What a Show!

I had my grown-up night last night at the Oscars! It was great! I got to dress up, walk down the red carpet, drink champagne, and mingle with some famous and not so famous people! Then I got to watch the Oscars! Alas, no after-parties for us. When the show was over, we got back into our car and returned back to the real world. We did stop at Dupar's for late-night grilled cheese sandwiches. If you don't live in L.A., let me just say that Dupar's is a bit of an L.A. institution. It's a divey, coffee-shop. We looked ridiculous walking in there wearing a tux and gown. Until about 10 minutes later when two other women walked in wearing formal gowns as well! They too were having a late-night snack there after attending the Oscars. Only in L.A.!

Now on to the highlights:

Most Surreal Moment:

Driving to the valet parking. Because of security, you have to drive through this weird slalom course of concrete barricades. At each barricade were police carrying what looked like uzi rifles. There was a ton of artillery and even the LAPD bomb squad van! All there to keep us safe! I felt like I was in the movie The Hurt Locker instead of attending the Oscars! While we were stopped and our car was being checked for bombs, people who were lined up on sidewalks trying to see celebs were taking pictures of us while we were inside our car. I rolled down my window at one point and yelled, "We're nobodies--don't waste your film!"


The Red Carpet:

Walking down the red carpet wasn't as glamorous as I thought it was going to be! Celebrities walked down an aisle so the media could easily interview them. We common folk walked down another aisle. The only officials talking to us were the security who kept prodding us along. We were interested in seeing the celebrities, so our line wasn't moving as fast as they'd like! Ironically, all we could pretty much see was the back of the gowns the actresses wore! Luckily, I was able to view the dresses on the CNN website after I got home!


Cocktail Party:

Before the show, the Academy hosted a cocktail party. It was really nice! While none of the Best Actor or Actress nominees were there (I'm guessing they had a VIP room), there was still a lot of celebrity sighting, and I got to see some of the beautiful gowns there! This was certainly the highlight of the evening for me--especially when Queen Latifah complimented me on my gown. Of course, I complimented hers first! She looked stunning.


The Awards Show:

I've heard that the awards are much better to watch on TV than in person. That is probably true. However, the excitement that is in the room is really amazing. Also, I can't imagine that the dance number during the musical score category played nearly as well on TV as it did in person! They were the most amazing dancers! My friends and family wanted detail notes on what happened during the commercial breaks. First off, at home there always seems to be too many, and they are too long. When you're at the Oscars, there are too few breaks, and they are too short! It's really hard to fit in a bathroom run without missing a good chunk of the show. If you're not back before the end of commercials, you have to view the show by the bar area on a little TV with the sound turned down low. After two glasses of champagne, you do have to fit that time in. Also, it was really hard to fit in Facebook updates during these commercial breaks. Trust me, I wasn't the only person in the theater trying to do this! The funniest thing that happened during the commercial break was that about 20 men wearing tuxedos would run onto the stage with brooms to sweep--really fast!


After the Show:

We didn't do much after the show--see above. The only highlight for me was that George Clooney almost stepped on my foot as we were all leaving the show. That would have been the best pain I would have ever experienced.

Now, back to the real world!