08.25.08 – I held hands with Marilyn Monroe

“Sometimes I think it would be easier to avoid old age, to die young, but then you’d never complete your life, would you? You’d never wholly know you” – Marilyn Monroe

So, it’s only fitting that we have a celebrity issue running this week as I return from my first visit to LA. I was out there to tape a Proactiv shoot. And oh…my…gosh… what an amazing experience! They shipped me out there with my friend Aymie Majerski, who does a lot of business in LA so it was fitting that I took her. We actually stayed about an hour outside of the city in Agoura Hills, CA. It was a beautiful area, in the hills above Malibu. WOW WOW WOW. And the shoot actually took place at a mansion hidden in Augoura Hills mountainside. It even had its own vineyard! The living room had a retractable wall and so the shoot took place in this beautiful living room that had an open-air view of the hills.

I was the first one to go on early in the morning on Friday. There were 40 people there to help me look perfect on air thankfully. From wardrobe stylists, accessory stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists… I’ve felt like something is missing each each morning I’ve gotten ready since … and then they had someone who’s job was to polish the products, someone to manage the shadows in my shot’s background, someone to manage the accessories on the table behind me… someone to even manage flyaways! It was mindboggling.

So, they asked me questions for about 2 hours. They even made me cry… they showed me a blown up version of my before picture on camera!!! AHH! But drama aside, I’m really glad that I did it because it was the infomercial people I saw that made me end up buying Proactiv and now I can’t live without it.

So, after the shoot, Aymie took me to Malibu and we took lots of fun pics on the beach and got some fresh seafood. Then we got all glammed up and took a towncar to Hollywood to meet with some of her actor/producer/film industry friends. We went to for dinner and then walked to a “see and be seen” kind of club. I might have been surrounded by a bunch of really well-known peeps, but I was too busy chatting with Vince, an actor that went to OU and is good friends with Pete my fiance.

Then, after the club closed, I was bound and determined to see Marilyn Monroe’s star on Hollywood Blvd. As you may or may not know, I’ve had a strange affinity for Marilyn since I was little. Weird things like I was supposed to be born on her birthday, relationship similarities, and other little nuances that I learned from reading a biography about her. Anywho… I saw her star and then Aymie told me she had imprints at the Mann Chinese Theater. It was 3am at this point, mind you, and we’re searching around in the dark for a 2ft by 2ft block that has Marilyn’s signature and hand imprints on it. Finally, we found it! It was a really special moment. I felt like the world stopped when I put my hands in her imprint and they fit. It was like this weird connection that I’ve never had – and probably will ever have – with concrete again. I traced her signature with my finger. I noticed that she almost forgot the L before the Y but she stuck it in and you can’t really notice unless you look up close. It got me thinking that that wasn’t really her name. And she was probably nervous with everyone watching her sign that concrete. If you ever go to see it, definitely look for it. It’s a heartwarming sign of human-ness from such an international icon.

So, after bonding with my deceased soul sista, we headed back to the hotel with just enough time for me to get an hour of sleep before getting picked up by the airport shuttle service. Yeah, I was TIIIIRED. But it was all worth it. I had a great time.

Enjoy the pics!