If you don't laugh you'll never stop crying...

Quick 3 month recap before I go into my story: After wrapping Rebuilding Ground Zero for the Discovery Channel I got another job with the same company, now with a new name, as an Associate Producer for a new show about iron workers at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn (new home of the Nets) and the Alexander Hamilton Bridge (Route 95 btwn Harlem and the Bronx), which will air on the Weather Channel in the spring.

Now on to my crazy day last Wednesday...
Tuesday night I was headed out to get thermal clothing for a very early, (5:30am) very cold (40 degrees) shoot at the Barclay Center for their topping out ceremony.

Side note: A topping out ceremony happens when their putting up the last of the major steel beams in a structure. All the guys sign the beam and they ceremoniously mark the completion of the frame of the building with a celebration, sometimes a photo op and depending on the structure sometimes even a press event. Cool stuff.

So It's about 7:30pm, I've got my new Under Armour and I'm headed home when I get a phone call from the General superintendent from Barclays. He tells me the topping out isn't happening the next day, but will probably happen later in the week. OK. No problemo. I then call my boss to deliver the news and figure out if we're still going to shoot or if there's another plan.

We decide to cancel the 2nd camera guy and 2nd audio guy (incurring 2 'kill fees' since we didn't cancel 24 hrs or more ahead - usually equals half day pay for each guy), push the call time from 5:45am to 11:30am, and decide to show up at the office at 9am to regroup and figure out what pick ups we need, since we have a crew. So I make about 10 phone calls, send 8 emails and 4 texts trying to get in contact with everyone to change the plan, hoping no one is already asleep so they get the message and don't wake up at 4am. No worries. All good.

Next day (with 4 extra hours of sleep :D) I get in my production van and head to Manhattan. I hit a bit of traffuc so I call my boss to give him a heads up that I'll be about 10 minutes later than expected. He picks up and says "It's OK, we can't get into the office anyway, the FDNY is here because there's smoke on the 16th floor. And oh by the way, the 2nd production van got towed this morning since I didn't move it before 7am."

And guess who has to go to the impound to get it back....

When the fire department let's us back in we have about an hour to prep the 11:30am shoot, then I head to Brooklyn with the crew to track down the van at the Brooklyn NYPD impound.
Now, anyone who has been to the DMV knows how painful government offices can be. This, however, is worse. First, I have to wait in line to get access to the van to get the rental agreement, then I take a shuttle to the car, get the paperwork, go back to the office and get back in line. Eventually they call me up, look at the paperwork and say "This only has a company name on it. Do you have proof that you work here?"
Answer: No, I'm a free-lancer so my business card doesn't have the company name on it.

I then have to call my office for them to fax an official letter saying I work for the company and can pick up the car on their behalf.

6 fax-attempts later and after waiting in line again, they receive the letter. So I can now pay the $185 to receive the car, only to get there and realize there's an additional ticket for the parking violation, $115.
Grand total: $300 and 3.5 hours....

Now my day was not supposed to be spent at the impound. I had other things to do. Specifically going to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge to talk to the iron workers about wearing the same clothes as 2 weeks ago (with screen shots in hand for reference) so that we can do pick up shots. I leave the impound, heading up to the Bronx, from Brooklyn, through Queens on the BQE. Luckily it's the middle of the day so there's no traffic.

Anyone ever drive in New York? Well, then you know how crazy the drivers can be and the truck drivers are even worse. Now I was finally out of the impound, happy to be on my way and moving pretty smoothly when all of a sudden I see this massive truck coming off an on-ramp, into my lane at full speed. Thinking the lane next to me is open I veer out of the way. Not the case, there was a U-haul cargo van in my blindspot. And we sideswipe each other going 50mph......

FML

It was like that commercial with "Mayhem" hanging off the side of the car in the blindspot, only it was real.
As if this car getting towed, impounded, and ticketed wasn't enough let's add a fender bender and some damage along the driver's side of the car. Excellent.

So the other driver and I find a shoulder to pull over on, we exchange info, check the damage... Minimal, thank God, mostly paint transfer. A NYPD Bridges and Tunnels cop pulls over behind us and checks in to make sure we're alright and if we need to file a report. We opt not to.

Yes, I'm down-playing this because I can't believe that I was in my first car accident, by myself, on the BQE in NYC, and I walked away unscathed and with little to no damage. Un-freaking-believable. So lucky. It could have been soooo much worse. The other driver and I shook hands and wished each other well and went on our way. So I had to continue driving up to the Bronx but I was definitely shaken up, and a little in denial. It wasn't until I got to the bridge that I took a second to breathe and call my boss to explain what had happen. Then I had to call the rental office and report the accident, all the while in the construction yard, trying to catch up with the iron workers and give them the photos I had.

3 of them never came back to the yard on the Bronx side of the bridge. They left from their spot in Harlem. So I text them the pictures and hope their phones can handle the files. As I'm driving back to the office on the west side highway they begin to respond. "Sounds good." (Sweet) "You got it sweet thang." (Gotta love that construction worker charm) and "I'm not sure I can find those pants." (Nothing is ever easy in this business, there's always 1.)

I text back saying "the pants aren't as important as the shirt". He responds, "I also grew a beard..." With an accompanying picture.

S#!t

At this point I've had such an insane day that I start laughing, hysterically, uncontrollably, all by myself. If anyone looked over at me they probably thought I was certifiable.

Seriously though, FDNY at the office, car towed, impounded, ticketed and hit on the highway, and now one of our main characters has decided now is a good time to bet his roommate that he can grow a beard longer before getting fed up and shaving it. Kick me while I'm down....

And I still have go back to the office, get the footage from Barclays Center to ingest, prep the gear for our 5:30am shoot at the bridge the next day, and drive home, at rush hour. What a day...

Sorry I haven't written in over a month.... I promise you'll understand why if you read this.

I have definitely learned the meaning of legwork and the value of good research through this job. 

As the Discovery Channel series "Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero" is nearing it's air date, I have transitioned into the point person in charge of all archival requests and licensing procedures. In other words any requests for any photo or footage that we haven't filmed or shot ourselves goes through my desk. For example, a producer can approach me with a request for footage of the cleanup of Ground Zero circa October 2001 and I then pull footage and/or stills from our known resources and compile a series of screeners for them to chose from. Pretty easy barring the fact that the archival footage for this project mainly revolves around September 11th and the Twin Towers, which is, to say the least, heart-wrenching.

Or someone could come up to me with a photograph of someone and say, "I want to use this picture. Find out who took it and license it for me." Not as easy.

Frequently when people want an image they merely google search and copy one of the first ones that they find. However, that image frequently is not credited properly, let alone licensed properly. So I have to track down the photographer of a photo that I have no information about.

Four months ago one of the producers made such a request. They wanted to license the famous photo of the 3 FDNY firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero. Easy enough right? It's famous, so somebody should know about it. Ironically wikipedia gave me the photographers name and led me to a New Jersey newspaper in Bergen County that hired the freelance photographer and had originally published the picture. So I put in a request for licensing information and waited. And waited. As time went on I decided to take a new tactic, call the paper and have them give me their archival dept. After going through transfer after transfer somebody asked me for my contact info so they could get in touch with me when they knew who to talk to. I finally got an email that said, "We as the copyright owners are fine with it". Cool. All set. WRONG!

I try sending them our release form and after several rounds of telephone tag was informed that the NJ paper only held the copyright and not the publicity rights so they couldn't sign our release. They would have to alter the release to cover their portion and then I would have to get the lawyers for the firefighters in the picture to sign off on their behalf for the publicity rights.
It takes the other lawyer over a week to get back to me only to say "Please contact this 3rd lawyer to work this out". Seriously?! Come on!

So I contact lawyer 3 with the information about the program, my interaction with the paper in NJ and the release. He can't sign the release either.
So both of them need to edit our standard release. Ummm... Can they do that? Are they royally screwing me over?

I talk to the legal people at work and they say, "send the word document version and tell them to 'track changes' so we can see what they change." Easy enough right? Wrong again.

 
After awhile I check in with all parties to see how progress is. The newspaper wants $1000 and lawyer #3 won't show me his release until he can see their completed release but I can't show him that they're asking for a grand, so I have to negotiate with them before I can get the changed release approved and then show Lawyer 3. I do manage to talk their price down and the changes are accepted and it is finally signed and faxed over to our offices. Now it's over a week sine lawyer 3 asked to see their release and I finally send it over. Within minutes he sends his with the asking price of $2,500 to be donated to the Bravest Fund as well as mention in the credits.

Call me stingy, but despite the great cause it would be going to, I cannot agree to pay 10 times the amount I offered the newspaper for the copyrights. I tell him "we would like to compensate both parties equally and would like to offer the same amount we are paying to the newspaper." Don't I sound lawyerly?

 
He now says "you'll have to discuss that with lawyer #2, (who originally referred me to #3) in order to work out the donation amount and procedure." After 3 days of emails and calls I get an email from lawyer #2 that says, "Trish and Lawyer 3, Please work this out and I will sign. Thanks." So I call lawyer 3 yet again to discuss the amount and hopefully convince him to drop an entire decimal point off his original asking price.

I'm sorry but when did I go to law school? Shouldn't somebody with experience of over a year be handling something so delicate and intricate?! How is it that I'm handling 3 lawyers and 2 contracts and all the negotiating that goes along with it?! And this is just for one photograph!

So I'm on the phone with lawyer 3 and he says they want a donation, credits and a dvd copy of the finished product. I give him the donation amount we're willing to pay and tell him "I'll have to check with our in-house counsel to see if your other stipulations are agreeable to all parties."

I feel like that guy from the new show "Suits" who pretends to be a lawyer even though he has no law degree. The only difference is that I learned everything I know from Law & Order reruns.
 

Anyway, he agreed. I sent over our agreement to our legal team, we made the final alterations to the release, he approved the changes, and we're now finalizing the document to be signed and returned.
4 months of work and I finally received the signed release, this week.

Soon after, I had to tackle another similar situation. The first cut of the episode about the 9/11 Memorial Museum was completed in early June and in it was a photo of Captain Paddy Brown of Ladder 3 in New York. He was quite a hero both on 9/11 and before and we highlight his story in the show. However, the editor did a google search and grabbed the first cool picture of him they could find of him. Since we didn't know the origin the interns and I scoured the internet for information about that photo or another that might work. We contacted the city of New York, his sister, fellow firemen, the Museum offices, the FDNY, website owners.... Nothing. All we had was the file name of the photo "Paddy Brown Time".
 

So after a great deal of time and effort all we deduced was that sometime before his death he was in Time Magazine. No idea when or why. And Time Magazine was little help because they only license the cover photos for their issues and had no idea who the photographer was or for what article or issue. Dead end... 

So in late July I took one of the interns with me to the New York Public Library to try and find the right issue. By this time we had tried every single combination of keyword searches, had reached out to multiple archival research resources and had grilled anyone and everyone who may have had any information related to this picture.

After struggling to find someone at the library who even knew where we should begin to look and then being directed to the microfilm department we finally started our search... Halfway through searching the 2001 Sept 24the edition it dawned on both of us that if the photograph was taken for Time Magazine then it had to have been taken before his death... Thus not in that issue and we were clueless again. 

There were drawers full of film for years worth of magazines and there was no way we could go through it all, especially since the technology of a microfilm reader was seriously vexing the 2 of us.
As I search the microfilm pre-Sept 2001 the intern whips out her iPhone and starts frantically searching for the date. Excitedly she says "1999!!"
 

"Umm.... Caroline that only narrows it down to 52 issues.... And 3 rolls of microfilm..... We'll be here all night".

 
So in a final effort Caroline prays to Paddy Brown and searches one last time for the issue date of the Time magazine article, to which we had no title and no author. Just a picture, a subject and a year. Obviously someone was listening to our pleas because shortly after her desperate prayer she turns to me and say, "September 6, 1999". Apparently the Captain was featured in an article about extreme hobbies and jobs and being a firefighter is definitely what one would call extreme. So we attempt to set up the microfilm machine (to little avail) and within minutes we have found the picture in question. And it has a photo credit. And the photographer has a website. With contact information.

Unbelievable. I couldn't believe that good old fashioned research had out done the almighty Internet. No matter how hard we tried, it took a trip to the library to finally get the information we were looking for. And it was remarkably satisfying.

So that's just 2 stories about 2 pictures, equaling about  8 seconds of screen time in one episode. And there are six 1-hour episodes. So I've been a little busy.

I hope everyone has set their Tivos and DVRS for this Thursday night, 8-11pm on the Discovery Channel!

THE SERIES BEGINS ON AUGUST 25TH, 2011.           

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising <http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/the-rising>

The Freedom Tower

Today work was like a field trip. Well, besides getting up before the sun, driving into the city because the trains don't run early enough (upside: no traffic at 5am, not even going into the Holland Tunnel), and because field trips usually don't include heavy lifting or safety equipment. I'm also not sure of many field trips where you need special insurance or one where you have an extensive safety discussion to prevent concussions, falling off a 70-story building, or death. Other than that, totally was like a field trip.
If you couldn't already guess where I am, it's the top of World Trade Center Tower 1, or more affectionately known as the Freedom Tower.

As I write this on my crackberry I am currently 70 stories up; higher than any building in New Jersey (currently over my left shoulder) and 90% of all the buildings in Manhattan. From this vantage point the top of the Empire State Building is about eye level and looking beautiful on this fine, sunny New York morning.

In order to reach this height we had to take 2 separate hoist elevators to the 60th floor and then hike up 10 floors of exterior construction stairs. These stairs were outside the perimeter wall of the building, 700 feet high and encased in canvas. Basically my thoughts as I climbed the stairs with 30+ pounds on camera rigging equipment on my back was 'don't-look-down-because-there's-nothing-but-air-and-sidewalk'.

Just another day right?



Once we reached our destination, we entered back into the building and on to one of the derrick floors. This is where the ironworks do their work, welding, bolting, etc.  At this point, we weren't at the very top because not even the floors are complete up there. That's just the connectors, the cranes and the steel. These floors are well above the concrete work so this is not like walking on solid ground either. It's uneven, there's equipment and tools everywhere, there are places that are less weight-bearing and less secure, not to mention the holes in the floor for ladders or passing of tools between floors. 

This job is certainly never boring or lacking in challenges.



The purpose of today's shoot is to capture a hotel jump. The hotel system is a new innovation for the WTC project. It's a series of storage containers that contain climate controlled offices, bathrooms, dressing room and even a Subway restaurant! That's right here on the 70th floor of Tower 1 is the highest Subway in the world, and rising with the tower every 10 days.

How cool is that?


The reason for them is to eliminate time lost going up and down the building at lunch and breaks. Without them hundreds of workers would be traveling 15 to 20 minutes each way, up and down the tower for lunch, coffee and office work. This way they now have some creature comforts 700 feet up. And the other cool thing is that it's all self-sustaining. Besides food deliveries to Subway nothing needs to be brought up or down to these 'hotels'. Any waste from Subway or the bathrooms is composted.

TMI? Sorry. I think it's pretty ingenious.


So today we're here to film them rising the four 3-story hotel systems to top.


Side-bar....
Since I did 2 months of transcribing and sometimes return to my past of transcription when the need arises, I have become acquainted with all of the major characters involved in each project and each episode. Actually I would say acquainted isn't quite strong enough. I have listened to their life stories, I know the ins and out of their speech patterns (do they say 'like', 'um' or 'ya know' all the time?) and in some cases I've seen them talk about some of the emotional events in their lifetime. I know these people. However, I have come to realize that they do not know me. I once saw Ron Vega (mentioned in '') on the street walking to work and I nearly waved. That would've been awkward.

Today I saw a pair of the studdly ironworkers that feature prominently in the Tower 1 episodes. We've been following them for 18 months and I was the one who transcribed both of their sit-down interviews so of course I 'know' them. And of course, I found myself staring at them in awe of the strength and agility. Just a few minutes ago one walked past me and said, "what's up, Sweetie?" All I could manage was a weak "Hi". Of course, it was the married one, but nonetheless I felt like I had met some kind of celebrity. Lame I know. But have you ever seen George Clooney or Brad Pitt maneuvering tons of steel 100s of feet off the ground with little more than a harness? I think not.


Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Parts of the day were uneventful but I will say that lunchtime was pretty exciting. Not only did we get to venture into the hotel system's Subway, but in order to get there we had to climb to the top of the building. And by top I mean TOP. Nothing between you and the heavens, only a 3-foot siderail along the perimeter and you could see for miles. Definitely the highlight. Although seeing a blimp pass by right at our altitude was pretty neat too.

I don't know if it's the adrenaline of the whole situation but I am totally enamored by this whole experience.
And Bonus, it's been a gorgeous day! However, now that I am home 16 hours after I left the house I seriously need to go to sleep and stay asleep until a decent hour.

Symptoms of Workaholism

I have come to realize that in this difficult world of interning and PA-ing, a highly competitive industry, that it is easy to begin overworking. I currently find myself sitting on a PATH train bound for Hoboken at 8:10pm on a Friday night after 10+ hours at the office with the prospect of a few more work-related emails and phone calls tonight, a few hours of work tomorrow and plans to show up early at the office Monday for a shoot.

I have also made no social plans for the entire weekend. True that's mostly due to my need to rest and kick this nasty cold of mine but I cannot help but notice the total lack of balance and continuity that such a statement brings about. If I'm so sick and tired why did I volunteer to assist one of the producers with their rough cut script? Couldn't that time be better spent carousing?

There are very apparent warnings signs of alcoholism as described by many medical professionals. However, I find that there is a lack of research done in respect to another American plague: workaholism.

Clearly if you can be a "workaholic" then you can suffer from "workaholism".

I have taken it upon myself to aide in the diagnosis of these undetected cases of "all work and no play".

In order to demonstrate the realities of this epidemic I have taken an excerpt about signs and symptoms of alcoholism and reversed certain key words\. For example, every time the word 'drink' or 'drinking' appears I have replaced it with 'work' or 'working'. Likewise, for a sentence like "person is shirking their responsibilities in order to drink" I would change it to "person is shirking their drinking in order to work". Because a true workaholic frequently blows off their friends and social events in order to work.

So here it is.....

Signs and Symptoms of Workaholism

There are many signs and symptoms related to working problems. Workaholism is considered a progressive disease, meaning that the symptoms and effects of working become increasingly more severe over time.

Those who over-work may begin to show early signs of a problem, then progress to showing symptoms of work abuse; if working continues, they may later show symptoms of workaholism or work dependence.

Early Signs of a Problem

Early signs of workaholism include frequent overtime, an established pattern of heavy working and working in dangerous situations, such as when driving [One word. Bluetooth.]. Other early signs of workaholism include black-out working ["Oh, wow I didn't mean to miss - insert landmark event (Example: birth of my first-born child)- I lost track of time!"] or a drastic change in demeanor while working, such as consistently becoming angry or violent.

Symptoms of Work Abuse

The main symptom of work abuse occurs when someone continues to work after their working reaches a level that causes recurrent problems [Too much time at the office and not at the gym? Anti-social?] . Continuing to work after it causes someone to miss fun, drive-work, shirk drinking or get in trouble with the law [Embezzlement anyone?] is considered work abuse.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV, defines work abuse as working despite work-related physical, social, psychological, or occupational problems, or working in dangerous situations, such as while driving. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases refers to "harmful use" of work, or working that causes either physical or mental damage in the absence of work dependence. In other words, work abuse is any harmful use of work.

Symptoms of Workaholism

For someone who is a workaholic or work dependent, the symptoms include all of those associated with work abuse (above). But workaholics also continue to work in spite of all the problems it has caused in their lives [Divorced? Loner? Diet of takeout and delivery? Wealthy but no time to use money? A year worth of vacation days banked up?].

When work abuse reaches the work dependence stage, the person also experiences at least three of seven other symptoms, including neglect of other activities, excessive use of work, impaired control of work consumption, persistence of work use, large amounts of time spent in work-related activities, withdrawal symptoms and increased tolerance of work.

Yikes. No thanks.

So if you have positively diagnosed yourself as a workaholic suffering from workaholism here's your treatment.
1. Turn off your laptop/blackberry/smart phone/work cell/pager/PDA (however the office contacts you)
2. Find a friend  - provided you haven't completely cut yourself off from all of them (maybe you should call them before you turn off your phone)
3. Have friend (replace 'friend' with 'local bartender' if necessary) remind you how to have fun. *
4. Do yourself a favor and don't switch from one addiction for another.

*if you or your friend are at a loss, try alcohol. Other "holics" swear by it.

Makes the prospect of Carpal Tunnel totally worth it...

So I realized that although I have eluded to my current job. I haven't actually described what the project is.... In March I was hired as a transcriber for the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary series "The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero".


On the surface my job sounds pretty dull: watch footage, type exactly what people are saying, repeat. But with a project like this one, it doesn't bother me at all. It's like my contribution to the cause; I'm a crucial cog in the mechanics of making such an important series. I'm doing my part in service of the stories of heroism from that day and telling the public about what's been going on down there for the last 9 and a half years. You really wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard straight from the source.


I started this job the first week of March and the first interviews that I had to transcribe were with the Memorial Museum chief curator, Jan Ramirez, and with the Memorial Project Manager, Ron Vega.


Talk about moving. Ramirez spent her hour interview telling her own tale of 9/11 and how she became the curator, complete with scouting visits to the still smoldering pile in search of artifacts not already collected by authorities for the purposes of criminal evidence, personal property or corporate property.


"I'm happy to say [some artifacts] were saved, and, in fact, I'm even more happy to say will be shared in the Memorial Museum. And the artifact that particularly comes to mind, um, is the bike rack. I remember rounding the corner on Vesey Street, which was less damaged side of the side to the North and there was this bike rack. It was coated with dust and there were these gnarled tires and maybe 8 bikes chained there and it was just that moment of people. First, it put people at this scene and you didn’t know their fate. No one had come back to claims these bikes. And it just struck us as such a poignant kind of evocation of what we were all feeling and, you know,  the concern for the missing" 


She went on to talk about other personal items that had been donated to the museum collection. Items that had been returned to families by the NYPD Property Clerk's office and they, in turn, placed in the care of the Museum. One story in particular struck me. A wife of a victim came in and present Ramirez with a wallet. 

"It was for her that moment of truth that he had died. And it wasn't just because the wallet contained his driver's license, his library card, his social security card and his actual evidentiary name, address, social security number and so forth. It was because when he had proposed to her, he had given her a two-dollar bill, he had said, "This is our second chance at love. We're two of a kind. I'm going to have a two dollar bill, you're going to carry a two dollar bill and everyday we go through our wallets and we pull out this oddity, this two dollar bill, we'll think of each other." And in the wallet was the two-dollar bill and that was what she needed to know that he had died."

Ron Vega was a very different yet equally poignant interview. He knew no one that died, but he worked for the City of New York on 9/11 and his team was dispatched to bring equipment and supplies to the site after the first plane had hit. They thought they would need scaffolding and things to keep debris from falling on passerbys while they sorted out the fire, etc.

Of course, we all know what happened after that. 

Although he was originally summoned as part of an assignment, Ron Vega has been at Ground Zero every day since 9/11. He is one of the many volunteers who is dying because of the exposure to the deadly toxins in the air and yet to this day he refuses to leave the site.

"I don't think it will be fully known until these [TV] programs like this come out, how much was done to find their loved ones. And s, that's the signs of hope. Basically, you meet people that finally get it, and instead of like regretting- if they haven't found any of their loved ones there's always that resentment, like you didn't try hard enough- once they get what we did, how hard we worked, how if it could be found, we did find it and if it wasn't found, we inhaled it, and they live in us. There's no doubt that if technology gets better and they cut open these lungs, they're gonna find someone's loved one there, a microscopic particle of them. So, that gives me hope."

 


Most of the interviews are more about the science, the technology and the engineering behind the new structures, but every so often I can be found glued to my computer screen, tissue in hand, tears in my eyes, riveted by the incredible stories that we've managed to capture on film.




Although most days were spent in my cubicle with my keyboard, I did have the odd opportunity to go out into the field. Three times I have been in Tower 7, the final building to fall on 9/11 and the first to be rebuilt. We filmed a number of sit-down interviews there.


Then in early April, I was granted my first trip on to the actual site.

Do you like my uniform? Florescent colors are hot. And those safety glasses... nicceeee.

Bedrock.... Bedmud?

We were in what will be the basement of Tower 2 and the foundation of the Transportation Hub, 150 steps (about 10 stories) below street level (I know because I counted on one of our treks back up to street level). I can now say that have have been below the level of bedrock in New York City.

Although I looked like a pack mule with a backpack on my back and one on my front, had completely clean and unscuffed work boots that stuck out like a sore thumb and the dorkiest looking glasses (reminiscent of high school chemistry goggles). It was still an awesome experience. Construction sites are like obstacles courses only with power tools. In another life I want to be a carpenter.


Now for those who are not familiar with the site let me give you a brief overview of what it will look like. The major elements are the Memorial, the Museum, Tower 1 (aka the Freedom Tower), the transportation Hub, the vehicle security center and then towers 2, 3, and 4.




The Memorial
The Memorial takes up 8 acres of the 16 acre site. The major feature is the 2 "Reflecting Absences". These are two man made waterfalls (largest waterfalls in the country) that are the exact location and dimensions of the 2 original towers. Around the pools will be bronze panels with the names of the victims etched into them. The remainder of the 8 acres is park space with paths, benchs, and trees. This will be  fully functional and open to the public on 9/12/11, after a special opening and ceremony with family members of victims and first responders on 9/11/11.

Plaza

                               The Museum

Museum Atrium/Pavilion viewed from the Plaza

The Memorial Museum, as you may have inferred from my comments above, will house artifacts of the day that tell the story of 9/11: the events preceding, the day of and following. They are calling it a "living museum" because it is still so raw and present in our everyday lives, as was made perfectly clear by the death of Osama bin Laden and the reactions around the globe, most notably however, right here 2 blocks from my office at Ground Zero. The Museum space is actually beneath the Memorial in what used to be Concourse and retail space beneath the original Towers. The only structure within the 8 acres of Memorial will be that of the Museum Atrium, the entrance for visitor's to the Museum.






Tower 1
Tower 1 will be the tallest building in North, South and Central America standing at 1776 ft. Get it? 1776, 'Freedom Tower'. Those crafty architects. Simply put it's a tall office building with an observation deck. However, I have watched an incredible amount of footage explaining all of the design and engineering decisions that will make this building the greenest, most technologically advanced, safest and most meaningful building in the world. The little nods to the original towers, the intense scrutiny of the stairs and elevators, and sheer strength of this building are what make it so awe-inspiring. Next time you drive toward the city or look at the skyline take a look for it. It's at about 68 stories and rising. It's already the tallest building in Lower Manhattan. Look out Empire State Building.

Looking down into Transit Hall from Museum Atrium

The Hub
The transportation hub has be classified as the 'modern day Grand Central' but there is so much more to it. It's the gateway to Ground Zero and the entry point for hundreds of thousands of visitors and commuters to Lower Manhattan. It's not just an impressive physical space (and believe me, it's incredibly beautiful), it's also a symbolic sign of rejuvenation and vitality returning to Lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center. One of the major reasons why it has taken so long to build at Ground Zero was because the MTA refused to shut down the 1 train because they had just opened a brand new South Ferry station shortly after 9/11. That means that in order to complete all of this construction they needed to dig around the 1 and 9 (9 train used to run here too) 'box' while the train continued to run right through the site. Can you imagine trying to support and excavate under a fully active train line with a subway coming through every 4 minutes? Nightmare. Not to mention it's next to the museum underground, beneath the Memorial and the Plaza, and has 4 towers sprouting up around it.

Puddle where Tower 3 will be with Tower 4 rising just south.

The Towers
Towers 2, 3, and 4 are all underway at this point. 4 is already up to about the 35th floor and they've just begun the 'curtain wall' glass facade. Each of these buildings will provide approximately 1 million square foot of office space to Lower Manhattan. Can you imagine that? Including Tower 1 there will be over 4 million square feet of function commercial space infused into Lower Manhattan. These buildings, like Tower 1, also have special nods to the original towers and the Memorial site as part of their design structure.

I think that's enough for now. I don't want to bore anyone. Besides I have to keep some for next time! So stay tuned because I know there will be more to tell, including my trip to the Memorial and Museum Atrium.

Adventures as a PA

So I have been bumped up/elevated/promoted to a full time Production assistant from transcriber. So good news: no more transcribing, new cubicle right in the middle of the office and not on the outskirts, and possibly extended contract. Bad news: longer hours, more responsibility, same pay.

Wednesday was the official passing of the baton where I trained the new transcriber and was given my orientation to budgets, purchase orders, equipment, call sheets and all that is under my 'jurisdiction'. Yesterday was the real beginning. I had to create 3 call sheets, get my old, slow PC (used to use a Mac, haven't used a PC, especially a desktop, in an eon) configured and handle a myriad of other tasks.

First call sheet I had to compile was with a local crew in Tennessee, so we had to work out all the paperwork for hiring an outside crew and then I had to coordinate with a PR firm in Dallas about access and content for the site in Memphis and then work with the facility personnel about itinerary, safety measures etc. No biggie, right?

Second, in order to film the morning commute of one of the main characters in the show I had to book a motel and rental car for the crew to stay over in Brewster, NY. The car rental was easy but the motel proved more difficult, mostly because Mr Patel, the owner, has difficulty with english and so his daughter tried to assist me. Trouble is they don't accept amex, which was the only company card I had access to at the time, and they only had 2 rooms. After some time and one minor migraine I did managed to work it out.

Third callsheet is for Monday morning at 4am. Lucky me I have to drive into the city to pick up the crew and equipment only to drive back out and end up at the port of Newark to follow a piece of glass on a flatbed to Tower 4. I am not an early riser by any means. We'll see how this goes. Bonus: just because I'm in at 4am does not necessarily mean I get to leave early.

Last night although feeling accomplished I was also exhausted. I went to bed early and woke up to 11 emails. The crew locked the keys in the rental car in Brewster so its still at the motel. Originally it was going to be my job to retrieve the car anyway but it was supposed to be at the train station. Now today I have to take the subway to midtown pickup an extra set of keys and head to Grand Central for an 1148 MetroNorth train to Brewster (nap time). When I arrive in Brewster at 1:10 I then have to walk a mile and a half to the Henry Van Motel to pick up the Ford Fusion and then drive ir back to Midtown (google maps estimates 1 hour 57 minutes). Let's just pray I don't hit rush hour traffic. :/
So with food, water, directions, petty cash, metrocard, walking shoes and my iPod in hand I'm headed off on my adventure. Bon Voyage.

Fun Facts

Anytime there is a gathering of all of your family and friends people want updates on your life. When you were in school the inevitable questions of "So what are you up to?", "What's going on in your life since I last saw you?" were frequently asked and easily to answered. As long as you said you were studying, got good grades, and were having some fun (but not too much) you were pretty much off the hook. Now, however, with graduation comes adulthood and the expectations of adult conversation making the questions more difficult to answer. "How's work?" or "What are you working on these days?" are seemingly simple but require a good, thoughtful and detailed explanation that will inevitably set the tone for the expectations of your future success.

The last few weekends I was at family parties and those who did not probe the first weekend, did so the second. I'm not sure how most people deal with such questions but I was unprepared and blanked the first time. However, by the 3rd or 4th time I was asked I had figured out a pretty good answer. Albeit flat and somewhat canned, I was able to discuss my responsibilities of my current job and attempt to give an overview of the last 4 projects from the last 9 months.

Each time the conversations ended with one of the two parties being pulled away, or needing some sort of libation, I felt like I had somehow missed the mark in explaining the last year of my life. Surely it was far more fun than answering phones and typing, but that's what my explanation, in my eyes, boiled down too.

It wasn't until later when I sat down with my sister, some friends and a plate of food, that some of the fun facts surfaced. And it was only because my sister, the person I first call with any funny or exciting stories, brought them up. So here are some fun facts that seem to have fallen through the cracks of my blogging.

Job 1: Creative Artists Agency Temp. Receptionist (July to October)

My job was picking up phones and greeting guests, and since it's kind of a big deal in the realm of talent agencies we had some interesting callers and guests.

Story 1:

Me: "Creative Artists Agency"

Caller with a very distinctive accent: "Hello, this is Sean Connery calling from the Swiss Alps, I was hoping to speak with my agent."

(pause)

Me: *regaining the ability to breathe "One moment please and I'll transfer you."

*Click

Me: Holy Crap! I can die happy! I spoke to Sir James Bond, Agent 007, himself!

Receptionist to my side: "Who? Oh, the guys with the accent? He calls all the time."

Story 2:

The weather is hot and sticky, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired with my wardrobe choices that morning, ( I recall it being laundry day) and I was not feeling particularly attractive. Low and behold, Stacey London from What Not to Wear comes strolling into the lobby looking for one of the conference rooms that's booked to connect her to a meeting in LA. I have never been so self- conscious as I was walking down that long hallway with Stacey following me, and seemingly judging my poor choice of wardrobe. FML. If only she had come the day before... Good thing she was without her 360 degree mirror. And yes, she does look fabulous in real life.

Story 3:

Apparently some clients are working with their agents on certain business endeavors and are frequently visiting, therefore, they essentially have reign of the office and do not need to be announced, although assistants really appreciated being notified upon their arrival. Sarah Jessica Parker, or SJP, as she was affectionately known by the receptionists, was one such client. She came in often enough that we would chat as she waited for the elevator. As far as how she looks on a day to day basis, some days are better than others. And she absolutely wears things that no one else could pull off, yet looks fabulous.

Story 1a:

Sir 007 called again. This time he was in the Bahamas, I'm convinced he's still a secret agent and that his talent agent is actually his handler or "M" and he's just giving status reports on his current operation. I mean think about it, when was the last time he was in a movie?

Story 4:

Since we were located in New York City we had Broadway performers calling all the time. Norbert Leo Butz, Sutton Foster, Sherrie Rene Scott, just to name a few. Shout out to my fellow theatre nerds.

Story 5:

Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade showed up shortly before "The Decision" aired. I don't think they could fit in the elevator.

Story 6:

The week before the job ended, I had one final encounter. Kate Winslet showed up. She's completely lovely.

Job 2: Teatown Communications Development Intern aka glorified errand girl (November to January)

My resposibilities boiled down to answering the phone, which rang maybe once an hour, and accepting deliveries with additional errands and tasks every so often. Needless to say I watched a great deal of internet TV.

Story 1: 
I'm not sure how my boss was a voting member of the Academy (as in the Awards), but he was and would therefore gain access to certain premieres in order to cast his vote. Apparently he hates these events and since his sons were busy on the night of the True Grit premiere, he gave the tickets to the other intern, Lauren, and I. A-mazing!

The screening was at the beautiful Ziegfeld theater in Midtown and then there was an after party, which we also had tickets for, that was held at the Four Seasons. Not only was the movie fantastic but the after party was fantatic. Even though I felt I was severely underdressed for such an occasion, since I had only been notified once I got to work, and Lauren had a final exam the next day, we stayed long enough to see Josh Coen (of The Coen Brothers), John Legend (even hotter in person), Jesse Eisenberg (shorter than I expected), Marcia Gay Harden (she's been in everything once), Famke Janssen (Jean from X-Men, wears too much makeup),  Bill Hader of SNL, Artie from Warehouse 13 (Anyone else watch this? Anyone? 
Bueller?), and Jill Hennessy of Crossing Jordan and Law & Order. Actually I would say the cast 
of every Law & Order was there, I mean I saw Munch (David Belzar) from SVU, Jill Hennessy, 
of course and one of the reoccuring defense lawyers (the one that kind of looks like Morgan 
Freeman but younger? You know who.) The cherry on top of the cake, however, was when 
walked right by Jeff Bridges as we were leaving. Epic. The man is a legend.

I imagine if we had stayed longer more people would have shown up, but I had work the next 
morning and I felt underdressed. Next time. 

Job 3: Production Intern for Red Fern Theater Company
No really fabulous but I thought it was cool to work for an Off- Off Broadway production. I mean
Off- Off is really off broadway but still.


Job 4: Script supervisor for a feature film
Way too many stories to even include them here. Good times....


Job 5: Transcriber/Production Assistant for the Discovery Channel production on the rebuilding 
of the World Trade Center
Yes, at times this job is exactly as cool as it sounds. Although, other moments, as I'm sitting in 
my cubicle watching a first hand account of working on the pile right after 9/11, crying my 
eyes out, it's not so glamorous but worth every minute.


Story 1: (Not entirely related to the project but it happened as I was working here.) April 2, 
"Coming Off the DL" the short documentary I directed was honored by the Garden State Film
Festival, receiving the Broader Vision Award. I had to speak after the screening and met Ann 
Reinking you may recognize her as Grace Farrell from the original "Annie" movie.




I'm not gonna lie, it's been a pretty epic year and I'm sure there's numerous moments and stories
I have already forgotten. Alas, I will just have to blog more often and make sure I write as things
occur. 
Hope you enjoyed reading this. I know it's quite long, and seemingly self-aggrandizing but I had
some great moments and I wanted to share them and give all the interns out there some hope for
their future.