The Best of Both Worlds (The one where Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell and Orlando Bloom wished me a happy birthday)

Most of my life, I've kind of felt like a Hannah Montana. You know, rockstar by weekend; rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and going to concerts, traveling, etc. Then, regular girl, just going to school to pursue her dreams by week, usually being ignored by the cool kids or just known as the "quiet" one, who isn't really remembered at the end of the day. I really do get the "best of both worlds," (ba dum bum-ching). Also, never has the line, "You go to movie premieres (is that Orlando Bloom?)" been more accurate than this very post. To find out more about that, you'll have to keep reading.

Anyway, all I wanted for my 22nd birthday this year was to hang out by the Golden Globes drop off spot for the red carpet, to see if we could see or meet any of the stars arriving for the main event. I had been doing my research on Google and YouTube, and it seemed like our chances were pretty good. My parents, being the amazing people that they are were up for the adventure. I made a sign that said "Roll down your window please" on one side, and on the other it read, "It is my birthday '22'!" I was all set and we kept joking that we were going to meet Sandra Bullock. Her, Monica Potter and Amy Poehler were on my top 3 people that I wanted to meet. But, of course, I would have been happy to see ANYONE. I mean everybody and their brother was going to be there, so I knew no matter what happened, it would be a good time.

Signs all around L.A promoting..I WANT ONE!

Sunday morning, we went to the earlier service at church, then came home for a few minutes to pick up our cameras and all that jazz, then headed out. We were still pretty early, so we had time to stop for lunch at Chipotle, and took our time. After, we made our way to L.A, and drove around for a bit looking for parking. That can be quite the task, especially if you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for parking on the night of a special event. We finally found a lot, then went searching for a restroom, which is hard on Wilshire Blvd, which is full of shops or cafes. We found a Rite Aid, and I was able to staple the letters on my board that kept flopping around and I was afraid would fall off with the wind outside. When everything was good to go, we walked to the Beverly Hilton Hotel to get start scoping things out for the red carpet. On the way over, I felt so awkward about holding my sign, trying to keep it hidden, but we were at a crosswalk with two guys across the street from them, and as we got the "walk" signal and passed them, they handed me a dollar and wished me a 'happy birthday.' I guess announcing that it is your birthday definitely has its benefits. I thought it was hilarious that they had planned it all out, too! My mom joked that I should just get a jar and walk around with the sign to see how many people would give me money! Lol...I didn't do that, but there's always next time ;).

We started out in front of the building, where there was a small crowd already gathered around. But, then we started realizing it was only for press and walked a little further down where there were only a few groups waiting by barricades. My dad started talking to a security guard and she was telling him that was the best spot to be in, so I was pretty excited and we stayed put. Then, some of my friends that I had met at the Lauren Graham book signing met up with us, and we started planning and talking about who we wanted to see. It was so good to see them again! We talk on Twitter, and Amber and I text here and there, but the last (and first) time we hung out was in May. It didn't feel like we had to wait that long, and pretty soon, limos were starting to show up.

Robyn, Amber and myself! 

One of the first people we were able to see was one of my favorite actresses, Monica Potter, from Parenthood, who was nominated for Supporting Actress in a Drama, Musical or Comedy. She had her window rolled down and waved to us, and I was SO excited to see her. Hoping next time there will be more time to actually meet her and talk to her

. I'm hoping maybe she recognized me from Twitter, since she follows me, but if not, she definitely saw Amber and Robyn, who talk to her all the time. Shortly after that, the limos kept showing up and you could tell that the red carpet had started. It was like this constant flow of excitement and each star being bigger than the last. It was hard to keep up with.

Here are some of my absolute FAVORITE moments and some other amazing celebrities we saw:

My parents! They're the bestest! :)

• Had a short conversation with Jim O'Heir (Jerry, Larry and Gary from Parks and Rec). He wished me a happy birthday, then said, "22? I'm only 3 decades older than you" or something like that. I thought I had gotten the entire thing on video, and was sad when I realized I hadn't actually pushed record. 
• Eric Stonestreet (Cam from Modern Family) kept looking and pointing at my sign, and you could tell he was saying something...Pretty sure he said happy birthday, but he was so far away it was hard to tell. HAH!
• Retta (Donna from Parks and Rec)
• Johnny Galecki (Big Bang Theory, Christmas Vacation-Russ)
• Kaley Cuoco Sweeting (Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules)
• Sandra Bullock (you could tell it was her from the window and when we watched the red carpet later, but she didn't roll the window down)
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell from Modern Family)
• Ty Burrell (Phil from Modern Family)
• Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle)
• Chris Hemsworth (THORRRRR!!!!! He really is even more gorgeous in person)
• Rob Lowe (he had his window rolled down further up the street, but by the time he got to us, it was up again..I was lit'rally so sad)
• Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
• A couple long NBC limos 
• Could have sworn we saw Taylor Swift, judging by the way her hair was pulled up and curled, but not totally sure. 
• Emma Watson (she was putting on her lipstick in the car)
• Kevin Spacey
• Uma Thurman
• Leslie Mann
• P. Diddy
• Jared Leto
• Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally
• Channing and Jenna Dewan Tatum
• Taylor Schilling
• Amy Adams
• Idris Elba (Mandel)
• Melissa McCarthy (she was so cute; waving to everyone through the window, and looked so excited)
• ORLANDO BLOOM rolled down his window and I flipped my sign over to say that it was my birthday. He leaned out, the side that his mom was on, and wished me a happy birthday! I shouted "thank you" back and proceeded to fan girl, feeling like I was going to pass out. People don't even understand how extreme my crush on him back in the day around "Pirates" was. And when I found out we shared a birthday, he absolutely became one of my favorite people. I wish I would have thought to say happy birthday back to him, but it all happened so fast and I was completely caught off guard. It's not everyday that you expect THAT to happen. *SIGH* His accent and charming good looks could make anyone swoon.
• TOM HANKS and wife, RITA WILSON showed up and I thought they might wave to our section, but I put my birthday sign out again. Well, Tom yells "Happy birthday!" out the window, then starts saying other stuff, and then I realize HE'S SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, and then tapped his wife on the shoulder to join in! I'm just standing there, like, "Is this real life?!" (normally, I hate that expression...But, this really was one of those pinch me moments. like when does this stuff happen?!) I'm just standing there like an idiot, smiling so big and I think I shouted I'm a huge fan at some point and just kept saying "thank you so much." I thought I was getting all of it on camera, but I only got bits and pieces because I was shaking so much. Oh, and I also dropped my sign because I was too excited, and it slid to the middle of the street. One of the security guys was nice enough to pick it up for me. Then, just before Tom and Rita drove off, Tom pulled out his camera and started snapping pictures of our side of the crowd! I'm still hoping he tweets those! Haha! But, in the meantime...I'M STILL ON TOM HANKS' phone...WHAT?!?! Tom and Rita seem like they would be that really cool, fun couple really trying to liven up the party with a game of charades or something. I SERIOUSLY want to hang out with him. This just proved to me that he might be a great actor, but he's an even better person. Think about that.

  

  
  

  Oh, you know, just Tom Hanks taking a picture of US! AHHH!

• And just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, another star from Saving Mr. Banks, COLIN FARRELL ended up coming around and rolled his window down when he saw my sign. He said "happy birthday" with that awesome accent of his, and then sang "Happy birthday" again? I couldn't even comprehend what was happening at that point. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear...I don't know your name (he gave a slight shrug)." "Shelby," I told him and then he nodded and carried on, "Happy birthday dear Shelby (emphasis on my name that time), happy birthday to you." I just kept freaking out and telling him thank you again. Some other people near us started saying hi to him and then he had a green light to head towards the red carpet. Right before he left, he made eye contact with me again, placing his hands together like a prayer position/bow and nodding my way. He seems like SUCH A NICE GUY! Respect for him definitely went up in my book. I don't really know too much about his personal life. But, based on how he seems to treat people ...He seems like a really cool guy. 

  

  I believe this photo is courtesy of Amber :) HOW COOL?!

My new thing is going to be: If Tom Hanks, Colin Farrel and Orlando Bloom (three of THE BIGGEST STARS in Hollywood) can wish me a happy birthday on their way to the Golden Globes, what's your excuse?! Just kidding. Kind of ;)

Oh, and who can forget the Westboro Baptist that came into full effect as the red carpet started? They started pulling out their awful posters that said things like, "Paul Walker is in hell" or "God hates F--S" and other horrible things. I'm sorry, but the God that I serve does not think any of those things. These are the people that are spreading hate and ugliness wherever they go, and it's just awful. The images they were holding up were horrendous, too. We think that might be why some people weren't rolling their windows down too. They didn't want to be involved or to get bombarded with them, not knowing what they were going to do. And who can blame them? They also started bringing their own music out, with strange lyrics to the tune of "I Won't Let Go" by Rascal Flatts. Uh, go figure?! I will probably never be able to listen to that song the same way again.

Anyway, after all the cars seemed to stop and the security team all came back up to the front, we decided to head out. We walked back to the parking lot and ran into Robyn and Amber again, then realized that you could hear some of the awards ceremony. I wanted to cry when I heard Amy Poehler's voice, knowing she was just right across the street, but it was also really awesome at the same time. We listened for a few minutes, then as the sun was starting to set, we drove out of town, as I relived those incredible moments for the rest of the night.

We stopped for dinner at Lucille's, which would be for my birthday, since I had class until 7:30 on Monday and we wouldn't have time. We had to wait quite awhile, and my feet were throbbing and my head was pounding. Waiting to see celebrities is exhausting. I got some sweet tea and took medicine, and after almost an hour, we got a table. I was so out of it, and trying to make a decision about food felt impossible. But, I came to the conclusion of getting a couple appetizers, chicken strips and fried pickles. SO GOOD! The server we had was so helpful and extremely personable, and even brought me a sundae for my birthday, without the singing!

Yummy! Homemade ice cream!

CONGRATS AMY!!!!! AHHHH! I seriously teared up during her speech.

On the way home, my parents and I played 20 Questions, and I kept warning them that I am not that predictable (referring to anyone we had met or seen that night). I was trying to think outside the box. We got home fairly early, so my mom and I watched the red carpet and the Golden Globe awards themselves. I had to finish a quick homework assignment, then I was starting to fall asleep and still had to take a shower. I was still running on adrenaline when I got in bed that night, but had to get to sleep because Monday was going to be loooonnng.

This is definitely a day for the books, and I will NEVER forget it! :)

There are still some pictures and videos I haven't downloaded yet on mine and my mom's cameras, but I'll try to upload them here, as well when I finally put them on my computer.

That's all for now,
Shelby