Arriving in West Orange

State by state I’m getting closer. Each one is feeling like a big milestone lately and I’ve been moving a lot faster the last few states than I have in others. I made it to West Orange, just a 30-minute train ride into New York City. Originally I wasn’t planning on making another trip back to NYC unless I had a big reason. But, if I’m this close and my best buddy is only a short rain ride away, you bet I’m going to go. Though I arrived in New Jersey last night I will spend the weekend in NYC before coming back to spend a few more days in New Jersey.

I’m staying with Jeanne and Kevin here in West Orange. Jeanne is the cousin of my good friend Jen H. (she’s the one that leaves all the witty comments from Chicago and the UK). They both went to DePaul University to study theatre, now for over a decade they have lived in the greater New York City area.

Jen nominated Jeanne to be a host over a year ago! I called right away and remember Jeanne saying that they don’t make plans to host people a year in advance. Ha ha. Fair enough. But I was excited to touch base with people as soon as possible no matter how far down the road it was. That was a long time ago and it’s just hard to believe, but here I am, over a year later.

I remember being excited when I first learned about Kevin’s job. I have always had a great interest in what goes on behind scenes, all the things you never see. It has always been a fascination. Well, if you think of some of the biggest television events in recent years and there is a good chance that Kevin was there. A couple of Super Bowls (including the Janet Jackson mishap), the MTV Movie Awards and Video Music Awards, and the list goes on to programs for Comedy Central, Spike TV, and one of his next big projects with be one of the Live Earth concerts. He’s a lighting producer. And sitting down to watch a live concert on TV with him and Jeanne is great to learn about the lighting and how well it’s being done. It’s a job of lots of traveling for long periods at a time, but very rewarding. Great traveling and being able to sit in on some of the biggest events in television.