celebrity sightings: JFK to LAX

This weekend I went to visit my friend Ashley in NYC when Hunter went to the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament down in Vegas with "the boys" (of whom Ashley's husband is included, so it ended up being girls/boys weekends). Pics and stories of those trips to come later. In the meantime, I must tell you this story while it is fresh in my mind.

So, the whole weekend Ashley and I joked about wanting a celebrity sighting, but never saw anyone famous despite our best efforts to hang out in cool places. As we were saying our goodbyes I half-jokingly mentioned my disappointment as I have never seen a celeb before.

So imagine my glee when just a few minutes later on my flight home, I watched John Lithgow board my plane!

He was so cute with his frizzy haired wife that I didn't want to bother him. Also I couldn't remember his name. Later our plane lands, John and I go our separate ways, and I sit on the bench outside to wait for Hunter to pick me up. JUST as I finish texting Ashley about the John Lithgow sighting, some paparazzi come barreling past me chasing a Cadillac SUV that pulls over just a little ways down from me. While everyone else in the airport coolly ignores the commotion ("yawwwn, its nothing WE c0ol L.A.-ers haven't seen before"), I don't waste a second, grab my bags and race down the walkway to get a peek. No shame. Just me and a couple paparazzi hanging out, waiting for mystery guest. Eventually three girls get out of the car, one with long blonde hair, one with blonde hair in a ponytail, and one with long brown hair, and I just kind of blankly stare straight into their faces (I'm literally 2 feet away), as they walk through a glass door and stand by the elevator a yard from the door. Now maybe if my tiny brain was able to sift through all the possible celebrity faces that any of these 3 girls could have been in the following 2 minutes I could have gotten a pic with/autograph of/been in a gossip blog's paperazzi pics with _____- but it was too much pressure and I just ended up squinting at these people standing 3 feet away through the glass door. It was literally just me standing between 2 paparazzi. No one else in the airport cared?? I was baffled. Apparently everyone else has too much dignity for celeb stalking? Whatever, so the mystery celebs turn towards the papz and I and kind of pose a little bit and, well you may not believe this next part, but the girl with brown hair starts looking at me and GIGGLING and they all kind of smirk because I am clearly brain dead and cannot figure out who they are (hence the awkward and confused staring) but still care enough to stand there and stare in their faces. It was then I realized this one had to be really obvious, so I figure, yes Aubs, that blonde is Lady Gaga. Must be...then before I can really confirm this theory they get into an elevator and I turn to one of the papz and demand "who WAS that???" and he just basically runs me over and doesn't even answer my question, which makes for a good laugh for a couple guys behind me. So I, unrelenting, turn to the other paparazzi and ask again "WHO was THAT??"

Luckily, he is less mean but no less insane, and yells

"LINDSAY!" As he bolts the other direction to track her down.

MAHA! Lindsay Lohan??? I can't even recognize Lindsay Lohan after 2 solid minutes of face to face scrutiny? My career as a paparazzi is officially deserted, but my goal to see a celebrity is officially completed! Lady Gaga she was not (I actually thought her mom was Lady Gaga), but the mother of all crackheads and paparazzi photoshoots she was. That should have been an easy one, Aubs. I actually thought she looked really pretty in real life. Like really pretty. So pretty, in fact, that I said to Hunter when recounting the story "I think the brunette must have been Lindsay because the blonde with hair down was too old and the blonde with hair up was too pretty."

I also felt a little bit of satisfaction as at least a dozen "uncaring" people "casually" meandered up to me to ask me who that was after the papz and LiLo were gone. The moral of the story: don't act too cool for celeb stalking, because everyone is just as curious.

Now I am excited to tell you that thanks to the digital age of photography and the bloggosphere, these pictures of my experience are already available! Remember: I was standing RIGHT next to this guy. Pretty sure these are from the fat guy paparazzi from the angles.


Here is the article where I found those: http://www.gossipcenter.com/lindsay-lohan/lindsay-lohan-nyc-here-i-come-486676

COOL RIGHT?? Even if you don't think its cool, after years of hoping to see an A-LIST celeb, I have fulfilled a dream. Now I can stop telling the weird story about meeting the lady who plays the voice of Ithsma in "The Emporer's New Groove" when I was 12. Because no one is impressed by that, and everyone is impressed by Lindsay Lohan.