Saturday in the Basement

So I didn't go to the presidential debate in Mississippi like planned. And I was really looking forward to the Comfort Inn in Batesville, MS- NOT! I've gladly slept in my own bed and stayed in DC to deal with this bailout. It's not like I'm personally doing anything with "dealing" with it but we are covering it from the White House. So last night, I watched the debate from home like most Americans. And like other Americans I had my priorities. I was also trying to get caught up on watching "The Office" since I missed it on Thursday night. (I actually just forgot it was Thursday night. I am a little mixed up on my days of the week!) So I watched as much as I could before the debate started. Then I flipped over to my network to watch the debate and then as soon as they shook hands, watched the rest of the show. I might need to re-watch it without interruption of a silly presidential debate. That show cracks me up!!

So today I am in our booth in the basement of the White House. Every once in a while, I go upstairs to see the outside world. There are a ton of tourists here and they think the briefing room is the coolest place in the world. I am trying to figure out at what point I lost that sense of awe in being here. Now I'm part of the tour. Anyway, back on topic... you used to be able to take your picture behind the podium but now they have it roped off so people just stand in front of the platform/podium. I am sitting at my desk in the basement and watching our in-house feed of the cameras upstairs and I'm spying on people smiling for photos. A few are rebels and go behind the ropes. As long as they don't come downstairs to my office, I think it's quite entertaining to watch.

We'll be here until there's a bailout deal or 8p when the Hokies are playing football. I've set an arbitrary deadline for the Congress to make a deal. Let's hope they come through before 8p. Or tomorrow because I'm not working and really don't care when they come up with a deal. I'll be going to church and taking my Sunday afternoon nap!

A Zoo at the White House

I woke up this morning in NYC and took the train back to DC so we could work out of the White House since today was such a big day. Plus my network was travel pool and there was a lot on POTUS's sked. We came directly to the WH which meant that I brought my enormous suitcase through the NW gate. The USSS asked if I was moving in and I said, "Sure! I've got enough clothes for about two weeks but I'm going to need someone to do my laundry at some point." I think they thought I was serious.

Anyway, this place was sooooo hopping today! I think the last day it was like this was when the Pope came to town in April. I'm not saying that a visit by Obama and McCain would equate to the Pope but EVERYONE was back at the WH from campaign trail! It was like a little reunion! POTUS met with three different world leaders today which literally no one cared about. One of them was Palestinian President Abbas. Eight months ago, that would have been the biggest stir but today literally no one was paying attention.

The big moment of the day was when McCain and Obama were here. They brought their own travel pools with them but the WH travel pool (us) were the only ones allowed in the room for the big meeting. The press briefing room, where they all waited, was PACKED with people. I was the one in charge of coordinating the playing/feeding of the tape so that all 5 networks could air the tape at the same time. It was a bit of pressure because I knew soooo many people were counting on us. I am pleased to say that my coworker/friend Greg and I were a perfect team. I won't bore you with all the details of how the sausage is made but let's just say the process was flawless!!

The afternoon was just a zoo. Or maybe a circus is a better way to describe it. Three rings- one for POTUS, one for WHOTUS-R, and one for WHOTUS-D. It was just hopping. I was at the WH just for pool duties and my colleague Jamie was here for my network's liveshots and other needs and there were not many moments that weren't hectic. I haven't seen so many people at a stakeout as today's scene waiting to see if Obama and McCain would come out to talk. They didn't.

The final event of the day was a meeting in the Oval Office with the Prime Minister of India. I admit that I'm not completely up on all the latest Indian issues but I had some really good Indian food last night for dinner. But I digress. This was my first time I went into the Oval as the one and only TV representative. Usually we have a correspondent do it but with all the craziness going on, it just worked best for me to do it. I was standing in the Oval Office but was so busy trying to write down every word that was said that I really didn't get to take it all in. I was just praying that POTUS didn't call on me with a question. Thankfully it was clear he didn't want to talk to the press at all so I felt relieved. He did keep staring at me but I think it was because I somehow got stuck in the middle of the Indian press corps and the Indian PM went on and on about whatever. I guess a petite blond girl really stands out in the Indian press corps!! You can't actually see me in the picture below because I'm blocked by an Indian cameraman. But I promise I'm there.

It looks like I might not be going to Oxford, MS for the debates after all. The story is here in DC with the bailout so that's where we'll be at least for tomorrow. Too bad because I was really looking forward to the Comfort Inn in Batesville, Mississippi. But that's okay because I'll get to sleep in my own bed and I'll actually get 8 hours of sleep!!

Random Thoughts by Becky

Today was my last day in NYC and it was a busy as ever. Lots of stuff going on. I won't recap the whole day but between Bush, McCain, Palin, and Obama there is plenty going on. Check the news. All I know is that I don't really know where I'm headed except that I think tomorrow morning I will get on a train and go back to DC and work at the White House. Then I will get to sleep in my own bed as an extra surprise. After that, I have no idea what's going on. I think I'm going to Mississippi for the debate but who knows!!

Anyway, there weren't any really good behind the scenes stories today so I thought I would share some random thoughts. In no particular order.

1) The W is a nice hotel. Very expensive and a small room but very chic. I appreciate chic and actually feel pretty cool staying here. However, I've run into a few problems. I am too short to stay here. The mirrors in the bathroom start at about 58 inches from the floor. I am 60 inches from the floor so I can only see my eyebrows and above when looking in the mirror in the bathroom. That has proven to be a slight problem when getting ready in the morning. Also the shower is so cool that there is no shower curtain/door. I guess it's designed that way for a reason. However, each morning that I've gotten out of the shower, there has been an enormous puddle of water outside the shower. Just a bit strange that they didn't think that part through. The last odd thing that I will mention is that the picture on the wall/headboard is that of the backside of a naked woman. That is just not what I want to see as the first thing I look at when I open my eyes and try to figure out where the heck I am. But like I said, somehow I feel pretty cool staying here. Go figure.

2) I am completely over my crush on Lance Armstrong. It's official. I won't go into the whole history of my former love of Lance but suffice it to say that I loved Lance before most people had ever heard of him. Anyway, I'm completely over him. And this is how I know. I didn't do the early morning liveshots this morning and went in a little bit later but I was watching our morning show on TV and who was on there but Lance Armstrong. From the NY bureau. Where I have spent the majority of hours in the last three days. And the best part was when I realized I would have gotten to see him again if I had been at work and I didn't care!!! It was over for me when I read reports that he had gone out with one of the Olsen twins. Today's events just confirmed that.

3) Despite my slight incident the other night in the cab, I have gotten pretty good at catching and riding in a cab. Each time I get in a van, I've been hoping it would be the Cash Cab as seen on Discovery Channel. But I haven't found it yet. But then I started thinking. I don't think that show is real because I don't feel like it's safe for cab drivers to be distracted from their driving with hosting a game show. I feel like the driver needs to pay 100% attention while he/she is driving so as not to be sideswiped or just creamed into. Especially in this traffic here.

4) I'm really trying to like the new Facebook but I just don't. In a way, it's a good thing I've been so busy so I haven't had as much time to be frustrated with it. Seriously, why did they have to "fix" something that wasn't broken??

5) I'm still figuring out what to give my friend Maugurita. I like the gift card thing. That can go in the thank-you card that I will eventually write!! But I'm still not sure... I'm still taking suggestions. For the record, I have not left anything else behind in a cab. I've been super careful.

Ok, I am positive I had more random thoughts than that but at this hour after a frazzling day, I can't think of them. I'll be on a train tomorrow morning and can amend my blogpost if I am so inspired.

The Good Samartian

Or in this case, the Good New Yorker.

As you know, I'm in the Big Apple for a few days for the UN. I do like staying in the same place for more than one night even though I had to change rooms last night and my room is MUCH smaller and MUCH MORE expensive than Sunday night's room which I don't understand. Last night it ended up being crucial to spend more than 8 hours in one place. Anyway, once again I digress. On to the story and it might be a little long. Don't say I didn't warn you! Stick with me here.

Last night after working for 12 hours, I got to go to dinner with a friend from DC and her co-workers. I thought I was a little closer to where they were than I actually was but I eventually found them and had a great time hanging out. So at the end of the night, I decided against walking the mile back to my hotel and I jumped in a cab. I love the NY cabs, by the way, because it's soooo convenient to pay by credit card. Anyway, I'm riding back to my hotel and the roads are all blocked off due to the fact that I'm across the street from the Waldorf and that is where every world leader and their mother, literally, are staying. So we get to the point where he couldn't go any further and instead of, I don't know, stopping at a corner, he just says "you need to get out now!" There were still cars coming on either side of the cab. Anyway, I felt like he wasn't going to move until I got out of the cab in the middle of the street so I paid and ran out of the cab as quickly as possible. Just as soon as I actually made it to the sidewalk, I realized that I had lost my driver's license out of my pocket. I turned around and in those five seconds, the cabbie was long gone. I had no receipt or any way of telling which of the two bazillion NYC cabs I had just been in.

So I resigned myself to the fact that I had lost my license forever. I called the restaurant to see if by chance I had left it behind but I knew that it had just fallen out in the cab. I actually didn't freak out too much because I immediately remembered that I travel with my passport and I could just use that for the airports and that I would have the rental car in my correspondent's name and he could drive! But it was still going to be a pain to get a new one and I wasn't sure when the next time I would a) have a day off and b) be in Virginia. I still wasn't freaking though. I guess being in the news business for over a decade makes me deal with stress fairly well. I went back to my hotel room and was just going to go to bed since I had to be up in several hours for early morning liveshots anyway.

Then here's the amazing part of the story. At 11:30pm, the phone in my hotel room rings which usually that is just the hotel people making sure you don't need anything. But it wasn't them. A lady on the phone said, "Hi Rebecca. You don't know me but I found your drivers license in the cab I was riding in tonight and thought you might want it back." I couldn't believe it!! I would have said it was an answer to prayer except that I never really prayed that I would find it. I was praying more along the lines that I would be okay until I could get to the DMV back home. Obviously God knew more than me of what I needed (without me asking any way!) and orchestrated my path to cross with this God-sent woman! I asked how she had found me and she said that in addition to leaving behind my license, I also had left behind my hotel key and it was in a sleeve with my room number on it. So she called the W and asked for my room and I was there!!

So this morning, I went over to her office building which was many blocks away. The NY bureau courier drove me (I guess the assignment desk was leery to put me in another cab!) and he got me over there in record time. New York traffic is always crazy but it's even crazier with every world leader here and it was truly amazing how quickly the process was. We made it over there and back in under 30 minutes in the middle of rush hour traffic on UN General Assembly day. I got to meet Margarita for a few minutes in the middle. She's an architect on Park Ave. and an incredibly lovely and obviously very busy person.

The bureau courier, whose name is Angel (I don't think his name was by chance!) told me I was so lucky. I said it wasn't luck. It was obviously God watching over me. It could have been a horrible situation and God prevented it. If someone else had picked it up, they could have taken my identity and hotel key and come and killed me if they had wanted to!! Instead, I end up meeting two incredibly lovely people (Margarita and Angel). On a side note, as I mentioned earlier traffic was insane. We seriously came very very close to getting hit by a tour bus at one point and Angel (I just love his name!) swerved and avoided it all together. I truly believe this did not happen by chance or luck!

Last night and this morning, I thanked Margarita profusely but "thanks" didn't seem to be enough. She's a very busy person who is in meetings all day today so I didn't get to talk to her for long but I did give her a hug. I have to come up some other way to thank her. I can give her a hat with my company's logo on it but that doesn't seem like nearly enough! So I'm open to any suggestions of things to send her even though she said she wouldn't accept anything in return. It truly warmed my heart to see that there are still good and decent people in this world and even in New York City, which doesn't give me the general impression of being a warm and friendly place (even though I have several nice friends here!) I do know that I will pay it forward in some way in the near future! I will be looking for opportunities!!! I will also be taking extra precautions not to leave anything else in a cab over the next couple of days!

Start Spreading the News!

I'm in the Big Apple for the next few days and I couldn't be happier. Not the New York part. The few days part. I love the fact that I won't get on another plane for maybe two days! We're staying at the W for the next few days and while it's not like the Waldorf Astoria from last year, I will manage sleeping there for three nights. I stayed there last year and it was very nice. Small but nice. I tried to get a room at the Waldorf through a last minute offer by the WH. They sent out an e-mail last Wednesday saying they had three extra rooms there and the first three people to e-mail back would get them. I e-mailed back in approximately 10.4 seconds. I lost. It was a valiant effort but we're at the W. It's not like we're stuck at the Super 8!

So we're here to cover the McCain-Palin campaign and she'll be meeting with a bunch of world leaders and dignitaries like Bono. I think she just like U2 and wants to meet him. But POTUS is actually in town. Remember him? I'm really glad to see him except that I won't actually see him in person. I just love having the details of what he's doing and not spending half the day figuring out what is going on. I'm not in travel pool at all during the UN trip this year so I will just get to spend quality time at the NY bureau and watch it on the TV feeds. The bureau is at Columbus Circle and the best thing about this place is the cafeteria upstairs. In DC, the bureau has a small deli downstairs and then we are walking distance to Union Station. At the WH, there is a snack machine. In NY, there is this huge cafeteria with all these stations and choices. I was a bite overwhelmed. It appears half of the DC bureau is up here today because I ran into Wolf Blitzer at lunch today and I hadn't seen him in person in quite a while. I also met correspondent Ali Velshi in person. He's a Facebook friend that I actually have never met in person but he came up to me and recognized me! I just love Facebook!!

Another Overnight Nap

Once again, I'm a couple of days behind in the blog world. That means it's been waaaaaay too busy. We spent a day and a half in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. There was a big rally at another airport hangar, similar to the one in Ohio just a couple of days before. This is the town where there was some major flooding a couple of months ago. It's also near where my friend Jessica (I met her in London in August) goes to school so I was sooooo excited that I got to see her again on home turf!

For the rally, there were several thousand people there including some hidden war protesters who interrupted the speeches several times. I had a great vantage point when they started their screaming the first time. The other people around them were true Americans. One woman grabbed one of the girls so hard that I thought her arm was going to come out of the socket. She dragged her for many yards until she kind of threw her on the ground. I wouldn't ever mess with that chick!!

Half of our day was spent trying to figure out what our travel plans would be for last night and today. It ended up that after our liveshots (which ended at 8p), we drove from Cedar Rapids to Chicago. That was a four hour drive which the idea of sounded a lot worse than the actual drive. My correspondent and I split the drive and I can now I saw a lot of Iowa. Except that I didn't because it was very dark and flat. I think I saw a lot of cornfields but I just can't be sure!!

We got into downtown Chicago this morning at about 12:30am and we had to be up to do liveshots at 6a which meant getting to work by 5:30a at the absolute latest. If you do the math, you'll figure out that I only got to sleep less than four hours. About 3 1/2 by the time the alarm went off. It was another morning where the alarm clock in the room was set to an hour starting with "3". Not good. So I had another overnight nap because it was the same people at the desk when I checked in and checked out. This nap cost about $100 an hour.

Now I'm home for a couple of day, thank God!! I need a small break and some quality down time. I'm realizing that I don't think I'm cut out for this lifestyle for long periods of time! I was only gone from Saturday night until Friday afternoon and it felt like three weeks had passed!! So I will spend the weekend rejuvenating and sleeping so I can do it all again for the entire next week!!

Please forgive how bad this blogpost is. I am having a major case of writer's block. That coupled with being completely exhausted is preventing me from being clever!! :)

State of Confusion

I'm sorry I didn't get to post anything yesterday but holy moley, I was sooooo busy! We've been in a different state every day and sometimes I actually forget where we are. Yesterday I know we were in Vienna, OH or was it Youngstown? We were actually at the Youngstown airport in tiny Vienna and my network insisted on referring to it as Vienna. But the local people said it didn't matter. On top of that, they don't say Vienna like the city in Austria (or Virginia) or even the sausage. It's pronounced VIE-anna. I mean come on. Have these people never heard of at least the sausage? Luckily, someone told Palin the right pronunciation so she looked waaaay smart when she said it. VIE-anna was tiny but friendly and the chili from the Yankee Kitchen (one of the only restaurants) really hit the spot while freezing at the liveshot location.


The McCain-Palin rally was in an airport hangar and there were probably 7000-8000 people there... packed in there like sardines and I'm sure it had to have been some sort of fire code violation in place. We were busy doing liveshots, filing a piece, etc. all while trying to concentrate over the high school band playing the songs from their fall show. I don't know if you've ever sat right next to a high school band INSIDE a hangar but suffice it to say, it's quite loud. I'm pretty sure my hearing declined yesterday even more than it already has. And I'm pretty sure that I recognized the songs they played from my days in the high school band. (Yes, I'm aware that I just geeked myself out big time. But it's true!)


I'm amazed at how many people just LOVE Palin and really don't care much about McCain. Yesterday, I couldn't count the number of people (mostly women) who just left the rally when Sarah finished talking. They didn't even stay for the nominee for POTUS!! I'm not here to cast any political views because I'm an independent-minded journalist but I had to point out that it was quite an amazing sight to see!


We had liveshots every hour (sometimes twice an hour) all the way until 10pm and boy did it get cold once the sun went down. It was an incredibly busy afternoon and pretty much spent my time dealing with "crisis" after "crisis". These situations always seem to be huge at the moment but after it's all said and done, we always survive. For example, we were doing a liveshot at 6pm and they were breaking down the stage, risers, etc. So right in the middle of my liveshot, they were taking down the huge "Country First" sign that was our background of our shot, so I had to run over there and negotiate, BEG for them to leave it be for a few minutes. I won the first part of the argument but then lost the part when I asked them to wait for another 15 minutes for our next shot. So we had to hustle and set up a new liveshot location (which is not enough time!) We succeeded and it was all good in the end but with other "crises", it made for a very stressful few hours. Oh, nothing everything survived. In the said breakdown of the stage, the tearer-downers through away my blackberry holster. So now my precious crackberry is naked without any holder. But thank God it still works the same! Anyway, that might be TMI into some of what goes on and it might confuse you to what is my actual job. Don't worry, even my mom doesn't quite understand what it is that I actually do.


Speaking of Mom, she suggests a new acronym... actually two... we've got PLOTUS (Potential Leader of the United States) or WHOTUS (Wannabe Head of the United States)... I kind of like WHOTUS so we'll give that a try.

After the rally and all our liveshots, we drove the hour back to Cleveland only to find out that our reservations at the Marriott were cancelled (long story) and the only rooms we could find were at the Ritz Carlton. It's where Palin was staying and I was hoping to run into her this morning but we left really early to do some more liveshots. Let's just say it's never a good thing when the same girl at the front desk checks you in and checks you out. When that happens, I call that an overnight nap. So I enjoyed my room for about 5 hours total. However, and I realize that I might come across incredibly snobby when I say this, but the Ritz wasn't all that. I mean, I'm sure there are humongous suites but my room was just a standard room with really nice shampoo and conditioner. Don't worry, I survived "slumming" it.

We're now on our way to the international hotspot of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I'm really getting to see the coolest places in America on this trip!

BTW, my camera died... at some point I need to recharge the batteries but I didn't bring the charger... So sorry. I feel like I've let my blog readers down!! Just watch the news or read the paper and that will be what it looks like. Maybe when I have more time, I'll sift through friends Facebook photos and steal them! :)

Greetings from the Sunshine State

I'm spending about 12 hours in the Sunshine State and sadly it's almost over. It's just so much nicer here than it was in New Hampshire. We were delayed leaving Boston last night and didn't leave until 10:20p and landed in Orlando by about 1:30a. And then by the time we got our luggage, rented a car, and got lost in the Hispanic neighborhoods of Orlando in the middle of the night due to a broken GPS system, I finally made it into my huge three room suite at 3a. Normally I would spend some time in each of the rooms and enjoy the spacious accommodations but at that hour, sleep was the priority. We were able to sleep in a little bit this morning and I had a nice smoothie for breakfast at the pool/spa at the Ritz Carlton. Did I mention that I was "working" at the time? It was such a beautiful morning and I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine.

We made it to the McCain event site but ended up having to park a few miles away so I let my correspondent out of the car and went to park the car. Then it turned out that there was no shuttle because McCain was early (I've totally given up on his acronym and will just use his name until I figure something else out.) So I was blocked out of the event. So I sat in my car and then decided to make a Wal-Mart run. So I've been on the campaign trail for two days and not actually seen McCain yet. I can't believe it's only Monday. These have been the longest two days in the history of mankind.

We're headed to Ohio tonight. We were planning on going to Tampa but we changed our plans late this afternoon. I am planning on getting stopped for the special search at the airport because any time there is a one-way ticket purchased at the last minute, you have to go through the entire TSA search. I'm actually getting used to it and taking it like a champ. Boy do I miss the charter!!

Don't Take it for Granite

Greetings from New Hampshire. I am officially on the trail and learning all about how life is soooo different outside POTUS's bubble. Today we woke up in Hooksett, NH and spent the day in Concord in the rain. I am not sure if I had ever been to Concord before but I can officially cross it off my list. We were in New Hampshire because WBPOTUS-R was attending the NASCAR race. I didn't end up going to the race itself which is fine by me because I don't get the fascination with watching cars go around in a circle for several hours. Anywho, that I meant I came all this way and never even got close to McCain. I never even saw any signs that he was here. But it was a good day nonetheless. Kind of a calmer day to get me acclimated to the political travel world. The first thing I had to do this morning was find a suitable liveshot location. We decided on the bank parking lot because A) there was a view of the capitol building in the back, B) it was Sunday so it wasn't opened and C) if it continued to rain, we could do the liveshots under the canopy of the drive-thru teller lanes. I of course didn't pack the correct rain gear so conveniently we went over to the L.L. Bean outlet store and I purchased a new rain coat that's lightweight. Of course about five minutes after I put on my new raincoat, it stopped raining. Now because I actually have an appropriate jacket, it won't rain again the whole time we're out on the road.

I've survived commercial travel so far. But tonight we are flying from Boston to Orlando and our flight has been delayed by an hour and a half which puts us into our hotel sometime around 2a. Luckily I talked them into letting us sleep in and not have to be live until noon. I have to sleep at least four hours tonight (plus hopefully sleeping on the plane) in order to be functional tomorrow. I didn't sleep all that well last night even though I was in the lap of luxury in Hooksett, the center of the great Granite State. Sleep has definitely been taken for granite, I mean granted! (Get it!??!)

A lot of what I do on the road is logistics which is convenient because I get to pick the hotels we stay at. So far, we're staying at 4 and 5-stars. Of course the rule of traveling with POTUS applies here too. The nicer the hotel, the less time you have to sleep there. 

Tomorrow we wake up in Orlando and have an afternoon WBPOTUS-R event and then we drive to Tampa for the night. At the end of this stint, I might be sleep deprived, but I'm pretty sure I'll move up at least one level in the Marriott Rewards program. My goal is Platinum!!

 

I Remember

I was quite busy at work yesterday but I took some time out to reflect on the 7th anniversary of 9/11. It is definitely something you never forget. I remember randomly turning on CNN that morning and almost immediately watching the second plane crash in to the second tower. I remember how God shielded me from seeing the plane hit the Pentagon. I remember how I was on my way to work only to get turned around right before driving by the Pentagon. I left home a few minutes later that morning and if I had left on time, I would have been right by the Pentagon at 9:37am. I remember calling my boss to tell him I was going to be late and I'll never forget what he said to me. He said, "Becky, everything has changed. Everything." I didn't grasp the totality of what he was saying but he proved to be right. He told me to go back home and wait a little bit until things had calmed down and then try to come in later. I remember calling my mom to tell her I was safe. I remember sitting at home, feeling my house shake from when the wall of the Pentagon collapsed. I remember having to talk my way over the Key Bridge and it taking more than two hours to eventually get to work. I remember working the overnight shift that night in the control room producing liveshots (something I had limited amounts of experience doing at that point). I remember eventually driving home near dawn on the absolutely abandoned interstate and seeing them unfurl the American flag next to the hole in the Pentagon. I remember the smoke and the smell of burning metal and other unthinkable things that I could even smell at my house about seven miles away. I remember not sleeping for several days and working 20 hour days. I remember the pain I saw in the family members of those lost in the attacks and just weeping inside. I remember going to church the Sunday afterwards and just bawling the entire time starting from the time I walked in the door.

I also remember a few months later, maybe it was around the six month anniversary but I'm not sure. It was the only time I have ever cried at work due to something I'm covering. I was at the burn center at Washington Hospital Center at a press conference of victims from the Pentagon. These were the most severe victims of the attacks in DC, with at least 95% of their body in third degree burns. I listened to their stories and just the amount of courage they had and I just cried. Most of them were in military and they just wanted to get better so they could go back to work and serve their country. They described their daily routine of having their bandages changed with the most intense pain imaginable. They called their nurses angels which I had no doubt that they were. By the time it came time for me to interview them, I was a basket case. I literally couldn't put two words together (and for those that know me, that's not usually a struggle of mine!) I remember finally realizing in a tangible way what had happened to our country, our world through the eyes of one or two people. It was an incredibly powerful day.

So last night, some friends of mine and I visited the Pentagon Memorial. I wasn't with POTUS on Thursday morning because we weren't travel pool for it. (Thanks to leap year, this is the first time in five years that we weren't travel pool on 9/11.) I watched the ceremony on TV like everyone else. Actually I was watching the several live cameras uninterrupted so I saw more of it than what was actually on TV. (On a completely side note, I saw three of the Becky Protective Detail at the Pentagon yesterday! My team was well represented!) Anyway, when Darla asked if anyone wanted to go after 7p when it opened to the public, I jumped at the chance (and tried to get my piece done early!). It was incredibly moving and inspiring. Being right there on the path of the plane was moving. Just seeing the benches representing all 184 victims- from age 3 to 70- reminded me of how many families were affected that day. And that was only the Pentagon attack. The memorial was designed really well and is a great tribute to those who died that day.

When we were leaving, I stopped a second to look at the flag draped over the Pentagon, in the same place where I saw it being unfurled seven years prior. I thought about how much had changed in the world and in me. I thought about those people I had seen at the hospital that day and how hard a day the anniversary must be for them. I thought about the sadness that the loved ones of victims probably have every time this anniversary comes around. And I thought about how proud I was to be an American and privileged to be living right in the middle of it all.

Let's Call Him...

Thank you for the suggestions for the new acronym. I'm thinking of going with WBPOTUS-R for McCain. (Wanna Be POTUS-Republican) And that will mean that Obama will be WBPOTUS-D. I have to be fair, objective, and treat them the same. I almost said fair and balanced but that just drives me crazy because then I get all these suggestions that I should go work for FOX. And I'm confident that I'm the exact place where God wants me right now. Anyway, I digress and don't mean to come across bitter (I attribute any hints of that to being tired)... on to the day's events!!!

This morning was my first time covering a political event that did not involve POTUS. It's a whole different ballgame when it's not actually the POTUS. I was in Fairfax this morning at the McCain-Palin rally where they drew their largest crowd. 23,000 people! 23,000 very excited people!

We showed up at 4:45a at the park. At that point, they hadn't even really set up where the security perimeter was truly going to be. I think it changed about ten times in about an hour. We set up our liveshot location three different times in three different places. At one point, the USSS (none of the agents were friends of mine- that force is HUGE!) told me that I couldn't go back and forth between the satellite truck and the live location. That would have been kind of sucky but fine but I decided to challenge it just a little bit. I just asked the right questions and when I used the right words and next thing you know they agreed to let the secure area expand. They even let me park my car on site which they didn't let pretty much ANYONE else. I don't know what it is but I really have a way with making friends with the agents. I also convinced the McCain staff to rope off an area where we could have space without the 23,000 people in our faces. That was so nice because there were a lot of people as previously mentioned and I think everyone was rather cozy by the end of it.

We did liveshots in the morning and then watched the rally. I actually have never been to a political event that big, with the exception of the inauguration. But as far as political rallies go, this was by far the biggest I've personally been to. It was perhaps the most unorganized event from my perspective I've been to. But I don't blame them. They only had 15 hours to put it together and it was HUGE. The WBPOTUS-R's team were exceptionally helpful to us!

At the end of the rally, I had to feed tape so I was escorted out of the crowd with WBPOTUS-R staff (ok, that acronym might not last long because that is complicated to type and doesn't roll off the tongue like POTUS) and they left me standing right by the Straight Talk Express (STE in pool reports) which also meant that I was up close and personal to WBPOTUS-R and WBVPOTUS-R. They weren't facing me but I did sort of get close. Closer than most of the 23,000 people (except Darla and Savonne) got to them. I know my pictures aren't the best but then I make myself feel better by telling myself that I'm really there to work so picture-taking is not my focus, literally and figuratively. Plus, I'm inspired to get a new camera even more! But here are some of the shots from the day.

I did survive the day although I'm not going to lie to you, I barely did. I don't know what I was thinking when I got dressed this morning and decided wearing two and half inch heels to run around in the wet grass and mud all morning. And then I stood on a fairly steep hill for about three hours. I'm not sure if my feet will forgive me. I just took my shoes off when I got back to the bureau because my feet were screaming at me. For the next nine hours, I went around my office in my bare feet and remarkably I could finally walk to the car to come home and collapse on my couch! It was a great day and I feel like it was a success for my first day on the trail- even if it was only ten miles from home!

False Alarm- well sort of!

Today was my first day with the political unit covering the campaign for the next POTUS. It's going to be a whole new world than what I'm used to but it's not full steam ahead for me yet. My correspondent and I actually stayed in DC today and we're likely to stay put for the rest of the week and not head out until next week. McCain (I need a cool acronym for him) is having a rally all the way in Fairfax tomorrow. Thank God I live in Virginia because I have to be there at 5a. So I do get to sleep in my own bed which I'm actually grateful for!

So I'm sorry there is nothing more exciting to report but it's only a matter of time. In the meantime, I'll be thinking of acronyms and will accept any suggestions!

It's Raining! It's Pouring!!

So I realize that most of my blog posts involve one of three things (sometimes more than one): food, POTUS, and rain. Today I'm just focusing on one. Tropical Storm Hanna. I'm thankful that my parents fared well through the storm as they live in the exact place where Hanna made landfall. It couldn't have been too bad because they slept through the storm. So that means that we get the remnants with lots and lots of rain. My afternoon plans got canceled because of the rain and I think God is telling me that I should be productive with this extra time and actually clean my house and finish my piles of laundry. Instead, I decided to walk down to the end of my street and check out the creek bed. Keep in mind that on a normal day, there is barely any water here and that it's always low enough to walk or bike across. And where you see the water a little out of its bank, it's really a decline down of about eight feet. I don't think this picture does it justice, especially since I apparently missed the entire tree floating by right before I got there. Let's just say that it's a LOT of rain. More than what I saw in Texas! And it's still supposed to rain hard for another two or three hours. I might just be wild and crazy enough to check it out again in a little bit. I keep looking out of my window to make sure my car hasn't floated away.




In other news, I survived the past week at work and after two last minute trips by POTUS and several other big stories, I made it through being in charge thanks to my co-workers. I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about on some of the network conference calls and in meetings. In reality, it was just like being in high school and hoping the teacher doesn't call on you to explain a chapter in the novel that you just read the Cliff Notes for. Not that I know what that feels like! :) I have one more day on Monday not to screw anything up too badly.


On Tuesday, I hit the campaign trail for a while. All I know is that I'll be with my correspondent and I believe we'll be with the McCain-Palin ticket. So I don't know where I'm going, how long I'll be gone, what to pack, how I'm going to get there. Oh actually I do know that but I'm in denial. I'll be flying commercially. A lot. Like every day. I'm already mentally preparing myself and I know I can survive! :) I'll do my best to blog while I'm out on the road but I can't make any guarantees. Apparently I will be working my tail off at all hours of the day and night. For two weeks at least. Sounds fun, right? It will be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it a lot. Or at least I've convinced myself that it will be fun!!

Large and In Charge!!

My boss jinxed me. He's on vacation this week and he put me in charge of the WH unit. He said on Friday, "What's the worst that can happen? Bush is going to the RNC and then to Camp for the rest of the week. You'll be fine. Until you're not." Of course Hurricane Gustav made his way into the gulf full steam ahead. POTUS cancelled his plans to go to Minneapolis. And thus my "trial by hurricane" started for the week.

Yesterday, we were travel pool so even though I didn't have to go into work, I was dealing with things from home. Which meant that I didn't really get a Sunday nap. And I had so much stress there for a little while that the only thing I could think of to relieve the pressure was to break open the emergency stash of Thin Mints in my freezer. Those Girl Scouts cookies came through once again! I figured it was okay to open the box since the fall GSs start selling cookies in the next month or two. (BTW, I love living in an area where there are fall GSs and spring GSs because you don't have to worry about running out of cookies!)

Anyway, I digress. Day #1 of being in charge went fairly well. All the logistics were in place and I felt like it went pretty well. I only had to bother my boss on the beach two or three times!! It didn't really bother me that I was interrupting his vacation. He's the one that jinxed me in the first place! And this is the not the first time. The first time I had to do travel pool, he was explaining to me which van to get in, what to do, where to go and he said, "You won't have to worry about it but just have a question prepared just in case POTUS calls on you. It never happens but just always be prepared." Next thing I know, POTUS is calling on me for a question. On my very first day in travel pool. I guess I should be used to the whole trial by fire thing by now!