Christmas Tree Lighting

It was worth staying at work until 9 p.m. on a Wednesday for this view!

Ever since I started working at Rockefeller Center in April, I've been curious to see what it's like to spend the holiday season in such a New York City landmark.

Wednesday night was the annual tree lighting ceremony. I walked outside in afternoon to check out the setup. Quite a production -- cops and security guards were everywhere, and they moved all the tables and chairs away from the windows near the skating rink underground.

Here's a shot from the Plaza yesterday afternoon. The building on the right is 50 Rock, where I work. There is a balcony on the fifth floor, and we used it to watch the ceremony, which was broadcast locally from 7 to 9 p.m. (I am 90% sure I passed by Saturday Night Live Producer Lorne Michaels while I was walking around.)

Here's the view from the corner office on my floor. The executive who occupies it was out and told her secretary not to let anyone inside. What a Grinch! Naturally we went inside after the secretary went home. (Only a handful of people stayed...guess it's not as much of a novelty for most of my colleagues.)

The view of the crowd from a window in the conference room...

 From the balcony, I spotted Donald Trump's distinctive hair on stage with Al Roker...

A lot of the performances were taped, but the teenybopper shrieks were always a good indication that one of Justin Bieber's segments was playing...

Cee Lo was there live...the acoustics were a little strange outside, but someone pulled a TV through a window so we could keep up with the show. The big screen on 30 Rock was just outside of our viewing line.

I was amused to see all of the performers had their song lyrics on teleprompter to prevent any embarrassing slips...

Finally, at 8:55, they lit the tree. Ta-DA!!!

What a fun night! So glad I stayed and made the most of it.