Giving Thanks

This is a picture from Tuquyen Mach's News13 Blog

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful to have the ability to do what I love, even if it’s so stressful sometimes it makes me want to tear my hair out. Today is not an example of a stress-filled day, however.

It’s the third year in a row I’ve worked the holiday, and I must say it’s probably the quietest day all year in the newsroom, except for Christmas Day. It’s a nice change from the usual, though a little more activity would keep my mind from going numb.

As it was, I spent most of the morning watching the Macy’s Parade and keeping in touch with my parents, who were driving to Panama City from Atlanta. I’m lucky to have my parents, my fiance Benny, and friends who bring laughter to my life.

I’ve been pretty busy the past couple of weeks, mainly putting together the third installment of my special report on Grouper DNA testing. That aired on Tuesday, thankfully, and now that’s over everything at work gets back to normal for me (at least as normal as news can be anyway).

Last week, I had the fun assignment of doing a live shot from the annual Bay Medical Center Foundation Gala. Singer Eddie Money and Comedian John Heffron from “Last Comic Standing” were performing, and they were both supposed to be my guests during the live shot. But Eddie Money was running late, so I didn’t get to interview him. However, John Heffron was a great guest. He actually did an Eddie Money impression for us on live TV that was pretty convincing!

We had a Thanksgiving Lunch for everyone at the station on Tuesday. The station provided turkey and ham, and we brought the sides and desserts. I must say, we have some very talented folks here who are masters at cooking. My friend Jessica made this scrumptious pear cranberry pie that was just delicious. I made a sweet potato souffle that was pretty well received also.

I admit I’m really excited about being off work for Black Friday! I’m a shopaholic, and I’m a classic case, too. I just love to shop, and it’s hard to rein myself in. Luckily during the holidays, I get to shop for other people as well as myself. But I just can’t do what some residents are doing, which is spending their Thanksgiving camping out at Best Buy to get first dibs on the deals Friday morning. At least it’s not really cold outside this year, but still, they’re much more dedicated than I am!

Only one more hour until I can go home and enjoy dinner with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And happy bargain hunting!

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Posted on Nov 22, 2007 - 05:32 PM by Tuquyen Mach

Busy, busy

The weather has been gorgeous lately, perfect fall weather, even though I’ve also been complaining that it’s cold. But as the old saying goes, you can’t make everybody happy.

After the trial was over, I did my best to relax and recover some sleep. It was nice to have a few days off to “recuperate” even though it wasn’t nearly enough time!

I’ve been doing a lot more than just working lately. Earlier this month, our Emerald Coast UGA Club walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Lynn Haven. It’s my second year doing the walk, and I really enjoy the feeling that I’m able to help out a great cause.

As you can see from the picture, our team’s mascot was Tucker, club president Jeff Weatherholtz’s bulldog. He was a great sport, but we did have to give him a break after half the walk. He was great company though.

And speaking of Tucker, our club is also collecting dog and cat food as part of a national pet food drive. The pet food is donated to the Bay County Humane Society. If you’d like to donate, please let me know!

Of course, I can’t let this blog pass without celebrating Georgia’s 42-30 win over the Gators this weekend!! I don’t think a certain FL quarterback knew what hit him when he was sacked time and time again by our defense. I was afraid before the game was over that I’d lose my voice before we went on-air for the newscast! I was yelling at the TV in the newsroom during most of the game. (My voice is still recovering, by the way). Don’t worry, I was getting the newscast completed, even though I was a bit more distracted than usual! GOOO DAWGS!!!

I’ve had the privilege of going to some fun events as well. I had the honor of singing the National Anthem at the 2007 Navy Ball, where News 13 and the UGA Club were represented. I also got to attend the 2007 Golden Gala for the St. Andrews Bay Center; the people there have such great stories and are such an inspiration to us all.

Halloween is coming up this week, but that also means November sweeps begins. The entire news team is mentally preparing for a tough month, but that doesn’t mean we don’t bring you our best throughout the year. We just bring it up a notch during sweeps, that’s all. Be prepared for some great stories. Hopefully we can repeat our successes from May and July. But we can only make that happen if YOU help us. Thanks to all of you loyal viewers, because you’re what make us succeed.

Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, clocks should be switched back to standard time on the night of November 3. We had a LOT of confused people call the station this weekend, wanting to know when they were supposed to “fall back.” Now you know.

One final note: I’ve never carved a pumpkin. Jessica, my good friend who helps make the commercials to promote our newscasts, is going to remedy that tonight during Dancing with the Stars. I can’t wait! And my costume for this year: a golden anniversary Minnie Mouse, in honor of Disney World’s 50th. Happy Halloween!!!

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Posted on Oct 29, 2007 - 10:08 AM by Tuquyen Mach

Running a marathon

This is a picture from Tuquen Mach' News13 Blog

So if you haven’t figured it out by now, the life of a reporter is usually far from glamorous.

If you think it is, let me help dispel the myth. Let’s take trial coverage for instance. I’m covering the boot camp trial for the station, and this one is interesting at least since it’s a high profile one.

But, let me remind you, for the three or four minutes you see me on TV at 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm, I’ve been in the courtroom since 8:30 a.m. That means I had to get to the office at about 7:30 a.m., and for me that means getting up around 5:00 a.m. to eat breakfast, catch up on news, and get ready for work.

So you see me doing a live report at 6:00 pm, so I’m done when the show is over and court is done, right? No, then I return to the station and make sure the video from my report is posted to the website and my story article is updated.

Then I write and edit a package or taped report for the 10:00 pm newscast. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, court ran past 6:00 pm. That meant a late night for me trying to wade through all the day’s testimony and trying to decide what to highlight for viewers who just want a recap of what happened. The past three nights, I left the station after 10:00 pm.

Luckily with trials, there’s always a required lunch break. I don’t usually eat dinner until after I finish my work, so it might be 10:30 pm when I get home and finally grab a bite to eat.

It makes for an exhausting few days. I’m comparing this to a marathon, because it’s like running a marathon for work. I had to anchor and produce last Saturday, but luckily I had Sunday off to compensate for the loss of my Monday-Tuesday “weekend” due to the trial.

I got lucky with closing arguments. The judge decided after running past 7:00 pm Wednesday to finish testimony, everyone deserved a good night’s rest. Court didn’t start until 10:00 a.m. today. The extra two hours of sleep did wonders for me.

Hope you’ll all stay tuned as the jury gets the case on Friday. I’ll be there every step of the way.

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Posted on Oct 11, 2007 - 01:35 PM by Tuquyen Mach

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About Me

I was born and raised in the hills of northeast Georgia, in a little town called Gainesville near the sparkling waters of Lake Lanier. My parents are Vietnamese immigrants who came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. The sacrifices they've made for me to have a better life have made them my inspiration. I feel extremely honored that you've chosen to put your trust in me. I'm happy to be here in Panama City, and I look forward to getting to know you.

Giving Thanks

Busy, busy

Running a marathon

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