"Spittin' Seeds" and Memory Lane

I was asked a while back to be the Keynote Speaker for an event over at the high school. Even though I had two months to think about what I wanted to present to these young yet smarter than me minds, I (of course) prepared my speech the very last minute. I brainstormed with Philip about all the old stories or events that took place at the beginning of my career. It was so fun to talk about and take a trip down memory lane.
For example, here's one of them taken from my journal entry back in 2002:
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STORY:
Preface: I had finished my volleyball career at Washington State, and I got my first job out of college at NBC in Seattle, WA.


I was so pumped. First day on the job. I walked into NBC, showed them my badge and walked up numerous flights of stairs to the Sports Department. News anchors, camera crews, editors, big equipment...and finally...the sports department.
“Welcome Melissa”, said Tony, the evening news Sports Producer.
I barely touched down on a chair before he told me to jump back up.
“No time to waste! We need some sound bytes! I need you to get some sound on Ichiro, maybe some from Jeter, Garcia, and maybe some Lou.”
He handed me a mic, introduced me to the camera man, and we raced over to the broadcast van.

“What? What did he just say?” I thought. “Who the heck was he talking about?”
I picked up my cell phone and called my brother to ask him to tell me who these players were so I could make sure I interviewed the right people.

We arrived at Safeco Field, parked in a special underground parking where the media and players park. Mercedes, Land Rovers, Escalades, Lexus, car after car after car.
We then showed our media pass to the guard and walked through a very long tunnel. We came to a fork in the tunnel…on my right, the Mariners locker room. And to my left, the Yankees. And straight ahead of me, the field. We walked through the door at the end, and there I was…walking right into the Mariners dugout.
I was then standing right in the middle of very large men in tight pants.
“Hey, it’s the new girl!”
“New meat!”
“Hey Jimmy, it’s a young one!”

“Where am I and why am I here?” I thought to myself. That’s when I got nervous.
The players then raced off to the field to start their pre-game warm-ups…except for the pitchers that didn’t have to pitch that game. I just sat there, soaking it all in and waiting for our cue back at the studio to start the interview. In the meantime, one of the pitchers came and stood by me. He asked me questions, struck up conversation, etc. I answered as nicely and politely as possible. He looked at me strange.

“Wow, you’re really different aren’t you?” He said.
“Oh…uh…I guess so. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Oh it’s great. Refreshing actually.”

I was so flattered. Everything that I set out to be starting way back in high school was showing through in this very moment. I was different. I was representing something different and great.
But then, he cut off my train of thought like a record player scratch.
“But yo, that won’t last long.”

“Excuse me?”
“It’s only a matter of time before you turn into one of them. Selling your soul and sleeping your way to the top.”
Wow.

That moment was such a significant part of my career. It was a moment where I had to really think about myself and who I wanted to be and what I wanted to stand for. At that moment in time, I made a goal to myself to ALWAYS stand for who I am. And stand for something great.

(What's also so funny about this story is that I ended up playing catch with James Baldwin and Mike Cameron during pre-game warmups. I accidentally overthrew a ball and it just about wacked Ichiro in the head. Lets just say I got the "be professional" speech when I got back to the station. Anyways, continuing on with the story...)

As he told me about all the nice people that come into this type of work, he continued to tell me about the material world, and the lies that happen in corporate, and the players that don’t value family….and that I’ll fall into the same trap.

After moments of pondering, I looked back up at him and confidently said, “Well I hope to prove you wrong.” He laughed, gave me piece of Bazooka gum, gave me a noogie on my head and screamed to the rest of the players…. “Ha….she’s a keeper!”

I continued with my pregame and post-game interviews in the locker room with some of the players, a couple of coaches, and some of the Yankees. And I went home after an incredible first day at work and truly thought about what that player had told me.
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That was seriously the most interesting day. And as I think back on different experiences I had through my first few jobs, I can't help but now think of why my parents were so worried about me. Nonetheless, I certainly came back with some interesting stories to tell.

But "Standing for Something Great" is the theme I went with for the high schoolers. I then brainstormed different subjects for my speech:
Character
Integrity
Leadership
Reaching Full Potential
Blah, blah, blah.....I was stuck. I needed a break. So I looked out the window and saw one of the cutest moments I've seen in a long time.

My brothers, Dave and Layne, took Livia outside to teach her how to "Spit Seeds".

I, of course, grabbed my camera to catch some memorable moments. If you notice in every pic, if you look closely, Liv has spit, drool, or crumbs of chewed up sunflower seeds on her chin.











Liv has the greatest uncles. Both my brothers and Philip's brothers are so wonderful to her...she's lucky to have them! Thanks to Dave and Layne for helping to entertain Liv and for curing my writer's block!