Lake Buena Vista, FL (aka: Walt Disney World)

November 26th – 30th

Old Spice Classic – College Basketball – ESPN Family of Networks

The week flew by as usual. Seems like you never catch up during a tournament.

I was very disappointed because I was not once told “have a magical day” by the hotel staff during my stay. I truly think it was marked on my reservation that telling me that, prompts rage. It is one of the most annoying parts of staying at a Disney hotel.

My parents arrived on Friday afternoon; they brought me leftovers from their Thanksgiving dinner – yummy!

On Saturday, I worked for a few hours and then met mom & dad at Animal Kingdom. We had decided to go there since it was the one ‘park’ none of us had been to.

It’s basically a zoo with rides. My favorite were the kitties.


While visiting “Asia”, mom and I were relieved that they didn’t have Chinese bathrooms!

Mom & Dad

Saturday evening, we sat at the hotel lakeside bar and had a few drinks.

During my 2nd game on Sunday, there was a rain delay. Yes, an hour long rain delay during a basketball game.

The rain was coming down at such an angle, it was coming in thru the AC vents in the roof, onto to the court.

After the game resumed, the truck started to leak. So I had to stand and type for the majority of the game, while the engineer stood on my chair holding paper towels up to the leak. Good times!

I made the error of choosing to fly home on Sunday night. It was just as frustrating as it had been last year. The Orlando airport on the Sunday night after Thanksgiving is NOT an enjoyable experience. Add in a day of severe weather and that only makes matters worse.

I eventually made it to Columbus, hours late, and luggage-less. I may have also screamed expletives at person who cut in front of the 15 people waiting for a cab at 1 am.

Lake Buena Vista, FL (aka: Walt Disney World)

November 25th

Old Spice Classic – College Basketball – ESPN Family of Networks

This is a tournament I have done since it debuted in 2006. I really enjoy doing this as it kicks off my hoops season and it also gives me a chance to get to Florida when Ohio is nice & cold.

College basketball is my favorite sport; so this is an exciting turning point for me as the season officially begins. This year is the first time we have some really good teams in the field, which makes it even better!

The down side, is that it is at Disney during Thanksgiving. It’s not easy to stay at Disney while working, especially over a holiday. The hotels do not really make an effort accommodate business travelers; little things like no desks in the rooms for starters.

Plus, everyone else here is on vacation! They don’t care if their kids are screaming while running up and down the halls at 3am – they don’t have to leave for work in 3 hours!

But like I said, it’s a tourney I enjoy and it also enables me to see my parents over the holiday weekend.

To me, Disney is not, “the happiest place on Earth”. But since 90% of my income comes from Mickey himself….. I will not share my opinions on how the “Mouse House” has effected the environment of my home state.

The trip down took most of Tuesday as there were first mechanical issues, then missing bags. But I made it and am all settled in at the Coronado Springs.
(photos soon)

Columbus

November 24th

US Marine Corps College Wrestling – ESPNU
St. John Arena/Ohio State

A long day.
Built a lot of graphics!

My first time doing wrestling; those guys are beasts!

Got to see a lot of my Columbus freelance friends that I haven’t seen in about 9 months. That part was great!

For the record, I am down to 1 bag to finish unpacking from China. It was 2 bags until this morning. But I needed to take it on my next trip, so I figured it was time. Granted, most of the stuff that was in it, was just transferred to the still unpacked bag.

Worthington, OH

November 23rd

Just an update on Smokey & Claude - they have been best friends for a couple weeks now.

New photos to come soon!

West Lafayette, IN

November 20th – 22nd
Indiana vs Purdue – ESPN2 Noon ET – CFB Week 13



Pretty uneventful weekend.

It was cold & windy in West Lafayette. I don’t think I have thawed out since last weekend in Ann Arbor.

The hotel – Town Place Suites – had a thing for potpourri machines. It was disgusting! Fake smells being pumped in around every corner.

The game was a complete blowout. A nice way for Coach Tiller to end his career.


What did I miss this weekend?

I live in Columbus, what do you think I missed?
“THE Game”
My friends got together in Cleveland to watch the Wolverines loose to the Buckeyes.

I wore my NTAC Productions wrist band and knew I was there in Cliffy’s basement in spirit – screaming expletives at his huge HDTV with my other idiot friends.

I have worked in TV just shy of 18 years now; needless to say, I am accustomed to working weekends. Over the past say 5 years, I have easily worked 45+ weekends a year. But it never gets any easier.

Cincinnati

November 18th
Texas Southern vs Cincinnati – College Basketball

Totally insane day.

The Duet wouldn’t boot up so I had to build 95% of the show on my laptop while waiting for another one to be driven down from Columbus.

Good challenge for me though. It was my first hoops game of the season – so what better way to launch it?!

Got the (new) Duet up and running less than an hour to air.

From all the ‘excitement’ of the day, I was beat by the 2nd half.

The drive home was rough, but the moon was amazing!
(I did try to take a photo of it; but it didn’t turn out)

Anyway, it was gigantic, orange and very low.
Thankfully it kept my attention the entire way home.

Ann Arbor, MI

November 13th – 15th
Northwestern vs Michigan – ESPN2 Noon ET – CFB Week 12




Made the drive to “the state up north” on Thursday afternoon.
Ugh! One of my least favorite drives.

The weather in Ann Arbor was beyond miserable the entire weekend. Frigid temps with endless biting rain & snow.

On Friday, Jason and I went to an awesome place near campus for lunch - Zingerman’s. If you are ever in the area, I suggest checking it out.

On Saturday, Michigan lost their 8th game of the season – which made it the worst season in the team’s 129 years of playing football.

On Sunday, I made Thanksgiving dinner. A fabulous evening with wonderful friends!


What did I miss this weekend?

Warmth.
I drove home in wet jeans and covered in mud.

Going to the Columbus Crew game on Thursday night. Okay, normally I wouldn’t care, but they won the Eastern Conference Championship and are now on their way to the MLS Cup. Several of my friends went to the game and had a great time!

November 6th – 8th

Minneapolis
Michigan vs Minnesota – ESPN Noon ET – CFB Week 11

On Thursday, I met Amy at the Mall of America. In all my trips to Minneapolis, I had never been there.

We were there for about 2 hours and didn’t cover 1/4th of it. Seriously we did 2 floors of one of the corners. You don’t fully understand its size, until you are there.

It was a nice afternoon of girl talk and shopping. This was Amy’s last week on the show, so it was nice to have time doing something fun!

Thursday night I walked around the streets of downtown for a bit. Reminiscing about all the times I had been here for other shows. As I walked and saw the various bars, I recalled the fun times I had in them. (wow, I have drank a lot in Minneapolis!)

We stayed at the Westin in downtown Minneapolis. Quite an improvement over the past 2 nights in Akron.

However, I did have quite the view out my window.


I have NO clue what that was used for. I was on the 5th floor, the Krack box was sitting on a roof. There was a door or chute or something. So bizarre!

On Friday night, we had a ‘girls night’. There are 8 females on our crew, which is highly unusual! (Well 6 now with budget cuts) It is not out of the ordinary for me to be the only girl on a crew.

Anyway – we went to dinner at Masa. It was a Tex-Mex place… very good!


What did I miss this weekend?
Melfi & Jessica got engaged on Friday night!
But I still got to see the fabulolus ring on Sunday when we went to dinner.

November 4th – 5th

Akron, OH
Toledo vs Akron – ESPNU 8ET – CFB

On Tuesday evening I drove to Akron for my game on Wednesday.

We stayed in what used to be a Radisson in downtown Akron. Oh my!

I should of known it was going to be an interesting stay when the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile was parked out front! (sorry, no photos)

This hotel had seen better days, that is for sure!

It began with me attempting to sit down at the desk to do some work. However, the decorator failed to purchase actual desk lamps, so the lamp took up the entire desk.


I was fighting another cold and didn’t feel like going out for dinner. So I got out the hotel info binder. I giggled to myself because they had used white out to get rid of the word “Radisson” on every page.

Anyway, I noted that room service was until 10, so being that it was 8:30, I called down to order.
“Our kitchen closed at 8.”
“But the book says 10.”
“Nope, we close at 8.”

Okay then.

When I went to wash my hands, tea colored water filled the sink. (The clogged drain reminded me of my drain in Qingdao). The toilet was also filled with dark water. Hmmm.

In the morning, I went down to the restaurant to get coffee. I am not joking when I say there was 1 person there. Very bizarre for a downtown hotel.

When I went back upstairs to take my tea colored water shower, I discovered no hot water. I let it run about 5 minutes before calling the front desk.
“Do you want me to send up maintenance?”
“No, I don’t have time. Just send me a key to another room so I an take a shower.”
“Well, actually mam, all the rooms are like that. The city shut our water off yesterday for 6 hours, so they said to just let it run and eventually there will be hot water.”

I slammed the phone down.
And wished I had said back, “then why would you send maintenance to my room if you already knew what was wrong with the water”

These things happen. But at a good hotel, they would of not only warned you of the issue at check in, they would of also left a note in your room.

Anyway, I eventually got warm enough water for a shower.

When I get out, there is an envelope that had been shoved under the door. It had child like handwriting on it that said, “Sorry about the water”. I opened the envelope and there were 2 coupons for a free breakfast buffet. I laughed out loud. When I had been in the restaurant earlier in the morning, I noticed there was a buffet, but there was no food on it.

So I just got 2 coupons for nothing.

On to what I was in Akron for… football!


This was the 2nd to last game to be played in the Rubber Bowl – a 66 year old stadium that has definitely seen better days. (The stadium says 1940, which would make it 68. Hmm... I am sure my graphic said 66 years.....)

It was a good day. I felt like crap but got to see some people I hadn’t seen for months, so that part was nice.

I also got to use a Duet for the first time since June – it was great!!! I hadn’t realized how much I missed it and doing football on it.


And for the record... yes, I know, I have become a hotel snob.
But keep in mind, hotels are my home.

Worthington, OH

November 2nd

Just an update on Smokey and Claude.....

Claude still hates Smokey, but she can now stand to be in the same room with him.

Here is a photo of them sleeping with their Unlce Melfi.

October 30th – November 1st

East Lansing, MI
Wisconsin vs Michigan State – ESPN Noon ET – CFB Week 10

Started out as a great trip – I was staying at my favorite hotel in East Lansing – the Marriott on M.A.C. Ave. Nothing really special about this hotel; just in the heart of campus with lots of bars just outside the front door.

If anything, I think I enjoy staying here because I have a lot of good memories of seasons past and great friends.

On Thursday, I walked around and just enjoyed the fabulous weather and campus sites.
In the evening, I went across the street to El Azteco for dinner. The margarita’s we just as I had remembered!

On Friday, I dressed up as a black cat for work. Auntie Gayle had been visiting my house earlier in the week and made the kitty collar for me.

(Kinda blurry, but you can see me holding my tail)

It was a pretty good day and I wasn’t even cranky about building more Javon Ringer graphics!

Then…. In the late afternoon… we got some bad news. Our show was under some major budget cuts and we were losing members of our crew, including the other graphics operator, Amy.

I didn’t take the news well. She has become a very good friend of mine. I couldn’t imagine doing the rest of the season without her!


What did I miss this weekend?
Passing out candy to the kids.

Worthington, OH

October 26th

Dave adopted a kitten today. His name is Smokey.
He is almost 4 months old and so adorable!
















Claude, Dave’s other cat, is not at all happy. But we are hoping they will be the best of friends very soon!

Claude, pouting

Madison, WI

October 23rd – 25th

Illinois vs Wisconsin – ESPN2 Noon ET – CFB Week 9


Yah!! A weekend of new teams! Very exciting to not be covering Michigan State!

It was my first visit to Camp Randall. I have been to Madison for basketball and a few other events, but never football.

And of course, Madison is my favorite city because it is also the name of my dog.

Actually, it was a really fun weekend because a few of my friends from ESPN Regional were also in town – covering volleyball.

I got in early on Thursday so I spent the afternoon with Shannon – mainly getting lost. But we had lots of time to catch up and of course have some giggles.

Thursday night our crew was meeting at the Essen House for a group dinner. The ESPN Regional crew also joined us. It was a lot of fun!

A couple of the guys got the 2 Liter Boot of beer.


Saks with Das Boot

What did I miss this weekend?
Nothing really. It was a good weekend on the road.

Evanston, IL

October 16th – 18th

Purdue vs Northwestern – ESPN2 Noon ET – CFB Week 8


We were back at the Doubletree in Evanston as we were the first week. So much better than the Holiday Inn!

Uneventful weekend for the most part.


Our compound

On Saturday night I flew back to Fort Myers for 2 more days.

What did I miss this weekend?

My friend Patty had a party to celebrate her daughter's birthday and her husband finishing his first half marathon.

Columbus Blue Jackets home opener. Not that big of a deal, but it is something I have been around for the past several seasons.

Fort Myers, FL

October 13th – 16th

On Sunday morning I took a flight to Fort Myers to surprise the family.

Spent a few days helping out with family stuff and spent each morning on a walk with my boys!


Madison & Rizon

They are both getting pretty old and aren’t able to walk my 3 miles, so after a while, they just enjoy the ride.

Madison is my dog, but moved in with my parents in 2001 right before I started freelancing full-time. My constant travel kinda prevents me from having pets, especially a dog!

But when I go to FL, he doesn’t leave my side. He pretty much goes everywhere with me – even on my errands. We leave the car and AC running and lock him in. He loves to just go anywhere!

Evanston, IL

October 9th – 12th

Michigan State vs Northwestern – ESPN2 3:30ET – CFB Week 7


Landed in Chicago a little after 3pm ct. Once I got my rental car I discovered I had left “Linda” my GPS in my car at home. (Dave named her, not me)
I dreaded the thought of Chicago with no GPS. But I had done it for years before “Linda” came into my life, so I know I could do it again.

Another weekend at a Holiday Inn. Ugh!

This week it’s Holiday Inn Skokie.
They tried, they really did. Everyone was helpful, but it took numerous staff just to pull off one task. (reminds me of China)

When I printed stuff in the business center, I realized there was no printer. That’s strange. So I went to the front desk and they explain everything gets printed there. “Ok, can I please have the things off the printer?” – the guy hands me 2 pages. I explain that there are probably 10 more pages – they say it takes literally 5 minutes per page to print because quote, “it has to go thru a wire first.”

I went back an hour later and they didn’t know what had happened to the stuff I printed. Forget it!

Yet another weekend covering Michigan State!

On Friday night, ESPN had a crew dinner for us at Bravo! in Evanston. It’s a great Italian place that we have in Columbus too. Anyway, there were about 30-40 of us and a nice time was had by all!

On Saturday, for some reason, we were the 3:30 game and not the noon game this week. So that means I was not able to fly home on Saturday night. Grrr!


What did I miss this weekend?
Actually, nothing really.

Columbus

October 7th – 9th

Tour My Town

This week my Uncle Hugh, Aunt Mary and Frank (their cat) were traveling through Ohio with their RV and decided to stop to visit for a few days.

Frank enjoyed a couple of days in my house as it always stays parked in the same spot.

Besides doing a some repair jobs around my house, Uncle Hugh, Aunt Mary and I had a nice couple of days seeing the sights around Columbus.

They saw the cement corn field in Dublin.


I also drove them around campus and we stopped to take photos at where else? Ohio Stadium!


We took in the sites of the Short North and North Market.

Followed by a behind the scenes tour of Nationwide Area – home of the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) and Columbus Destroyers (AFL). It is also where my friend Dave works.

We drove past the state house – none of us were up for a history lesson.

Then we went on to the Franklin Park Conservatory – which is one of my favorites. Not this time though. The exhibit was “Bending Nature” – we still have no clue what exactly it was supposed to be. Thankfully they still have permanent pieces from Dale Chihuly – I can see those over and over.


We have no clue what this is supposed to be – but Uncle Hugh and Aunt Mary looked cute inside of it.

We ate at a few of the local favorites – Thurman’s in German Village, Chef-a-nette in Upper Arlington and Cap City in Grandview.

It was a nice mini-vacation for all of us – I rarely take the time to explore and enjoy my own city.

East Lansing, MI

October 2nd – 4th

Iowa vs Michigan State – ESPN2 12ET – CFB Week 6

Another weekend covering Michigan State!
I am soooo sick of creating graphics about Javon Ringer!!

Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express for the second weekend in a row. Trust me, it’s not at all like the commercials!

Totally uneventful weekend travel & work-wise.


What did I miss this weekend?

My cousin, Sean, got married this weekend in Big Rapids, MI. A lot of my family was there, including my mom and her 5 brothers. The six of them have not all been together in many, many years.

Was so disappointing because I was about 3 hours away – but I would of missed all the festivities if I had driven up on Saturday night after my game. Only to have to drive back to Lansing a few hours later to catch my flight. Plus, I wouldn’t have had time to see both sides of my family. So close, yet so far away.

Again, another time that my job sucks. I have missed endless weddings and family functions over the years. If only weddings were during the week!

Bloomington, IN

September 25th - 27th

Michigan State vs Indiana – ESPN2 12ET – CFB Week 5

So this weekend was another ‘drive’ for me. Takes 6 hours to fly to Indianapolis because I can not get a direct flight. Takes 3 hours to drive.

However, the positive this weekend is that I got to see my godson, Cameron. He lives in Bloomington, with his dad, Rob and dog, Buster. Rob’s parents and my parents have been close friends for over 25 years – so we pretty much grew up like brother & sister.

Cameron with his chicken hat that he got at a beer festival in Cincinnati


Buster

What did I miss this weekend?

THE biggest event to ever take place at Quicken Loans Arena!
(For those who don’t know – that is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers/Cleveland Gladiators (AFL) and Cleveland Monsters (AHL)

NTAC Productions pulled off its biggest show yet – the engagement extravaganza of Cliff & Boo!

The NTAC’s shot and edited a music video of Cliff and Jonny performing “Round and Round” by Jagged Edge. Over 60 of Cliff & Boo’s friends and family were waiting in the stands of the arena as Boo walked in only to see the video playing on the Jumbotron, followed by Cliff on the court in the spotlight, proposing.

Cliff & Boo later in evening

Several of my friends work at the arena and mainly in the Game Ops/Video Production departments – that is how the event was made possible.

It is weekends such as this that I totally hate my job. I miss all the good times with my friends.

The NTAC's minus me

(In the now classic pose of Dave putting a bowling ball in front of Cliff's face at the last second)

Pittsburgh

September 18th – 20th

Iowa vs Pitt – ESPN2 12ET – CFB Week 4

First of all, if you are from Pittsburgh or like it, I apologize in advance. It is quite possibly my most hated city in the country. Pennsylvania is my most hated state. (You are welcome to hate Columbus and or Ohio)

Plus, it is not easy to fly there from Columbus – in order to do so – I would have to connect in Chicago or DC – which is just stupid. It takes about 6 hours to fly, 3 to drive. So, I sucked it up and drove.

I was completely dreading the trip – BUT – I was going to finally meet the triplets! My friends Mark & Lori have 2 year old triplets that I have yet to meet. So I was very excited about that!

I went over to their house and played with the kids and had dinner with them – it truly was a great time. And so nice to see Mark & Lori – it had been probably 6 years or more since I had seen Lori.


I had purposely charged my camera battery before I left so I could take photos of the kids. Did I take a single photo?

Our crew hotel was the Doubletree downtown Pittsburgh. Of course, I drove around the block 4 times before I could figure out how to actually get in the hotel. Typical of Pittsburgh – you can see where you want to go – just can’t get there.

There wasn’t a valet anywhere to be found, but I really didn’t care. I left my car on the street anyway.

Okay, so it’s a Doubletree – that’s good – you get a fresh baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookie when you check in. :)

I finally get to my room and realize they didn’t give me a cookie! Grr! Leave it to the Pittsburgh Doubletree to screw me out of my cookie!

Went to the hotel bar… asked for a IC Light in an aluminum bottle (it’s the beer to drink in Pittsburgh). “We don’t have it in aluminum.” “Okay, I will have a Miller Lite in a bottle.” “We only have it on draft.” “Fine, I will have IC Light in a glass bottle.”
(I don’t drink draft beer because most bars are bad about cleaning the lines… insane amounts of mold build up in the lines and I am very allergic)

IC Light is made in Pittsburgh! How can they not have the aluminum bottle?! (there really is a difference)

So pretty much the rest of my weekend was spent getting lost and frustrated because the road you want to be on is under construction or closed because there is a Pirates game.

I called my friend Dave on my way to work on Friday to ask which bridge was the “Roberto Clemente” (he lived in Pittsburgh for a few years). He told me it was the yellow one.


Guess what? THEY ARE ALL YELLOW!

It wasn’t just me. I think I heard just about everyone on the crew say at least one negative thing about Pittsburgh.

Of course when I was leaving town, the bridge I wanted was closed, so I had a difficult time getting out of downtown. But here are the 2 best photos I have taken in a long time…..


This means I have found the tunnel back the real world


I am escaping!


The plus side to working only 3 hours away - I was home at 8pm!
AND even better, I was no longer sick, so I was able to enjoy a night on the couch with Dave ... switching between the Indians game and numerous football games. The Indians won - making it the first time since mid-May that the Indians were above .500