Taken from my personal journal
Today, I’ve had all of the excitement I believe my heart can handle.
We started today at the unfortunate hour of 6 am. That’s 5 am in Texas. That’s completely unnatural. The reason, however, was substantial.
We got to ABC Studios at ten minutes after seven where we stood in a single-file line on 67th street for half an hour before they let us into the lobby where we stood, packed like sardines, for another ninety minutes.
I forgot all of this as soon as they filed us into the studio to get seats.
Mom and I could have sat on the second row, but chose seats higher up, smack in the middle of the audience. The studio is WAY smaller than I imagined. Quickly, they taught us how to clap (twice as fast sound louder, twice has hard only hurts your hands). Before we knew it, Regis and Kelly came bounding through the door.
I missed everything they talked about in the first segment because I kept thinking, “Ohmygod, it’s Regis and Kelly!!” and “She’s so cute!!”
On commercial breaks, both Regis and Kelly talked to the audience. They actually made great conversation.
Billy Bob Thornton was a guest on the show today. He’s lost a significant amount of weight and is far smaller than I had anticipated. He had on what he called his “FBI Look” which was a 1-button black suit paired with huge black boots. I found the combination awkward, but I suppose when you’re famous, you can get away with those sorts of things. Jack Nicholson phoned into the show, which was pretty exciting, too.
I didn’t find out until we arrived that Fall Out Boy was going to be a guest on the. “Giddy” doesn’t quite describe the state I was in. When they came out, I kept saying, “Look! It’s Pete Wentz! From Fall Out Boy!” While they played, Kelly danced wildly. It was fantastic.
Coming back from commercial break, Regis and Kelly stood in front of the crowd to re-introduce Fall Out Boy. I was positioned perfectly between the two of them. Who knew I’d be on TV?! (Anyone wanna come over? I DVR’ed it.)
While all of this was going on, Dad ran into Sarah Jessica Parker at the Starbucks around the corner from the place where we’re staying. He actually got to talk to her. Mom always wants to see her. In the six years they’ve been going to New York, my dad happened to see Sarah Jessica Parker during the only two hours my mother has ever been away from him while on the trips. Go figure.
We met Dad at Strawberry Fields. I got to see the Dakota (where John Lennon lived and was shot). I had no idea Yoko Ono still lives there.
We walked through Central Park towards Serendipity for lunch. Across from The Plaza, there was a huge stage set up, right outside of the CBS studio. I wondered out loud who it was. Dad said, “Daughtry,” but I didn’t believe him as he often gives flippant answers, just to see a reaction from me. When I realized he was right, I squealed like a 13 year old girl and bolted through traffic to get to the stage.
The lady standing next to me took pictures like crazy. When Chris left the stage, she turned to me and said, “Who are they?” This struck me as funny ‘cause she had just taken pictures for half an hour of someone she didn’t know!
When we finally made it to Serendipity, we were surprised to find that there was no line. We were able to walk right in. We had sandwiches and frozen hot chocolate – so yummy.
