Friday, January 27, 2012

TV & a sign

Vague title, but this blog post is so random I wasn't sure what else to put. It all started when I received a call at work from a CBS reporter. I still work at a public relations agency part-time, so that's a pretty normal occurrence. Well turns out it was a producer for WCBS, a local news channel in New York who was doing a story on nightmares as side effects of some medications, and she stumbled upon my blog post, appropriately named "Nightmare side effects." She was having trouble finding people to interview and she read about how Bystolic gave me nightmares. Because I'm in North Carolina, an affiliate news channel (WRAL) sent a cameraman to film me while the producer asked me questions via speakerphone.

The interview took place in my condo, and I explained how I've tried a lot of things for headaches and how beta blockers such as Bystolic are commonly prescribed as preventatives, but none of them worked for me. Then I went into the details of the nightmares, how realistic they were and how one that stood out involved me stabbing someone repeatedly. It was self-defense, but it was very detailed. I also said that compared to other side effects I've experienced, nightmares didn't bother me too much. Then the cameraman took B-roll footage of some of my pill bottles, me coming in the door and putting down my bags, me reading a magazine, me playing with Ellie, etc. We did a fun shot where he filmed while walking into the kitchen and then pointed the camera at our knives while I pulled one out and held it in front of the camera.

Shooting B-roll footage in my condo!
Instragram photo from my new toy, my iPhone (99cent for the 3G version!)
I'm not sure if I'll get to see the final video unless WCBS puts it on their website, so if any of you live in the area, let me know if you see it!

So we covered the TV, now what about the "sign" part of this blog post's title? Back when I was working full time my office was right outside a doorway where people smoked, and the building was old so the smoke went through into my office, which didn't help my headaches. I contacted the people in charge of the office building about it, and they said they would look into making a rule that required people to smoke a certain distance from the building.

Well, nothing happened so I taped up my own handmade sign outside the door. Some smokers listened to it and some ignored it; eventually it was taken down. Fast forward a few years (I would say at least 2-3 years) and the building added a designated smoking section away from the building, removing the ash trays from the trash can just outside the door. Then yesterday at work, my boss pointed out this sign, right where my homemade one had been:

Sign of success!
Success! :)