Revamping the Blog

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I have removed a lot of information from my blog in the last few days. If you want to get an update on what I'm working on professionally at the moment you're going to have to call or email me! Hope you have my number!

There are PLENTY of other things to write about, though, so let's get at it!

My beautiful and talented roommate, Carolyn, turned 25 years old this month. To celebrate her decent towards over-the-hill status she had two weeks of wining and dining. I was at home for Lindsey's wedding for her actual birthday, so we went out the following weekend with a few of her friends to celebrate.

Clearly Carol was really excited for the night

I was happy to show her love on her b-day

Unfortunately I didn't have a date for the event

But I found someone wonderful to share the rest of the evening with

The Blog is Back in '07

Happy New Year, everyone! It's been quite some time since my last blog entry and I have no excuse other than I'm lazy... but isn't that was the holidays are all about? I'm finally back at work after a glorioius two-week hiatus and had to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, the world doesn't stop spinning when we go on a break, so I had a lot to come back to upon return. Who'd a'thunk?

Over the holidays I had a chance to head back to the 'burgh for a week to visit friends and family. Unlike Thanksgiving break I was thoroughly entertained for my whole stay. It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of NYC for a week, although it did take me a few days to calm down. In case you care, I'd like to give you a photo narration of my time at home.

My mom picked me up at the airport and (after waiting like 30min for my bags... Pittsburgh Int'l sucks at baggage claim.) we headed back to the 'berry. Upon entering my home I had this frightening painting staring me in the face:

Oh ya, that's the boys of "Good Fellas." Someone jokingly bought that for my Dad for Christmas and he was very excited to display it in our entryway. I'm assuming it's been disposed of at this point (or at least I hope so.)

Not to be outdone, my Mom soon produced this lovely new item she picked up for the holidays:

It's a Swarovski crystal encrusted, tin Pittsburgh Steelers purse. I ask, "What has happened to them since the last time I was home?" Haha... gotta love the family!

Of course we made the requisite 500 trips to New Castle to visit all the extended family members, and it was great to see everyone! I think the highlight of the holiday would have to be my cousins and I paying my brother to eat all the disgusting, leftover chocolates that were half-eaten by the rest of us. Way to make five bucks, Drew. And speaking of eating, my cousin Erin (the princess... barf) is currently eating for two! She's about 5 months pregnant now. As you can see by her shirt she did NOT infact let herself go. There's someone else in there, too.


Great times at home, but glad to be back in the city (for now) and staying busy at work (but not too busy to write this blog!) I'm sure there will be some better updates in the near future, but for now you can entertain yourselves with some additional holiday photos. Enjoy!

Networking is everything!

I've been hearing it for ages from everyone from my parents, to teachers and mentors at work, but networking really is everything! It's all about who you know in this business that can help you get ahead. Get ahead isn't even the right thing to say, even... it's more about partaking in different opportunities. I am very thankful to the contacts I have made throughout my life, and especially during my time in New York.

I was fortunate enough to get paid a visit from one my past mentors and good friend Melissa Batulis last weekend! Melissa is an '03 Westminster Grad who has been working as a news reporter since she left WC. Melissa was in town with a colleauge from WFMZ-TV 69 News in the Philly region and stopped by for some dinner.

It was great catching up with Melissa about what life been like for each of us since graduation. Although we're both on very different paths, we have encountered many of the same obstacles and desires along the way. Melissa brought up the point that there's basically two ways to be successful in television; You can either start out in a small town with a bigger position and work your way up the markets, or you can start in a big market with a small position and work your way up that way. Each of us is on the opposite path from the other, but it was really great to see how we can meet in the middle. Melissa and I also had a very professional moment when swapped business cards. I'm such an adult.

Not only is networking important for the professional aspects, but you can also get to do some really cool stuff, too! One of my best friends, Kelly, is an assistant at the Today Show and invited me to come see Beyonce perform on the show live on Monday. We were right up front and I took some great photos with my camera. Thanks, Kelly!

I also learned that my camera takes some pretty great video, too, so I tried it out with much success! I've been noticing that Mr. Weaver and many of the other current WC students have been including video on their blogs and it's making me very jealous, so I'm getting in on the action.

Here's my contribution:

Beyonce "Irreplaceable" clip


Beyonce "Listen" clip


Here are some additional pix:

Many Thanks

I am thankful for the opportunity to live in the greatest city on earth for almost a year and half now. I've said that I wanted to live in New York City since I was in 8th or 9th grade and it's pretty cool to realize that it's finally happened. Although I probably won't stay here forever, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else at the moment. Sometimes it's noisy and expensive and crazy and overwhelming, but all of the amazing experiences that I've had here greatly outweigh the stress this city can put on a person. I will have great stories to tell when I'm 80.

I am thankful for my apartment in the city. After living in two rats nests apartments it feels great to finally have a place where I feel clean, safe and sound. I have finally found a place that suits my needs and doesn't make me (too) poor from week to week. It's in a quiet part of town, but not too far away from the action. We have space and, although I sleep in the living room, I really feel like this place is really a home and not just a place to put my stuff.

I am thankful to share my wonderful apartment with a wonderful roommate. Carolyn (or Carol as I call her) has quickly grown from being a coworker, to friend, to roommate, to confidant and best friend. We are so similar in our attitudes and beliefs that it's no wonder we ended up living together. Even though we want to murder each other sometimes, I couldn't imagine coming home and watching television and gorging on takeout with anyone else. Go, go big girl!

I am thankful for the indescribable year at spent in the NBC Page Program. Last year on Thanksgiving I was still in New York and working. It was slightly annoying to have to work on Thanksgiving, but I had to stay because I was working for Late Night with Conan O'Brien and we were taping a show that day. The energy of the entire day was great. Even though it was a "normal" show taping, the cast, crew and audience knew it was a special day. As a bonus, my fellow Page Jeanette and I got to peak at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as it marched down Broadway a few blocks away. The friends and contacts that I made in my year at NBC cannot be matched. Each and every person that I worked with is going to be someone big in the future, and I know that I can call on a fellow Page when I need help with anything... business or personal. Thank you.

Most important, I am thankful for my family and all of the things they do for me. None of the things I listed above would be possible if I didn't have the love and support of my family. The have helped me financially and inspirationally and taught me that I can do whatever I want if I set my mind to it. I know that my family will always have my back when I need them, which I've unfortunately learned isn't that case for everyone out there. I love all of you very much an appreciate your support each and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Word of the night: Amazing!

"Live from New York it's Saturday Night" is a phrase that I've heard on TV and in person tons of times, but it had a different kind of affect on me this week. Carolyn and I were lucky enough to score some last-minute tickets to the dress rehearsal of Saturday Night Live this past Saturday. Alec Baldwin was the host and Christina Aguilera was the musical guest. First of all... I knew it was going to be an amazing show when I heard the guests, but I really didn't image how amazing it was going to be.

I have to give a huge shout out to my fellow NBC Pages who majorly hooked us up! I've said it once, but I'll say it again... Pages take care of Pages. We made our way upstairs and wound up sitting on the cushions in the back row. Not a bad seat, mind you, as we were dead center, but not the most comfortable. Five minutes before the start of dress my friend Audrey comes running up and grabs us. Apparently there were two open seats down on the stage floor, so they pulled us to sit there! I've been to SNL as a Page a bunch of times, but never as an audience member. We were about 10 feet away from Alec Baldwin during his opening monologue... pretty amazing. But it gets better...

There was buzz about a lot of cameos but we hadn't heard any official word if anyone was going to show up. As expected, SNL alums Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan showed up, who costar on 30 Rock with Alec. Great to see them back on the stage! Later in the show they did a sketch about the SNL platinum lounge, where only people who have hosted 12 times or more are allowed. Waiting for Alec in the lounge was the one and only Steve Martin! Amazing! (What's even more amazing was that during the live show Martin Short and Paul McCartney appeared in the sketch! RIDICULOUS!) Alec also has a reoccuring sketch "The Tony Bennett Show" where he parodies the singer on his own talk show. Well, you guessed it, the REAL Tony Bennett showed up to be a guest on the show! Once again, amazing! They also did a sketch (which got cut) called "The Speedreader." Will Forte came into the audience to sing a song at the end and biffed me in the head while singing! After the show he came up to apologize saying that it was the Speedreader, not him, that hit me. Hilarious.

Later in the show, Alec stood right in the aisle behind me to introduce Christina Aguilera. Just as he got the cue to begin he grabbed my shoulder as he delivered the intro. Amazing! And let me say... I am a fan of Christina Aguilera. I have been since she came out. She is probably the most talented singer of my generation. Her voice is so powerful for such a tiny girl. It's pretty cool to think that I was closer to her performance that I could ever hope to be at a concert. That girl can sing. Not only did she sing two amazing songs of her own, she came out at the very end of the show to sing a duet with Tony Bennett! RIDICULOUS!

The whole night seemed like a dream. Besides all of the cameos, it was an all-around amazing show. All of the sketches were genuinely funny, and the ones that actually made it to the live show were hilarious. Each and every one of them, which is rare considering it's not easy to fill a 1.5 hour show with completely funny material every week. We had an amazing experience and I have to thank everyone that hooked us up! So a big thanks to Kat, Shannon, Nia, Lyndsay, Audrey, Chris, Ken and everyone else who we ran in to. THANK YOU!