Sunday, March 6, 2011

"War on the Floor"

Again, I have really been failing at keep up this blog.  My life has been nothing but ridiculously busy this semester.  There are blog posts to come about that... but that is not what this post is about.  No, this post is about an awesome opportunity that has fallen into my lap.

Within the 2011 Radio - TV production major at my school there are four of us that have become great friends.  We've more or less formed a little production house at school.  We go by many names: the Go-To's, The Fab Four, and most recently The Dream Team.

About three weeks ago The Dream Team was presented with a challenge.  While at our post DrakeLINE production drink at Jethro's I received an e-mail on my phone from our professor encouraging us enter a contest to participate in this thing called "War on the Floor".  "War on the Floor" is a scavenger hunt of sorts that takes place during the NAB (National Broadcasters Association) Show that is held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It is heaven for anyone interested in broadcast, television, film, audio, etc.  To enter to be one of the two teams chosen to compete in this amazing scavenger hunt, teams must fill out an application and submit a 1 minute video entailing why they should be picked.  On the night of the deadline we submitted out video with minutes to spare.

Here's our video submission:


War on the Floor - Audition from Rachel Yancey on Vimeo.


Nine days later, received an e-mail saying that we were chosen to compete!  The NAB and BEA are providing us with hotel accommodation in VEGAS for 5 days, as well as production equipment to document our findings, and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Words cannot express how excited, lucky and blessed I feel to have this opportunity.  It will for sure be the highlight of my college career.  More updates to come.

We know Drake is proud of us.  Heck they even wrote an article.  Check it out!

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Beyond The Blue Line

I really did have intentions to keep up a regular blog on here but my school work took me by surprise.  I will make no promises to regular posting yet, but for now I have a goody to share with you all.

This past semester I have been a part of a student production for my Sports Production class at school.  Between the filming, editing and promotion of the show I caught few hours of sleep, but it was all worth it.  Now I have a finished product that am happy to share with everyone.

The show is called "Beyond The Blue Line" and it follows the lives of three USHL hockey players.  I like to think of it as a True Life meets the Mighty Ducks.  I was a line producer and am really proud of this production.  So I encourage you to watch the show and let me know what you think.  Don't forget to look for my name in the credits.


Beyond The Blue Line from Todd Evans on Vimeo.

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My Last First Day of School

Time really does fly.  I can't believe that I'm a senior in college already.  What am I going to do with my life?  First thing is first, I need to find myself an internship.  Actually before that, I need to get myself acquainted with my classwork.

Monday was my last first day of classes.  I'm about 90% positive that I won't try for any sort of masters or doctorate, I just want to get out there and work in a field that I love.  I start off every day with a 9:30 class in Advertising with the same professor.  Monday is account management.  I mostly excited for the fact that we are going to take a whole bunch of field trips to agencies and I will hopefully make some big time connections for later.

After a wonderful meal from our cook, Rob, I went to my next class which is sure to be one of my favorites, Broadcast Sports Production.  As a person who loves sports, shooting and editing, I can tell you that this class is culmination of all my loves.  Today we pitch an idea of a long form sports production.  I know what I will pitch but we will see how it stacks up against the other ideas.

Tuesday starts out with a Advertising research.  The teacher had us go around, introduce ourselves and say whether or not we would take a research class if it wasn't required.  I'm pretty sure I was the only person who was honest and said "No, I wouldn't take a research class if I had the choice."  It made me feel like a jackass but it's the truth.  Who really enjoys doing research anyway?

From ad research I went to marketing: consumer behaviors.  It seems like a decent enough class.  For those introductions, everyone stated who they were and a brand they were loyal too.  Me, I'm loyal to Target and Old Dutch Pickle Chips.  If you haven't tried them, you must!  They are simply delicious.  No one makes pickles chips like Old Dutch.

I ended the day with  my short stories class.  That I think I am going to love.  I will post some of my stories here if I deem them worthy.  I found some other fellow Jane Austen lovers and I'm thinking about starting a club devoted to her works.  NERD ALERT!  We will see how it goes.

So far I am really enjoying this years class schedule.  I hope drama doesn't interfere.  It always seems to rear its ugly head at the most inopportune moments.  Anyway, that's my update for now.  I'll update again soon.

Pip Pip Cheerio!

PS - If you would like to see some of my movie reviews check out my other blog: Rachel's Reviews

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Almost Back to School

It's so hard to believe that my summer is almost over and I have successfully accomplished next to nothing this summer.  A whole two months of near pure relaxation with some chores thrown in there.  But on Friday I will be moving into a new house around campus.

This so called "house" is still under renovation that was supposed to be done on August 1st.  We still don't have the furniture that we ordered.  It's getting a little ridiculous.  The furniture was supposed to arrive on Monday, then that was pushed back, then again on Tuesday, and Wednesday, but today Wednesday has come and gone and still no furniture.  This will be an interesting weekend if I have to assemble beds, dressers and wash all new dishes.  Yikes!

I've been helping around this new house where I can.  Two weeks ago I painted, last week I gardened and today I helped with some closets.  So now when I leave, part of me will always be in that house.  I have also been busy around my house.  Before I leave I have been instructed to basically pack up my whole room.  Yesterday, I went through all my clothes and picked out the pieces that I can finally part with and tomorrow's task is to go through all my papers and crap.  That will probably be more painful than getting rid of some of my clothes because it involves reading.

It's weird to think that I will be a senior this year.  I've already had one future-freak-out session and I'm sure there are more of those to come.  School has gone by a lot faster than I thought it would.  I was so confident Junior year and now all that confidence seems to fade in and out of uncertainty.  I hope that through my last year of classes I can gain back that confidence that I once had.  I know I'm smart and talented but I hate it when I forget.  Perhaps I should start some daily affirmations to get my mind back on the right track.  Or maybe I just need to write some more.  Only time will tell.

I think that we can consider this the restart of my blog.  I'm rusty, I can tell.  It will get better and more interesting as things pick up.  I promise :-)

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Back in the States

I have bee back in the states now for a little over a month.  It was more of an adjustment coming home than it was leaving.  So now that I am back I think that I will keep this blog and turn it into more of a daily blog.  I will try my best to keep it up with interesting things that I have been doing.  Stay tuned.

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Finals, Goodbyes and Mom Arrives

Finals week went by surprisingly smoothly.  I finished one paper on Monday, a second on Tuesday, and the third on Wednesday after my Art Final.  Art was by far the most strenuous because I had to basically memorize the artist, title, method and year of over 100 works of art only to be tested over 20.  We had a very enjoyable study session for that test.

On Thursday morning my Mom arrived.  I was supposed to pick her up around 6AM to help her navigate the tubes but her flight was delayed and I had to get to a few finals, so I wrote her an e-mail so she and her friend Lee could navigate the system themselves.  However, at the bottom of the instructions I clearly stated that it would be easier to take a taxi, but they didn't read that part.  The two boarded the tube in rush hour traffic with big suitcases for an hour and twenty minute ride.  Now there are a few things everyone should know about the tube.  First is that tube etiquette is very similar to elevator etiquette, you don't talk to anyone and you don't take up much space.  Along with this knowledge everyone should know that the tube gets very congested and hot in weather over 60 degrees.  So my mom and her friend stood out like a sore thumb with there big luggage and semi-constant chatter.  She loves to tell the story, so if you see her, you should ask her to tell it.

While this is happening I was taking my Contemporary Britain final and my BES exit survey.  Neither were too strenuous, but they did leave me with a hand cramp.  As it was a Thursday, a whole group of us went for our last burrito at Tortilla.  Absolutely delicious!  It was a great sort of ending for our group.

I checked in on my Mom to make sure she made it and then went for my exit interview.  That was really our time to gripe and praise the program.  My group was the last and consequently, the longest.  I'm sure our Program and assistant director loved us after that.  I then met my Mom and Lee for a quick drink in their hotel.  I then showed them where I lived and pointed them in the direction of Buckingham palace because I had to leave for our exit party at Vandon.  There were contests for journals and pictures.  To my surprise this blog got me the award for best journal.  Woot!

While all this was going on my Mom managed to see Prince William through a car window exiting Buckingham Palace.  I had been there four months and never seen a member of the royal family, she is there 10 hours and sees a prince.  Where is the fairness?

I met my Mom and Lee for a pub dinner at the Albert.  That's where Mum fell in love with Fish 'N Chips.  I can't blame her though, that stuff is delicious.  We had a big day planned for Friday so we made it an early night and I had to pack still.  That was a chore and a half.

Stay tuned for the rest of Mom's London Visit.

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Barcelona: Day 2 - The trip from HELL

I'm guessing you are thinking right now "Rachel, how can you be in Barcelona and have a trip from hell?" Well I am about to tell you.

The day started out wonderfully.  We woke up and watched election results during breakfast before heading towards the meeting place for our Gaudi tour.  Gaudi was an extremely famous architect from Barcelona.  He was sort of a mad genius and designed some amazing houses, parks and other things throughout Barcelona.

We met our tour and immediately set off.  We saw lots of Guadi's work and ended at La Segrada Familia.  It's a cathedral that Gaudi designed and it's absolutely gorgeous.  Halfway through the tour we got first word that the stupid Iceland ash cloud was heading towards Spain.  Greaaaaaat!  But our guide didn't think it would be affecting Barcelona.  It is also unfinished even though it has been under construction for over 100 years.  Supposedly it will be finished in 2038 and that is the only time I will ever agree to return to Barcelona.

The tour ended at La Segrada Familia, so we caught some lunch before going inside.  It is just as fabulous on the inside as it is on the outside.  From the cathedral we went to Guell Park.  The park is incredible.  We got some amazing views of the city and saw one of Gaudi's own place of residence.  We left the park and tried to catch the train back to the airport.




La Segrada Familia




The climb to the park


We finally made it to the top.


La Segrada Familia is on the right.



I have kept you in suspense long enough.  Here is where the drama starts.  First off, I was pickpocketed on the way to the train station.  A man kicked my suitcase and as I turned to see who did it he walked by, put his hand in my coat pocket and took my phone and a pack of gum.  Luckily it was a POS phone that wasn't connected to my credit card, but annoying nonetheless.  At the train station we were getting very confused and asked for help.  The attendant told us that platform 9 carried the train to the Airport, so we went to platform 9 and boarded the train.  Here a piece of important travel advice: always check the departure board to make sure you are boarding the right train.  Platform 9 is where the train to the airport leaves, but it's not the only train to leave from that platform.  That's right, we boarded a mid-distance train that did not stop at the airport.  When the ticket man came around, he read our ticket and informed us of our horrible blunder.  The first stop was an hour out of the way.  Luckily the ticket man didn't make us pay for a new ticket.  He probably saw the panicked faces and knew we weren't lying.  Being on that train meant we were going to miss our flight.  About 10 minutes after the ticket man passed us, Steph got a text saying our flight had been cancelled due to the ash cloud.  On one hand it was a relief that we weren't going to miss our flight due to stupidity, but on the other, if we didn't get to the airport before our flight was scheduled to leave, we wouldn't get the free rebooking.  So one panic was replaced with another.

At the first stop we got off bought new tickets and nearly missed the first train heading back towards Barcelona.  On the train we encountered some Spanish men who, at first, seemed to want to help, but later ended up annoying the crap out of me.  We were having communication problems because we spoke very little Spanish and these boys spoke very little English.  After discovering that the main guy was not in fact insulting me, but instead hitting on me by asking if I was married I had had enough, and luckily they left the train.  Note to all men:  Women who looked annoyed will only get more annoyed when bothered.

So we finally made it back to the airport and in time and rebooked our flight with EasyJet to a flight to Newcastle (in Northeastern England) for 2 PM the next day.  It was 9 by this time and EasyJet was supposed to provide us with accommodation for the night, but not dinner and we were starving.  We left Terminal C to Terminal B to eat, but when we returned the Terminal C was CLOSED!  So no accommodation for us, which meant a wonderful night in the airport for us.  I never knew that Spain could be so cold.  People tried to scam me, I was hit up for money, and it was nearly impossible to fall asleep because there was no warm part of that building.

The next day, after failing to standby on an earlier flight we made our way to our gate only to find out that our flight was, once again, cancelled.  We had to "re-enter" the country in order leave the gate.  Starting to sound like a trip from hell?  What really stumped me was that flights were leaving for London, but our flight for Newcastle couldn't handle it.  Once again we waited in line to rebook for a flight to Bristol (Southwest England) for 2 PM on Monday.  Even though we rebooked, we really couldn't wait that long.  We all finals and papers to complete by then so we began a mission to find a flight to England for that night.  Mission Impossible?  Maybe.  It looked that way.

For the next 6 hours we ran all around the Barcelona Airport and train station trying to find a flight/train, ANY flight/train back to the UK.  Trains would have either taken three days for the cost of nothing, or 900 Euro for a 12 hour journey.  Neither a viable option.  We finally found a flight to Manchester with open seats, but it cost an ungodly amount.  Even after purchasing a 200 euro ticket we didn't even get a free snack.  Where is the justice?  In Manchester, we found there were no flights or trains leaving.  Our only shot was to try to catch a coach at 12:30 AM.  It was at this time that I called my Mom.  It was Mother's Day back in the states and I wanted to explain to her why I wasn't on Skype and to wish her a happy day.  It took all I had not to break down while describing the situation.

When the coach arrived it turned out that we couldn't board without having pre-purchased tickets.  Snubbed again.  The only way home now as to take the train to Euston, London that didn't leave until 5 AM.  Another night in a transportation station... Grrrreaaaat!  Manchester train station.  was even colder and more uncomfortable than the Barcelona Airport.

I don't know if there is anything more torturous than being sleep deprived and impatient.  I would close my eyes open them, and realize that two minutes had passed since the last time I had looked at the clock.  I tried to watch a movie on my ipod, but I could barely get through a scene before pressing the menu button to find out how much time had passed.  I was physically shaking for hours from cold and exhaustion.  Longest night of my life.
Proof I was in Manchester

At 7:30 AM we arrived at Euston train station, and shortly after 8 we arrived back at our dorm.  I entered my room, broke some drinking glasses that were poorly positioned on the desk, sent a few e-mails (like to my professor and boss to say why I wasn't going into work that day), showered and fell into the most rewarding sleep of my life.

I had been awake for nearly 66 hours, suffered a wrong train, two cancelled flights, two nights in a transportation station and completed no Homework or studying while wasting nearly two days in travel debacles.  Now that's a story for the kids some day.

Wooh, that was exhausting to write about let alone live.  My next post will be a quick overview of my last few days in the Central program followed by my Mom's visit to London.  More travel stories to come.

Pip Pip Cheerio!