Thanks to viewers like you...

So last night I joined the Sabra Riders at PBA to answer phones.  What a cool experience.  

You know when you're watching something on Public Broadcasting (not Sesame Street) and they take a few breaks and some lady talks and tells you about the cool program you are watching and to call now and donate $700 and you'll get neat stuff like a DVD of the program you are watching and an umbrella?  Well, I was one of those people in the background on the phone talking to viewers like you.  

And let me tell you, some of you viewers are freaks.  I spoke to one guy (the odds that he got me on the phone were slim, but I believe it was fate) who just wanted to talk.  I believe he was a lonely guy with not a lot of friends.  Why do I think he doesn't have a lot of friends?  He kept telling me how much he loves Yanni.  And we weren't showing a Yanni program.  But he was watching.  And I let him talk to me for about two minutes before I explained to him that I needed to clear the line so we could raise some money.

I have to tell you, it was a lot of fun.  The atmosphere in the studio is high energy.  You can talk and ring bells and have a grand old time.  Plus you'd be surprised at the characters you get to talk to.  All the callers are in great moods, which you wouldn't think since they're giving you a lot of money (not one of my callers pledged less than $300), but since it's for PBA everyone is happy.  My Dad was there with me (he is a Sabra rider) and I kept a tally of how much money he raised verses me.  I beat him by about $1100.  It's luck of the draw since the phone system is randomized.  Sometimes I felt everyone else was on the phone and mine wasn't ringing, but it all worked out.  My Dad and I combined collected over $3k, which in like two hours is pretty hot.  I don't know how much money was raised in total that night, but I'm dying to find out.  I'll update you when/if we get that number.

So the warm and fuzzy feeling you get and the fun (and the free pizza) are definitely reasons enough to do this, but the greatest thing, in my opinion, is all the face time you get on TV.  I swear I had at least four really good close ups.  Jamie and my Mom were both watching and both said they saw me a bunch.  I got to see the end of the replay when I got home and saw myself twice (and my Dad a few times too).  Seriously, so cool.  

I love my time volunteering at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, but this was a totally different experience.  I've already emailed the volunteer manager and requested a list of all the upcoming opportunities so I can become a PBA regular.  So, so cool.

I snuck into the studio before we started and took this self portrait.  It's not very good, but you can see the PBA logo in the background so you know it's legit.