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Getting There
Work has been so sporadic that at first I didn't know if
I could make the trip happen. I had to be in SF on Friday
and Sunday so I knew it would be a really quick trip. My pal
Irwin said I couldn't pass up such a fantastic opportunity
and he kicked me down a coupon for Southwest. I had hoped
to stay with my pal Marc, but he was in SF for the Folsom
Street Fair. He totally came through with a gift certificate
for the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA and it made
the trip hyper affordable.
The Party
The CBS lot is expansive (and I'm sure expensive) Besides
the US version of Big Brother, they film the soap 'Passions'
there as well as Malcom in the Middle, Grounded for Life and
a few other well known shows. My friendster Jonathan was pointing
them out to me quicker than I could assimilate all of the
info. I saw some parking slots reserved for The Bernie Mac
Show as we walked from the parking garage to the party.
The Setup
The party was held on "Residential Street" it's
made to look like 'anywhere USA' all the suburban style homes
were totally fake facades and the street was filled with tables,
chairs and heat lamps like it was a real block party. At one
end of the street they had a stage set up with a projection
screen behind it. The screen had the Big Brother 4 logo on
it all night except when they showed the 'gag reel'. A few
tables in the driveways of 'houses' on either end of the street
were set up as bars. There were tables of food set up in the
cul-de-sac. There was a mobile DJ and parquet dancefloor straight
out of a Studio City wedding reception, but it totally worked
for the crowd. The DJ played a lot of 70s soul and disco early
when no one was really in the mood to dance, but it kept the
feeling light and upbeat. After the stage presentation and
eating and mingling, lots of people were dancing to 80s hits
and he played more modern stuff with racier lyrics later after
the party had peaked.
 The
Gnomes
In the driveway across from the stage, they had a bunch of
tables set up with blank garden gnomes and paint supplies
so people could create their own souvenirs. Similar gnomes
have played a part in competitions during the last two seasons
of the show so they were the perfect door prize for this event.
Jonathan was schmoozing with his coworkers and I felt a deep
affinity with the other 'left out lamonts' who like me just
stood around smiling while their husband, wife, partner, or
friend kept going on about some 'location joke' where 'you
had to be there' to really get it. I decided I would paint
a gnome to leave Jonathan to schmooze solo. If you'd like
to see my gnome, I've got pictures of it on this
page.
Schmoozing with the House Guests
A few people just grabbed gnomes and had the House Guests
sign them without any paint. Some people like BB4's David
started with a couple of brushstrokes and realized it was
more involved than it looked. I started  with
Elana's signature. Well, her initials really because she
was kind of shy and she's still sort of like 8 years old,
but she did a great job with the E.R. While she wasn't in
the House, she was featured quite a lot on the show this season.
She sat across from me at the gnome painting table so it was
quite logical to start with her. Jonathan and I wandered around
the street looking for House Guests to sign my gnome
By the end of the night, I had autographs from everyone that
was on the show this season, except Julie Chen who left early.
It was so surreal walking up to them and realizing they don't
know anything about me, but I know so much about them. They've
been in my life three times a week for months but really we've
never met. Below you'll find my encounters with each of the
House Guests. They're listed in eviction order.
The Mime
He got the last laugh this season and thank goodness he wore
his costume and make-up or else I'd not have recognized him.
He looked spooky while alone on the dancefloor, he had that
baby mask on the top of his head and started dancing just
like he did on the show. Later we saw him by the gnome tables
and he was talking and had a plate of food. He seemed very
nice and I realized this is probably the best gig he'll ever
get as a mime.
BB4 Jun
Jonathan is from NYC and still has a Co-op there that he's
trying to sell. He talked to Jun about it and because it's
in such a great location, she's thinking about buying it with
some of her winnings from the show. We caught up with her
late in the evening and I got a chance to ask her about the
game. Irwin and I were talking about her breakup with Bob.
He said that Bob broke up with Jun, but I was sure that she
broke up with him before going into the house because flirting
and stuff was part of her strategy. She cleared it up by saying
that he broke up with her in May. Obviously they're still
into each other coz he went to see her at the MTV video awards
and he was there at the party with her. After meeting her
in person, I think I'm glad she won.
BB4 Alison
She looked great. I was kinda getting a sort of Prozac vibe
from her when she finally stopped long enough to chat with
us. Earlier in the evening she was rushing around with various
House Guests or her brother. She stood around with me waiting
for Jonathan to sort out the camera. He tried to take our
picture three times, but he had shut off the camera and by
the time he handed it back to me to sort out, Alison's brother
had pulled her off to the dancefloor to dance suggestively
together. They both knew all the words to the rap so I thought
it best to just leave them to their dancing.
BB4 Robert
He was a bit elusive and by the time we caught up with him,
he was sitting at a table talking to BB3's Dani. He had his
daughter Elana sleeping on his lap so I didn't really talk
to him much. I got distracted with my excitement about meeting
Dani.
BB4 Erika
She turned out to be the most exciting BB4 House Guest to
meet. She doesn't eat mammals and she had all kinds of questions
about being vegan. We talked about food and vegetarianism
for about twenty minutes before she got pulled off by David
who wanted her to meet someone else.
BB4 Jee
He was shocked to see someone so tall and my usual answer
is, "you don't get out much do you" and Jonathan
just thought that was so hilarious. He had to catch up with
a couple of women and I think one of them may have been his
girlfriend Carmen. She was interviewed on the show briefly
early in the summer so I can't be sure.
BB4 Jack
He wanted to dance with his wife, but he quickly signed my
gnome and seemed very chuft that I'd want his autograph.
BB4 Justin
I never liked him on the show, but after meeting him in person
I realized he's a really nice guy. He's very warm and personable
and he remembered my name when we passed by him later in the
evening.
BB4 Nathan
Jonathan and I think Nathan was intimidated by me or my height.
I joked that he probably didn't want to be alone with me because
he was afraid of what he secretly wants to do with such a
bigger guy. Of course he could always explain it away as being
easily distracted by such a large event and feeling overwhelmed
with trying to meet or talk to so many people. Whatever the
reason, Nathan always seemed to dash off when we talked to
people he was with, until we found him alone at the food table.
He barely signed my gnome before he called Michelle's parents
over to join us.
BB4 Dana
First I liked her, then I didn't, then I hated her, and now
after actually meeting her I'm back to liking her again. She's
still got bad hair and maybe a chip on her shoulder, but at
the party she was warm and really friendly. I wanted to ask
her some questions about her game play and strategy, but she
kept asking me questions and then Jee and Justin came by to
pull her off to some other part of the party.
BB4 David
His antics on the show seemed too contrived, but after meeting
him in person, I realize they edited a bunch of stuff together.
He's actually much more calm and reasonable in person, though
he is prone to making faces when asked to pose with the gnome
he painted. We kept crossing paths with David all night and
at the after party, he even jumped into the pool. (See sidebar)
BB4 Michelle
Here too was a case of editing sporadic stuff to make it seem
constant. In person, Michelle never once said "seriously"
but on the show, they made it seem like that's all she said.
I have to admit that I'm prone to using the word, "like"
a bit too much so I didn't notice if she kept saying that
too often. Apparently, Jonathan mentioned that his folks live
in Florida and Michelle she suggested they hang out when he
goes home for the holidays. We also met Michelle's folks and
they seemed really nice, but a little overwhelmed with all
of the hoopla.
BB4 Amanda
She is so great. She was really quiet in the House and all
the Scott stuff really DID make dampen her spirit. In person,
she's funny and quick witted and I'm really bummed that she
didn't get more screen time on the show. Her two friends looked
flawless, especially the one in the Friendster T-shirt and
I had a great time hanging out with the three of them at the
after party too.
BB3 Lisa
She rushed off to dance as we found her and Marcellas. I found
her later sitting at a table down the street and she graciously
signed my gnome, but I didn't stay to chat long as she seemed
to be in the middle of a conversation with someone.
BB3 Danielle
I was so chuft to meet Dani. She was super nice and seemed
so happy to be there. We talked for about half an hour and
she was surprised that I came down from San Francisco just
for the party. She still lives in Fairfield which is kinda
close to SF. We talked about how it's strange to feel like
people are your friends when really we've never met. I told
her that back in the 80s I learned to greet people by saying,
"nice to see you" instead of "nice to meet
you" because people hate to feel like you've forgotten
them. She said that's a good thing to remember.
BB3 Jason
He came to collect Danielle and return to the dancefloor.
He stopped long enough to sign my gnome, pose for a picture
and discuss blogging briefly. I wanted to offer my remix services
to his band if they ever need a dance remix, but they were
off before I got a chance.
BB3 Marcellas
He was exactly himself in person and on the show. Ever the
queen, we found him holding court near the dessert tables
talking to a reporter from Variety. He asked Jonathan to hold
his plate of desserts while he signed my gnome. Jonathan was
eating the frosting off a bit of the cake and Marcellas kept
glaring at him with one eyebrow raised. He never stopped his
story to call Jonathan out about it though and soon he was
whisked away to another part of the party. I never got to
ask him about his Chicago roots. I want to know how he felt
about the birth of House Music coz I think he was living in
Chicago back then, oh well maybe I'll get another chance someday.
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