Random stuff

Happy Monday!
Thanks to everyone for the funny posts and emails regarding last week's "Is your job sexy?" blog. One viewer sent a note saying sexy is a state of mind, so I thought I'd pass that on to those of you who wrote that your jobs are "unsexy."

How about this weather?!? What a difference a week makes. I left the gym this morning feeling like I didn't need a coat. Ahhhhhhhhh. We'll be snapping back to reality tomorrow, but fifty degrees feels great today.

I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take my camera to the Rally Against Cancer Saturday night. Keith and I were the Masters of Ceremonies and Gale Sayers was the keynote speaker. It was inspirational just being in the presence of a living legend and Murph did a fantastic job introducing him. The people in attendance were inspirational, too. There is a moment during the program when the room is dark, and we're asked to click on the light-up pen we've been given if we've been touched by cancer. Some lights come on when the organizers say, "Turn on your light if you've had cancer." More light up with "Turn on your light if your spouse has cancer." The list goes on ... parents, siblings, any relatives, friends, colleagues ... and soon, every pen light is glowing. It's a somber moment and a powerful reminder of why we're all there. Kim & Coral Johnson started the event seven years ago and only a handful of people showed up - this year the HyVee Conference Center in West Des Moines was sold out and thousands of dollars were raised for the John Stoddard Cancer Center. It was a great success - thanks to everyone who made it happen.

I have a cold, and a question. Why does only one side of your nose get plugged up? For the past several days I've been alternating nostrils and it's driving me nuts. Nyquil is my friend at night.

Finally, we have some special reports coming up that we hope you'll find interesting. This Thursday Dan Winters will be telling you how to keep your personal information secure online. I just read his script and learned a lot - hopefully you will, too.

Go Bulldogs!
:)

EEK

So Cold and Sexy?

It's . . . soooooo . . . COLD!
My friend Michelle sent me this cartoon last week and I think it's perfect.

I'm the first to admit that I'm a weenie when it comes to cold weather. Do you guys think it's that bad, or just a typical Iowa winter? Michael and I spent most of the weekend inside, eating soup and watching football. How about that game in Green Bay ... talk about COLD!

It's been so cold, I wore my snow pants and boots to work last week, which brings me to our next topic ... is it SEXY?

No ... this is decidedly "unsexy" if you ask me. However, last week Sonya and I had a story in one of our newscasts about the sexiest jobs. TV anchors rank #10, based on the fact that you don't know what we're wearing underneath the desk!

Mr. Ed and all of our meteorologists are always wearing full suits ... there's no hiding your bottom when you're standing in front of the weather wall!

Scott and Tracy do the hard work behind the scenes so they get to wear whatever they want!

Shawn Terrell is a "business up top, casual on the bottom" kind of guy.

Sonya's always wearing crazy sexy shoes, even when it's twenty below!

And Dan Winters goes with jeans on the bottom - a real working reporter!

If you're interested in reading the article from Career Builder and seeing the entire top ten list, here's the link ...

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/careerbytes/CBArticle.aspx?articleID=773&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=920eeebbc5934061b81b4e28ac307bd6-254249337-JH-5&ns_siteid=ns_us_g_top_ten_sexiest_jobs__

How sexy is your job? Whatever you do, have a good week!

EEK

New rules .... Good for what ails you ... People watching

I've been logging tapes and I'm running out of time before the 10 .... but here's a quick post about "new rules" given to me by doctors.
1. No drinking
2. No smoking
3. No spicy food
4. No fatty food
5. No huge meals
6. No caffeine
That's it ... my life is ruined!
Just kidding. But, the list does put a cramp in my lifestyle... probably a good one.

In terms of health, I've decided that a trip to a warm climate is good for what ails you. Arizona was great and it was so fun watching my folks have so much fun. They've earned it.

Finally, I love airports just for the people watching. You see it all, and I'm not just referring to appearance. Airports are a great place to study human behavior ... at its worst and its best.

I'm sure this is full of horrid typos and bad grammar but I'm pushing the limit here ... it's 9:45.

Have a great week everyone!
EEK

Most Embarrassing Moment

These are some of the emails in my inbox from last Thursday night, "Where's Erin?" "What's wrong with you? Usually you're much more talkative on the air!" "You started out not wearing your glasses, now you're wearing them. Why?"
Those questions lead me to another question. It's one that you often find in social board games, or hear on talk shows ... "What's your most embarrassing moment?" Up until now, mine consisted of countless on-air flubs and one incident in high school when I tripped on the bleachers while wearing a cheer leading skirt (you get the idea). Those moments have been usurped by what I'm now calling my "Caucus Night Nightmare." I'll give you the abbreviated version ...
The first part of the day is fantastic. I get to interview NBC's Brian Williams, he's gracious and charming and says great things about Iowans and our wacky caucus system. Bachman and I get to the Polk County Convention Center nice and early, shoot some promos and people watch. I eat my box lunch and we get ready to do the five o'clock show. Everything goes great! By six o'clock, I'm feeling a little nauseous. Nothing horrific, just not quite right. The show goes off without a hitch but by the end I'm really not feeling too hot. I'll spare you the gory details, but over the next three hours I was sprinting back and forth between our makeshift set and the bathroom (and it wasn't a short distance). On the last trip, I didn't make it to the bathroom and got sick in a trash can in the hallway. Can you say MORTIFIED?!? It's only the biggest night in our state, history is being made by Iowa voters and I'm puking in front of national media folks. I wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Instead, I called Michael. He picked me up and took me to the hospital (I threw up twice on the way there). When we came screeching into the emergency room, the nurses said, "I just saw you on tv! What are you doing here?" Again, I wanted to disappear!!! "Trying not to throw up," was my feeble reply.
I was stuck at Methodist Medical Center for two days while the good folks there tried to figure out what's wrong with me. After several tests, it appears that a bacterial infection is to blame for my violent vomiting. Those two days felt like two weeks to me and I thought I was going to lose my mind. I don't think I'm a very good patient, mostly because I'm so impatient! I'd like to thank the nurses on sixth floor north for their incredible patience and wonderful care. They are angels. I could never do the work they do.
I'm off to Arizona to see my folks, so I'll give you a full report on the good life when I get back next week.
Until then, stay healthy!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com