Never Forget: September 11th Anniversary

It's my first September 11th anniversary as a New Yorker, and I'm not going to lie, I shed quite a few tears today. This day has certainly always been emotional whether it was seeing the terror unfold from the news station I was working at in Cheyenne, Wyoming, or for the next decade covering the anniversaries as a reporter and news writer in Colorado, Florida, Indiana and Illinois.

But while I watched the reading of the victims' names today, I had this humbling thought. I realized the people at the podium are my neighbors. They're the people sitting next to me on the subway. They're the ones I pass on the street or perhaps the ones I get frustrated with because they seem to be in my way. Throughout the city, I'm next to thousands of people who's lives were forever changed during one beautiful, sunny day in New York City.

As I awoke this morning, I thought about all those people who just like me, got up on September 11th and had a cup of coffee. They got on the subway and headed into work. Or they drove to the airport, hoping to not miss their flights. It was just another Tuesday. They had no idea they would never see their husbands or wives again. Their sisters. Their brothers. Their parents. Their unborn children.

Today I did two things in honor of this anniversary. I thanked a police officer for her service. She smiled and thanked me back. And at dinner, I told Mike that if anything were to ever happen to me, I wanted him to know it's been one awesome decade.

To all the brave men and women that day who ran into the buildings without a moment's hesitation, thank you. To all the families of the 2,977 victims, we're with you, now and forever.

God Bless America.

New York City culture

As a white Christian girl growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming (population 50,000) let's just say I wasn't exposed to a ton of culture. In my elementary school we had exactly one black student, and in some crazy irony, his name was George Bush. 

I didn't meet a Jewish person until I was about 10. She was a Holocaust survivor and I remember my mom instructing me not to ask about it, so I didn't. It wasn't until I was a 22-year-old reporter that I was given a story on Rosh Hashanah, and when the assignment editor told me my story, I'm pretty sure I said "bless you," because I thought she had sneezed. I didn't know what the heck she was talking about. 

Fast forward to my 35-year old self living in New York City, and let's just say, I'm still learning new things. The first time I saw a Hasidic Jewish family (ever) was about 9 months ago, and I'm pretty sure Mike had to tell me to stop staring. I was so intrigued because it's just something I had never before seen. (Now a horse-shaped potty-training seat, that I have seen. And used.)

Despite my work-in-progress of trying to learn about new cultures and religions, I'm still a hot mess when it comes to writing or reporting on 1) Anything Pope-related and 2) Anything Jewish-holiday related. So during my 12 years working in the news business, I cringe whenever I'm given a story on either of these. As many of you know, I work as a news writer for a station in NYC and this week when I was assigned a story on Rosh Hashanah, I literally had to Google "Judaism 101." Is that normal? (And a couple of weeks ago, I edited video of the Pope. But apparently the wrong Pope. Who knew? Don't they all kind of look alike?)

For the Catholic stories I do, it's not only trying to figure out who is who, but have you ever heard all the unique terms Catholics use? It's like a whole other dictionary! I have to chuckle every time I write about canonization or beautification, because this is what they could also mean:

Canonization- The act of getting shot out of a cannon at a circus

Abstinence- Giving up Chipolte for a week

Adultery- Hitting Chipolte on Tuesday after work, but hiding the evidence from the hubs

Anointing- The chubby kid next to me on the subway. Oh wait, that was annoying... 

Beautification- The 1 1/2 hours it takes for me to do my hair and make-up. Used only for special occasions.

Blasphemy- When someone criticizes any of the Real Housewives shows. Or The Bachelor.

Impediments to Marriage- Having only one TV. Or a Queen bed. Or only one bathroom. (During our city living, Mike and I have had a lot of impediments.)

Shalom everybody! (I actually have no idea what that means, so hopefully I didn't just curse you out.)

Bethenny Frankel Show!

Well dang, that was sure fun. I'm sitting here in bed tonight, likely unable to fall asleep, because I just had the best. day. ever.

I don't want to give away too many details just yet, but let me just say that I was at a taping of the Bethenny show today which was in and of itself awesome, but are you sitting down?

I was also ON THE SHOW.

And...

I got a HUG from Bethenny herself! And she COMPLIMENTED my eyes!!

Best. Day. Ever.

The show premieres next Monday, so I won't give away the specifics, but stay tuned!

Live with Kelly & Michael

Dang, that was sure fun. On Thursday, my girlfriend Laura and I went to a taping of Live With Kelly & Michael. Because Laura is a sportscaster for ABC, she got us special VIP tickets, meaning we didn't have to wait in line and got first dibs on seats. (Which I thought I'd feel bad about, but totally didn't.) She also introduced me to Michael Strahan which I'll tell you about shortly! It was an awesome day.

Let me tell ya, I'm no fair weather "Live" fan. I have loved the show for about 12 years. My first job out of college was as a master control operator, which basically meant I got paid to watch TV. I played commercials, made sure the correct show was on, etc. The highlight of my boring early morning shift was 9 a.m. when Regis and his new co-host, Kelly Ripa, came on. I thought her fun and self-deprecating humor was hilarious, and I quickly fell in love with her just like the rest of the country.

Fast forward to this week, and I couldn't have been more excited about the show. I even had my own version of Jersey Shore's GTL (gym, tan, laundry) to get ready camera-ready. Only mine was MHDST (manicure, hair did, spray tan). Unfortunately, Kelly Ripa was off this week and couldn't appreciate my pink nails, but we got to see two tapings, one with co-host Maria Menounos and the other with Whitney Cummings, and both were a lot of fun. (Tip: On Thursday's in the summer they tape Friday's show too, so you get 2-for-1!)

During the commercial breaks, Michael Strahan took the mic and entertained the audience. He's great and so funny! He also liked to explain to us how everything worked behind the scenes.




The best part was when he recognized Laura and came over to chat. In front of the whole audience he said, "Who's with you today?" Laura said, "This is my girlfriend, Jeannie." Then this happened...

Michael: "Hi Jeannie!"

Me: (Blushing and tilting my head down) "Hi Michael, how are you?"

He then welcomed us to the show and told us to have fun. It was the best. day. ever.

The first guest was Harrison Ford. He was there to talk about his new movie "Paranoia." They also had a little fun with him with a segment called "Harris-yes" or "Harris-no" asking him questions like does he go commando, etc.

The second show featured guest, Cuba Gooding, Jr. who's in the new movie 'Le Daniels' The Butler.' He even waved to me coming into the show! (Of course, I popped my top off at this point, so that may have helped.) Totally kidding. I would only do that for Leonardo DiCaprio.

I haven't watched both shows yet, but I saw the beginning of Friday's, and it looks like we got pretty good camera time! (Again, this could be because I popped my top off.)

And the icing on the cake was when Live with Kelly & Michael re-tweeted my tweet with the picture of Laura and me in the audience. For any of you non-tech savvy folks, this is basically the equivalent of the hot, popular guy in school telling his friends that he thinks you're cool. It makes your day.

Thanks to Laura, Michael Strahan and the rest of the crew for a wonderful, memorable experience! It is definitely in the Top 10 coolest things I've done so far in NYC.

Anthony Weiner scandal

Me: "I can't get something out of my mind that I saw at work tonight."

My husband: "What?"

Me: "It was Anthony Weiner's....well....weiner."

Courtesy: NY Daily News

Have you been following New York City's politics? It's absolutely nutty! (pun intended) Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is once again finding himself in sexual hot water. In the latest scandal, he is accused of sexting a college student from Indiana and sending her racy photos of his...weiner. I mean really, he just makes the jokes too easy. (You may remember he resigned from Congress in 2011 for tweeting a sexually explicit photo of himself to another woman.) It appears as if the weiner never learns.

The woman at the other end is Sydney Leathers, proving once again the first rule of politics--never trust a girl with a stage name. She will sell you down the river faster than you can zip your drawers. During an interview with Inside Edition, Leathers says, "He's not who I thought he was." Of course, in the next breath, she said Weiner once described himself as an "argumentative, perpetually horny, middle-aged man." So I guess Ms. Leathers, you actually knew him pretty well.

The New York news media has been all over this story. Because I work as a news writer at a television station, I had the "honor" of seeing the picture of Weiner's weiner that Ms. Leathers sold to a racy website. When my husband texted last night to see how my night was going, I replied with:

"Things are good...it's a pretty easy news night. Just writing about weiners!"

The TV news stories about the Weiner scandal are nothing compared to New York's newspapers. They are perhaps the raciest pieces of journalism I've ever seen. Check out the covers of the New York Daily News and the New York Post...

My favorite moment last night happened when the assignment editor asked all of us "Can we say 'Same Old Schlong and Dance' on the air?" I mean really, if I get asked that one more time.....

But never fear...it appears as if the Weiner scandal will feed our insatiable appetites for months to come. During an interview with the local media who asked how many other women he sexted, Anthony Weiner said there probably weren't anymore than three women...well, perhaps six to 10 all together...but it wasn't dozens and dozens. These are his words.  

Oh New York. You crazy city. 

 

It's a boy for Duchess Kate Middleton and Prince William!

The big news story today, of course, is that Duchess Kate Middleton delivered a healthy baby boy at a London hospital. As a news writer for a New York television station, I can tell you having her go into labor this morning was like a little gift from the TV news gods who know how hard it is to fill a Monday morning show.

All day, I've wondered what it must have been like in the labor room. Since Kate is such a beautifully composed and elegant person, I'm guessing her delivery was a calm and serene experience with only the prettiest of bodily fluids being gently brushed underneath her petticoat.

What is it about Kate Middleton that seems so perfect? Along with the fact that she's NEVER taken a bad photo in her life, she also seems like the kind of woman who doesn't have to worry about putting her foot in her mouth or doing something embarrassing. Right? Here is my "purely hypothetical" list of what makes Duchess Kate better than all of us...

* I'm guessing Kate Middleton has never been surprised by a fart that turned out to be oh- so-much-more that she anticipated. (I'm also guessing she has never blamed the fart in question on her dog.)
* I bet she's never yelled "EXCUSE YOU!" to an annoying kid on the subway,  only to discover everyone, including the kid's family, was staring right at her.
* I bet Duchess Kate has never decided to undo that one top button on her pants just to give herself a little breathing room, and then forgotten about that undone button for say, 8 or 9 hours.
* I'm guessing the future queen has never been called a "Bitchy White Woman" or seen a man peeing on the streets.
* I bet she's never tried to avoid shaking hands with people after she ran out of Purell or done the "sniff test" on her laundry.
* I'm guessing Kate has never fought for a table at a bar or plowed into someone with her purse because they wouldn't get out of her way.
* I'm also guessing the Duchess has never "drip-dried" in a public restroom or lost her patience with her mother.
* And I'm guessing Kate Middleton has never slapped Prince William's fanny as he walked by just because he has the "cutest little butt" or stepped in his pee on the bathroom floor after a night out with his "chaps."

Congratulations to William and Kate! I'm guessing raising a baby will be much easier with an entire country on your side.

Boathouse restaurant New York City

My husband and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary this week and we had to laugh at how our anniversary plans always seem to fall through.

This was our first one in New York City, so we wanted it to be really fun. Since I've been wanting to take a carriage ride through Central Park, we decided on the park's Boathouse restaurant, thinking we could eat dinner first and then do a carriage ride after words. (And it doesn't hurt that this restaurant happens to be in my favorite TV show of all time--Sex and the City, and in one of my favorite movies, 27 Dresses).

Courtesy: Iamnotastalker.com

I made reservations on Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. Since we live near the park, we decided to walk to dinner. It had just stopped raining, so walking the 1.2 miles there was like walking through the swampy Florida everglades. It didn't take long for my hair to become a full-on 'fro. The plus side though-- the park was nearly empty except for a few lost foreign tourists.

By the time we weaved our way there, it was a toss-up on what was more miserable--my swollen feet stuffed into high heels or the sweat running down my back. I have to admit I was a little disheartened when I realized the Boathouse restaurant is entirely outdoors, so with 80+ degree weather and 100% humidity, there was no way to cool down. Even the bathroom attendant looked like she was going to pass out.

We checked in with the hostess who told us it would be a little bit of a wait, but we could get drinks at the bar. I sat down, hoping to reduce my heat stroke symptoms and regain consciousness while Mike got us drinks. The female bartender looked at him once, twice, three times... and nothing. She helped everyone around him, including people who came up to the bar after him. He eventually stopped trying. (Did she not see how good-looking he was??? Sheesh.)

After awhile, the crowds cleared out, so we sat at a table near the hostess stand. We then noticed people around us were getting tables, so I went to check on our status. When I gave our name, the hostess said:

"Oh, is your entire party here now?"

Me: "Um, what do you mean? My husband and I have been sitting 10 feet away from you for an hour."

Her: "Oh, um, he told me he was waiting for you to arrive."

Liar, liar, pants on fire. This is hostess speak for "We forgot about you."

She then handed me a buzzer and said it would be a few more minutes while I simultaneously contemplated all the places I could shove that buzzer.

We left.

While walking the 1.2 miles back home, we decided we would still try to make it a fun night and get a carriage ride. With nearly bloody-feet, I hobbled to the nearest carriage and asked for a ride, but quickly realized every tourist had the same idea and they were all taken.

Sigh. (Would it be wrong to hire a homeless man to give me a piggyback ride?)

We ended up going to a cute little Italian restaurant in our neighborhood and had a great dinner. And luckily, we didn't spend $300 like our anniversary debacle of 2011.

Sweaty 1.2 mile walk=shiny forehead

We toasted to another year of wedded bliss and fewer days of sweaty butt crack.

I told Mike later, I guess if our biggest anniversary problem is that we didn't get good service at a nice New York City restaurant, we're doing pretty well.

Happy Anniversary MikeE!