Picture this...

It's 6am and I'm standing in the plaza outside the TODAY show... Cyndi Lauper is doing a soundcheck as the sun is coming up between the buildings. Again I must admit, my job is pretty cool.

Weekend TODAY is going great, but I am definitely ready for it to be over! Waking up at 5am on the weekends is not a fun way to live. I look forward to returning to normal people schedule soon. The good thing about it is that I get to make a demo tape on the TODAY set. So I'll get to sit right where Ann Curry delivers the news and make my own tape to add on to my resume. Pretty cool...

My new assignment as Conan TOC is going pretty all right, too. Things were a little rough last week while I was training. Conan's wife had her baby on Wednesday and the show was cancelled, then Thursday my big boss was sick so the Jeanette, my predicessor, had to fill in for her, leaving me all alone. Luckily nothing crazy happened. Friday was a completely different story though. We had 3 really big guests and sooooo many people on the VIP list that a bunch of confirmed ticket holders were turned away. They weren't too happy about that! It brought me back to my old days at Iggle Video when people would scream at me over their late fees... good times.

Not much else to report, but I've seen about 8000 celebs this week.
Here's a recap: Cyndi Lauper, Jennifer Anison, 50 Cent, Robert Downey Jr, Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter, Allison Krauss, Keira Knightly, Nicole Richie and Green Day.

From Studio 6A in Rockefeller Center...

It's Late Night with Conan O'Brien!

Yesterday I found out that I got the position as the new Ticket Office Coordinator for Late Night with Conan O'Brien! I'm so excited about the assignment! It comes with a lot of responsibility, which is right up my alley! I'll be in charge of ticketing for the show, as well as organizing the seating of the audience and the other Pages who are working the show. The assignment runs for the next 15 weeks, so I'll be in that spot until the second week in February. It's a really long assignment, but it's going to be a ton of fun! I'll work Monday thru Friday 8:30-7pm... really long days, but long days=lots of money. If you need tickets you know who to talk to...

Off the streets!

I have an apartment!!!!!! I know, get excited. Mom, Dad, friends and family... have no fear I am no longer living on the streets (and by streets I mean my friend's futon.) I have a studio apartment on the Upper East Side (aka good neighborhood) and it's pretty nice. It's really small, but that's what you get in NYC. The rent is $1000 a month. I know... It's hard to believe that I am old/mature enough to afford $1000 a month. Guess that's what being a grown up is like. For all of you holding onto those birthday presents and cards, here is my new address:
332 E. 95th Street
Apt. 36
New York, NY 10128
I expect some mail :)

In other news, work is going very well. Weekend TODAY is going great! This past weekend I got to talk with several of the on-air personalities as well as some cool guests. I have to say that everyone is very cool, but Sean McLaughlin is really great. (I'm sure Liz Farry will agree.) He's totally down to earth and very appreciative of every little thing that I help him out with. He always says thank you and is generally concerned with how the other Page and I are doing in the morning. On Sunday I got to escort this group of little kids in Halloween costumes for a special reading from Lemminy Snicket, and I also got to see some "spooky" animals up close like an owl, tarantula, huge toads, and a huge albino python! I got to hold a bat, too! Not too shabby.

I'm waiting to see if I got the Conan TOC assignment. I actually think that I'm the only one up for the position right now, which is good and bad. Anyone that knows me knows that I love competition, so I'd much rather get the assignment knowing I beat out other people, but I'll take it anyway, haha! I'll update you on the progress as soon as I know something.

Top of the Rock just opened this morning, but some lucky Pages and I had the chance to go up a few days early for a sneak peek. The views are AMAZING, much better than the Empire State Building. You get an amazing view of Central Park, which is great because you CAN'T see it from Empire because our building is in the way. The architecture and design are amazing. So much work went into restoring the observation deck and it is definitely going to be well worth it. Check out the website!

On a sad note, I have to give a shout out to departing Page Carolyn Clark! She got a job at The Dowd Agency doing entertainment publicity for some very high profile moguls (think Donald Trump, Mark Burnett.) I'm really sad she's leaving the program, but she's going to do an amazing job! I expect big things from her, and hopefully she'll hook me up with a job in the future! We'll miss you, C-Clark!

Is it really November already?

Weekend TODAY is going very well. I'm actually sitting in the green room right now. The show just ended at 9am so I'm hanging out until 10 or when the director tells us "good night" which is funny to hear at 10 in the morning. I'm manning the green room by myself today, as I do every other Sunday, but it's not hard. Sunday is an easy day.

Some new assigments are coming up and I'm looking forward to getting new experiences with those. The one that I want the most is Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien Ticket Office Coordinator. This person is responsible for all of the ticketed for the show. They have to hand out the standby tickets every morning, check in all of the confirmed guests the afternoon of the show, and manage the other Pages that are working the taping. I think I'm very good for this position because of my strong organization and management skills. I've already been talking a lot with the current Page on the assigment, as well as some Conan staffers. It starts November 7th and lasts for 15 weeks, so it's pretty lengthy, but I'm very excited for it. I'll let you know how it goes!
On Monday afternoon I'm lucky enough to be attending a workshop with Ann Curry of TODAY and Dateline fame. She's going to be talking with the Pages and answering our questions regarding her career and how to make it in the news world. I'm really excited about this opportunity, and am especially excited to see Ann. I'm a big fan!

I'm working the NBC Wheel of Trivia with Kara on Tuesday. It's a PR game where we play the hosts and get visitors to the NBC store to spin the wheel and answer trivia questions on their favorite NBC shows. I'm sure Kara and I will have a blast doing it. Stop in on Tuesday at 10am if you're in the area.

The apartment search is the same. I've looked at another dozen places that just aren't right for me. I actually did see a few places that I liked, though. I'm waiting to hear back on them so I'll let you know about it when I hear something. Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate my birthday in NYC! Whether it was with a drink, a card, a phone call or email I really appreciated it! Thanks again!

Some wise words from the elders

So, the apartment search and work have really been stressing me out lately. I had a phone talk with my Dad today that made me feel a lot better. He said,

"The big city can really kick your ass. Just kick its ass right back."

Thanks, Dad. I will.