Thursday, January 24, 2013

The One Moment I Was a Celebrity

Sorry to state the obvious here, but I am not a celebrity. I know, surprise, surprise, right?

The closest I ever get to being anything near a celebrity is when I'm thrown in a room with a bunch of unpublished writers. At that point, my celebrity status moves up a half a notch. But even so, if some REAL or even a quasi-celebrity like the Progressive girl walked into that very room, I'd be abandoned in seconds. SECONDS!

I tell you this, because a funny thing happened to me at BEA.

BEA (Book Expo America) is like the big north american book trade show. All the publishers set up booths and show off their goods, and it's literally one of those events where you turn the corner an "OH! There's Tim Gunn!" Then you turn another corner and "OH! There's a really tall Harlem Globetrotter!" and then "OH! There's Michael Ian Black!" (Though I did not know his name at the time...I had to Google it. But I recognized his face!).

So, I'm at this event, and it was just after I was sitting in a rest area, secretly Googling the name of the guy across from me (he seemed really important...turned out he was like an investment millionaire). I walk away, and this random guy walks past me and then I hear him go:

"Megan?! ... Is it...could it be...?"

My heart stopped. What if he's talking to me?! What if he thinks I'm...famous! Oh man. THE PRESSURE! What do I do?! How do I crush his hopes and dreams? And how can I live with myself after experiencing the high of a real celebrity?!

After much contemplation (that took about half a second), I hesitantly turned around.

Yes, the guy had been talking to me. Yes, his face bore the most expectant, hopeful expression.

And yes, all of that came crashing down when he realized that I was in fact not Megan.

And felt bad for letting him down. So bad, i almost apologized to the guy.

Sorry for not being Megan. Sorry for ruining your day.
Sorry for not giving you fodder for your blog.
But look on the bright side! You gave me fodder for mine.

8 comments:

  1. Happens to me all the time. Aishwarya, is that you? ha. Kidding.
    Yur funny, Amanda! :)
    -Raj

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    1. Oh man, I am so uncultured. I had to look her up!

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    2. That's messed up Amanda! But I'll let it slide. Just this one time! ;)

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  2. Imagine what your life will be like when you get to be like Chip-famous. Can't go anywhere without a flock of wanna-be writers trailing you. *snicker*

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  3. Now I want to know which Megan you might've been.

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    1. Let's just imagine it was "Megan Fox" and leave it at that ;)

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  4. I'm a Megan!

    Cute story. I wonder sometimes what famous people really feel inside -- their real feelings.

    Paul Newman was such a private famous person. I had the honor of meeting him and kind of stalking him.

    Now stalking is a strong term, so let me explain. This is actually a good story.
    I was working at Boggy Creek Gang Camp in Florida. Boggy Creek is one of the camps of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, which Paul Newman founded for chronically ill and terminally ill children. I was a camp counselor there in 1997.

    Paul Newman came to camp when the Universal Studios Theater at the camp was unveiled. I remember thinking this is my chance to meet Paul Newman! We were all told that Mr. Newman does not like to be bothered. He likes to hang out with the campers and be left alone. Well, that was not going to stop me.

    He sat with the Yellow Team. I was on the Green Team. And our cheers were not as great as the Yellow Team. It did not surprise me he sat with the Yellow Team. So I circled the place like an eagle, refilling my soda over and over. Paul Newman just blended in like a regular person.

    After my fifth refill of soda, I just went right up to him -- tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and slide his sunglasses down revealing his azure blue hypnotic eyes and said, "Yes, may I help you?"

    I mumbled out, "Um...Um... You eat camp food?"
    He smiled and said, "Yeah." Then he turned around leaving me kneeling on the wood floor of the mess floor in a sea of yellow camp t-shirts.

    It was awkward. It was beautiful. It was my one moment of fame.

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