still giddy

scroll to 34:40 to see how years of being a nathan fillion fangirl, finally paid off!

glaad los angeles

1: celeste and i with matt bomer 2: drew barrymore
3: celeste and i with ross mathews 4:jennifer lawrence

saturday night saw the second of three (but the last i'm going to this year) of the glaad media awards that my company sponsors.

the los angeles event is particularly well-attended by celebrity guests, and this year, there were some big names on tap. i was exciiiiiiited!  and, when we had a last minute (three days before) cancellation at our table, and there happened to be an actual boy that i might actually want to bring as my date, i invited the mexican to join me.

he canceled his existing plans for the evening and happily agreed to be my date. so come saturday night, he joined me at the hotel after i had finished my 'work' portion of the event, and was putting the final touches on my appearance.  we got to know more about each other hollering back and forth between the hotel room and the bathroom while i curled my hair. is it weird that i thought that that was kind of fun?

the truth is, i have given up on trying to impress men.  that's not to say i don't make an effort to put my best foot forward, but i prefer to do so in a natural way.  it was actually the bulgarian who 'taught' me that.  after showing some interest in me during some of my sweatiest 'hair up' moments while setting an exhibit booth, he made me realize that i want a man who thinks there's something cute about glasses and buns.

1. celeste and i with chris and scott evans  2: celeste and i with darren criss  3.bill clinton  4:celeste and i with alex newell
1. celeste and i with eric dane and rebecca gayheart  2: tobey maguire, perks of being a wallflower cast (mae whitman)
3: ryan murphy  4: charlize theron and leonardo dicaprio

at any rate, when i had finished getting ready, my handsome date and i headed downstairs to start the celebrity gawking.  javier had told me that bill clinton was the person he was most excited about seeing (and i knew he would not come through the press line), but i found it amusing how little he knew about the folks that did.  most of them were b, c, and d list celebrities, but, what can i say, i watch a lot of tv.

we chatted with my colleagues as we played the 'guess what he/she was in' game, and i was glad that my co-worker mike, and his wife celeste were back at the event. we make a good spotting team, and when the time comes for photos, we've got a rhythm down.

javier and i

we were waiting for someone to come through who we really wanted to meet, and for me, that person was matt bomer, from white collar.  i went a little bit stalker on him, but i got the photo i'd been hoping for.  in the process, i also met eric dane (gray's anatomy) and his wife rebecca, ten danson and mary steenburgen, alex newell (glee), and ross mathews (comedian, formerly from jay leno, currently on chelsea lately, but a favorite of mine from his olympic coverage).  and finally, it was time to head into dinner.

on our way into the room, we passed by chris evans (captain america, the avengers) and stopped to take a photo with he and his brother scott, before finally making our way to the table.

we enjoyed an unusually good dinner (i don't love hotel food, but this was good hotel food) and the program began!  presenters included such names as leo dicaprio, charlize theron, tobey maguire, jennifer lawrence, harvey weinstein, and matt bomer.  and of course, the most illustrious winner was former president bill clinton.

javier was elated, and despite the fact that clinton has gotten (obviously) older, he is still dynamic and charismatic, and it was a very cool experience.

my date was a perfect gentleman and i thoroughly enjoyed my evening with him.  i couldn't have asked for a better companion or a more unique experience!

easter

this year's easter morn found me sitting on a floor in a convention center waiting (for three hours) waiting to be let into a room where (supposedly) my boyfriend, nathan fillion, would be joining joss whedon's much ado about nothing panel at wondercon.

i had read, only a few days before that fillion had confirmed his attendance, and though i wasn't familiar with the event (turned out to be run by the same folks as comic con), there were still tickets available, and they were $10 each.  i immediately bought a ticket and reached out to my partner-in-geekdom, jami, who was happy to join me.

and because it was easter, and because it's jami, she even created little easter baskets for us!

when we were eventually let into the room, we chose seats in the first row of the second section (read = we were close). i took a seat next to a guy with an open laptop.  i asked who he wrote for and we struck up a conversation. it was enjoyable and helped pass the time.  his article showed up later that day on my 'nathan fillion' google alert . i know it was his because i had been reading over his shoulder a bit, and in the end, i thought he captured the experience quite nicely!

i'll admit that it wasn't everything i had hoped it would be.  when the name tents were put out on the table, i noticed immediately that there wasn't one for nathan.  and, it wasn't long before joss himself came out to apologize for nathan's absence. but for $10, and with the knowledge that i have a guaranteed nathan photo opp in philly in june, i couldn't really complain about how the rest of the day unfolded.


the rest of the much ado panel was introduced, and i was excited to learn more about the film.  i am in love with the kenneth branagh version. so much so, that i've described his benedick and emma thompson's beatrice as my 'perfect relationship' since i saw it.  i never anticipated that anyone would ever give that a run for its money, but if anyone can, joss can.

though alexis denisof and amy acker (both, formerly of buffy glory) were not on the panel, clark gregg (of agent coulson avengers glory) and sean maher (firefly, anyone?) were on hand, as well as many other cast members. and in the end, i was infinitely more excited for the june movie release.

following the much ado panel was the nerdist panel.  chris hardwick, nerd icon, host of the 'talking dead' (airs after the walking dead on amc), and creator of the nerdist empire, was in the building to chat about...well, whatever we wanted to chat about.

the highlight came when jami, who was too shy to say hello to him when she saw him at the highlight came when jami, who had once been   disneyland (so instead took photos of his backside), finally spoke to her celebrity crush.  she had carefully crafted a question. i was impressed at his obvious pleasure when she told him that she had formed a 'nerds in the middle' lunch group for kids in her school to celebrate all things nerdiness. and when she asked what he would have wanted to discuss/learn about if he had been in that kind of group, his response was both thoughtful and engaging.

after the nerdist panel, we moved a little closer for the arrow panel. this is not a panel i would have waited in line for. i watch the show, and i like the show, but i think i may still just be too attached to justin hartley's version of the character in smallville to really love the show.  it was about what i would have expected, with one exception.  the 'tommy' character on the show has never stood out to me. until i was sitting 30 feet from him.

holy moly was he a cutie!  he was the most self-possessed, well-spoken, charming one of the bunch.  and i might have sighed a little when i learned that he hailed from broadway.  when the moderator encouraged him to sing a little something, and he complied?  .i sighed a lot.  it also didn't hurt that it was a parody of a song from wicked (one of my favorites), which is probably the best known show in his repertoire.

at the conclusion of the arrow panel, jami and i decided to check out the exhibit hall.  we didn't end up doing much browsing though, and ended up deciding to stand in line on the off-chance that we might get in on the arrow autograph signing.  jami had made an ipad case from the bag she got at comic con last year...and it just happened to be for the arrow.

sadly, no luck. so we decided to head back into the arena to finish our day with the dr. horrible's sing-along-blog sing-along.  just something about a room full of strangers singing lyrics like:

he rides across the nation
the thouroughbred of sin
he got the application
you just sent in
it needs evaluation
so let the games begin
a heinous crime, a show of force
a murder would be nice, of course
bad horse

that just can't help but make you smile.

all in all a fun and unusual easter!

leg 1: new york

being home for two full weeks was blissful, but a price had to be paid, and leg 1 of my two week road trip found me in ny for 36 hours.

determined to make the most of my time,  i had reached out to my friend deb, who has been out  of town for my last couple visits, and my cousin melanie, who recently moved to the city, to see about getting some girl time.

both agreed to join me for my second viewing of 'sleep no more'.  lucky for me, i had been upgraded to first class on my direct flight from lax to jfk, so i wasn't a total zombie when i arrived. 

deb and i met for dinner before the play and began the business of catching up.  since i haven't seen her in about two years, there was a lot to talk about! we enjoyed some tasty pizza, until my boss (who was also joining us for the play) arrived, and we headed over to the theater together. 

melanie and her roommate joined us shortly thereafter and i was excited for them all to participate in one of the most unique theater experiences of my life. interestingly enough, it was completely different then the first time. in fact, every scene was different with one exception, and i was glad to end the night feeling like i had seen much of what i missed the first time.  

after the play, melanie and i made brunch plans for the following day, and i headed back to deb's apartment with her to finish her catch up and say hello to her husband.

saturday afternoon found me heading to meet up with melanie and her roomie (in the snow!)  441/2 - a place i'd highly recommend in the hell's kitchen neighborhood.

i dined on some delicious french toast while hearing all about melanie's decision to move. i can also relate to and appreciate just how much she's experienced in her short time there. it made me a little nostalgic for my early california days when i had the energy and time to do and see so many of the tings there are to do and see here!  it seems she is settling in quite nicely, and though i never doubted it, i was glad to see just how well the city, and her roommate seem to suit her.

and, all too quickly, it was time to head to work.

luckily, 'work' was fun.  once again my company has sponsored a series of award shows, and tonight was the first.  a highlight was getting to meet the cast of 'smash' (who were all darling and gracious), and actor, john leguizamo, who, despite being in the middle of what looked like a semi-serious conversation, still make time to snap a photo with me.

unfortunately, the show ran REALLY long. madonna pitched a fit and said she was leaving if they didn't put her on (how often do you get to say that?!?) so our portion of the evening got cut.  we finished the night pretty angry at not having gotten what we paid for, but there wasn't too much time to dwell as i had to be on a plane the next morning for the next event.

it was a quick trip and though i was exhausted, i made every one of my 36 hours count!

if you're interested, here are a few 'articles' about the event...
dan stevens
madonna
anderson cooper
smash

self-gifting

august 2012

it's sunday. i'm feeling a bit run down and like i don't really want to get out of bed.  disneyland took it's toll on my body (my knee) last night, so i'm cruisin' the web trying to entertain myself.

oh look, new items on my nathan fillion google alert feed.

yeah, yeah, already knew he'd be at calgary comic con. checked the dates. couldn't go. wait. what's this?  philadelphia comic con?  and there is a 'nathan fillion vip package'?  a guaranteed photo op?

VIP’s get:
• Philadelphia Comic Con 4-Day Weekend Ticket
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion VIP Badge
• Exclusive Nathan Fillion Lithograph
• (1) Nathan Fillion Photo with Signature Ticket - You can have him sign this photo OR another item on-site.
• (1) Photo Op with Nathan Fillion
• VIP’s get onto the show floor 30 Minutes before regular attendees each day of the show!
• Guaranteed seating at the panel Nathan Fillion will appear on (Firefly/Serenity or individual)

package purchased. hotel reserved. flight secured. promise made (to myself) that after i finally meet the guy, i will stop trying so desperately to meet the guy.  i won't even follow his twitter feed during san diego comic con to see if i can 'run into' him somewhere.  okay, well, maybe we won't go that far...