The Rap of Love...

I'm dating this breathtakingly stunning girl named Erica.  We met four years ago at BYU-Idaho but were never anything more than friends.  


Erica is from Richmond and when I was offered a job here, she hooked me up with roommates and helped prepare me for Virginia.


Nine months after I moved here, my amazing girlfriend finished school and moved back home...but she needed an internship to graduate.  My station was looking for interns.  She applied and got the position.

For twelve weeks she worked with me almost every day.  We covered the state fair together...and even dressed the part!


She started to have a crush on me.  I wasn't sure if I was interested.  After going back-and-forth, I made the dumbest decision of my life and chose not to pursue this beautiful girl.


Fast forward four months.  I was jolted awake and professed my undying love for Erica.  Knowing my track record, she was very cautious and said I needed to prove myself.

So I wrote a rap.

About her.  

The most incredible creature on planet Earth.

I did this with the help of my good friend Matt. 

He's a musical genius.  A few years ago he and Will wrote a rap about me as a Christmas present.


With his talent and my words, we came up with this catchy tune in a matter of hours.


Oh, before you listen, here's one thing you should know: O-M-B stands for "Old Man Bladder."  Erica calls me this as I have to use the bathroom every 2.5 minutes.

Hail to the Chief

Today I met the President of the United States of America.

President Barack Obama visited Richmond as part of the "community rally" meetings he's holding across the country.  

Whether you like or dislike, agree or disagree, love or hate the President, he's still the most powerful man in the world and I was honored to cover his visit.

We arrived around 11am.  The President was speaking at a community center and the first thing I noticed was a row of busses surrounding the center.

Obviously security was extremely tight.  Snipers stood on top of busses and massive armored vehicles were parked - the likes of which I've never seen in my life.


At 11.30am, we had to leave our cars, cameras, notebooks, and everything else on the premises and leave the secure zone for two hours.


During this time, secret service went through EVERYTHING - the hoods and trunks of every car, the pockets of every camera bag, EVERYTHING.

We were allowed back in at 1.30pm and waited in a skating rink...now converted in the national media room.  Here CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC, ABC, the NY Times, etc. compiled their reports.


At 2.30pm, we were shuttled into a hot cramped room where we awaited the President.  One family was chosen to meet with Mr. Obama for a few minutes...and they were instructed to invite 30 friends to attend the discussion.


Finally, after waiting in the stifling heat for two hours (windows and doors had to remained shut and covered), Mr. Obama walked in.

The first person he greeted was this 105-year-old woman.  He bent down, gave her a hug, and she said to the crowd of media, "Take a picture!  Somebody take a picture!"

The President proceeded to shake hands and greet every person in the room.

Mr. Obama then spoke for about 20 minutes and took 5-6 questions from the citizens ranging on everything from the economy to the environment.  

He did not talk to the media.


After an hour, he said goodbye and was off to the airport...where he boarded Air Force One and flew home to Washington, DC.


It was a very eventful day and one that I will never forget.  I still can't believe I stood eight feet away from the Commander in Chief for an hour.

I worked with two great photographers, an excellent field producer, and we were able to get some good stuff on the air.


Check out one of my live shots and let me know what you think:

What Did YOU Do at Work Today?

My life is so random - mainly because of my job. I love waking up and having no idea what I'll be doing at work that day.  

I could interview the most incredible person...like this man.

I may visit somewhere few humans are allowed to go...like a silver mine more than a mile beneath the ground.

I could be assigned to cover a tragedy that forever changes a family, neighborhood, city, state, or even the nation...like the horrific Virginia Tech Massacre.

I love that every day is an adventure.

Such was the case a few days ago.  I get into work and am assigned to cover the opening of the state fair.  Awesome!  I love racing pigs, fried Oreos, and rickety rides.

As we're getting ready to leave, I get a call from the assignment desk. 

Desk: "Nate, we have breaking news for you to cover!"

Nate: "Let me guess.  A shooting, fire, gas leak, police stand-off, or car crash."

Desk: "No, but close.  Chris Brown's pitbulls are loose in Montpelier (where he lives) and kids are afraid to get off the school bus.  You and your photographer need to leave now!"

Nate: "[Pause] What?  Are you serious?"

Corey: "Yes!  Go!"


Now, let me explain some things.  


1.  For those who don't know, Chris Brown is a well-known R&B singer who's kind of a big deal in Richmond.

He was born and raised here, he's been compared to Michael Jackson, and he served his community service here after beating Rihanna.  In fact, last year TMZ offered $10,000 for the first picture of him doing service - so all the news stations were scrambling to find him.






2.  My station goes crazy about two types of stories: anything involving an animal and anything involving a school bus (especially with kids on board).  Combine the two and it's the biggest thing of the year.


3.  Montpelier is 45 minutes away.  By the time we get there, it's likely the dogs will have been caught, the kids will be off the bus, and the neighborhood will be quiet.


Keeping these things in mind, my photographer and I leave the station in two separate cars (Why two?  Long story...).  We hit rush hour traffic, get separated twice, and the GPS stops working.

Finally we arrive in the neighborhood and see a big "Private Community.  No Trespassing" sign. 




So what do we do?  We drive in.


We begin searching everywhere for any sign of dogs.  The homes are extremely big and it's eerily quiet in this neighborhood - nobody is outside and we're in the middle of nowhere.


After five minutes, we come to Chris Brown's home.  It's gated and has cameras outside.  We stop and, from the car, look to see if there's dogs in the yard.  


Imagine seeing two marked news cars stopped outside your property.  You'd probably be concerned and apparently Chris Brown is too.  A very large man comes outside and begins walking toward us...so we immediately drive away.


I call the newsroom and tell them we see no dogs, no school buses, no animal control...nothing.  They ask if I'm sure.  I say yes.  They tell us to go ahead and go to the fair.


As we drive away, I laugh because I've just spent almost two hours of my life trying to find some celebrity's dogs in the middle of nowhere. 


Was this weird?  Kind of.
Was this newsworthy?  Who knows. 
Was this random?  Yes.
Was this an adventure?  Without a doubt.

And that's why I love my job.

Cruisin'...Back to Normal Life

I'm home.  

9 days.  
3500 shipmates.  
4 guys in one tiny cabin without a window.  
25 meals.
7 towel animals.  
$50 on satellite internet (gotta keep in touch with my boo...).  
2 bad sunburns.  

1 cruise I will never, ever forget.   

1 cruise I never, ever repeat.  

On a scale of 1-10, I give this vacation a 4.  I had a good time...but seven days on a ship with only two stops (we were supposed to have three...more on that later) can make one slightly insane.  Not only that, but when the girl of your dreams is thousands of miles away, it's hard to have a good time.


Here's a brief re-cap of what happened.





Sunday after church we pack Dave's car to the brim with all our luggage...

and set off to board the Carnival Splendor!

The evening is spent exploring the ship.  Best part is discovering the mints on our pillows.  Tommy obviously enjoys them too much.

Monday we are on the ship the whole day traveling to Mexico.  We tell our housekeeper, Xavier, we love the mints.  

Hours later, instead of finding one mint on our pillow, we find this:






Tuesday is another day at sea.  We swim, read, relax, eat, and are very anxious to get off.


Wednesday greets us with freedom!  We arrive in Puerto Vallarta and the first thing we see is a Super Wal-mart.  


We hire a taxi driver and he takes us into the rain forest for a zip-line/canopy adventure.  


INCREDIBLE.  One of the best parts of the trip.  12 zip-lines - one over a mile long!  Watch:





After three hours of of flying through the forest, we find an authentic Mexican restaurant.  

I help make salsa and we enjoy a delicious meal.  (It would later come back to haunt us...but not too bad).


It starts to rain but we quickly visit the beach, walk around town, buy a few things, and say farewell to this beautiful city.

Thursday we awake to sunshine and Mazatlan.  

We grab a cab with no doors and drive to the beach.










The water is so warm and blue.  The sand is nice.  And there's parasailing!  We  give it a try.  


Was it worth it?  You decide:

We hang out on the beach all day, I find an amazing sea shell, and we stumble into the Mexican Bob Barker (who needs some spelling lessons).

We hop back onto our taxi to take a tour of the town.  Within minutes, we spot some familiar outfits: white shirts, ties, slacks... MISSIONARIES!

I start yelling, "!Missionarios!  !Missionarios!" and insist the cab driver pull over.

These guys spend two years away from home teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That book we're holding is called The Book of Mormon...El Libro De Mormon.  

It's changed my life and answers questions of the soul. 

Want a free copy?  You're in luck - I can arrange that!  Click here.

Our cab driver, Jesus (not kidding), takes one...

then takes us to a beautiful lighthouse.






On the way, we stop at a look-out and I notice how massive the cruise ship is  compared to this tiny, poor village.  

The money I spent to live on that ship for seven days would feed a family here for many, many weeks (or months).  Really puts things in perspective and makes me realize how blessed I am.


After visiting Puerto Vallarata and Mazatlan, we can't wait to stop in Cabo San Lucas - the best port of all.  


Friday morning we wake up at 7.30am to get off the boat.  Instead, we're greeted by an announcement saying that no one will be leaving.


Small boats must transport passengers from the main boat to shore.  Our captain says the swells are too high for those small boats and putting passengers on them would be dangerous. 


We are NOT happy.  Neither are 3500 other people.  I wasn't as upset about missing the city as I was that we had to stay on this stinkin' ship an extra day.


Somehow we find something to do.  It's formal night so we take pictures with the girls from Richmond (who happen to be the best girls on the boat).

Saturday is ANOTHER full day at sea and we're counting down the seconds until we see land again.   

I stay busy thinking about one thing...








Sunday arrives and we're anxious to go home.  After making it through customs, we rush to the airport where I board a plane and arrive in Virginia ten hours later.


I hope it doesn't sound like I'm complaining because I really did have a good time and I'm grateful I could go.  


I will just change a few things next time and have some suggestions if you're considering a cruise:


- don't go without your significant other.
- only leave for 4-5 days.
- be sure you have more than 2-3 port stops.
- get a cabin with a window.
- wear sunscreen.  
- leave out of a port close to your house.  (If you live in Richmond, leave out of Florida...not LA).