Aurora's Blog

My heart is breaking even writing about it.

So, after rehearsal, rewrite happened (as per usual). Also, free margaritas in the alleyway happened (not usual).

There were no changes in my rolls, so I didn’t really have to do anything during rewrite.

Before you knew it, the show started.

I thought I was gonna be a wreck from moment one, but I was surprisingly calm(ish).

But once act 4 started, when Larry was doing his speech about the map being upside down, I cried – totally sobbed standing up (leaning over) in my bay.

Then, at the end of act 4, I saw the contributors run onstage… And then the staff ran on. I didn’t think I was gonna make it down. But I ran down to the studio anyway. I was a little late, of course. But I ran onstage too. It was magical to get to go town there.

I took a little video of the audience and everyone hugging around me. (Even though they cut the take, the cameras rolled to catch us all hugging and I feel silly taping stuff instead of hugging people… But other people were doing it too.)

I just wanted to take in and remember that moment.

Then I put down my phone and looked around with just my eyes, seeing this whole audience there for us for the last time as Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds (“’cause every little thing is gonna be all right”) played in the background. I wanted to live in that moment forever.

I started crying (of course) and I went around hugging people on set (and then backstage once we were all shooed off the set).

Then I went upstairs ’cause I actually had to do some work. And then I came back downstairs to grab my guests who’d come to the taping. (Naturally, they were people I met through twitter – who else would they be?)

I had exports going as I showed them around the building. They left. We all continued to do a little hugging. And people were taking things home from their offices.

And then we all met up at the final party – where there was mainly laughter and only slight bits of crying.

When The Nightly Show came on the televisions, people cheered so loudly.

It was a beautiful night – people walking around giving gorgeous monologues about what it was like to work together.

I left when the party started to seem like it was really dying down. I took one last look around as I walked out the door. And of course I cried a little on the way home – looking around at New York as I passed through it – thinking of all my memories of moving to the city, and the show, and all that jazz.

And I had one more day of work, which I will talk about tomorrow.

While we’re talking about my talks with our famous senior staff on my last day of work…

Earlier in the day, when not a ton was going on, Larry had left his door wide open and sat at the big table in there, facing the door, ready to talk to people in and out (without us having to go through his assistant, as we would on a normal day – not ’cause he’s untouchable at all, but because he’s busy).

Anyway…

When it was my turn (I was walking to my office, but he was free, and called me in there as I passed by), I went in there and said I wasn’t sure if he’d gotten my card from Nicole (his assistant) yet. He hadn’t. But either way, I just wanted to reiterate that it was truly the best job I’ve ever worked.

I’d met Larry a few times before this – at the Christmas party, on ’70s day, and he came into my bay sometimes to watch down cuts. So, he knew my name and everything. But we weren’t like super pals – not non-pals or anything, I just hadn’t spent a ton of time with him.

When I told him thanks for everything, he thanked me for everything!

He told me that it was wonderful having me around the building, and that he loved the bright & energetic spirit I brought to the building.

Then he laughed as he reminisced how into ’70s day I was. (What can I say? I love costumes!)

So we had a nice little laugh, a nice moment, and someone I was always slightly intimidated by (not because he’s intimidating in the least – in fact, he’s quite nice, but you know, he is the host/EP/and all that jazz)… anyway, someone I was kind of intimidated by gave me beautiful compliments.

Also, I asked if he was gonna go back to LA. And he said no – that he’d split his time there still, but that New York wasn’t gonna kick a brother out so easily, so fast. And I felt so inspired. I was all, “Yeah! I feel the same!”

Then we talked about LA a little. And then, alas, it was time to do other stuff…

Now, getting back to the rest of the day… this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.

Jon was such a delight – walking around, and giving hugs, remembering people’s names. Just so lovely.

So, we’re in a late rehearsal. And I know the day is gonna be busy.

I thought maybe I’d try to hand him his card after the full staff picture. But figuring I didn’t have any time to lose, as he might get whisked away by a million other people then, I left rehearsal between acts 1 and 2, sprinted upstairs, grabbed my card and came back down.

At that point, I could still get in the back/side stage area that we see whenever we go in the studio, but with cameras and everything now in place for act 2, I couldn’t really go to the seating area – which is actually fantastic, because now I’ve just accidentally trapped myself side-stage with Jon Stewart.

He’s talking to the contributors who are about to go out. Once they all leave, he’s standing there alone. And they’re just showing a clip package in the studio, so I’m not interrupting much to talk to him.

I walk up to him and tell him I’ve written cards for everyone on staff, and here’s his.

He makes this fantastic big facial expression. “I get a card?!” he says enthusiastically. “I didn’t do anything though,” he adds.

“Well, you helped make the show possible!” I tell him.

Then he tells me he’ll humbly accept the card.

And this is the best part!

I tell him, “I say this in the card, but I also want to tell you, I’ve said to many people now, ‘Jon Stewart changed my life,’ and I’m so happy I finally get to say those words to you. So many of my dreams came true here, because of this show, and in large part because of you. You have changed my whole life.”

He told me that was very sweet. “Thank you, Aurora. But no. You changed your own life. You earned your spot here.”

He then went on and told me, “Every person in this building is some of the best at what they do, and that includes you. Your tenacity. Your creativity. Your talent. Your personality. You worked exceptionally hard to get here. You earned your spot here. You got yourself here. It was you. It wasn’t me.”

And I almost cried because it was the most beautiful mini-speech I’ve ever heard.

Then I asked for a picture and we looked around. Everyone was a little busy, so he suggested we selfie it. He thankfully took  beautiful angle so my face didn’t look humongous – because he seems to be one of the sweetest people on the planet.

One of the absolute top days of my life. Best mini-speech ever. Coolest moment. *Contented Sigh*

My head is exploding. It happened on Thursday, and even still, I still don’t know what to say.

Jon Stewart is my new best friend. (That sentence isn’t really true, but the rest of this post is.)

So, I go down to rehearsal. (After all, that is where we left off yesterday).

Jon is supposed to get there at 5:15. I consider bringing his thank you card down to rehearsal. “You never know. He might be way super early.” Then I was doing some running around the building for various stuff, and trying to get something finished before I ran down. So, I just thought, “Forget the card! Get down there! You don’t want to miss a second of rehearsal! And he won’t be here yet.”

In the script, it says that Jon will come out and the audience will go wild.

This is hilarious to me, because we’re just stating that they are going to go wild – ’cause we good and well know they are. (It’s Jon ‘America’s-sweetheart’ Stewart.)

In the rehearsal, our head writer, Michael, is playing Jon.

I almost never have my phone camera going when rehearsal’s happening because I don’t need to. Sometimes cool, interesting, funny (and of course, never-makes-it-to-air) stuff happens. But what am I gonna do with all that video? I want to just sit and enjoy it, so I do…

Except today.

I honestly do not think Jon Stewart is coming. (No one does.) But one of the crew members informed our EP before rehearsal that they’d set up the dropbox above Larry to have tampons in it and some other old stuff, and they wondered if he wanted them to drop the box for the fun of it.

“Sure, after Michael comes out as Jon, go ahead and drop it. Why not?” he replies.

So, I grab my phone to try to get a fun last day video of Larry being kinda pranked.

And sure enough… Michael comes out as John… but then(!), he gets this look in his eye as it catches something (or someone?) behind a wall. And Jon Stewart himself surprises all of us!

WHAT?!

And of course(!) we go insane (just like it says in the script).

He came in, said hey to Larry, and the first thing he said when he addressed us as a group was, “I hope you guys know, you did a hell of a f*cking show.”

Anyway, he did the bit with Larry and then he gave us a beautiful speech about how wonderful we all were. (Thankfully, I have the whole thing on video! I’m so glad I happened to be recording when he came out!)

And then… This is where I’ll pick up next time.

The perfect day.

The day started with a gorgeous staff meeting. Our EP gave us a beautiful speech about how we shouldn’t consider ourselves failures at all… It was kind of along the lines of what aired. He basically felt the same way about Jon Stewart – that cancellation is not failure.

I totally teared up. (But who didn’t?!)

Then people even started making jokes about how when we get to the wrap party, we should try not to cry the whole time… You know, “change it up a little” is what people said… Try to get some laughter in there too. (Which, spoiler alert: we did.)

I didn’t have that much work to do on the final day. (I mean, I did work Friday. So, I suppose I could’ve tried to get that work done early. But that’s not important here… I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to have one last day of talking to people around the building and taking all my last pictures and any last video tours to try to remember the place.

I even finally rode one of those hoverboards Rory and Ricky are always riding. It’s a little harder than I thought, but I didn’t fall! (Yay!)

Usually, the set is covered during the day. But on this day, it was uncovered… I don’t actually know why, but part of me guesses it was perhaps a nice little kind bonus since the crew maybe figured we’d all want our final pictures on the set. Who knows?

Aaaaanyway, people were milling about the studio during lunch. We soooo don’t usually just walk around set. (They work hard to keep it clean and working and all that jazz.) But today was a bit of a fun free-for-all.

After all the hoverboard riding, hugging, and picture taking, I went upstairs and actually kind of did my job for a little bit. I did the Ellen roll, and the Rick and Mike bumpers (in case you were wondering).

Then, I did a little actual more work. (See, it’s not like I didn’t do aaaany work. I did some stuff so I wouldn’t have to do it Friday.)

And then, alas, it was time for rehearsal.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

[Note: This is a post that was meant for Wednesday… but I was busy doing my job haha. Sorry!]

It’s all so surreal.

I’ve been taking stuff home every night. My office is slowly but surely getting more and more empty – which is weird.

My office feels more like my home than my apartment.

People don’t know what to do with themselves when they walk in and my huge Price is Right poster is not up.

…And I don’t know what to do with myself either!

It’s sad. It’s really sad. But doing it a little at a time is somehow, I think, making it less sad for me… (Of course, I don’t know how sad it would be otherwise. But the point is, this feels good… Well, as good as I can reasonably feel in this week.)

I passed out my thank you cards today. And there was a big sense of finality in that. I thought Wednesday would be better than Thursday because I had no idea if the very last day would be insane or chill or what. Also, it takes a long time to pass out thank you cards. So in case I couldn’t make it to the whole staff and crew in one day, I figured I should do it on Wednesday.

I thought I was just going to be dropping people’s cards at their desks. But no. Oftentimes we’d stop and chat and reminisce. It was lovely… and again, kind of surreal.

It also was hard to catch everybody (though I had a pretty good idea of when each department had the most downtime) and still get my own work done and all that jazz. (Although thankfully, my job is one of the jobs that got easier this week. Some got much harder. Some got easier. Mine was one of those.)

We also all hung out as a staff/crew together even more often than normal this week. Everyone keeps staying in the building basically until it closes. A bunch of us had the most fun at this 4th floor party last night where the EP kindly opened his office to anyone who wanted to join and talked all about his 20 months on the show.

Tonight was the one night people finally went home to rest (for the most part). We have a huge show and party tomorrow – plus, so many people have to pack! We were supposed to have a two week hiatus coming up. (Little did we know that hiatus was gonna be indefinite.) But a bunch of people (including me) had made plans and had plane tickets and all that jazz. People have to pack sometime!

I have moved stuff by a day and will pack Friday. And tonight, I stayed to get a little extra work done. (‘Cause tomorrow, I just wanna hang out. Let’s get real. ;))

Almost as soon as the news broke, I started getting messages from people.

Someone in New York merely sent me a heart and I asked why I got a heart, asking if he saw me outside crying – haha! But alas, no. He’d read in the trades somewhere that the show was no more.

I had only just found out myself minutes before. I hadn’t even had a chance to check twitter yet before I started getting messages! (So, it must’ve been pretty fast.)

It’s nice to be able to tell I really was working on a show people were at least somewhat paying attention to – that I was indeed part of a national conversation.

I’ve had jobs start and end many times, but have never really experienced this news getting around thing like this.

(I mean, there was some news with the Shahs of Sunset picket line and pushback and all of that. But why are we even talking about some reality show here? Let’s not. Moving on…)

Anyway, everyone was messaging me – from people I haven’t talked to in a long time, to close friends.

[Edited to add: It almost became as though I didn’t think I had to tell anyone, because so many people were texting/tweeting/etc. I assumed news had gotten around. So, when I’d make a comment to a friend about being unemployed, or having a rough week, and they’d be surprised, I’d think, “Oh right. I can’t expect all of my friends to hear about my life just from the news!” …People were literally still calling me on Friday after the final taping saying, “I just heard!” It was really quite sweet, and it’s been interesting, and really quite lovely, to get messages all week.]

Anyway…

Another thing that’s been super nice is that for the most part, I’ve never interacted with any fans of other shows I worked on. But on this one, I started seeing so many people on twitter truly incredibly bummed that we were leaving. And that totally warmed my heart.

Of course there were some haters. (And I engaged sometimes, even though I know that’s not smart…) But overall, there was all this love and affection. And there were so many kind comments – over and over people saying they felt they had a voice, or thanking us for bringing up important conversations. There were people who said they laughed and learned – laughed and learned! That is *literally* what I said I wanted to do, when I was talking about the great, wonderful, perfect television I wanted to make.

I am the luckiest for having gotten to work here.

Another thing that makes me feel so proud to work where I do…i

There was an incredibly filibuster done by Chris Murphy the other night. I stayed up ’til 2am, and watched until he finished.

I looove politics. I love watching politics happen. I love connecting with people on twitter while it’s happening. I loved doing it with the amazing Wendy Davis filibuster. I loved doing it when they were discussing #SB1 in Hawaii. Politics is my jam.

And it used to be that I’d be watching stuff in the background at work as I was doing something mindless. Or, maybe I’d be doing it at home, if it wasn’t during my working hours…

But at my job now, when the filibuster was over, I knew that I’d be waking up to edit parts of it, to continue the conversation.

We are continuing conversations! We are pushing important issues in the world.

I mean, I’m not implying I’m anywhere neeeeeearly as important as Chris Murphy, or the people in our legislative bodies doing so much work…

But it is possible that someone will watch our show and call her Senator. When, before this, did I ever work on a show that would make someone want to do that?

I am just proud of the work that we do.

And in a final little story (for now) about how much I just love and adore my job… The other night, we had a going away party for our head writer. I looked behind me as I was walking to apartment, and there was Larry!

We live in the same direction, and we were both walking home at the same time. So, there I was, walking the streets of New York City, just hanging out with Larry Wilmore!

(This is my life now. What?)

When he asked how long it’s been now that I’ve been there, I said I’d been there since September and it still felt like a dream. It still did not really feel like it was my real life. I said I didn’t know when it would. And he said he hopes it always feels that way – and it does for him too. That it’s still a dream for him having is own show that he gets to go to everyday.

I thought that was so cool.

We talked about work and both of us going to Los Angeles all the time. 😛 And then alas, we made it to my place. He continued on his way, and I went home.

Oh, and the party was amazing too. Goodness, I love the people I work with. I love my job. I am so lucky.

I am well aware that the answer is yes. That, in fact, I mention it all the time. I love my job.

I really, really, really, really, really, really love it.

(Really. Haha.)

So, I thought I’d recap a few wonderful things that have happened since becoming an editor.

Exactly one month after officially becoming an editor in the credits (so, April 14th), Larry watched stuff in my office for the first time.

It was kind of nerve-wracking. And it was also silly because I’ve talked to him numerous times at this point. And my name is on the door. And yet, when he said, “Aurora” – telling me what cuts I should make and such – I thought, “Oh my goodness gracious! Larry knows my name.”

So, that was fun.

It’s also slightly more common now that he, or the executive producer, will come check something out in my bay. It’s cool. I’m a real grown-up editor, y’all!

For instance, the other day, a bunch of stuff came in during re-write. We built a whole montage – in rewrite! (And there were a bunch of other changes as well.) My hands were practically on fire with all the changes.

(Hyperbole, obviously, there… But still. A bunch of changes, is the point.)

And Larry and our EP came in to watch with the producer who was working with me. And they laughed. The producer told them other options they could do. But Larry was like, “No, this is funny. This is good.” And we sent it in. I was so proud of us!

We’re really doing it! Working under pressure, working quickly, and putting out good stuff. I’m so happy to be on this team!

One other nice thing that happened was that on April 20th, we built a Hillary montage. And in rehearsal, after Larry saw it, he laughed and said, “Nice job, team.”

I love when people laugh at what we make. I love how much everyone on the staff is so team-focused and thankful for everything. This is truly a magical place to work, and I am so super lucky to be here.

With March Madness this year, there was a bracket we aired with various dares for Larry, based on which team won.

The dare he ended up doing was hosting the entire show as his alter ego, Soul Daddy.

I got an email as I was leaving work the night before, saying the whole staff was invited to dress up, if we wanted to. The email came kind of late. But it’s New York!

I quickly looked for a costume place that was still open and found one in lower Manhattan, and into an uber I hopped!

I went down and found this ’70s dress (pictured). I also picked up an afro (but it did noooot look good once I put it on).

On the plastic covering of the bag the dress came in, was a picture with these tall white leather boots. I asked if they had anything like that, and they said no.

They didn’t know of any costume stores remotely close by that were still open (and neither did the internet), but they did point me to a sex shop(!) down the street that they thought would have boots… and indeed they did.

My calves are kind of big (in case you didn’t notice) and boots often rarely fit me. (Often rarely? Do those antonyms make sense together? I probably could’ve just said rarely, huh?… Aaaaanyway…)

The point is, I’m not usually great at wearing boots. And these were no different. You can kind of see these are reeeeeally hugging my legs.

But I was into it. I walked around the office all day without falling (even if I did have some fat spilling out of the top – oof!).

And as if it wasn’t enough for me to know my legs were a lil’ too fat by the tightness of my boots… I still had the Free Ben & Jerry’s that they brought by the office (#TotallyFatForLifeApparently #ButSeriouslyILoveThatVeganIceCream).

While we’re talking about food, I’ll also mention here that for lunch, they brought in food from my favorite vegan place! (It was preeetty much a magical day.)

After the show, to celebrate the 200th episode (which it was – that happened to coincide with ’70s days), we had all the cupcakes we could handle! And I had my first sip of champagne ever!

Larry gave this wonderful speech about how much he appreciated all of us and wanted to do this show over and over for as long as he could.

I. love. my. job.

Ah, goodness. It’s so funny to read back and think about how I didn’t fit in at The Nightly Show. (What? I mean, it’s crazy now.)

Basically, what happened was… I’m pretty friendly with my buddy, one of the security guards.

And one night, when things were winding down at the office, we ended up watching my Price is Right episode at his podium.

Then, the Co-EP came down and saw us watching it. And she looooved that I was on The Price is Right. (And I love her. :-))

And wouldn’t you know it? The next morning, in the production meeting, when the EP asked if anyone had anything else, she said she had a 5-minute inspirational video. Her assistant pulled it up on TV, and we all watched.

And I felt like the little belle of the ball!

In fact, before writing this post, I watched the video of everyone watching it (haha)!. And I really loved it. It was so cute. People got soooooo excited over something that was basically 3 years – which I thought was so cute and funny.

And for the rest of the day, eeeeeveryone was talking to me about it. So adorable.

I just really, really love work.

And in the future, for me, anytime something looks bleak, or whatever… I want to remember the difference between when I was running around to different Avids, trying to find anywhere I could work where I’d mildly fit in to now – when I’m an editor and getting along with everyone splendidly.

My job is beautiful.

As I was getting toward getting my promotion, my boss was really sweet. (She’s always sweet, is she not?)

On the Wednesday before I became an editor, I kept waking up in the middle of the night almost every hour and [ew], I puked a bunch – a whole bunch.

I don’t know if it was the vegan sandwich I’d eaten that night (from a place we’re all kind of starting to question :-0), or me not handling stress well anymore, or what it was. But I was siiiiick.

And there was a field shoot that day.

It was super hard to get out of bed, but I kept trying. And eventually, I drug myself into work.

It was a dark working week, which meant we were all working, but we didn’t have shows. Depending on your department and what you do, you were either catching up, looking forward, or both.

I was supposed to sync and group a field piece that was coming in and needed to be prepped that day.

And I came in. I was very sick at my desk, and definitely made a run to the bathroom to puke for a while.

My boss – my sweet, lovely, understanding boss – felt so bad for me.

Even still, she said I was basically the most skilled one there when it came to assistant skills, and that as much as she hated to ask me, since I was already there, if I could just prep it, then I could leave.

And I happily did.

And she commented, “If there was ever a doubt in anyone’s mine that you deserve this promotion, I think your attitude today shows it.”

I obviously didn’t plan to get sick, but if I was going to, that was some pretty great timing.

I also know that one little thing here and there doesn’t make or break you. I made little mistakes here and there that didn’t get me fired. Just as I’ve done a few great things that didn’t necessarily get me promoted. I know it’s more about body of work and everything together.

But I will say, one other little tiny story that I really enjoyed was there was a day where we had to edit something in a way that would take off some audience laughter that was married to it. (I mean, it’s not often that we ever take off laughter. But for this specifically, we needed to.) And using the EQ tool, I was able to do it.

(I’m not sure if I mentioned that on this blog before or not…?)

But at the time, my boss was super happy and proud. And I thought, “Heck yeah Music Production & Engineering major coming in handy when I least expected it!”

Picking up from yesterday –

In the midst of this, it started to look as though things were gonna change in the future-ish (with some expanding). The idea was the responsibilities would be re-distributed a bit, perhaps. (You know, it was all pretty fluid-ish.) So my incredible boss had a talk with me about what my future could look like, and what I wanted from it.

Since I was acting as sort of half an assistant editor, half a post-coordinator, there was possibly an opportunity to take on more administrative stuff (more of the post coord/sup track – while still probably doing some AE work). Sure, that would’ve been nice. I do like communicating with the network…

And then there was a possible opportunity to move more into the editing track.

Originally when I came in to this job, I’d set up the idea that I didn’t necessarily want to be an editor. I want to be more of a writer/producer/performer in general, in life. So I worry sometimes about getting so far from there that I get a little stuck. Sometimes, as an editor, you’re in your dark bay, in your own world, deep away from a lot of other production stuff.

And I thought that maybe I would want more of a post sup role, if something like that ever became available… And I told my boss all of that so that she’d know where I wanted to go and could help me get there. (If you never speak out loud what you want/need, it makes it way harder to get it.)

But, as I have learned, editing here is soooooo different from any other show I’ve worked on. It’s like an on-set job. I love every single thing about it. And I learn a ton all the time.

And I will always be ridiculously grateful to my boss for her allowing me to change my mind. (I’m still kind of beside myself with the awesomeness of that.)

She thought I’d want to do more of the admin stuff (since I had laid out that idea to her before), but as I’d been editing more and adoring it, she really opened up a world of possibilities to me.

I adore her for that. (She is the best in the universe!)

(And in real life, I think in this situation, editing actually is closer to the path I need to be on than a post coord/post sup role would’ve been… And that’s not even an actual role now… though it could’ve been and/or could be…)

Anyway, as I was leaning toward becoming an editor, my boss talked at (super) length with me about what that would mean for me – in every way. We talked about my career and future. We talked about what would be expected of me (more – there’d be more on my shoulders if I were editing headlines). We talked about all the pros and any cons.

She was so patient and smart and just fantastic.

And I got basically the weekend to think about it.

I’m sure it seems a little crazy from an outsider’s perspective to not consider editing on a fabulous late night show… But there was a lot to think about – which I’ll talk about tomorrow.

So, how did [*sings in the style of Ja’Net DuBois*] moving on up come about for me?

One Friday (which is the slower day, since we have shows M – Th), the editing staff went to lunch together.

(Fridays aren’t always slow enough that we can have lunch together, but this one was.)

One of the editors had pitched a field piece that was gonna be shooting, and she asked if she could go along to watch.

Our boss, in all of her awesomeness, said yes and that she (herself) could take over headlines while that editor was gone.

That’s when I piped in. “Could I maybe fill in for her that day?” (Leaning in, baby! ;))

My boss was up for that. She put it on the calendar(!), and I was stoked.

That day came, and there was a lot to learn as far as what control room needed, how it needed it, and tricks to make things prettier and faster.

The first day went okay. I only got through 8 rolls(!), and there were 16 for rehearsal. (So, another editor had to take the other half). That was embarrassing to me, but my boss said that it was totally along the lines of what she would’ve expected for a first day. And she seemed happy.

After that day, I started volunteering to edit more things – and she let me.

I did little pieces for the Internet, and a bumper for the show. I even got to edit the end of the show (3 times!).

It’s really amazing how when you put stuff out there in the world and work toward doing stuff, often times you will indeed get to do that stuff. (Not always… Of course.)) But in this situation, it worked out lovely.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

Anyway, getting back to kind of the editing trajectory (and I guess kind of the puzzle)… Not too long after I first got there, the department was expanding. (Heck, I was kind of part of the expansion.)

And there looked like there perhaps, maybe, just might be room for another editor (a scrappy young lady from the office over, perhaps?).

Some people joke about how working on a show like this is like getting on the Editing Supreme Court – you just stay ’til you die in this fantastic job.

(Not to say that I’ll stay literally ’til I die… Life is very long. But I do loooove this job and plan on staying for a very long time (assuming they will have me).)

Anyway, considering getting one of these jobs is like getting on the “Editing Supreme Court,” it was a little nerve-wracking thinking the only opening ever might come not long after I’d first started, and that the timing might just be too totally wrong for me. And I’d be an assistant editor for, who knows… the rest of time?

Granted, that would still be a respectable, lovely job (that I did enjoy doing).
But you still gotta dream right? [*dreamy musical theater eyes as she thinks about all she wants in this life*]

Ultimately, thankfully, the timing was not bad. Not bad at all.
It was even kind of perfect. Everything worked out perfectly. [*Even more dreamy, but less intense, musical theater eyes as she thinks about how happy she is*]

Have I mentioned… So happy!
So… let’s talk about that!

Picking up from last time –

In this new role, I finally feel like I’m in the exact place I’m supposed to be. It’s like there’s this puzzle of my life. And my job was one of the puzzle pieces. And I’m moving it all around the puzzle, trying to make it fit.

And the more it won’t fit, the more frustrating it is. Because I’m in New York in the Jon Stewart family! I know this is most definitely supposed to fit (right?!). This piece came in the box labeled “Aurora’s life.” It is 100% supposed to be in the puzzle.

And then finally when I started editing headlines, ploof. It dropped right in. I just love doing it. I love doing it so much.

And it’s crazy to think there was a small moment in time where I actually questioned for a quarter of a second – is this the right puzzle piece?

There was a moment right when my whole “I don’t fit in” thing really was kind of coming to a head, when a job on a sitcom(!) opened up in LA – with my name on it.

In that moment, there was a .001% part of me that thought, “You could go work on that sitcom with your friend, and live in LA where you’re comfortable (ish? …even though I really did, and do, want to live in NY… even if it can be tough-ish).”

Anyway, we all know I wouldn’t have done that. You don’t just leave the Jon Stewart family, like a crazy person, after years of fighting to get in!)

But from where I am now, even remembering that .001% of me… it just feels crazy.

I’ve never been happier that I stuck something through.

I feel like I can convince myself of a lot of things if I kind of lawyer-logic myself hard enough (fighting for whatever side I want). And I could’ve probably convinced myself that maybe this wasn’t the right fit for me and I needed to “cut my losses” (which would’ve been crazy, mind you).

We could talk about why not fitting in could equal needing to “cut losses,” and whether I felt I could make a future there if I wasn’t fitting in, and blah blah blah. I could see arguments being made on either side… But I made a future there indeed. I 100% feel like part of the family. And I’m just really, really, super, grossly happy, is the point.

And it’s just interesting to me how things change. I do understand there are sometimes where you do need to cut your losses. But in this situation, it was good to give it time and see what happens.

(And that is perhaps something I need to learn in life – to have slightly more patience…maybe slightly. Though, I still don’t know the magic line of where you know what’s worth sticking through and what’s not… There’s deeefinitely a scenario in which this job didn’t pan out as well. But since it did, of course now it’s all, “That was worth it!” But not every situation is… Ah, time and what’s worth it. I don’t know the secret to knowing that… But staying here is one of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.).

And I’m just ridiculously happy that I get to see it from this point of view – from the other side – now.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

After those two weeks (once I actually had a place to go home to every night… that was huge for me), things turned around incredibly quickly.

I was on top of, or ahead of things. My boss complimented me for always having stuff done before she asked. She later told me that she had an incredible amount of trust in me, and never worried about the tasks she gave me – knowing they’d be done right and quickly.

She really gave me space to prove my self, and seemed to totally forget those first two weeks – not holding a grudge, or having trust issues or anything.

(This has taught me to perhaps give people a little more belief or benefit of the doubt, as her belief really did everything for me.)

Then, one thing that was a little weird was that even though things started to go great with the most important stuff – being the way I performed my job, and my relationship with my immediate boss – the interpersonal stuff started to get a little wonky…

I’ve been welcomed in with pretty open arms since the day I got there. So, it’s a little silly that I ever felt in any way like I didn’t necessarily totally fit in.

But there was a little dip in time where I just felt like I didn’t fit in super duper well (which I actually talked about in this other silly story).

(I mean, at the time, I understand why… But now that it’s in the past and I have a totally clear head about it, it seems silly – even if it was understandable at the time…)

And then I kind of think when I put myself in that headspace, I started to feel it more… ’cause attitude determines a huge, huge part of life.

Since I was already feeling that way for various little reasons, I started to notice little things that didn’t really even actually matter – such as, “Why isn’t my name on the name tag after all these weeks?” (Um, ’cause people are busy, and we all already know you’re one of the people in that room. It’s really not that big of a deal…)

But you know when little things start to just add and add and all of a sudden some small thing becomes a big thing in your mind. And you think, “where did this come from?!”

My attitude partially may have had to do with everything in my life changing at once. Since so much was happening, and I hadn’t settled in to anything (a routine, a favorite workout studio, an apartment (not even having a bed for a while), and on and on) it was hard to feel like I had a place in the world. I don’t know. Maybe that sounds too lame or excuse-y… Just throwing out ideas here!

I also think I was maybe a bit much to take – running off caffeine and adrenaline and no sleep for maybe 2 months. I was always a little hyper (even for me – whoa). So, I think I was probably a lot to deal with…

So, it is possible people really were distancing themselves, and that me not fitting in was totally in my head. (Or not. Who knows. It’s not all that important right now.)

No real point in over-analyzing it all too much, ’cause things are the loveliest now…

I’ve just never really had that feeling before – like I didn’t really fit in. And it was a weird little feeling (that I’m glad is gone).

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Since I just got my promotion, I thought what a time to reflect on the last five months there!

My first two weeks here had some ups and downs. I don’t want to paint it like a complete mess. I definitely did really great at some things… but really not great on some others.

I was working a lot – even doing paperwork from my hotel room bed whenever I wasn’t there, giving as many spare moments as I could to this place.

I love my job, and wanted to show that in every way.

As has been covered, I was doing a million things – trying to figure out where I was going to stay each night, and where I was going to stay permanently. I felt I was constantly on emails or texts – pricing hotels, looking for apartments, and all that jazz.

My heart was in this job, but there were moments where my head wasn’t.

There was a ton to keep track of (personal life aside – just starting a new position that hadn’t existed here before me… building a job from scratch (during season wrap, no less)).

And some things slipped through the cracks a little…

An example of something not done super awesomely was when I did an export with the wrong settings [*wide-eyed embarrassed face*]. That was the biggest thing (’cause it was a looong export that took hours to re-do).

I remember thinking I was going to get fired that day.

There was a part of me that honestly thought I was going to have to change my name and go live in the mountains somewhere. I was not going to be able to show my face in New York or LA, after announcing I was finally in the Jon Stewart family, just to fail out. *shivers thinking about it*

After my first two weeks here, my boss and I checked in with each other. She was supremely patient and wonderful. (I adore her.) She had a very calm and helpful talk with me.

It would’ve been potentially easy for someone in her position to write me off and think, “too many little mistakes are happening. I’m over this girl,” and cut me loose.

Instead, she talked to me about life and work and expectations. She let me talk about what the first two weeks had been like for me, and she really listened. She talked about what they’d been like for her, and what she needed moving forward. And we got on exactly the same page.

(I will be forever grateful to her for seeing something in me – enough to hire me, and for seeing something in those first weeks to keep me around – which ultimately worked out great for everybody. (Yay!))

(Side note: Not only was she helpful and patient at work. She also let me borrow her air mattress until I got my bed. She’s the very best!)

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

And then I got a call from my friends in from out of town (one from LA and one from Canada), and I hopped in an uber to meet them.

I was supposed to meet them at Big Gay Ice Cream. (That’s where they were, and it was cool for me because that place had been featured on our show, yet I had never been there!)

Well, apparently there’s one by 7th Ave. and one by 7th St. And I most definitely ended up at the wrong one.

They had to get to Penn Station so Ryan (my Canadian friend) could get back to his friends in Jersey.

So, we met at Penn Station, and Ryan bought me a congratulatory Planet Smoothie(!) (aka my favorite thing in the world).

Jason and I ended up trying to find a bar where we could celebrate. I’m not usually a bar person. But we had to figure out something to do, and it seemed cool at the time. We called around bars in my neighborhood. And none would actually play The Nightly Show for us. (Boo.) But a guy at Valhalla was like, “Come here anyway. It’ll be fun.”

And it was! The bartenders made me Shirley Temple shots – and they were on the house for my big day!

Then one of the bartenders kept calling me “big time,” which of course I loved. And then he poked fun a bit, wondering aloud whether I really was an editor or if I was plying them for free drinks, because they weren’t watching to check!

then I got a tweet from him the next day with a screenshot saying my story checks out! I thought it was hilarious.

What a brilliant night.

Silliness, hilarity, and a good time with old friends and brand new friends alike. Yay!

Welp, I’d technically already been an editor for 3 weeks haha. And I was under the impression that my promotion was officially going through the following Monday (after 4 weeks). So on March 14 (Pi Day!), I got a very pleasant surprise!

A supervising producer (who does some of the line producer-type duties) paged me to call her.

So, I did, and she asked if I could come by her office.

This was about 50 minutes before the rolls were due, and there were still some to be done.

This was the moment I could tell that I truly loved my job. I wanted soooooo so so badly to sign the papers and have everything be official. And I was almost certain that’s why the producer was calling me. I wanted to run up there and get it done. Selfish Aurora wanted immediate gratification.

But! Editor Aurora wanted to make sure the rolls were perfect and that control room had everything they needed.

And that’s exactly what I did. I asked if I could come up later.

When I care about something so much that it supersedes those immediate desires of “I wanna win and be awesome!” then we know I really, really, really love it and super care.

After all the rolls were successfully in, and everything was done that needed to be before rehearsal, I re-called that producer to ask if it was a good time. And she said she’d just come to me.

Then she came in with my boss. (My boss said she’s not usually huge into celebrating things, but she knew how much I really wanted the fanfare of becoming a big time editor *trumpets blare,* so she came to be a part of it – which I thought was so cute and sweet.)

The supervising producer sat down and laid out everything my boss and I had talked about. I agreed. She congratulated me. My boss stood up and ripped my assistant editor name tag off the door. “We don’t need this anymore!” she said. (I love her and her dramatic name tag ripping flare.)

The paperwork from accounting came a bit later. I also got to add myself in the credits as an editor! (Don’t worry. The line producer checks the credits everyday. It’s not like I have ridiculous unchecked power…)

And there you had it. I was a big time editor…

It was funny, because I thought by the time I was “official” it would be kind of old news and wouldn’t seem as cool. But it was so cool! I was giddy. And people around were still super happy for me, even though it had already been happening for 3 weeks…

Most of the promotions I’ve seen have been announced in the production meeting. That part didn’t happen. So it was like the secret first day all over again… only less secretive. Where the official news kind of permeated around the building (much of which was just me telling people because I was busting with excitement. So, that felt a little weird to be spreading my own fantastic news. But I’ll talk about myself!).

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

It’s funny how quickly some things change.

In my first week, I was always at my desk – afraid to even use the bathroom. I always skipped lunch. But now, I feel in control.

There are still some busy days where I don’t grab lunch until rehearsal starts (a couple of hours after they call it), but overall, I can at least go pee without worrying that the world will crumble if I take my eyes off the screen for a moment.

I’ve gotten faster in every way. I’ve gotten faster with the keys and my shortcuts and all that jazz while I’m using Avid. I’ve gotten faster even making decisions of “Oh, there’s this problem with this clip. What’s the best way to fix it? Ba-bam! Immediate decision.”

In the first week, I ended every day feeling like I’d run a marathon. And already I feel like I’m just working – working hard, but able to totally handle it all.

A couple of really cool things happened too.

For one thing, someone sent me flowers! I have always dreamed of having flowers delivered to my work. And I guess somebody heard me talking about that, and poof! I got floooowers! I felt oh so super special.

Another thing – a super amazing thing – was that a writer on the show wrote an email saying a montage was “wonderfully edited.” It was an email to the producers on the piece as well. And he told us all it was a “usual first-class job.” How amazing is that to get a thank you email just for doing our normal job? I loved it!

Some other things that have been cool are that I often get to go down and watch rehearsal now. Part of my job is to watch the rehearsal to make sure my SOTs are playing correctly and looking good.

Sometimes I do get held up editing something and can’t make it down. But for the most part, thus far, I’ve gotten to go down and watch, which is suuuuuper cool! It’s nice to watch in a room of the most rapturous, happy audience members. I also love getting out and away from the monitor sometimes – to look at things in real life. (Sort of – I mean, I do watch the monitors in the studio a lot still, to see how my SOTs play. But it’s nice to be there in person, nonetheless.)

Also, going back to really feeling like I’m a part of something, I have really been accepted into fold, even at the highest level. For instance, the EP stopped by my bay to ask if we could build a montage. And Larry himself wandered over and talked with me and the senior producer in my office as he was waiting to go down for the show.

(My office is a cool office and people love to hang here!)

I know it’s been said, but I’m just so happy – so very, very happy.

I love the opportunity to learn more all the time!

And it’s fun, because in my first few weeks, it seemed like something new happens everyday.

For instance, acts 1 and 2 are usually edited by the control room. And the editors do act 3. (Now we have an editor who’s responsible for it every night; we don’t trade off anymore. But I’ve edited act 3 three times.)

Anyway, we don’t usually do act 1. But on this week, there were two takes of act 1, and there were different parts that were liked from each. So, while the rest of the show was going on, I was editing the different takes they wanted. (And ultimately, I got to edit the act, since it was going well and almost done by the time the show ended.)

Back when I edited act 3, my boss explained to me that we had to make our edits look as though the director was calling it on the fly (to match the rest of the act). So, you’d cut to things a half a beat late – to imitate a human hearing someone speak, then looking there.

But when it came to act 1, it’s a different mindset. It’s the scripted portion that the director can follow along with. So, that can be more exact.

Before this, I didn’t think about the fact that there were two styles of editing that went into the same show.

Another thing I’ve really learned now editing this type of show is, sometimes, when I’d watch The Daily Show, I’d see a jarring cut, and I’d think, “Whoa. These have to be some of the best editors in the world. How did such a noticeable cut like that get made?” (Note: That was very rare. I love The Daily Show and it looks beautiful way, way more often than not.)

Still, sometimes I’d wonder, “What happened there?” Well, now that I’m there and can see it, I can guess. “Uh, it was 10pm and the show had some kind of random problem, or taped late, or who knows what. And the point is, the show had to go out. So they just had a little jump ’cause they had to.”

I feel like I have so much more understanding now that I’m in it (which I guess is usually true about most things in life). Working under the gun, on a show like this, is just so cool. (I’m still pinching myself.)

My goodness, this was beautiful.

For one thing, my favorite part was the way my boss treated me.

I feel like sometimes it’s easy when someone moves up to still kind of treat them like they’re still in their old position… ‘Cause, you know, people get used to things the way they are. And change can be hard.

But from day 1 – even in my trial week – she treated me like I was her new editor… Because, was. And she certainly made me feel that way!

Even if in my head I was kind of the assistant playing pretend, she certainly never treated me that way.

There was one instance where she was talking about the old computer where I used to work. And on my very first day (of my trial!) in an office, she didn’t refer to it as “my computer.” She just said something like “Avid 4” or “the assistant’s computer” – but not “your computer.”

I know that’s a super small thing, but it was a big thing to me.

She did a fantastic job of guiding me helpfully without making me feel she was looking over me or not trusting me.

She even apologized once for “bothering me.” She said, “I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, but…” She just really gave me the time and space to edit – to be an editor. She has treated me in every single way, from absolute day 1, as though I am her editor. And I will be forever grateful for that.

I even thanked her once for letting me do so much work. And she said, “No need to thank me! I’m not doing it as a favor. You are an integral part of my team. You’re doing the editing that I need done. So thank you for being so helpful.”

Ah. It’s all so lovely.

More changes, more learning, more excitement this week.

There was a day where we had two different act twos. So one was just cut completely. It is funny to me that I spend my whole day building and building just to have often the majority of stuff knocked down by the end of the day.

Sometimes intricate things that are tough to build, or take a while, get cut. (I have a commercial montage that turned out so well! I’d love to think it would blow your mind… But I don’t think you’re ever gonna see it.)

Sometimes things I love, that really make me laugh, get cut – which is kind of a bummer, but at least I get to see them.

And if I think it’s hard as an editor to have things cut, it’s amazing to think about what it must be like for the writers… to be creating all these fabulous jokes that never see air. It is really incredible to me, sometimes, the amount of material that’s generated (by any department) that’s never seen.

Ah, nightly scripted television. It’s just magic – lovely magical magic.

I did learn a few more things this week, such as the mortise I put on when we have a vine video or something. Or even how to go about adding b-roll when it’s needed post show (the way to specifically time it out after the show, and making sure the ticker matches what comes next, etc.).

This was the week where it all started to become real-ish. My trial was over. I was definitely an editor now. I had my office. They were even interviewing AEs (and hired one, and she came in on Friday to train).

So, I was an editor… But I still wasn’t one in the credits of the show. (And it still wasn’t reflected in my paycheck either.)

And it’s a bit of a weird feeling the whole, “I gotta be careful and thankful, and hold on to this awesome new job. But I also gotta lean in. Because for real, if this goes on for too long, I’m gonna all of a sudden be editing in season 5 and still being called an assistant editor.”

I mean, I know that’s a little dramatic there. That most likely was not going to happen. But there still was some fear. I mean, I trusted my boss (a ton!), and she’d gone over what was going to change for me title, and money-wise, and what have you. It was just a little in the air as far as the exact day when it would change. So, I was a tiny bit on edge. I just wanted everything to be official, and officially settled.

While technically nothing is ever truly officially settled, because nothing is promised in this life, there was still something to signing the papers and changing the credits and all that to make everything real. And hopefully it will be for as long as it possibly can be.

Picking up from yesterday –

On Tuesday, Feb 23rd, I got to edit some clips of Hillary Clinton (as I’ve gotten to do many days since then), and I just thought,

“Am I the luckiest person in the world? This is my job! Editing clips of this woman I adore and look up to… This is my job! And I am so wildly happy.”

On Wednesday, Feb 24th, I made a montage (re: backdoor access (about an FBI thing)), that made Larry laugh! He laughed at it during rehearsal. Making the host laugh was a fantastic feeling.

On Thursday, I did 19 rolls by myself before rehearsal(!).

On my training day, I’d only been able to get through 8 of 16. (Guh.) And at the end of my first kinda real-ish week, I did 19!

My boss even came in to ask which ones she needed to give away. And we (me and the producer), were all, “None. We got this.” It was such a fantastic feeling!

There even was some extra effect-y type work (such as a highlight on security footage that moved all around). It was a sweet and busy day. I was on top of the world.

(Really. I think light was beaming out of me as I skipped through the halls, amazed how well it was all going.)

And then [dum dum duuuum – scary chords] Then there was “fateful Friday.”

I cried on the floor of my office – like straight up sobbed… on the floor. Because I no longer had the ability to sit in my desk chair with all the crying.

I’m kind of surprised I got any work done, ’cause I started and ended the day crying. (It was kind of okay though, ’cause it ended with the greatest pep talk of all time.)

What happened? Well, that’s not a story for the blog… If you want that, you gotta take me to Denny’s.

But on Wednesday, boom. Everything fell into place.

I officially moved into my editor office (the one next door to the one the temporary one I’d been in) on that Wednesday.

I heard a big noise on the outside of door. And my boss – my amazing, fantastic boss – was ripping off the nametag on the door. “This isn’t you!”

My boss is not playing around. She is making stuff happen, and I love her for that. (And so many other things. My goodness, I could do at least an entire post on how I have the best boss in the universe.)

And I’ll talk about my last (3rd) trial week next time.