Observations & Inspirations

17 Jun

champagne4theepain:

kanyewest.com

I just don’t know how to react sometimes.

(via jon-oh)

29 May

I fell in a drag queen’s make-up bag.

I came out the other side cover from head to toe in a rainbow of cornstarch, water, sweat and dirt with a smile stretched across my face.

I finished my first official 5k!

It was the first time I’d run that distance outside and the first time I had run it surrounded by thousands of other people. It was exciting and jeez, even fun. Is it terrible I didn’t expect it to be? I thought the getting rainbow’d part would be fun (and it was), but I didn’t think the actual running part would be entertaining. So this is what people are talking about when they go running, hmm?

Next time, I’ll run for time and actually try to set a personal record. My goal this time was to finish and have fun — and I think it was pretty successful.

Check out some pics from the race below!

Photo via Flo-Foto

18 May

I am not where I thought I was.

I wanted to wait until I actually ran the race to post about my recent endeavors but I can’t.

I’m running my first 5k a week from today. Yesterday, for the first time, I went for a run outside.

It. Was. TERRIBLE.

I didn’t realize there would be a such a difference between running outside and running on a treadmill. Running is running, right? How wrong I was. I’ve cranked out the 3.2 miles on a treadmill a few times in the last month and each time it gets easier. Translating that to actually running outside isn’t as smooth as I’d thought. The sun is in my eyes, the wind is pushing against me, the ground is uneven, the air is thick and heavy in my lungs. I can’t seem to keep a good pace. I’m either strolling or sprinting for my life. I didn’t realize the sidewalk ended half-way through my preplanned route due to construction. Also, my preplanned route was terrible and I felt like I was going to get run over.

I ended up going a little under two miles in 24 minutes. I finished my trek red-faced and sweaty, huffing like I had never gotten my heart rate up before. I can’t say I ran the whole way (because I didn’t) but there was some New Yorker walking involved, no slow-go Floridian feet dragging. But still! I’m a fairly active person. My job is physically demanding. I take boxing classes, I go to the gym a few times a week. Why was it so hard to run in a non-climate controlled environment?

The 5k next week will be … interesting.

7 May

I need to show you that Chris Christie made a funny video poking at himself and dammit he has an all-star cast.

1 May

A First of May No More

Happy First of May — and today I’m no longer a First of May.**

Yesterday marked my one-year anniversary with Bay News 9 — and truly, my one-year anniversary of working in news.

It’s a weird feeling. It’s felt much longer than a year, yet I learn something new almost everyday. There’s always a new challenge, a new opportunity, a new gray hair. When I first started, I worried working in news would make me bitter and hard. I worried the constant exposure to the bad side of humanity — the murders, the rapists, the criminals — would make me depressed. Yet working in news helped give me a little more faith in humanity.

There is a balance between good and bad. I could be lucky, but I find for every unhappy story I cover, I get to cover a happy one. For every house fire, there’s a fundraiser. For every death, there’s a celebration of life.

It doesn’t mean life is fair. It doesn’t mean the majority of the newscast still isn’t ‘bad news.’ I’ll never get used to certain types of stories. I’ll never get used to children dying. I’m still a human being and when a life is snatched from a child before they’ve had a chance to live it, that upsets me. I’m sure it always will.

There are some things I just have to accept. I am a young woman carrying a large news camera, and that confuses people. People will feel the need to point out this fact and bring their confusion to light. It used to bother me, but now I laugh. People tend to say some funny things. The other day, someone asked if I was by myself because of budget cuts. Earlier that day, someone else asked, “Where’s your pit crew, girl? You gotta carry all that by yourself?”

My personal relationship with news, however, is balanced. I can’t focus on the big picture because that will bring me down. I can only focus on the stories I touch and be confident that I do them justice. I can only hope that my small role on this Earth benefits people and I do that with my camera.

I still love what I do. Let’s see how I feel a year from now.

——

** A ‘First of May’ was someone in the circus who was a newbie. Circuses traditionally started their tours on May 1st.

19 Apr

I thought you all went home. (Laughter.)

We are so grateful to be here right now. We are so grateful to bring justice and a closure to this case.

To those families that lost loved ones, or who have suffered injuries that they’ll have to live with the rest of their lives; for a police officer — a young man starting a career at MIT — and a police officer with the MBTA who almost lost his life; and for neighborhoods who lived in fear for an entire day, we are eternally grateful for the outcome here tonight.

We have a suspect in custody.

— Col. TIMOTHY ALBEN, of the Massachusetts State Police, opening a press conference to announce the capture of the Boston bombing suspect. (via inothernews)

3 Mar

Pilot Daniel Schlimpert

Downtown St. Pete

Downtown Tampa

It's like a video game.

Except much harder and I didn't die.

Live in Sky 9: Sinkhole Patrol in Seffner, FL.

I got to fly up in the bird today to get some aerial footage of a home demolition, caused by a deadly sinkhole here in the Tampa Bay area.

The story: Late Thursday night, a sinkhole suddenly opened up under Jeff Bush’s bed while he was asleep, causing him to fall into the ground where he couldn’t be saved. His brother, Jeremy Bush, almost died himself trying to save his brother. The sinkhole continues to spread and now authorities say they have no choice but to demolish the home so they can fill the sinkhole before it spreads to the rest of the neighborhood. The homes to the left and the right are already compromised. That demolition started today.

I didn’t get any photos of what we were actually covering since you need both hands to maneuver the camera (though sometimes I wish I had two more). We flew over the demolition scene to feed live video from the sky. We were up there for about two hours and I think they took our picture probably a dozen times. I heard HLN grabbed it too!

I’d never been in a helicopter before, let alone operate the camera attached underneath. Hopefully not too bad for a first timer! I hope this won’t be my last time up in the bird.

Gotta love my job :)

1 Mar

Humans of New York: Dear HONY,My name is Vicki. Having been raised in Queens, I know well...

humansofnewyork:

Dear HONY,

My name is Vicki. Having been raised in Queens, I know well how important it is to have children experience the joys of camp and spend time in a non-concrete environment. Now, I am fortunate enough to work for a company that brings smiles to children and families every day – Feld…

It’s nice to see the company I used to tour with doing good things. :)

7 Jan

2012: A Look Back

The past year has been a whirlwind, to say the least. The following are pictures and descriptions from a major event or milestone every month, but these are not all inclusive. So much happened this year and hopefully there’s more to follow in 2013!

Enjoy …

JANUARY. THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE.

USF played host to NBC’s Republican Presidential Candidates Debate. That meant a 14-hour day for me, covering all aspects of the event. I met countless politicians and mingled with media from around the world. There were supporters, protestors and activists. It was glorious.

FEBRUARY. MISS VIDA BOHEME OF THE MANHATTAN BOHEMES.

This little girl came into my life unexpectedly. I heard a strange sound outside of my apartment, and she was at the bottom of the stares. We stared at one another, then she ran into my apartment. She’s never left.

MARCH. GRANDMA HILDA.

And with life, there is death. My Grandma Hilda passed away March 4 and in the week following I would learn so much about her, myself, life, death, family and Jewish traditions. We miss you, Grandma, and I’m so lucky to have had you for so long. I love you.

APRIL. NEW BEGINNINGS.
Bay News 9
After two years of relentless resumes, countless demo reels, close calls and missed opportunities, I finally land a job in a newsroom. And it’s bigger and better than I could’ve ever imagined.

MAY. ANOTHER GOODBYE.

This time, not so finite. We send off our dearest Maggalah to bigger and better things in the Peach State. It’s bittersweet.

JUNE. PRESIDENT OBAMA.

Just two months into my new job and I get to be apart of a team covering the President’s speech at a local community college. BN9 took his speech live, and I was the woman behind the camera. I had a great photographer in my ear, guiding me and helping me out. It was truly an amazing experience.

JULY. LEMURS.

Just a regular Florida day where someone calls the news because there’s lemurs running around their backyard. Apparently, the neighbors had some pet lemurs that got loose and ran around the neighborhood. Funny thing is, this is the SECOND time I’ve had the pleasure of filming lemurs. They’re really adorable.

AUGUST. THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION.

This pretty much sums up the entire week. Five days of 12 hour shifts where we’re shuttled into downtown because Secret Service has the place locked down. Tampa did not look the same and walking from point A to point B was damned near impossible. Trust me, we tried.

SEPTEMBER. ONE YEAR.

It takes a special kind of man to deal with my shenanigans. Brett is that kind of man. When he’s not helping me play dress up with my cat, he’s calming me down off my cliff of desperation or he’s going along with one of my crazy ideas. I love you, you crazy man you.

OCTOBER. MIA WALLACE AND VINCENT VEGA.

Did you order a five dollar shake? There were a few Mia Wallace-Vincent Vega costumes, but ours had the most blood and the best wigs.

NOVEMBER. THE ELECTION.

I don’t have any other pictures of our election assignment because we were that crazy busy. My reporter and I covered a local election, but for a 24-hour local cable news channel, that’s just as important. Live hits every hour with new elements, a restaurant way past capacity, and lots of yelling makes for a crazy night. Gotta love it.

DECEMBER. SPREADING CHEER.

I got to do a few holiday stories, but this one resonated with me the most. I rode with Lealman firefighters as they hand-delivered toys to less fortunate kids. One of the firefighters even dressed as Santa Claus, handing out candy canes accompanied with Ho! Ho! Ho!s. It was special to not only witness, but to document and share their joy.

Of course these twelve events can’t attest for everything that’s happend this past year. Other milestones are: my sister’s high school graduation, Brett’s nephew’s birth, Tropical Storm Debby coverage, moving to Polk … then back to Tampa two months later, and countless others.

I hope to accomplish even more this year, touch more lives and create more memories with those I love. Every day is precious — live life to the fullest!

26 Nov

Vida Boheme gets in the holiday spirit. But not really. I bought a cat costume from Target and now she hates me every time I put it on her.