The Time I Met Chuy Bravo.

One of my bucket list goals was to attend a live taping of Chelsea Lately.  To me, Chelsea is one of the greatest people on the planet.  I used to schedule my gym sessions to watch her show during my workouts, then Club Fitness changed their TV deal and no longer have E!.  (THANKS a lot, Club Fitness, for really ruining my workout mojo).  But anyways, I attended one of Chelsea's stand up comedy shows at a huge venue years ago, so attending a live recording was a big deal.

After booking my trip to LA, I was determined to get tickets to see the great Chelsea Handler.   I found out that tickets were actually free, and were much easier to get than I had assumed.  I searched online, clicked a few links, typed in some information and BOOM!  The tickets were e-mailed to me.

A few weeks before my visit, Patrick ended up getting all these jobs (I know, how DARE he work, right?), which left me adventuring around on my own quite a bit.  It was clear I was going to attend Chelsea solo, but I wasn't about to let ANYTHING come between us.  I came all the way to LA, I had tickets, I was GOING to see Chelsea.  I also had some experience with the subway system, so I was like a pro at it come Monday.

There's me on my way to see Chelsea.

So, fast forward, I make my way to The Universal stop.  Following all the people that got off, I head over to the tram (because everyone's going to see Chelsea, duh), which drove us up all these hills.  Meanwhile, I read the fine print on my ticket, which states in bold "DO NOT PROCEED ON TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS".  Immediate panic ensues.  "How long is this ride?!  When will they let me off?!  How do I get back?!  Will they drive me back?  Will I have to run back?  If this tram keeps going, I'm totally running back down these hills.  I bet I could run faster than this driver is driving."  After what seemed like FOREVER, we get to a stop, I flag down an attendant, and show her the papers (clearly I wasn't the first moron who made this mistake).  She instructs me to get back on the tram and go right when I get to the bottom of the hill.  The walk was a bit longer than I had anticipated, and I SWEAR the studio numbers didn't go in numeric order.  It was a bit confusing.

Finally, I see signs that say "Chelsea Lately Recording" and so on.  My nerves are calmed.  I get to the line area, and it was like waiting at Six Flags.  They had it all covered with greenery and those annoying misting fans going. 

We were then led to the studio part and separated in to different lines.  Since I was by myself, the bouncer looking guy (we'll call him Gary) had me go to the first line with about 5 other people.  It was a very sunny day, so he told me to move up to get out of the sun.  I was worried that this group of 3 girls were going to beat me up since I was cutting in front of them, but they heard Gary and I was just following what I had been told to do.

We then go through the metal detectors and these secret service looking guys, check to make sure your phone is shut off, and proceed in to the stage area to be seated.  Gary points at me, then leads me up to the very front row.  The seats next to me were blocked off for VIP and remained empty until about 5 minutes before the show started.  I'm not sure how long I sat there with empty seats (since I couldn't check my phone), I'd estimate it seemed to be about an hour.  All I could imagine was all the people jealous of my seat and wondering what I had done to deserve such special treatment.  Gary came back by to make sure I had left my book with security to get signed.  I felt like a 12-year old on a flight by themselves, but it was okay. 

The music was loud, then the guy came out to pump up the crowd, go over recording rules and laughing etiquette.  He also announced that since the guest had a scheduling conflict, they had to plug in the interview that had been recorded a few weeks earlier.  Because no celebrity guest was a bummer, we had the option to do a meet and greet with Chuy after the show.  THIS MADE MY YEAR.  Another bucket list goal was about to be achieved.  So thank you, Megan Fox, for having a scheduling conflict.  I'm not a guy and I'm also not a huge fan, so her lack of attendance did not bother me one bit.  I WAS ABOUT TO MEET THE GREATEST LITTLE NUGGET IN THE WORLD.

So then, the greatest Chelsea makes her way on to the stage.  I was seated approximately 10 feet away from her.  It was insane.  I could have tossed a gumball and hit her.  I wasn't going to, but I could have.  Chuy was dressed as a Ninja Turtle, which was hilarious.  It was also Chelsea's "two week notice" episode, so luckily I was able to attend before the ending of Chelsea Lately.  During the breaks, they would bring out stacks of the books for Chelsea to sign, so we knew she actually autographed them.

Chuy throws out these black and white stress balls that have stamped "I caught one of Chuy's balls" on them.  That was another dream of mine, to catch one of Chuy's balls.  After the show, he threw one towards the VIP guy seated 2 away from me.  It ricocheted off his hand and rolled down in front of me.  As I reached to pick it up and hand it back to him, Chuy threw him another one.  So I was able to catch one of Chuy's balls by default.  I felt like the luckiest lady in all the land.  It was a glorious day.

There I am awkward standing with the one and only Chuy Bravo.