It seems like every year I get older time seems to go by faster and faster. M’s Opening Day was Monday at Safeco Field. It’s funny to think that at Opening Day last year, I was standing out in the center field with some friends, a beer in hand, cheering on the Mariners and getting incredibly childish-giddy when the announcer introduced Ken Griffey Jr as a returning Mariner.
The next day, I assumed my roll as a Fox Sports Net intern. When I interviewed with FSN, I remember telling them that I was “unsure” which part of the industry I wanted to be a part of – sales – or production. After being an “electronic news gathering” intern for a couple days, I knew I wanted to be on the production side of television.
I spent the first two months of my internship following around a camera man and helping with small tasks, like holding a reflector screen, and logging game tapes. Luckily, I got to stick around to become the Rally Fry Girl when the other intern completed the term for school.
As I watch the Mariners games from out here in Montana I get a weird sense of excitement coupled with a longing to be back there. I can’t believe it was only a year ago that I was first starting to learn about this business and I some how finagled my way to a job. But, as I watch, I also long for the day when I am able to hone my skills and develop as a television reporter so I can get back to Safeco Field.
Robby, the stage director who sits in the booth with Dave Niehaus, Dave Sims, and Mike Blowers (amongst all the other fabulous production guys), told me at the beginning of my internship, “This will be the best summer of your life.” He wasn’t wrong. It was the best summer of my life. I was learning to do what I dreamed about as a young kid. It wasn’t glamorous – I spent about 8 hours a day at an unpaid internship, carrying around camera gear, running papers, delivering messages…getting hot dogs and coffee, and mountain dew for the production truck – followed by getting yelled at by engineers for it…. But, as I said before, it was the best summer of my life. I’m hoping, though, that if I work hard enough, I can have many more “best summers” of my life. It might take a few years to get there, but being a true believe if you work hard enough you can achieve anything, it will happen.
So a year later, it is no longer my job to deliver fries in front of thousands on live television. My job still entails toting around my own gear, and for that matter, being my own photog, editor, etc. (I had it made as an intern who had patient photogs and a great editor)… But one year later, it feels great to say the steps have been taken to making it back to the big city, back to the opportunity, to have the best summer ever.
