November 2, 2010

What Not to Do When Something You Really Want to Happen Actually Happens

I haven't posted in some time and I do apologize for that. Apparently Alaska makes me ADD. Or autistic. Or lazy. Or all of the above. I know, I know, blame it on Alaska, right?

While I was up there, it was brought to my attention that some celebrities were in town filming a movie called Everybody Love Whales. These included Kristen Bell, Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson, and Dermot Mulroney. My personal favorite of course is good ol' John, because I love him so much as Jim on The Office. We had joked about going star hunting downtown in Anchorage because we heard rumor of what hotel they were staying in. It was really only half-joking because every time we drove downtown we were careening our necks searching, and we may possibly have gone down to the shipyard to find the movie set.

Fast-forward a few days. I was posting flyers in businesses all around town for the upcoming bridal event my company was involved in, and my assistant Gabe (he's the guy who carries the tape and tacks) procured the fabulous idea of hanging them in the local hotels. The brilliant idea evolved into riding elevators up to the top floor while hanging a flyer, and then switching elevators to hang another and heading back down. We had to be quick and stealth (two things that I happen to be excellent at) in order to not get caught by hotel management. In one of these hotels, we rounded a corner and stood next to a couple to wait for the elevator. As I glanced over, I had to do a double take, because OH MY GOSH IT WAS JIM! As I realized this, the elevator door opened, and the four of us stepped in. Jim and Gabe stood across from me and the woman stood next to me. I looked at her and OH MY GOSH IT WAS KRISTEN BELL! I was standing in an elevator with them, and there were no other fans to get in my way!

So here's what I did. I took a deep breath, and then asked them how they were enjoying Alaska. I told them I love their work, and then asked politely for a picture with them. They were more than happy to accommodate my request. Jim (whose name is actually John, but do you think I remembered that?) was so sweet. He complimented me for acting normal, because so many starstruck fans freak out and it really makes him feel uncomfortable. And Kristen said she loved my shoes.

At this point you're probably wondering why the picture is not posted. That's because I just lied. What REALLY happened is I clammed up, looked down at my iPhone while staring intently at them with my peripheral vision, and then got off the elevator. When the doors closed, I jumped up and down screaming and scared Gabe practically to death; he had been clueless to the entire situation. It slowly dawned on me that, seriously, I'm an idiot.

The lesson here is, you know what? Who cares if you look like a starstruck ninny pinny? Because you are going to feel even MORE ridiculous when your friends are flabbergasted that you did nothing, and you can see on their faces that they don't entirely believe your story (it doesn't help that your one witness to the situation has no idea who any of those actors are and frankly doesn't care either). And the feelings will increase when the next day, you find out that a friend of a friend saw Jim and Kristen AND Jim's fiance Emily Blunt last night at a restaurant, approached their table, had a great conversation, and got an awesome picture with Jim doing his adorable half smile.

So the next time your in an elevator with a movie star, talk to them. You can't even fathom the deep sorrow and regret you will experience if you don't. I may never be the same.


1 comment: