Yes, I really almost interviewed Derek Jeter

I have the email ("evidence mail") to prove that this actually happened. If you're anything like me, you'll think I dreamt it too. 

One minute, I was editing a story about a fishing trip in Costa Rica. The next minute, I was told I would be interviewing Derek Jeter in person, one-on-one tomorrow.

My morning began with a cup coffee and a story to edit. I took a break to check my email and found this. It was sent to the professor accompanying my program this summer. It was forwarded to him by another Mizzou journalism faculty member. 

"Do you have a student who would like to interview Derek Jeter of the Yankees on Friday for the LA Times? My son is looking for someone to get him to answer some questions. Derek doesn't do phone interviews. My son would arrange for credentials, the interview and send the student a list of questions. It's about Jeter's 3000th hit." 

I emailed my professor immediately, told him that I would do anything for this opportunity. After thirty minutes of shaking and checking my inbox incessantly, he replied and told me it was mine. 

For those of you who read my first post. Hell, for those of you who know anything about me, any reaction you might picture to this news would be an underestimation of my actual reaction. I cried for 20 minutes. I read the details: 

"You'll get a tag line in the LA Times and a small fee and a free Yankees game!!"

This was the happiest moment I've experienced in my short career as a journalist. And I knew that no opportunity could ever top this for me. Derek Jeter has been my favorite Yankee my entire life. I've religiously followed his career. I've always had hopes of getting his autograph at a spring training game. Never in my life did I think I would have the opportunity to sit down with him and talk, to do what I do best: journalize. 

The best coincidence of all: I attended a Yankees game last night with one of my sorority sisters and she asked me what I would do if I ever had the opportunity to meet Derek Jeter. 

And so, I tried to digest what was upon me: The press seat in Yankee Stadium I forever dreamt of was mine, at least for a night. Or so I thought.

A few hours later, I was extremely disappointed to find out that the Yankees organization refused to give me press credentials because I'm a student and not an employed reporter. 

Again, anyone who has even skimmed the contents of this blog or knows me remotely can gauge my reaction to this news. Whatever you might picture, it's an underestimation of my actual reaction to this news.

While it is very upsetting that some lucky reporter from the Baltimore Sun is now getting my opportunity to sit down with Derek Jeter, I'm still very thankful for several reasons.

1) Having a reporter ask a journalism student to do his interview with a superstar athlete about a momentous career achievement is enormous. It speaks to the reputation of my journalism education at the Missouri School of Journalism. For a reporter to trust me with that job makes me feel fantastic about my education. The fact that I was selected by my professor makes me feel great about my ability.

2) If this opportunity showed up at the birth of my career as a professional reporter, I can only imagine the opportunities that lie ahead of me in the future. 

3) This is why I came to New York City...to chase very big dreams. Those dreams are coming closer than ever to becoming reality. 

Weekend Sights

Though I love both my internships, my weekends in New York City have proved to be my favorite time of the week. This weekend, I stepped up my sightseeing game. 

Yesterday afternoon, Monica and I started with Grand Central Station. I posted a picture of it a few posts back (the exterior, at least.) I learned that the interior was redesigned by Jackie Kennedy in the 60's. 

We walked from Grand Central with the intention of going to see St. Patricks Cathedral. On the way, we ended up at the original Saks Fifth Avenue. The storefront was amazing. Also, found dozens of quatrefoils! 

Quatrefoils on the Saks storefront! 

Next, we headed to St. Patricks Cathedral. I quickly realized that the Cathedral serves as an assembly line for weddings on Saturday afternoons. We saw two just in the time we were there. Also learned couples pay $2,000 to use the church for their ceremony. 

Another quatrefoil...I found this one inside the Cathedral. 

After we visited the Cathedral we went to Rockefeller Plaza across the street. 

This was my favorite part of our adventure. We went to the cafe on the plaza and ordered a drink. We started talking to the four guys sitting at the table next to us from North Carolina. They were very clearly not acquainted with New York City, because they ordered 16 beers (four each) at the cafe at Rockefeller Plaza. Needless to say, their reactions to the $200 bill were priceless. 

My Saturday evening was spent catching up with one of my sorority sisters, Lauren, who graduated last year and has lived and worked in New York City since. We had fantastic specialty pizza and took a walk on a new New York attraction, the High Line. The High Line is an elevated walkway the city has spent the last few years building. It used to be an elevated railway. 

From the High Line, I was able to capture some great photos of the city at night.

The Empire State building has a lighting schedule. This weekend, it's navy blue, light blue and white in honor of the 63rd annual Celebrate Israel parade. 

Today, I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and walk the Brooklyn Bridge. It's the only bridge in the city with a walking pass. It offers beautiful fews of lower Manhattan and some great uptown views as well. Plus, the bridge itself is beautiful. 

Lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Uptown from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Tomorrow starts another work week. I'm extremely excited for Wednesday as I will be attending my first game in the NEW Yankee Stadium. I'm sure there will be a long post following my experiences! 

Week in Review: Starting my internships

I was walking to class Tuesday evening after my first full day at the magazine. It was rush hour, I didn't know exactly where I needed to be and Times Square tourists were in my way. And so, I kept walking west down 8th avenue until I unexpectedly ran into any journalists Mecca...

I knew the Times had built a fabulous new skyscraper to house their world-renowned publication, but I didn't know where it was. Needless to say, I was blown away. More than that, I was reminded of why I'm here in New York City, to chase very big dreams. While I thought working for the Times was a dream of the past for me, I might have thought too quickly.  Magazines are my area of focus in my studies but I'm still extremely passionate about newspapers, news writing and the democratic role journalism plays in this country. 

My anecdote aside, this week was all about getting my feet wet at both of my internships. I absolutely LOVE both of my jobs. Power and Motoryacht, (PMY as I'll call it from this post on) is an excellent publication for me to start my magazine journalism career. The staff is large enough to put out a good magazine every month but not too large where I would be overwhelmed. Simply put, I'm easing my way into the magazine industry. Thus far, I've begun researching story ideas for my feature which will run in the August issue. I've also helped editors research stories for other portions of the August issue, including the Top 100 lists they publish every summer. 

My publishing internship with Random House has served as a great learning experience very quickly. I've worked in the eBooks department for two days and I'm already completely in love with the company. I'm also enjoying seeing what the publishing industry has to offer as I entire the job market in a year. I can't share exactly what I do with the company, but I can tell you that it's unlike any work I've ever done and I love it! :) I'm also thankful to have fantastic coworkers. My favorite part? Free books, everywhere. There are books all over the 25 floor office that are there for the taking. Needless to say I've already taken advantage of that perk, as some of my favorite authors are published by Random House! 

This is a photo of the Random House lobby published by New York magazine. They wrote a feature series several years back looking at different New York City industries and chose Random House to take a look at publishing. The story takes an inside look at the company and the industry. 

Getting back into the 9-5 routine has been a difficult task for me. I haven't woken up at 6:30 a.m consistently in a long time. I'm also adjusting to rush hour tendencies in this city. For instance, both my morning commutes require taking the subway. I take the 4 train to PMY and the A train to Random House. During both of these experiences I literally feel like a sardine in a can. I've also found myself annoyed by tourists constantly (somewhat contradictory, I know.) But, they stand in the middle of the sidewalk with their maps and iPhone apps and cameras during rush hour. As a busy New Yorker, I have places to go! :) 

Last night I went to dinner at a great Italian place in Greenwich Village with one of my roommates. She's a foreign student originally from Shanghai, China. Eating dinner with her was the first time we really talked about her background and it was fascinating to get to know her. I look forward to exploring the city with her again in the future! 

My week has been consumed with work, so I don't have many city adventures to chronicle. I'm going sightseeing again today so I'm sure that will bring great stories and photos! 

Stay tuned,
Jamie