(click the picture above for the high definition video - but also click YouTube for me!)
YouTube link added 01.31.09
 
4:15 PM, Wednesday, September 20th, 2006:
 
~* ~ ZAPPOW! ~* ~ GLEEFUL!!! ~* ~ ZAPPOW! ~* ~
 
I don't think I'll be able to comprehend the meeting I just had unless I write this all out. I am completely shellshocked. The Journey Gods took what we all knew was gonna be a great day, and decided to spice it up a little and as I said before, writing it out is the only way I'm gonna be able to comprehend it. As always, from the top:
 
So I get the wake-up call at 6 like I asked and just picked up the phone and hung it up. 30 seconds later another ring, this time sounds different, and I answer it... THAT was my wake-up call. Ends up I hung up on a producer from CBS. Brilliant Adam. I stumble into the bathroom only to get slammed in the face with water (I swear the water pressure in New York is firehose pressure) an dI, am, AWAKE.
 
I get to CBS they walk me right into the green room and I recognize Eric (the winner) from the net. My contact and I go over the script and I asked if there was any way I could meet the person responsible for bringing me on and he let me know that probably wasn't happening. He's a pretty high up executive (Vice-President of CBS) and he usually doesn't meet with guests. Oh well, I asked if he could make sure to pass along my thanks and he said he would.
 
Looking over the script I started thinking of ways I could change it to surprise some people. Just the thought of it made my heart jump. 3 million people watching my live national television debut and I'm gonna try and ad-lib? Yes actually I am. For that exact reason.
 
Everyone who went over stuff with me commented on my "Radio voice" and once they knew I had done that they were all like:  "Oh, you're a pro..." and stopped helping me. LOL. I played along but part of me was like:  "Woah, woah, woah - can we run through that?" But again, I'm reading a teleprompter, after 4tvs this is EASSSSSY.
 
 
I brought the camera into the studio and put it on the floor for a really cool angle of everything...and I proceeded to leisurely stroll through the whole thing. I had my hands in my pockets and felt like I had done it a million times. I was almost bored with it. As I type this can't believe how fucking calm I was. It was so natural, so normal as I say in the title, it was a "Day at the Office..." Watching the feed afterwards it really came off like I worked there. Eric did a great job, and Julie thanked me at the end of the bit.
 
 

Of course this is where most of you turned off the TV. However, a really cool thing happened after Eric's song... the hosts ran over and talked to both of us and were genuinely happy and excited to talk. Easily 10 minutes (a lifetime during TV) we just leisurely talked about everything, while the show was wrapping up. The stage manager noticed everyone over there and yelled:  "Let's just close it here..." and they did the whole final bit with us and it was just awesome.

 

Then as I'm leaving the studio, guess who is walking up the steps to meet me: Steve Friedman. The Vice-President of CBS who oversees The Early Show and CBS Morning News and who singlehandedly brought me out to the show because he loved my act. Couldn't believe it. He was so cordial and so nice - we talked for a good while after the show, maybe 20 minutes? Just awesome. Everyone made both Eric and I feel so incredibly welcome.

 
Eric and I went back into the green room to watch the Central Time Zone feed and I was able to at least record it for this entry's video. I have it tivo'd at home, but obviously won't be back until mid-october to grab it. Eric and his wife invited me to lunch which was cool and we talked about what we were planning to do with everything from this point on.
 
Eric's workin on a video, and hell with his fanbase on the internet - he's home free. I helped him with some ideas for his video and I'm gonna send him a program that'll help him out. It was really nice to enjoy the feeling I was having with someone I knew was feeling the exact same thing. Oh and his wife snapped a nice shot of us in Central Park with my camera...
 
 
And I wasn't just bullshitting on-the-air when I said he was a great guy - very genuine. It's unfortunate however that he wears his hat backwards, but what can you do. :-) Here's hopin' we both take this moment and blow-up.
 
So I called Charlotte once I knew it had aired and she had a brilliant idea - let's submit a "kids" entry for the next segment. Oh, in case you missed it, the announced they were doing a kids version of living room live for kids under 18 and what better way to explot that than...to have a bunch of 8 year olds doing "Adam & The Egos". LOL. The thought of it is just the funniest thing ever. Sit with that for a second...
 
...now completely erase that idea from your mind and prepare for an even better one from Charlotte: me hosting the next living room live segment. Not sure if you noticed, but noone on the early show really "does" living room live. It's a bit passed around to everyone and they randomly introduce winners or contestants. Assuming they're looking for a way to help me - what a great tie in! Having a winner in the original contest hosting the second one. I came off extremely professional with the one moment I had - and once you add in all the "Egos" characters and being able to play off them live on TV... there's something there. Charlotte knocked it out of the park. She is IN her element right now. I was picking up a dub of the segment at the CBS offices later on in the day so I called my contact to see if we could talk and she could.
 
Gulp.
 
So I'm in her office, just talking about everything. Someone actually walked by and asked what was goin' on and she said:  "Oh we're just trying to figure out what to do with Adam's career" which I thought was pretty cool, so I figured I'd just throw it out there. She sat for a second, said "hmmm" and grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the vice-president's email and hers, and said "pitch it to us".
 
Gulp, again.
 
Here we go. Here, we, go. This is literally too much to comprehend. I'm watching it happen as a spectator I swear to you. It's why I was so comfortable when I was on the air - I am in this mode where almost nothing phases me because it feels so pre-determined. Of course I get called to introduce the winner even though I lost, of course the producer wants me to pitch my idea to her and the vice-president, and of course they will run with it and I will be back here in November hosting the segment with the most creativity a morning show has ever seen. Of course. How could any of us ever have thought differently?
 
And of course the most difficult woman in the world just called me to have coffee. The fact that that just happened during me writing this entry all but assures we will soon be married with children. Poor girl, doesn't she realize the power of The Journey Gods!?!?
 
LOL.
 
Adam