Christmas and More

After a long and relaxing trip to upstate I'm back to NYC. I really enjoyed my time away with my family, but was very excited to get back to the city.

Today was a hiatus day at Late Night. No one was kidding about taking a hiatus, it was literally three interns, my coordinator Chris, and me. We watched movies in the conference room. Ran a few mail room errands and I did a crossword... kinda. It was very boring. I can't wait until everyone gets back next week.

Tonight is my first NYC New Years. Haas, Ted, Drew and Dannika are all here. You know it will be a good time!

"Put on your giggle turban, we're going to Laugh-ganistan!"

So Tuesday was a pretty crazy day at Late Night. Wrapping paper and ribbons went flying everywhere as interns were handing out logo jackets and wrapping presents. I actually made two runs outside the building! I didn't get lost and felt awfully accomplished after finishing the tasks.

After my last errand I rushed back to 30 Rock to make it back in time for rehearsal. Rehearsal is my most favorite time of day since it's my one time of being completely guaranteed to see Conan. I'm so glad I pushed my way through tourists Tuesday. Rehearsal was fun and at the end the floor director asked all of us to stick around as that night's guest wanted to rehearse the skit. The guest was Dustin Hoffman! "Willy Lohman" walked in and my smile never left my face. He was friendly and really very funny. When he laughed memories of Captain Hook came rushing back. It was really great. He was so funny and easy going. It was great to be in his presence and Conan looked so happy to have him on for the first time.

I feel really fortunate that the first time I saw a celebrity around Late Night, other than the typical cast, was such a legendary and classic actor like Dustin Hoffman.

Happy holidays to all!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

I didn't know I could feel this cold. This morning's walk made my cheeks and thighs literally hurt this morning. I walked as fast as I could to the subway with thoughts of 30 Rock getting me through. I love Rockefeller Center. It's got everything I would ever want.

Today was nothing exciting. Rehearsal is always my favorite part of the day. I love when Conan plays the guitar. Three new interns started today and two actually asked me where to find things. I had to make a guess, but I was right in my guesses. It's nice to think there's other people around who are just as lost as I am.

New York City is growing on me and I am getting better at finding my way around. I just can't tell if it's a place I could ever really live. Maybe I need more than a week to make such a decision.

A Snowy City Day

This Florida girl actually walked through the snow. We're talking iced over sidewalks. My clumsy tendencies actually took a backseat to my cunning abilities to navigate this tundra (ok, I'm exaggerating).

I also made it through the day without getting lost! I'm so excited I'm finally getting it... sort of.

The day was fun. I was the first one in the office, very shortly followed by my internship coordinator, Chris. He had me put newspapers in front of everyone's office, which was actually a really great way to learn names, titles, and where offices are.

After breakfast and some newspaper reading Chris came in and said Conan's second assistant, Todd, needed some interns. My friend April and I volunteered. We went down to Conan's office and Todd told us he needed us to go to Conan's apartment on Central Park West to pick up some gifts his wife had gathered for various people. We went over to his apartment and once we got out of the subway, April and I saw the prettiest scenes of Central Park. It was literally a winter wonderland, cheesey, I know. Tree branches covered in snow proved so tempting I think April and I considered skipping for the day and playing in Central Park. Anyway, when we got up to the apartment we thought the gifts would be right outside the door, but they weren't. You know what that means... April and I got to go inside Conan O'Brien's apartment and get the gifts. I'm not going to lie, I peeked around and saw his living room. I think it was probably the highlight of my day.

I got to watch another rehearsal and this one was waaaaay cooler than yesterday's. Conan came in playing his guitar and just played during transitions. It was quite entertaining. I took more assignments today and tried really hard to show Chris that I was ready to and willing to start making everyone like/remember me. I'm excited to start making a name for myself at Late Night.

Late Night

Well as I approached the desk on my first day I met Chris Formidoni, the internship coordinator. Loved him immediately. How do you not love someone who high fives at the end of your first day and asks, did you have fun? He took me into the conference room where I met the other dozen Late Night interns. All day everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. They showed me around, answered my questions and we all generally have a good time. I have to say I feel like I fit in right away, and one other intern agreed. She told me that it felt like I had been there forever.

My duties of the day included stuffing Christmas cards for Jeff Ross (the Executive Producer) and Conan. So some were sent to Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Rick Moranis and the Bon Jovi Family, just to name a few. I'm name dropping, I'll stop. No I won't. Other than that I ran errands through the building with other interns, in order to get a better feel for where everything is. Oh yea, and...

I sat in the audience during the rehearsal!! It was pretty awesome. I sat with a bunch of the guys and we joked around and I got to know more of them as we waited for Conan to get in. He walked in through the side door and I had to calm myself. It was unreal. He sat at his desk, which is much much smaller than I anticipated, and started rattling off jokes for our approval. I loved it. When we watched the final taping it was really interesting to see which jokes he stuck with and which ones he dropped. It felt kinda cool to see that where I laughed made a difference in the show.

I had a pretty amazing first day. The people are awesome, the environment is really laid back and I have high hopes for what I'll end up doing there. After work an Elon buddy of mine and I went for drinks at this Irish pub near Times Square. I think I'm a little obsessed with the place. The bartenders were all Irish and I talked with one of them and turns out he's from about ten minutes from where I lived in Dublin. He even knew The Cobblestone, my favorite pub in Dublin. After talking to him he gave me and my friend free shots, which was a very nice welcome to the city.

I'm seriously falling for NYC. This weekend will only make it worse. Leigh comes to town and I want to go Christmas touring. :)

Day One

These subways hate me sooo much. It was so much easier in Europe. London subways were simple. Parisian subways were in French and were no problem for me. Why is NYC so different?

I've lost count of how many times I've gotten lost. Things are looking up for me, though. I eventually found my way to Rockefeller Center and wandered around to find where I need to go tomorrow. As I was exploring and pondering whether or not this city would ever make sense to me, I decided the pick-me-up I needed was watching the skaters outside. Rockefeller Center skating rink may be one of my absolute favorite places ever. It's just happy. Families taking pictures. Dads falling on their butts while their kids giggle and help him up. Couples skating hand in hand. The whole area is just a happy spot.

So I approach the window and what do I find? The rink has been cleared so some idiot could do a show! He was jumping over baby dolls and waving his arms around. When I got closer thoughg, I realized the guy skating around the other guys with cameras was JIMMY FALLON!! I couldn't help but giggle and watch. It was so funny to think I would soon be working for this man who is making snow angels on the ice... Needless to say, it put me in a good mood and got me really excited about starting tomorrow. I think I'll leave an hour early. Just to be safe...

Arrival

This city is going to be much more difficult than anything I encountered in Europe. I love a challenge.

Complications at the airport, getting on the wrong subway and carting my luggage around the city have made me very tired, but the blog must go on.

I have arrived in my apartment to find it's very charming and my roommate is quite quirky. I love her decorating style, and she's very sweet. There may be no cable, but one sweeping look at her DVD collection, I am excited to expand my movie knowledge.

More exciting, though, is what I have planned for tomorrow. I want to explore NYC. I need to find the best route to Rockefeller Center, grocery shop and deposit a check. Now in Elon, this would be simple (minus the Rockefeller Center thing), but here I'm a little afraid my awful directional skills will hinder my day's plans. Like I said, I love a challenge.

The internship begins on Thursday. :)