A few weeks ago, I received an email that at first I thought was a scam. It asked if I would like to be featured on a morning TV show. LIVE. Seriously. So I read and re-read it, followed the links, googled the email address, and soon realised it was FOR REAL.
Fast forwards a bit. I had indeed agreed to appear LIVE on the show. Gulp. I Googled the show, the hosts, the station. I looked at their feeds and socials ( research of course! )
The accommodation in Sydney was booked. Draft answers written out and studied. I had selected, edited and sent images to the producers for them to use during the feature. I had chosen and carefully packed the examples of my work, to be presented during the segment as asked to.
Outfit chosen. Accessories chosen. Hair appointment made. New makeup bought.
Google maps and how to get to the TV Station , and how long it would take from our hotel were logged into.
The night before in the hotel room, I lay in bed and thought about how I would navigate this - knowing my anxiety would be sky-rocketing. I lay in bed and wondered HOW DID I GET TO THIS ... and why?
Why did I decide to do it? I said YES, because it would be another way of raising awareness of single use plastics and how problematic it is, it was another way of getting people to save and send me their tags, and yes, it is another way of getting my art noticed.
Truthfully though, I also did not want FEAR to stop me from doing this. I did not want FEAR and anxiety to be the reason I said no to something that could be really interesting. I did not want to model to my kids that FEAR and ANXIETY make you NOT do things in life.
Also, I was genuinely intrigued and curious about what it would be like in a television station, to see behind the scenes. I mean, how often does a middle aged woman who lives in Regional NSW, get the chance to do this kind of thing?
So there I was, in the studio. Tummy twisting in knots. But kind of calm. TV monitors everywhere. A friendly cameraman who got me all microphoned up, wires and stuff in my shirt, on pants etc. , then we set upland tweaked the display. A lovely floor manager kept me up to date about when I would go on and introduced me to the hosts. A producer who helped set up the whole thing, advised how it would all go down. We watched on the monitors as they showed pics for my upcoming segment. And then it was time to go.
The hosts who interviewed me - Narelda Jacobs and Tristan MacManus, were charming, kind, friendly, warm and seemed genuinely interested (however that could just be them being great at their jobs!) They were so shiny lovely beautiful people. I could see why they are in the world of TV. I vaguely remember laughing, and my head whirring with possible answers to their questions - because they went ad-lib.
How did it feel? Surreal. The whole thing went by VERY quickly, in a blink. Just like that. Done and dusted.
Yep, before you know it I, hubby and I were back at the hotel. And me - the non drinker, wanted only one thing- a Bloody Mary. So at 11:00 in the morning, I sat drenched in sun, in the hotel lounge area, tummy slowly unclenching and untwisting, sipping my Bloody Mary, and trying to process what had just happened.
So weird, so strange, so unexpected, so fabulous to say I DID IT. I really did.
Almost ready to go...
Selfies in the studio...
Getting closer...
And we are on...
Funniest photo- this is all my hubby could see from where he was- I was completely hidden by the breadtags!
Celebratory Bloody Mary
And here is the link tooth actual interview.....
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