When I arrived at TCGS (the Chris Gethard Show), they told me I was gonna be a panelist on the show. That was super-exciting, but also super-scary. In a good way. I actually watched it (with Jamie C and his roommates) for the first time only like an hour ago, and I didn't look nearly as nervous as I felt. Check it out here!.
Anyway, show went great. Lots of great fan-submitted characters. I especially liked weenie-feet Bobbins. Got to meet a lot of Gethtards, which was awesome since I've only talked to these people online. If you were there and I didn't say hello, just come by on wednesday and grab me. Take pics, as long as you post them online ;-)
After the show, the cast, crew and fans usually hang out at this bar nearby the studio. I tagged along with Rob S, who I would later be staying with. I had a great time at the bar. Was watching my bags pretty closely though ;-)
Ok, so here's where it gets a bit weird. Rob S told me that his roommate was kind of fucked up. I don't remember his exact words but he described him as being, well... a psycho. They didn't live together when Rob first agreed to let me stay with him, and he felt bad about it. So after a while (we stayed kinda late) we took the subway back to Rob's place. We got in at around, I guess 2 or 3 in the morning. No one was home, and I felt a lot better. Rob inflated my bed and we said goodnight. After like an hour, I woke up hearing noises. It was his roommate. He came home and immediately started blasting gangsta rap right into the apartment (where I was sleeping; in the commonroom, between Rob's room and his), pacing angrily saying stuff like "wake your ass up punk ass" (muttering)... I was terrified. I had the cover pulled all the way up over my head, too afraid to move or make a sound. Please don't confront me. Please don't confront me... please. The guy went into his room and I heard a LOT of weird noises. Of course, my mind started wandering. It was late and I was in a very weird situation. The guy returned a cpl of times. Each time, I thought "this is it, he's gonna start shouting at me or something"... luckily, he didn't. But I did not sleep. At all.
Thursday, June 20th:
Finally, the roommate went to sleep. I just laid there, listening for any sound. Keep in mind that this is New York, so there are a LOT of sounds. I was gonna go to a Daily Show taping the next day and had told Rob that I was gonna wake up at around 11. But I just wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as possible, so I got dressed and just laid there, waiting for Rob's alarm to go off. At 10.30, I put my bags in Rob's room (I didn't feel safe leaving my personal belongings there in the middle of the apartment, with a potential crazy person in the next room) and just took the first subway into town (I was staying in Brooklyn, so it takes a while to get to the Daily Show Studio).
The deal was that I was gonna send a text to Keith B as soon as the show was done, and we were going to pick my bags up at Rob's (they live 2 subway stops apart).
I arrived at the Daily Show Studio at around noon.
The tickets were gonna be handed out at around 2.30pm, and my online reservation only qualified me to stay in line - it doesn't guarantee you a ticket. There were already a bunch of people ahead of me in line - that shows how popular the show is. I was EXHAUSTED, so I actually fell asleep right there on the sidewalk. Fairly understandable. After I got the ticket (yellow #16, pretty sweet) I had some time to kill (I was told to return at 4.30pm), so I grabbed a 6in veggie patty at Subway and ate it slooooowly (to avoid gastric dumping syndrome) and then I sat in a nearby park and enjoyed the beautiul weather for a bit. As much as I could, considering being tired as fuck.
They finally let us into the building, and there was a fair amount of waiting before the actual show. The warm-up comedian talked to me and asked me what I do for a living etc. He wasn't my type of comedian though, but the crowd seemed to like him. Funny thing happened when I turned around to take my own picture with the studio in the background, and a guy thought I was taking a picture of his gf. Haha.
The show itself was great. Sooooo fucking cool to see how it's done. Also cool to see John Oliver in action. He is brilliant. Tom Brokaw was the guest that night. So fucking awesome!!! Everything went by in a flash. Such a smooth machinery.
I had a blast, but one thing fucked me up. Completely: the iPhone that has my US SIM card died on me. Not my Swedish phone (that's locked). The one Mimi borrowed me. It said that there was like 40% battery left, and then... black.
The show itself was great. Sooooo fucking cool to see how it's done. Also cool to see John Oliver in action. He is brilliant. Tom Brokaw was the guest that night. So fucking awesome!!! Everything went by in a flash. Such a smooth machinery.
I had a blast, but one thing fucked me up. Completely: the iPhone that has my US SIM card died on me. Not my Swedish phone (that's locked). The one Mimi borrowed me. It said that there was like 40% battery left, and then... black.
I tried turning it on, but it just showed the apple logo:
I thought "well that can't be good".
After the show ended (around 6.30), I contacted Keith using my Swedish phone (expensive, but it was either that or... I don't know) and it turns out that Rob had taken my bags to Keith's place for me, because he felt bad about what happened. That made EVERYTHING sooo much easier!
So I went straight to Keith's place. Keith works at MNN, where TCGS is made. He and his wife Suki were super cool! Such awesome people.
I'm pretty bummed that I didn't get a chance to hang out with them more. I told Keith my story. He went out and got food for me. I had a shower and went straight to bed. I slept. Oh boy, did I sleep. That was EASILY the best sleep I have ever had. In my entire life. I woke up feeling like a completely new person. Ok, so it's getting a little late. The time is 12.50 and I should probably sleep, but here's a quick summary of what I did today:
I'm pretty bummed that I didn't get a chance to hang out with them more. I told Keith my story. He went out and got food for me. I had a shower and went straight to bed. I slept. Oh boy, did I sleep. That was EASILY the best sleep I have ever had. In my entire life. I woke up feeling like a completely new person. Ok, so it's getting a little late. The time is 12.50 and I should probably sleep, but here's a quick summary of what I did today:
Friday, June 21st, 2013:
I had a cup of tea at Keith's place and then went straight to Jamie C's place (at around noon). He came to meet me and we just dropped my bags off at his place and went straight for the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. I had a great time there and Jamie is such an awesome guy.
Just what I needed. Such a beautiful place!!! I saw some pretty fuckin' old bonzai trees there, which was pretty cool.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Museum,
which was amazing as well. It was like all the museums I had previously visited in NYC, combined into one.
There was this one excibit where the artist had made HUGE quilt-like pieces out of the metal rings from soda and/or beer bottles.
Just what I needed. Such a beautiful place!!! I saw some pretty fuckin' old bonzai trees there, which was pretty cool.
Then we went to the Brooklyn Museum,
which was amazing as well. It was like all the museums I had previously visited in NYC, combined into one.
After the museum visit (we only had time for the 2 top floors), we went out for some bubble tea (a first for me) and some grocery shopping. I love the US supermarkets: they have all the brands you hear about in tv shows and movies (duh). We were running a bit behind schedule. Next stop: an open-mic comedy club (in the basement of a bar), where Jamie performed.
He did a great job, as did the other comedians. We hung around for a bit and then went back to Jamies apt (he also lives with 2 roommates (both non-psycho: phew!) and 2 cats (also: non-psycho)). We watched TCGS and an episode of Archer. And now; here we are. I should get to sleep now. It's 1am. But that's not THAT late, is it? I mean, it is friday. Oh well. Talk to you soon. And "glad midsommar" to all my swedish friends (it's... oh just google it).
Byyeee!!!