Rochelle's Blog ::: Subtitles Included

A week ago at this exact moment, I was standing on Hollywood Blvd, three feet from Alison Sweeney and 50 yards from an apartment complex full of crackheads, brainstorming about what kind of workout thirty eager ladies could pull off on the spur of the moment because we’d been evacuated from the gym.

Yep, it was that kind of weekend.

But let’s back up shall we. I’ll give you a play-by-play of the weekend.

First, the most important thing to me about my LA weekend was getting to meet all of my online friends. I figured it would be awesome to do that, but it far exceeded my expectations. It was so relaxed and easy to meet them face-to-face, because really…I’ve known them for years.

This photo was taken only an hour into my weekend adventure in the lobby of the hotel. I got to ride the Super Shuttle to the hotel with my friend Cindy (on the very right) who was one of the first people who really made me feel welcome at Forbidden Love two years ago.

It was a good day to be EJami fan too, because the NBC June Promo came out, which showed EJ and Sami finally kissing. We couldn’t be more happy!

Down in the lobby, Cindy showed it off to anybody who hadn’t seen it yet. Everyone who saw it got so excited when they saw the kiss!!

Our friend Loretta, literally fell off the arm of the couch, which made us giggle like no other.

Here’s the four second clip that had us so excited:

The rest of that day was filled with fun with friends. We had a nice lunch, then a cocktail, then went to happy hour and took over the entire sky bar. Late night I went with a few friends to Japanese restaurant that overlooked Hollywood. Returned to the sky bar at our hotel and and talked into the wee hours.

Friday we went to NBC to go on a studio tour. A group of FL buddies went on the earlier tour. We showed up late and got to go on the second one, which was very cool because of our timing we got to have a bigger and better tour. We got to see the sets! Yep, I stood on the edge of the DiMera mansion!

After the set tour we had lunch at Henry’s Hat, which is owned by a former Days actress. I got to eat one-on-one at a table for two with a new friend named Belinda.

She’s from New Zealand, lived in the UK for ten years, and has taken a year off of work to travel the world. If you know me at all, you probably could figure that I was totally fascinated with her. Her life philosophy seems pretty cool and she’s doing all the the things I would love to do. She was even one of the girls who was going to have dinner with James on Saturday night. So yeah, I was in awe in multiple ways.

That night was the dance party and it was a great and crazy time. There was dancing, and drinking, and adorable actors. I got to meet James and he was very sweet. The type that gives you a lingering hand shake and looks you in the eye.

I can thank my friend Dawn for the introduction. I didn’t plan on meeting him that night, instead I just wanted to see him and get used to the fact that he’s an actual three dimensional being, that way I could meet him easily on Saturday. But Dawn insisted, grabbed me by the arm and march me up to him and said, “James, this is another first timer.” We introduced ourselves and he was very polite. I told him that I’d be meeting him tomorrow, and he was like “Ok, good, you’ll be there?” And I said, yes. And that was it. Very nice!

But the party was more fun than just meeting James. The younger actors were out in full force and they danced and sung with us and closed out the party.

I got pretty drunk, which I didn’t intend to do. I’m such a lightweight. But it sure made the dancing easier.

While dancing the night away, Ali Sweeney tweeted saying that she hoped the spinning girls were getting enough rest for the morning. Oops!

Saturday morning came before I knew it and I was hurting. Like big time. But I somehow pulled through and was able to meet down in the lobby and get on our way to spin class.

We got to the gym, Ali had arrived, and we were getting clipped in when we had to evacuate because a gas line got cut at a construction site across the alley. Out on Hollywood Blvd we took our group picture.

Then we started to brainstorm what we could do to get our burn on.

Ali ended up taking us for a jog, and we did lunges, squats, and jumping jacks. Ali was so into it. She channeled Jillian Michaels. Then we ended up in a parking lot, where a cute guy did some bootcamp exercises while previously mentioned crackheads watched on. His label, not ours.

We were called back in and finally go to spin!

I did great! Being at sea level definitely helped! The instructor and owner, Andrea, was very cool. And I wish I could go to her classes regularly. Ali spun her heart out out on the platform. It was fantastic! I got to talk to Ali a few times in the morning, about EA Sports Active and about how spinning can get addictive.

Everything after spin class was a rush. We had to get back, showered, cleaned up, and fed to go experience the rest of the FLCE events, which was a Q&A and a meet and greet.

The Q&A was really fun. James and Ali were fabulous together and so fun.

After the Q&A they did an auction. I ended up bidding on dinner with James, and for some reason, when I did, I got tons of cheers. I guess it was so unexpected! I didn’t stay in for very long, because it got super pricey. But the reaction from my friends and even James and Ali was priceless.

Later, in the meet and greet, I met Ali more officially and get my picture with her.

After Ali, I met with James. I must be honest and tell you that I had no game plan whatsoever for any of the actors, and particularly no plan for James. Thankfully, he started the conversation and we had a hilarious discussion. Right when I approached his table, he was like, “You were so close to winning that dinner!” (Which I wasn’t, bidding tripled from where I stopped). But since I made the uproar, apparently I was memorable.

So I apologized for being too cheap to go to dinner with him and said, “Maybe the next time I’m in LA I can win some charity dinner with you.”

He laughed and then said, “Wait, let me see if you’re wearing a ring. And he looked at my right hand and saw my Claddaugh ring, and then went to my left hand and rotated it to see that there was no ring. “So you’re not married. Good.”

And I’m like….WTF?

And he continues, “You should get yourself a sugar daddy, so the next time you’re here, he can give you the cash to go to dinner with me.”

“I never thought of that,” I replied all giggly.

“Yes, just go down to Beverly Hills, it shouldn’t be so hard.”

Man, he was cracking up. It was so unexpected and pleasant and easy. Did I mention it was easy?

We talked about some other things like his short film, which he was hawking posters for to raise money.

I got to also meet the other actors and they were all fun, particular Ari Zucker. She was fantastic! I got to learn all about why they decided to make Nicole a hilarious alcoholic.

After that event was the limo ride I bought a ticket for. We drove around having nice drinks and watching James’ short film. Here I am with my friend Jenn, from Vegas. She and I get along really well.

And then it was off to the DCE cocktail party with all the actors all over again. I didn’t particularly care for the format of that party, but it was still fun. The highlight of my night was meeting Justin Hartley who plays Oliver on Smallville. I had no idea he was married to a Days actress, all I knew of him was that he’s on Smallville and I love his character. So I got the chance to chat with him about the show and he told me all about the ninth season, which he was shocked to find out I hadn’t seen yet. It was fantastic.

I left LA the next day, in the afternoon, exhausted and excited. I can’t really emphasize how much fun I had with friends. The actors were great, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t about them. It was about the girls. I pray we get EJami more now than ever because I want to go to something like this again. Although, I feel fairly certain we don’t need EJami to bring us together.

The other great part about this weekend for me, is that it made me feel young again. I’m a hermit, really, who doesn’t like to go beyond her own house. I feel old and tired most of the time, and this get together really brought me back to life. For that, it was worth every penny.

PS…I had to use pictures that some of my friends too, because I sucked at taking photos. So thanks to Dee, Dawn, Allison, Jennifer, and Stacy.

So in less than 48 hours I will be in L.A., laughing away with all of my EJami friends. I am so excited for this trip. It feels so natural to go out there and be with them, and I’m truly stoked to just have a good time and feel 31 for once. I’m usually so boring and this yanks me right out of my comfort zone.

Much like with other big trips, I’m taking this opportunity to improve my lifestyle. Diet, exercise, new clothes, manicure, pedicure, and new shoes. Lots of new shoes. It feels like forever since I went to London, which was the last time I did this, but this trip is very different and I have totally different needs.

In the past six weeks I’ve lost seven pounds, which has made me feel a lot better. I’ve been exercising a lot which is good. I’ve even gone spinning with a co-worker to see how I would fare. Turns out, I fare pretty well. I’ve even been tanning so I’m not pale and pasty.

I also got new glasses, both out of necessity, but also because I wanted something a little bit different. Those are working out wonderfully!

So the next time you hear from me, I’ll be posting pictures of little old me with way hotter celebrities. They will put me to shame!