The work never seems to end! It’s like a bottomless abyss that will forever bury me in essays and reading. My crazy academic, extra-curricular, and social schedules have not left me very much time to breath, much less update my blog. Probably the biggest highlight this month was the events leading up to the elections. For election night, I worked in the newsroom making thumbnails for slideshows and video that were to be posted ATVN’s election central. We spent two Fridays in a row preparing for the live coverage of the invigorating 2008 elections. And with that preparation, we had a successful night! We were able to get live coverage from the Obama and McCain parties stationed around Los Angeles as well as coverage from the newsroom and local polls. We used Skype to air the stories live, which was a pretty clever idea if I do say so myself. In my four hours in the newsroom on November 4, I uploaded a grand total of 2 thumbnails. Although I wasn’t super busy, it was electrifying to be in one of the most informed rooms on campus with a television dedicated to each major news station including CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, KTLA, and I know I’m forgetting at least three. I cannot even begin to explain the excitement and chaos that ignited on campus after Barack Obama was announced as the President Elect.
A few minutes after Obama was announced as the next President of the United States, I called my mom who was in London at the time to inform her of this historical moment in American history. Little did I know that it wouldn’t be too much longer until she could have found out on her own. Later the next day, she described the European excitement of the American presidential race. She explained that not only was it the talk on the streets, but many people woke up at 4 in the morning to find out who our next president will be. Personally, I found this shocking because I had no idea of the impact the U.S. had on the world. As broadcasted, I knew that people in Kenya celebrated, but little did I know so did the rest of the world.
Other highlights from the month include going home a total of three times to see everyone, Halloween excitement, and football games. I went home to go to the Homecoming football game, which Walnut lost, to see dinner theater (which was amazing =D) and for Mama Tina’s 81st birthday. In my opinion, Halloween wasn’t much different than any other week full of social events. When each event is themed, dressing up does not become especially exciting or exclusive any more. So after 3 costumes for four different events, Halloween didn’t seem very distinctive. I miss trick-or-treating around the streets of Walnut, which brings me the complete satisfaction of Halloween. I mean, I would try trick-or-treating around USC, but I doubt I’d be very successful. And then there is football season! This past Saturday was the last home football game that most students will attend, since the official last game is after Thanksgiving when most students will still be home. The end of football season brings me a bitter-sweet feeling: football games, no matter what time they start, seem to take up the entire day, but it is still a fun day!
I’m glad I finally had some time to update you on my life at USC. I’ve got some more homework to get done before this weekend’s adventures. Have a nice one!
