Tuesday, January 20, 2015

I've Had My Phil

The last couple days have marked the transition from free time in L.A. to the actual Hollywood Semester program.  Monday was our last day of no classes because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Instead of sleeping in like a lot of people probably did, I rose early in the morning to begin the journey over to the Paramount Studios.  I made my way there so I could see a taping of Dr. Phil!  I took all the right buses on the way there, and I arrived half an hour early as the instructions advised, but they turned me away!  They said they were at capacity but that I was guaranteed a seat in the next show.  I had an hour or so to wait, so I walked down the street and found a restaurant that was serving breakfast.  It was pretty tasty!  After I ate breakfast and just sat around for a while, I walked back there and got right in line.  I gave up my cell phone and then went through the metal detector, but there was another period of waiting after that.  It's weird that they make you wait the longest after you prove that you're not dangerous!  I signed a form they gave me, and eventually I got into the studio.  Soon after I took my seat, some guy came up on stage and began warming us up.  They got some nice dance music on, and he called some of his favorite dancers in the audience down onto the stage to do their thing.  He gave them all Dr. Phil coffee mugs!  They continued playing dance music even after he stopped calling people down to the stage.  He gave out the last few coffee mugs and threw some hearts out into the audience!  I caught one (it's pictured below)!  After that, Dr. Phil came out onto the stage, and the show was on!  Boy, was it a doozie!  It would take a whole day to explain all that went on!  Basically, suspicious dad who's away from home a lot + cheating, jealous, lying mom + 6 children who are tired of their fighting = A big fat mess!  The dad also had another child from a previous marriage!  They all had a lot to work out!  As a side note, I thought it was interesting how they filmed the show - they did it continuously!  They didn't stop during the commercial breaks, so the whole show was basically one long take!  At all the game shows, they took lengthy commercial breaks!  However, they did have Dr. Phil and his wife do a little promo after the episode was over, and I think Dr. Phil might have also rerecorded one thing.  Anyway, after the show let out, the real "fun" began.  I went back to the 210 bus stop where I got off in the morning.  According to the bus schedule, the bus should have been there around 2:00 or 2:06.  I got there several minutes before 2:00, and there was nothing for a long time.  Eventually, at 2:16, a 210 bus pulled up on the other side of the road.  Since it was already 10 minutes past when I was expecting a bus, I crossed the road and got on.  It was someone's genius idea to put two 210 bus stops on opposite sides of the same intersection!  So, naturally, I started going in the wrong direction.  After a while, I realized that I was not headed towards Hollywood and Vine.  By the time I got the chance to ask the bus driver what I should do, I was in a bad part of town.  Since I didn't want to go even farther in the wrong direction, I got off the bus.  It was daytime, so I figured I was fine.  I got back on the website I use to figure out bus routes, and I was able to figure out the right way home.  When the "good bus" came around, traffic had started building up because of a construction project.  It took a long time because of the horrid traffic jams, but I got back to the Hollywood and Vine bus station in due time.  From there, I got on the bus that took me back to the stop closest to my apartment.  All in all, I arrived home about 4 hours after I got out of Dr. Phil, and it could have taken half an hour.  I should have paid more attention to the signs at the bus stops - if I would have, I could have avoided the mess!  The fact that the bus was so late just completely threw me off!  Sometimes the L.A. buses can be early, and if they're late, they're no more than 3 minutes late!  I was confused, and my confusion led to panic!  After I finally got back to the apartment, I just relaxed for the rest of the night.  At this point, I've had my "Phil" of TV show tapings and bus rides around L,A.  Now that I've had my "Phil" of free time, it's time to get down to business.  (I apologize for the puns - well, kind of!)  Today (Tuesday) was my first day of classes at the UTLA Center.  My first class was Development Process of Film & TV.  The main drawback about the class is that there's a lot of writing.  Based on what we talked about today, I think I have a lot to learn!  I'm excited, though - I love learning about this kind of thing!  During the hour break in between classes, I grabbed some lunch in the little deli.  My second and final class for the day was How Hollywood Works.  It was a lot of fun!  I like the professor a lot, and I think I'll love the class!  (I like my other professor too, but this one is particularly energetic and enthusiastic.)  After my classes were over, I just came home and chilled.  Tomorrow is my first day of internships!  I'm working at Glassman Media tomorrow, and my first day at Karga Seven is Thursday.  I also have my third class, New Media & Emerging Entertainment, at 7:00 in the evening tomorrow.  I'm ready to start doing real Hollywood business!

Here's my Dr. Phil heart!


No comments:

Post a Comment