A week before the OSCARS each year, the city blocks off all the streets leading to the Kodak Theatre so the Academy can set up for the show. So we knew we'd have to be dropped off a few blocks away from Hollywood and Highland on Sunday morning.
It was weird. Hollywood Boulevard was deserted, aside from a few folks who had come early to check out the scene. By the time the limos started arriving, there was a crowd gathered on the street east of Highland.
We were a half hour early for our 10:30 call and wondered if we needed to look for an open coffee shop to kill some time, but the Cheeky Lotus texted Sweatpants Mom to let her know that she and Sugar Jones were already in.
We had printouts in hand of the numerous emailed instructions we'd received from the Academy, so we knew that security would be tight. But we didn't know what else to expect: like the fact that the OSCAR people (who were responsible for the seating arrangements) would separate us by a pretty large distance. In fact, we bloggers were kind of all over the place, with a few in choice seats near the red carpet entrance.
We had a pretty good section, too - but the seats assigned to Lotus, Sugar and me were in the corner of the very top row... making it difficult to get a good angle to snap a photo. And I'd thought part of the fun of the day was to come away with bragging rights to some amazing celebrity photos.
But hey - we were there... and it didn't take me long to realize that there was an advantage to being up at the top: The clear plastic rain cover over the red carpet area magnified the sun's rays to such an extent that it was swelteringly hot out. But in our spot, if we stood up, we could catch a breeze.
Still, it didn't take me long to realize that I didn't need the heavy coat I'd brought. Or the light jacket I was wearing over the black racerback tee with sparklies I'd selected (with the evening in mind). I was grateful for the souvenir t-shirt the Academy handed out as part of our bleacher fan goodie package. And the baseball cap. And the sunscreen and lip balm. So I went from glam to fan...
But it WAS a long day. The "light breakfast" the Academy promised us turned out to be a two-pack of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and as tempting as they were, I passed on those. So I was famished by the time they started handing out box lunches. I devoured my turkey sandwich and apple and was still hungry, so I tore into the potato chips. So much for the low carb diet.
But I did manage to drink about a gallon of water, and was sweating so much, I only needed to hit the porta potty once. (I know you really needed to hear that. But this was a point of pride, as the line to use them was long and the security people kept reminding us that they wanted us to STAY IN OUR SEATS once the red carpet arrivals began.)
About the time we finished our lunches, lovely Jenny from Kodak managed to make some room in the section where Sweatpants Mom was sitting with other Kodak staffers. Lotus and Sugar moved down there, but I didn't want to give up my breeze at the top, so I stayed. I think Jenny felt bad that I was up there all alone, because an hour later, she told me she'd arranged to move me to the first section, where the rest of the eleven Kodak bloggers were seated.
She was as surprised as we were that we hadn't been assigned spots together, but the Academy explained that only the guests that had been cleared to bring their computers had been identified as "bloggers" and so they had the prime spots in the first row in the first section. Jenny begged the Academy rep to make room for just one more.
It was obvious she didn't want to do this. It was also obvious that there was room on the seating chart. Once again, I was assigned the top row, but there weren't as many rows in this section, so it was closer. And I was on the aisle, so I had a better angle.
And now, I was finally able to greet the other bloggers: Katja Presnal, Rock and Roll Mama, Miss Lori, Wayne Sutton and the Consumer Queen. (I never did meet Steve Garfield and Zadi Diaz- but hopefully, our paths will cross again.)
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