Rubey Rambles

As I am writing this post, I am counting down the days until Monday, January 28th, 2013.  The glorious day in which we celebrate the day of popping. Yes, you read that correctly...popping. No, no, not the popping of zits, balloons or popcorn. But the popping of something better, the popping of something that us kids who grew up in the hood used to drive our bikes over for amusement. Here it goes... Last week, the assignment desk received a mysterious box.  The box was rather large, but it did not seem anything of the "suspicious" sort so the desk obviously welcomed the box with open arms. A picture of the over-sized non-suspicious package Upon further investigation we noticed the box was from a PR firm in NJ, but what this PR firm was trying to get us to celebrate was something much more than I could handle...bubble wrap. Further investigation revealed...bubble wrap We couldn't just leave it at that so we opened the box, only to realize the bubble wrap...

For the last few days I was trying to figure out what my post should be about this week.  I didn't want to force a post, I didn't want to post AGAIN about Rob and I sure as heck didn't want to post about the boot camp torture I am recommitting to next week (that will be a post soon enough though). I have been racking my brain for a few days on what to post, which tidbits of my newsroom day should I forever cement into a blog post with some funny pictures for the social media world to see? The answer was staring at me right in the eye...or well...to be honest...it was talking in my ear.  The reason why I don't sleep at night Everyday I answer about 14587 calls...that is just a rough estimate.  The calls are either really simple, or something way beyond my pay grade.  And let me tell you, most of the time, they are way beyond my pay grade. Usually on the other end is a reporter looking for some sort of assistance, some type of media relations person hoping ...

Working in a newsroom is stressful, don't get me wrong, but we also know how to have fun.  More specifically, we know how to have fun with items that get sent to us from PR (Public Relations) companies wanting us to cover some sort of event. A week or two ago, my manager received one of the top five best PR packages ever.  The package, so gracefully wrapped in clear plastic wrap, busting at the seams with candy, fairy dust and confetti announced the return of Disney on Ice at the XL Center in Hartford. This excited me for many reasons because I already ordered tickets months ago, picked out my favorite Mickey Mouse t-shirt to wear and found my Mickey ears from my trip to Disney back in '94....I was born ready for this.... But what excited me most, was this peculiar green object.  Was it a new cereal bowl? I  had no idea.  It wasn't until I grabbed the green object out of the fun box of candy and realized...it was a hat, resembling one of those funny green...

People ask me what I do on the assignment desk, or as I like to call it, "The Hexagon"..so here it goes...in the form of a story... "I find myself puzzled and I'm confused, for the last hour I have been dealing with breaking news and the rants of viewers on the phone wondering why we cut into "The Price is Right" and asking if the woman from Ohio won the "Showcase Showdown".  I may or may not be sweating from the adrenalin pumping through my veins and the scanners blaring so loud I may actually be legally deaf. For the first time in an hour I lift my head up from my computer to see my co-worker, eating.  How that must be nice.  A snack you say? What are those? The assignment desk isn't a pretty place, there are papers everywhere, the sound of constant typing and at least 7 scanners constantly blaring.  But from up here on "The Hexagon" I see the tropical fruity oasis known as "The Pod".  This is the place where happy ...