I'm sorry I haven't blogged for the past few days...being on the road is not condusive to writing regular updates. But I will still fill you in on the road trip home as my last entry to my Sweet Summer '09 blog.
Blair, Mel and I left early Friday morning headed to Fort Stockton, Texas. This means driving for 16 long, long hours. As we drove farther and farther from LA and then out of California I became more and more depressed. Luckily, I had my best girls and some rockin' tunes to help raise my spirits. We jammed to everything from old-school Brittany, N'SYNC, Backstreet, Spice Girls etc to recent stuff to musicals, Disney classics (my choice of course) and Weird Al. It made the butt-numbing drive a little more enjoyable. The only snafu was when Mel got pulled over but I name-dropped Ellen and got her out of the ticket. Yay for written warnings! Anyhow, I drove A LOT and it was exhausting but we stopped only for fast food and bathrooms and gas. It was very efficient though tiring. We made it all the way to Texas which was actually a cool drive. It went from hilly California to the desert of Arizona complete with cacti and tumbleweed to rocky New Mexico with cool plateau rock formations to the actually populated Texas. My favorite part of the day was the drive just past El Paso, TX. Never in my life I have seen so many stars in the sky. I felt like I was in a planetarium!! We saw planets (and I meant that to be plural) and more stars than I ever thought I'd see in the actual sky. I suddenly understood how the Native Americans actually came up with the animal shapes that became constellations. With that many stars...it's easy to make shapes. It was absolutely gorgeous. While that was the most beautiful part of the day, it wasn't the funniest. We had to go through border control (yes, we were that close to Mexico) and the officer asked us if we had any Mexicans hiding in our trunk. HA! I told him he could look if he wanted but I would hold him responsible for getting it shut again. He opted to trust the three white girls in the car piled with preppy Vera Bradley bags. I thought that wise. :)
Day two wasn't quite as long so that was a relief. We got in really late and up pretty early but despite the lack of sleep and questionable lodging, we were awake and on the road by 8am. Texas took a long time to get through btu we didn't stop for longer than minute until we got to New Orleans, LA. We parked there and got out to walk around and explore the city. We ate on the famous Canal Street next to a traditional blues club pumping out totally rad music. The food was delicious! I had fried alligator and jambalaya; I wanted to really experience the city. But better than the food was the live street performers all along Bourbon Street where we played tourist. They sounded liked professionals! A whole 8-person group of brass instruments having a great time playing music you could just tell they loved. It had real soul and people were just dancing in the street. New Orleans truly is a unique place and I loved the culture. Last night we stayed right outside of New Orleans in another questionable hotel (so questionable in fact than when my eye was red upon waking up we all thought I had pink eye...no worries, it was just my contact) However, we got to sleep in which was fantastic.
All that was left for today was an 8-hour trip. Split between 3 people, it was no problem after what we'd been used to. We rocked out to our music and chatted about the upcoming school year, friends, boys...you know the typical girl stuff. :) I ALMOST forgot about the fact that I miss my Ellen friends and LA terribly! They kindly reminded me by texting/calling me to tell me about the awesome day they were having showing their family and friends around LA. They both leave tomorrow though so at least then we can all comiserate together. I was also brutally reminded of how much I was going to miss Cali when we entered the state of Florida and found ourselves driving the remainder of the way through a tropical storm. Oh goody... I left beautiful, dry, sunny California for muggy, gross tropical storm-ridden Florida. Nonetheless, I am happy to report I am writing my final blog from the comfort of my childhood home in Tampa. I made it!
And with that, my blog, and my Sweet Summer '09 comes to an end. I hope you all (aka my parents and sister) enjoyed following my adventures in LA and with Ellen. I certainly have enjoyed living every moment of it. The only question left is...what on earth will I do to top this next summer?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Last Day In L.A.
All is done. I am officially homeward bound. After everything is over, one thing comes to my mind. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH to my wonderful Mom and Dad who are the reason I was able to have this unbelievable summer. Yes, because they birthed me (supposedly...it's still a matter of discussion among the extended family) but more so because they financed me. :) And we all know, I'm not cheap. In all seriousness, this has been the most amazing summer of my life and I owe it to them being willing to help me live in LA for 3 months with no pay. Thank you so much for that and I love you both!
As for how I spent my final day in the city...it was a mixture of sad and happy. I packed all morning which was depressing but in the afternoon Blair, Mel and I went to Santa Monica Pier and Promenade. We walked along the pier with it's beautiful weather and took pictures and saw the street performers. Still, little things would remind me about missing Ellen and LA...such as Erin texting me she missed me or Dante texting me "Joke's over. You can come back now." I actuallly woke up this morning at 8:30am and freaked out because I thought I was late to work. Major bummer when I realized I had no work to go to haha. From the pier we got Pinkberry and went shopping along the promenade. It's probably the most reasonable prices I've seen in the entire city and I still couldn't afford anything haha. So much for coming back to Florida with a trendy new style! Still, we had a nice time and B and M got some cute stuff. For dinner we picked up Amy which was great since I wanted to spend time with her before I left, and went to the famous Ketchup restaurant. Blair picked it because it's featured on a lot of TV shows and films and it was a really rad place. They had 5 different flavored ketchups for these fancy fries and the food was delicious! Yum! :) We dropped Amy off at a work function then drove through Beverly Hills so they could see the houses that we will all (except Amy as she so eloquently pointed out) will only ever be able to dream about. They sure are beautiful! Who knows...maybe someday. ;) On the way home we went to the Griffith Observatory to see the stars and check out the earth and space exhibits because I love that place. The night wasn't really great for stargazing but our visit paid off for sure. The very last thing I did in LA was stand at the top of the Hollywood Hills looking out at the lights of the city. It was bright right up to the horizon and the beach. It was so gorgeous and the perfect way to end my summer.
It's hours later now and I'm still awake because I've been struggling, and I do mean S-T-R-U-G-G-L-I-N-G to pack my stuff and more importantly, pack my car. On the way here there were 2 people, not 3 so this has presented a HUGE challenge. Not to mention the enormous amount of Ellen gear I've accumulated over the course of my internship. I may be in a family of engineers but I don't think XXXX could complete this task. Let's just say, we'll be sitting on suitcases the whole 3 day trip back. It won't be pretty...or comfortable for that matter. Speak of 3 day trip, I don't know if we'll have internet access in the hotels along the way so if I don't blog...I am so sorry in advance. Dad, feel free to text me for a 5 minute update on my travels in the morning. Fair warning though...it'll mostly be a list of music we listened to or a description of the Texas desert we saw. Boring! The trip doesn't promise anything too exciting but at least I have my awesome friends Blair and Melanie to share it with! Now it's time to go to bed because we're starting bright and early in the morning. With that I say, "Goodbye Los Angeles, goodbye Hollywood, goodbye Ellen, and goodbye to a summer I will never, ever forget.
As for how I spent my final day in the city...it was a mixture of sad and happy. I packed all morning which was depressing but in the afternoon Blair, Mel and I went to Santa Monica Pier and Promenade. We walked along the pier with it's beautiful weather and took pictures and saw the street performers. Still, little things would remind me about missing Ellen and LA...such as Erin texting me she missed me or Dante texting me "Joke's over. You can come back now." I actuallly woke up this morning at 8:30am and freaked out because I thought I was late to work. Major bummer when I realized I had no work to go to haha. From the pier we got Pinkberry and went shopping along the promenade. It's probably the most reasonable prices I've seen in the entire city and I still couldn't afford anything haha. So much for coming back to Florida with a trendy new style! Still, we had a nice time and B and M got some cute stuff. For dinner we picked up Amy which was great since I wanted to spend time with her before I left, and went to the famous Ketchup restaurant. Blair picked it because it's featured on a lot of TV shows and films and it was a really rad place. They had 5 different flavored ketchups for these fancy fries and the food was delicious! Yum! :) We dropped Amy off at a work function then drove through Beverly Hills so they could see the houses that we will all (except Amy as she so eloquently pointed out) will only ever be able to dream about. They sure are beautiful! Who knows...maybe someday. ;) On the way home we went to the Griffith Observatory to see the stars and check out the earth and space exhibits because I love that place. The night wasn't really great for stargazing but our visit paid off for sure. The very last thing I did in LA was stand at the top of the Hollywood Hills looking out at the lights of the city. It was bright right up to the horizon and the beach. It was so gorgeous and the perfect way to end my summer.
It's hours later now and I'm still awake because I've been struggling, and I do mean S-T-R-U-G-G-L-I-N-G to pack my stuff and more importantly, pack my car. On the way here there were 2 people, not 3 so this has presented a HUGE challenge. Not to mention the enormous amount of Ellen gear I've accumulated over the course of my internship. I may be in a family of engineers but I don't think XXXX could complete this task. Let's just say, we'll be sitting on suitcases the whole 3 day trip back. It won't be pretty...or comfortable for that matter. Speak of 3 day trip, I don't know if we'll have internet access in the hotels along the way so if I don't blog...I am so sorry in advance. Dad, feel free to text me for a 5 minute update on my travels in the morning. Fair warning though...it'll mostly be a list of music we listened to or a description of the Texas desert we saw. Boring! The trip doesn't promise anything too exciting but at least I have my awesome friends Blair and Melanie to share it with! Now it's time to go to bed because we're starting bright and early in the morning. With that I say, "Goodbye Los Angeles, goodbye Hollywood, goodbye Ellen, and goodbye to a summer I will never, ever forget.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Day I've Been Dreading (Warning: Long)
Today, was my very last, final, day at the coolest job on the planet. Never again will I say "Hi" to the security guard walking onto the Warner Brothers lot wearing my coveted Ellen badge. Never again will I tackle Erin at 9am in the Intern Office as a substitute for the coffee wake-up. Never again will the interns ambush Megan and Gabi with a dance party in their office. My summer of fun and frivolity has come to a tragic end. And I do mean tragic, because I am never going to have another experience quite like this one and I am so lucky that everything from the job to the people fell into place perfectly. For our last day, they didn't expect us to work too hard, so in typical Summer Interns '09 style, we tackled and finished 2 projects for HI and Website. Everyone was shocked which is even better because we left on a really high note. We also went to the fancier restaurant on lot, the Grill, for lunch to celebrate. But the highlight of the day wasn't the work or the meal, it was giving out our intern gifts. For the whole office, we bought 2 cookie cakes that read "Thank You! Love, The Interns" that everyone seemed to really appreciate. Most people's hearts are easily won by food so that was a good call. For Jeannie, the receptionist whom we have come to know very well and love tremendously, we made a picture frame that we all wrote messages on that contained a picture of all of us with her. She already has is hung up at the front desk for her, and everyone else to see every day. (See, we were strategic in our gifts...we picked ones that would keep people constantly reminded of our faces.) She loved it and was very grateful. But by far the coolest gift was the DVD we gave Megan and Gabi. It contained 2 music videos we secretly filmed and edited during off hours. One was to an original song (rap) that we wrote for them as an inside joke and the other was to "I Will Remember You" by Sara Mclaughlin. They LOVED it! Absolutely, LOVED it. No other interns had ever given them gifts before. There were tears and laughs (they were both super corny and hilarious) and they felt so special that we took the time to do this for them. It was totally worth the effort. We even made DVD case covers with pictures of us and burned copies for several of our closest friends around the office. Everyone thought we were hilarious which just confirms our summer-long reputation. :)
The rest of the afternoon we spent saying goodbye to everyone around the office. There was one common theme that they all separately reiterated...they loved us. Over and over again we heard how great we were and how they've never had interns that worked so hard or that they cared to actually get to know. So many people said they'd been working there years and never seen a better group or even bothered to learn the interns names. I don't know what's wrong with past interns but one thing's for certain...we made a really great impression. Even the big-wigs like Derek, Ed, Ross, Nicole, etc all took extra time out of their days to call us into their offices and tell us how much they appreciate what we've done all summer, how much we exceeded their expectations, how much better we were than past interns, how much they are going to miss us, and most importantly, how much they are looking forward to seeing us again when we graduate and get hired there. And they were so sincere and serious about that. Every single person we talked to practically assured us we were shoo-ins for any open position. They couldn't stress enough how great they thought we were. All along we thought we were just doing our best but we had no idea what an impact we'd made. We kept trying to thank them for the opportunity and teaching us and being so welcoming but they brushed that off to thank us for what we did. It seemed like a normal amount of work and effort to us but apparently we're unique in that respect. But unique is good...I know they will remember us in a very positive light. Basically, that means we did what we came to do. We made a good impression that equates to one giant Michael Jordan-sized foot in the door. When I hear the highest ranking staff members tell me they better get e-mail updates on my life once a month until I'm ready to get hired, I think one thing...mission accomplished.
After work (which involved some teary-eyed hugs and goodbyes) the interns, plus Blair and Melanie who had gone to Muscle Beach in Venice for the day, went to Menchie's one last time. Luckily, my favorite employees who know me were there so I got to bid them farewell. We hung out, reminisced about the summer, the laughs, the people at the office and the good times we had together. It was quite sweet and the perfect reflection session to end my internship. Unfortunately though, we had to eventually say our goodbyes. When I left Erin and Austin, the real depression set in. Erin says it's not "goodbye", it's "see you later", but I feel like that's just something you say to make yourself feel better. I still hope she's right. We've had too much silly, fun bonding time to not stay friends.
This whole experience has been the most incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I can't imagine no longer waking up to the people and job I love. I have had more fun than I ever dreamed possible and I will never forget the memories from my summer spent in LA. Even if I move back here and work at Ellen permanently, it won't be the same without the people who have become like family to me. I won't have the carefree attitude of an intern or the freedom to roam around the lot in golf carts, pick what department I want to work in, take days off to go to Disneyland, or take breaks to stalk celebs. This is an experience I can never relive and will never forget and I am going to miss it, and my Ellen family, terribly. That being said, I am certainly excited for a fantastic senior year at school. I'm living with my 3 best friends, I have a chair position in Cicerones, I'm an entertainment reporter for the TV station, I have my entertainment radio show, and I have very few difficult classes left which leaves room for easy electives and free time. It's going to be a blast and I really am looking forward to it. It's just hard to think that far ahead and not be sad right now. I feel like I'm leaving behind something I'll never get back, and in a way I am. I will never have this exact experience again, but I'm sure that when it's not so late at night with me deliriously tired and sentimental (as you can tell by my emotional, dramatic writing), I will be able to enjoy the memories I have and get ready to make new ones back at the best university in the country. I have one final day in Los Angeles, California then it's homeward bound. Gators...here I come!!
P.S. I will post the links to the intern videos once they are uploaded to Youtube so you can all enjoy our corniness. :)
The rest of the afternoon we spent saying goodbye to everyone around the office. There was one common theme that they all separately reiterated...they loved us. Over and over again we heard how great we were and how they've never had interns that worked so hard or that they cared to actually get to know. So many people said they'd been working there years and never seen a better group or even bothered to learn the interns names. I don't know what's wrong with past interns but one thing's for certain...we made a really great impression. Even the big-wigs like Derek, Ed, Ross, Nicole, etc all took extra time out of their days to call us into their offices and tell us how much they appreciate what we've done all summer, how much we exceeded their expectations, how much better we were than past interns, how much they are going to miss us, and most importantly, how much they are looking forward to seeing us again when we graduate and get hired there. And they were so sincere and serious about that. Every single person we talked to practically assured us we were shoo-ins for any open position. They couldn't stress enough how great they thought we were. All along we thought we were just doing our best but we had no idea what an impact we'd made. We kept trying to thank them for the opportunity and teaching us and being so welcoming but they brushed that off to thank us for what we did. It seemed like a normal amount of work and effort to us but apparently we're unique in that respect. But unique is good...I know they will remember us in a very positive light. Basically, that means we did what we came to do. We made a good impression that equates to one giant Michael Jordan-sized foot in the door. When I hear the highest ranking staff members tell me they better get e-mail updates on my life once a month until I'm ready to get hired, I think one thing...mission accomplished.
After work (which involved some teary-eyed hugs and goodbyes) the interns, plus Blair and Melanie who had gone to Muscle Beach in Venice for the day, went to Menchie's one last time. Luckily, my favorite employees who know me were there so I got to bid them farewell. We hung out, reminisced about the summer, the laughs, the people at the office and the good times we had together. It was quite sweet and the perfect reflection session to end my internship. Unfortunately though, we had to eventually say our goodbyes. When I left Erin and Austin, the real depression set in. Erin says it's not "goodbye", it's "see you later", but I feel like that's just something you say to make yourself feel better. I still hope she's right. We've had too much silly, fun bonding time to not stay friends.
This whole experience has been the most incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I can't imagine no longer waking up to the people and job I love. I have had more fun than I ever dreamed possible and I will never forget the memories from my summer spent in LA. Even if I move back here and work at Ellen permanently, it won't be the same without the people who have become like family to me. I won't have the carefree attitude of an intern or the freedom to roam around the lot in golf carts, pick what department I want to work in, take days off to go to Disneyland, or take breaks to stalk celebs. This is an experience I can never relive and will never forget and I am going to miss it, and my Ellen family, terribly. That being said, I am certainly excited for a fantastic senior year at school. I'm living with my 3 best friends, I have a chair position in Cicerones, I'm an entertainment reporter for the TV station, I have my entertainment radio show, and I have very few difficult classes left which leaves room for easy electives and free time. It's going to be a blast and I really am looking forward to it. It's just hard to think that far ahead and not be sad right now. I feel like I'm leaving behind something I'll never get back, and in a way I am. I will never have this exact experience again, but I'm sure that when it's not so late at night with me deliriously tired and sentimental (as you can tell by my emotional, dramatic writing), I will be able to enjoy the memories I have and get ready to make new ones back at the best university in the country. I have one final day in Los Angeles, California then it's homeward bound. Gators...here I come!!
P.S. I will post the links to the intern videos once they are uploaded to Youtube so you can all enjoy our corniness. :)
Terrrriffic Tuesday!
Not that every Tuesday working at Ellen isn't terriffic, but today was a good one. Erin had missed work a few days so we were happy to have her back today. Today we did a lot of work for Human Interest. Much like going through the newspapers from the entire summer that we did last week, we're now going through the websites of all the big news shows as well as watching a lot of the morning and talk shows on TiVo from the past 2 months looking for stories we might want to book. It takes a while and is pretty tedious but when we're together it's fun. We also did some audience booking of course and hung out with the PAs. We were also looking through more Talented Kid submission videos which can be really entertaining.
After work, Erin, Austin and I met Amy, Blair and Melanie over at Stage 25 for a taping of my favorite comedy (and my sister's favorite show)...The Big Bang Theory!! I met a studio DJ in the beginning of the summer at the Bill Engvall tapings and kept in contact with him so since he was also doing the DJing for Big Bang, he got all 6 of us VIP seats! :) We were right in the center so we could see really well and it was so much fun! It was the first episode of their new season and it was hilarious, of course. I can't wait for the season to premiere because if the level of comedy for this episode is anything like the rest...this season's going to be fantastic. Erin, Amy and I all got pulled up to the front by the emcee to do audience participation things like dance contests (Amy), Bachelorette interviewing bachelors (me) and chicken farm animals (Erin). It was HILARIOUS! Hahahaha, I wish I had it all on recording because we were too funny. By the end, everyone in the audience knew our group from our dancing in the seats to our singing to our messing around with the emcee. Erin won me an autographed picture of the cast!! She gave it to me as thanks for getting the tickets which was so sweet of her! She knew how big of a fan I am. The taping went much longer than usual (almost 5 hours) because there were some make-up changes (I don't want to give anything away) so we were all really tired at the end and fading fast, but it was still a great show and we had a blast.
Tomorrow is the day I have been dreading since the first dance party in Megan and Gabi's office two months ago...my very last day as an intern with the Ellen Degeneres Show. I am so unbelieveably sad and I don't even want to go to bed because that means waking up on my last day. I love this job so much and even more, I love the interns so much. I can't imagine not seeing them every day. I am so excited to reveal our presents to Megan and Gabi tomorrow even though I wish the day would never come. We worked hard on them and I think they're pretty creative so I'm sure they are going to freak out. Apparently interns don't usually do cool stuff when they leave. All the better for us though...we'll stand out. We're all even wearing our Laugh.Dance.Intern. shirts we made in the beginning of the summer. We're going to take some pictures of us over at the stage for our own collection. We're also hoping to not work very hard and just talk to as many people as possible and enjoy each other's company. The office loves us so much I'm sure it won't be a problem. :)
After work, Erin, Austin and I met Amy, Blair and Melanie over at Stage 25 for a taping of my favorite comedy (and my sister's favorite show)...The Big Bang Theory!! I met a studio DJ in the beginning of the summer at the Bill Engvall tapings and kept in contact with him so since he was also doing the DJing for Big Bang, he got all 6 of us VIP seats! :) We were right in the center so we could see really well and it was so much fun! It was the first episode of their new season and it was hilarious, of course. I can't wait for the season to premiere because if the level of comedy for this episode is anything like the rest...this season's going to be fantastic. Erin, Amy and I all got pulled up to the front by the emcee to do audience participation things like dance contests (Amy), Bachelorette interviewing bachelors (me) and chicken farm animals (Erin). It was HILARIOUS! Hahahaha, I wish I had it all on recording because we were too funny. By the end, everyone in the audience knew our group from our dancing in the seats to our singing to our messing around with the emcee. Erin won me an autographed picture of the cast!! She gave it to me as thanks for getting the tickets which was so sweet of her! She knew how big of a fan I am. The taping went much longer than usual (almost 5 hours) because there were some make-up changes (I don't want to give anything away) so we were all really tired at the end and fading fast, but it was still a great show and we had a blast.
Tomorrow is the day I have been dreading since the first dance party in Megan and Gabi's office two months ago...my very last day as an intern with the Ellen Degeneres Show. I am so unbelieveably sad and I don't even want to go to bed because that means waking up on my last day. I love this job so much and even more, I love the interns so much. I can't imagine not seeing them every day. I am so excited to reveal our presents to Megan and Gabi tomorrow even though I wish the day would never come. We worked hard on them and I think they're pretty creative so I'm sure they are going to freak out. Apparently interns don't usually do cool stuff when they leave. All the better for us though...we'll stand out. We're all even wearing our Laugh.Dance.Intern. shirts we made in the beginning of the summer. We're going to take some pictures of us over at the stage for our own collection. We're also hoping to not work very hard and just talk to as many people as possible and enjoy each other's company. The office loves us so much I'm sure it won't be a problem. :)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Last Monday Ever
Today is a sad day. It was my last Monday ever as an intern at the Ellen show. Only 2 days left?? NOOOOO! Say it isn't so! I refuse to believe it. This morning I went to the airport (in rush hour traffic I might add which was horrific) to pick up Blair and Mel! Yay! I love having visitors! They dropped me off and work and went on their way to have a day sight-seeing in LA.
The interns spent the morning putting packets together and getting the conference room ready for the welcome back meeting. Today was the first day the entire staff and crew was back so they had a big meeting with Ellen. I got to see her again which is always cool but we were really busy and frazzled trying to get everything ready and getting the packets made and making sure titles and employees that had changed had the right information etc. Once that was over though, we could relax some and we went to work for Audience. I really love the kids down there...too funny! We broke for lunch and then split up for the afternoon between Audience, Research and Human Interest...the three departments who are fighting over us. The afternoon seemed to go by really fast and we took some time to walk around Stage 18 looking for celebs. No luck but Austin did see Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki from The Big Bang Theory while running an errand.
After work, Blair and Mel met me at the lot to get my patented Hilary's Personal WB Lot Tour. They spent the day going to Disneyland, Rodeo Drive, shopping and to Crumbs cupcakes. I took them through the backlot, the Gilmore Girls set (which Mel really loved), the Eastwick set, by some stages, and around the lot. Then we of course went through the Ellen office and the Ellen stage taking pictures the whole way. :) I think they really liked seeing everything. It is pretty cool to see how that stuff works. They both said they'll never look at a TV show the same way now that they've seen a stage with all the lights and cameras. By the time we finished they'd been up for 20 hours and we exhausted so we went to Boston Market and got dinner To-Go before heading home. We got ready for bed and watched the Teen Choice Awards '09 (whoo hoo I was there!) on TV before hitting the sack. Poor Blair has to wake up early to take me to work so they can have the car to go around the city tomorrow. At least room and board is free!
The interns spent the morning putting packets together and getting the conference room ready for the welcome back meeting. Today was the first day the entire staff and crew was back so they had a big meeting with Ellen. I got to see her again which is always cool but we were really busy and frazzled trying to get everything ready and getting the packets made and making sure titles and employees that had changed had the right information etc. Once that was over though, we could relax some and we went to work for Audience. I really love the kids down there...too funny! We broke for lunch and then split up for the afternoon between Audience, Research and Human Interest...the three departments who are fighting over us. The afternoon seemed to go by really fast and we took some time to walk around Stage 18 looking for celebs. No luck but Austin did see Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki from The Big Bang Theory while running an errand.
After work, Blair and Mel met me at the lot to get my patented Hilary's Personal WB Lot Tour. They spent the day going to Disneyland, Rodeo Drive, shopping and to Crumbs cupcakes. I took them through the backlot, the Gilmore Girls set (which Mel really loved), the Eastwick set, by some stages, and around the lot. Then we of course went through the Ellen office and the Ellen stage taking pictures the whole way. :) I think they really liked seeing everything. It is pretty cool to see how that stuff works. They both said they'll never look at a TV show the same way now that they've seen a stage with all the lights and cameras. By the time we finished they'd been up for 20 hours and we exhausted so we went to Boston Market and got dinner To-Go before heading home. We got ready for bed and watched the Teen Choice Awards '09 (whoo hoo I was there!) on TV before hitting the sack. Poor Blair has to wake up early to take me to work so they can have the car to go around the city tomorrow. At least room and board is free!
Airport
I didn't mention this last night but I have visitors! I am on my way to the airport right now to pick up my best friend Blair and her sister Melanie who are going to hang out and visit LA for a few days. Yay! They have GRACIOUSLY agreed to make the long trek home with me to move all my stuff back so we're making it into a mini-road trip. :) I miss my B so I can't wait to see her! I just hope our time isn't spent entirely on me packing and not enjoying the city since I haven't really started... (oops!)
On a sadder note, it really hit me hard this morning that this is my final week in LA. My last three days of work. My last three days with the other interns. My last three days with my Ellen friends. I can't believe the summer went by so fast! I don't want it to end. :'(
On a sadder note, it really hit me hard this morning that this is my final week in LA. My last three days of work. My last three days with the other interns. My last three days with my Ellen friends. I can't believe the summer went by so fast! I don't want it to end. :'(
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Teen Choice Awards!
Believe it or not, the Teen Choice Awards was not the only time I saw Miley Cyrus today. Let me start at the beginning. On my way to Santa Clarita to pick up Erin, I stopped by Michael's to get a picture frame for us to make a present for Megan and Gabi. What do you know...Miley and her mom were there shopping!! So of course I stalked them a little staying a safe aisle away at all times until I actually ended up in the fram aisle where I needed to be. As I reached up to pick out the one I wanted, she and her mom passed by and I got really distracted. I turned to look and in my excitement, I caused a chain reaction which sent 6 picture frams crashing to the floor. Yes, they all broke. Yes, glass shattered everywhere. And yes, Miley and her mom stopped, looked and me and laughed. Unfortunately they didn't stop to chat but we did share a laugh. Needless to say, I was really embarrased but entertained at the same time haha. Luckily an employee came over and said it was no problem and cleaned it up. I didn't have to pay for them or anything and he was really nice about it. It amazes me the kind of stories I come home with at night.
Anyhow, after my brief and mortifying celebrity "encounter" I picked up Erin and we met Austin at the studio. We spent some time working on our intern goodbye project. You guys have no idea...it's going to be so sick!! Haha and we've had a blast making it. As if my day wasn't rad enough by then, Austin drove Erin home and then we met back up for...THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS!!
I got to go to an actual awards show in LA! Next time I go to an awards show...I'll be the one with a 5 person entourage escourting me to my assigned seat on a couch in the front row. :) It was such an insanely cool experience! I got to see like 20 of my favorite stars all together in the same place. It was like 5 concerts in one because Jonas Brothers (who hosted the whole thing) performed, Miley Cyrus performed, Black Eyed Peas (who came from the air on wires and surfboards which was by far the coolest entrance of the night) and Sean Kingston. I can't even tell you the number of celebs I was so close to, whether they were accepting, presenting, or just there. Ellen was there ironically haha. The biggest hit of the night was actually the Twilight cast which makes me sad but in reality, that movie is pretty terrible. From what I can tell, the movie is only really enjoyed by people who have read the books and are therefore already fans of the series. But the screams for Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner were as loud as Jonas...trust me, that's saying something. :) Anyway, I will never forget this experience and I am so glad I got to do it. Plus the fact that it was the TEEN Choice Awards...think about it- that's like my mothership! The whole night was just unbelieveably AWESOME!
Anyhow, after my brief and mortifying celebrity "encounter" I picked up Erin and we met Austin at the studio. We spent some time working on our intern goodbye project. You guys have no idea...it's going to be so sick!! Haha and we've had a blast making it. As if my day wasn't rad enough by then, Austin drove Erin home and then we met back up for...THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS!!
I got to go to an actual awards show in LA! Next time I go to an awards show...I'll be the one with a 5 person entourage escourting me to my assigned seat on a couch in the front row. :) It was such an insanely cool experience! I got to see like 20 of my favorite stars all together in the same place. It was like 5 concerts in one because Jonas Brothers (who hosted the whole thing) performed, Miley Cyrus performed, Black Eyed Peas (who came from the air on wires and surfboards which was by far the coolest entrance of the night) and Sean Kingston. I can't even tell you the number of celebs I was so close to, whether they were accepting, presenting, or just there. Ellen was there ironically haha. The biggest hit of the night was actually the Twilight cast which makes me sad but in reality, that movie is pretty terrible. From what I can tell, the movie is only really enjoyed by people who have read the books and are therefore already fans of the series. But the screams for Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner were as loud as Jonas...trust me, that's saying something. :) Anyway, I will never forget this experience and I am so glad I got to do it. Plus the fact that it was the TEEN Choice Awards...think about it- that's like my mothership! The whole night was just unbelieveably AWESOME!
Final Weekend
Unfortunately, it's not all fun for my last weekend in LA. I spent the morning at the auto shop getting my car all ready for the road trip back to FL. This afternoon I caught up on all my recorded TV shows (it's been a lot easier this summer either because I have more time or because there are fewer shows with new episodes during summer) and hung out with Amy. She watched a special about Albert Einstien...LAME!! Haha but hey, that's us! Austin and I went to see the movie Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan this evening. He also insisted we go to Big Boy burger place because apparently it's famous and his favorite restaurant. And he's not kidding...the picture of Big Boy is his background on his phone haha. It's like a Steak-n-Shake diner but more old-fashioned. I have to admit it was really delicious and the one we went to near the studio is the original. Evidently they're really popular all over the country now. I guess Florida just missed that boat.
Tonight I finally got to meet all of Amy's law firm friends that she's been talking about. It was really nice to put faces with the names and stories. They are all such nice people and were really welcoming! We went to an upscale gay bar in WeHo (West Hollywood) which was a blast! Gay clubs are so much more fun because you don't have to worry about obnoxious guys trying to talk to you. :) We had a great time drinking and talking and having fun and then I drove people home since I was sober. The clubs out here are so classy and fancy! Expensive yes, but pretty cool. I have to wake up early tomorrow for some intern activities. I'm really excited about tomorrow night though because I'm going to...THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS!! Yes, I get to go to an award show! It's going to be so cool and it being the "teen" choice awards means that all of my favorite celebs will be there. :) Can't wait!
Tonight I finally got to meet all of Amy's law firm friends that she's been talking about. It was really nice to put faces with the names and stories. They are all such nice people and were really welcoming! We went to an upscale gay bar in WeHo (West Hollywood) which was a blast! Gay clubs are so much more fun because you don't have to worry about obnoxious guys trying to talk to you. :) We had a great time drinking and talking and having fun and then I drove people home since I was sober. The clubs out here are so classy and fancy! Expensive yes, but pretty cool. I have to wake up early tomorrow for some intern activities. I'm really excited about tomorrow night though because I'm going to...THE TEEN CHOICE AWARDS!! Yes, I get to go to an award show! It's going to be so cool and it being the "teen" choice awards means that all of my favorite celebs will be there. :) Can't wait!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
High Demand for Interns
The reason today was so stressful is because it was only Austin and me in the office and all the departments were fighting over us. During the filming season (fall and spring semesters) each department has their own set of interns to use all day so during the summer they each like to treat us like their own personal interns. It got so bad today that we had to take direct orders on what to do only from our boss Gabi because the depts were going behind her back to get us. I spent the morning in Research helping them catch up on magazines while Austin did some work for Audience. HI pitched a fit because we were "supposed to" be doing a project for them so they took it to the big boss and got a credo stating we had to help them. We felt a lot of tension watching the heads of the depts argue over us and it made us kind of uncomfortable but Gabi and Megan totally had our backs the whole way and stood up for us so it was all okay. We pretty much finished the HI project this afternoon but we're scared to tell them because they keep trying to hog us and we're afraid they'll just give us another project immediately so they can claim us again. Ugh...if we weren't so good we wouldn't have produced such high expectations! :)
After work I went to Austin's to work on the funny present we're planning for Megan and Gabi. It's only partially completed but holy cow it's the sickest thing ever!! Amy can back me up on that...it's wicked rad. We took a late night trip to Menchie's and then watched Mean Girls because he had never seen it and even his guy friends admited it was funny. Thankfully, he liked it. But that should be no surprise since it's a piece of Amy Poehler/Tiny Fey magnificence. Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in which will be fantastic and then see if there's anything else I need to check off my LA list during my last weekend in town. :'( One must-do: get my car checked out before the road trip back!
After work I went to Austin's to work on the funny present we're planning for Megan and Gabi. It's only partially completed but holy cow it's the sickest thing ever!! Amy can back me up on that...it's wicked rad. We took a late night trip to Menchie's and then watched Mean Girls because he had never seen it and even his guy friends admited it was funny. Thankfully, he liked it. But that should be no surprise since it's a piece of Amy Poehler/Tiny Fey magnificence. Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in which will be fantastic and then see if there's anything else I need to check off my LA list during my last weekend in town. :'( One must-do: get my car checked out before the road trip back!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Intern Fun!
We got a new project assignment from HI today that kept us pretty busy. They've decided to re-do their entire filing system. So today we created a new system of categories and numbering for all the Human Interest pitches (taleted kids, variety acts, new books etc) and started actually implementing the system. Oh goody, we get to sort through a poorly developed system before we can organize our own. Luckily, they decided to toss a lot of the old pitches (which come in the form of DVDs, books, VHS and yes, even Beta tape) so we had fewer items to deal with. We'll probably be working on that until we finish next week.
Other than the HI project, we helped move, or should I say rotate, furniture in all the EPs offices. I was unaware that furniture, no matter how ugly, represents hierarchy. For example, Ellen wanted new furniture in her office. So, our main Executive Producer Ed, ditched all his furniture and took Ellen's...right down to the hideous rug. So then EP Andy decided he wanted Ed's old furniture. However, when the third EP Mary found out, she decided she wanted it too so the two of them had to split Ed's hand-me-downs. Then Ellen's dressing room furniture came out and the three of them split that. The furniture that wasn't deemed worthy of Ed, Andy and Mary was passed down to comedy writers Kevin Leman and Andy Zenor. It was a true game of musical chairs...with no music, competition, and no fun. Seeing as how ugly the brown and grey rug (which reminds me...why do people put a rug over carpet?) means I have to believe it's about the prestige of knowing it was Ellen's...not the aesthetic appeal.
No celeb sightings today. We checked Stage 18 periodically but there was no Craft Services (catering) or coffee cart or anything so I don't think they were filming today. After work the interns went to the stage to work on a little project we're cooking up. We want to leave some visual confirmation behind that we were the coolest interns the Ellen Show's ever had. Let's just say it involves gangster clothes, acrobatics, Austin's awkward dance moves, my lips, and a videocamera. Don't worry...I'll post it when it's done so you can all enjoy and soak up our intern awesomeness. :)
Other than the HI project, we helped move, or should I say rotate, furniture in all the EPs offices. I was unaware that furniture, no matter how ugly, represents hierarchy. For example, Ellen wanted new furniture in her office. So, our main Executive Producer Ed, ditched all his furniture and took Ellen's...right down to the hideous rug. So then EP Andy decided he wanted Ed's old furniture. However, when the third EP Mary found out, she decided she wanted it too so the two of them had to split Ed's hand-me-downs. Then Ellen's dressing room furniture came out and the three of them split that. The furniture that wasn't deemed worthy of Ed, Andy and Mary was passed down to comedy writers Kevin Leman and Andy Zenor. It was a true game of musical chairs...with no music, competition, and no fun. Seeing as how ugly the brown and grey rug (which reminds me...why do people put a rug over carpet?) means I have to believe it's about the prestige of knowing it was Ellen's...not the aesthetic appeal.
No celeb sightings today. We checked Stage 18 periodically but there was no Craft Services (catering) or coffee cart or anything so I don't think they were filming today. After work the interns went to the stage to work on a little project we're cooking up. We want to leave some visual confirmation behind that we were the coolest interns the Ellen Show's ever had. Let's just say it involves gangster clothes, acrobatics, Austin's awkward dance moves, my lips, and a videocamera. Don't worry...I'll post it when it's done so you can all enjoy and soak up our intern awesomeness. :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
More Celebs
This morning we took another lap around Stage 18 to see if we could find any more of the Valentine's Day celebs but that was to no avail. So instead we headed back to the office and spent the day working in Audience, HI, and helping to rearrange furniture in the EPs and Ellen's office. I love the set-up in Ellen's office! I had no idea she copied my dorm room from last year! She has a little beach area with a palm tree and a life vest. I love how she got new everything in her dressing room at the stage AND in her office. Must be nice! I did get some good news...the EPs remember my name. I was grabbing a piece of gum from Louise's desk up front when...being the classic dramatic that I am, I literally upturned an entire bowl of pretzel bites. They flew all over Louise's desk, Diana's desk and the floor. The real amazing part was that I hit the head EP in the face with a pretzel bite just as he was opening the door to his office and exiting with all the bigwigs of the show. The timing was literally incredible and just my luck. A perfect example of why I love my job is that everyone in a 30 ft radius burst out laughing. But Ed did say "Way to go Hilary! I heard you interns were making a statement." So clever that Ed...guess that's why he's in charge of Ellen haha. The important thing to note is that he remembered my name. :)
There was one celebrity sighting today. I was doing a run to the Telepictures building and I circled around Stage 18 (of course) and spotted Julia Roberts and Emma Roberts walking from the make-up/hair trailer to the stage. Cool! Other than that, the day was spent doing work and pretty uneventful. We stayed late talking to Jeannie but no sweat to me because I just came home and watched TV. Now it's early to bed, early to rise! :)
There was one celebrity sighting today. I was doing a run to the Telepictures building and I circled around Stage 18 (of course) and spotted Julia Roberts and Emma Roberts walking from the make-up/hair trailer to the stage. Cool! Other than that, the day was spent doing work and pretty uneventful. We stayed late talking to Jeannie but no sweat to me because I just came home and watched TV. Now it's early to bed, early to rise! :)
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Talented Kids?
This morning we worked in Audience for a few hours continuing to book people to see the show in September. We broke for lunch and to wander over to the stage because Ellen was over there in her dressing room. We like to purposely "happen upon" her just so we can see her and wave. We ate in the intern office while watching an episode of The Office (the one where the Michael Scott Paper Company has a pancake luncheon).
After lunch, there wasn't anything pressing so Erin and I took a Celeb-stalk golf cart ride. I previously made friends with the ID badge guy who gets a list of every celebrity on the lot, what days they're filming and what stage they're filming at. So, we stopped by his office and he gave us the run-down and we set out to find the celebs. We saw Simon Baker, the star of The Mentalist, who waved at us. we saw Mario Lopez who almost walked into our cart. We also saw the star of the new TV show Eastwick that's taking up the backlot. That set was hot today so we couldn't drive through it but she was walking next to the StarWagons (trailers) so we smiled at her too. Our big goal for tomorrow is to stalk Stage 18. They are filming a new movie called Valentine's Day with the biggest star-studded cast I've ever seen! Ready for this? Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessical Biel, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, George Lopez and Shirley McClaine. Not to mention small roles by Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner. I mean, have you ever seen such an A-List celeb cast in one movie? (One movie that isn't animated...those don't count). It's a Gerry Marshall film so it's going to be hilarious and I can't wait to see it. We found out where they'll be filming and we know it's in the morning so we'll see if we can pull it off tomorrow to scout out the area. :)
After that we spent the rest of the afternoon working with the Human Interest department which was new for us. It's similar to Research because we are looking through online and paper periodicals for good HI stories (talented kids, funny web videos, hero stories, cute animals, etc). We'll be doing a little of that every day probably until we leave. After work we had a Jeannie(the receptionist who is also on-air doing GoldDigger if you watch the show)/intern dinner at The Counter which is a create-your-own burger place. It's actually pretty unique and there are tons of options which makes it cool. The food, as most food in LA is, was delicious. We had a great time and spent 3 hours chatting about our futures, Jeannie's future, our lives, girls vs boys, families etc. Basically, Jeannie's only 23 so even though she's an employee she's like one of us. It was great! The interns (when I say "interns" I'm usually referring to Erin, Austin and me since Dante has been hired to stay on after the internship is over and he doesn't do stuff with us after work much) are planning a fun "goodbye" video for our bosses Megan and Gabi so we'll start working on that soon since we only have a week left. :( More on that to come... :P
After lunch, there wasn't anything pressing so Erin and I took a Celeb-stalk golf cart ride. I previously made friends with the ID badge guy who gets a list of every celebrity on the lot, what days they're filming and what stage they're filming at. So, we stopped by his office and he gave us the run-down and we set out to find the celebs. We saw Simon Baker, the star of The Mentalist, who waved at us. we saw Mario Lopez who almost walked into our cart. We also saw the star of the new TV show Eastwick that's taking up the backlot. That set was hot today so we couldn't drive through it but she was walking next to the StarWagons (trailers) so we smiled at her too. Our big goal for tomorrow is to stalk Stage 18. They are filming a new movie called Valentine's Day with the biggest star-studded cast I've ever seen! Ready for this? Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Emma Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessical Biel, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, George Lopez and Shirley McClaine. Not to mention small roles by Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner. I mean, have you ever seen such an A-List celeb cast in one movie? (One movie that isn't animated...those don't count). It's a Gerry Marshall film so it's going to be hilarious and I can't wait to see it. We found out where they'll be filming and we know it's in the morning so we'll see if we can pull it off tomorrow to scout out the area. :)
After that we spent the rest of the afternoon working with the Human Interest department which was new for us. It's similar to Research because we are looking through online and paper periodicals for good HI stories (talented kids, funny web videos, hero stories, cute animals, etc). We'll be doing a little of that every day probably until we leave. After work we had a Jeannie(the receptionist who is also on-air doing GoldDigger if you watch the show)/intern dinner at The Counter which is a create-your-own burger place. It's actually pretty unique and there are tons of options which makes it cool. The food, as most food in LA is, was delicious. We had a great time and spent 3 hours chatting about our futures, Jeannie's future, our lives, girls vs boys, families etc. Basically, Jeannie's only 23 so even though she's an employee she's like one of us. It was great! The interns (when I say "interns" I'm usually referring to Erin, Austin and me since Dante has been hired to stay on after the internship is over and he doesn't do stuff with us after work much) are planning a fun "goodbye" video for our bosses Megan and Gabi so we'll start working on that soon since we only have a week left. :( More on that to come... :P
Monday, August 3, 2009
Last Full Week @ Ellen
My time is quickly coming to an end here in LA. It's quite sad but there's still fun to be had! (Hey, that rhymed) I was really tired today after my busy weekend and late night. But I did make it in to work on time. We split the day between booking people in audience and helping prep Ellen's dressing room for the new season. She's getting new furniture, rugs, decorations etc. I mean, the old ones were sooo last season. I have to admit I find it silly to spend such huge hoards of money on rugs and art when you intend to get rid of it in 9 months...but I suppose if you're that rich you can do as you wish! Speaking of the ubiquitous "you", Ellen came into the office today. Lots of people who have been off for a couple months are back now so it's busy again. That includes the EPs, Craig and Ellen. She was only there for a little while to have a new season projection meeting but I did see her and she smiled at me. I'm not sure if the interns will get an official introduction but she was nice enough to wave and recognize me which I appreciate. She'll probably be around for my last couple weeks for short times as we plan for the new shows but she doesn't spend much time in the office. She usually sticks around the stage and after seeing her dressing room, I can't blame her! It's huge and really nice with just about everything you could possibly want. The receiving room actually has a hairdresser/make-up chair AND a barber chair. Apparently the differing heights are required because she gets her hair cut every week and styled every day. The dressing room is basically a miniature house...that's nicer than my real house. But hey- I'm not a super rich hilarious comedian with 30 years of hard work in the public eye under my belt.
So I really like working in audience because the girls down there are so much fun but I do miss being up with everyone else in the office. Audience is so loud that they stick them downstairs by themselves so they don't disturb everyone. It's fun because we can be loud and funny and have dance parties but it can be lonely if we don't get to see our usual friends we've been working with for weeks. Anyhow, we take turns running upstairs to visit around the other offices so we can excape the audience pit every now and then. So, after work I gave myself a pedicure and now I'm going to bed early. I am in serious need of sleep. Tomorrow's another day and I think it will involve some Menchie's. I'm starting to have withdrawls from the lack of fro-yo for 6 days.
So I really like working in audience because the girls down there are so much fun but I do miss being up with everyone else in the office. Audience is so loud that they stick them downstairs by themselves so they don't disturb everyone. It's fun because we can be loud and funny and have dance parties but it can be lonely if we don't get to see our usual friends we've been working with for weeks. Anyhow, we take turns running upstairs to visit around the other offices so we can excape the audience pit every now and then. So, after work I gave myself a pedicure and now I'm going to bed early. I am in serious need of sleep. Tomorrow's another day and I think it will involve some Menchie's. I'm starting to have withdrawls from the lack of fro-yo for 6 days.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
"Home" Sweet "Home"
I put the "home" in parethesis so as not to upset my mother who gets offended when I refer to anywhere but my Tampa childhood house as "home". But what I mean is...I am back at my house in LA writing this blog tonight. This morning we boated for our last day in St. Louis with the family and had perfect weather for just that. I got some color and I think the whole family will be sore for days from all the water sports. We ate lunch and hung around the house until we had to go to the airport.
I must say I usually enjoy flying but I've had my fill for a while. My first flight was really uncomfortable because the two men sitting next to me slept loudly and in my space. That flight was late so I had to run, literally, to my next gate in Phoenix so as not to mix my connection. I barely made it but thankfully I did. The second flight was much shorter and much better. We had a little turbulence but Gabrielle Union was on my flight and I got to meet her so I was happy. I also timed my book perfectly and finished reading the last page as we pulled up to the gate. Another romance novel down. I had pleasant conversation with the two people in the shuttle to my parking garage and after a brief reunion dance with Alvin the Avalon, I headed "home". Now I am exhausted, sleepy, stiff/sore and very ready for bed. Therefore, I bid you ado.
P.S. THANK YOU to Aunt Sharon, Uncle Gary and Cousin Dave for hosting us for a fantastic, fun, boating-filled weekend in St. Louis!!
I must say I usually enjoy flying but I've had my fill for a while. My first flight was really uncomfortable because the two men sitting next to me slept loudly and in my space. That flight was late so I had to run, literally, to my next gate in Phoenix so as not to mix my connection. I barely made it but thankfully I did. The second flight was much shorter and much better. We had a little turbulence but Gabrielle Union was on my flight and I got to meet her so I was happy. I also timed my book perfectly and finished reading the last page as we pulled up to the gate. Another romance novel down. I had pleasant conversation with the two people in the shuttle to my parking garage and after a brief reunion dance with Alvin the Avalon, I headed "home". Now I am exhausted, sleepy, stiff/sore and very ready for bed. Therefore, I bid you ado.
P.S. THANK YOU to Aunt Sharon, Uncle Gary and Cousin Dave for hosting us for a fantastic, fun, boating-filled weekend in St. Louis!!
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