A close-up look from the set of 'Anderson Live'

A USA TODAY blogger spends the day on the set of the CNN talk show.

8:20PM EDT October 22. 2012 - I got the e-mail from a colleague on a Friday. She wanted to know if I was available to live-blog and tweet on Monday from the set of Anderson Live, the daytime talk show hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

After a day of back-and-forth e-mails and calls, I came to realize this would be fun. I'd get to do what I love -- write -- from the set of a live talk show. How cool would that be? Actress Yvette Nicole Brown would be co-host, and I'd always thought she was funny.

This also would be a chance to talk about Make a Difference Day, the national day of volunteering slated to take place Saturday. The event was launched by USA Weekend in 1992.

I got my instructions -- do not wear black or white, which was an issue, since that's just about all I wear, and be ready in front of my building at 6:30 a.m. for the car to come pick me up. (The car?)

Even though all I'd be doing was writing, I couldn't sleep Sunday night. Finally, it was time to get up, get dressed and get downstairs. Melvin, the driver, was waiting in a black Chevy Suburban. He said he'd gotten the job as a fluke. A newcomer to the city from Harrisburg, Pa., he said the car service was reluctant to hire him since he didn't know how to navigate New York. But the company agreed to give him a try, and he so impressed the famous person he drove around for a day with his friendliness that the car service kept him, he said. He figured out the city by using a GPS and also taking notes in a book he keeps on his dashboard.

When we arrived at the production building in Midtown, I was shown to a green room (it really was green -- a sage green) with coffee, bagels and bottles of water. A paper sign next to the door in a frame read "Anderson Live: Melanie Eversley." That made me chuckle, and I sent a picture to Facebook. One Facebook friend commented that I should begin demanding M&Ms with the green ones removed and bottled water at only a certain temperature. That made me laugh.

After that, came makeup. I thought I had on makeup, but Travis the makeup artist did something with a crayon that made me look like a different person. He worked for about 15-20 minutes with brushes and pens, having me look up or close my eyes, and I felt glamorous.

Then, things began moving really quickly. Back in the green room, I opened up my laptop to send some tweets and get a blog post set up. Terence Noonan, executive producer, popped in and parked on a chair. He welcomed me, and when he learned I live in New York and in the Washington, D.C., area, he told me he also was a founder of DC Cupcakes. He popped out as quickly as he popped in. Others stopped in too.

Myescha Joell, associate producer, led me to the studio where I was fitted with a mike while I tried to balance my laptop, bag, phone and papers. I had a few minutes to meet the fourth-graders and staff from Democracy Prep, a Harlem school whose children have created and sung a song to the tune of Call Me Maybe encouraging people to vote. The video has gone viral on YouTube.

Joell led me to my seat while comedienne Dena Blizzard warmed up the crowd. Beyonce's Single Ladies suddenly boomed from speakers and Blizzard called a dance contest. Audience members jumped down onto the floor and were shaking it. A young man Blizzard dubbed "Bow Tie" won.

Before I knew it, the show was starting, and Blizzard was gesturing for the audience to look alive, smile and clap loudly. Cooper and Brown walked out onto the set. They were tinier than they look on TV. Isn't that always the case? There was a kind and friendly air about both of them.

There was some back and forth between the co-hosts, and Cooper asked Brown about the future of her well-received TV show, Community, which is focused on a study group at a community college. Brown said no one on staff knows but that it's been a "wonderful ride."

The talk turned to thousands of pages of documents offering accounts of alleged abuse of Boy Scouts by their leaders over the course of decades, and one of the alleged victims was on the set. He began breaking up as he said that bringing the abuse to light is crucial.

"Secrecy is the demon," he said.

Jonathan and Beth Hankins of Klamath Falls, Ore., described how they experienced bloody noses and sinus headaches after purchasing their "as-is" home that had been in foreclosure, only to have a neighbor tell them he believed the house was once a methamphetamine lab.

"It had good bones," Jonathan Hankins said. "Who knew that the bones were going to kill us?"

Methamphetamine byproducts are not part of the home inspection process, Jonathan Hankins explained, and he said he and his wife have placed a petition on the Change.org website to change that.

During a break, Cooper -- dapperly dressed and lean -- walked through the audience and took questions. He was asked about coming out earlier this year. He explained it has not changed his life too much because he always was honest about who he was with everyone around him. His biggest concern, he said, was having that news affect potential sources in other countries, where his sexual orientation might be an issue and get in the way of him doing his job as a journalist.

"If people have preconceived notions about you, it's harder to just blend in," Cooper said.

Last but not least, the youngsters from Democracy Prep closed out the show, singing out strongly as they encouraged people to vote for President Obama or Mitt Romney, moving people in the audience to clap along. There was a good vibe in the air. People seemed to be feeling at home. It didn't seem like Monday morning -- more like Friday afternoon.

And before I knew it, the show was over. A stage director told me to keep typing while everyone around me continued to clap because they were going to have the camera on me. What a whirlwind, I thought. I'd been tweeting and blogging as quickly as I could, and the whole experience had been a blast. There were a lot of interactions with followers on Twitter too.

Joell walked up and apologized as she explained they ran out of time and I would not be able to talk about Make a Difference Day.

"Can you come back tomorrow?"

"Not I problem," I told her, excited about the prospect.