Perks

On a whole I think I live a pretty blessed life. But I do enjoy some pretty great perks. Did I mention that my roommate Tori works at Starbucks?

Yes, in addition to being my best friend - she faithfully brings home a pound of my favorite SBucks coffee every other week - sweet! She also works at a location that is surprisingly close to the station...so occasionally a co-worker will drop by to pick up a drink on their way to KENS and she add's a Venti, sugar free, vanilla latte with 2% milk to their order just for me :)

However there are perks to being my friend too! Like having another person who wakes up at the ungodly hour of "You get up when?" and I always know when its National Strawberry Ice Cream Sundae Day.

Yeah life is good.

~n

Cluck, Cluck

Yesterday was National Fried Chicken day and not being one to not celebrate I rounded up a group of friends to partake in the crispy goodness that has become a staple in the south.


But on this holy of holidays not any KFC, Popeyes or Churches would do...we needed good ol' home cooking to really do this particular poultry day justice.

We, meaning Debra, Danny and his younger brother Anthony, originally intended to head over to Mr. & Mrs. G's on the Eastside but it turned out my favorite soul food joint was closed for an extended 4th of July vacation....oh the horror and on National Fried Chicken Day!

So our fearless foursome hit up the next best place we knew of...Chatmans.

It wasn't quite M&M G's...but it was good!

A mixed twelve piece, large fries, basket of corn niblets, a small side of macaroni & cheese and some soda later...we all held up our wings in salute of National FCD....this full stomach is for you oh crispy, non-flying fowl...thank you for all that you do.

I hit the gym extra hard today.

~n

Morning Sunshine

Most of you know my day starts much earlier than sunrise but every morning I'm so blessed to see a gorgeous sunrise welcoming me into the newsroom just after the newscast ends.
That's right...although not a window or corner office, my little cubicle has an amazing view. Funny how God works.

Just an observation

As I layed tossing and turning last night with George, in all his 18lbs of furry, fluffy glory perched atop my head hogging the pillow and little Bella so lovingly curled up in a ball at my side...I made a few observations.

While I do appreciate how cute it is that George cusps my face with his paws...his nails DESPERATLY need a trimming.

And Bella, so sweet as she sleeps - all 4.5lbs of her - it appears her new high priced food of pure "Lamb & Rice" gives her horrific gas.

Just an observation.

~n

Going Ape

So this morning we ran a story on a childless French couple who's adopting a Gorilla to raise as their own child. Not a baby gorilla, a full grown, 13-year old gorilla. A rip-your-arms-off-because-you're-hogging-the-bed gorilla.

As we come back from the story - it's a toss to weather and Paul comments - "They better sleep with one eye open, I tell you what." And we all start laughing. Then, during the toss to traffic, Paul asks me if I'd ever adopt a gorilla. Hell I can't even manage to share the bed with a dog, cat, boyfriend and the gaggle of pillows I've ammased over the years. And those who know me really well know I can't even keep a houseplant alive, let alone a gorilla!

Needless to say it was a hillarious day in the studio as we all broke into ape chants, roars and howls during the commercial break. And it didn't just last for the two minutes of commercials...the ape antics popped up all morning long, as did the bursts of hysterical laughter. Yeah that's how mature we news people are...we make animal noises.

Sometimes I wonder what people would think of us if they saw what really went on behind the scenes.

~n

Micky & The Motorcars

Tonight I had the opportunity to sit down with Micky Braun, front man of Micky & the Motorcars. The five member group was in the middle of sound check but Micky took a few minutes to chat with me on the tour bus (it was a little quieter in there)

He talked about the changes from driving across the country in a van, playing for beer and crashing on couches in city after city to touring in a bus and actually getting paid for gigs. It's been a long ten years of good times, tough times and great music.

The Braun brothers, Micky and Gary are also related to the Braun duo, Willy and Cody of Reckless Kelly. RK is also playing tonight at Gruene Hall. Micky tells me the four siblings are still close and support each other despite hectic touring schedules.

Check out the full interview where he talks life on the road, the early years, an upcoming record and the one thing most people don't know about him...it's good stuff.

Reflecting

It's been a long time since I've written anything for my personal blog. And for that I apologize. My life has dramatically shifted the last four months or so. I now get up at 2:30am and go to be at 7pm. My social life mid week is pretty much non existent and I live for naps lol.

But as I sit in my house at 11:20pm on the first mid-week late night up that I've had in months, knowing I have the day off tomorrow, I felt inspired to write.

What I've learned the last four months of being a traffic reporter/anchor is that we all, myself included, drive like jerks sometimes. That accidents happen when we least expect them and when we inevitably least need them. Most usually when we're running late or frustrated or stressed and always when we're caught off guard.

Its just like life...we all make mistakes. We all make bad judgement calls whether on the road or in our personal lives. Everyone of us, whether we admit it or not will glance at that text message or email, promising our selves it's just this one time.

Everyone of us will go a few miles over the speed limit, roll through a stop, run a light, cut someone off and often times it is by accident. Unfortunately sometimes those accidents catch up to us and it's just our turn to face the consequences.

I think about these things every morning at 6:55 when my traffic computer goes from practically void of accidents to stacked full of minor and major crashes. That's the point when everyone goes from merrily trucking along to "holy cow I'm running late."

Sometimes I'm able to see the carnage from the view of a Transguide camera, other times its just an anonymous map location. But I'm sure no one was thinking when they left the house that morning "I'm going to slam my car into something today." Yet it happens every morning without fail.

Does that make me a better driver because of this knowledge? Yes and no. I am only human. I too get stressed and frustrated when I have to sit in traffic at 4:55pm at Huebner and 10 when I'm headed to the gym. I too don't want to let "cheaters" in the lane ahead of me sometimes and I'm just as guilty of talking smack in my car about the person driving in front of me.

But what I have gained is some compassion and patience for the fact that I have to share the roads and this world with everyone around me and to always be on the lookout because you never know when fate may catch up with you and try to pass you in the fast lane.