Brushes with Fame

Filed Under micaela, summer work, thoughts | 10 Comments

I would not consider myself very star-struck, although I do read Perez Hilton religiously. Mostly I am just interested in people, celebrities or not, hence the psychology major. But I’ve had a few brushes with fame in my life that I am going to share.

1. In Vancouver, I worked at a restaurant that was upscale and beautiful and right on the harbour in Yaletown, so it attracted a lot of celebrities. I was a hostess so I was in charge of greeting people and figuring out the seating charts. Michael Buble was a regular, lived in the area and had gotten to know many of the servers there, and he came in one day so I sat him and his girlfriend, Emily Blunt. He was carrying an envelope that said “Michael Buble” in huge letters so in case anyone that saw him was having any doubts… haha. They were both super friendly but it annoyed me that he was talking on his cell phone during the ENTIRE meal. Maybe he was really busy, but if that was my boyfriend it would definitely have annoyed me. Luckily Kent doesn’t have a cell phone so I get his full attention. They stayed for about 15 minutes, whereas generally people stayed for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours for lunch. They dashed out after saying goodbye to me and telling me their meal was “super.”

2. Sarah McLauchlan also lived in Yaletown, Vancouver. It was an exceptionally nice day and not rainy which is rare for spring in Vancouver, so everyone wanted to sit on the patio that day. There were strict strict rules at the restaurant that groups of 2 sit at tables for 2 and 3-4 sit at tables for 4. Sarah (I didn’t know it was her though) came in, pregnant, with a friend. I sat them at a table for two and her friend asked if they could sit at a four top instead. I was a bit hesitant but I figured that Sarah was pregnant, so that counts as three people. Her friend noticed I was hesitant and said rudely “UMMMM Do you know WHO SHE IS???” I said (probably equally as rudely but mostly not really caring) “No.” She even said that AFTER I gave them the table they wanted! Seriously now. Later someone told me who she was… Although I have to say that it was her friend that was the rude one, not Sarah. So keep listening to her music and maybe even buying it if you want, but I just think that she should be careful of the company she keeps. This friend probably isn’t very much fun anyways!

3. I worked at an upscale resort in Algonquin Park, Ontario, one summer called Arowhon Pines. This was also a place where many celebrities liked to go, Sarah Polley was there that summer too, she is super cool… although definitely very frumpy in person. Kent and I ate dinner in the guest dining hall one night (we won it because he had the best halloween costume.. which by the way I made!) while she was there. Jim Creegan, the bassist for the Barenaked Ladies, also stayed there that summer. Actually he had gotten married there a few summers earlier and goes there every summer. Along with being an office worker, house keeper and server, I was a part time babysitter. Jim and his wife came with a bunch of family, so I babysat some of their nieces and nephews, and their son, Finn. He was about two and before I babysat him for the first time, his parents told me that he has never been away from them before and would probably cry and if he did then I could call them away from dinner. Sure enough, after about 10 minutes he started crying for mommy and daddy and he was so hysterical that I had to call them. Jim came down and hung out with us and we read stories to Finn and stuff. He is seriously the nicest guy ever and would always make up songs with my name in them every time he saw me around camp… like cleaning his family’s cabin and checking his family in when they came in for breakfast and serving them food.. so pretty much all the time! So basically the routine with Finn crying, Jim or his wife coming down from dinner and hanging out with us would happen every day for the whole week that they were there… but I did try! They told me I was helping to get Finn ready for day care in September. All I can say is GOOD LUCK to those day care teachers! Luckily he is so cute that any hysterics can be easily forgiven. Or maybe I’m just biased because with his blonde curls he is exactly what my children will look like someday. Kent loves the Barenaked Ladies and has seen them in concert three times so I introduced him. We had just started dating so it totally won me some points!!

5. Kent just told me the celebrities that he has met: Tie Domi, Don Cherry, Kelly Hrudey, Steven Page from the Barenaked Ladies, and Ron McLean. Most are sports stars… I mean if you’re into that… Just kidding, it’s cool (I guess).

4. Kent’s family are friends with Autumn Kelly’s family, the Canadian girl that just married a prince, Peter Philip! He is Princess Anne’s son and is a grandson of the queen, and cousins with William and Harry. I bought Hello Magazine today which has a 55 page article about the royal wedding! I definitely suggest you read it. Here she is with her new husband:

Pretty cool! I have a feeling I am going to be obsessed with this couple…

Let me know about your claims to fame!!

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Apr

24

Update on Life!

Filed Under exams, ottawa, summer, summer work, university | 8 Comments

Hey all, it’s Lauren. I’m taking a break from studying for my last 2 exams of first year! I’m pretty sure Carleton has some of the latest exams EVER-example- my last two are on Monday, and Leah had her last one on April 11. Almost 2 weeks ago! However the smell of summer is in the air here in Ottawa. People are walking outside, enjoying the Parliament buildings (which I should probably do one of these days…), tanning on the grass on campus, and there is rushing water in the river on campus! It’s so exciting to almost be done first year. It seems like just yesterday I was planning on going out west, and not even going to university yet! I’m definitely glad I chose to come to such a beautiful city though. I’ve had so many great life experiences, and made amazing new friends, who I’ll never forget.

You know how in movies at university you see circles of people on the grass studying? I never thought I’d see that in real life, but last week as I was walking to an exam with a friend we kept seeing all these circles of people studying, and the first thing she said was “Lauren! It’s like the movies!” It’s so true! Like in an ad for a university:

This summer I plan on working the same place I worked last summer, at a Conservation Area outside of our town. I also got my SmartServe in January, so I want to get a job serving, maybe at our local golf and ski club, where some of us work in the winter also.

Do you remember when you were done your first year?

Ps. Some of you may have heard about the girl(Nadia Kajouji) from Carleton who had gone missing (article found here). She has been found this past weekend (article found here). I didn’t know her, but a friend of mine did, and I wish her family the best. There has been tons of action to ensure that this doesn’t happen again here in our community.