an you believe I’m going to New York 7 HOURS?! It seems like just yesterday when we were both sitting on the couch, contemplating whether or not we should enter the OXO Video Contest.

Well, we did, and we won – big time. Not only did they send us a bunch of free OXO stuff, they’re flying us out to New York there on Virgin America (which I have yet to try), putting us up at the beautiful Ace Hotel in Manhattan, possibly taking us on a Food Network Studios tour, and taking us all out to eat at Morimoto Restaurant. Yes, that Morimoto! Only one of the greatest Iron Chefs of all time (!)

Believe it or not, after my prize of $1000 in OXO products, they sent me even more stuff. This time they sent the products I’ll be doing video demos for, so I can have a chance to get acquainted with them. They also sent me the scripts ahead of time, which was really, really great.

I probably should have practiced more, but with the bake sale and all the other oddball things I do outside of work, I didn’t have that much time to go over it. Well, it’s a five hour plane ride from here to NY, so that’s all I’ll probably do on the plane!

see the OXO story »

Demo #1: Top Container

They sent us three sizes of these Top Containers. They’re great. “They’re BPA-free, airtight, watertight, leakproof and stackable AND microwave and freezer safe.” Hahaha.

Demo #2: Smooth Edge Can Opener

This strange, overly-bulbous looking gadget is actually pretty cool! It’s true to it’s name. It leaves a smooth edge on the can rim, and a smooth edge on the piece that comes out. It’s easy to use, so I won’t be struggling to open it while trying to make it look easy.

Demo #3: V-Blade Mandolin

This thing is so friggin’ awesome, and so friggin’ complicated. I actually own one already, but I hardly use it because it’s so intimidating. There’s all these separate parts…folding pieces..little things that pop in and out…I’m still learning how to use it.

Well, the good thing is, I’m getting a demo with the engineer who actually worked on it, so I’ll probably get the best tutorial on this thing than anyone else will.

I’m worried about doing the video for this one because my script is long. But what I AM looking forward to in doing this demo is that I’ll be chopping veggies! Just like they do on Food Network! This is just the beginning of my cooking show career. (Just kidding)

Meeting the Other Finalists

I think what I’m looking forward to the most is meeting the other finalists! Their videos were great. OXO didn’t originally plan on having us all there at the same time, but seeing how much we talk to each other on Twitter/Facebook, they decided to have us all go over there and hang out together.

Extended Stay

OXO has been great so far. We’ve been going back and forth through email getting all the details straightened out. Not an easy task at all, with three finalists. They even threw in a bunch of other cool stuff they didn’t mention in the contest rules…a nice dinner, tours, taxi transportation, basically all the works. I couldn’t be more grateful.

But best of all, they’re letting us extend our stay! So we’re staying out there for a week, rather than just the 3 days that they originally planned on us doing OXO stuff. Which is great, because it’s a bit of a flight, coming from the west coast.

I’ve only been to New York once, briefly, when I was in a middle school field trip. I barely saw anything, so I kind of consider this my first time. I planned out a bunch of things before going – a brewery tour, antique show, museums, NBC studios, and of course, comedy clubs. I’m actually surprised I haven’t been to New York after middle school. I travel a lot, but rarely in the States…it’s about time I see the rest of my country.

The Late Show

We got tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman. Really! I requested tickets about a month ago, and I didn’t hear back from them until today. How it works is someone contacts you, you have to answer a trivia question, then you get a free ticket.

Well, aren’t we lucky. Because 1) someone called me three times, called Mike two times, and the stupid AT&T network in San Francisco cut us off every time. Surprisingly, they had the patience to keep calling us back.

2) We don’t know a thing about the show. I’ve watched it before, but not enough to know any trivia. Here’s my question:

“What does Alan Kalter do in the beginning of the show?”

How the hell was I supposed to know who Alan is? So I guessed. “He announces the show?”

Ding ding ding! I answered it right. I assumed that’s what happens at the beginning of the show – someone announces something. If I didn’t get it right, I’d probably guess singing…or dancing? You’re looking at a true Letterman fan here. Haha. I don’t even have TV.

Well, I should probably go to bed soon, seeing that I have to get up in a few hours to get to the airport. I’ll be bringing my laptop with me, and I’ll try to get some photos and videos up on my blog for you guys to see what I’m doing over here. Thanks again for voting for me – look at where it took me!