Meet the Parents

Well I guess you should know by now...There's someone who will be making many appearances in the blog. His name is Brian and we've been dating since June. He's a great guy- funny, sweet, smart, cute- the whole nine yards! Maybe he's the reason I've had some slacker tendencies with the blog recently. I've just been a bit busier! :)

I should have mentioned him in earlier posts but I wanted to see if he passed the test. The parents test. The family test. The neighborhood test!

I took Brian home to meet the fam a couple of weeks ago. I admit it... I was a little nervous. I had never done that before! I'm not sure what I was nervous about. Maybe it was that my parents wouldn't like him. That he would think my family is strange and crazy. That my sister's neighbors would scare him away! :) None of those things came even close to happening. (Well I'm not sure about the neighbors part yet! HA!) But my family didn't scare him away!!

It was my mom's and my niece's birthday so Friday we just chilled. We did have to take him to see the Roanoke Star. For those not privileged enough to grow up in Roanoke, let me share. Roanoke is famous for having the largest man-made neon star on a mountain. In the world. Well, I'm not sure if that's been proven yet. I think El Paso might be giving us a run for our money but I'm just choosing to believe that the Roanoke star is still at the top of its class!! I hadn't been up to the star in years and since it was such a clear day, we got to see all of the Roanoke Valley. My parents told Brian all sorts of nuggets of Roanoke history and family history. I guess it wasn't too much for him because I didn't see him even attempting to jump off the mountain!

We spent three days in Roanoke and met a total of more than 75 people. Sunday afternoon was a family birthday party for my mom and Cayton. Then my sister's neighbors came out and held a small press conference with him. Brian was a real trooper!! I even asked them to come up with embarrassing stories about me and they couldn't come up with anything!! NOTHING!! Everyone likes him and he claims to like everyone! Yippee!!

Now that he's met my family, I thought you'd like to meet him too. He'll probably be making appearances in blogposts in the future (unless this blogpost scares him away!)

Last Chance Workout

I think I've mentioned it before, but I love the show "Biggest Loser". While I hope to God I never have to be a contestant on that show, it is really fun to watch! I'm not sure which part I like the most but perhaps it's the weekly scene of the "Last Chance Workout". They have grueling all-day long workouts right before they have to weigh in. They work hard and push themselves harder than they ever have before. And somehow they survive things that they didn't think was possible.

Well, last weekend was the weekend before the election and for the candidates, it was their "Last Chance Workout" for the 2010 Election Cycle. The candidates work their tails off before voters "weigh in" at the polls on Tuesday. (Ok, I realize that comparison might be a wee bit on the cheesy side but please, stick with me!) Since I cover POTUS, I got to go on the road for a couple of days for this last push. I know he wasn't running for any race but as the head of the Democratic party, he had a stake in the way things turned out. (Again, I'm not talking politics here... just stating the facts.)

I was in travel pool on Saturday and my day was waaaay too long to share all the events in detail but I'll make it as concise as possible. In all, we hit 5 states, 3 rallies, 3 flights on Air Force One, 3 helicopter rides, 3 hours of waiting on POTUS, and about 3 miles of running! Here's my day in a nutshell:

1. Meet up with POTUS at Andrews Air Force Base at 8:30a for the flight on Air Force One to Philadelphia. (Meal #1: Turkey and cheese croissant and fruit in a bag for breakfast)

2. Wheels down in Philadelphia and then motorcade to the event site. Run around the building to get in place in time.

3. DNC Rally in a Temple University gym. POTUS speaks for about 7 minutes. Then we run around a lot to get in the motorcade before POTUS leaves.

4. On the way to the airport, POTUS stops at the Famous Fourth Street Deli. I'm not exactly sure what they are famous for but I think it involves cookies and fattening food. We don't eat.

5. Run back to get in the motorcade and drive back to the airport. Take off for the quick flight to New York's JFK Airport. (Meal #2: Meatball sub and a brownie)

6. Wheels down at JFK. Board the helicopters for the trip to Bridgeport, CT.

7. Wheels down in Bridgeport. Saw some beautiful fall foliage along the way. Run to the motorcade to go to DNC Rally #2. Run around the building to get inside and in place in time.

8. DNC Rally #2 ends and we run back around the building to get into the motorcade and drive back to the landing zone for the helicopters.

9. Board the helicopters and ride back from Bridgeport to New York City.

10. Wheels down in NYC and board Air Force One for trip to Chicago. (Meal #3: Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, and some AWESOME strawberry dessert.)

11. Wheels down in Chicago. Run to board the helicopters. Chopper into the city. (This was AWESOME and I'm bummed I couldn't take pictures of this part!)

12. Run to the motorcade to drive to DNC Rally #3 in a Chicago park. Lots of people, like 20,000. POTUS speaks for a while and then shakes hands for 20 minutes. (Meal #4: Chicago style pizza- for the record I passed on this meal)

13. Run to the motorcade to presumably escort POTUS home.

14. POTUS makes an unannounced stop at his advisor Valerie's house. It's Valerie's mother's birthday. POTUS stays about 20 minutes.

15. POTUS then decides to go out to dinner in downtown Chicago with some of his buddies. The travel pool goes to Maggiano's. (Meal #5: 4 course meal including some ravioli, chicken and mushroom pasta, salad, etc. I did partake in this meal.)

16. Get back in the vans and wait for POTUS to finish eating. We wait approximately 3 hours total. In a van.

17. Finally POTUS is finished with his dessert. Motorcade leaves to take him home. Thankfully, no other stops happen and we get to his house about 1a.

I seriously didn't think I was going to make it because it was such a long day (and I had an ever-so-slight hip injury when I tripped on my stairs the day before which made it difficult to run and leap into vans multiple times throughout the day.) But 16+ hours later, I got to my hotel room and totally crashed. I soaked my poor aching feet (the heels finally got to me at about hour #13.)

We woke up on Sunday and boarded the press charter (ooooh how I've missed the press charter!) to Cleveland. We cover DNC Rally #4- his last. After hearing his speech how many times in the past few months, it was over. We drove back to the airport and got home by 6:30. The whole trip lasted only 34 hours but it felt like a week!! I'm tired all over again from just writing this blogpost! I think I'm going to crash once again!

November, Already?

Wow! I have no idea how time got away from me! Welcome to November! I have so much to catch you up on! It's been two weeks since my last post!!


Today is Election Day. And today is also my first real day back in the office in almost two weeks (I'll update you in separate posts as those happenings.) But with the election cycle coming to an end today, things have been a bit busy in the last few days with POTUS on the road campaigning for several candidates.


And it all comes down to today. For those who know me, I've been a political geek for a while and Election Nights are exciting for me. I guess my version of the Superbowl, right? As you know, this year is the midterm elections and all kinds of things in Washington could switch after tonight. As you also know, I don't talk about politics on this blog but I think both sides agree there are major things at stake tonight.


So this morning before work, I did my civic duty and exercised my right to vote. In all honesty, I probably took that right a little for granted because I just wanted to get in there and vote as quickly as possible so I wouldn't be late for work. In my district, the only things to vote for were the House and then three amendments that I had heard nothing about until late last night (and this morning) when I made a very last minute attempt to become an informed voter.


I was in and out of there in about three minutes. I didn't need a refresher as to how to work the voting machine. I knew how I was going to vote and luckily there was no line in my polling place. They gave me a sticker as I left and I checked another election off my list. I have never missed voting in an election ever. Not even a primary. It's a badge of honor that I wear proudly.

Speaking of wearing it proudly, I put my sticker on and headed for work. As I was walking to the WH, I passed by one of my favorite places to grab food near the White House... Potbelly's. I love their sandwiches and the oreo milkshake is to die for. Oh and they have the absolute best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on the planet. I may not have mentioned it here but I could live off those cookies for the rest of my life and never get sick of them. When I was a tutor (remember my student Ernest?) for seven years, I ate at Potbelly's nearly every Thursday night and it never got old. Anyway, suffice it to say, I am a fan of that place. Well... today as I was walking by, a guy in a Uncle Sam's hat was handing things out. Normally, I avoid those kinds of people because the WH attracts people with a cause. But this time, I didn't even have a choice. He shoved something in my hands and said "Thank you for voting." I was a little thrown off because most people who stand there are asking for signatures for some protest for some unknown person's run for president in 2020 or to help free some type of rare bird in South American zoos or some ridiculous cause. But this one I fully support!! He saw my "I voted" sticker and gave me THREE free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Potbelly's. I mean, I know my vote meant something when I actually cast it but it was doubly good when I got three of my favorite cookies out of the deal!


I hope you voted as well! And I hope you ran into Uncle Sam handing out delicious cookies! It makes Election Day even better!

In West Philadelphia Born and Raised...

Now, this is the story all about how

My life got flipped-turned upside down

And I'd like to take a minute

Just sit right there

I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air

In west Philadelphia born and raised

On the playground was where I spent most of my days

Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool

And all shootin some b-ball outside of school

When a couple of guys

Who were up to no good

Startin making trouble in my neighborhood

I got in one little fight and my mom got scared

She said 'You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air'

I'm sure you're all familiar with this great classic- the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But last Sunday, I got to see it FOR REAL. POTUS and VPOTUS had an event in Philly. While technically this wasn't West Philly and was actually North Philly, the scene was the same and I'm pretty sure I saw the same school in the intro to the show! I understand why Will went to live with Phil and Viv Banks on the TV show!!

When we drove into the neighborhood of the DNC rally on Sunday morning, I knew it was going to be an interesting day. I never get to see the most exciting parts of the city when we travel with POTUS but this by far was more interesting than any industrial park or hotel convention center where we normally are. I was supposed to meet my camera guy Bill at a church parking lot. He said to just roll down the window and go to the smell of the pork barbecue at a church. Now there were many, many churches all in a couple block radius but only one with a guy grilling ribs. The United Church of Prayer for All People, Inc. seemed like a safe place to leave the car!

The neighborhood was a bit rough, to be kind. Bars on every single window. Bullet proof glass at the counters of food establishments. Some rough looking characters on the street corners. (Although to be fair, we encountered many, many nice people!) Let's just say that I was glad that I was there for a POTUS rally because it meant there was a heavy law enforcement presence. I don't want to sound stuck up and better than anyone else but it just wasn't the best part of town to bring the leader of the free world and the guy who is first in line for the presidency to hang out in a park for an afternoon.

The rally itself was in a city park connected to an elementary school. City officials claim that 18,000 people were there... I was thinking more like 10,000 but it was a lot of people regardless of the actual number. It was definitely a campaign style stop with tons of people and signs and loud music to "fire up the crowd". I used my handy-dandy earplugs from my last chopper ride and I could almost hear. We did liveshots continuously about the event and I would have to say there was more electricity/excitement in the crowd that pretty much any other POTUS event.

The highlights of this trip were really not POTUS related. I mean, the crowd was exciting and it was a fun event to cover but blah, blah, blah, blah. Two things really stood out.

First of all, I saw the streaker in the crowd. I don't know if you've read about him but you can here. POTUS was definitely too far away to notice him. But he ran about two feet away from me. I was so shocked that this was first streaker I had seen at a POTUS event (actually now that I think about it, it might have been the first streaker I have seen in real life) that I really forgot to do my job. I admit it. I was just staring. I was trying to figure out what he had written on himself. Then I was trying to figure out why he wasn't running faster. Then I was trying to figure out why no one was stopping him. Eventually, I alerted Bill who caught some of the incident on tape for future posterity. But it was quite a moment. A weird moment. But it was a moment nonetheless. I can officially cross "seeing a streaker in person" off my list of things to do in life. Actually it wasn't on my list but if it was, I would definitely cross it off. I don't have any pictures to share because A) that would probably qualify my blog as some porn site and B) I was too busy staring and gaping that I didn't take pictures. Yes, I admit it.

The second thing was the workspace bathrooms. Now I'm just grateful that we had a workspace inside, safely away from the 10,000 people so this is not a complaint. It was actually in the music room of the elementary school so we were educated with pictures of woodwinds (I was the expert, of course, and was really tempted to move the picture of the oboe over to the other double reed instruments instead of by the flute. OMG, I am such a nerd!!!!) Anywho, I loved the bathroom. I felt like a freakin' giant and that NEVER happens! The bathroom was made for an elementary school but it was sized more for three year-olds than anyone else. I know you can't tell from the picture how low the toilet is to the ground but I'm pretty sure it was a matter of inches. But seriously, I felt like a giant!!

I haven't abandoned you!!

I have just been sick and had serious computer issues at home but I promise to catch up on my blog soon!!! Please stay tuned!!

Being Small in a Small Business World

On Monday, I was able to go to the East Room for another bill signing. This time POTUS signed the Small Business jobs bill that had taken a bit of time to get through Congress. I kept looking for my friend Chad from church, who works for the SBA but apparently he watched it from his office. I might have been able to see a bit more from my office too but for some reason, it's still a neat thing to be in the room when a small piece of history is being signed. Lots of Congress men and women are on hand. Several cabinet secretaries. The leader of the free world. Just a bunch of important people all in one room.

But the minute people stand up (as is protocol when POTUS enters the room or for any other reason), I am automatically at a huge disadvantage. Ironic that it's a HUGE disadvantage considering it's because I'm rather short. This is what I saw but in general my view is a bit blocked due to my petite stature! :)

This is the White House photo and shows what really was happening. Even though I was in the same room and relatively close by, I saw none of this except through the viewfinder of folks' cameras.

My favorite picture from the event- Gene Sperling (WH economic advisor)'s little girl who appeared to be about three years old and she was doing a good job of being still and quiet but after a while, she couldn't take it anymore!!

Medal of Honor

One of the standard WH ceremonies that will never get old to me is the Medal of Honor ceremony. I will always consider it an honor to cover these events because they remind me, in a real way, all that our men and women in uniform sacrifice on behalf of my freedom. It's one thing to read news accounts "6 US Soldiers Die in Afghanistan Firefight" or "4000 War Casualties Since Fighting Began". But unless you know a particular soldier who has sacrificed his life for our country, the average person really doesn't hear their story. It really becomes more real to me when I can hear every detail of what exactly happened while they were fighting on my behalf. It's chilling and humbling to know the lengths that these soldiers, airmen, marines, sailors will go to fight. And when POTUS decides to award the Medal of Honor to one of our military, I perk up and pay attention.

As you might recall, last year, I worked on the story of the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. Jared Monti. I was deeply touched by his story and the interview we did with his dad. Delving deep into the circumstances of his death was really a moving experience for me and made me appreciate what those men and women do on a daily basis.

This year, POTUS has announced several new Medal of Honor awards and on Tuesday, he held another ceremony. This time it was for Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger. The thing that made this ceremony unique (at least from my perspective) was that this was for someone who had died in Vietnam. It took four decades for his heroism and valor to be recognized with this honor. Sgt. Etchberger was working in Laos on a classified mission and basically fought off the North Vietnamese who were attacking his secret mission. He was the last man standing and was loading all of his wounded airmen on a helicopter, exposing himself to enemy fire every time. Then he himself got struck by gunfire and died by the time the helicopter landed. You can read more about him here or about the history of the Medal of Honor here.

Anyway, for this ceremony, Sgt. Etchberger's three sons were there to receive the Medal of Honor on behalf of their father. To see these three grown men, who were extremely young when their dad died, shedding tears more than 40 years later was extremely touching. POTUS said "Today also marks another chapter in a larger story of our nation finally honoring that generation of Vietnam veterans who served with dedication and courage but all too often were shunned when they came home, which was a disgrace that must never happen again." These men felt like their dad had finally gotten the recognition and respect he deserved.