Weekly Update Time!

So time for a recap of what exactly I have been up to this week at the world of National Journal...
Well... this was a crazy week because we had a TON of events to cover. Three in a row mind you, so pay close attention to this blur of work.
Monday: This was prep day. We had to get all of our ducks in a row on Monday because we knew that the rest of the week was going to be spent either a) shooting events or b) logging the video and editing those events. So we had to plan for how we would attack this week and we made some changes to the website and blogs in preparation.
Tuesday: Terry Michael Day! So we had class like we usually do, this time with Debbie LeHardy from the Republican side of fundraising. She was honestly the most interesting speaker I have ever listened to because she is loud and honest. You don't get a bunch of B.S. She told us what it meant to be a big-donor fundraiser and that it was really all about relationships. After the lecture that ran long, I had to jump in a cab and race downtown to cover the afternoon session of an event, or rather an all day conference on the workforce of America. My boss had taken the morning shift and was already editing the video she had shot when I got there, and I took over from there. It was an interesting event hosted by Major Garrett. Once that was completed, we headed back to our NJ offices to upload highlights from the event.
Wednesday: Another event morning, and it almost began tragically. The event was at the Newseum and began at 8:30, so we usually arrive around 7 AM to set up and do audio checks around 7:30 before guests start arriving at 8. Well, this was my first time to really fly solo, and I had my alarm set for 6 so I could be out of the apartment by 6:40. Well... alarm did not go off (phone died) and I woke up like my body normally does around 7AM. Yikes! I believe I managed to throw on clothes and suck down some toothpaste in about 4 minutes and was out the door in five. I am not sure I have ever gotten dressed that quickly before. I scurried down the mall to the Newseum and made it there by 7:25. Luckily, there were no problems and the other guy there let me borrow a pair of headphones... something I forgot in my mad dash out the door. The event on the environment went well, Sen. Brownback was a good interview, and I headed back to NJ to spend the afternoon with my video.
Thursday: Terry Michael Day! (and an ungodly rainstorm) Well, today was another type of fund raising speaker: direct-mail. Frank Obrien was our speaker from the left side of things and told us what it took to put out a good piece of direct mail. He also talked about what it meant to be going online and how successful some people have been there. Afterwards, I headed back downstairs to export some more video while my boss was getting back from another event! She went and covered an education event. (You would think event coverage is all we do... but that is not the case, we just had a real stunner of a month) This is also magazine day, so between trying to cover the event and put the magazine together we had quite the evening. I mainly pulled photos and uploaded graphics and the like that day for the mag.
Friday: Finally, a chance to relax. My boss was out of the office, and I still had plenty to do, but it was a much more relaxing day. I upload video and exported clips. Some of it takes forever and a day... so I will continue to tackle it on Monday. I also played around with our content management system to become more familiar with it. I learned some things that I like and did not like, so I will continue that exploration Monday. Also had to put out a small fire about stories that were posted incorrectly last night... luckily I managed the right the error. Hooray.
Now, we get to do it all over again!