner in the bedroom and a large fan in the living room and thats it. Other than that, no complaints about the place and the person we're sub-letting it from couldn't be nicer.
Most importantly, the cable guy comes Wednesday...hooray!
We took Cooper to get groomed on Saturday and spent the day exploring parts of the city. Its going to take at LEAST two years to see everything, but its fun to see the different neighborhoods. Had dinner with two of Jen's co-workers at a Mexican restaurant in the Upper West Side which was quite good, but still didn't feel like home. Not enough illegals working there, I suppose...now THATS when you know you've got good Mexican food.
Went to the Hamptons on Sunday to visit Jen's cousins Harvey and Glenda. They showed us around and drove us by the homes of the big names who live out there...the Seinfelds, and Spielbergs and Stewarts (as in Martha)...the village is nice, but I thought it would be more hoity-toity than it was....seemed a lot like Carmel (overpriced shops, etc).
I start my job at the NYC Metro Networks offices today...training three days this week, and then I'm on my own next week. I work out of the CBS building so I'll be able to swing by Katie Couric's desk and tell her exactly how much she stinks...looking forward to that.
Couple of other random moments:
Celebrity Sightings:
Brooks and Dunn outside the Regis and Kelly studio near where Jen works. Got Kix Brooks to sign my Not For Tourists Guide...oh the irony...
CCH Pounder at the Starbucks on 61st last Friday morning as I went to work with Jen. She's the black woman with the somewhat spiky hair from the Law and Order shows...she ordered a venti white mocha...I feel like you need to know these things...
First friend from back home to visit with us: Adam Housley, though he doesn't really count as back home since he lives in LA. Anyways, he was in town to do Fox's morning show over the weeekend so we met him for lunch Saturday in Times Square (which is still a friggin' zoo, and I've somewhat turned into a NY'er already because I was complaining about all the tourists...damn tourists...)
Fun fact about NY: people are loud. Like, really LOUD. And they don't care if you hear them. In the span of 24 hours, Jen and I rode the bus with a guy who, very loudly and very profanely had a phone argument with his significant other, or her relatives (it was hard to tell) complete with F-bombs and "I'm a man..you can't talk to me that way" shoutings....then the next night, we're coming back from the Hamptons on the train, and the couple sitting next to us I think broke up and got back together 3 times over a 2 hour stretch...it was like having your very own soap opera right next to you...unbelievable...I gotta work on this loud and shouting thing...HELLO!!! NO, I'M ON THE CELL PHONE!!! WHADDAYA MEAN YOU CAN'T GET RANGERS TICKETS TONIGHT?!?!?! YOU &$^%^%!!!!!
Thats about it for now. Jen will touch on all the other things I've left out. Please stay in contact via email at our addresses:
weisswatts@gmail.com
mikewatts1023@gmail.com
mike_watts@metronetworks.com
or feel free to post responses here on the blog. We'll try to get some pictures of stuff up as well. We miss all of you terribly.
Future blogs will touch on all the wierd and interesting stuff that happens to you when you're a New Yorker...which I am now, I guess...so far, this still feels like a 2-year working vacation...
Mike
Jen's job seems to be getting more smooth with each passing day. I'll let her explain it better in a future post, but she gave me the tour of the newsroom last Friday, and its quite the setup. She's constantly busy, to the point where even I don't attempt to call her at work. She's getting the hang of dealing with all the affiliates and such, and I'm sure its only a matter of time before she's the president of ABC... =)
Cooper and I rolled into town last Wednesday night after a full day of travel. He's gotten used to traveling in his carry-on bag. We had no problems at the airport or on the plane, and he's had to go in it every time we take him on the subway or a bus or the Long Island RailRoad. Likes to pop his head out occasionally to see what's happening, but otherwise just lies in it curled up. What a good dog!
On the other hand, try carrying 30 pounds of dog through the NYC subway entrance sometime. Not good times....bad times...ahh, but I'm developing a system.
Our neighborhood is nice, with a couple of large parks two blocks away that Cooper has already enjoyed multiple times. Lots of room for him to run around and chase pigeons and squirrels. Its quite the melting pot here in the Inwood neighborhood...don't hear English very often. Lots of Portugeuse, lots of Dominicans. I've already made close friends at the local Irish pub (shocker there) and have tracked down a good late night pizza joint.
Our apartment is much more spacious than I thought it would be, but no central air conditioner, which is literally killing me right now because "we're having a heatwave...a tropical heatwave" right now. Its been 80 plus degrees since I got here with a S&^%load of humidity, which is as uncomfortable as it sounds. We have an air conditioner in the bedroom and a large fan in the living room and thats it. Other than that, no complaints about the place and the person we're sub-letting it from couldn't be nicer.
Most importantly, the cable guy comes Wednesday...hooray!
We took Cooper to get groomed on Saturday and spent the day exploring parts of the city. Its going to take at LEAST two years to see everything, but its fun to see the different neighborhoods. Had dinner with two of Jen's co-workers at a Mexican restaurant in the Upper West Side which was quite good, but still didn't feel like home. Not enough illegals working there, I suppose...now THATS when you know you've got good Mexican food.
Went to the Hamptons on Sunday to visit Jen's cousins Harvey and Glenda. They showed us around and drove us by the homes of the big names who live out there...the Seinfelds, and Spielbergs and Stewarts (as in Martha)...the village is nice, but I thought it would be more hoity-toity than it was....seemed a lot like Carmel (overpriced shops, etc).
I start my job at the NYC Metro Networks offices today...training three days this week, and then I'm on my own next week. I work out of the CBS building so I'll be able to swing by Katie Couric's desk and tell her exactly how much she stinks...looking forward to that.
Couple of other random moments:
Celebrity Sightings:
Brooks and Dunn outside the Regis and Kelly studio near where Jen works. Got Kix Brooks to sign my Not For Tourists Guide...oh the irony...
CCH Pounder at the Starbucks on 61st last Friday morning as I went to work with Jen. She's the black woman with the somewhat spiky hair from the Law and Order shows...she ordered a venti white mocha...I feel like you need to know these things...
First friend from back home to visit with us: Adam Housley, though he doesn't really count as back home since he lives in LA. Anyways, he was in town to do Fox's morning show over the weeekend so we met him for lunch Saturday in Times Square (which is still a friggin' zoo, and I've somewhat turned into a NY'er already because I was complaining about all the tourists...damn tourists...)
Fun fact about NY: people are loud. Like, really LOUD. And they don't care if you hear them. In the span of 24 hours, Jen and I rode the bus with a guy who, very loudly and very profanely had a phone argument with his significant other, or her relatives (it was hard to tell) complete with F-bombs and "I'm a man..you can't talk to me that way" shoutings....then the next night, we're coming back from the Hamptons on the train, and the couple sitting next to us I think broke up and got back together 3 times over a 2 hour stretch...it was like having your very own soap opera right next to you...unbelievable...I gotta work on this loud and shouting thing...HELLO!!! NO, I'M ON THE CELL PHONE!!! WHADDAYA MEAN YOU CAN'T GET RANGERS TICKETS TONIGHT?!?!?! YOU &$^%^%!!!!!
Thats about it for now. Jen will touch on all the other things I've left out. Please stay in contact via email at our addresses:
weisswatts@gmail.com
mikewatts1023@gmail.com
mike_watts@metronetworks.com
or feel free to post responses here on the blog. We'll try to get some pictures of stuff up as well. We miss all of you terribly.
Future blogs will touch on all the wierd and interesting stuff that happens to you when you're a New Yorker...which I am now, I guess...so far, this still feels like a 2-year working vacation...
Mike
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