Celebrity III: Real Celebrities

I've gone up to L.A. quite a few times since I've been in San Diego, mostly to hang out with my fabulous friend TH who is an actor. I saw her act in one of her performances and she took me to see a couple of sketch comedy shows that her friends were in. She spots famous and not-so-famous celebs everywhere, so I've gotten a little bit into star sightings myself. One quick sighting was Lisa Rinna going up the escalator at The Grove, a big shopping center.

One of the shows that we went to was a collaboration of Asian American sketch comedy groups in L.A. The sketches portrayed shows at the troubled fictional Asian American TV station, Asia Home of Language Entertainment network (AHOLE). One show was The Asian Surreal Life, a takeoff of The Surreal Life, featuring actors playing Bai Ling, Rick Yune (I had to look him up myself, but it was well worth it), and George Takei. That night Takei was actually in the audience! He was a good sport and after the show teased the young actor who portrayed him as a stern man donning a blazer and ascot smoking a tobacco pipe.

The Sunday before Martin Luther King Day, a bunch of us went hiking in Topanga Canyon. Near the beginning of the trail, a group of people crossed us going the other direction. Seconds later my friends notified me that the people who just passed were husband-and-wife team Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick! Celebrity expert TH wondered aloud why were they even here when they live in New York. Then she realized that the Golden Globes were the next day so they were probably in town for that. The next night, Sedgwick won for her amazing role in The Closer.

Speaking of actors, you know the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? I can actually trace myself, a non-Hollywood-type even, to him in five steps! It all starts with my fabu friend TH ...

1. I have a friend TH
   
2. TH has a writing partner R
   
3. R is married to C
   
4. C works on the TV show The Closer which stars Kyra Sedgwick
   
5. Kyra Sedgwick is married to Kevin Bacon!
   

Small world.

Celebrity II

Another time recently when I've been in the "limelight": (Photo has since been removed)

A few college friends have pointed out that I'm pictured in our alumni club's many announcements for a trip to Costa Rica. I went on a similar trip a couple of years ago, and the travel folks used a group photo of us adventurers crossing a rope bridge beside a beautiful waterfall. Yup, that's me in the front. I hope someday I can be in a public photo looking glamorous and elegant instead of being sweaty in baggy clothes or a rubber suit. But you can tell I had a fun-filled time. We went zip-lining through the rainforest, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, volcano-watching, and surfing!

Celebrity I

I was on the front page of the New York Times yesterday!!! (Article on the bottom right corner) No, I wasn't getting arrested. Here's the scoop.

I had been wanting to take a surf lesson in San Diego for months, but I hadn't gotten around to it. Three weeks ago, in the middle of cold January (yes, it gets cold in Southern California, specially the ocean), I finally decided to go on a weekend surf clinic given by Surf Diva in La Jolla. It was perfect timing because on the first day I learned that a NYT photographer was there to take pictures of us girls in the clinic. He told us the photos would probably be in the paper the coming Monday. So two days later I excitedly scoured the paper, online and in print. But there was no sign of a surfing article. The folks at Surf Diva figured the story was dropped, and I gave up on getting my 15 minutes of fame from being mentioned in a small snippet in the Sports/Travel/Metro section of a highly respected national newspaper. Then today I was shocked when a friend said I was on the front page!

The topic of the article, surfing becoming upscale, was a bit surprising though. The other girls in the clinic and I didn't consider ourselves wealthy. Two of them were teachers and I'm still unemployed. But we're certainly not beach bums, and we definitely feel pride and coolness rather than stigma from surfing.

Surfing was a blast! The instructor, the woman cheering me on in the photo, was super friendly and encouraging. She told us her inspiring story about quitting med school in the Midwest and moving to California to be a surf instructor before she even knew how to surf. The water was frigid, but after a few minutes our focus was distracted away from the temperature. I was able to get up on the board a good chunk of the time! Plus I didn't drown. Bonus! Gliding on the waves is pure ecstasy. I get so stoked, floating in my own world for a few precious seconds with no idea how I got there. Then logic comes back to me and I start thinking I should be doing something like steering or speeding up. And before I know it, I'm at the shore or I've wiped out. But it's all totally worth it.

I've taken almost 10 lessons in the past 3 years but very sporadically. Snowboarding inspired me to try surfing. I thought, "Falling on water has gotta be even more fun than on snow or ice!" My first lesson was in Hampton Beach, NH. Yes, New Hampshire! It was July and the water a refreshing 70 degrees. Snowboarding and the handful of times I skateboarded in junior high really helped with balance, and I was able to get up on the board during my first 3 tries! But that's only a third of the work. There's also paddling and catching the wave which are much harder for me. Plus there's the art of not panicking and getting back up above water after you nosedive and get caught under a wave or two or ten. One of the best pieces of advice that I've gotten was from instructor and big wave rider Milton Willis on the ABC's of surfing and life: Always Be Cool. Very Zen, huh? I have lots of skills to master. My second lesson was a month later in Maine. The next year I enjoyed the warm waters in Costa Rica for two days with instructor Gucci. I've also gone to Nantucket, a couple of places near San Diego, and Hawaii where one time I actually walked the board and almost hanged ten!