What I Did Over My Summer Vacation Part I

This past summer was beautiful but I admit that I’ve been a bit remiss at chronicling my adventures.  I'd rather not forget these little moments of splendor though so I thought I'd do a little "Best of" list. Over the next few days I'll be posting about my favorite memories from the past few months. It might not mean a lot to anyone but me and those friends who were there for the ride, but there you go; a little insight into why this summer will go down as one of the best in recent memory.

In Which Joel McHale is Really Tall 

In June some of my friends and I had the opportunity to attend a taping of The Soup with Joel McHale. Ever since my new-found infatuation with Community I’ve had a bit of a crush on Mr. McHale so needless to say, I was nervous/excited at the chance to meet him.

Fortunately, the experience lived up to, nay, exceeded expectation. The studio that the show is taped in is so tiny and there are only about thirty people in the audience. It was pretty cool to get a glimpse into the taping of a show like this and of course, it’s completely different than sitting on the couch and watching at home. For example: it's only a half an hour show but we were there for about three hours. Every time Joel messed up a punchline (or if a joke completely bombed) they would have to replay the clip and then re-do the joke. This means then that there were some clips we saw at least four or five times. There was a particular clip from SYTYCD that we saw maybe forty-seven times (I might be exaggerating a slight bit) and by the end of it the studio laughter was completely strained and unnatural.

Please know though that this is not a complaint. Joel kept us plenty entertained. He talked with the audience in between breaks, telling stories about his kids and his recent trip to Europe. His sense of humor is really dry and sarcastic and I loved hearing his take on the whole reality TV phenomenon. Dude, is not a fan. (Which only endears him to me more). After the show he stayed behind and took pictures. We were the last ones in lines and it was almost 11:00pm so they started kicking us out and we were afraid we weren't going to get to talk to him. But he followed us out to this little side hallway and even though you could tell he was exhausted he stayed and took pictures (and even stuck with us when a couple of the pictures were blurry and needed to be retaken). Really cool guy. Oh, yeah, and tall. So tall. Loved it.

In Which That Naked Guy from the Hangover Hugs Me

A few weeks later there was an invitation on the Community Facebook page for a screening of the show in L.A. with Joel and Ken Jeong. It sounded fun, like we would just be watching a couple of episodes and Ken and Joel would be there for a Q&A type thing. My friend Mary and I decided "what the heck, let's take the day off and do it." So we drove down there early in the morning, thinking that there would be a long line. Turns out, we were the first people there which was kind of weird but turned out to only lead to good things. While we were waiting there in line Kevin Bacon drove up to the lot and flashed us the peace sign. This was exciting... but we had no idea how much better the day was about to get.

While we were waiting a guy with a headset came and pulled ten random people out of line. Mary and I were part of this group and they led us, secret-service style, through the lot all-the-while calling us "The Ten" like we were survivors of Oceanic 815. When we finally got to the theater Joel and Ken were sitting at the front in director's chairs looking over scripts. Of course, we had already met Joel so we were like "yawn, whatevs" (OR NOT). We were directed to sit in the front row, dead center. As it turned out we weren't just going to be watching episodes. Oh no. This was a promo shoot for the Community marathon that was going to be airing the next week. The technical term is "wrap-around" but what we got out of it was, "We're going to be on NBC? The hell?"


This was a hard enough fact to absorb. Add that to the fact that we were in a room with Joel McHale and Ken Jeong for five hours and it was basically five hours of free comedy entertainment. By the end of the day my cheeks actually hurt from smiling and laughing all day. There were scripts that they were supposed to be following but in all honesty, the scripts sucked and Ken and Joel seemed to know this and it turned into a complete improv session - imagine two hilarious people trying to crack each other up. Unfortunately, some of the best moments would never have made it past NBC sensors. This includes a moment where Ken came out into the audience and sat on Mary's lap. He started doing these crazy hand motions and making these noises and seriously, how people work and act and keep straight faces around him is unimaginable to me. Shooting this one thirty-second clip took about forty-five minutes and afterward he hugged and thanked both of us. (Apparently my reactions to him were impressive - GO ME. ACTING).  He was just so sweet and genuine and a huge part of what made this such an awesome day. Mary and I have even dubbed it The Day of Awesome. The video above is a somewhat poor quality version of some of the outtakes. And yes, there I am front and center laughing like a lunatic.

In Which I Almost Get Into a Spazzy Twitter Related Car Accident

After said Day of Awesome  Mary and I decided to head over to IHOP to reminisce about the day and just generally freak out together. We were in the middle of Hollywood and I really didn’t have much of a clue where I was going (although, thank you GPS) but I was trying to navigate the streets during rush hour when suddenly… I almost crash the damn car. Why? Because in the middle of our “Oh, wasn’t that a lovely day?” Joel McHale tweeted a picture of us. Cue lots of "we're too old for this but who even cares" kind of screaming.

This guy has somewhere upward of a million followers and he tweeted a picture of US. CRAZY. I SAY AGAIN, CRAZY. Needless to say, we kind of had a mini meltdown and it was a bit of a miracle that we arrived at IHOP in one place. We ended up staying there for about three hours just rambling incoherently about the day and how much we love this show (because has being a fan of a television show ever paid off in such a huge way? I used to love Dawson's Creek but I never got to hang out with Joshua Jackson for the day. Although, THAT would still send me into fits of tween-like squeeing). 

Now as I write all this I realize that I should have titled this section, "How Community and Joel McHale Made My Summer Fan-Freaking-Tastic." But that's kind of implied.

I also realize that I sound like a twelve year old. But hey, at least I don't have Beiber Fever. 

we're just a weatherman (you make the wind blow)

Yes, I know it's irritating to complain about the weather, especially when I live in Southern California where everything is so mild. Our summers are never too hot. Our winters are never too cold. (Althought, that whole, "it never rains in California" thing is obnoxious. It does rain here. Sometimes it's cold and cloudy and foggy. We don't run around, basking in the warmth of blue skies three-hundred and sixty five days a year. I remember an episode of The O.C. where the characters where ASTONISHED to find it raining one day. Uggh, shut up. We don't act like that. - But I digress).

However, when it's six days into fall and the barometer is reading 110° and rising, I'm probably going to do a little bit of bitching. Cause, what the heck? That's ridiculous. One of my facebook friends wrote, "I wonder if any of the California people complaining about the weather know how hot it is in Arizona." To which I wanted to respond: "Why yes I do. THAT'S WHY I DON'T LIVE THERE."

Whatever, it was weird. Let us bitch. You can complain about your heat and your humidity and snow and what-the-heck-ever too when it comes to it.

(As a sidenote: There's something weirdly cathartic about complaining via social networking sites. "I will tweet my thoughts to the world and somehow everything will magically seem better!" Maybe we're just a society that, at heart, loves to complain and talk about ourselves. Bunch of narcissistic babies.)

I'll end with something that isn't complaining though. Two days removed from the record setting heat on Monday and it's still hot but now we've got cloud cover and humidty and rain in the forecast. Which, while gross, also makes for some splendid sunsets. Like the one we had tonight. 

Hello Shows, I Missed You

The Fall Television Season officially kicked off this week. And oh, what a lovely week it's been. (Okay yes, I watch too much television. Whatever. Some people knit. I like to watch television. It's my hobby.) The summer was lovely but I've missed these characters over the past few months and somehow this is a little bit like welcoming back old friends. (Yes, one day I WILL get a life.)

I just have a few brief thoughts on some of the shows I watched this week. There are more than normal because I wanted to try out a couple of the new premieres. Over the next few weeks I will probably taper back down to normal television-watching habits.

In Which I Get Actual Chills

Is it November 19th yet? Because this looks amazing.

Albert Einstein Randomness

I read "Know it All" by A.J. Jacobs recently and came across this lovely little tidbit about Albert Einstein: a note that he wrote to his wife in an effort to save his marriage.

"You will make sure that I get my three meals a day in my room. You are neither to expect intimacy nor to reproach me in any way."

Yup. That'll do it buddy.

It's both horrible and hilarious but also a little insight into the man whose name has become synonymous with "genius." I've honestly never known much about him other than he helped to initiate the Manhattan Project and then developed a little something called E=MC² (Yeah, I know, my knowledge is astounding.) But apparently he was also kind of a jackass of a husband. Good to know.

If you're interested in garnering some more random knowledge I do recommend "Know it All." Jacobs takes on the almost impossible task of reading through the entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica (44 million words!) and chronicles the journey in alphabetical order through random facts about various Britannica subjects. He also interweaves personal memoirs, including the struggle he and his wife have in trying to conceive their first child. It's a hilarious and at times poignant read. Two thumbs up.

Things I'm Loving

1. The Hunger Games

I had heard a lot of talk recently about the release of the third book in this trilogy, Mockingjay, and everything seemed to point to it being something I would enjoy so I bought the first book while I was at Target the other day. After a few days of it just sitting around in various places around my house I finally picked it up last night at around 10:30. And I COULD. NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. Which resulted in me staying up till about 3 am to finish the dang thing. My eyeballs were ready to melt out of my skull but it was so worth it - really well written and thought-provoking and riveting. I was completely caught up in the world of of Katniss and Peeta and this strange North America That Was.

I've always had a weird fascination with these post-apocalyptic/Big Brother-taking-over kinds of stories where human character is tested: The Giver, Brave New World, The Road - books that ask, when faced with the direst of circumstances how will we respond and react to the world and each other? And yes, sometimes it's extremely dark and brutal but also just so lovely at the same time. Kind of like life I suppose.

Needless to say, I'm on my way out to pick up books two and three right now.

2. AMC

So, I was going to give this spot to Breaking Bad because I've been main-lining that show like a heroin (IRONY) these past few weeks and am just absolutely blown away by everything that this show chooses to be. But then Mad Men waltzed on in this week and punched me in the face with about eighty-seven different emotions. So, AMC in general? I love you.

I started in on Breaking Bad actually for silly reasons (I saw Aaron Paul hanging around at Lollapallooza and thought, hey I should watch his show) but then it completely sucked me in. These characters are so well-drawn and believable. I simultaneously hate them and love them. Walt is a complete badass and scary as hell at times but at the same time I can't help rooting for the guy. And Jesse is a whiny entitled idiot but I just want to weep for him because despite it all he still feels so innocent. And in almost every single episode I find myself at some point all curled-up and tense at wondering about the fate of these characters. I'm loving it and hating it at the same time because it's SO good but it's destroying my soul in the telling of this completely devastating story.

And speaking of devastating: Mad Men. Holy goodness, Jon Hamm. You sir, are an actor. This past episode killed me. Don and Peggy bonding and leaning on each other and yelling at each other and being so truthful in a way hardly anyone on this show every is - it was just beautiful. The last scene where he holds her hand? Still makes me a little choked up just thinking about it.

Yes AMC, thank you for your deliciously wonderful programming. This is quality.

Oh! And I find myself a little stupidly excited for The Walking Dead. I think this might go back to what I was saying above about my weird fascination with post-apocalyptic themes. Check out the trailer.





3. Lollapallooza Artists

I still really need to do a blog dedicated to the entirety of Lollapallooza but right now I'm just focusing on some of my new favorite artists that have come from the event. Namely, Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and The Temper Trap. In the case of Edward Sharpe, this was a band that I already loved; "Home" is one of my favorite songs right now and will probably always remind me a little bit of 2010. But watching them live is a completely new experience. First, their set was probably one of my favorites from the entire weekend. It was also probably the biggest hippy-dippy-love-fest I've ever been a part of (This band EXUDES love and happiness). I've since been listening to the entire self-titled C.D. and it's the perfect companion for a drive down the coast with the windows down. (Fun/sad fact: the seed money to record their first album came from Mr. Health Ledger *sigh*).

I also knew The Temper Trap previously. Or rather, the one song "Sweet Disposition" from the "500 Days of Summer" soundtrack. But the entire CD is pretty fabulous. Every song is something unique and ranging between the upbeat "Fader" ad the smooth "Soldier On" that accentuates the crazy high falsetto of the lead singer.

Then there's Mumford and Sons who are adorable Aussies with a folksy sound. And... I don't even know what to say. Amazing lyrics and harmony. It's hard to choose a favorite song but I'd have to say that The Cave is pretty high on the list. It's one of those songs that makes me want to get up and DO something with this life.


4. Threadless.com

If I could live in a tee-shirt and jeans forever I would. And this website would keep me in tee-shirts for life cause I would buy almost everything. Like this design which has been sold out forever. But I WANT.

5. Blueberry Vodka

It's like you're not even drinking alcohol. Which yeah, kind of dangerous. But it's all good. Just throw a splash of lemonade in there and it's like blueberries are having a party in your mouth! Plus you get drunk. And sometimes that's fun.