The Clooney

My goals for the evening were pretty simple: 1) live through it, 2) enjoy the movie, and, if possible 3) see Clooney at the event. Oh, and not get arrested. That one was important, too. I’m happy to report success on all fronts—although that gleam in her eye could have meant trouble for Chloe had she not decided to keep her hands to herself. ;p

Hollywood Blvd. was pretty much shut down on one side so that the limos could drop people off on the red carpet. Our limo (aka my 10 year old car) was parked in a parking garage, and we walked up to the event from there. First of all, there were a lot of people behind the barricades cheering. Naturally, I thought they were cheering for me, and I was tempted to yell back, “I know! Can you believe I’m here?” But I didn’t. Plus, at some point I realized they were probably yelling for one of the stars walking the press line (nah, it was probably me). It’s a very interesting feeling to see and hear all these people, and then be one of the people ushered in by security. While I generally don’t love “ma’am” to be directed at me, I did love “right this way, ma’am, enjoy the evening” as security guided us safely inside.

Alas, this might have been a tactical error. We should have stayed outside a bit with the press to see some of the people working the press lines. Instead, we were pretty business-like. We found a bathroom. We checked our make-up. Then we hung around in the lobby trying to look calm, cool and collected—ho hum, we do this every day. That probably would have worked, if Chloe and I hadn’t squealed when we recognized Hiro from Heroes walk in the door.

Having our “we do this all the time” covers blown, we went in to take our seats. We had followed the rules to the letter because we didn’t really want to be tossed out before the action started—oh, and we wanted to see the movie, too. ;) The invite instructions said “no cameras or recording devices allowed”. So, we left the cameras at home (note: we actually went to an event where they confiscated cameras and cellphones with cameras for later pickup, and we wanted to avoid that). Sure enough, we take our seats, and every other person in the theater had cameras with them. Lesson learned: ignore directions and pick up spy camera to wear as glasses.

While we were sitting there we saw a number of celebs come in (you can see them all at www.wireimage.com), and right before the AFI presentation started, we noticed John Krasinski take his seat. He’s hard not to notice, actually. Obviously, he’s boyishly attractive and charming, but he’s also really tall. That one is going to stand out in a crowd no matter what.

It was 7:30, but no George.

My friend LD had warned me that the celebs frequently do the press line, but don’t stay for the actual movie, and opt to head directly to the party instead. I figured George might have made the move to martini a bit earlier—if for no other reason because he directed this movie, and he might be nervous about the reaction. So, I settled in to see the movie. The AFI presentation was lovely, and the introduction of the movie was made.

And then there was a pause.

For before the movie rolled, AFI wanted to take another small moment of recognition for the inspiration, “your quarterback”, the director, Mr. George Clooney.

And there he was—looking chagrined, yet pleased; the delightful Mr. Clooney was being treated to the simultaneous swiveling of 999 heads in his direction. Now, I’m not one to wax poetic about an attractive man (shhhhh, that epic Duchovny piece was just between us), but I might just be inspired at some point to write a sonnet, or two, for George. This man is a star. For all I know he’s a complete jerk on a personal level, but his public persona is pretty darn charming.

An aside for a moment about Leatherheads—it’s a fun movie. It’s very stylish. The banter is in the tradition of the 20’s/30’s movies and the performances were solid. It never takes itself too seriously. It’s just a good time.

He stayed until everyone left the theater. He stood on the aisle and spoke to anyone who attempted to talk to him. So, naturally, we stopped to speak with him, and now we’re doing lunch next week. OR we remember this is my reality, so I didn’t actually speak to him at all.

Now before you throw stuff at your computer screen, let me explain. When we came up the aisle he was talking to several young children. The girls were dressed in formals, and they looked like little princesses. The boy was dapper complete with styling hat. So, the talented and enchanting Mr. Clooney is also nice to small children. I realize that we were standing right next to him, and he was practically done speaking to them anyway. However, I distantly recall my parents mentioning that shoving small children out of the way to babble incoherently at a dreamy star, is actually bad form. So, I resisted the urge. There was a brief moment where Chloe contemplated pinching him, since she was awfully close to his hindquarters, but she also refrained. Please feel free to admire us, and throw large sums of money our way for adhering to some of the niceties of polite society.

Plus, we thought we’d get another shot at finding our courage at the party. Unfortunately, we never did see him there. He may have only stayed a short while, and departed through one of the side doors. But we did see tons of actors from The Office who were there to cheer on John. We also saw Goran (plays Luka on ER), who was pretty dreamy in his own right. And I think, with 99% certainty, that we saw Kid Rock.

All in all, it was a good evening. I only got 4 hours of sleep between the party and having to get up for work, but going a little sleepless every once in a while is probably good for the soul. However, I may need about a month to recover from all this social time. I wouldn’t want it to warp my otherwise normal, hermit-like psyche.

Kate, already thinking of sleep

http://www.cafepress.com/katedating
http://katedating.blogspot.com/
katedating@yahoo.com

Welcome, A Plug and Why

Welcome
First off, I have to give a big welcome to the more than 6,000 people who have stopped by the blogspot site since Saturday. Please picture me waving to you all. That’s about um… 5,980 more than normally visit. Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but still it was a quite a pleasant surprise. Generally, this blog is about starting over in Los Angeles—you know, the dating failures, the dating non-starters, the dating disasters… all the things that make finding a mate in Los Angeles about as likely as understanding The X-Files mytharc. It’s possible, but it is going to take a lot of work.

So, while you probably wont find this blog as exciting as Mulder and Scully—hell, I don’t find it more exciting than Mulder and Scully — I hope you check back from time to time.

Plug
Now for my plug: the book Stars in Their Eyes is a really fun read, particularly if you enjoy “Hollywood” stories. It’s funny; it’s poignant and really gives you an interesting look behind the curtain. I enjoyed the characters generally, but I must admit a certain extra special affinity for Leah (my sister in Jimmy Choo). That girl is determined! It’s written by Danielle Turchiano, and it’s available through Amazon.com. Definitely check it out if you are looking for a new read.

Why
Shortly before embarking on my flight of fancy to San Francisco, I finished reading another book called “Insider Dating” by Jennifer O’Connell. It covers quite a bit of ground, but essentially it focuses on a now single woman (post-divorce) who sets up a confidential database of men in the Boston area. The database isn’t just name, address, etc. This database logs the good, the bad and the ugly. Would you like to know if your blind date has a mommy complex, or is a habitual cheater? Save yourself some time and log into her database.

Clearly, there are huge pitfalls in this idea if it were applied to real life. For instance, any bitter person could set up an account and make all sorts of unfounded accusations about why their relationship ended. But in her universe, the information is generally sound and based on referrals, etc. I know there is a part of me that should be appalled by this, and yet a much bigger part of me thinks: “I wonder if this really exists, and if so, how do I get a password?”

You see, the main character is just slightly obsessed with “why”. Why did her marriage end? If she had known x, y, z before getting involved, would it have made a difference?

In most of my earlier relationships I know why the end came. When a guy you are dating sleeps with three women—none of whom are you—it’s not that hard to figure out that the relationship is not destined for the long haul. Also, I find a guy not showing up for a date ever again to be a clear indication that he might be slightly ambivalent and lacking in the true devotion department. When you float down the steps in your gown (looking every bit the princess) to meet your prom date, his "how are you going to dance in that" does give you pause.

But what about a relationship that just ends? You both still love each other. Neither one of you did anything egregiously wrong. There is no other party involved. It’s just over.

Why?

Maybe relationships tend to have shelf lives, but “why” is starting to become important to me. When you start dating, people seem to exchange a degree of information (at least these are the rumors I’m hearing). “Have you been married?” Yep, that seems to be a standard, although it immediately leads to consternation for me. If I say “no” and move on, am I lying? Obviously, in the literal sense, I’ve never been married. But skipping over a relationship that has informed the better part of my life over the last 15 years (if you count the dating and the aftermath) seems like a fairly big omission. But admitting it, will lead to “what happened”. Admitting it leads to “why”.

I have no idea why. It seemed like the relationship timeline went something like this us: first date-together forever-lifetime-lifetime-lifetime-lifetime-over. It was a million little things that probably wouldn’t ever create red flags in the lead character’s database. It was a million little things and in retrospect, nothing important. Nothing.

Why?

And if I can’t figure out what happened, how do I keep it from happening again?

Kate
katedating@yahoo.com
http://www.cafepress.com/katedating