NewSource 15 Class of 2005!!!

Wow...It's been one heck of a roller-coaster journey, living and breathing NewSource during my last semester here at UGA. There were days when I felt so depressed I wondered if I were in the right major at all..But to see how all of us have reached beyond ourselves to attain achievements of such high caliber, I have to admit it's worth shedding a tear or two..

There were days when the professor would have that look as if he was gonna tear you apart in two, rip your heart out, stomp on it and feed it to the dog..gosh, I still shudder at the thought of it..But then, there were also wonderful days when I would wallow in a moment of pride and couldn't seem to wipe the silly grin off my goofy face ^___^


Just like yesterday..So many families and friends came to watch our last show. It was amazing by the way..Everyone got done so early, we stifled some yawns here and there..Funny I imagined the last day to be completely chaotic and disastrous. But then it's such a profound feeling to end our academic career on such a high note. Quite a number of people welled up..

The sweetest memory of the night--My friend Lyndsey's (at right) sister came up to me shyly and told me, quote-"I'm a fan of yours!"-end quote (I was anchoring, by the way). I was just so blown away I didn't know what else to do but just look her in the eyes and say thank you so much...She definitely made my day...

A Mug to Cheer!

Aww..Housing Department gave this pretty mug to congratulate me on my graduation. Although I would've much preferred a pay hike or cash award...this is erm..pretty decent I suppose..^^ Who am I kidding, C'me On! Hmm, come to think about it, I've been working at Reed for the past 2 and a half years..gosh..I must be like the most loyal Desk Assistant EVAH!!! I sure won't miss the screeching alarm that goes off every 5 second though, that's for sure..

All In A Day's Work...

As promised, I finally got around to capture some significant moments in the newsroom. Surprisingly, I had quite a bit of time in my hands today to waltz around and snap some quickies before someone grabs me and order me to do this or that =p


9am:
Producer holds editorial meeting.
I produced the show last week and to say the least, they were both awesome!
Ashley is producing our last week of shows. She's a sweetheart!


10am-3pm:
Everyone gets down to business, writing scripts, cutting VOs, SOTs, scheduling interviews and whatever that billows our way.
Reporter-Photographer teams go out on the field to put together their packages.
And somewhere along those lines, we squeeze in a little time to chow down some food to keep us going on for the rest of the day.


5pm:
Anchors sit their tushies down in the studios for a run through and mic checks.


5:30pm:
Our show hits air on Channel 15 of the University cable network.
NewSource covers three surrounding counties--Athens-Clarke, Barrow & Oconee.
Well thanks so much for watching the show! It's a wrap guyz!

Behind the scenes:


The Control Room where the Director calls the shots and the rest of the technical crew make their punches to roll video and audio.


The studios with all the high-tech lightings and cutting-edge cameras. I worked as a production staff for a year before ascending to positions in editorial. Those were the good ole' days...

Well, this is what I have been doing for the past half a year minus all the craziness, squabbles, name-calling, and fist-clenching behind the scenes of course. It's been a tremendously enjoyable experience filled with unexpected excitements everyday. Gotta say though it has caused my hair to bald just a little from all the stress ^____^

A Girl's Best Friend

Well sort of...Next to diamonds, pretty dresses are indeed gal's greatest pal! It's next to impossible when looking for the perfect dress for a certain kinda function. Either it's the wrong color or worst yet, wrong size. And to put it all into perspective, the price has GOT to be within budget as well...

Now that's a hard one since decent dresses tend to be well, pretty hefty in the price department as well. So when I went to Cilies at Downtown to shop, I really weren't hoping for too much..Heck, I weren't even looking for a dress to start with..

But I have to say, I have found my perfect white dress.......drool.....It's just so purr-fect =)



And while I was browsing through the dress rack, well come on, you've gotta keep flipping through the rack to see if you've missed out on any good stuff right? And my eyes fell upon another wonderful cocktail dress! I really dig the zigzag lines of the dress. Plus, the dress hangs onto the body like cat skin..So it'll remind me to keep in shape just by looking at it ^____^



And the best part yet, both dresses rang up to a total of below $20 (after a $3 discount I had)!!! Yup, that's right! Best deal of the year I must say...Now I can proudly say I own not 1, but 2 ultimate babelicous dresses...

Party People It's Friday Night!!!

Ok it's our last party for the year! Well, at least a big-ass one where practically every Tom, Dick and Harry is invited. Since 3 of us roomies are graduating in like 2 weeks, we decided to throw a graduation/farewell party just for the heck of it. End our college years with a loud bang!

But from the beginning, problems kept creeping up our sleeves..Kayo had a job interview, our neighbors weren't free anymore(despite suggesting we throw it together). I was kinda vexed with all that crap for a minute there but then I just thought, you know what? screw them..we'll just have a good time by ourselves.

Well, we did have an awesome time...I was kinda flustered in the middle of the party. I think I didn't do a good job of distributing my drinking times thus ended up drinking too much at a time. Hence, the living room started to spin for quite a bit..haha..

But it was ok, Jordan and I just kicked back and slouched on the couch people-watching. It was definitely a high in itself just watching people's dance moves. Andrew was just freaking funny, shaking his skinny arse, waltzing in and outta the dance floor ^_____^



Woke up this morning with a bad tummy and a twisted arm. We made pancakes and cinnamon rolls to block out the hangover =) I definitely still need to hit the sack though cuz I only had like a couple of hours of sleep..
Tonight is the guyz' party, I don't think I can make it and survive unscathed...hence I will stick to my comfy bed...

Producing Week

Wow..Producing an entire newscast had definitely proved to be an outta this world experience in itself! I learned so so much in two days, about how to make a successful newscast work, how to quick-solve any wall that we came across, how to deal with problematic people in general, and also to keep encouraging people even though you feel totally ready anytime to reach out your hands like the Street Fighter Long Arms dude and strangle that person, bob his/her head around till some sense penetrates through their 18-inches thick skull..Erm..I'm sure some of my peeps have felt like doing the same to me at times so I'm gonna shut up now ^_____^

Tuesday's show was definitely wayyyy smoother than today's. Even both hard-to-please prof said it was the best show in the semester. kaka. Had me almost floating like nobody's business for a second there. And then I had to bump back down to Earth to explain couple of the petty nuisance errors that I didn't take care of.

But in my humble opinion, I still think I did a darn good job coordinating the show and it proved to be absolutely sublime! We came out of EVERY block right on time. I mean really..that has NEVER happened yet so far, and I'm taking credit for that totally..wahaha..Although some envious souls may argue it was a haphazard plan of action, but I beg to differ. Everything happens for a reason and it's cuz of ME ME ME..haha..kinda vain right now..ok so maybe very..

I promise I'll put up some pictures of the newsroom. I've been dying to take shots of the newsroom but everytime something comes up and goes out of hand and it just slips off my mind. Oh well, next week is the last week so I better beat it into my brain if I want to keep a little something something to remember =)

Score!!!

A Grady College letter...hmm..what could it be? Reminding me that the Convocation is in 3 weeks' time and I'm still hanging in the air without a job?? ergh...oh well, might as well face the truth and open up the damn mail. At least I get to wear a nice suit and look all pretty..ladi ladi la...

HOLD ON A SECOND HERE..oh gosh..oh gosh..oh gosh..And there I was hopping up and down my room, clutching the piece of letter, which by then had turned into gold in my eyes..

The letter is from the Dean congratulating me for receiving the William I. Ray Scholarship worth A GRAND!!! I almost couldn't believe my eyes cuz it's been awhile since I applied for it, erm, to be exact since last November 15.

And the money came at a time when I'm really strapped for cash..what a lifesaver ^____^ So far, the best piece of news for the day really! Heck, a thumbs-up for the whole semester really...



Wow, I've never really received a 'real' scholarship before (the tuition waiver doesn't really count, cuz they just deduct the amount straight from the fees, and I don't get to hold on to the check)..so THIS is what it feels like...amazing I say...

International Street Festival '05

Almost can't believe I've only had 5 hours of sleep in over 30 hours and I don't 'really' feel that dead tired yet..Yesterday's International Street Festival was so much fun!!! Kinda sad to say though that this will be my last time being involved in the festival. But I have to say I'm very much satisfied with how things went and I'll definitely hang tight to those memories for years and years to come...



We started setting up at 8:30am. Running around settling tables and tents. Then when the clock hit noon, the show started! Somehow I got pulled into standing beside the stage, emcee-ing raffles ticket and trivia Q with Allison and Benjamin, which was really fun cuz it feels wonderful giving away prizes!
Oh highlight of the day was throwing T-Shirts to the crowd. All I saw was masses of people waving their hands in the air, practically beseeching us to look their way. keke..

After the whole day of craziness, we hauled our exhausted bodies back to ISL for more unloading and finally heading to Johnny Carino's for some good ole Italian food completed with dessert-my absolute favorite-tiramisu! yumyum...



As if we weren't tired enough, the gang decided to go home for a quick shower, and head back downtown for some serious partying!!! That part didn't go as well though since couple of the gals DID NOT bring along their IDs.

So after wandering around many many blocks, we finally decided upon clubbing at the Annex, which I absolutely hate cuz it's full of freshies...Oh well, at least we had a pretty good time and didn't end up going home. Didn't get to sleep till 4am though...

Downtown Athens in Spring...

Beautiful weather, hippy downtown Athens, spring blossom but hold on...those nasty yellowish stuff is EVERYWHERE!!! They're invading every surface area, those stupid pollen... They're making my nose itch, my eyes water and my car covered in a sheet of yellow powdery layer..EEEeeekk!

The pollen count in Athens is hovering around 500 these days. And get this, the EPA issued a warning that anything over 60 is considered an extreme level! krazee I say! And just imagine us Athenians are breathing in these killer stuff everyday...

Hmm..these trees are so pretty. When I first saw them blossoming with white flowers, I was like aww..but then when you actually pass by underneath, or even go anywhere near it, it stinks like giam hu (salty fish)! No kidding here..sometimes really beh tahan (can't stand) man...looks are really deceiving, that's for sure!

My eyes are about to close...

After last nigth's-or rather this morning- street painting for International Street Festival, I was completely exhausted!!! My eyes were so heavy I bet my eyebags were drooping all the way to my neck...But street painting was fun nonetheless..I had originally planned to only do the preparation work cuz I had other appointments scheduled this morning.

But alas, only a handful of people showed up when it was time to get down to work! Ergh, this really irritates me when people 'say' they will show up, but then decide, 'Oh well, I'm kinda tired, plus I've got lots of stuff to do still' Er...hello!!! Everyone does. It's not like yours is anymore important than mine. If you didn't 'feel' like doing it, don't raise your bloody hand suggesting we do it in the first place. Calm down..calm down..gosh..my blood is just simply boiling!!

So there I was in the middle of the night, painting the street blue, black, yellow, red, green, white and whatever colors we had.. I must admit, the result was pretty awesome! With only the 7 of us, we managed to finish in 2 hours..zzzzzz...yawn...Needless to say, I didn't make it to my appointment this morning..