Reflections After Davos

Yesterday was my first day back to work after Davos and as promised here are few of my first impressions of Davos and the World Economic Forum.

1. It is hard work! I'm not sure that I believed CEO's and political leaders when they said they work really hard in Davos and have little to no down time. It's the truth! They do work incredibly hard and their days are fully booked. In fact, in some ways, I wonder why it is in such a stunning location when no one is able to take advantage of it. It started in Davos with Klaus Schwab, a Swiss economist and businessman, known among leaders as the president and founder of the World Economic Forum. For security purposes, the location makes a lot of sense. It’s remote and they can easily control the air space. I just wish everyone could stop for a moment and enjoy the beauty!

2. Almost every executive or political leader that I met with said they accomplish in four days what would have taken them several months to do. I believe that! I also believe that Davos is a common ground where executives and political leaders can meet behind closed doors without drawing a great deal of attention. Pakistani President Musharraf can meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or the Ukrainian President Yushchenko without drawing a great deal of attention.

3. It’s also a place where people can create and continue a dialogue about some of the most important issues facing the global world, whether it is poverty, HIV Aids, economic growth or contraction, the environment, global warming, energy consumption or sustainability.

I’ll leave it there, as one thing I’ve learned about the news business is that you have to look ahead. This I guess you could say is now old news. Now many of you heard about my iPod Shuffle crisis from the start of my trip. After asking every one of my colleagues on the ground to help me fix it, I was shut out. Somehow the files were corrupted. Bummed out? You wouldn’t believe! On the flight home, I discovered that American Airlines had some tunes. It did give me that last-minute jolt of energy when I desperately needed it. I listened to Tom Petty’s Free Falling and Alright for Now (a beautiful song that almost sounds like a children’s lullaby) and, finally, John Cougar Mellencamp’s Small Town.

Back at home for the weekend, my husband and I discovered the problem and thankfully he fixed the Shuffle. We spent all weekend wrestling with my boys (they are 6, 4 and 1). When you have three boys, it’s all about wrestling, touch football and pretending you’re pirates and playing with swords. As we ran around the house like five kids, we played the Shuffle in the background. Honestly, it was one of those moments, those “thank you for this life” moments. In the background, Pete Townsend’s My Love Open the Door (I replayed it about three times. That song rocks!), Ben Harper’s When She Believes and Sexual Healing (Is he one of the greatest artists of this generation?), Outkast’s Hey Ya (makes you sweat) and Nick Drake’s One of These Things First (reminds me of my summers).

That’s it for now! Tomorrow I leave for Phoenix to cover Super Bowl XLII where the New York Giants will take on the New England Patriots. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m truly a man in a woman’s body. There is nothing that I LOVE more than sports. In fact, my dream job is sitting in the booth with Madden and Michaels or doing the Fox NFL pre-game show with the guys. Not the sideline reporting thing. In the studio or in the booth, doing the analysis. I’ve been a sportsaholic my whole life and the biggest New York Giants fan. This is a dream!!!! I have been excited about this for months, and I promise you that I will give you ALL of the behind the scenes scoop. Who’s partying with whom? Who’s at the Playboy party and what exactly are they doing there? Who’s talking trash? Predictions? Life-altering moments? If my iPod shuffle works (if it doesn’t, I’ll kill myself), which songs I’ll be listening to? Just think, I can finally listen to my Eminem song!!! So psyched…..my heart is racing just thinking about it!!!!!

And, oh, before I go, since I do have to get ready for live television now and recap the president’s speech from last night, write in and feel free to ask questions. I’m happy to share ideas and take advice or look for your favorite player. We’re in this together! I’ll be on air Thursday and Friday morning from 6-10a.m. and on the Sunday pre-game show with Shepard Smith from Fox News.