I am excited to be back. There are always so many different things happening at 20/20 and Primetime that the pace of work is brisk. Hamilton's spring break fell right in the middle of the production work for two stories I was assigned to and, upon my return, I found that there was still a lot of last minute running around to do for this Monday's 20/20 Special broadcast. I spent most of my time going over footage and running tape, but I also got to help out with graphics and film animation for the editors and watch how a 20/20 piece gets cut down to time.
After class on Wednesday morning, we had the rest of the day to work on our final projects. It was such a nice day that Erica Gomez and I decided to tour the city and film and photograph for our independent study projects. Even after two months, I tend to stick to my favored stomping grounds, such as Central Park and Union Square. However, Wednesday was a new experience both for me and Erica, who grew up in Brooklyn. We started off my heading for Canal Street and NYC's Chinatown district. It was amazing. The colors, the sounds, the smells, and people were completely different from the place we had left when we stepped on the subway. Next we ventured uptown to Grand Central Station and Times Square, where we encountered masses of tourists, vendors and street performers. We also ran in to MTV VJ Quaddus outside the MTV Times Square studio and attempted to use my ABC ID badge to get in to the ABC Good Morning America studio. After a coffee break, we headed to Central Park. As we "hiked" I was shocked to discover that Erica had never been to the Park to feed the ducks. Sacrificing the two bagels I had bought for a snack, we plopped ourselves down on a rock near the shore and began feeding the ducks. Soon we were surrounded, not only by ducks, but by seagulls, chickadees, and geese. Erica and I laughed about how quickly the ducks paddled their little feet under the water and cursed out the seagulls when they gobbled up the bits of bagel before the pieces even hit the water. For a fleeting moment, I felt as if I were not really in the City at all. I was able to escape the busy streets, tall buildings and shrill sounds and find a peaceful moment in the most chaotic city in the world.
