"The more you know..."

It’s my second full week here at NBC, and I’ve already learned so much about the entertainment industry. I’ve also learned a lot about life (cue the music…gag me). But I won’t get into the nitty gritty about my cheesy revelations a la Full House and Danny Tanner’s heart-to-hearts. I must say though, even though these lessons are clichés that have been beaten to death in my head, I fully realized why they are clichés in the first place: they’re true. Here’s what I’ve learned thus far:

-A smile goes a long way. A very long way.

-It’s not who you know. It’s what they know about you.

-Co-workers can really affect your daily work life, positively and negatively.

-Lunch breaks are great if you have time for them

-I’m at this job from 9AM-6PM, Monday through Friday. It’s not always fun and exciting, but I love what I get to do. With that said, I don’t know how on earth people survive working at a 9-5 job that they hate for the past 10-15 years. Do what you love, people!!

-Getting lost in a city is the best way to learn it. I got lost in Hollywood tonight, and I swear I can tell you all of its street names and intersections.

-LA traffic really does happen for no reason.

-Being a girl has its perks. There is a male crossing guard (I’ve yet to find out his name…that will be tomorrow’s task) who stands between the parking garage and the gate, directing cars into the lot and motioning people to cross the street. He is a tall, talkative Italian man who loves to give high-fives to walkers and demands that ladies walk in front of gentlemen. “Hey, hey now! Ladies first! Gentlemen, let the ladies walk in front of you!” he shouts every time a man is a step in front of a woman. He wears the same aviators, fluorescent yellow vest and bright smile every single morning when I walk to my building (“Beautiful morning, ain’t it? Have a wonderfully awesome day!”), and every single evening when I am heading back to my car (“Hope you had a great day! Have a super terrific evening!”). One morning, I was carrying two large, heavy bags to work (leftover swag from the Days shoot that I was instructed to deliver to the office) and the crossing guard could sense that I was having some trouble carrying the weight. He tells me to stop walking. He whistles with his fingers (the kind of whistle you hear at a basketball game) and out of nowhere, a man driving a golf cart appears. “Take this young lady to wherever she needs to go,” says the crossing guard. “She shouldn’t be walking with these heavy bags!” I am utterly grateful to this kind man and thank him profusely. The walk from the garage to my building is only about 10 minutes, but I am saved at least 8 minutes when I am dropped off at the front doors of my building.

This morning, I was in a rush to work after I made a longer-than-expected breakfast stop at Coffee Bean. My supervisor is laid-back and cool, and he doesn’t even notice if we walk in late because we’re in a different room than he is, so I am not extremely worried when my Hello Kitty watch reads 9:00AM sharp and I am still walking out of the parking garage. The crossing guard can sense that I’m in a hurry. “Are you early, on time, or late?” he asks. “Well, I’m going to be a little late today,” I say. Suddenly, the crossing guard claps his hands, and out of nowhere, a man driving a golf cart appears. Again! “How are you doing this?!” I exclaim. He ignores me. “Please take this beautiful lady to wherever her heart desires. Now step on it, she can’t be late!” I get into the rumbling golf cart. Smells like gasoline. “Thank you so, so much. Again!” I say. He smiles, and turns around to guide a lost car into the right gate. Conclusion: Being a girl has its perks. Even if the perk is a tad creepy.

-I learned this in Cannes, and it applies to NBCU as well. When it comes to celebrity sighting, you have to be at the right place at the right time. It all comes down the luck. If I hadn’t gotten lost finding my car in the labyrinth that is the NBCU Parking Garage 2160, I wouldn’t have been making the sharp turn down the garage at the precise moment that Andy Richter was backing out of a space, nearly T-boning into my car. After my initial shock from swerving, I looked up to snarl at the careless person who almost crashed into my car. I look into the man’s eyes. Andy Richter stares blankly back at me, then looks slightly down. Perhaps in embarrassment? Perhaps in fear of meeting my death stare? Whatever the reason was, he quickly pulled back into his space until I had cleared the way for his departure. First La Bamba, now Andy. I’m so close…as Ellen Degeneres would say, [Conan] is mine in ’09.