Live from New York?

Things are going great in the Big Apple! I haven't updated in a while, but there hasn't been much to report. I'm still touring 6 days a week (Ya, that's right...) and I'm still in the process of learning how to give VIP tours. I haven't given any yet, but I'm sure some are on the way!

Last Friday I applied for several positions for the upcoming seasons of Saturday Night Live! I'm still very low on the totem pole, but hopefully some good luck will come my way! The positions I applied for were:

• Desk, where I'd work at SNL all week including Saturday and assist in every part of the show process where they need me.
• Escort, where I'd run the celebs and cast members around on Saturday to get them from hair, makeup, etc
• and Key, which is one of the people that coordinates the audience seating and hangs out in the background while the show is taking place.

Any of them would be great, but the desk is what I really want! The good news is that the position only lasts until December, so they'll open up again in January and I'll get a second shot! Keep your fingers crossed!

No celeb sightings this week, but I am working Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have something good to report! I have 2 shout outs this week. Crystal Schumacher sent me a really nice card and a crisp one dollar bill! Hope things are going well in Tampa, buddy! The second shout out goes to my Grandma. She goes to my cousin's house once a week so she can get online to read my blog! Love you, Gram!

Apparently I am a Very Important Person... kinda

I'm back in New York again after a short visit home. Grandma Em passed away last Saturday so I had to go home for a few days. It was a sad few days, but great, too. I think we laughed just as much as we cried, so that was a nice feeling. It was good to see all of my family, too! I found out that a lot of my extended family reads my blog! Thanks for keeping up with me

NBC is going great! I unfortunately did not get the assignment with Weekend Today, but that's no big deal. I'm still a pretty new guy in the program, so the position went to someone with more seniority. I'm ok with that because many other chances for that assignment and others will come in the future. Some good news, though... I found out today that I am a new VIP Tour Guide! That means that in addition to giving the regular tours I will soon give VIP tours as well! VIP tours cost $1,000 to take (yikes!) and last 2 hours. Beside going to the regular studios we also take a look at the Today show, Conan props, SNL backstage and many other areas that the general public doesn't get to see. (I get an extra $25 per tour, too! whoo hoo!) SNL assignments are coming up in September, but I don't think I'm eligible for those! Bummer... but they'll open up again in December, so I think I can wait!

The apartment search sucks... let's face it! But not to worry... I'm going to stay in my current place until the beginning of October and keep looking for a place in the meantime. Not sure about the roommate situation just yet, but of couse I'll keep you posted! I had my first party last Friday with some people from work. It was an experience, let me tell you! Fitting 15 people into my hole of a home was fun!

Some shout outs are in order. This week goes to Luke, Corey, and Miss Sophia for sending me a really nice card and a crisp $1.00 bill! (I've noticed that if I write on my blog about people sending me a dollar I get another one a few weeks later... bwahaha!) I appreciate everyone's cards and comments! I have them all posted on my bedroom wall!

I pity the fool!

I met Mr. T today!!! He was a guest on Conan and while I was guiding my tour through the metal detectors he came into the lobby. I said "Hello!" and he grabbed my elbow and said "Hey there, how are ya?" No one on my tour even knew who he was until I told them once he had gone by! Celebs are sneaky!

What a scorcher!

It has been over 100 degrees with the heat index for the past few days here in New York... Very uncomfortable! But luckily we got some heavy storms which cooled things down a bit. Hopefully the weather will stay in the 80s for a while! Good thing I have air conditioning!

I've done some cool stuff in the past week! Besides giving the usual 8000 (estimate) tours in a week, I got to see some really awesome people! Tandi Lane, Sarah Bowers, and Melissa Batulis came into town on Saturday and I got to see them for a little bit! It was really cool to catch up with them and have some WC/BC bonding! Being with them made me feel like I was back at home, even though we were sitting at Rockefeller Center. It was a much-needed visit! Unfortunately it was short because I had to bus to catch, but that was because I also went to Philadelphia to visit my friend Matthew, who just moved there for law school in the Fall. It was a nice visit, despite the fact that our bus broke down halfway there! (You can't beat a $20 Chinatown bus!) It was a nice weekend!

Work is going really well! Again- tours are tours... they're only as fun as you make it, so I gotta make 'em fun! I am finally eligible for assignments. We had a few open up, but I applied for Weekend Today production. If I get it I will be be a production assistant for the show and do things like research stories, write, and come up with topics. I'll also get to attend the weekly news meeting to decide what stories we will cover. I miss news meetings! *nerd alert* I'll let you know if I get it!

The apartment search is toned down for now, but I'm still looking. Nothing major to report.

Celeb sightings were down this week, but still fun! Last week I saw Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigelow, SNL), and today I saw Joel Goddard (announcer for Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien) and got a "Hey there!" from the Nightly News man himself, Brian Williams. We're friends now!

Officially One Month!

Today marks a month after my first official day of living in New York! Feels great to be here, and I'm loving every second of it! My job is going well... I'm surprisingly not tired of it yet! Yes, giving 4-5 tours a day 6 days a week can be very strenuous and somewhat mind-numbing, but I just put my theatre skills to use and play the part of an excited and enthusiastic tour guide :)

The perks of the job are great. First of all, let's face it... I work at Rockefeller Center. You can't beat that! It's fun touring in the building because, although it's full of celebs and famous news people, it's just like an office building for them. "Celebs" are coming in and out all the time and pass us as we're going on tour. It's fun, because a lot of times when we're touring on the news floor people like Anne Curry and Brian Williams will cut right through the middle of my tour group and the tourists don't even notice it! They're shocked when we tell them later that they missed the stars!

Not to brag, but I've got to see some really cool people! I see Brian Williams a few times a week, Anne Curry has passed us, and I waved to Campbell Brown! Destiny's Child and Deanna Carter performed on Today. I saw Suzanne Summers in the lobby. I've also seen celebs getting escorted up to Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Last week I saw John O'Hurley (Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld) and just today I saw another page, Steve, RUNNING with Kate Hudson to get her to Conan on time. (It was 5:23 and the show starts at 5:30!!!) The job is fun, I'm not gonna lie. I look forward to doing an assignment soon. I'm also going to apply to give VIP tours. They're extra special, 2 hours long and cover a lot more studios and backstage areas. (Plus you get a bonus for doing them!)

The apartment search is still going strong! I was going to live with Bob and Bill, but after trying to sort things out it turns out that it's just not going to work for any of us. I've started looking on my own, plus teaming up with some fellow pages to see if we can all find a place together. I'm subletting right now, and the guy I'm renting from isn't coming back until October now, so technically I could stay here until then. Not a bad plan, but I'd like to have a permanent place by the end of the month.

I've been getting a lot of mail and I'm not going to lie- I love it!!! There's something so much more special about a handwritten note than an email or instant message! I just got some cards from Lindsey, Sarah Ubry, and the VIP of the week: Danielle Gorley! (Her card had a dollar in it. She advised me on spending it on poisonous street vendor food!) Thanks for the well-wishes and thoughts, guys! I really appreciate it!

I'll keep you posted when more things happen!