Tonight is the Florida Republican Presidential Debate in Boca Raton. The powers-that-be have entrusted the fate of the half-hour special (at the local NBC affiliate in Fort Myers where I work) following this important debte to my hands. This, in case you don't realize, is a Very Big Deal. The technical side of this show is all me. Not only am I directing this half-hour debate special I am also punching it - ordinarily not my most favorite thing to do, but since this is not a normal newscast I expect the pace to be a bit slower. We have an interview guest scheduled and from what I know of him he is kind of a slow talker, so that will be great for me. What gets me when I'm punching and calling is when the pace picks up and I have no one to help me keep up with the videos being cued up to the right place. But tonight I am not worried about that. Tonight will be a great success, if I have anything to say about it.

This is quite a big deal to me, actually. In my line of work this is the kind of thing you have to work up to. The department heads only want their most reliable, veteran crews on shows like this. And they have entrusted me to punch and call it. I will not let them down. 

I am thrilled with how busy I am going to be tonight, because if I weren't I'd only be dwelling on what looms ahead of me tomorrow. There are about 90 thousand different elements I need to pay attention to in order to pull this off successfully tonight. No time for moping and daydreaming tonight, staying focused is of utmost importance. 

<hr>Right now I've got 1 hour and 15 minutes to show time. Suddenly I feel the urge to burst into song...

"It's time to put on makeup
It's time to light the lights
It's time to get things started on the Muppet Show tonight!"

Ha!

So I have a huge responsibility on my shoulders tonight, and this is exactly the kind of challenge I can sink my teeth into. One thing I'm excited about is I really like the producer I will be working with. She is my kind of newsperson - no nonsense, incredibly smart, but diplomatic. She's not full of herself - refreshing - and she appreciates what I do, all of it. I will punch and call for her any day. 

Well back to work with me. I'm busy ...