I missed it. I walked past the 30 Rock shoot as they were packing up to go home. However, I did see James Marsden , waving to the paps (there were about 4 of them there) as he was leaving this restaurant.
Showing posts with label Star Sightings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Sightings. Show all posts
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Thursday, October 13, 2011
So, now I know what happens when there is a bomb scare on your plane
I got a super cheap flight to Ohio for the Columbus day weekend. I left Saturday early in order to get there before lunch time and left at 6 am Tuesday and came straight to work. The fare was cheap enough to justify going for just two and a half days. However, the half day turned into a bit less because there was a random bomb scare on my flight. I'll preface the rest of this blogpost to say that, clearly, I'm fine and it wasn't a real bomb. Read on, if you are still interested...
About 20 minutes from our destination, we began to hear a ringing sound. Someone alerted the flight attendant and said that she thought it was coming from the overhead compartment. The flight attendant opened the overhead compartment, put her ear up to one of the suitcases and determined that it was coming from a brown suitcase. She asked around to the people in the immediate vicinity if the suitcase belonged them. (it was above seat 17, I was in seat 16B, so I was one of the people to say no.) She then made an announcement over the PA system for the person with a brown suitcase in the compartment over row 17 to speak up. No one did.
The noise continued to sound on and off for the remainder of the flight. We all assumed it was someone's alarm clock. It was not an ongoing ring, but kind of came in and out, which I think new alarms do. More annoying than the ring was the passengers around me saying, "Ugh! that's so annoying!"
When we landed, the pilot came over the PA system and said that there was a "mechanical problem" so we would not go directly to the gate, but a set of stairs would be brought to us and we'd be shuttled to the airport by bus. My paranoia kicked in and I thought I smelled smoke, which may or may not be true because Valerie said she saw some smoke somewhere, but it wasn't coming from my plane. A few minutes after sitting on the tarmac, a policeman comes on board to tell us to evacuate but leave our bags behind.
When we deplaned, we saw a bunch of firetrucks and a bunch of official people walking around. That is when I finally realized that this was not a mechanical malfunction, but they were concerned about this ringing suitcase. We stood on the tarmac for about an hour, were yelled at to put our bags on the ground so that the bomb sniffing dog could do his thing, and then told we would be shuttled back to the airport to be rescreened.
After they went through every bit of our stuff and we were totally felt up by glove-wearing TSA agents, which took about an hour for them to do all 57 of us, we waited for about another hour to get our next directions. Among those of us waiting was Elvis Costello, pictured below. I did a google search afterwards and found out that that night was going to be his first ever show in West Virginia. After this ordeal, I'm sure it was his last!
A woman with a clipboard came out and started calling peoples' names to be interviewed in pairs. The first group of four was called up -- and at least two of them were brown. I was indignant!! Until I was in the next group, and I'm as white as they come. I went into a little interview room with another man from my flight, and the firemen/bomb squad asked us what our experience was, which we described. Then one of the firemen pulled out a cell phone and played the alarm, and asked if this is what we heard. We both agreed that it was. He told us that it was an older man from our flight, who apparently didn't know it was his phone. He said that even though they were pretty sure that this cell phone was the mystery noise, the flight attendant had claimed that she heard it after we were all off the plane. Plus, the suitcase was not being claimed. So... the mystery continued. Our interviews were concluded with the fireman saying, "What can I say? We're all going to be old one day." I agreed.
After our interviews, they came through and said that they still needed to identify the brown suitcase. They asked the group if anyone had a bag with a laptop and curlers. A few women said, "Do you mean a curling iron?" others asked "do you mean a flat iron?" the answer to both of these questions was "No" which led me to believe that they need more women in the fire department, because any woman knows that they could have just walked up to the three women on the flight that appeared over the age of 60, because those are the only ones that would be carrying curlers with them. However, still no one claimed this suitcase. Finally, they just said to forget the laptop, did anyone pack curlers. After about 10 minutes a woman remembered that she had indeed brought curlers with her on the flight. The laptop was in a neoprine case that someone placed on top of someone else's suitcase and they did not go together. Once the mystery of the curler-filled bag was solved, and they were able to conclude that the sound didn't come from the bag in the first place, but from someone's pants pocket which was not in the overhead bin but on his body, we were free to leave.... AFTER they brought all of our stuff in, everyone claimed their belongings which had been taken out of the overhead compartments and seat backs, and there were no discrepancies in claiming items. This is when everyone lost their sh** because some people argued that they didn't need to claim anything and they wanted to get on with their lives. Even though this was a concern to the people in charge, they decided to let it go because we had already been there for four hours on a false alarm and everyone promised that they would not come back the next day and claim that they had left an iPad behind.
So... to sum up, I lost half of my half-day, and we had to go through all of this because:
A. an old man forgot to turn off his phone and then didn't know what his own phone sounded like when the alarm went off.
B. an old woman didn't know what her suitcase looked like and/or what was in it.
C. a flight attendant was being overly cautious about something that clearly did not blow up our plane.
and this one...
as well as this one...
About 20 minutes from our destination, we began to hear a ringing sound. Someone alerted the flight attendant and said that she thought it was coming from the overhead compartment. The flight attendant opened the overhead compartment, put her ear up to one of the suitcases and determined that it was coming from a brown suitcase. She asked around to the people in the immediate vicinity if the suitcase belonged them. (it was above seat 17, I was in seat 16B, so I was one of the people to say no.) She then made an announcement over the PA system for the person with a brown suitcase in the compartment over row 17 to speak up. No one did.
The noise continued to sound on and off for the remainder of the flight. We all assumed it was someone's alarm clock. It was not an ongoing ring, but kind of came in and out, which I think new alarms do. More annoying than the ring was the passengers around me saying, "Ugh! that's so annoying!"
When we landed, the pilot came over the PA system and said that there was a "mechanical problem" so we would not go directly to the gate, but a set of stairs would be brought to us and we'd be shuttled to the airport by bus. My paranoia kicked in and I thought I smelled smoke, which may or may not be true because Valerie said she saw some smoke somewhere, but it wasn't coming from my plane. A few minutes after sitting on the tarmac, a policeman comes on board to tell us to evacuate but leave our bags behind.When we deplaned, we saw a bunch of firetrucks and a bunch of official people walking around. That is when I finally realized that this was not a mechanical malfunction, but they were concerned about this ringing suitcase. We stood on the tarmac for about an hour, were yelled at to put our bags on the ground so that the bomb sniffing dog could do his thing, and then told we would be shuttled back to the airport to be rescreened.
After they went through every bit of our stuff and we were totally felt up by glove-wearing TSA agents, which took about an hour for them to do all 57 of us, we waited for about another hour to get our next directions. Among those of us waiting was Elvis Costello, pictured below. I did a google search afterwards and found out that that night was going to be his first ever show in West Virginia. After this ordeal, I'm sure it was his last!
A woman with a clipboard came out and started calling peoples' names to be interviewed in pairs. The first group of four was called up -- and at least two of them were brown. I was indignant!! Until I was in the next group, and I'm as white as they come. I went into a little interview room with another man from my flight, and the firemen/bomb squad asked us what our experience was, which we described. Then one of the firemen pulled out a cell phone and played the alarm, and asked if this is what we heard. We both agreed that it was. He told us that it was an older man from our flight, who apparently didn't know it was his phone. He said that even though they were pretty sure that this cell phone was the mystery noise, the flight attendant had claimed that she heard it after we were all off the plane. Plus, the suitcase was not being claimed. So... the mystery continued. Our interviews were concluded with the fireman saying, "What can I say? We're all going to be old one day." I agreed.
After our interviews, they came through and said that they still needed to identify the brown suitcase. They asked the group if anyone had a bag with a laptop and curlers. A few women said, "Do you mean a curling iron?" others asked "do you mean a flat iron?" the answer to both of these questions was "No" which led me to believe that they need more women in the fire department, because any woman knows that they could have just walked up to the three women on the flight that appeared over the age of 60, because those are the only ones that would be carrying curlers with them. However, still no one claimed this suitcase. Finally, they just said to forget the laptop, did anyone pack curlers. After about 10 minutes a woman remembered that she had indeed brought curlers with her on the flight. The laptop was in a neoprine case that someone placed on top of someone else's suitcase and they did not go together. Once the mystery of the curler-filled bag was solved, and they were able to conclude that the sound didn't come from the bag in the first place, but from someone's pants pocket which was not in the overhead bin but on his body, we were free to leave.... AFTER they brought all of our stuff in, everyone claimed their belongings which had been taken out of the overhead compartments and seat backs, and there were no discrepancies in claiming items. This is when everyone lost their sh** because some people argued that they didn't need to claim anything and they wanted to get on with their lives. Even though this was a concern to the people in charge, they decided to let it go because we had already been there for four hours on a false alarm and everyone promised that they would not come back the next day and claim that they had left an iPad behind.
So... to sum up, I lost half of my half-day, and we had to go through all of this because:
A. an old man forgot to turn off his phone and then didn't know what his own phone sounded like when the alarm went off.
B. an old woman didn't know what her suitcase looked like and/or what was in it.
C. a flight attendant was being overly cautious about something that clearly did not blow up our plane.
But it was worth it to see this adorable face...
and this one...
as well as this one...
Saturday, November 20, 2010
30 Rock quote of the week -- 11/18
Jack to Liz, as she talks about her college experience: "Don't worry about getting to your point. I'm going to live forever."
Jack: "That's the smartest thing you ever said."
Liz: "Really? What about three years ago when I said there should be more TV shows about cake?"
Jack: "That's the smartest thing you ever said."
Liz: "Really? What about three years ago when I said there should be more TV shows about cake?"
Any chance this guy is going to be on again? I like him. (and he works out at my gym.)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
To sum up...
The highlight of my short little vacation was John Mayer, of course, but the rest pretty much sums up my friendship with Esther and all the things we like to do together....
We went to the Tulip Festival, with better results than last year. They were beautiful!
We went to the Tulip Festival, with better results than last year. They were beautiful!
Cupcakes.... (Sweet Lorraine -- chocolate w/white chocolate ganache, red velvet, chocolate w/raspberry filling)
Mac and Cheese (It was very similar to my #7 on this list)
Star sightings... ( Sir Mix a Lot)
and a movie (The Runaways, which we all liked a lot). Saturday, May 2, 2009
Sonya and Esther NYC Immersion tour
After I went to Seattle, Esther flew out here to visit her sister in Pennsylvania. She left baby Leah in PA with her sister and took the train to meet Paul here in NYC. They only had about 24 hours to enjoy all of our favorite things NYC. Esther and I made a list of all the things we thought Paul should experience and we started with lunch at Cafe Habana and the corn!
On the way I pointed out John Mayer's apartment, which usually comes after Rice to Riches on the tour, but I had to go back to work so they went without me.
Since I don't have a picture of them at Rice to Riches, but do have one of us the last time Esther came here with her friends and we did much the same tour, I'll just post that one.
Next they went to the LES Tenement Museum, which is connected to some of our favorite things -- talking about apartments and getting a peek inside people's lives. The other thing I love is their museum shop. I love museum shops in general, but this one is great because most things are NYC related.
For dinner we met at our favorite mac and cheese place, Eatery. Then since they didn't have time to come up to my neighborhood, I told them they should see In The Heights. Although this meant they didn't get to experience the empanadas and fresh mango you can buy on the streets, they did get to see the people singing and dancing in the street because that's how we do it in the Heights. Because they had to rush to the show, I went to Amy's Bread without them for our favorite cupcake.
The next morning, we met for breakfast at Norma's then went up to Central Park for a quick look around. Esther and I usually make fun of the tourists in the pedicabs, but Paul wanted to try it out. We decided that since we didn't have time to walk through the park, it would be worth it. But then we couldn't enjoy it because we felt so guilty having this skinny guy pulling us around after all the stuff we'd eaten in two days.
Another thing that was awesome was that we got pretty lucky with star sightings. Before meeting up with them, I saw Gelman from Regis and Kelly, but who cares?? Then I saw Mel from "Flight of the Conchords" and "The Daily Show." Paul saw Meredith Viera while he wandered on his own for a few hours before getting into the hotel (he also tried a Magnolia cupcake and was disappointed). Esther and Paul saw The Dead coming out of The Ed Sullivan Theater and after dinner I saw Anthony Michael Hall (random, right?) At Norma's we saw some sports guy that Paul likes, so that was a winner. I recognized him, but thought he was just from some VH1 show, like "Best Week Ever" or "I Love the 80's." When I came home and told Leolani, and as someone that likes both sports and silly VH1 shows, she confirmed that I was right. Since then, I've seen Little Steven again and in the same spot! and Jimmy Fallon, who looked like he was petrified that someone was going to recognize him.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Jersey in the house!
I am sure this was a dream come true for Jon Stewart, and it was a dream come true for me to watch it.
In addition to the interview, Bruce Springsteen performed his new song. I'll admit that this is not one of my favorite Springsteen songs, but I really liked this acoustic version.
Also, I saw the guy on the right on Sixth Ave last week, right outside of the Tasty D-lite! You could call it a "Sixth Avenue Freeze-out." (ba-dum-bum!) Heidi couldn't believe I wouldn't talk to him. But, you know, I've seen Jon Stewart three times and I've never talked to him, so I can't imagine I'd ever talk to anyone.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Bruce Springsteen - Interview | ||||
| ||||
In addition to the interview, Bruce Springsteen performed his new song. I'll admit that this is not one of my favorite Springsteen songs, but I really liked this acoustic version.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M - Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream | ||||
| ||||
Also, I saw the guy on the right on Sixth Ave last week, right outside of the Tasty D-lite! You could call it a "Sixth Avenue Freeze-out." (ba-dum-bum!) Heidi couldn't believe I wouldn't talk to him. But, you know, I've seen Jon Stewart three times and I've never talked to him, so I can't imagine I'd ever talk to anyone.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
30 rock quote of the week 1/15
Jack and Elisa talking and she says that she is Puerto Rican.
Jack: I know that's what you call yourself, but what do I call you?
Elisa: A Puerto Rican.
Jack: Wow, that does not sound right.
And how does Tina Fey do this with a straight face?
Oh yeah, and I saw Pete on Greenwich St. last week.
Jack: I know that's what you call yourself, but what do I call you?
Elisa: A Puerto Rican.
Jack: Wow, that does not sound right.
And how does Tina Fey do this with a straight face?
Oh yeah, and I saw Pete on Greenwich St. last week.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
star sightings
I thought I was having a good day yesterday for star sightings when I saw Catherine Keener in the morning and Paul Rudd in the afternoon... but then I got home and found out my roommate actually talked to Michelle Obama! Does she qualify as a star? She is a star in my book!
Since she is not allowed to take pictures with guests, something about professionalism or something, I'll post the next best thing. An interview with Jon Stewart.
Since she is not allowed to take pictures with guests, something about professionalism or something, I'll post the next best thing. An interview with Jon Stewart.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Forever Strong
Last week, I came home from work and Leolani asked me if I wanted to go to a free movie on Thursday. My answer to that is always "Yes" and sometimes I get more information, sometimes I don't. In this case, the only other information that I got was that another friend, Jodi, got free passes for some movie that may or may not have a religious theme, but was definitely directed or produced or both by someone related to her in some way. I may have had more precise information, but didn't pay enough attention because, you know, I love movies. And it was free.
So, on Thursday I got an email from Leolani with the information about where the movie was playing. Later, she emailed me that she was going to get dolled up because the stars of the movie were going to be there... and one of the stars was the cute guy from Gossip Girl. Still, I didn't think too much about it, but when I got there and saw that people were kind of dressed up and I was dressed like a social worker, I started to feel a little embarrassed. Then we went inside and I saw that the theater was just a small screening room and there was not quite a red carpet, but there were photographers there. We took a picture there, but I'm not posting it because I looked terrible. But I will post Jodi in a Paris Hilton pose (she's much cuter than Paris Hilton, don't you think?)
Here's the trailer:
Yes, we did see the stars... we saw the Gossip Girl guy (Penn Badgley), and Gary Cole, who will forever be the obnoxious boss in Office Space. We did not see Sean Astin, who will forever be Rudy! The movie was good, but the best part was free Diet Cokes and free buckets of popcorn with bowls of M&M's that you could scoop into your popcorn.
So, on Thursday I got an email from Leolani with the information about where the movie was playing. Later, she emailed me that she was going to get dolled up because the stars of the movie were going to be there... and one of the stars was the cute guy from Gossip Girl. Still, I didn't think too much about it, but when I got there and saw that people were kind of dressed up and I was dressed like a social worker, I started to feel a little embarrassed. Then we went inside and I saw that the theater was just a small screening room and there was not quite a red carpet, but there were photographers there. We took a picture there, but I'm not posting it because I looked terrible. But I will post Jodi in a Paris Hilton pose (she's much cuter than Paris Hilton, don't you think?)
Here's the trailer:
Yes, we did see the stars... we saw the Gossip Girl guy (Penn Badgley), and Gary Cole, who will forever be the obnoxious boss in Office Space. We did not see Sean Astin, who will forever be Rudy! The movie was good, but the best part was free Diet Cokes and free buckets of popcorn with bowls of M&M's that you could scoop into your popcorn.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Cupcakes LA style
When I arrived in California, I told Anne Lise that my friend, Heidi, had written down a few places for us to go in LA. When she looked at the list, she said, "uhh.... these are all food places." Yes, that pretty much says it all.
We went to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle house for lunch and then went on a mission to find Sprinkles. The box says that it is "The original cupcake bakery." I don't know how they know they are the ORIGINAL... as if they invented cupcakes, but whatever! The cupcakes are really good, and definitely give Magnolia a run for their money. I got the vanilla cupcake with milk chocolate frosting. I ate it before I could take a photo and it was, like... so good! This is the lemon coconut and it was also delicious!
When I walked into the bakery, there was this guy there that looked so familiar. I couldn't place him for the longest time, then I realized that he was "The Todd" from "Scrubs." I guess I didn't recognize him without his scrubs on. He was there with, what looked like, his parents and brother. Since Anne Lise couldn't find parking, she was driving around, so I really wanted to ask The Todd to take a picture of me in front of the store. I figured if he saw me approach with a camera, he would assume that I was going to ask for a photo with him. However, I clearly care more about cupcakes than I do about TV stars.
In addition to eating Sprinkles cupcakes, Anne Lise made some Norwegian cakes for me, and I also ate lots of cake from Esther's wedding. All decadent. Is it possible to OD on cake? I don't want to Heath Ledger.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year!
Last night on my way home from work, I walked past Alec Baldwin walking along 6th Ave. That makes 2007 an eventful star sighting year for me as I saw three of the actors from "30 Rock. " (the other two were Kenneth the Page and Tina Fey, which I already told you in past postings so pay attention!)
The other highlight of the night was the dinner I ate at Dinosaur Barbeque. The dinner was fine, but dessert was the actual highlight. Heidi and I agreed to share a dessert and I wanted the key lime pie but she wanted the apple cobbler. Since I like everything, I agreed to get the cobbler and it was good. but someone else at the table ordered the key lime pie and then said it tasted like chicken and didn't want it. I tasted it and it not only did NOT taste like chicken, it tasted like delicious key lime pie, so I got to polish that off, as well. Perfect!
The other highlight of the night was the dinner I ate at Dinosaur Barbeque. The dinner was fine, but dessert was the actual highlight. Heidi and I agreed to share a dessert and I wanted the key lime pie but she wanted the apple cobbler. Since I like everything, I agreed to get the cobbler and it was good. but someone else at the table ordered the key lime pie and then said it tasted like chicken and didn't want it. I tasted it and it not only did NOT taste like chicken, it tasted like delicious key lime pie, so I got to polish that off, as well. Perfect!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
star sighting
As previously reported, Esther came to visit this weekend and brought some friends with her. We went to brunch at one of my favorite West Village restaurants, Cowgirl. Since we had a big group, we had to wait a few minutes for a table, so we were sitting in front of the large window overlooking the street. I stood up to get a menu, and as I did so, caught a glimpse of another large group entering the restaurant. The leader of this group was none other than Jon Stewart, carrying his young son. I looked at him, immediately recognized him but had enough presence of mind to think, "Do not let it show." I turned around and then was able to start the freaking out, as I told everyone else, "Jon Stewart is coming, Jon Stewart is coming," then sat down and looked over the menu as calmly as possible. They entered and asked for a table of six, after which Esther and I looked at each other with a smirk, knowing that they would give our table of six to the Emmy winner and his wife, child and other guests. However, the hostess said, "We have two tables of six before you." yeah for us!
To me, it made the weekend that much more of a success because every visitor to New York should see at least one famous person. I know I was more excited than they were because I love Jon Stewart and I couldn't tell if anyone else knew who he even was.
To me, it made the weekend that much more of a success because every visitor to New York should see at least one famous person. I know I was more excited than they were because I love Jon Stewart and I couldn't tell if anyone else knew who he even was.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
I'm a tourist at heart
I was walking past the Time Warner building and saw the writer's on strike. I started gawking... then saw some of the people in the picket line. Tim Robbins was being interviewed by someone at E! and Seth Meyers was there. I was staring hardcore because I heard Tina Fey has been out there, and since she's the most brilliant writer in TV, I wanted to catch a glimpse. Jill was sort of watching, but mostly walking... until.... I spotted David Duchovny. I went running up to her and pulled on her sleeve and yelled, "David Duchovny's here!" These are the words she needed to become a stalker as well, and she whipped out her camera. She wasn't able to get a good photo because, as I'm sure you've seen in movies, they walk in a little circle and he was at the far side of the circle. I was content to stand and wait until he got to the closer side of the circle to get a good shot, but we were running late. Plus, after getting two partial shots, I was starting to feel a little conspicuous. I wonder if they think we are (a) annoying, (b) pathetic, or (c) sympathetic to their cause.... Turns out, I'm all three.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
30 Rock quote of the week (10/11)
Liz: You can't be a real woman in this country. It's like those Dove commercials never even happened!
And, I'll just say it. Jack (Alec Baldwin) looked GREAT in that Princeton T-shirt, playing football. I haven't thought that about him for at least 10 years.
PLUS: I saw Liz Lemon aka Tina Fey today! I went to a free screening of a new movie she is in called Baby Mama, where she hires a woman (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate mother. After the movie, there was a group of people standing in the back. The first thing I noticed was Amy Poehler's hair, then someone told me that Tina Fey was also there, so I gave up my place in line for the bathroom to check it out. After coming out of the bathroom, I noticed that Lorne Michaels was also there. I actually turned my phone on to try to take a picture to send to Esther, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I am not usually phased by star sightings, but this was the mother lode, as I think TF and AP are pretty much the most brilliant people in comedy these days.
And, I'll just say it. Jack (Alec Baldwin) looked GREAT in that Princeton T-shirt, playing football. I haven't thought that about him for at least 10 years.
PLUS: I saw Liz Lemon aka Tina Fey today! I went to a free screening of a new movie she is in called Baby Mama, where she hires a woman (Amy Poehler) to be her surrogate mother. After the movie, there was a group of people standing in the back. The first thing I noticed was Amy Poehler's hair, then someone told me that Tina Fey was also there, so I gave up my place in line for the bathroom to check it out. After coming out of the bathroom, I noticed that Lorne Michaels was also there. I actually turned my phone on to try to take a picture to send to Esther, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I am not usually phased by star sightings, but this was the mother lode, as I think TF and AP are pretty much the most brilliant people in comedy these days.
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