celebrity sightings

Francophiles have Paris. Alien abductees have Los Alamos. Gamblers have Monaco. And gossip hounds? We have New York City.

It's true that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world, but that's just for the film industry. New York is the cultural gem of America, which means we attract more big name movie stars, artists, musicians, authors, dancers and models than almost anywhere else on this little green planet of ours. Fitting, then, that almost everyone in this city has multiple stories to tell of various run-ins with celebrities. A prime example of this was the day when, after less than a full day's work on a brand new job, my former roommate came home and announced she had rung up Drew Barrymore's cash register that afternoon.

As all of my friends have had numerous celebrity sightings, I have been waiting for my first. Well, that's not true. I did have a chat with Joan Baez in an elevator a few years ago (culminating with her patting me on the head), and I've performed for several well known names (Madeline Albright, Kanye West, etc.) -- but still. It wasn't quite the same thing as running into a celebrity on the street.

Which, I can now add, I finally have. About a week ago I was leaving a late night class on my university campus, when who did I spy filming a movie on the street? Miss. Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Granted, it was evening time, drizzling, and the ultra-bright set lights everywhere made it hard to look directly in her face. However, it was definitely her, and the crowd of bystanders gawking at her made this quite evident. The camera crew were giving everyone non-industry related (i.e. me and all the other people staring) nasty looks, but that didn't stop anyone from pulling out camera phones and snapping photos of Gellar like she was some sort of exotic wild beast roaming the streets of Manhattan.

She looked underfed and very short, and her hair was dyed black. Very pretty though, which I suppose is a requirement for all Hollywood actresses. I don't remember much else about my celebrity moment except that she was filming a scene with another actress (no clue who), and had on a pretty hideous boots.

... and I have to cut this entry short because of a duo of unruly cats trying to sit on my laptop.