Every day is a new adventure in New York.  Yesterday, i got another article published on the website and went on my first shoot.  We took a taxi to soho and discussed Amanda Bynes and SnapChat, laughing the whole way there.  We interviewed ABC's legal analyst for Gio Benitez's piece on the mother trapped in Mexico under suspicion of drug trafficking.  It was really fun!

The producers of World News told Gio and the field producer, David, to make the shoot look casual.  So we spent about 30 minutes rearranging the office to make it look casual... not exactly the most casual approach.  It was really funny though because we all realized how ridiculous it was.  That was probably the highlight of my week.  There is way more room for fun outside of the office even though it is still technically work. I hope i get to go on many more of those this summer.
     Today, i had to change rooms in my extended stay hotel. I had to check out of room 606 at noon and moved into 619 at 2. In the meantime, I did laundry next door and it was maybe the creepiest experience of my life.  There are apparently people living in that same basement where laundry is done so i heard a lot of unexplained sounds.

     I go back to work tomorrow for another day!

    I came early per my bosses request today to go out on the shoot that i was meant to go on.  It was nixed.  So at 8:00 a.m. my day was off to a bad start.  However, it turned out to be the most productive day of my time at ABC.
     I met another Desk Assistant today, all of have been very nice and helpful.  She was quick on the draw with the phones so i was twiddling my thumbs for a mass majority of the day.  Maggie, the foreign desk affairs desk assistant, told me to look for hidden stories and pitch them to ask what we call "dot com" so i could write something for the web.  I found a story on some sub "boston globe" site about Beyonce getting her butt slapped by a fan and pitched it on a whim.  Next thing i know, i have a byline on the site.

     Of course, i was thrilled! I've worked there for a week and already gotten a byline!!! Way too cool.
     Then, the crash in Baltimore.  We fielded calls and researched on the train crash.  My tactic has been searching hashtags on twitter.  I found several videos that got congratulated and sent up to producers high up in the chain.
      I'd say today was a successful day on the job!
      PS check out my story :)

    This morning was quiet.  It was eerie walking to work in a city that shouldn't be completely silent... but is.  I had to wait longer for my train than ever before (8 whole minutes!!!) due to the holiday.  I didn't technically have to come in to work but i did anyway.
      The strangest thing about working in a news station is that you can really feel those moments when the world is just completely still.  Usually the newsroom is a madhouse as we handle news from all over the world but today, on occasion, you could just feel a still come over.  No tweets, emails, calls, chatter... just still.  Of course those moments were brief, but its so strange to work on a holiday.
     I got the usual nutso calls.  One woman was convinced we were a cell phone company and wouldn't listen to me when i told her i was an employee of the ABC Television Co... i had to hang up on her and felt awful.  Another man called and yelled at me and the rest of TV journalists because we are "corrupt and had the IRS scandal coming" I ended that call by saying, "Thank you for your input and have a wonderful Memorial Day." I thought that was just sarcastic enough.
    The rest of the day was uneventful.  We got hot dogs for lunch for Memorial Day and S'mores as a snack brought by one of the overnight producers but other than that it was just another day on the job.
     Greg told me i may be able to go on a shoot in Jersey tomorrow ab

   
     Today was not what i expected.  I arrived early, of course, and saw a man who looked like the pictures I'd seen on LinkedIn of my boss, Greg Croft.  Turns out it was him and i was in the right place right off the bat.  Good start, right?  I was then invited into the story meeting at 8:45 with the executives.  London, L.A., and a few other stations were phoned in to discuss what should be covered in the shows today.  Everyone was very funny and relaxed, cracking jokes about Wiener running for mayor and the kid who had to wear thrift store clothing to school as punishment.  Everyone was very excited to have an Oklahoma student in their midst to help with the coverage of Moore.  They even went so far as volunteering me as a contact for all the correspondents in Moore.  The meeting took a total of 15 minutes because the executives then went into another meeting with corporate.  While i wasn't able to go into this meeting, i was able to listen with the other assignment desk staffers through speaker phone.
     The rest of the day had its ups and downs.  One girl compared the assignment desk to an E.R. because it has its moments where its very boring but then when breaking news happens, we are who keep the place running and its very fast paced.  But today had few moments like that.  The foreign desk dealt with the terrorism in London and I learned how to field calls to all the different departments.  I took lots of notes because there are ALOT of departments.  Greg said most of the time wont be like today because most people are over in Oklahoma thus leaving us with little to do. The most entertaining part of today were the crazies that call asking for strange things.  For instance, one man called asking to speak with a reporter that had interviewed him so he could have a copy of the tape. Problem is this reporter left ABC in 1992. We got quite a kick out of that.
     My boss says i can go out with reporters whenever i want once i get in the swing of things and said he'd get me on the breaking news email list.  Now to relax and start all over tomorrow!

     Disney.  That's the only word i can think of to describe my first day at ABC, so i am officially dubbing that my summer adjective.  I'll define it as this: Perky and Professional.  Everything went smoothly, everyone was friendly and professional and it was all around wonderful.

     Today, as many of you know, was the first round of intern orientations. As i was getting ready a very good omen struck as i saw my professor Mike Boettcher on Good Morning America covering the destruction in Moore.  He is arguably the sole reason i got this internship and I went on my way remembering the faith that that man has in me thus gaining new confidence.

     I left my apartment at 8:15 and caught a train as soon as i entered the station and 5 stops later was at the entrance to ABC.  It wasn't the building that Dad and I visited over Spring Break though, which threw me off because that's what i was expecting.  I entered the circular doors and about 5 seemingly college aged kids were standing by the cafe on the right... we were not yet given the right to enter the sliding security doors that lead up to the hallowed ABC studios and offices.  During this waiting period, the 30(ish) of us chatted and learned where each of us were going to intern.  Roughly a quarter of us were GMA, a couple were in marketing, a few 20/20 and Nightline and only four of us were the only ones in our particular department.  A girl named Gaby has the investigative department,  a guy has News 1, another was doing the View and I, of course, am doing the Assignment Desk and handling all of the above.
     At exactly 9 am we were given temporary badges and followed the intern coordinators to the top floor executive conference room.  What a view it had.  You could see the New York skyline! Not that we really got to enjoy it because a mass amount of our time was spent filling out paperwork.

However, the intern coordinators made it fun by cracking jokes and keeping attitudes high.  We then took ID pictures and learned about the perks and precautions of the job.  I'll know more about the perks tomorrow when i am able to log onto my Disney Account but, between you and me, they sound extensive and exciting.
     Everyone was "Disney"and excited about the summer ahead.  I made new friends and i think i'm on my way to becoming a New Yorker.

     Well, it's finally happened.  I am on my own, living in New York City.  My dad and I left on Friday so he could help me move into my extended stay hotel.  It's really beautiful.  The part of town is safe, there's a park nearby and seemingly everything i could ever need within walking distance.

     We got in around 8:30, unpacked, watched my friend Chris Hansen's episode of Dateline, grabbed dinner and crashed.  We woke up shortly after to stand in line for SNL.  Blasphemy, i know, an ABC intern way too excited about an NBC event but somehow i think they'll let it slide.  Yep, at 4:00 am Dad and I were about 120 people back in line outside 30 Rock. 

Standby tickets were handed out at 7 but, because we were so far back, we got ours at around 8:30.  You are presented with the choice of Live or Dress Rehearsal.  Dad and I chose dress because we thought our odds seemed better but still a long shot.  

      After our long morning, we got Starbucks and Subway tickets and i learned my subway routes to work and Times Square.  I think i got it actually, which was surprising because i may be the world's worst navigator.  Everywhere i NEED to be is a straight shot on the 1 line.  The day after that is pretty much a blur due to an immense lack of sleep but pretty much we went to lunch, walked central park and scoped out a church.  Then it was time to shower and cross our fingers in hope of gaining entry to Saturday Night Live.  

      We got there quite early and walked around Rockefeller Center for about an hour.  Then, we lined up in numerical order outside the elevators that head up to the SNL studio.  Actually, we were in the line behind the line that goes into the elevators to the studio.  Our odds did not look good.  

     After a little over an hour of biting our nails and getting counted and recounted by presumably NBC interns, we made it to the line into the elevator, then the line to security, and then... wait for it... into the elevator.  We didn't get our hopes up though! We've read too many stories where people get pulled out of the elevator just before the doors close.  We let out a sigh of relief when the elevator operator (or intern!) said "you might as well have been number one in line cuz you are in." Oh my gosh! We were in!!!

SNL was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  The walls were lined with pictures from past seasons and when we entered the studio we were seated second row up on the left.  The studio is tiny but because of that we got to see everything the cast was doing.  Bill Hader would do dances after one liners and we saw Amy Poehler before she made her big appearance.  It was awesome.  The best moment was of course, Stefan and Seth's wedding scene! How can you not love Stefan!  

    Because we were rehearsal, our show was longer and we got a more relaxed atmosphere.  Ben Affleck was hosting and would make funny little faces when he was made fun of and drop one liners about words not being in the script.  It was really just a once in a life time experience and i'm glad i got to share it with my dad.  As we were walking out we ran into Keenan and Fred.  It was Fred's last show and the whole line cheered as he walked by.  We left, still in disbelief that we actually got in.  

      Of course, once again, we crashed as soon as we got home and woke up the next morning to go to breakfast with a childhood friend of my dad's.  Dad left around 12:30 and i've been being lazy ever since.  Making an occasional trip outside just to make sure i'm actually here and this is actually happening.  

Tomorrow, i start one of the biggest and most life changing adventures of my life.  I leave for New York and move into The Hotel Alexander where i will be staying for three months.  My orientation at ABC is the following Tuesday.  As the Disney Interns website says, "every story has a beginning" and i think this internship may be the beginning to mine.  Am I scared? Well yes. I am one of only two interns but am grouped in with the entire Assignment Desk staff.  Many of these new employees are Ivy League graduates, fluent in another language, and from New York or California.  Thoughts start floating in my head that i am way out of my league (pardon the slight pun).  I'm a 21 year old girl attending a state school from Dallas.  But i think the words of my mother are very wise: fake it til you make it.  I have plenty of experience and i obviously got this internship for a reason.  I am excited to see what this summer has in store and am anxious to start and see just what i'm getting myself into. Wish me luck!