From Tampa, Florida -
There was much more of a buzz around the Republican convention on Tuesday, as GOP delegates truly got their gathering underway, nominating the ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, and taking in big speeches from Ann Romney and Gov. Chris Christie.
Meanwhile, it was another day of familiar rhythms behind the scenes at the GOP convention as I ran into old friends - and some frustrating moments - while my surroundings kept evolving in Tampa.
As for old friends, it was a banner day on that front, from reporters and Capitol Hill staffers to politicians I used to cover.
The top politician from days of old that I saw was former California Gov. Pete Wilson, whom I covered in Congress when he was a U.S. Senator.
In 1996, the GOP convention was held in Wilson's home town of San Diego, where he was once the Mayor; my greatest memory is trying to shake the Governor's hand at the big media party while holding three beers with my free arm, spilling much of it on myself in the process.
I hadn't seen Wilson in four years since when we were at the airport in Minneapolis after the 2008 Republican convention; I was wondering if he would be here in 2012.
There are some reporters just like that - you only seem to run into them in an election year, and Tuesday that happened with my old pal Jim Malone of Voice of America.
The last time I saw him was on a brutally cold day in Iowa earlier this year at an event for Rick Santorum. I would guess the temperature difference from Des Moines to Tampa was about 90 degrees.
While Jim and I were catching up, suddenly our former CNN radio pal John Bisney walked up - and like old friends - we were zinging each other just like we used to 15-20 years ago on a daily basis.
Later in the evening, I was trolling the hallways for delegates when I ran into a guy who was a staffer for ex-Sen. Bob Graham of Florida; the guy has now moved on to bigger things and works for a major airline.
As we chatted, he seemed very relaxed, almost unnervingly so.
His secret? Well, he wasn't really working - he was just having fun and acting like he was working.
And he laughed when he said he knew I wasn't relaxing.
While it was okay for him to screw with me, my reporter's fuse was growing a little short along Radio Row, as I kept getting the back of the hand from several press secretaries, who think the value of a radio news interview seems to be on par with getting your teeth cleaned.
There I was interviewing Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia for less than two minutes when his press person told me that Chambliss had to go talk to a TV station and then do a live radio interview.
And it had to happen right now , not after another two minutes of my own interview.
Just like I didn't say, "I covered my first convention before you were even born" the other day to the twenty-something girl who took my seat, I decided to bite my tongue and not say something like to this twenty-something like, "Do you realize I report for the biggest freaking radio station in your Senator's entire state?"
A few minutes later, another press guy tried the same thing - I simply said in a loud voice, "NO," and kept asking questions.
If I had a hockey stick along Radio Row at that moment, I might have been going in the sin bin for butt ending.
(Look it up if you don't know what it is.)
As for my daily security update, I arrived today through one security checkpoint and left for the night with that checkpoint completely gone, and another one that had sprouted up like a mushroom down the street.
Those security guys like to keep you on your toes, that's for sure.
Meanwhile, back in the press filing center, my brain was beginning to fuzz over when in walked my colleague from our station in Jacksonville, as Matt Augustine of WOKV dropped in for a visit after tearing himself away from the swanky resort where the Florida delegation is staying.
There's nothing like having one of your up and coming reporters show up during a convention to buck up your mental health; I got a good chuckle when I saw that Augustine had a big chew of tobacco under his lip later on while writing some stories.
Not many guys like that in the press bullpen.
Maybe my favorite part of the day was meeting someone new - the Governor of Wyoming. Matt Mead was making the rounds, so I stopped him to say hello, telling him of my mother's Wyoming roots and how we still own a chunk of our family's homestead near the Devil's Tower.
Later on, I was walking around the hall, and there was Gov. Mead, walking along in a throng of delegates from other states, with a sole security guy behind him a couple of feet.
No one knew he was a Governor. He looked just like any other GOP delegate going to grab a Coke, dodging people taking pictures in front of the big Mitt Romney signs and looking at the big crazy hats being worn by some older delegates.
Okay, time for my nightly nap. Can't wait for Wednesday.
