"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives..."

I had been looking forward to this day.

Meredith, the NBC daytime coordinator, needed interns to help out at the “Days of Our Lives” promo shoot. Tasks included transporting stars in golf carts to providing lunch to everything else in between. As a “Days” fan since elementary school, I was more than excited to volunteer my services. Working at the NBCU office is fun, but it’s always exciting to have a change of scenery and escape the cubicles once in a while. After working for a couple of hours at the office, I drove about five minutes to Johnny Carson Park, a quaint park that sits on the side of the 134 freeway. It’s unfortunate that the rumbles of atrocious L.A. traffic disturb this little gem of rare greenery.

 The promo shoot is in full session. There is a photo session going on beneath the towering oak trees. There is a male actor slouching in a gray director’s chair, bored out of his mind as a mousy journalist probes him with questions about his perfect date. Actresses receive quick touch-ups from make-up artists dressed in camo and cheetah prints. Actors are strolling in the park after completing their scenes for one of the longest-running soap opera on daytime television. This particular promo shoot marks the first time in a very long time since all 28 actors have taken photos together. The studio wants promotional material to air during commercial breaks on NBC, interview clips to send to Access Hollywood and stock photos to keep on file.

 The theme of the shoot is “summer fun.” One of my tasks is to set up a volleyball net for the actors to play a flirty game of volleyball while the cameras are rolling. I am also asked to set up the picnic table props for the actors to sit at while they act as though they are at a family picnic, smiling the perfect, toothy smile for the photographers. And, for my most “intern” moment yet, I am asked to retrieve coffee for the actors who are freezing in this California “June Gloom” weather. One soy chai latte and one hot chocolate, please. Everyone else can have coffee from the java-to-go box. NBC is on a budget.

 Oh, and one more thing, says Meredith. This photo shoot is going to take all day. Some of the actors have been here since 6AM. If they look bored, go talk to them. We can’t have bored actors wandering off to find something to do. We need everyone present to make this process smooth and easy.

Most of the actors are young newcomers to the show. Fresh-faced, pin-thin, good-looking. Extraordinarily good-looking. I bite my lip when three young actors approach the craft services table that I am organizing. Here goes nothing. I stick out my hand, hold my head up high and introduce myself. Surprisingly, they are friendly and shake my hand. The cast is like a family. They exchange crude jokes, throw Frisbees at each other’s heads, nibble on the catered Greek salads from Panera. I spot Allison Sweeney, who plays the infamous Sami Brady. She’s been on the show forever. I’m way too intimidated to talk to her. But here comes Bryan Dattilo, who plays Lucas and also has been on the show forever, wearing a tight teal polo, loud-mouthed and confident. He strolls straight up to me and strikes up a conversation about his metrosexual t-shirt. He tells me it’s very Palm Beach and Wham! I laugh. He says that I’m too young to know about Wham! and asks me who is the lead singer. “George Michael, DUH!” I say. His eyes light up. “Wow. You know Wham!” We proceed to have a five-minute conversation about Wham! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who is a shameless George Michael fan.

As I admire Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso from afar, I notice a man is looking for a Lemon Tea Snapple. There’s only Diet Peach Snapple. The man is John Aniston, a soap opera legend and Jennifer Aniston’s father. I help him look for a Lemon Tea Snapple, but I can’t find any that are chilled. He says the Diet Peach Snapple is fine, and starts drinking. I’m tempted to ask him about his daughter but my focus is startled when a sweet voice introduces herself to me.

“My name is Peggy McCay, what’s your name?” Holy crap. Peggy McCay, another Days legend. A soft-spoken woman with a fabulous floral pantsuit, we talk about the photo shoot and how it is such a wonderful idea to bring the entire case together. After a few polite comments about the weather, she grabs my hand and tells me it was nice meeting me, then saunters off to sit next to John Aniston at the picnic bench.

Okay. Time for the coffee run. I don’t want to piss anyone off by getting the wrong coffee order, so I grab a pen and paper to jot down the complicated beverage orders I’m bound to receive. Felicia wants a soy chai latte. Lauren wants a hot chocolate. Jay wants a café mocha. “Oh for fuck’s sake. Just get a box of coffee so we all get the same thing! Make this easier for the person who has to get it!” Who on earth is supporting the lowly gopher who has to get the coffee? It’s Nadia Bjorlin, possibly one of the sexiest women to ever grace the Earth and one of the few actors who is not only famous from Days. She is the last person I would expect to vouch for me, let alone acknowledge my presence. She looks at me with her piercing eyes and says, “Just get whatever you want. These fuckers are being too picky. Coffee is coffee, for fuck’s sake!” After the cast devours the Coffee Bean Java-to-go, Nadia comes up to me and thanks me for going out of my way to get the cast coffee. “No pr-problem,” I stammer. I think I’ve developed a girl crush.

I never knew photo shoots could be so exhausting. They usually consist of hours of waiting around for actors to show up since everyone runs on different schedules. It was a pretty cool experience observing the actors as regular people; this is just another day on the job for them. I’d like to think that this will be just another day on the job for me as well, especially since I saw La Bamba getting out of the company elevator earlier as I was leaving for the Days shoot. I could get used to this.