Welcome Back To Chicago...

Where it costs $11.50 to see a movie. 

Lesson Learned: Virginia State Troopers Are Out To Get You

My father and I recently took a road trip from Greenville, North Carolina to Chicago, Illinois. I was moving back home and my dad was kind enough to accompany me on the 15 hour trip. So, we passed through Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana together. 

If you find yourself on a similar route beware, Virginia is swarming with hungry state troopers. We must have passed dozens of squad cars, with deputies inside armed with radars, ready to bust anyone breaking the rules of the road. 

A couple of nights later my dad told me he had a nightmare about those law enforcement officers and that images of them hidden around curves, on the side of the roads, were imprinted in his dreams. 

When I first arrived in North Carolina I made it through 2 weeks before I got my first speeding ticket. I was clocked going 77 in a 65 mph zone. Which meant a $175 fine. I paid up and learned my lesson, which is probably why we made it out of Virginia ticket free. 

You know you're in Kentucky when...

You're sitting in a porta potty outside a gas station and someone's scribbled on the inside door, Bob waz here.

My First Where's George Experience---

I was going to pay for something the other day with this $1 when I noticed the http://www.wheresgeorge.com/ imprint.

I’ve heard about this website but never gotten the chance to participate. Basically what happens is that someone registers a bill at the site and then others that come in contact with it track its movement.

My $1 was first registered in Cary, North Carolina back in March. The next time it was tracked was April 14 by someone in Greensboro, North Carolina. Then I submitted my entry on August 17.

According to Wheres George, “This bill has traveled 197 Miles in 149 Days, 23 Hrs, 35 Mins at an average of 1.3 Miles per day. It is now 83 Miles from its starting location.”

I used my $1 in a pop machine at the news station yesterday to get a diet coke. I can only imagine where it’s going to end up next!

My Last Week In Eastern Carolina

I've had 20 months of southern love but it's time to head back to the Midwest.

On Friday, I'll be leaving the anchor desk at WITN and hitting the road, heading to Chicago! My adventure here has been one I'll never forget. Not only did I grow as a journalist but as a person. My new job starts August 30th. I'll be a reporter/web editor for AOL based in Deerfield, Illinois. I'll be in charge of a hyper-local news website there that hasn't even launched yet. I'll be writing, shooting, and reporting around the clock but instead of my stories airing on TV they'll air online for everyone to enjoy!

So, if there's anything I need to do while I'm still in Greenville let me know now!

Lesson Learned: Ice Cream Can Turn Any Situation Around

Yesterday at work I had to drive 1 hr. and 45 min. away to a gas leak in Weldon, North Carolina; which is basically on the North Carolina/Virginia border.

According to a press release from town officials crews were repairing a sewer line when they hit a gas line and had to evacuate 3 blocks. The clean up was supposed to take at least 6 hours but when I got there it was already done. So, I called the newsroom and they told me to turn around and come home. I didn’t even take my video camera out of the back seat.

Knowing I had an almost 2 hr. drive back home I decided to stop at Dairy Queen and treat myself to a refreshing treat. For all those of you who have not splurged yet on DQ's blizzard of the month, the calories are well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the oreo-brownie concoction and therefore will have fond memories of my time in Halifax County.

Natalie Kaplan = Reporter By Day, Villain By Night

Last night I invaded my co-workers dreams.

He told me I was a villain with super powers.

He can’t remember exactly what he was dreaming about but says at one point I was so angry with him I channeled my powers and blew up a car.

Unfortunately we don’t know how the dream ended. We’ll just have to wait and see if the saga continues tonight.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Transformers 3 is being filmed in Chicago right now. I snapped this photo while driving downtown Saturday.

Part of Wacker Drive is completely torn up for the shoot but cars are still allowed to pass just feet away from the set.

Donating food isn't as easy as you may think

I was at a funeral in Chicago this weekend. Part of the Jewish burial process is that afterwards you sit shiva. It's a time for family and friends to come together, mourn the loss of a loved one, but also celebrate their life.

You can not imagine how much food is at these events. Not only does the family usually have it catered but everyone that comes to pay their respects brings something as well. For example, my mom dropped off three different cakes and a challah.

By Saturday night the majority of guests had come and gone but the majority of food still remained. Dozens of bagels, mounds of turkey, platters of baked goods, and piles of nuts.

My best friend who was hosting the shiva doesn't eat gluten or dairy, which means everything was going to go to waste. So, we needed to come up with an alternate plan. The problem was, it was after 11pm on a Saturday night and most of the homeless shelters we called wouldn't accept a random delivery at that time of night. I suggested that we set up a makeshift buffet on Lower Wacker Drive. For all those of you who aren't familiar with Chicago, it's a homeless hangout hot spot. Lower Wacker is an underground route around downtown, so there's a number of options for someone looking for shelter.

However, that plan wasn't as popular as I had hoped for with the masses. After about 60 more minutes of brainstorming we got in touch with someone at the Night Ministry who agreed to the late night, drive by, bagel drop off. Which meant we would be able to follow through with our mitzvah after all.