Let's set the scene: Cue Chariots of Fire Theme Song...and ACTION!
So, yes, as many of you have heard, I was on TV thanks to my television debut on The Ellen Show! But the road to get there is where this action packed adventure begins! If you recall, on December 14th a tanker caught on fire on the 60 freeway, closing the freeway completely. All traffic was diverted to other freeways. Did we take this into consideration when we made our way to Burbank on December 15th? NOPE!
Whose we you might ask? Well all the moms in my life and myself. My mom, mother-in-law, and second mom growing up! Jameson was also apart of the festivities but he met us at the studio. We left Temecula at 10, allowing us 2 hours to get to Burbank for the 12 Days of Giveaways Bonus Day on The Ellen Show. Check in time was 12 noon. Any later than that and our "guaranteed tickets" would be given to stand-by. Our first clue that we were going to have a "scene from a movie" challenge ahead of us should have been the stopped freeways that usually would be wide open at 10 am.
12 noon went by but thankfully, Jameson was on time and was able to hold our spots. A gentleman who works for Ellen recognized Jameson from our previous attempted taping of the show in November and allowed Jameson to save our spots because we were on our way...thank goodness! 12:15 went by, 12:30 went by, 12:45 went by and we will still sitting in traffic!
Okay, this is where the Chariots of Fire theme song is cued! Picture a Suburban full of women flying through the streets of Burbank trying to get to the studio. My mom was frantically leaving a series of messages for the staff, assuring them that we were trying to get there. Jameson is on the phone telling us that it's too late, the people in stand-by are getting ready to take our place in line. When alas, we turn onto Olive Street and in the middle of the road, we all barrel out of my Mom's Suburban to intercept the stand-by goer's in the crosswalk. And man, if looks could kill! They were literally 2 seconds from having our tickets, and well, we were literally 2 seconds away from driving out to Burbank just for kicks. WE HAD MADE IT...barely!
By the time we arrived into the studio, the entire audience had been seated and the show was 5 minutes from the start of taping. Since we were late, we were not able to sit with each other. Everyone was seated off to the left and they asked me to go over to the far right hand side of the studio! Great! All by myself! I followed behind the employee and all of a sudden, we are walking down flights of stairs, more stairs, more stairs..."sit here please!" HOLY COW...I was seated in the dance row! Ellen would be passing right by me which means, I was going to be on TV!
The show was starting and Ellen was introduced! Even though we were taping on December 15th, we were the first show of 2012, scheduled to air on January 3rd! She decided to mix things up for the new year and rather than dancing to start the show, she decided to start with a game. The two contestants were called from the audience. They were hysterical, jumping up and down, beside themselves to be standing next to Ellen. When all of a sudden, one of the girls passed out. To our surprise, the 12 Days of Giveaways music cued and alas, we were on the Bonus Day show! Unbelievable! After the day we had trying to get there, we almost missed the Bonus Day 12 Days of Giveaways! WOW!
The gifts came out behind the curtain and one by one, we received a variety of great gifts, including the Mint vacuum cleaner, Vizio tablet, Jose Eber hair products and tools, headphones, $250 gift card to Whole Foods, and a $200 gift card to Taschen Bookstores. And to think we almost missed out on all this loot!
After we settled down from the excitement of receiving all these great gifts, Howie Mandel and Elle Fanning were the guests on the show. With all the adrenaline running through my veins first from our adventures getting there and then the excitement of gifts, the show was literally over within a blink of an eye! It was quite the experience, one I will surely remember forever!
And yes, I was on TV, a few times actually! It is quite weird seeing yourself on TV. And yes, several of my students saw me as well. So much for the "meeting" I was in...right? Oh and yes, Kyle took full claim to all of my goodies and had everything unwrapped and working before the night was done! It was a day to remember! Surely one that I will never forget!
