Day 3 Across the World

Up until day 3, we had only heard how big these World University Games were, but after walking along side team USA in the opening ceremony, we experienced first hand how magical they really are.

Since the entire city was shutting down at 2pm to prepare for the opening ceremony, our crew was up bright and early to get our filming day started with men's Volleyball's first game against Mexico. After a great win by USA, it was back to athletes village to get ready for the ceremony.

(Shooting the open outside the Volleyball game)

Now, every person walking with team USA had to wear the exact same thing: hat facing forward, X-Step collard T, shorts, socks and shoes...it was damn sexy. Even though the ceremony did not start until 9pm, everyone had to be ready to load the busses at 4. Thankfully we missed the main busses and got to ride with the men's basketball team. Men's basketball = special treatment.

When I said they shut down the city for opening ceremony, they literally closed the roads & freeways so all the athlete busses could ride car and traffic free to the arena 45 minutes away. And in a city with 20 million people, that's kind of a big deal...not to mention those millions of people were lining the streets cheering and waving the entire 45 minute bus ride.

Opening ceremony- let the pictures do the talking...

Opening ceremony stadium, build just for the World University Games

Walking into the arena with team USA

Sold out

The show- neon bicyclist, flying mascots, dancers in the wall, a violinist on a mountain, cirque du soleil, and the lollie pop kids...Thank you China.

Day 3 at the World University Games

Day 2 in Shenzhen

Day 2 in Shenzhen was a day of firsts: Our first encounter with all the athletes, our first Chinese driver, our first time getting lost, our first World University game, and our first time getting kicked out of a facility :)

The day began with the flag raising ceremony and an insightful interview with the US Consul General.  Directly following the interview we were off to the Bowaun Natatorium for Men’s Water Polo’s first game.

Our first adventure- getting into the car and experiencing street driving…and once we arrived at the natatorium we felt lucky to be alive. Little did we know our driver dropped us off 2 miles from the media entryway, so we walked in 100+ heat & humidity caring all the gear until we stumbled upon the correct gate …fun stuff. 45 minutes later, we finally made it to the stands, where once again we were in the wrong spot. So we fought our way to the pool level to get some decent footage and interviews.

Apparently we "broke" the rules because media is not allowed on the pool deck to interview players. So after our 1st water polo game we were banned from the natatorium, and our names were known amongst the 1,000 useless volunteers. BUT at the end of the day we got our footage and interviews, so it was a successfully productive day.

Interviewing the US Consul General...I was too short for the shot.

Walking 2 miles to find our media gate, because media is only allowed to enter through the media gate. Even if it's 2 miles away.

Day 2 at The World University Games

Day 1 in CHINA

Seeing that we slept for about 4 hours and were ridiculously jet lagged, our first day in Shenzhen was just as humorous as it was productive. We began the day getting a lay of our new land- the athletes village, and once we got a sense of direction the filming began.

Our 3 man crew, had no idea what to expect from this experience, but with out hesitation everyone jumped on board and began our 15 day crazy routine. Our first stop was the 233621 press conference and banquet for team USA.

Interviewing the CEO of 322621

Interviewing the US head of delegation

The crew's quick outfit change from press conference to fancy banquet

Day 1 at the World University Games

Bedtime TED's

A new & uplifting tradition we started at our house this week, is watching the incredibly inspiring speeches from TED before bed. TED is a nonprofit devoted to ideas worth spreading.

The annul TED conferences bring together the worlds most fascinating and influential thinkers and doers, who share their new inventions, inspirational ideas, stories of triumph and talks of their lives in 18 minutes or less.  AND more then 900 of these riveting talks by remarkable people, are free to the world on their site at TED.com

"Today, TED is best thought of as a global community. It's a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world." -TED

You can follow TED on
-twitter @TEDtalks for their daily TED talks
-facebook 

And watch all their TED talks on their youtube page. Here are a couple of my favorite...

John Wooden on True Success

Steve Jobs How to Live Before you Die

Melted Crayon Art

Last week I decided that a new way to keep my inner child & creative juices alive (outside of production) is weekly arts and crafts...and this week is MELTED CRAYON ART. 

Supplies needed:

- assortment of crayons, 3-4 boxes

- white canvas 

- glue gun

- blow dryer

- news paper of sheet to put around the canvas (it splatters a lot)

Step 1:

pick your colors and arrange them on the canvas, tips facing down

Step 2:

glue one full side of paper on the crayon

Step 3:

firmly place the glue side of the crayon on the canvas...and get creative!

Step 4:

- prop up the canvas the way you want the crayons to drip, and make sure you lay the sheet or newspaper a foot surrounding the canvas...the crayons will splatter.

- hold the blow dryer about an inch from the crayons and start melting!

Step 5:

let it dry for 3-4 minutes before melting another layer, then enjoy your melted art from any angle.

Inspired by a Mr. Kate blog :)

Malaika For Life

We are so blessed to live in a country with clean water, food, and medical services. Unfortunately, we easily forget about the many countries that need our help….

Every 30 seconds a child dies from Malaria.

Malaika For Life is “a grassroots movement to stop malaria, save lives, and support communities with one simple gesture- buy a bracelet, save a life”.  Malaika means angel in Swahili, and these angels have helped treat over 25,000 Tanzanians in the past 2 years.

The women of Tanzania have hand crafted these beautiful bracelets that symbolize the life you can save from malaria. By wearing this bracelet you are a voice for their movement.

Become a part of the movement @ MALAIKAforLIFE.ORG

Wearing my Malaika for life bracelet in China while covering The World University Games for Fox College Sports.

Help GrowingGreat GROW

Here are 2 great ways to help GrowingGreat continue to inspire kids & adults to adopt healthy eating habits.

On Monday September 26th, Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen, Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe, Milo & Olive Milling Co., and Sweet Rose Creamery will be hosting a fundraising dinner for GrowingGreat. ALL the proceeds go to GrowingGreat and putting their garden & nutrition education program in 3 new schools...2 in LA, 1 in Santa Monica.

The dinner includes a 4 course meal with wine pairings, cooked by Rustic Canyon chef Evan Funke.

There are 2 seatings; 5:30pm and 8:00pm. Tickets are $150, and $100 of the value of each dinner ticket is tax deductible. 

Purchase tickets here -----> Brown Paper Tickets

(GrowingGreat's garden at Grand Elementary School opened today)

The second way to help GrowingGreat grow is through their silent auction...It's going on now through September 30th

Ridiculous foodie items & experiences to bid on, and all the money goes to GrowingGreat and putting their garden & nutrition education program in 3 new schools.

Place bids here -----> Foodie Extravaganza Online Auction

The Stoopid Rebelution Show

Last Saturday the Surf Roots team and I trucked it down to The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater to interview Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution & Don Carlos for the end of their Seedless Summer Tour. Slightly Stoopid was one of my favorite bands in high school, and I had never seen them live. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked for this interview and show. 

My first subject of the night was the Jamaican legend, Don Carlos. DC is one of the top "message" reggae singer in the world and Slightly Stoopid brought him along as their special guest. So during DC's interview he was sending a message of love to our viewers, only problem was I could understand about half of what he was saying.

Our next interview was with 3 of the 4 Rebelution boys. This band is the most humble and happy band I've ever interviewed, and having previously interviewed Eric, we picked up right where we left off...laughing. 

And the last interview of the night was with Ry-Mo the drummer of Slightly Stoopid.

After we finished the interviews our crew got to hang out backstage all night, and once the show started we were on stage rockin' our socks off :)

But at the end of the night, I have to say that Rebelution stole the show.

The Road to Shenzhen, CHINA!

Covering The World University Games for Fox College Sports was a dream come true.

Up until the day we left for China, I would wake up each morning pitching myself as a reminder that my dream was about to become a reality. Not only was I getting paid to travel across the world and cover sports all day (aaamazing), but my little sister Annie was hired as the Production Assistant. 

Our road to Shenzhen began 6 weeks before we left the country. Once Annie and I booked the gig, China was the only thing on our mind. From getting our visas, finding inspirational athlete stories, and learning everything about the 17 different events the US was proudly competing in…those 6 weeks flew by and felt like 6 days.

Once August 8^th finally arrived, we were ready to go….

The Granola Monster

Since I am so incredibly in love and addicted to granola...today I woke up and decided to make my own. With a little help from my 2 favorite brands (By Hand & Bakery on Main) and my favorite cook (Peggy Curry), I raced to whole foods to stock up on my ingredients and hit the kitchen determined to make the most delicious gluten free granola...and I did, I call it THE GRANOLA MONSTER.

Ingredients:

- Coconut oil- 1/4 cup

- Canola oil- 1/4 cup

- Honey- 1 cup

- Vanilla extract- 2 tablespoons

DRY

- Bob's Redmil rolled oats- 3 1/2 cups

- Oat bran- 1/2 cup

- Coconut flour- 1/4 cup

- Glutino gluten free frosted corn flakes- 2 cups

- Coconut flakes- 1 bag of Danielle's

- Shredded coconut- 1/4 cup

- Cinnamon 

NUTS/ FRUIT/ SEEDS

- Raw pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds & dried cranberries- (I used a handful of each)

- Flaxseed- ground 1/4 cup

1) Preheat oven to 350º

2) Put all the dry ingredients, seeds, fruits & nuts in a bowl. Mix together.

3) Melt all your oils & honey on low, then add the vanilla to the pot (see above).

4) Pour the oils, honey & vanilla into the bowl and mix it all together with cleanly washed hands.

5) Then lay flat on a cookie tray with parchment paper. Make sure to pat it down so it's not too thick, when it's too thick it won't hold.

6) Sprinkle cinnamon on top

7) Bake 30 minutes- 15 minutes on one end, then spin the tray in the oven for another 15 minutes. 

8) Let it cool for 20 minutes- that's when it hardens. 

Then enjoy

Enjoy your granola with:

- Almond milk

-Soy milk

- Fresh fruit

- Ice cream

- Coconut yogurt

I made sure to be eating my granola the entire time I was writing this blog to remind myself how delicious it is...and I finished it. Whoops.

Game Changers- Believing You Can

This summer was the best working summer of my life. It all started when I met a Fox Sports producer while bartending at Sharkeez in Manhattan Beach. He over heard me talking about wanting the Cannon 7D for my birthday (which is the best camera ever BTW)...we got to talking, and after 20 minutes I pitched him a show idea I had about the MLS. He loved it and asked me to write the 30 minute show script. Even though I had never written a script like this before, I assured him I was well qualified for the job. 3 weeks later we met for a script meeting, 2 weeks after that we shot my pilot, and yesterday we wrapped the shooting.

Interviewing Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy's 2009 Rookie of the Year

Omar got behind the sushi bar at Katsu and made us delicious sushi.

Right after Omar thew out the honorary first pitch at Dodger Stadium...he thew a perfect strike.

It just goes to show anything is possible when you believe you can!