Never Again

Earlier last week Kathryn, Jill, Erin, Allie and I decided we wanted to be on the red carpet at the BAFTA awards (British Oscars, for the most part). We found out that free wristbands are given away to a selected number of people at 8 am on the morning of the event. We decided to wake up at 3:15 am Sunday to make sure we got a front row view to the stars.

We packed lunches, bundled up and headed out the door at 4 am. At this point, the mood was light-hearted and filled with excitement. We took a bus and headed for the Royal Opera House in Convent Garden. Once we arrived, there was no one in sight except for the workers setting up the red carpet. We thought maybe we looked like desparate fanatics showing up so early, but no worries... the workers pointed us in the direction of the queue already full of people waiting - some camping out all night.

We walked through this dark alley and took our place in line... and we couldn't see a thing. We were creeped out already.

We were telling ourselves just to make it to 7 am because that is when the nearest Starbucks opened... The first hour I had my ipod and was singing while everyone tried to guess what song it was. This was my "Oh, isn't this so fun??" mood.

After an hour of 'pure bliss' in a creepy, dark alley with strangers (and lying on concrete, having my bookbag as a pillow and using my raincoat as a blanket), Allie, Kathryn and I decided it was time to walk around. We walked to Starbucks, and found out that it didn't open until 8am... Urrrggghhh!

At this point, at 5:30 in the morning, it was chilly, so three of us took the bus back to Vandon, put on more layers, and came back to the line to find Erin and Jill holding on to each other shivering frantically in the cold. Great. (Don't worry, they went to McDonald's to warm up.)

It was during the hours of 7:30-9:30 that I went into Crab-mode. And I didn't even care. When you can't feel your feet anymore, I think it's okay to be a little bit of a crabby pants. (The whole time I kept thinking, "I don't even like Brad and Angelina this much...")

We FINALLY got our wristbands at 9:30. Thankfully we found out that they were numbered, so we could leave, come back and still have our spots in line.

After long naps, we headed back to the opera house, and they let us onto the red carpet at 3 pm. Everyone was pushing and shoving. We were throwing elbows back because we agreed that there would be no Miss Nice Iowa Girl on the red carpet. We were going to hold our ground.

We stood in the front row by the red carpet for about two hours, and eventually the stars started showing up!

It was nuts to be that up close, and I have to admit, it was worth it to wait all day in the freezing cold.

And as soon as I saw Ron Howard, I turned into a crazed, screaming fan.

I am more embarrassed to say that I freaked out even more when Brad and Angelina arrived. (Seriously, I would consider it a low point in my life.) "I love Brad and Angelina!!! You are my favorite!!! Team Brad!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" And then from there it was just a continuous "BRAD! BRAD! BRAD!"

(Highlight: When Angelina came up to us, Allie yells at her, "Can I just... take a picture of you??!?!!" And I think I saw Angelina give her a look that said, "Hm, weird.")

Here is a list of the stars we saw - some came over to talk to us... others we saw from just feet away!

Ron Howard
Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire)
Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
Meryl Streep
Shia LaBeouf
Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie
Amy Adams
Sharon Stone
Danny Boyle
Daniel Craig
Emma Watson
Kate Winslet
Goldie Hawn
Penolope Cruz

It was definitely fun screaming their names and getting their attention for some photos and autographs, but up close... they are just regular people like everyone else. (Except that they are really skinny, have perfect skin and wear expensive dresses.)

So it was an adventure, from waking up early and traveling around London, waiting in the queue with people smoking (who knows what) in your face and being under the bright lights of the red carpet...I had a great time.

But I would never do it again.