Del Conte Family Plane!

When my dad dropped me off at the airport on Saturday to come to CES, he broke the news that his bid to buy an airplane was accepted and that he would soon be the proud owner of a Piper Comanche 260 C. My pops is a baller!

It is so great to see your parents live out their dreams. As adults, we don't always make our dreams a priority like we should. Last year I got to see my dad live out his dream of playing baseball on a major league field last year when he was selected to play in the All Star Fantasy League during the All Star Game in San Francisco. I made a movie of his experience, which you can find here. It is a little cheesy but I'm proud of it. This year, I get to watch my dad pilot his very own plane, which has been a dream of his since before I was born!

I am excited to have a family plane, although it is too small for my dad to pop over to New York to see me so my time in it will be limited. Nevertheless, it is a pretty sweet ride. Here are the deets: It has a variable pitch prop that allows adjustment to the pitch or bite of air while in flight like changing gears in a car. It has retractable landing gear and 260 horse power, many of the latest instrument avionics to get the aircraft within 250 feet of a programmed runway on auto pilot, a cruising speed of 185 piles per hour, a new one-piece windshield, storm radar scope, 6 seats, and a new engine with only 650 hours on it. My dad is notorious for taking forever to make decisions about big purchases so I know this is a good plane if he pulled the trigger.

I have to go pack up my room and get ready to leave CES. It has been fun but I feel like I ran a marathon. Working with Cnet here was amazing. I'm so glad I took this job, I can't wait to get settled in New York and start making more great news shows! But I'll blog about that later. This post is for my pops. I'm proud of you, Daddy!

I Leave My Heart In San Francisco

Last night someone said to me, "Oh my gosh Natali, you're really done with San Francisco." It knocked the wind out of me.

I had just sold my TV and coffee table on Craigslist and was looking at a very naked living room so the timing of that sentence could not have been worse. Do I really want to leave San Francisco? Will I will join the Tony Bennett club and leave my heart here or will I (heart) New York just as much?

I am not about to change my mind. I wrote a very big deposit check for my New York apartment, I canceled my Dish Network. I am going. But these days leading up to the move have me in limbo with nothing but time to contemplate what I will leave behind.

As much as I try not to be, I am pensive. My heart is breaking slowly for this city as I leave it. Part of me wants to rip off the Band-AID and just go already but I have to wait. CES and MacWorld beckon, afterall. So while I wait for my much-anticipated move date, I will do my best to enjoy the things that I know I will miss about this place, such as:

• The Golden Gate Bridge


• Mexican food


• Being so close to my family


• Specialty's cookies


• Having a car, although not necessarily my car


• Running to the Hoppers' Hands


• Long walks with my book club girls


• Ambiance


• Froyo


• My supper club

While I'm at it, here are a few things that I will not miss:

• Waiting for San Francisco's free city-wide Wi-Fi network to come to fruition


• Being called a Marina Girl


• Getting my car ticketed or towed over parking


• The Triangle


• Muni

I'm sure I'll come up with a more exhaustive list as I get to packing but starting it was therapeutic. I know New York is a great place. I know this is the right move for me. I could not be more excited about my new show and my new job. But I would be remiss not to take pause and give this city a proper ode after all it has given to me.

Don't forget me, San Francisco. I'll be home soon.

Day 1 at Cnet TV

The promo for my new show at Cnet is live! Click here to watch it!

Today was my first official day at Cnet. I have to say, getting here was such a relief! I have known about the possibility of taking this job since early October. That is three months of anticipation and it was killing me! Finally we're off and running! Now if my new MacBook Pro would just get here on the quick! It has been over a year since I worked regularly on a PC and I feel a bit like an ape. My muscle memory doesn't do PC keystrokes well but I'm learning. Kind of like riding a bike. But not.

I'm not in New York yet. I'm squatting in the San Francisco office until we head off to CES in Las Vegas on Saturday. Ugh. Vegas. I lived there for a year and a half. Not super eager to get back, I've gotta say. But I am eager to get to CES. And, truth be told, I will likely end up sneaking off at some point to play $3 Black Jack at the Suncoast. I really hate the strip.

I am going to sneak out early to go for a run in Crissy Field while it is still in my backyard. I hope I don't have to dodge too many submarines. That is what I call the people who only surface to exercise in January when they make New Years Resolutions. Noobs. If that is you, don't be a submarine. Stick with it this year! I believe in you!

Happy 2008 Everyone!

And That’s A Wrap

I posted the final episode of TeXtra today. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure it is the final episode. Someone else may eventually take over the reigns of this beast but it is at least my final episode.

I won't gush about how I feel about this show again. I did enough of that yesterday. Instead I'll just say thank you for watching! Thank you for reading. And stay tuned! Starting tomorrow, Cnet TV will start to air some promotional videos for my new show that we shot recently. Be sure to check that out!

Happy holidays!!!

Last Curtain Call

I am writing my last episode of TeXtra. I just uploaded Tuesday's episode and it is finally hitting me that I am letting go of the reigns very soon. Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 19, is the last day that I will film a TeXtra show. Wow.

TeXtra has been such a blast. I cut my teeth in video here in this stinky basement. Despite the smell of mold and the constant need to wait between takes for the toilet to flush upstairs, I will miss this place. It is raw. We built a great product out of nothing and I am proud of that.

Also, I will miss working with my sister even though she always complains about how early it is when she comes in every morning and she burned my ear with a curling iron because she was mad at me today. I will miss my director Jon Wank, who I affectionately call Douche. I will miss Lukasz Pason, who also works on the TeXtra set and who is about to hit it big on the DJ scene. I will miss sitting next to my BFF Ryan Berkey while TeXtra is in the editing stage. I will our "Jew mom"/producer Lisa Ahrons.

I am really excited for the next step in my career. We are 99% sure that we have a name for my new show on Cnet but I will wait to announce it until that number hits 100. Still, I will always be proud of pioneering TeXtra. It is my baby, no matter what becomes of it.