March & Madness

I felt like starting this blog with a little bit of Rockapella's "Where in the World is…." But I decided against it as to not date myself. So the past few months have left me barely enough time to sleep, let alone blog. I have spent countless hours on planes, trains, and automobiles, going from one end of the country to the other in pursuit of my dream. It's funny, because even I am not quite sure what that dream entails but I do know that I love to entertain people. I love to make them laugh, to make them feel wanted, and make them feel like a part of my life. Because when you start to spend as much time on the road as I have, complete strangers don't seem so strange anymore.

To give you a quick wrap of how things have gone down during my blogging hiatus, I will start by saying that my stint with the March Madness show for ABC/ESPN was a huge success. I got to travel all across the country and meet some of the greatest coaches in the sport today. In fact, for those that thought I was a curse, I'll have you know I visited every single school that made it to the final four. Who's your daddy, now??...

I also made the trip out to Arizona for the Super Bowl, attending some amazing parties. But my main purpose for being in AZ was to help my friend Christian, AKA "Spot" from the Covino and Rich Show on his quest. For those of you who don't have Sirius satellite radio you are missing out on either one of the funniest bits in radio… or most pathetic excuses for a dating life, depending how you look at it. Spot is 27, lives at home with his mom, is an (under)producer at Maxim radio, and oh yeah… hasn't had the company of a woman in… well, we aren't quite sure. Not to say Spot isn't a catch, because he is probably one of the most honest, genuine, selfless people I know… but he definitely lacks that boldness to go out and get the girl. So in an attempt to motivate Spot to go out and find the woman of his dreams… Covino and Rich challenged Spot to the "Million Hand March." I won't go into the specifics of what that entails, but you can learn more about it here. Oh yeah, and if Spot failed this mission… he agreed to have his head shaved like George Costanza from Seinfeld.

But in a land filled with professional athletes, celebrities, and some of the hottest women on the planet, did a guy like Spot have a chance in hell?... While in AZ, me and the kids attended some of the coolest parties, namely both the Maxim and EA parties. The EA Madden party was a blast, pitting some of the most talented athletes in the NFL against a few average Joe's such as myself… and seeing who had the skills to be crowned the Champion of EA's Madden game. In the end, Willis McGahee took home the prize, while the rest of the room took home a hangover. But it was well worth it.

The following night was the Maxim party, which is without a doubt one of the biggest parties each year at the Super Bowl. Covino and Rich broadcasted from the red carpet, while I scoped out the scene inside for Spot. The situation looked pretty bleak, but by the end of the night Spot seemed to be having some success. Did Spot actually get his groove back.. if he ever had any that is??? Or did he end up looking like one of the three stooges???...

Luckily for you, Covino and Rich brought along their Director Sami J to videotape all the shenanigans as they went down. So without further ado.. here is part one of Maxim Radio & Rapido Production's "On the Level 2."

Watch On the Level 2 Part I

Watch on the Level 2 Part II

My stint in AZ was short lived however, as I wast called away to the West coast for my ABC taping. Somewhere between the late night partying, flying on airplanes with screaming children, and trying to shoot two campuses worth of footage in under 9 hours, I ended up coming down with viral meningitis.

If you look up the definition of viral meningitis, I am pretty sure it will say:

Viral meningitis- n. absolute misery.

Thousands of miles away from my family and friends, I spent Super Bowl Sunday at the Marina Del Ray hospital. In between the score updates via text, as there was no television in the ER, I managed to get a gazillion scans and 2 spinal taps. All I can say is thank God for morphine: It may have made me hallucinate, but it definitely eased the excruciating pain in my back and neck. So while I lay alone in a hospital bed, the rest of the country was watching in awe as an underdog named Eli Manning showed the world they had underestimated him and his teammates. And that is how I missed arguably one of the greatest Super Bowl upsets in my generation's history.

Just because you're sick doesn't mean the rest of the world stops for you to recover. Three days later, and against the advice of pretty much every rational person I know, I continued my college tour for ABC. I spent the next two days in the 7 mile stretch between two of the NCAA's greatest basketball teams: Duke and North Carolina. It figures I would be privileged enough to finally make this a stop on my college tours, and I was so doped on pain killers I barely remember being there. So after being on the road for close to two weeks, my producers made the decision to send me home, and I headed back to Tampa to recover.

For a good ten days, I had multiple personalities it seemed, depending on the pain and how well my body was reacting to the medications and drugs. Unfortunately, viral meningitis is just one of those things your body has to deal with on its own. Fortunately, there are other meds to help you cope with it until it does.

The day I left for Tennessee, I was actually starting to feel like Jenn again. Don't get me wrong, I still had the occasional aches and pains, but at least I didn't feel like my body was falling apart anymore. The mic packs they put on my lower back were absolutely miserable, but I somehow managed. I spent a good portion of my two days at Rocky Top, hanging with the team, Bruce Pearl, and as always my kick ass crew. The guys really took care of me, and made sure that coming back to work wasn't ridiculously stressful. It certainly didn't hurt that Tennessee beat Arkansas that night either.

With the last of my college stops wrapped up, I was free to go about my merry way. Since then, I have made several trips back and forth between NYC and LA taking various meetings, and considering different projects. I'm still mapping out my future, but rest assured that I'm hanging in there through the ups and downs. My personal life has seen its share of turmoil, but that happens any time you have to make choices about where you're heading in life. That is why I am so thankful for my family and friends who have continued to support me through it all. The transition from college to the real world is never an easy one, but when it's put under extraordinary circumstances the fear of failure will get to anyone.

I've made sure to take time for myself, to gather my thoughts. I spent some time recently at Grove Isle in Miami, which is about as secluded as it gets without leaving the main land. I caught up with old friends, met some new ones, and really just took time to regroup after the whirlwind I've experienced the past few months. So, for those of you that have stuck it out, and wonder where I had gone… rest assured.. I'm back and ready for duty.

Hopefully by now you have all gotten to see the awesome special E! put together for the Top 20 women of the Internet. And thank you all for making me a part of it. If you didn't catch it yet, make sure you check your local listings or my Youtube channel. Believe me, it's worth the watch.

Thanks for stopping by. And you'll be seeing more of me… real soon.

Muchos Besos…

Jenn