Columbus

June 10th – 13th

Whew! I made it! The madness is over!

I spent the first few days of my vacation with my two favorite kids – Claude & Smokey came to Auntie Nic’s for a little vacation.

Matty turns 40 this week and is coming down to visit for a few days. He is allergic to kitties – so they came to stay with me while he was staying at Dave’s. (I am allergic too, but I don’t count)

We didn’t get much accomplished other than naps. But I guess I am due.

I did get to go have lunch on Friday with a long time friend and her little boys. That was nice. It is so rare that I get to do “normal” girlfriend things. I truly enjoyed hanging out having Quizno’s & Happy Meals!

Oxford, MS

June 3rd – 8th

NCAA Baseball Super Regionals – Virginia vs Ole Miss – ESPN/ESPN2


I had a couple days at home to unpack, do laundry and repack. This is pretty much the end of my season – so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

On Wednesday, I flew to Memphis around noon. Then drove down to Oxford, Mississippi. It’s about 1.5 hours.

The tech crew was staying in Batesville which is about a half hour from Oxford, but somehow I ended up with production at a hotel right in Oxford. I didn’t ask any questions!

Batesville is the home of Batesville Casket Company. I have seen their semi trucks for years now while driving on interstates across the country. Now I know where they are coming from.

I was eager to get to Oxford because I had never been there. I’ve heard what a great southern college town it was for years now.

Did my usual ritual of stopping for a few groceries and then settling into the hotel. Dave had also asked for an Ole Miss t-shirt. That is never an easy task. Granted this shirt is pretty mainstream; unlike the other odd requests over the years, but he only like very specific shirts. They have to be gray, XL, and the logo has to be just so.

While out shopping, I discovered another wonderful parking job.


I also drove around campus to check things out. Wow! So beautiful!


Lovely brick buildings everywhere.
Tons of magnolia trees too!


Our set day on Thursday went well. I was working with one of my favorite producers & directors – so that always makes things better.

Oxford-University Stadium is VERY nice! It’s only a few years old and it is very impressive for a college ballpark.

That evening, I went to the production dinner to a place in downtown Oxford called Ajax Diner. It was known for good southern cookin’!


Production dinners usually consist of the producer, director, assistant director, associate producer, talent and any management that might be in town. They typically discuss the upcoming event and any stories they may want to hit on during the broadcasts. And most times, the “mouse” pays.

Since I am friends with a lot of the producers and directors, I am invited to join from time to time. I take them up on the offer every so often; I try not to take advantage since I am not part of production.

Everything on the menu was deep fried. My stomach turned just reading it!

Deep fried pickles, BBQ Chicken Nachos, and some type of seafood was ordered as appetizers. I don’t like pickles, but I did try a few. Not bad. I am not a huge fan of BBQ, but I tried the nachos and they were really good.

I ordered the meatloaf with side dishes of mashed potatoes and mac & cheese. Oh my!
I swear to God the meatloaf was baked then deep fried! In the middle of the meatloaf, there was a brick of Monterrey jack cheese. Strange, but tasty!

Everything was very good, but I just don’t eat like that. I knew there would be hell to pay later.

After dinner, we went to a bar that had a live blues band. After about 3 sips of beer, I was done. I was sure I was going to puke on the ride home.

The boys were ready to stay for a while, thankfully, Susan was ready to head back to the hotel. So she drove me home. I was so sick from dinner!

Friday’s game was 4 hours, 17 minutes. Thankfully, Rebel Matt Smith hit a solo walk-off home run to win the game in the 12th.

After the game, I set out once again on my quest for Dave’s shirt. I went to a few shops and eventually found one I knew he would like.

On Saturday, I was blown away by the fans! The game was 11am local time, I was going in around 8am and the fans were already tailgating! Just like a football Saturday.



After the game I went downtown to walk around the square for a few hours.

There are all sorts of quaint shops and LOTS of bars.

I had a late lunch at a place called Boure – it was French/New Orleans-ish. Very good! And not so southern!


Sunday morning, the fans were waiting to storm the gates once again! In the outfield, under the scoreboard, there are terraces for fans to bring in their own chairs. That is prime real estate!


When the gates open it looks like the fans entering “the Who” concert in 1979!

Before the game, I went into the stadium to check out the suites. Wow!
Each of the table tops look like this:


They are your typical suites you would find at a basketball or football arena with mini bars and counter tops for catering. But still, I was shocked that this was a college baseball stadium!


I don’t know the complete story behind this part… but on Friday when I was looking for the bathrooms, one of the suite workers asked if they could help me. I said I was looking for the ladies room. Well he decided I needed a tour of the facility. So I followed him around while he showed off the place. The part that intrigued me was when he motioned to an area that was ‘curtained’ off and said… “well of course the lockers are behind there, but we had to hide them since the NCAA is here.” I smiled and moved on.

Well OF COURSE I had to later find out what was back there!
So I did just that on Sunday morning – peaked behind the curtain…….

Rows of wooden lockers with names on them. Hmm….

I found another section of them with people behind the curtains… so I looked.
The lockers are full of alcohol!

Apparently, when you buy a suite, you also get a locker to keep your booze in to drink while inside your suite.

After the game on Sunday, I drove back to Memphis because I had an early flight out on Monday morning. There are only 2 hotels near the airport. Travel put me at the Holiday Inn. I was skeptical because I thought I had stayed at the Radisson in the past – but whatever.

I should of trusted my instincts. The hotel was dreadful! It was near a military base – so basically there were hundreds of men waiting to shipped out to somewhere. As I lugged all my stuff up the big hill to the front door, about 20 guys stood outside smoking. I was by no means looking even slightly decent – but that didn’t stop the whistles and “hey baby” cat calls.

The hotel was dark and filthy. I felt very unsafe. I just wanted the night to be over with. I assumed I would be raped and or murdered before dawn.

I barely slept. Jumping awake at every sound.

Obviously, I somehow beat the odds and survived the night.

It was so dirty, I didn’t even take a shower. I just got up and went to the airport about 3 hours early. I went and sat in the Crown Room until my flight.

So this is it…. time for my off-season. I have about 2.5 months before the madness starts all over again.

But don’t stop reading – there’s still plenty more to come!

I have various events scheduled throughout the summer. As well as some vacations!

Oklahoma City, OK

May 26th - June 1st

Women's College World Series - ESPN

Tuesday morning came quick!

Heather and I met in the lobby and headed to the airport. We got there plenty early – but we were fearful since neither of us were that familiar with the Boston airport and it was the morning after a holiday weekend.

Thankfully, we were able to pass the time in the Red Carpet Club. My investments in the various clubs proves to be a blessing once again!

We flew to Chicago. Once there, we met up with about 8 other people from our crew and then flew on to Oklahoma City.

The others had to work on Tuesday, I did not. So I took one of the rental cars on to the hotel to get settled. Then ran some errands, got some fruit and snacks and went back to the hotel.

Once unpacked, I was completely exhausted!

I took a little nap and then met up with my friend Campy for dinner and drinks.

We went to TapWerks – a Bricktown staple. They have 212 beers on tap. And over 100 options in a bottle. So needless to say, it’s a must for a tv crew!

We had really terrible pizza for dinner. But we still had fun! Eventually Heather joined us and even more stories & laughs were shared!

On Wednesday, the set day went pretty good. It has been 6 months since I touched a Viz, so I was anxious to get behind the keyboard again!

That evening, I went to an Italian place in Bricktown. I’ve been there several times. On the way there I came across this stellar parking job. Really?

Bricktown is a district about 2 blocks from our hotel. It’s consists of bars and restaurants. A couple years ago they added a minor league baseball park. There are also canals that run between some of the restaurants.

Here is a photo taken when watching game 3 on Thursday – I am pretty sure Michigan was one of the teams. I stayed and watched for like an hour or so.


This was my 3rd time here in the past 5 years. I loved it just as much this year. The stands are packed and so is the parking lot. It’s a lot like football tailgating. RVs, tents, grills, TV’s etc. A lot of people stay out there, never venturing into the stands, so they can drink.

On to the technical aspect….. There was a snafu in 'truck' scheduling at the last minute, so the truck company had to sub in another truck.

We ended up with an "Entertainment Truck" - which means it does tv shows, concerts, etc. You would think a truck was a truck - but actually entertainment trucks and sports trucks are configured VERY differently.

So a fun little nugget about the truck we ended up with... before rolling into Oklahoma City, it did the American Idol Finals. I hate American Idol - but even I have to admit that is kinda cool :)

Here is a photo of our compound:

The tour bus on the left is one of the camera guys’. He brings it every year as the camera guy “lounge”. They take turns laying down inside cooling off, nap, etc. A lot of the camera guys & utilities suffer from heat exhaustion – so they get to rehab in there.

Behind the tour bus, is the “B” unit. Inside there is the tape room and a graphics pre-build room which also includes the clock & score unit.

The “A” Unit is behind the sat truck. That is where production & audio lived.

To the right of that, is the “C” unit where my Viz (graphics) machines were (physically) even though I worked in production. Also in the “C” unit was the RF people and the Final Cut room. (RF is the wireless gear and Final Cut is a video editing system)

To the right of that (black) was the generator.

And finally on the far right is the office trailer. Where operations were based as well as areas for the managers from the Bristol & Charlotte offices had desk space.

The crew consisted of 93 people. I believe the largest crew I have ever been a part of.

The majority of the crew did all 4 games each day. Except for ‘production’ which only does 2 games aday. (2 graphics ops, 2 graphics producers, assistant director, producer, director and technical director)

The conditions are absolutely BRUTAL for the camera guys. It’s extremely hot & humid. There are runners that bring them around towels that are soaked in ice buckets. You can see some of them on top of the building in this photo

For the camera guys who were on the “spider lifts” – they are held hostage up there until operations came and lowered them. (below)

Here is a shot of the tour bus lounge area (it had a plasma tv for us to watch in one of the belly bays)

This is production. I am very disappointed in the photo because it doesn’t do the truck justice. This only shows half of the monitor wall. The station right there in bottom right (orange monitor) is mine…

This is audio:

Here are the 2 sides of the tape room:



In the “C” Unit were the actual Viz’s. Here is a peak of what they look like (there were 3 of them)
Front View:


Back View:


Guess I never made it into the Final Cut room, sorry.

Here is where the jib lived at night

Having all these separate trucks along with tons of equipment, there is TONS of cable!


These huge shipping bins are what all the cables came in. There were tons of these bins!


I tend to keep my room pretty tidy and organized with on the road. It’s the only way I can stand being confined to a small space. However, when staying somewhere for a week while working extremely long days, things tend to get a little out of control!


But my clothes still manage to stay hung up!


The event went pretty good. I struggled a little from time to time since it had been 6 months since using a Viz. But it was also a good confidence boost because I remembered far more than I thought. Plus I had some of the best operators in the country working along side of me to help in moments of panic.

I truly love this event! The crew is such a great group of friends!
I wish I could work with these people every day.

Sunday night was my last day. Starting on Monday, there is only 1 game a day so the reduce the production team to just 1 director, 1 producer, 1 AD, 1 TD, 2 APs, 2 Viz ops. So it is tradition to have a big ‘party’ on Sunday night. Plus the remaining crew also doesn’t go in on Monday until the afternoon – so even more reason to get our drink on!

Unfortunately, the games went very long and there really weren’t any bars open in Bricktown when we got done working. We did gather at the hotel bar for a while, but that’s not the same.
Not much of a ‘party’ after all.

I didn’t sleep at all well on Sunday night.

On Monday I woke up with a migraine. I think it was stress. There were decisions to be made about the upcoming football season. I knew this was coming and I had been putting it off since I had been on the road for the past couple of weeks.

My flight home wasn’t until after 5pm, so I had plenty of time to pack, etc.
It took me forever to pack since I felt so terrible.

I was able to have lunch with my friend Shannon, which of course only made me feel more miserable! But I was determined to have a nice time with her since we didn’t get to spend much time together on this trip.

I hadn’t planned on getting a cab to the airport until around 3:30. However, I was ready much earlier and had nothing to do, so I went ahead and headed out.

When I checked in for my flight, there was an earlier flight home – YES! So I switched to that one and only had about an hour wait.

Of course when I boarded the 70 seat RJ, I quickly discovered I had the worst seat on the plane – the last row, in front of the bathroom. Non-reclining seat. To make matters worse, the plane was approximately 92 degrees. Keeping in mind that I am still suffering from a migraine. Then the icing on the cake – a rather large and sweaty man sat down next to me. We were so packed in the row that our arms were stuck together with sweat. It was so disgusting.

I was unable to sleep. I just kept my head resting on the window and attempted to enter into my migraine comatose state. It’s kinda like meditating that I do in attempts to relieve the pain.

We finally made it to Memphis and I quickly scurried to the Crown Room for some fresh AC and a glass of wine.

Upon arrival, I notice my flight was listed twice at 2 different gates. So I had the nice lady look into it and she had a rather confusing answer. There was still about 1.5 hours til my flight, so I decided to check back in a bit.

I threw all my crap into a chair and sat down and put my feet up. The Crown Room is set up like little living rooms – chairs, end tables, coffee tables, couches – it’s rare that you are able to get one “living room” to yourself.

OF COURSE, the idiot across the coffee table couldn’t possibly leave me alone in peace.
“You look like you’ve had a long international flight”
In an effort to show that I didn’t want to talk, I simply said, “No.”
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

“Well then maybe a rough day at work?”
(AGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I said, “I have a migraine.”
Then leaned my head back again.

He asked another question, but I chose to ignore him.

About 10 minutes later he left.
YES!!

I rested for awhile and checked on my flight.

By this point, my flight was listed 4 different ways. This is trouble.
I asked the nice Crown Room lady – even she couldn’t figure it out. Neither could her co-worker. So I packed up and headed to the gate.

Apparently they had changed aircraft on us. So the flight number had changed a couple of times.

As I boarded the plane, I realized it was a “real” plane with first class.
So I turned around and went back to the gate agent and asked where my upgrade was?
She started rambling about something and punched a bunch of stuff into her computer.
It was like that scene from "Meet the Parents"

5 minutes later, I had the seat I wanted.

All good :)

Am so happy this trip is over!

Foxboro, MA

May 21st – 26th

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Semifinals – ESPN2 - Saturday
Cornell vs Virginia ~ Syracuse vs Duke

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship – ESPN2 – Monday
Syracuse vs Cornell

Thursday morning was rough. I had returned very late from the Cavs game. Only got a couple hours of sleep. But thankfully, I had pretty much packed before departing on the Cleveland mini-vaca.

I flew into Boston, via Washington, DC.


This trip lasts almost 2 weeks, but thankfully, in only 2 cities.
However, since I was not flying on Delta, my luggage could not exceed 50lbs/bag. Since it was such a long trip, I ended up having to check 2 bags. Which is never an easy feat to carry 2 pieces of luggage and my backpack.

Once I retrieved everything, I set out on the car rental shuttle bus. Then lugged all my crap to a car.

The drive to Foxboro isn’t very far, but traffic is always backed up. So it took about an hour.

After checking into the hotel, I set back out to pick up some essentials for the next 6 days.

On Friday, our set day went very well.

The event was being held at Gillette Stadium for the 2nd consecutive season.

The spelling of the city was once again a topic of discussion this year.
ESPN spells it “Foxboro”, however, the town itself spells it “Foxborough”.


On Saturday, I was once again amazed at the dedication of the fans!


Cornell & Duke advanced to the Championship game to be held on Monday.

Sunday was our edit day. It’s basically like another set day. We get these on Championship events so extra time can be put into the production value of the Championship game.

Since we only worked a couple hours on Sunday, I went over to the new mall next to the stadium once we were done. It’s pretty cool. There are numerous views of the stadium from various parts of the outdoor mall.

I wandered around for a while and then had dinner at “Five Guys”. It’s good, but it’s no “In & Out Burger” !


The Championship game on Monday was pretty exciting! I have been doing more & more lacrosse each season and this is my 3rd Championship – so I’ve gotten to know the game and the teams.

Here is an excerpt from an online game recap:
Syracuse men’s lacrosse team came from behind in dramatic fashion to win the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, tying Cornell on an improbable goal with four seconds left and then claiming the Championship in overtime, 10-9.

After the game, I drove to Boston with my friend Heather. I was staying in Boston so I could be closer to the airport since we had a very early flight to Oklahoma City.

That evening we had a really nice dinner at The Palms. Then had a few drinks at the bar.

On Tuesday morning, we headed for the airport around 5am – ugh!

Cleveland

May 19th – 20th

Was able to sneak in a min-vacation!

Dave and I drove up to Cleveland on Tuesday evening.

We stayed at Cliff & Boo’s. Our friends, Matty, Jonny, Amanda & Josh came over to hang out, watch TV and have a few drinks with us. Fun was had by all!

On Wednesday morning, I woke up with a stiff neck (slept funky), a migraine and possibly a slight case of the Miller Lite flu.

All bad!
I could of dealt with the stiff neck and Miller Lite flu – but the migraine put me over the edge.

A few hours and several pain pills later, I was able to overcome the migraine. But I wasn’t so sure that would ever happen!

Dave, Cliff and I watched our friend Mike do his live stream on weather.com for a while. (He is currently on his Vortex2 project chasing tornadoes for 5 weeks) So we would send him text messages while he was on the air to see if we could get him to either mention something we were saying – or – to see if we could make him giggle.

Eventually, Dave and I left and went to Panera. After some nice warm soup in my belly, I was ready to conquer the day!

We went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Sorry, no photos inside.

It was a nice & relaxing day.

Around 5 we headed to Panini’s – a game day staple in Cleveland.


I had the turkey panini – very tasty!


Cliff & Josh met up with us shortly after for a few beers. Well – they had beers, Dave and I didn’t. We had a long night (and drive) ahead of us.

Around 7:30 Dave and I ventured over to Quicken Loans Arena for Game 1 of the NBA Finals 3rd Round – Orlando vs Cleveland.


Our first stop was to visit the QTV control room. Several of our friends work there. QTV is what you are watching on the Jumbo Tron during a Cavaliers game. Our friend, Jonny is the Director. His wife, Amanda (also our friend) is the Producer. Numerous other people on the crew are either friends of ours – or we know them from working with them over the years.

Anyway – QTV puts on one of the best shows in all of professional sports. It literally ROCKS!

A little after 8, Matty escorted us to our seats.


And we waited for the show – or I mean – game – to begin!

The show was awesome!

And then… it began…
The jackass behind me started screaming. He thought he was the coach. He was yelling so loud that my hair was literally blowing!

It was so bad, people several rows in front of me kept turning and looking up.

After he spit on me a few times, Dave wiped my head off with our white rally towels in attempts to get the point across.

Nope.

It made the game completely miserable.

A few minutes into the 1st quarter, Orlando’s Dwight Howard broke the shot clock on top of the basket while dunking a ball.


It delayed the game about 15 minutes or so while engineers swarmed the court in attempts to repair it and the “above the rim” camera which was dangling by a thread.


Eventually, they decided it was not fixable, so they rolled out back up shot clocks onto the floor


Cleveland’s Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, sending the crowd into a frenzy!


Eventually, the decibel level of the guy behind me dropped. But he was still extremely annoying. What amazes me it did he really think the players could here him?

The Cavs struggled a bit in the 3rd and ended up losing the game by 1 point.

Even so, it was an awesome night!

The drive home was BRUTAL ! But we had to go. I had a 7am flight the next morning.

Even though the trip was only about 30 hours – it was great! I was able to a game as a fan! And I got to hang out with my friends, which is even better!!

Thank you to everyone that made it happen. From a place to stay, media credentials to tickets to a ride back to Columbus!