Bucket List Item: Watermelon -- check!

All summer John has wanted to buy his own watermelon and eat it on a beautiful summer day. I don't know why it took us so long to do it, but we finally went and bought a watermelon the day I was leaving for home and it was everything we dreamed of and more! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but even Ish loved the watermelon.

We just have a few more things to check off the summer bucket list before school starts: swimming at Pineview, going to a drive-in movie, and sleeping in a hammock. Wish us luck!

Wicked at The Capitol Theatre

John and I saw Wicked at the Capitol Theatre last weekend and it was awesome! For those of you out-of-staters, Salt Lake is about an hour away from where we live in North Ogden and Pleasant View so we left to drive down there in the late afternoon for our show at 6:30. 

John had never been to The Cheesecake Factory before so we HAD to go there for dinner because you really haven't lived until you've been there. The menu is about a bajillion pages and it's SO hard to choose what you want to eat because there are way too  many choice. But finally we made up our minds and I got the Shepard's Pie and John got the Chicken Di Pana. Our server said the Shepard's Pie is the second best thing on the menu, beaten  only by the Macaroni and Cheese Burger [this doesn't sound at all appealing to me, but whatever floats your boat]. But both of our dishes were fabulous and I -- as per usual -- couldn't even finish mine. For dessert, we obviously got cheesecake and John chose the Wild Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake which was out of this world! 

After dinner, we headed to the Capitol Theatre and I'm pretty sure I started crying even before the show started. They were tears of joy because I was just so happy to be watching my favorite show with my favorite person. It was awesome. I cried throughout the entire production and I'm pretty sure John was laughing at me, but I didn't even care. I actually think he enjoyed watching me more than the actual show, but that is fine!

It was a great night and the theatre company did a great job performing Wicked. I will admit, nothing beats seeing it on Broadway in New York City, but this was a really awesome second best. It was pretty cool to see Tim Kazurinsky perform as well since I had just met him a couple of days before that. He wasn't quite as showy as the wizards I've seen in other productions, but he was funny and he did a fine job for someone who is not accustomed to performing in musicals.

The Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City, UT

Technically, I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside because the whole theatre is copyrighted so shhh! (;

John and I waiting for the performance to begin -- right before I started crying.

5 Things Every College Freshman Needs

My segment aired on Friday morning!! Ahhh!! I was not in the studio because I left on Thursday for Washington D.C. and home, so I was super anxious about how it was going to go. From the time I left Utah until the segment was over and I heard how it went, it was constantly on my mind. Is that how producers feel all the time? They probably get used to it, but I was definitely feeling the pressure. This segment could potentially be a part of my resume tape so it was kind of a big deal and I really wanted it to go well.

Like I said in my last post, the segment was called "5 Things Every College Freshman Needs" and I brought on two students from Utah State -- Chris and Sawyer -- who work with incoming freshman all the time. They compiled a list, I approved it, and then they brought each item on the show with them to talk about.

Here is the link to the segment so you all can see it and I think it turned out really well! The guys did a great job with Troy and Felicia and I think it was an interesting segment for the viewers.

Chris and Sawyer on the show with Felicia and Troy

My next segment is airing at the end of the month and I am still in the process of producing that one. My first couple of ideas have fallen through so I am working hard to get that squared away!

Intern Turned Producer

As part of my internship I have the opportunity to produce my own segments that will air on Good Things Utah. This is one of my favorite parts of the internship because it gives you hands on experience and it gives you something awesome to put on your resume.

The first segment that I am producing will air this Friday, August 8th!! The segment is called "5 Things Every Incoming Freshman Should Know" and I am bringing in some Utah State Ambassadors to talk about those things on the show. I think it will be a great segment because those are the things I wish I would have known when I first started college. I'm doing another segment at the end of August, but I haven't quite finalized that one so I will announce that one later!

I'm so excited to see my work shown on live television and I have learned so much just by taking a turn at producing an actual segment for the show. There is a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes that many people watching don't know about. To produce a segment you have to think of an original idea that fits your audience demographic, figure out if it's something realistic to do, find an "expert" to talk about your idea on the show, call that person and see if they are willing to come on the show, figure out what you want them exactly to talk about, follow up with them, write headlines and promos for the segment, tell the hosts what is going on, and make sure everything runs smoothly the day of the segment. It may sound simple, but it's not always the easiest process.

I'm pretty sure I'll be stressing out a little bit until the segment is over on Friday because I really want it to go smoothly! The producing I have done in the past at school has given me a little bit of an idea of what to expect, but it's not quite the same here at Good Things Utah. I am glad that I have that experience, though, because if not I would really know nothing. So thanks, Brian and Chris!

The Wizard and I

Wicked is the best musical of all time. There. I said it. I'm never taking it back. I've seen it on Broadway and I cried. I listen to the soundtrack and I cry. And they are happy tears because it's just so beautiful. And I'm about to cry right now because I'm going to see it on SUNDAY!!! I am so dang excited I can't even contain myself. 

Last August when John and I were in Manhattan for a couple of days, John tried to surprise me with Wicked tickets but we missed the lottery and went to see Phantom of the Opera. Don't get me wrong, Phantom was AWESOME, but deep down I've wanted to see Wicked ever since. So, John and I bought our tickets when they first were on sale and I've been chomping at the bit for August 3rd to come. 

That being said, when I came into work this morning I was not expecting anything spectacular. Much to my surprise though, when my producer handed me my rundown I saw a special name on the list -- Tim Kazurinsky. Tim's name might ring a bell to you because he spent four years on Saturday Night Live in the 80s, but more importantly he is playing The Wizard in the Capitol Theatre's production of Wicked that I am seeing in two days! 

As soon as I found out he was coming in for the show, I couldn't stop singing "The Wizard and I" and I acted like a total fan girl when he finally got here. Tim was so nice! I introduced myself and we talked about the show and his experience here in Salt Lake. He said he is amazed every night by the cast and, I wasn't aware of this, but he told me that the young woman that plays Elphaba is only 22! I've heard from a few different people that she knocked their socks off when they saw the show, so I am really looking forward to it.

Tim was only at ABC4 until 9:30 and he slipped out of the studio without me even noticing! So, I did what any normal person would do and I chased after him out the door so I could get a picture -- that's fine right? Fortunately, he stopped at the bathroom and he was more than happy to take a picture with me after he was done with his business. It was so cool! 

Like I said in my previous post -- there are perks to being a television intern.

Tim talking to Felicia, Nicea, and Troy about performing in Wicked.

The Wizard himself [and I].

Live Studio Audience

In our studio at ABC4, we set up bleachers so that people can come in and watch the show. It's always fun to have a live studio audience because it adds some dimension to the show and they get to see what really happens behind the scenes. The bleachers are not always full, but the audience always has a good time whenever they are there.

The day after Pioneer Day, I had some familiar faces come and watch the show and it was so fun! They even got to be on TV -- which doesn't usually happen. John and his parents, Russ and Linda, came down to the studio and were able to be part of the audience and then I gave them a little tour of the whole station. I surprised even myself with how much I actually knew about the station and I realized that I really have been learning a lot while I've been here.

We even had some photo opportunities throughout the studio. Russ posed as the weatherman and I think he gave Curtis Ray a run for his money! Russ, Linda, and John also sat behind the news desk and looked like total professionals and then John and I got a pretty cute picture together at the desk as well. I'll take him as a co-host any day!

Overall, it was a way fun day and I am so glad that Russ, Linda, and John came down to visit me and visit ABC4! If anyone else wants to check out the show, just let me know and we can arrange something for sure!

Russ, Linda, and John sitting behind the three hosts LIVE on the show!

John and Becky reporting from the ABC4 News Desk.

Share a Coke with an Intern

Being an intern means paying about $1,000 for college credits to work between 15 and 20 hours per week for no pay from the actual company you are working for. It does seem a little backward, but an internship is all about the experience -- right?? And there are definitely perks to being an intern. Most days we get free delicious food and sometimes we even get to take things home with us. We meet some pretty amazing people and I definitely wouldn't trade it. [Unless it was an internship at Good Morning America...shh!]

One of my favorite "perk" days was when the people from the "Share a Coke" project came in to the studio. With them, they brought about fifty cases of coke, diet coke, and coke zero and I was in heaven! Coke was flying everywhere and each of us interns got to take a whole case home -- that's like $5 worth of coke so it was pretty sweet, if you ask me [no pun intended].

So -- even though I put all this time in and I [my dad] have to pay to be at the station to work every day -- I'm gaining experience, I'm making connections, and I get free coke. Everyone is winning.

We even got to carry all the coke into the station -- lucky us! 

Oh, and the coke sunglasses are pretty sweet too.