on fog and heat and studio tours

what a crazy freakin week! some of my favorite non-friday moments were as simple as can be. on thursday i awoke to our neighborhood drenched in fog. it wasn't the kind of fog that is dangerous or scary. moreso a fog that makes one's neighbor's house fuzzy. the kind of fog that makes you blink hard because your eyes might be failing you but--alas!--it is the softness of the marine layer. as i drove to work i watched trees appear on either side of the road as if out of nowhere. i wanted to pull over and take a million pictures but knew what i wanted the pictures to look like and knew what they would look like and so i drove on. not because i am a bad photographer. au contraire! but without the right camera...it just won't work. ya know?

by noontime on the same day it was sweltering. i mean, like f-ing hot. los alamitos was never meant to be over 90 degrees. but did los alamitos listen to me? did los al listen to any form of reason? oh no. so there it was, 100 freakin degrees. and all i was left with were the memories of our foggy morning. soft, blankety, enveloping fog.

sigh.

but really, i know you tuned in today to hear about our cbs studio tour. it was ALL KINDS OF AWESOME!! i mean, i'm trying to find words but they are sparse. turning all of the visual stimuli into words...there is so much of a disconnect.
so the backstory is this: we've been watching the bold and the beautiful for forever. it's been on since the late 80s and my mom and uj have watched it since then. ali and i have watched it since we started working for uj. so, i've been watching it for about 7 years now. (did i already tell you all of this?? hm...) A.nywho. we showed up around 9:15 a.m. and were to wait for michael (the director) to show up. he told us he'd be in around 9:30 and before he arrived we saw both kkl and aj (katherine kelly lang & ashley jones) arrive and walk right past us. (ahhh!! i loved it!!) right on time (a couple minutes early, in fact) in came michael. he's really so freakin nice, you guys. just unbelievable.

he thusly took us on a quick tour of the studio. we saw the stage where they film the price is right and the shop where they make all of the sets, draperies, costumes, etc. then he led us into b&b's studio and we walked up and down the aisles of sets used for b&b. i think our mouths were hanging open. i think we were in awe. oh, who am i kidding! we were in awe!! there, in front of us, was eric's office! and there, the forrester steam room! and, wait for it, stephanie and eric's living room!!

one by one the actors started showing up. each of them clad in jeans and tees, flip flops. some in robes. here are these people who play the parts of glamourous fashion designers, wearing extravagant gowns and crazy heels, and they're wearing what i wear. (only like ten sizes smaller than what i wear...these people are TINY!)

i don't think i can possibly say anything to overstate how teeny all of these actors are. the women are like skinny beyond belief. at one point i looked over at ben and whispered, "i feel incredibly fat right now..." like seriously. i am a monster next to these girls! but they really are beautiful. i wish i could have had the opportunity to tell kkl how much i adore her. but there was not the chance. what is one to do.

we did get to talk to a few of the actors and they were CHARMING!! don diamont (bill, also known as brad from y&r) came over and introduced himself. he was super cool. just a really nice guy. a little while later we met jack wagner (nick, also from melrose place-the one from the 90s-, also frisco on gh-). see if you recognize him:

(uj, me, jw, ali-aka my sister, and my one and only truest love--mr b.)

aren't we a handsome group?? he actually offered up this photo op and no one else did. so this was all we got. because i am, above all things, not a rule breaker.

heart breaker, yes. rule breaker, no.

then we met john mccook (eric, also from a lot of different tv and theatre stuff). he talked with us at length and the highlight of my day was when i told him i'd seen him on family ties (true story) and he seemed impressed. (well duh!) later he sat down and talked with ali and uj and came up to us many times after that just to chat. it was stellar. really.

after john (oh you know we're on a first name basis!), we met aaron spears (justin) just before he finished up his final scenes and, again, SO nice. down to earth, the whole nine. so now, even though he may cause trouble for our other favorites, he's got my vote :)

in total, everyone we met was just like a real person. even though they're celebrities, they were very genuine, laid-back, friendly. on the way home we were just on a bit of a high. the whole experience exceeded any expectation we could have had.

so now i'm waiting for michael to invite me back :) (is that terrible?? i can't wait!)

and now it's tonight. and i'm exhausted.

p.s. michael, if you're reading this, thank you for making a dream of ours come true. you single-handedly gave us an opportunity of a lifetime. we walked away on clouds of joy and excitement. and, in case you aren't reading this, i'll be sending you a thank-you note in the mail. because you're really awesome. and one of the nicest guys i've ever known.

your fan,
emily b.