NOTE: I’m safely in Philly! I wrote the below post from the airport in North Carolina but apparently the airport in Raleigh is anti-free internet, so I didn’t have a chance to publish it until now.
Heeeeere ya go!
***
Hello from North Carolina… one of my favorite states in the U.S. 
Everything went smoothly with the first leg of my trip to Philly. I made it to the Tampa airport on time, there were no issues with security (I always get checked but didn’t this time!) and used my hour in the terminal before my flight to hammer out some things on the business side of the blog.
Once we boarded the plane, I settled into my seat and kicked back with a celebrity gossip magazine.
(Holy bracelet overload. I kind of feel like a gypsy.)
Don’t you love how go from being totally immersed in The Kite Runner one day to being completely enamored with trashy celebrity gossip the next? I wear many hats, my friends, and have no shame in admitting to enjoying Us Weekly and OK! magazine.
Truth be told, the celebrity gossip magazines are my all-time favorites to read at the gym when I’m plugging away on the elliptical. Since they’re basically just pictures, the bouncing up and down on cardio equipment doesn’t bother me much since no reading is involved and I can flip through the magazine and enjoy the distraction.
I remember being an an airport with my family when I was in high school and noticing a whole bunch of women frantically scrambling to buy People magazine. When I asked one woman what was up, she said they were buying the magazine because there was a picture of Matthew Perry in the issue and he was in the airport. They all wanted his autograph on his picture.
They bought the magazines in vain because he was in an exclusive club area, but I did see him when he walked out of his “holding zone” and boarded the plane. I wanted to scream “CHANDLER!” or “I love you Chanandaler Bong!” but I resisted.
I’ve seen a few other sports stars (Scottie Pippen being the most memorable… he gave me a thumbs up!), but I haven’t seen any other celebrities in my life. Chandler was my one and only.
My mom, on the other hand, has had quite a few celebrity run ins. She sat next to Jerry Springer on a plane once (she said he was very nice) and rode in an elevator with Hulk Hogan!
Have you ever seen or met a celebrity in real life?
The rest of my flight to North Carolina was spent snacking on two packs of honey roasted peanuts.
There’s nothing like seeing pre-portioned packs of nuts to make you realize that you typically way overestimate the proper portion size for a serving of nuts. I eat nuts like I eat chips and never seem to stop after a serving… or four.
Now I’m hoping to run off and find a Starbucks before completing the last leg of my journey to Philadelphia. I’m craving a wrap and a mocha coconut Frappuccino like nobody’s business!
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I did an internship with NBC late night shows in NYC in college, so I ran into quite a few. 🙂 I rode the elevator with Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph–who look way different than they do on TV!—and Conan, who looked exactly the same. But way taller. I also ran into John Mayer on the street while living in NYC. He made some really dumb jokes and kind of acted like a tool. I was still awestruck b/c he was famous, haha.
Ooo when did you intern there? I interned for Carson in Spring of 2004 – loved seeing Tina Fey and the SNL peeps on the same floor as our offices! I never did see Conan tho even though my friend & I would stalk the 6th floor lol!
Can’t wait to see you at HLS!
I once worked out right next to Diddy! But we didn’t chat – we were in our workout zone 🙂
That’s MISS Chananadler Bong!
I ran into my favourite hockey player, Jarome Iginla in the Palm springs Airport! I was totally starstruck, but my niece got his autograph
how could i miss the “MISS.” amateur mistake. and i call myself a friends fan.
Ha ha! In fairness, Monica and Rachel missed it too 🙂
I saw Joseph Gordon Levitt on the streets of New York right after Inception came out. He had just finished filming a scene from a new movie!
Totally saw Burt Reynolds at a mall in West Palm Beach when I was younger. I had no idea who he was, but my parents were FREAKING OUT. Now I’d know that ‘stache anywhere!
Glad you had a safe trip! Enjoy HLS!
ryan’s dad’s girlfriend used to date him!
wait! i’m totally lying. she dated tom selleck. the moustaches confused me!
Thank you for literally making me LOL. That was fabulous!
I confuse those two ALL THE TIME! It’s totally the mustache!
US Weekly / People are my guilty pleasures too. My boyfriend got me a subscription to US weekly as a gift a couple years ago and it’s seriously one of the best gifts ever!!
I would freak out to see Mathew Perry! I can’t wait to meet you this weekend! I’ll try not to be too star struck 😉
I worked at a luxury resort and have met a lot of celebrities. Some favs were Dave Matthews, Nick Lachey, Payton and Eli Manning, Seal and Heidi Klum, NKOTB, BSB and Ashlee Simpson. Dave Matthews actually started a conversation with me, I almost died!
Enjoy HLS!
Hi Julie! I love reading your blog but I don’t think I have ever commented. Your question in this post, though, really sparked my interest and hits home:
I was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended small private schools from pre-school until 12th grade… needless to say I had a lot of classes with celebrity spawn! I became good friends with Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ daughter, Rumer, so I spent a good chunk of time at Ashton Kutcher’s place and Bruce’s place. I was also close with Paris Hilton’s brother, Barron. We once stayed with her at her place for a week. Other than that my celebrity spawn classmates were children of Hugh Hefner, Gene Simmons, Steven Spielberg, Diane Lane, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, etc.
Also, living in L.A. you are guaranteed to see celebrities all the time! I love it.
That’s awesome!
My celebrity sighting story is sooo weird.
I was at a broadway show on line for the ladies room. The lights flickered indicating the show was about the start. The man working outside the restrooms let my friend and I use the men’s room. We walked in and there was David Hasselhoff…peeing. We were cracking up and he said “Ladies, I can hear you” which just made us crack up even more!
Ahaha… How would you not be able to laugh if you saw him peeing?! Too funny!!
I lived in LA for 5 years, so I knew a lot of D-listers because if you live in the city long enough you meet them in actor classes, etc. the biggest celeb I ever spoke to was Leonardo DiCaprio. I was working an event launch of a samsung product and I had to show the celebs all the “cool” features of the product. He was really nice and clearly the alpha male of his group of actory side-kicks. My 12 year-old self way dying (titanic was my fav back in the day)
Matthew Perry is a big deal. Its always a good story to see those folks.
Unfortunately, I’ve never seen any celebrities in real life… so lame! I even lived in the L.A. area throughout college, and I thought for sure I’d at least see ONE through my college career, but nope! Oh well.
Glad you had a safe trip! Honey roasted peanuts…yum!
I haven’t seen very many, but a couple of months ago in my small Arizona town I saw Alanis Morisette at this tourist spot! It was so cool! But I was way too nervous to go up to her and I didn’t want to bother her, she was with her husband and baby. But I really wanted to say something awesome and cool to her…instead I just stared akwardly! haha
I would DIE if I ever saw a member of the FRIENDS cast! I’m obsessed.
I’ve seen quite a few celebrities – mostly due to the fact that I live in California. Some of my favorites have been Johnny Depp (saw him on Christmas Eve!), Hilary Swank, Ray Romano, Clay Walker & Michael Bolton. My all-time fave was seeing Mariah Carey in Heathrow Airport in London though – she was my idol as a kid and it was so cool to see her strolling through with her LV luggage, super tall heels and bodyguards!
did you get her to sing “all i want for christmas is you?”
We ran into ShaniaTwain in the airport in Switzerland. Today a friend posted on fb a picture of her and Boyz II Men because they were on her flight.
Have fun in my hometown!
My Dad sat next to Joshua Jackson on a plane, this was back in his early Pacey days. I have not been so fortunate but would LOVE to see Mark Wahlberg!!! I’d probably pass out haha.
You were in my neck of the woods! Hooray for NC!!!!
My brother and I saw Chris Rock in the (tiny) Myrtle Beach airport. I was shy but my brother ran after him saying “Mr. Rock!” haha and he said “How’s it going, kid”. Very memorable ha!! Hope you have fun in Philly! I’m not going to HLS but I work in Philly and live right outside .. Let me know if you need any tips!
I went to high school on the upper east side of Manhattan, so I saw a bunch of celebrities while just waiting for the bus at the end of the day since my stop was on 5th Ave. I can remember Cindy Crawford, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Allen w/Sun Yi, Yoko Ono and the dad from 7th Heaven. I was 15 so seeing anyone famous definitely left me mute so I never said anything.
I saw Wanda Sykes at the Philly airport once.
Jerry Springer used to be the mayor of Cincinnati. Then he was the anchor on Channel 5 in Cincinnati. I remember watching him with Norma Rashid delivering the news.
A girl at my work was telling me yesterday that once she was in vegas and it coincided with when the spice girls were on tour… anywho, she ended up being at a nightclub and they were 10 feet away from her (roped off as a vip section of course).
….I shreiked because I love the spice girls (..um, I mean… I did as a little kid? 😉 ) and she laughed at me so hard.
Ps. Matthew Perry is sexy!
Funny, today I actually saw Gavin Degraw, busted nose and all (if you heard about the attack), buying a watch at Saks.
I loved Chandler Bing! I’ve seen Hulk Hogan at the oakley store in international mall in tampa. he doesn’t even look like a real person! haha it’s so weird.
Ah yes living in LA for most of my life definitely led to my fair share of celeb sitings. The bigger one’s I’ve seen are Tori Spelling, Nicky Hilton, and Nicole Richie,
Glad you made it safe to Philly!! I have seen Hugh Jackman up close before…he is manly and sexy ;). Celebrity gossip is always fun to take part in!
I saw Tom Selleck at a convention and I didn’t even know his first name. I said “Hey Mom, there’s Richard!” Haha I watch waaay too much Friends 🙂 Have fun! I wish I got to go to HLS!
LOL i like your style!
Totally hear ya on the nut serving thing. I just polished off 5 of the recommended servings of trail mix. Yikes!
I once ran into Dave Matthews while listening to him on my i-pod! and I ran into James Van Der Beek in the Philly Whole Foods the other day…
I’m a huge football fan. So living close to many of the Chicago Bears is a huge bonus. Brian Urlacher pretty much is everywhere I go, it’s almost creepy. Getting new tunes at Best Buy? The aisle across from me. Eating at IHOP? Totally at the table next to me. The best is Brad Maynard. Not only is he down to earth, but his whole family is! If I was half as gorgeous as his wife, I would be a bitch.
I forgot about going to school in the city as well! I watched a lot of Transformers (the first one) and The Dark Knight being filmed. I didn’t get up close and personal with anyone, but I can still claim it.
I used to work for the entertainment producer at Good Morning America so I got to meet/see/help celebrities that were on the show often. Most memorable include Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling (right after the Notebook came out, swoon), and my favorites Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler- they were both so nice! At the time it felt like nbd, just part of the job.
When I lived in NYC I would see some celebrities randomly about town, like Amy Adams grocery shopping at Whole Foods. Those were the best because they seemed so unexpected!
Ryan Gosling is so yummy!
Glad you made it safely to Philly! Enjoy it- I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!!
I was on a flight with Robin Williams — long time ago, when his marriage was breaking up. He was flying with his then-nanny, now-wife.
I was lucky enough to sit in Jay Leno’s dressing room and have beers with him while he was being interviewed by one of my friends.
Lastly, I was in line with Kate Walsh at a Tuscon spa, where we were both getting smoothies. She’s a lot more tiny than I would have thought.
robin williams is one of my all-time favorite comedians!
Gossip mags are definitely like picture books for grownups! I haven’t run into anyone (other than football players, which I count as celebrities for sure)
I literally ran into Annette Bening in the bathroom at the Kennedy Space Center when my family was there for a shuttle launch once, and I was on the same flight as Bret from Flight of the Conchords coming back from New Zealand! Matthew Perry is the cream of the crop, though 😉
The best celebrity sighting story I’ve heard is from my friend who has a summer job in the Hamptons… he ran into Paul McCartney in Starbucks last month! I would have DIED of starstruck-ness!
OOooo, a mocha coconut frappe! SCORE!
Oh my gosh, gossip/fashion magazines are absolutely the best for airplanes. I love flying virgin atlantic because I can always get a free copy of hello (a british tabloid).
I’ve only had a couple of celebrity sightings, but BY FAR my favorite one was seeing Matt Morrison crossing the street. My friend literally screamed out his name and he turned around to talk to us. I was crazy starstruck.
And I wish the airlines I flew handed out peanuts! I always end up getting weirdly flavored pretzels…
“Miss Chanandler Bong” good thing I read the comment near the top, or I would’ve forgotten the Miss as well!
I’ve seen Eric Snow in a restaurant, and my aunt and uncle lived next to Allen Iverson, so I’ve seen him before too! I saw Peter Gallagher (think Jonathan from “Center Stage”) while I was in NYC coming out of a Starbucks.
Have fun in my hometown!!
Haha… Totally know what you mean about the serving size. Bit of a surprise hey?!
I’ve met a lot of celebrities through my career…the last one I saw was random though. Orlando Bloom was on the same plane as me. He sat in the very first seat and was very quick to get off the plane and out of the airport when it landed. Not gonna lie, he looked a little trashy in person.
I saw Uma Thurman picking up her daughter from school when I was visiting the school in NYC, and I’ve had my picture taken with Corey Smith as well as Brooks and Dunn, but I think that’s about it. OH! And I saw Vince Vaughn walking down the street in Chicago! Haha almost forgot.
I saw a live taping of national public radio show called ‘wait,wait, don’t tell me’ and Jerry Springer was the guest host and he was so nice and really smart! I friend of mine works for his show and says the same thing.
I met Patrick Dempsey in high school…I was in a parade and he was in it too.
i love celeb gossip magazines- i agree- no shame! i once met justin timberlake- i was so nervous that i couldnt even enjoy it!
We saw Marie Osmond with her family eating at the Marrakesh restaurant at Epcot. It was shortly after she was on DWTS.
My friend and I were eating at a restaurant in a suburb of Philly. Nicole Richie and the Madden brothers were eating a few tables over from us! They were performing in a concert later that night apparently.
My husband and I saw Harrison Ford in the lobby of a hotel in San Diego. He wanted to run after him and “meet Indiana Jones.” I got shy and hissed that we should leave him alone….he drug me halfway across the lobby before Harrison disappeared in the elevator. Never to be seen again 🙁 He won’t let me forget that I squashed his plans.
Oh, AND he also met Ryan (from the Bachelorette, although he’s not really a celebrity) at a work function. I got an awesome picture text with “Jealous?” written underneath it. I wasn’t but I got a good laugh!
I saw Drew Barrymore at a cafe here in Anchorage when she was up here in Alaska filming a movie. I freaked out!!
When I was 6 months pregnant with my first son (18 years ago) I just got off the plane from St. Louis to Los Angeles and waiting for my hubby to get our luggage around midnight. I was sick and tired and looked like death when along comes MARTIN SHEEN! He sees me and waves, asks if I’m doing ok or if I need anything. What a nice guy.
I also met Corey Felman. My hubby was an extra on a (short lived) tv series and we got invited to the opening night. He came over to introduce himself and someone pulled him away before he could shake my hand but he turned right around and came back to me, apologized for the rude guy and gave me a hug and said it was a pleasure meeting me. Total sweetheart and short (lol).
Living in LA for a while, I had a few celebrity sightings. Most were at work events where I saw Nick Cannon (right before Mariah gave birth), Jennie Garth, Jennifer Garner and Laila Ali. I’ve had a few unintentional run-ins like Brad Garrett at the airport, Isaiah Washington at Cold Stone and Minnie Driver bicycling on Venice beach.
I’m super jealous about Matthew Perry, though. I would love to see David Gallagher too…or Matt Leblanc. Swoon.
I’ve seen so many celebrities with my job. Some of my favorites that I’ve met: Stephen Colbert, Dane Cook, John Lithgow, Charlize Theron, Kevin Spacey, Goran Visnjic (Dr. Kovac on ER – hottie!) and Jesse Eisenberg.
I’ve seen Ben Affleck and Matt Damon but since they are from Boston, they never seem to need my assistance. A girl can dream though! 😉
I had a celebrity sighting yesterday! I saw Aaron Peirsol in the Denver airport. He’s an olympic swimmer, so not well known to everyone, but it was a HUGE celebrity sighting for me. I chased after him to get a picture. He was super nice and chatted with me for a bit.
I also once had really good tickets to a Laker game and saw JLo and Ben Afleck (I touched him!).
I saw Chris Noth (Mr. Big from Sex and the City) at a restaurant in NYC in 2004. I totally freaked out, and somehow got our waiter to get him to come talk to me and take a picture with me! I was obsessed with him at the time!
Also, in the past few months, I saw Peyton Manning in the Orlando airport, and was in a Pure Barre class with Erin Andrews here in Atlanta where I live.