Celebrities Run Amok at NBC

What a great last two days I've had! At Late Night it's either crazy busy or crazy slow, never really a happy medium. Yesterday morning the EP's assistant, Sarah, sent me on an interesting errand. There are these jackets that Late Night handed out for their holiday gift. They're rather nice, however many people around NBC have yet to pick them up. For example, another intern and I were sent to drop some off for some rather high up staff at NBC and four at the Today Show for Matt, Al, Anne and Meredith. No, no, I didn't get to see them, but I delivered their jackets, which stills gives me a smile.

Our next stop was to drop off a jacket for Lorne Michaels and some other SNL execs. We approacher the reception desk and as we're handing them over Darrell Hammond walked out. I gave him a hello smile and from underneath his tattered Yankee hat he gave a little wave and small, "hello." It's not a glamorous story by any means, but it was a thrill to me for those five seconds. I had a moment of recognition from one of the legends of SNL. Moments like those, where I see celebrities aren't glamorous. I son't get autographs or pictures or even a sentence of conversation, but I get the realization of where I am. I realize that from all of my hard work I'm getting the opportunity to be in a place where people I've admired for ten or more years are working and I have moments of being side by side with them. It's awesome.

Then later that day, after multiple errands I had another moment. I had to take a note card down to the studio for the floor manager. As I walked by I saw Chris Meloni, Elliott on Law and Order SVU (one of my newest obsessions), chilling in his dressing room. I really mean chilling. He was leaned back, leg propped up on another looking really relaxed. Again another moment of realizing where I am.

I asked the NBC Page where Steve. the floor director, was and they said right on in the studio. I hesitated. There was a show going on and I wasn't sure if we were allowed in there once the audience was in there. I timidly went on in and stood right against the door, looking around for Steve. The band was playing the audience was clapping along and the show was getting ready to start. Steve was no where in sight so I asked the woman standing next to me where he was and she pointed to the curtain... all the way over on the other side of the studio. I looked at her and she said it was ok to take it over to him. I still don't really know my boundaries yet. I worried if I walked in front of the wrong camera would I get in trouble?

I made my way over to him, trying my best to be as invisible as possible. As I went to hand him the card he backed up. I took a step forward and he backed up again. He was coaxing me into walking into the light in front of the audience. I laughed as he took the paper and ran out of the studio as fast as I could. I was giggling with embarassment and thinking of the humor in the whole scenario.

Today jacket fun continued. Along with a lunch run and an errand to Park Avenue. I live for Late Night rehearsals, though. Today was no exception. NCAA team mascots is a sketch I have enjoyed for years, and seeing it live was pretty awesome. As we alked in I heard some amatuer, but pretty, piano playing. I looked around to the band and it was Conan. He was fiddling around on the keys and spitting out parts of "Let it Be." I smiled at the thought of how two things I loved so much, Conan and the Beatles, were comibining before my very eyes.

The most awesome part of rehearsal, though was when the studio doors opened and a lovely British accent flowed in. It was Ricky Gervais! He came to do a sketch with Conan during the monologue. I immediately text messaged my English-obsessed friend, Katie Kuekes, and sat back and enjoyed watching Conan and Ricky interact. They laughed and joked as they discussed how their little riff was going to go. It was so interesting to see them at work like that.

Then at the start of taping I got sent on a run to take a new nameplate down to the dressing room doors. As I walked through the hall there was Howie Mandell, the creator of the beloved Bobby's World and the host of Deal or No Deal. He looked old and tired, but again, a moment of realization.

Now it's my weekend. A little grocery shopping, a little cleaning and some site seeing. Making the most of the Big Apple