Millennium Network Event With President Clinton at the Brooklyn Bowl

Backstage view of President Clinton enjoying Grave Shift

I can't even begin to say how amazing last night was. The Millennium Network Event took place last night at the Brooklyn Bowl. A huge black suburban (was that as Escalade?) with leather seats and black tinted windows came to pick me up from the Clinton Foundation offices at 2pm - yes, a huge car all for me, insane, I know. The driver took my to the Brooklyn Bowl so I could help prepare for the event. That was the last time I would sit down until 1am.

I arrived at the Brooklyn Bowl, got the walk through, and was put straight to work. This is when the tornado-storm hit. Lightning every 5 seconds, followed by a torrential downpour (see my photo),  heavy winds, and ping-pong sized hail - although it wasn't cold, which is, for my understanding, one of the reasons why it was such a massive burst in such a short time period. It all lasted about 15 minutes. Back to work.

After putting some finishing touches on the gift bags I began checking in the volunteers who began arriving I finally had a chance to change into my dress, which I have been looking for a reason to wear. Then - show time!

Chaka Khan coming back onstage for her encore

My task was to shadow the event director, which meant that I was outfitted with a walkie-talkie ear peace and microphone - one of those sweet little ones that the secret service wears - and ran around everywhere. Mostly I was in the VIP lounge and backstage helping to make the directors job a bit easier. It was a lot of work but still very rewarding. I was able to meet actors Michelle Rodriguez, Peter Sarsgaard, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (so beautiful in person, btw), rapper Talib Kweli, and singing legend Chaka Khan.

President Clinton was supposed to arrive, quickly take photos, speak for 5-10 minutes and then head straight out after his very long day. You could tell he was exhausted, but a guy in the crowd still yelled, "You look good!" to which President Clinton responded, "I'm not sure anyone believes you when you say that to a man my age," to huge laughter. That, I think, was when the whole mood shifted and he got on a roll. He gave a great talk. First, it started with a story I have already heard about an African Village (basically that uneducated villagers were able to come together and make decisions that were good for their community, good for their economy, and good for their environment - just because people aren't educated does not mean that they don't know what is best for them), but then he began moving towards more political issues - the environment, the economy, health care - and it was amazing! Everything he said was really great. Really great. Everything I wanted to hear.

I even got to wear one of those secret service earpieces.

After he spoke - for a half hour! - Talib took the stage and rocked it! Backstage I was able to sneak in a few words with President Clinton - eep! This is my 4th time speaking to him now (I'm like BFFs with his secret service detail - lol, but seriously), and I think maybe he recognized me because he stopped talking the Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard to shake my hand. This time I was so relaxed and not jittery at all (which is how my previous interactions with him have been - awkward), and had the presence of mind not to just say, "Nice to meet you," but rather, "Nice to see you again, my name is Erica." I told him that I wish I had heard what he had to say about the economy before I turned in my Econ paper yesterday! He responded with some nice hearty laughter - I don't know if that was just a really good courtesy laugh, but maybe what I said really was funny - even though I meant what I said!

It was already really great that President Clinton stayed to hear Talib although he was scheduled to make a quick exit, but then he stayed to watch Chaka Khan sing - she also rocked it, what a powerful voice! While she was singing he even took some time to take a little stroll around the Brooklyn Bowl (first "green" bowling alley in the US, being LEED Certified). It was great because everyone was enjoying Chaka Khan and hardly anyone noticed that he had come out from backstage. After Chaka finished up her set, plus a two song encore, the President wanted to hear a great group of youngsters called Grave Shift play (they had already played much earlier before Clinton or any of the other talent arrived). He introduced them, then sat at the keyboard to watch them play - I'm sure that will remain a highlight for those kids for a long time to come.

Again, President Clinton enjoying Grave Shift

After the kids played two songs, President Clinton gave them hugs, waved goodbye, and was out the back door at nearly midnight - what was going to be a 30 minute event to him turned into a wonderful all-nighter. I've heard that if he feels a good vibe at the venue and a good vibe coming from the audience, it does not matter what his schedule was supposed to be, he will hang around for as long as he can, and that is exactly what happened last night. The whole night, although I was running around a lot, was a total success!

Of course there are always irritating things to deal with, like people trying to get backstage and such, but overall I had a great learning experience and a very fun (and tiring) day. I hope some day to be able to do that again!

Huffington Post also wrote a short piece about the event. Check it out here.

The day I met Bill Clinton

Erica and Bill Clinton

Yesterday I met Bill Clinton. He lived up to all of my expectations - eloquent speaker, friendly, charismatic. I've been told that even when he has a schedule laid out by his aides he will always do what he wants to do. For example, besides the fact that he was late, he was supposed to walk into the conference room from the front door where was would all see him, at which point we were supposed to stand and applaud. In reality he walked in through the back door, and luckily I had been looking back behind me right as he walked in. So he came in, most everyone else unaware, then me with my mouth said, "Well hello there!" I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who have heard this phrase come out of my mouth and know exactly how it sounds. Well in a silent room it sounded quite loud. I got a little bit of a sideways look from him and laughter from Kathy and Kevin, then started applauding while everyone else was in silence. Not quite the planned entrance, but memorable for me nonetheless.

After about 10 awkward seconds of nobody knowing what to do (he walked almost all the way to the front of the room in near silence) everyone else caught on and stood up to applaud him. He then began his talk. He first started talking about an HIV/AIDS conference he just attended. Saying that it was full of good news as well as bad news, which called a metaphor for the world today. I would go into details, but he was speaking off the record, which means I can't get detailed. But what I will say is that my favorite part of his talk was when he said, "The world is not gonna stop spinning and you can't get off."

I loved that statement because that is how I feel about life. Life is a ride where you can't just decide you don't like it anymore and hop off, and when it is your turn to leave, the world will still keep spinning. So all we can do now is make the most of our lives, move forward one step at a time, do the best that we can do, and be grateful for every bit of it.

Kevin, Erica, Bill Clinton, & Kathy

After his talk we went into a Q&A session. I submitted a question but it didn't get the most votes - oh well. I think the best question came from the very small group of high school interns. They asked something to the extent of, "Looking back to when you were our age, what was the best piece of advice you received?" He sat for a little bit and thought. It was the first time I had seen him stop for a beat and really ponder. He then went on to tell us three stories from his pre-teen and teenage days. All three of them involved teachers - which is where I have to point out the value of teachers, not necessarily for the value of their teaching, but for those golden nuggets of wisdom and advice that they drop, often unknowingly, which, if you catch, will be carried with you for the rest of your life.

I won't recount the stories here, but I will tell you what he calls, "The best advice I have ever received and have ever given."

• Never be afraid to fail
• Everyone wants to feel beautiful
• Always do what you love

Never be afraid to fail. This makes sense. He has this Abraham Lincoln photo with a list of all of his failures, and there were many of them, and at the bottom is ends with, "Elected President of the United States" (something similar to this and this). He explained that even if there is a huge chance of failure (he related it to failure in the eyes of the media) but there is a chance to at least make progress towards success you should go for it, because that progress will mean something to somebody.

Everyone wants to feel beautiful. He explained that just like you or I, everyone else has the desire to feel beautiful, to feel important. He explained that this is why he will walk way out of his way in a huge crowd, with secret service trying to move him along his way, to go and shake the hand of a person in a wheelchair who can't make it to the front of the crowd - because that person too wants to feel beautiful and acknowledged just like everyone else (and from what I hear he does this all the time to the discontent of the secret service and his staff who are trying to keep him safe and on schedule). He said that this is also why you have to really listen to what people tell you. Get to know where they come from and learn about their culture. This in not only to make people feel like they have value but it is also to be able to create solutions that make people feel like you have listened to and incorporated their hopes, wants, and desires.

Always do what you love. People often concentrate on their weaknesses rather than their strengths. This is not how it should be. Usually you are good at what you love and this is where you should focus your efforts - not on how to improve you Chemistry grades, but on enjoying and further exploring the American Literature you love, for example.

The great thing about his advice is that I feel that I already incorporate all of it into my life - so I think I am on a pretty good track.

After Q&A came photo time. Pretty much we got lined up and walked one by one to take a photo and have a short chat. I told him my name and told him that I am a Clinton-Orfalea Fellow. He said, "Nice to meet you," we turned smiled and I was on my way. But Kathy, Kevin, and I asked if we could get a photo of all of us to send back to the Global Studies Program and Paul Orfalea. We were supposed to leave the room directly after taking our photo, but I lingered, and got at least two secret service men telling me hey you need to leave.. to which I replied, "Just hold on." I doubt they hear that very often. I later apologized for sounding so rude - they just laughed, so I don't think it was a big deal. We also got to chat with President Clinton about Paul Orfalea for a little bit and "what a great man" Paul is.

And then like that it was over and I was back on the 4 train on my way home. What a great experience.

An Earthquake? In NYC?

LOL! Today Kathy and I were sitting in the office meeting with our boss when we both felt the building shake, looked at each other and said, "Dude, was that just an earthquake? I think we just had a little earthquake." Our boss didn't feel anything and when I asked if NYC gets earthquakes he said no... But I guess he was wrong because I read the news tonight and the Ontario, Canada earthquake was felt all the was down here! Us Californians always know an earthquake when we feel one.

Read the article here.

Time for Work, and a Bit of Play

View from the office

Yesterday was my first day working at the Clinton Foundation - and it's pretty cool. I am working on the top floor next to President Clinton's office, although if you keep up with the news you will know that he is currently in Africa. My office overlooks central park, which is really great. I have an office one floor lower as well, but without the view.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to write much about what I am currently doing since it involves confidential matters regarding the President and his work, but I can still write vaguely about my days there.

Once a week we have speakers come in for the "brown bag lunch" series. Yesterday a fella came in to talk about Advance. He pretty much told us about the intense amount of planning and coordination that happens before a president, presidential candidate, celebrity, etc., arrives at an event  -  from where (s)he will land to who will greet them, where the press will be, backdrops, lighting, sound, EVERYTHING - and it seems like there is A LOT of planning that goes on. In addition, they have to conduct walk-throughs to get timing and coordination right. The main point I got out of the talk was that the Advance team is basically trying to set up a scene where the media will be able to encompass the moment in a single photo or camera shot. I thought it was all very interesting.

10,000 people in Central Park practicing yoga

After work Kathy and I met her pal Mika at Central Park (yay! I finally made it to Central Park!) where there was a MASSIVE yoga meet-up. Over 10,000 people were meeting to get a free yoga mat, and some extra goodies followed by a yoga session on the great lawn. The line (well, there were multiple lines, actually) wrapped through the park out onto the surrounding streets. Unfortunately you had to have a print-out ticket to get the free mat. Mika had a ticked, so she waited in line, which ended up being unnecessary because I just stepped into the front of the line and was handed a free mat, water bottle, and bag - even without a ticket! SCORE! So now I have a real yoga mat! And although it started raining (I left went the rain arrived) the event did manage to break the world record for the largest registered yoga class.

On another note, my feet are pretty torn up. I bought really comfy shoes to wear to work, but when you end up walking miles a day it can add up to some major blisters - it's actually not that bad, only two blisters and they are already healing up. On the bright side, my legs are looking mighty fine from all of this walking, plus all of the stairs I take to get to and from the subway. Brazilian bikini here I come!

Turtle Pond in Central park

Also, the food here is really great! There are street vendors selling deliciously ripe and freshly cut fruit on every corner uptown near my work. I plan to have some every day after I leave the office. And fruit here is even cheaper than in California! I bought a giant box of scrumptiously sweet strawberries (how about that alliteration!) for only $1.50, when in CA it would have been at least $4 or more.

Suffice to say that I am having a great time getting to know New York. I really enjoy it here. One of my favorite things to do is watch the demographics change on the subway as I make my way through the city. By the time I get to my stop I am usually the only white person on the subway car! --Don't worry, I feel very safe, and people are extremely nice. I live in a residential area with a lot of families around-- And it is amazing how many people speak Spanish here. I have never seen so many non-Latinos speaking Spanish in my life! I really am loving it here right now, but I don't think I would want to be here for the polar winter. Spending the summer here, I think, will be the perfect amount of time.