I'm happy to be back home from my shift that started at 5:30 a.m. My shift ended at 8:00 p.m. Now, awaiting for my pizza to arrive as a prize. TGIF! 

Why am I getting pizza? Well, today very different day. One day is catching up with community content and the next your at a active school shooting drill ... or being soaked in the rain trying to get to a water rescue (sadly I failed). 

It was a tiring experience, but it was worth it. This is not your regular 9-5 job. 

This is no 9-5 job. Shot an active shooting drill and a flood today. 5:30am to ? #pjselfie

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I first covered a active shooting drill at York Central High School. I was suppose to be a victim with bullet wounds on my body. I was able to talk myself out at the last minute and became an insider. From the start of 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., the school was on lock down. Police officers were able to train a what if situation at a school. 

It was fun at first, until I heard people screaming, yelling, shots fired.. it was all for play, but I can imagine myself in it. I also followed the shooter as he went around the school killing people.  

Read more about the coverage online. 

I also made a video of those who participated in the shooting. 

My next assignment was going to a water rescue during heavy rain fall in York. I was unsuccessful in getting to water rescue. The roads were blocked off with water.    

Here is another video of me in the rain talking about what is going on the road closed. 

The worst feeling in the world as a storyteller is to cut out the most important information.

I covered the Vietnam Veterans Experience tent at the York Fair. The week long county fair brings animals, rides, and carnival food. Tucked in the very front of the fair near the exotic animals is the veterans tent.

The tent is purposely close the the Vietnam Memorial. The detailing of the tent was impressive. It recreated what it might looked like back in the day. Dried bamboo swayed on the sides. Bags of sand built about knee high and the standard camouflage with hole draped in the front.  

My assignment was to focus on the the National Geographic Vietnam map throughout the week. Vietnam veterans had a chance to sign their names and were given a number pin to place on the map. “Its a piece of property,” according to one of the man I interviewed.

In the last 5 days of the fair, it reached over 300 veterans pinning their location on the map. Many veterans spent at least an hour looking and chatting over the map. It's a conversational piece. Not for the veterans, but also for the younger generation.

A father and son approached the map with interest. It was Edward Vega and his son Ivean Vega of York. They would be perfect from an outside perspective on the map. I thought it would round out the entirety of the vision of my story.

I spend at least 4 hours in postproduction. I had the father and son’s clips saved, but their small sounds bites didn't fit the overall theme. It did not flow with the entire piece. I decided to cut their interview at the end.

I don’t want to be the bad person for cutting out my subject’s thoughts. I want to make sure I covered every aspect of age, race, and background. I had extra material to work with to tell the story.

I created a 45 second video to at least retain the main idea of showcasing the thoughts of being a veteran.

Watch the main video below, "Where Did You Serve?" ( 1 minute ) 

It took four days to shoot and produce the video. Video for the York Daily Record.  

MOUNT WOLF, PA – STORY & PHOTOS BY SONYA PACLOB // York Daily Record

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Freshly picked zinnias from Marie Rudy’s garden in Mount Wolf in a plastic cup, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013. 

Marie Rudy and Michael transformed their backyard into colorful flower gardens.

Several residents and friends of the Mount Wolf couple call Marie Rudy's gardens a “flower paradise.” But to Rudy and Michael, it's their “Margaritaville.” They have eight garden plots with at least 20 varieties of flowers ranging from vincas to zinnias.

The 200-year-old farmhouse is transformed into a mini-getaway. The private, 5-acre property has a painted beach mural on a old chicken coop and pink flamingo lawn ornaments spotted around the property.

The most prized addition to the property is the colorful flowers that have been care fully cultivated for 22 years.

When Marie married Michael, she didn't have 

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A portrait of Marie Rudy and Michael in front on their home property at Mount Wolf, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013. 

experience in gardening.

“When I got married, I didn't have a green thumb,” she said. She was inspired by her mother-in-law and has since learned by trial and error.

Michael is astonished by how she can find time to maintain the garden.

“She takes care of me and her 90-years-old mother,” and works full time as a WellSpan billing representative, he said. “She would say, ‘You're on your own for supper.'”

Marie spends at least two hours in the evening watering with her golf cart. She used to carry gallons of water by foot, until she received the golf cart as a gift from Michael.

The backyard is a beach- themed oasis overlooking the patches of gardens. It's a getaway for them and her friends. According to Marie, many people think they are rich, “we're not rich, were blessed.”

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Marie Rudy enjoys her view of her gardens from her patio, Thursday Aug. 22, 2013. She and her husband Michael owns 5 acres farmhouse who has transformed the property into a small oasis.