And the Oscar Goes To...

On February 27th this year, you will hear the sound of my ball point pen scratching out one line through the little piece of note paper I have safely tucked into my wallet. That little piece of paper is my official Bucket List, and the entry being scratched will be "Attend the actual Academy Awards ceremony".

Yes it's true, and I couldn't believe it back in fall of 2010 when I entered a contest to win a fan seat along the red carpet at the Oscars Awards Ceremony, the biggest event known to Hollywood, and won. I only found out about this contest last year, and figured I'd keep entering every year until I finally won it. They hold the contest every September, so you have to watch oscars.com for them to open the contest so you can enter.

I haven't been peeing my pants about this event [yet], but I am pretty excited to be present at such an event! If ever I was to visit L.A. and get a taste of Hollywood, this is definitely the way to do it. I don't think it's really dawned on me yet how awesome it will be to attend. I guess I have this idea that, like most things, when you have an inside view of it, it's not quite as magical as it seems from the outside. I'm curious to see if that's true or not.

I'm pretty stoked to see some celebrities in person. I've never been a jump-up-and-down, slap-my-hands-together, faint-in-the-stands sort of fanatic about movie stars. They're normal people to me, just doing their jobs. Entertaining people. Of course that is what makes them such a fun bunch. Of the films nominated, I will however be very excited to try to catch a glimpse of Leonardo DiCaprio, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Jeff Bridges and Steven Spielberg. I imagine that being on the red carpet will be like a fantasy high school reunion. "Ohh I know you! Haven't seen you in a while!" like I actually know them personally. I figure that spotting them amongst all the other fans and paparazzi will be like the penultimate Where's Waldo experience. In addition to that excitement, I'm also stoked about my photographic potential. I so hope I can capture something worth capturing from whatever random bleacher seat the Academy assigns to me. Here's a picture of the red carpet setup:

I have no idea how to communicate to you all how to locate me if you're watching the Awards on TV and trying to spot me in the background. If I figure it out while I'm there, you might just have to watch my Facebook status, which may indicate how you can spot me. *Praying for the corner spot on the side closest to the giant Oscar statue* You'd only be able to reach a celebrity's hand from the front row.

The El Capitan theater circled just across the street is where the bleacher fans will actually be viewing the awards show. We don't get to go into the Kodak theater, which doesn't surprise me. But I WAS surprised to learn that the Academy will be providing us with breakfast, lunch and dinner, AND a gift bag (no idea what's in it)! How nice of them. I guess I didn't expect that, even with all their Hollywood expenses, they would have much left in their budget for me. Aww, I feel special. I'm very excited to be recognized as "one of the little people" who helped make this production come to fruition.

I'd also very much like to thank the Academy, on behalf of "exceeding expectations" and also providing me with apt and thorough communication about getting there and what to expect. Thanks, Academy! Don't disappoint me later!