I Deserve Better

When you live in a city like New York, you expect certain things. One of those things is celebrity sightings.

In this regard, New York has been failing me. Not only do I work and study in Manhattan, but my Brooklyn neighborhood is also known to house some big names. I think I’m entitled to some thrilling run-ins. Other people I know have seen minor celebrities at grocery stores, and major ones filming on location. They’ve ridden elevators with famous designers and glimpsed starlets out at bars. But my list is short and dubious at best. Here is the tally:

• Passed a woman on the street who may have been Judy Dench. May also have been a regular old lady.
• Walked by a bar that had a red carpet with several photographers swarming around a smiling woman. I and the person with me stopped, looked her up and down, and shrugged to confirm that neither of us had the foggiest idea who she was. (Sad for us, but maybe sadder for her)
• Went to an exhibit opening and saw Elisa Jimenez, 10^th runner up, Season 4 of Project Runway.
• Thought I saw Season 5 Project Runway winner Leanne Marshall, but not really sure.
• Saw Scott Adsit, who plays Pete on 30 Rock. He was on the subway, and because of the Judy Dench and Leanne Marshall experiences, I wanted to make sure I got a good look. He looked straight back and me every time I looked over. It was weird.

But now I have real ones to add to the list. On Sunday I went with a couple of friends to the premiere of Season 4 of Mad Men in Times Square. We dressed up, got our picture taken at a promotional booth, and then stood to watch the episode (there were chairs for those who had arrived early, but considering that none of us girls had skirts we could sit in, it worked out just fine). It was kind of a cool experience. It was a bit hard to hear, but it was fun to watch it with a big group of people, commercial free, one hour before it aired on the East Coast. Also, we must have looked pretty fabulous doing it, because after it was over we were stopped by two separate people who told us so and asked to take a picture.

Anyway, January Jones and Elizabeth Moss both attended the event. “Spotting” a celebrity at a public appearance is sort of cheating, but we did see them at close range. After the show was over we navigated our way to the stage exit. They walked right past us! Yay! Actually, more than anything I was shocked by how tiny they were. I’ve heard that famous women usually are, but it was sort of scary to see. January Jones was terribly thin and bony, but it was almost weirder to see how small Elizabeth Moss was, considering that when she stands next to other celebrities she sometimes looks slightly chubby (not actual chubby, chubby in way that Anne Hathaway is “the fat girl” in The Devil Wears Prada).

So maybe I shouldn’t blame New York for not producing enough celebrities in my life. Based on their actual size, and the profusion of street lamps and signposts in the city, they are probably harder to spot than I realize.

If you want to see some professional photos from the evening, go here. But here is what you really want to see...

It was taken in front of a green screen, and they made a big deal about squishing together and fitting in the frame...so...not sure what happened there.

(Similarly, I have no idea what goes on with the formatting on this blog. Today it has interesting but inconsistent ideas about how paragraphs should look. Resistance (and the tab key) is futile)