See Dad Figure It Out
This is a recap of my vacation, which as always centered around Big Time Rush. And once again, it turned out more amazing than I ever could have imagined. It was like a dream.
A reminder that I always get very detailed in these recaps so that when I go back and read them later in life, I remember everything. I know some of it's boring, but I do this for myself to hold on to the memories.
So I was one of those unfortunate souls who had her concert canceled. I remember the day I found out, there were rumors of three concerts being canceled and I thought “Wow, those are too close to my day for my liking.” Within an hour, it happened-mine was added to the list. I sat in Subway in tears, devastated because it was the one good thing I had to look forward to this year. I knew it was my last BTR thing until the next tour, which was still up in the air at that point, and in my mind I had lost what was possibly my last chance to see Big Time Rush in person ever. On the walk home I kept repeating to myself “Everything happens for a reason.” I had to believe that, I needed to so badly, though I couldn't imagine what good could come out of this. I just kept telling myself that over and over, and by the time I got home I was okay because I believed it. Everything happens for a reason.
I got the idea a few days later to go spend my vacation in Hollywood. I already had the money set aside for the concert, had worked extra hours and the holiday to make sure I had enough, and it would be fun just to get away for a few days. Even if all I did was spend it in a hotel room writing, that was better than sitting at home being depressed. And then it hit me that the guys would actually be in town for that week, and I liked the idea better. There was nothing planned for them to do, but maybe I'd get lucky and one of them would tweet a location and...you just never know. One thing I've learned over the past two years, you never know what can happen and it's a good idea to be ready if you can be. So I got ready. My one goal for this week was a hug from Logan. I'd be happy with anything, but a Logan hug was my priority.
My vacation started Sunday, but I had no plans to go until Thursday because I could only afford two hotel nights. That would give me Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to be in the area just in case. I spent Monday mostly being lazy except planning out my travel arrangements for the trip and booking a hotel. Tuesday I was lazy again, but remembered that with BTR things suddenly come up. It's the pattern with me. The night before I end up running around like a crazy person making arrangements and packing and things just come up suddenly. I knew they were due to come home Tuesday and figured they'd all just stay home (I kind of figured they'd do that all week anyway, but with this sudden time off they might end up doing work-related things), so Wednesday was the first day I thought there was a chance of an opportunity. I did all of my laundry and cleaning Tuesday that I'd planned to do Wednesday, because you just never know. I wanted to be ready just in case.
Tuesday evening Katelyn Tarver tweeted about a show she was doing Wednesday with Honor Society at The Troubadour. I knew the chances were slim any of the guys would be there, I thought maybe Kendall but only maybe, and suddenly I just needed to be there already. Miracles have happened in the past. I needed to be out there and ready. So after making arrangements with my roommate (and after Sharon, @the1nonlyglee, yelled at me to just GO already, to get out there), I booked an extra night at my hotel. Then Ras tweeted about a possible “surprise show at an L.A. venue this week.” I flipped out, because usually where you find Ras, you find Logan. I packed in a rush (see? Always happens) and tried to sleep, got about four hours.
I left super early Wednesday morning feeling like anything could happen but expecting nothing. Took three buses, a train, and a subway to get to my hotel. I stepped off the subway and went up to Hollywood Blvd. And was so happy. I couldn't stop smiling, just being there is so awesome and there is no place like it. It's been my second home since junior high. I remember saying out loud “I'm home.”
I had time to kill before checking into my hotel so I walked down to Cahuenga to find the Atlantic Records building where Cody Simpson's listening party was being held Thursday night. Amber (@spacematadors) had told me about it and since I somehow keep missing Cody (he didn't open at my concerts) and my friends are determined to make me love him as much as they do, I'd decided to try to go. Found the building easily, then took a bus to my hotel.
First thing I saw when I walked in was Hotel Guy. This dude has become a staple of my Hollywood experience. I first encountered him with Kathryn (@kathrynew30) in August 2010 when she came out to visit from Texas. I always stay at that hotel now because it's a ten-minute walk to Paramount. Seeing him made me smile so huge. I felt like giving him a hug. I didn't, though, because he is not friendly and hardly speaks English and I probably would frighten him if I did.
I checked in, was assigned the room I stayed in with Kathryn on our first visit, then headed right back out to put more money on my credit card. Went back to the hotel, bought my ticket for Katelyn's show, showered, napped, ate a quick dinner, and then I caught my buses to The Troubadour.
A few blocks before the club is the area of West Hollywood that caters to gays. I'd totally forgotten that but when the bus stopped in front of a club where I saw two guys kiss for the first time in high school, I immediately jumped out to walk the rest of the way. I was in heaven. So many romantic dates going on at sidewalk cafes, so many dudes holding hands, rainbow flags everywhere, even the mannequins in the stores were all males and hugging. I just...it was beautiful. I wish the whole world was like that, just open and free and treating gays like everyone else.
Once I got to The Troubadour, things stopped making sense. I was supposed to pick up my ticket at the box office, which was closed. There were groups of girls scattered around but no real line and nobody really knew anything about where we were supposed to be. But we were all there for the show, so I knew I was in the right place. I sat down and did what I always do, play my DS to kill time.
An hour later we were all told to line up. I asked about Will Call and the security guy said, “Everyone in one line. One-stop shop.” But I'd gotten out of my original place to check out the box office again, so I was now at the very end of the line. Since I didn't plan to be near the stage it was fine. Then the same dude comes down the line and says “Ticket?” I was like “No, it's at the box office, remember?” “Well, you'd better go get it, then. And get back in line.” What kind of crap is that? I kept trying to get it earlier.
Anyway. While we were waiting, Lucy Hale walked by and got mobbed when the girl in front of me recognized her and stopped her. She was nice about stopping for pictures. I just kept thinking about Kendall's first date on horses. And about how she was on “Wizards” and I loved her character in that.
Once inside I tried to go up to the second level, where I'd sat once before at a show. I knew from there I'd have a clear view of everyone in the club. For this show it was VIP only, though, so instead I took up a post against the wall near the entrance where I could see everyone who walked in. Katelyn started almost right away and put on a great show. She's interactive with the crowd and was worried about her bun coming undone. Made us laugh a lot.
I was distracted about halfway through her set, though, by a tweet from James saying he'd had fun rehearsing with Scott Baio all day and couldn't wait to film the next day. This meant James would be on the lot Thursday. I'd had the idea that he might do his guest part on these sudden days off, so I was ecstatic. The rest of Katelyn's set is a blur because I spent most of it researching on my phone that was already dying and trying to figure out a way for me to get a tour the next day. I already had one booked for Friday with Maral (@marallyz) and Melissa (@Tower_Gal13), but James said he'd be there Thursday. So with Sharon's help on her end, we worked out that there were still tickets left for the lot tours tomorrow and she offered to purchase a ticket for me since she had access and I could pay her back. We knew tickets would go fast. I told her to hold off because I wanted to see if Amber could go with me. So that whole ride home was a mess of trying to coordinate something between me and Amber and Sharon and the second I got back to the hotel, I got on my laptop and looked into it. At some point Amber told me there weren't any tickets listed for the taping of “See Dad Run” on Thursday and I was like “WAIT IT'S A LIVE AUDIENCE? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS TAPED BEFORE A LIVE AUDIENCE?” So I looked into that, and Amber was right. There were tickets for Friday's taping, but James said he would be filming Thursday and I already had plans with Maral and Melissa on Friday so I dropped that idea.
While at that site, though, I checked out the list of shows there were tickets available for. “Figure It Out” had numerous days/times available. I didn't even know it was that easy to go to a show's taping. It was free. I got in touch with Amber and said that I knew Challen and Ciara were doing the show this week, so maybe the guys are, too. We talked about going, because there was always a chance we might at least get a glimpse of James walking around, but since I couldn't guarantee we'd be done in time for the Cody thing she decided to pass. I went for it, signing up for the 1:30 taping of the show. Then I discovered I had to print the ticket and had to come up with a way to do that. In the end I just Googled, looking for a place to print stuff that was not a city library, and came up with Staples. DUH, KELLIE. DUH.
I found that there was a Kinko's/FedEx right down the street from me and they were open 24 hours, thank God. Hopped the bus again at 11:30 at night and rented a computer to order the ticket and print it up. I'd found a way to get onto the lot for free.
I didn't expect much from Thursday, at least in the form of BTR. I knew I'd have fun at the show no matter what, because I love most of the Nick stars and it's a fun game. My ticket said to be there at least 15 minutes early, but I had no idea how crowded it might be so I went to have lunch first at Astro Burger and then walked up the street to the Gower gate, where the Paramount people had told me to be. Talked to a security guard, who said they wouldn't be letting us in until later and I could wait along the wall. Sounded good to me. I parked my butt on the sidewalk and took out my trusty DS.
I had a little over an hour to kill and was kicking ass on my game when I started to feel restless. Suddenly I kept making stupid mistakes on my game and I got frustrated, just couldn't sit still anymore so I stood up. That didn't seem to do the trick, so I put my game away and decided to walk to the corner and back. It was about the time people should start showing up so I told myself it was stupid to walk away, but I just had this urge to get moving. So I got to the corner and turned to walk back, then suddenly went the other way and walked along the front of the lot. I don't know why. I just needed to walk. Got all the way to the main entrance and stopped at the light to turn back but then I saw this guy at the bus stop across the street who looked like Ranel. So I kept walking. It wasn't him, of course, so I turned back to head over to the Gower gate again. Suddenly I decided to go talk to the security office people. I DON'T KNOW WHY. IT WAS ALL SO WEIRD. I went into the office and pretended like I didn't know where I was supposed to be for the show. The guard gave me instructions and I thanked him, then turned to walk out of the office.
When you exit toward the street, you go past the cars waiting to get inside the lot. I thought to myself “Wouldn't it be funny if James was driving in right now?” Laughed at myself. But did I look into each car I passed? You bet I did. The third one had a guy who looked like James. He was stopped and waiting, kept looking down at his phone. I shook my head, rolling my eyes at myself, but looked closer. The guy really looked like James. I walked forward some to get a better look, now looking through the passenger window (from the sidewalk, I didn't approach or anything) and wow, the guy really really looked like James. He pulled forward and I caught the license plate holder, which said “Sage's Auto” on it. I just started laughing. Like seriously laughing and saying “Are you kidding me right now? This is not happening.” He pulled forward and I kept going, and I told myself it couldn't be him. Things like that don't happen. You don't say to yourself “Wouldn't it be funny if...” and then they just happen. Later Ashley Argota tweeted a pic of herself and James from earlier that afternoon, and guess what? Same shirt. I don't know how in the world it happened, but I managed to be there right when James pulled in. Something made me walk all that way and lie to security guards (which I never do) and BAM. There was James.
When I got back to the Gower gate the guard told me to walk further up the sidewalk and wait by the double doors, that's where they let audiences in. “The Doctors” door was already open and people were going in for that, and the page there told me FIO lets in at the next set of doors over. I waited there for a while, talking with the page occasionally, and eventually three other girls showed up. Within five minutes I heard the word “Kendall” and of course had to get involved. They were Rushers! And they were nice Rushers, really super sweet and awesome and we talked to pass the time while waiting. They were Lisa (@avkitten), Stephanie (xoxobtr24), and Kathleen (misskittiekatt). Glickman drove by in a car with his girlfriend and two of the girls screamed his name. One of them tweeted him and he replied later that he'd heard it haha. More people came then, and this sassy dude who worked there (I now know his name is Jamie, or sometimes Jaime or even Stacy) kept coming out and dealing with paperwork and stuff and then four girls showed up out of nowhere and stood at the front of the line. One looked really familiar and I decided I'd seen her at KIIS FM back in July, but after we all started talking it turns out she was at Katelyn's show the night before and that's where I'd seen her. One of her friends remembered seeing me at Katelyn's show, and we all made a big friendly group of Rushers and fangirled like crazy. I met my match with the James love in Nicole (@excuseyounicole), and we spent a lot of time fighting/fangirling over James. The other girls were Kate (@Mskatiemary), Denise (@dnice239), and Dazmin (@whisperwarrior). They had come to a few tapings already during the week in hopes it would be BTR and were veterans. I'm so glad they were all there, because it made the experience so much more fun. I wasn't alone and I was with my own kind.
I'd seen a tweet from Tanya Chisholm the night before about filming with Ciara and Challen the next day, so I was pretty sure those three would be in this. At least I'd get three BTR people! They let us in to wait in another line, taking us off to the bathroom if we needed to go. I did, so we were led past the BTR stages (sadly the sets are no longer there, but they'll be rebuilt by January, I'm sure) and to a bathroom. When we were done and waiting for everyone to rejoin us, Joel McHale walked by. The girls said hi to him, and he was funny. We kept staring down the alley to stage 19, where we knew James was. One of the girls said she'd seen someone earlier that looked like him but wasn't. We later discovered Chris Fabregas had been on the lot and figured it was him.
Then we went back to wait in line some more, and finally they took us into the building where BTR films all the interior Rocque Records and 2J scenes. It was so cool to be in there, even without the BTR stuff. We were allowed to sit where we wanted as long as it was within the space they gave us, so I sat with Lisa, Stephanie, and Kathleen. Dazmin, Nicole, Kate, and Denise were right in front of us.
The whole thing was a blast. We sang and danced and cheered and had fun with the dude in charge of keeping up the crowd energy (his name is Joby, by the way, no idea if I'm spelling that right) and telling us when to applaud or scream or whatever. The first panel was Ciara Bravo, Challen Cates, Noah Crawford, and Tanya Chisholm. I can't give too much away, but I can tell you that Noah is adorable. And so funny. The dude kept making us laugh, he was awesome. Tanya was seriously paranoid of the slime, it was hilarious watching her jump every time a buzzer or siren went off. Ciara seemed subdued, but for all I know she's like that all the time. She just didn't seem overly thrilled. Jeff Sutphen was awesome. He kept making us laugh and joked about how he sometimes pees behind the podium, and he burped and said it tasted like chicken fingers. With barbecue sauce. Just...so much stuff that cracked us up.
Noah had a lot of fun with the second contestant. All he was doing was standing there holding celery but he cracked us up every five seconds. The dude is hilarious. He came over to some girls who wanted a hug, and took pictures before coming over to us and slapping hands. I just love that guy so much.
I really wanted to talk to Challen before we left, but didn't see how that was possible. The lady who was in charge of us kept telling us to remain seated and wouldn't let us go over to the panelists even though it was done. But as we were walking out, I ended up right next to Challen and stopped. I squeezed her arm and said “I just wanted to tell you you're my favorite mom on T.V.” and she smiled and said thank you and hugged me. She's so sweet. And she managed to keep from getting slimed, so I stayed mostly clean.
They took us back outside and offered us fruit and water while we waited for the next episode to be prepared. We all fangirled some more, the talk about the boys as always. I discovered a Jagan buddy in Dazmin, woohoo! While we were standing out there Scott Baio tweeted a pic with James and a little blonde girl and we all died. God, he looked good. Then I saw Elyse (@okonzake23) tweeting about James in a dress and had to know more about that, so we all died over that as well.
We made another potty run, then finally they let us back in for the next episode. This time it was Leon Thomas, Ashley Argota, Chris O'Neal, and Rachel Crow. The woman in charge of us kept begging for people to go sit in the slime zone and finally Nicole and Denise agreed to go do it. So I sat behind Kate and Dazmin, with the other girls a ways down the bench from me. Before it started the D.J. played MSBWU and we all screamed and sang and went crazy. That was fun. The banter between Rachel and Jeff was hilarious, she is really really funny. Jeff kept screwing up and forgetting where we were in the show and they had to stop it to go fix his hair and that episode seemed to take longer to film but we were having a blast so nobody minded. At one point Rachel grabbed a bucket of unwrapped sticks of gum and started throwing them up into the slime zone. She came over to us afterward, throwing it at us as well. And can I just say that I figured out one of the guys' special talents with only half of his words filled in? Yeah. Lisa figured out one of the talents in the first episode. I have to give credit to Joby, he was awesome. He danced and sang with us, kept us laughing, came and sat down between two of our girls. Since tickets are free, this is totally something I will do again when I have a day off. I think FIO is almost done filming for this round, but there are other shows that film and it's free. It's just a lot of fun, though obviously FIO is more like a party because it's a show for kids.
After that was over we all congregated together outside and said our goodbyes. Four of the girls were planning to come out again Friday, so I said maybe I'd see them while on the tour with Melissa and Maral.
I had tweeted Melissa and Maral to see if they'd be interested in going to the afternoon taping of FIO on Friday because we needed something to do after our tour anyway. They were all for it, so after leaving the lot I took a bus down to print the tickets for Friday's show, then stopped at Pavilions to find something for dinner and returned to the room. I was exhausted by the time I got to bed, but excited for Friday. A tour of Paramount and another episode of FIO with fellow Rushers. It was going to be a good day.
We all met up Friday morning at Astro Burger since it's across the street from the lot. Melissa and I ran out to see if we could see the space shuttle flying overhead because it looked like a live shot on T.V. of it flying over the Hollywood sign, but we saw nothing. Maral showed up and we screamed a lot, Melissa giving Maral her birthday present of a BTR pillow and a card she'd stuck pics of BTR on and decorated it BTR-style. My present to Maral was the tour itself, because even though I knew by then the sets were torn down I figured she'd enjoy seeing all the exterior locations.
While we were looking for parking, Fanlala tweeted that they were hanging out with Kendall and Logan for the day. Maral and I went crazy trying to find an address for the place (with Sharon helping me on her end again) but the only address we could find was in Walnut Creek, almost an hour away. There was no way we'd make it back in time for our tour, and as Melissa said, “I already paid good money for this tour, we're going on it.” So we parked across the street and headed over to the security office to check in.
While we waited, Melissa and Maral cracked me up. Every single car that went in was “Are you somebody I know? Are you famous?” They took pics of each other and just had so much fun, I love them so much. We were finally taken inside the lot and told that since we'd booked our tickets separately, they'd put us on different tours. I didn't even know there was more than one at the same time! So we talked to our guide and explained the situation and he worked it out with Melissa's guide so we were able to tour together. We got Flavia, my first female tour guide there. She was nice but I don't think had been there very long, she didn't have that comfortable way of knowing everything like the other two guides I had did.
When she found out we were Rushers she goes, “Oh no, do I have to worry about you guys?” I said “No, they're not here today, we'll behave.” She started the tour out at the opposite end of where it usually starts, at Palm Woods Park and the Paramount Theater. It threw me off but I was happy because not only did we get to go inside the theater, we got to go into the actual theater part and sit in the seats where James' audition scene was filmed. Melissa and Maral were so crazy, I kept apologizing for them but really they were precious and making me laugh and Flavia said it was fine, that they were entertaining. We took pictures in there, and got to go by the famous fountain and the Forrest Gump bench. We worshiped the Fountain of Magic, as I call it, remembering the amazing photo shoot that took place there three years ago. Maral sat on the Gump bench and recreated Kendall's pose. Got pictures of all that.
The tour moved on, and suddenly there was screaming from a crowd of people ahead of us. Flavia and I thought we'd gotten in the way of a scene being shot or something, but it turned out everyone had just seen the shuttle fly over. We all got out of the cart and watched the sky, hoping for it again, and it was crazy how everything on the lot just stopped. Everyone was watching the sky and laughing and yelling and it was one of those moments where you talk to strangers like they're best friends because you're all witnessing something amazing.
I took a moment to check my phone and saw that Lisa tweeted me about a post on James' Facebook stating people could come watch “See Dad Run” filming that night if they showed up at Paramount at three. I was in shock. We were already there. I hadn't thought James was still filming. I started freaking out, because it was too perfect. We were already there. Our tour was due to end at 1:30, and we had to be in place by 3:00. We could so do this.
I went over and talked to Flavia about getting tickets to the taping and she said yeah, just call guest relations and they'll put you on the list. Like...just like that? It was too easy. I kept trying to call guest relations but no one ever answered, and I gave up when we got to the New York lot because there were a lot of BTR locations in there. We took pictures by Rocque Records and Sherwood's Grocery and stood inside Funburger. Melissa pointed that out the “Paralyzed” video was shot right where we were and we got excited about that. Flavia laughed at us, she said this was the most fun tour she's ever given. That's the third time I've heard that out of three visits to the lot. Just saying. I bring the fun. XD One of the couples on the tour with us, they were from England, were also amused by us. They finally asked what “Big Time Rush” is so Flavia and I tried to explain it. Ha, there was one point where we were in the theater and freaking out and Flavia goes, “You guys, BTR didn't even film here” and I was like “Actually, they did. Their pilot episode, along with a few others.” She was like “Damn, you know my job better than I do.” I felt kind of bad, but we know our BTR.
While we were going around I saw that Chris Fabregas had tweeted a pic of the shuttle and it looked like it was taken from the lot. So I tweeted him and said we'd seen it too and I gave him warning that if we found him, we were going to attack him with hugs. I remember tweeting him that as we were passing stages 24 and 25, which we were told are two of the “Glee” sets. Melissa had been hoping to see those, but instead we toured the set of “Happy Endings.” I've never seen the show, but I'll check it out now just to see the sets where we were.
We came to the back street and I told the girls the two stages we were passing were the BTR ones (and of course FIO now). The girls jumped out (after the cart stopped, not while it was moving) and took pictures of the sign outside that says “Big Time Rush” and then we all went over to tour the “Dr. Phil” set. That was cool, I've seen that show a few times.
We climbed back into the cart and went toward the front of the lot, and I got excited because we were nearing stage 19, where James would be filming the show. We kept our eyes peeled, hoping for something because it's right near the entrance and the studio store and most actors do come that way. Flavia parked the cart and was telling us all about the Hollywood sign while we kept our eyes open and ready just in case. A guy walked toward us from stage 19 and it took me a minute, but then I realized it was Scott Baio. I grabbed Melissa and whispered to her and she had no idea what I was freaking about but he walked by us and kind of stopped because I was staring and I stepped forward and said hi. Flavia hadn't been paying attention, she was talking to the other tour people. So I said hi and he said hi and he was eating this bag of chips and once I started talking to him, Flavia came over. He asked what we were doing and we said we had taken the tour and he was like “Oh, really? What did you see?” I said “Um...the lot.” I couldn't think straight, Scott Baio right in front of me. And he's like “What did you see on the lot? What kind of stuff did you learn?” My mind was blank, and he's giving me a pop quiz? Melissa and Maral answered him, and we all started talking about I don't even know what. Maral asked him if the chips were good and he said yeah. I think? It's a blur. I was nervous because he has this dry sense of humor, like I would expect him to be used to fangirls but he was just like...I don't know. It was weird. So I finally got up the nerve to ask for a picture with him and he was like “Sure” and Maral and Melissa wanted one too so he was like “Wait, you asked first, you get it first.” So I got my picture with Scott, then the other two did, and we all kind of headed toward the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which is also the studio store where the tour ends and begins. The girls asked me who the guy was they got pictures with and I was like “You don't even know but you took pictures with him?” I laughed and told them who he was and that he was the star of the show James was filming.
Flavia asked if I'd managed to get hold of the “See Dad Run” people and I told her no, there was no answer. She said yeah, it's the busiest time of the day and maybe we should check back later. I turned back to face her because Melissa and Maral were talking to her, and I was kind of sad because the tour was over and no James. I hadn't expected to see him, so it was no big deal, but you know? I thought “Well, I guess we don't get to see James this time.”
BOOM. JAMES MASLOW WALKS RIGHT BEHIND FLAVIA FROM THE STORE. I saw him from behind and didn't even hesitate, I called out “James!” He didn't hear me, he was already a bit away from us, and Melissa and Maral thought I was just saying his name because...well, because it's James and I talk about him. And that I was saying I was bummed we didn't see him. I grabbed Melissa and squeezed her wrist and said “No, James! Right there! James!” She whispered to Maral and they didn't see him at first, but he stopped to talk to some dudes who I now know are his “entourage” on the show so I started walking over. Flavia was lost, had no idea what was going on and why we were freaking out, but the girls followed me and we told her who he was and she goes, “Oh, is he on the show?” I was like “Yes, he's one of the four guys!”
We approached and waited, he was still talking to the dudes, and Flavia was like “You guys, you can't go up to him.” Again I didn't hesitate, because it's James and I knew he would be sweet and I really wanted Maral and Melissa to meet him. Of course I wasn't averse to the idea myself. He started to walk away and I called out his name. He turned back and Flavia said, “Hi, I'm sorry to bother you but these girls are really big fans and it's her birthday and could you just--” He nodded and said sure, smiled at Maral and told her happy birthday and she was like “Can I get a picture?” and he said yes and Flavia goes, “Oh my god, you guys, you're gonna get me fired.” James and I were like “Nah, you're fine, it's totally fine.” Then Melissa got a picture with him and mostly I didn't even care about a picture, but I sure did want a hug. So I looked at him and held up my camera and said “Can I?” He smiled and said “Of course,” and Melissa took our picture. I thanked him and he said happy birthday to Maral again, I think he said it like three times while we were there, and he started to leave and we started to walk away but then I stopped and was like “James, wait!” He turned around and I went back and said “I don't know if you can help but we saw your post about getting tickets for tonight's taping, how do we do that?” He said “I don't know anything about how that works, I'm sorry. I can't help you with that.” And I was like “But it's on your Facebook.” He just gave me this blank look and I was like “Okay, never mind, thanks.” And I let him go. I don't know why I was under the impression James runs his own FB, I know he used to. But he obviously doesn't run the current one, so I felt stupid. Whatever, I tried.
We said goodbye to Flavia and thanked her and asked if we could eat at the cafe because we didn't want to leave the area but needed to eat something. She said no, we're not allowed to so we went into the store to use the restroom and buy some water and basically flail like crazy fangirls and Maral called her mom and screamed and we just stayed there spazzing for a while. I still couldn't believe our luck. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? HOW DOES JAMES ALWAYS JUST SHOW UP LIKE THAT? IT NEVER FAILS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW AND I DIDN'T EXPECT IT, NOT AT ALL THIS TIME I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT FOR ME WHEN IT COMES TO JAMES.
On the way out we stopped to ask security where the “See Dad Run” audience lines up and he told us it was on Gower, but a different place than where FIO lines up. Walked over to that office and talked to that guard, who put me in touch with guest relations and I explained the situation and the guy said he would be there in an hour to set everything up and we should just be there then. Okay. I still didn't want to get my hopes up because we didn't have tickets and were going off the instructions on a Facebook page run by who knows what.
We decided to go grab lunch at Astro Burger since it was so close and while we were there decided to move the car. We parked up near where FIO lines up and as we were walking down the street I ran into my girls from the day before and we all fangirled. They'd seen my tweet about meeting James and wanted to see a picture but we left our cameras in the car. I asked them who had been on the morning panel and saw that they were slimed from hugging Max Schneider, who they'd run into at the Katelyn Tarver show Wednesday night and he'd remembered them from...something? FIO maybe? Anyway, he'd told them he would be doing FIO Friday and Saturday so when he saw them he hugged them and got them all slimey. I thanked them for letting me know about the FB post because I never would've seen it. Melissa, Maral, and I all decided that we'd rather watch James tape his show than do FIO, because we had no idea who would be on FIO and if there was a way we could see James, we were going to. So we said goodbye to them and went to the other Gower entrance to wait where the guest relations guy said to.
A bunch of kids started showing up but they were there for some other show called “Marvin Marvin” and we started to wonder if we were in the right place but then two older ladies walked up and asked if we were in line for “See Dad Run” and we said yes. One said “This is where we normally line up for it but why are there all these people here for the other show?” So it was a big mess. After a while the two ladies decided we should all team up. They were going to go down and wait by the actual doors where they let you in and said we should wait where we were, and whichever line was the right one we could all vouch for each other that we were here first. They seemed trustworthy and I hoped they were. They promised one would come get us if need be and we promised to do the same. They knew our situation, knew we didn't have tickets, and said it would be tricky to get in but they'd help if they could.
So that was a lot of waiting around a bunch of screaming little kids and it was hot but we dealt with it. Melissa went and checked once with the ladies and there had been nothing, then later I went and checked and nothing. When I got back to Melissa and Maral, they said a woman had come out and said she was going to clear up the mess with the two lines. I went back to tell the ladies, then after a little while I approached the woman dealing with our line and asked about it again. She told us to go to the other line, where the older ladies were. We did, and they said they'd explained about us and how we'd been there for over two hours and that we saw the post on James' FB; they were so helpful. When the woman did come out we talked to her ourselves and when she heard we didn't have tickets she didn't sound very encouraging. There were two other girls behind the older ladies who were there for the same reason, had seen the FB post, and my stomach hurt because I didn't think we were going to get in. The woman made it sound like a lost cause. Finally she came over with a clipboard and took our names down and looked at the list she had and said, “Okay.” Then she moved on and I was like “Oh my god, is this going to happen? Really?” I started crying. Actual tears, I was spazzing I was just shaking and crying and when I left home Wednesday I didn't even know if I'd see any of the guys but I'd already seen James twice and talked to him and now I was going to get to watch him film a freaking television show? I was just overwhelmed and cried, I am so blessed. I am just so so so blessed and I couldn't believe it but it was actually going to happen.
NOTE: THIS WAS TOO LARGE TO FIT IN ONE POST, THE NEXT POST HAS THE REST.
A reminder that I always get very detailed in these recaps so that when I go back and read them later in life, I remember everything. I know some of it's boring, but I do this for myself to hold on to the memories.
So I was one of those unfortunate souls who had her concert canceled. I remember the day I found out, there were rumors of three concerts being canceled and I thought “Wow, those are too close to my day for my liking.” Within an hour, it happened-mine was added to the list. I sat in Subway in tears, devastated because it was the one good thing I had to look forward to this year. I knew it was my last BTR thing until the next tour, which was still up in the air at that point, and in my mind I had lost what was possibly my last chance to see Big Time Rush in person ever. On the walk home I kept repeating to myself “Everything happens for a reason.” I had to believe that, I needed to so badly, though I couldn't imagine what good could come out of this. I just kept telling myself that over and over, and by the time I got home I was okay because I believed it. Everything happens for a reason.
I got the idea a few days later to go spend my vacation in Hollywood. I already had the money set aside for the concert, had worked extra hours and the holiday to make sure I had enough, and it would be fun just to get away for a few days. Even if all I did was spend it in a hotel room writing, that was better than sitting at home being depressed. And then it hit me that the guys would actually be in town for that week, and I liked the idea better. There was nothing planned for them to do, but maybe I'd get lucky and one of them would tweet a location and...you just never know. One thing I've learned over the past two years, you never know what can happen and it's a good idea to be ready if you can be. So I got ready. My one goal for this week was a hug from Logan. I'd be happy with anything, but a Logan hug was my priority.
My vacation started Sunday, but I had no plans to go until Thursday because I could only afford two hotel nights. That would give me Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to be in the area just in case. I spent Monday mostly being lazy except planning out my travel arrangements for the trip and booking a hotel. Tuesday I was lazy again, but remembered that with BTR things suddenly come up. It's the pattern with me. The night before I end up running around like a crazy person making arrangements and packing and things just come up suddenly. I knew they were due to come home Tuesday and figured they'd all just stay home (I kind of figured they'd do that all week anyway, but with this sudden time off they might end up doing work-related things), so Wednesday was the first day I thought there was a chance of an opportunity. I did all of my laundry and cleaning Tuesday that I'd planned to do Wednesday, because you just never know. I wanted to be ready just in case.
Tuesday evening Katelyn Tarver tweeted about a show she was doing Wednesday with Honor Society at The Troubadour. I knew the chances were slim any of the guys would be there, I thought maybe Kendall but only maybe, and suddenly I just needed to be there already. Miracles have happened in the past. I needed to be out there and ready. So after making arrangements with my roommate (and after Sharon, @the1nonlyglee, yelled at me to just GO already, to get out there), I booked an extra night at my hotel. Then Ras tweeted about a possible “surprise show at an L.A. venue this week.” I flipped out, because usually where you find Ras, you find Logan. I packed in a rush (see? Always happens) and tried to sleep, got about four hours.
I left super early Wednesday morning feeling like anything could happen but expecting nothing. Took three buses, a train, and a subway to get to my hotel. I stepped off the subway and went up to Hollywood Blvd. And was so happy. I couldn't stop smiling, just being there is so awesome and there is no place like it. It's been my second home since junior high. I remember saying out loud “I'm home.”
I had time to kill before checking into my hotel so I walked down to Cahuenga to find the Atlantic Records building where Cody Simpson's listening party was being held Thursday night. Amber (@spacematadors) had told me about it and since I somehow keep missing Cody (he didn't open at my concerts) and my friends are determined to make me love him as much as they do, I'd decided to try to go. Found the building easily, then took a bus to my hotel.
First thing I saw when I walked in was Hotel Guy. This dude has become a staple of my Hollywood experience. I first encountered him with Kathryn (@kathrynew30) in August 2010 when she came out to visit from Texas. I always stay at that hotel now because it's a ten-minute walk to Paramount. Seeing him made me smile so huge. I felt like giving him a hug. I didn't, though, because he is not friendly and hardly speaks English and I probably would frighten him if I did.
I checked in, was assigned the room I stayed in with Kathryn on our first visit, then headed right back out to put more money on my credit card. Went back to the hotel, bought my ticket for Katelyn's show, showered, napped, ate a quick dinner, and then I caught my buses to The Troubadour.
A few blocks before the club is the area of West Hollywood that caters to gays. I'd totally forgotten that but when the bus stopped in front of a club where I saw two guys kiss for the first time in high school, I immediately jumped out to walk the rest of the way. I was in heaven. So many romantic dates going on at sidewalk cafes, so many dudes holding hands, rainbow flags everywhere, even the mannequins in the stores were all males and hugging. I just...it was beautiful. I wish the whole world was like that, just open and free and treating gays like everyone else.
Once I got to The Troubadour, things stopped making sense. I was supposed to pick up my ticket at the box office, which was closed. There were groups of girls scattered around but no real line and nobody really knew anything about where we were supposed to be. But we were all there for the show, so I knew I was in the right place. I sat down and did what I always do, play my DS to kill time.
An hour later we were all told to line up. I asked about Will Call and the security guy said, “Everyone in one line. One-stop shop.” But I'd gotten out of my original place to check out the box office again, so I was now at the very end of the line. Since I didn't plan to be near the stage it was fine. Then the same dude comes down the line and says “Ticket?” I was like “No, it's at the box office, remember?” “Well, you'd better go get it, then. And get back in line.” What kind of crap is that? I kept trying to get it earlier.
Anyway. While we were waiting, Lucy Hale walked by and got mobbed when the girl in front of me recognized her and stopped her. She was nice about stopping for pictures. I just kept thinking about Kendall's first date on horses. And about how she was on “Wizards” and I loved her character in that.
Once inside I tried to go up to the second level, where I'd sat once before at a show. I knew from there I'd have a clear view of everyone in the club. For this show it was VIP only, though, so instead I took up a post against the wall near the entrance where I could see everyone who walked in. Katelyn started almost right away and put on a great show. She's interactive with the crowd and was worried about her bun coming undone. Made us laugh a lot.
I was distracted about halfway through her set, though, by a tweet from James saying he'd had fun rehearsing with Scott Baio all day and couldn't wait to film the next day. This meant James would be on the lot Thursday. I'd had the idea that he might do his guest part on these sudden days off, so I was ecstatic. The rest of Katelyn's set is a blur because I spent most of it researching on my phone that was already dying and trying to figure out a way for me to get a tour the next day. I already had one booked for Friday with Maral (@marallyz) and Melissa (@Tower_Gal13), but James said he'd be there Thursday. So with Sharon's help on her end, we worked out that there were still tickets left for the lot tours tomorrow and she offered to purchase a ticket for me since she had access and I could pay her back. We knew tickets would go fast. I told her to hold off because I wanted to see if Amber could go with me. So that whole ride home was a mess of trying to coordinate something between me and Amber and Sharon and the second I got back to the hotel, I got on my laptop and looked into it. At some point Amber told me there weren't any tickets listed for the taping of “See Dad Run” on Thursday and I was like “WAIT IT'S A LIVE AUDIENCE? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS TAPED BEFORE A LIVE AUDIENCE?” So I looked into that, and Amber was right. There were tickets for Friday's taping, but James said he would be filming Thursday and I already had plans with Maral and Melissa on Friday so I dropped that idea.
While at that site, though, I checked out the list of shows there were tickets available for. “Figure It Out” had numerous days/times available. I didn't even know it was that easy to go to a show's taping. It was free. I got in touch with Amber and said that I knew Challen and Ciara were doing the show this week, so maybe the guys are, too. We talked about going, because there was always a chance we might at least get a glimpse of James walking around, but since I couldn't guarantee we'd be done in time for the Cody thing she decided to pass. I went for it, signing up for the 1:30 taping of the show. Then I discovered I had to print the ticket and had to come up with a way to do that. In the end I just Googled, looking for a place to print stuff that was not a city library, and came up with Staples. DUH, KELLIE. DUH.
I found that there was a Kinko's/FedEx right down the street from me and they were open 24 hours, thank God. Hopped the bus again at 11:30 at night and rented a computer to order the ticket and print it up. I'd found a way to get onto the lot for free.
I didn't expect much from Thursday, at least in the form of BTR. I knew I'd have fun at the show no matter what, because I love most of the Nick stars and it's a fun game. My ticket said to be there at least 15 minutes early, but I had no idea how crowded it might be so I went to have lunch first at Astro Burger and then walked up the street to the Gower gate, where the Paramount people had told me to be. Talked to a security guard, who said they wouldn't be letting us in until later and I could wait along the wall. Sounded good to me. I parked my butt on the sidewalk and took out my trusty DS.
I had a little over an hour to kill and was kicking ass on my game when I started to feel restless. Suddenly I kept making stupid mistakes on my game and I got frustrated, just couldn't sit still anymore so I stood up. That didn't seem to do the trick, so I put my game away and decided to walk to the corner and back. It was about the time people should start showing up so I told myself it was stupid to walk away, but I just had this urge to get moving. So I got to the corner and turned to walk back, then suddenly went the other way and walked along the front of the lot. I don't know why. I just needed to walk. Got all the way to the main entrance and stopped at the light to turn back but then I saw this guy at the bus stop across the street who looked like Ranel. So I kept walking. It wasn't him, of course, so I turned back to head over to the Gower gate again. Suddenly I decided to go talk to the security office people. I DON'T KNOW WHY. IT WAS ALL SO WEIRD. I went into the office and pretended like I didn't know where I was supposed to be for the show. The guard gave me instructions and I thanked him, then turned to walk out of the office.
When you exit toward the street, you go past the cars waiting to get inside the lot. I thought to myself “Wouldn't it be funny if James was driving in right now?” Laughed at myself. But did I look into each car I passed? You bet I did. The third one had a guy who looked like James. He was stopped and waiting, kept looking down at his phone. I shook my head, rolling my eyes at myself, but looked closer. The guy really looked like James. I walked forward some to get a better look, now looking through the passenger window (from the sidewalk, I didn't approach or anything) and wow, the guy really really looked like James. He pulled forward and I caught the license plate holder, which said “Sage's Auto” on it. I just started laughing. Like seriously laughing and saying “Are you kidding me right now? This is not happening.” He pulled forward and I kept going, and I told myself it couldn't be him. Things like that don't happen. You don't say to yourself “Wouldn't it be funny if...” and then they just happen. Later Ashley Argota tweeted a pic of herself and James from earlier that afternoon, and guess what? Same shirt. I don't know how in the world it happened, but I managed to be there right when James pulled in. Something made me walk all that way and lie to security guards (which I never do) and BAM. There was James.
When I got back to the Gower gate the guard told me to walk further up the sidewalk and wait by the double doors, that's where they let audiences in. “The Doctors” door was already open and people were going in for that, and the page there told me FIO lets in at the next set of doors over. I waited there for a while, talking with the page occasionally, and eventually three other girls showed up. Within five minutes I heard the word “Kendall” and of course had to get involved. They were Rushers! And they were nice Rushers, really super sweet and awesome and we talked to pass the time while waiting. They were Lisa (@avkitten), Stephanie (xoxobtr24), and Kathleen (misskittiekatt). Glickman drove by in a car with his girlfriend and two of the girls screamed his name. One of them tweeted him and he replied later that he'd heard it haha. More people came then, and this sassy dude who worked there (I now know his name is Jamie, or sometimes Jaime or even Stacy) kept coming out and dealing with paperwork and stuff and then four girls showed up out of nowhere and stood at the front of the line. One looked really familiar and I decided I'd seen her at KIIS FM back in July, but after we all started talking it turns out she was at Katelyn's show the night before and that's where I'd seen her. One of her friends remembered seeing me at Katelyn's show, and we all made a big friendly group of Rushers and fangirled like crazy. I met my match with the James love in Nicole (@excuseyounicole), and we spent a lot of time fighting/fangirling over James. The other girls were Kate (@Mskatiemary), Denise (@dnice239), and Dazmin (@whisperwarrior). They had come to a few tapings already during the week in hopes it would be BTR and were veterans. I'm so glad they were all there, because it made the experience so much more fun. I wasn't alone and I was with my own kind.
I'd seen a tweet from Tanya Chisholm the night before about filming with Ciara and Challen the next day, so I was pretty sure those three would be in this. At least I'd get three BTR people! They let us in to wait in another line, taking us off to the bathroom if we needed to go. I did, so we were led past the BTR stages (sadly the sets are no longer there, but they'll be rebuilt by January, I'm sure) and to a bathroom. When we were done and waiting for everyone to rejoin us, Joel McHale walked by. The girls said hi to him, and he was funny. We kept staring down the alley to stage 19, where we knew James was. One of the girls said she'd seen someone earlier that looked like him but wasn't. We later discovered Chris Fabregas had been on the lot and figured it was him.
Then we went back to wait in line some more, and finally they took us into the building where BTR films all the interior Rocque Records and 2J scenes. It was so cool to be in there, even without the BTR stuff. We were allowed to sit where we wanted as long as it was within the space they gave us, so I sat with Lisa, Stephanie, and Kathleen. Dazmin, Nicole, Kate, and Denise were right in front of us.
The whole thing was a blast. We sang and danced and cheered and had fun with the dude in charge of keeping up the crowd energy (his name is Joby, by the way, no idea if I'm spelling that right) and telling us when to applaud or scream or whatever. The first panel was Ciara Bravo, Challen Cates, Noah Crawford, and Tanya Chisholm. I can't give too much away, but I can tell you that Noah is adorable. And so funny. The dude kept making us laugh, he was awesome. Tanya was seriously paranoid of the slime, it was hilarious watching her jump every time a buzzer or siren went off. Ciara seemed subdued, but for all I know she's like that all the time. She just didn't seem overly thrilled. Jeff Sutphen was awesome. He kept making us laugh and joked about how he sometimes pees behind the podium, and he burped and said it tasted like chicken fingers. With barbecue sauce. Just...so much stuff that cracked us up.
Noah had a lot of fun with the second contestant. All he was doing was standing there holding celery but he cracked us up every five seconds. The dude is hilarious. He came over to some girls who wanted a hug, and took pictures before coming over to us and slapping hands. I just love that guy so much.
I really wanted to talk to Challen before we left, but didn't see how that was possible. The lady who was in charge of us kept telling us to remain seated and wouldn't let us go over to the panelists even though it was done. But as we were walking out, I ended up right next to Challen and stopped. I squeezed her arm and said “I just wanted to tell you you're my favorite mom on T.V.” and she smiled and said thank you and hugged me. She's so sweet. And she managed to keep from getting slimed, so I stayed mostly clean.
They took us back outside and offered us fruit and water while we waited for the next episode to be prepared. We all fangirled some more, the talk about the boys as always. I discovered a Jagan buddy in Dazmin, woohoo! While we were standing out there Scott Baio tweeted a pic with James and a little blonde girl and we all died. God, he looked good. Then I saw Elyse (@okonzake23) tweeting about James in a dress and had to know more about that, so we all died over that as well.
We made another potty run, then finally they let us back in for the next episode. This time it was Leon Thomas, Ashley Argota, Chris O'Neal, and Rachel Crow. The woman in charge of us kept begging for people to go sit in the slime zone and finally Nicole and Denise agreed to go do it. So I sat behind Kate and Dazmin, with the other girls a ways down the bench from me. Before it started the D.J. played MSBWU and we all screamed and sang and went crazy. That was fun. The banter between Rachel and Jeff was hilarious, she is really really funny. Jeff kept screwing up and forgetting where we were in the show and they had to stop it to go fix his hair and that episode seemed to take longer to film but we were having a blast so nobody minded. At one point Rachel grabbed a bucket of unwrapped sticks of gum and started throwing them up into the slime zone. She came over to us afterward, throwing it at us as well. And can I just say that I figured out one of the guys' special talents with only half of his words filled in? Yeah. Lisa figured out one of the talents in the first episode. I have to give credit to Joby, he was awesome. He danced and sang with us, kept us laughing, came and sat down between two of our girls. Since tickets are free, this is totally something I will do again when I have a day off. I think FIO is almost done filming for this round, but there are other shows that film and it's free. It's just a lot of fun, though obviously FIO is more like a party because it's a show for kids.
After that was over we all congregated together outside and said our goodbyes. Four of the girls were planning to come out again Friday, so I said maybe I'd see them while on the tour with Melissa and Maral.
I had tweeted Melissa and Maral to see if they'd be interested in going to the afternoon taping of FIO on Friday because we needed something to do after our tour anyway. They were all for it, so after leaving the lot I took a bus down to print the tickets for Friday's show, then stopped at Pavilions to find something for dinner and returned to the room. I was exhausted by the time I got to bed, but excited for Friday. A tour of Paramount and another episode of FIO with fellow Rushers. It was going to be a good day.
We all met up Friday morning at Astro Burger since it's across the street from the lot. Melissa and I ran out to see if we could see the space shuttle flying overhead because it looked like a live shot on T.V. of it flying over the Hollywood sign, but we saw nothing. Maral showed up and we screamed a lot, Melissa giving Maral her birthday present of a BTR pillow and a card she'd stuck pics of BTR on and decorated it BTR-style. My present to Maral was the tour itself, because even though I knew by then the sets were torn down I figured she'd enjoy seeing all the exterior locations.
While we were looking for parking, Fanlala tweeted that they were hanging out with Kendall and Logan for the day. Maral and I went crazy trying to find an address for the place (with Sharon helping me on her end again) but the only address we could find was in Walnut Creek, almost an hour away. There was no way we'd make it back in time for our tour, and as Melissa said, “I already paid good money for this tour, we're going on it.” So we parked across the street and headed over to the security office to check in.
While we waited, Melissa and Maral cracked me up. Every single car that went in was “Are you somebody I know? Are you famous?” They took pics of each other and just had so much fun, I love them so much. We were finally taken inside the lot and told that since we'd booked our tickets separately, they'd put us on different tours. I didn't even know there was more than one at the same time! So we talked to our guide and explained the situation and he worked it out with Melissa's guide so we were able to tour together. We got Flavia, my first female tour guide there. She was nice but I don't think had been there very long, she didn't have that comfortable way of knowing everything like the other two guides I had did.
When she found out we were Rushers she goes, “Oh no, do I have to worry about you guys?” I said “No, they're not here today, we'll behave.” She started the tour out at the opposite end of where it usually starts, at Palm Woods Park and the Paramount Theater. It threw me off but I was happy because not only did we get to go inside the theater, we got to go into the actual theater part and sit in the seats where James' audition scene was filmed. Melissa and Maral were so crazy, I kept apologizing for them but really they were precious and making me laugh and Flavia said it was fine, that they were entertaining. We took pictures in there, and got to go by the famous fountain and the Forrest Gump bench. We worshiped the Fountain of Magic, as I call it, remembering the amazing photo shoot that took place there three years ago. Maral sat on the Gump bench and recreated Kendall's pose. Got pictures of all that.
The tour moved on, and suddenly there was screaming from a crowd of people ahead of us. Flavia and I thought we'd gotten in the way of a scene being shot or something, but it turned out everyone had just seen the shuttle fly over. We all got out of the cart and watched the sky, hoping for it again, and it was crazy how everything on the lot just stopped. Everyone was watching the sky and laughing and yelling and it was one of those moments where you talk to strangers like they're best friends because you're all witnessing something amazing.
I took a moment to check my phone and saw that Lisa tweeted me about a post on James' Facebook stating people could come watch “See Dad Run” filming that night if they showed up at Paramount at three. I was in shock. We were already there. I hadn't thought James was still filming. I started freaking out, because it was too perfect. We were already there. Our tour was due to end at 1:30, and we had to be in place by 3:00. We could so do this.
I went over and talked to Flavia about getting tickets to the taping and she said yeah, just call guest relations and they'll put you on the list. Like...just like that? It was too easy. I kept trying to call guest relations but no one ever answered, and I gave up when we got to the New York lot because there were a lot of BTR locations in there. We took pictures by Rocque Records and Sherwood's Grocery and stood inside Funburger. Melissa pointed that out the “Paralyzed” video was shot right where we were and we got excited about that. Flavia laughed at us, she said this was the most fun tour she's ever given. That's the third time I've heard that out of three visits to the lot. Just saying. I bring the fun. XD One of the couples on the tour with us, they were from England, were also amused by us. They finally asked what “Big Time Rush” is so Flavia and I tried to explain it. Ha, there was one point where we were in the theater and freaking out and Flavia goes, “You guys, BTR didn't even film here” and I was like “Actually, they did. Their pilot episode, along with a few others.” She was like “Damn, you know my job better than I do.” I felt kind of bad, but we know our BTR.
While we were going around I saw that Chris Fabregas had tweeted a pic of the shuttle and it looked like it was taken from the lot. So I tweeted him and said we'd seen it too and I gave him warning that if we found him, we were going to attack him with hugs. I remember tweeting him that as we were passing stages 24 and 25, which we were told are two of the “Glee” sets. Melissa had been hoping to see those, but instead we toured the set of “Happy Endings.” I've never seen the show, but I'll check it out now just to see the sets where we were.
We came to the back street and I told the girls the two stages we were passing were the BTR ones (and of course FIO now). The girls jumped out (after the cart stopped, not while it was moving) and took pictures of the sign outside that says “Big Time Rush” and then we all went over to tour the “Dr. Phil” set. That was cool, I've seen that show a few times.
We climbed back into the cart and went toward the front of the lot, and I got excited because we were nearing stage 19, where James would be filming the show. We kept our eyes peeled, hoping for something because it's right near the entrance and the studio store and most actors do come that way. Flavia parked the cart and was telling us all about the Hollywood sign while we kept our eyes open and ready just in case. A guy walked toward us from stage 19 and it took me a minute, but then I realized it was Scott Baio. I grabbed Melissa and whispered to her and she had no idea what I was freaking about but he walked by us and kind of stopped because I was staring and I stepped forward and said hi. Flavia hadn't been paying attention, she was talking to the other tour people. So I said hi and he said hi and he was eating this bag of chips and once I started talking to him, Flavia came over. He asked what we were doing and we said we had taken the tour and he was like “Oh, really? What did you see?” I said “Um...the lot.” I couldn't think straight, Scott Baio right in front of me. And he's like “What did you see on the lot? What kind of stuff did you learn?” My mind was blank, and he's giving me a pop quiz? Melissa and Maral answered him, and we all started talking about I don't even know what. Maral asked him if the chips were good and he said yeah. I think? It's a blur. I was nervous because he has this dry sense of humor, like I would expect him to be used to fangirls but he was just like...I don't know. It was weird. So I finally got up the nerve to ask for a picture with him and he was like “Sure” and Maral and Melissa wanted one too so he was like “Wait, you asked first, you get it first.” So I got my picture with Scott, then the other two did, and we all kind of headed toward the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, which is also the studio store where the tour ends and begins. The girls asked me who the guy was they got pictures with and I was like “You don't even know but you took pictures with him?” I laughed and told them who he was and that he was the star of the show James was filming.
Flavia asked if I'd managed to get hold of the “See Dad Run” people and I told her no, there was no answer. She said yeah, it's the busiest time of the day and maybe we should check back later. I turned back to face her because Melissa and Maral were talking to her, and I was kind of sad because the tour was over and no James. I hadn't expected to see him, so it was no big deal, but you know? I thought “Well, I guess we don't get to see James this time.”
BOOM. JAMES MASLOW WALKS RIGHT BEHIND FLAVIA FROM THE STORE. I saw him from behind and didn't even hesitate, I called out “James!” He didn't hear me, he was already a bit away from us, and Melissa and Maral thought I was just saying his name because...well, because it's James and I talk about him. And that I was saying I was bummed we didn't see him. I grabbed Melissa and squeezed her wrist and said “No, James! Right there! James!” She whispered to Maral and they didn't see him at first, but he stopped to talk to some dudes who I now know are his “entourage” on the show so I started walking over. Flavia was lost, had no idea what was going on and why we were freaking out, but the girls followed me and we told her who he was and she goes, “Oh, is he on the show?” I was like “Yes, he's one of the four guys!”
We approached and waited, he was still talking to the dudes, and Flavia was like “You guys, you can't go up to him.” Again I didn't hesitate, because it's James and I knew he would be sweet and I really wanted Maral and Melissa to meet him. Of course I wasn't averse to the idea myself. He started to walk away and I called out his name. He turned back and Flavia said, “Hi, I'm sorry to bother you but these girls are really big fans and it's her birthday and could you just--” He nodded and said sure, smiled at Maral and told her happy birthday and she was like “Can I get a picture?” and he said yes and Flavia goes, “Oh my god, you guys, you're gonna get me fired.” James and I were like “Nah, you're fine, it's totally fine.” Then Melissa got a picture with him and mostly I didn't even care about a picture, but I sure did want a hug. So I looked at him and held up my camera and said “Can I?” He smiled and said “Of course,” and Melissa took our picture. I thanked him and he said happy birthday to Maral again, I think he said it like three times while we were there, and he started to leave and we started to walk away but then I stopped and was like “James, wait!” He turned around and I went back and said “I don't know if you can help but we saw your post about getting tickets for tonight's taping, how do we do that?” He said “I don't know anything about how that works, I'm sorry. I can't help you with that.” And I was like “But it's on your Facebook.” He just gave me this blank look and I was like “Okay, never mind, thanks.” And I let him go. I don't know why I was under the impression James runs his own FB, I know he used to. But he obviously doesn't run the current one, so I felt stupid. Whatever, I tried.
We said goodbye to Flavia and thanked her and asked if we could eat at the cafe because we didn't want to leave the area but needed to eat something. She said no, we're not allowed to so we went into the store to use the restroom and buy some water and basically flail like crazy fangirls and Maral called her mom and screamed and we just stayed there spazzing for a while. I still couldn't believe our luck. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? HOW DOES JAMES ALWAYS JUST SHOW UP LIKE THAT? IT NEVER FAILS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW AND I DIDN'T EXPECT IT, NOT AT ALL THIS TIME I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT FOR ME WHEN IT COMES TO JAMES.
On the way out we stopped to ask security where the “See Dad Run” audience lines up and he told us it was on Gower, but a different place than where FIO lines up. Walked over to that office and talked to that guard, who put me in touch with guest relations and I explained the situation and the guy said he would be there in an hour to set everything up and we should just be there then. Okay. I still didn't want to get my hopes up because we didn't have tickets and were going off the instructions on a Facebook page run by who knows what.
We decided to go grab lunch at Astro Burger since it was so close and while we were there decided to move the car. We parked up near where FIO lines up and as we were walking down the street I ran into my girls from the day before and we all fangirled. They'd seen my tweet about meeting James and wanted to see a picture but we left our cameras in the car. I asked them who had been on the morning panel and saw that they were slimed from hugging Max Schneider, who they'd run into at the Katelyn Tarver show Wednesday night and he'd remembered them from...something? FIO maybe? Anyway, he'd told them he would be doing FIO Friday and Saturday so when he saw them he hugged them and got them all slimey. I thanked them for letting me know about the FB post because I never would've seen it. Melissa, Maral, and I all decided that we'd rather watch James tape his show than do FIO, because we had no idea who would be on FIO and if there was a way we could see James, we were going to. So we said goodbye to them and went to the other Gower entrance to wait where the guest relations guy said to.
A bunch of kids started showing up but they were there for some other show called “Marvin Marvin” and we started to wonder if we were in the right place but then two older ladies walked up and asked if we were in line for “See Dad Run” and we said yes. One said “This is where we normally line up for it but why are there all these people here for the other show?” So it was a big mess. After a while the two ladies decided we should all team up. They were going to go down and wait by the actual doors where they let you in and said we should wait where we were, and whichever line was the right one we could all vouch for each other that we were here first. They seemed trustworthy and I hoped they were. They promised one would come get us if need be and we promised to do the same. They knew our situation, knew we didn't have tickets, and said it would be tricky to get in but they'd help if they could.
So that was a lot of waiting around a bunch of screaming little kids and it was hot but we dealt with it. Melissa went and checked once with the ladies and there had been nothing, then later I went and checked and nothing. When I got back to Melissa and Maral, they said a woman had come out and said she was going to clear up the mess with the two lines. I went back to tell the ladies, then after a little while I approached the woman dealing with our line and asked about it again. She told us to go to the other line, where the older ladies were. We did, and they said they'd explained about us and how we'd been there for over two hours and that we saw the post on James' FB; they were so helpful. When the woman did come out we talked to her ourselves and when she heard we didn't have tickets she didn't sound very encouraging. There were two other girls behind the older ladies who were there for the same reason, had seen the FB post, and my stomach hurt because I didn't think we were going to get in. The woman made it sound like a lost cause. Finally she came over with a clipboard and took our names down and looked at the list she had and said, “Okay.” Then she moved on and I was like “Oh my god, is this going to happen? Really?” I started crying. Actual tears, I was spazzing I was just shaking and crying and when I left home Wednesday I didn't even know if I'd see any of the guys but I'd already seen James twice and talked to him and now I was going to get to watch him film a freaking television show? I was just overwhelmed and cried, I am so blessed. I am just so so so blessed and I couldn't believe it but it was actually going to happen.
NOTE: THIS WAS TOO LARGE TO FIT IN ONE POST, THE NEXT POST HAS THE REST.