Kayjay writes:

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined myself holding an Oscar. Not that I won it mind you, but incredible non-the-less.

I returned last night from a 5-day trip to Los Angeles, California. Thanks to my sweetie, Mike (Xoanon). I was able to attend his web-site's 2nd Oscar party; Two Towers, One party.

I've never found myself to be in such a fortunate and exciting event in my life and I feel like I should bask in it for a little while longer until the memory of it starts to fade.

Of course, I had to "sing for my supper" to be able to have such a chance like this one. The day before the Oscar party, all the volunteers and staff had to help to set up the HUGE venue which was the Hollywood Athletics Club. Putting up banners, setting up chairs, arranging statues and trees, setting up monitors and TVs for viewing the main event and the list goes on. My main task was preparing the "Goody Baggins". They included a Lord of the Rings creatures book, bookmarks, a CD-ROM, a pen, a medallion, the game's soundtrack, miniature figurines, a luggage tag and a small panflet of some Sideshow Weta collectables. There were 1000 bags to stuff and it took around 2 hours to do it. It pretty much consisted of taking a bag and making your rounds around the room taking each item and putting them into the bag. Needless to say I, along with everyone else got pretty dizzy after it was all done. However, I was glad to help out. At the party itself I also had the tasks of VIP wrangling and taking care of the TORn store for an hour with Mike.

Alright before I get too excited and get too much ahead of myself, let me just go back to the day we arrived in Los Angeles. Our plane landed early at LAX on Friday March 21st at around 11:45am PST or so. As soon as we got out of the airport we attempted to flag down a shuttle bus to take us to Thrifty car rental which took a little while. I was groggy from the Gravol pills I took before the flight and was just anxious to get into the hotel room and finally relax. We eventually grabbed a shuttle bus and were exhausted to realize that the line-up at Thrifty car rental was out the door. We just looked at each other and sighed. It looked like we had a while to wait. We entertained each other by betting on which agent among a dozen or so was going to serve us. (I won at by the way! I am still attempting to develop my psychic abilities… and I can see you rolling your eyes, baby).

We finally got our gorgeous silver Chrysler Sebring convertible, grabbed some Burger King and then we were on our way up the 405 and Santa Monica Boulevard to the Comfort Suites on Highland Avenue. We were getting closer and closer to our short-term goal of dropping our bags on the floor of the room and having our commute come to an end. Murphy's law, be that as it may, came toppling over us with a vengeance. We happened to be in the left lane when the hotel approached us from the RIGHT side of the road and those who are familiar with LA would know that changing lanes quickly isn't always an easy task. I have never seen so many cars in one place in my life. So, being unable to turn into the hotel right away we continued down the street, turned around and attempted for a second try. If at first you don't succeed, try, try… and try again.

When we arrived, Mike went to check in and I waited in the car noticing some people walking around outside the parking area whom I later learned to be Leo as well as Demosthenes; two of the many TORn staffers staying in the same hotel as we were. When Mike came back to the car we were all introduced and finally continued to our room 210. We dumped our luggage, washed up and relaxed, exhausted from our long trip.

After a little while I was introduced to a few other TORn members who were staying on the third floor and then Mike and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. We walked down to Hollywood Boulevard to check out the Kodak theatre which was buzzing with workers setting up for the main event to take place less than 48 hours later. We bought a few souvenirs for family members and took pictures by Grauman's Chinese Theatre. We even sneaked into the Renaissance Hotel to see if we'd be lucky enough to run into some celebrities who might have been staying there. No such luck.

Back at the hotel, TORn staff and guests aggregated all in one room for a small reunion and that's when my time zone caught up with me. It was almost midnight in my head and my "sleepy pills" haven't completely worn off yet. I had to retire early against my will and go to bed. Mike stayed for a little while longer before joining me back at the room. We both slept for about 12 hours just to catch up and be refreshed for the next day, for there was a LOT of work to be done to prepare for the big party…

The first thing we did on Saturday morning (March 22nd) was go to "Tuxedo's by Mike" to pick up Mike's, well, tuxedo. The running joke became "Tuxedo's by Mike, FOR Mike" (ba-dum-pum ching!). After grabbing a grilled cheese sandwich next door from Sunset Grill we headed down Sunset to the Hollywood Athletics Club to set up for the party. Tookish was kind enough to bring a huge bag of bagels for everyone to share. There were plenty of bottles of water as well to cool down with after hours of hard work. Mike and Tookish also took some video footage of the whole thing.

Once the main part of setting up was done with, everyone went across the street to Cat and Fiddle pub for dinner and drinks. Once everyone was comfortably seated, Calisuri announced that everyone should introduce themselves to the entire room of approximately 50 people. (Me being the quiet type, I was naturally thrilled and eager to do so… extreme sarcasm hopefully noted). I was one of the last ones to introduce myself and was actually eager to do so after having my heart pound of anticipation. Everyone was extremely nice and I can't wait to see them all again next year. It's amazing that TORn staff come from all over the world including England and Holland and they converge in one place to celebrate what they all made possible. I think it's an amazing achievement for them all and I was honored to be a part of it. After dinner there was another gathering in the hotel room upstairs for more drinks while Lord of the Rings played on the television. Everything seemed to have gone to plan as far as setting up went and all there was left to do was get a good night sleep for the big party. Oscar night!

I woke up Sunday morning full of anticipation. I was so excited about the day to follow and was all smiles. Mike and I headed over to the Monica West Salon on Santa Monica Boulevard where Rob the hairdresser gave me up up-do for the event. We got there at 11:00am for my appointment but for some reason there was a mix-up in the appointments and was waiting there for half an hour before I actually got things underway. Hair in curlers and sitting under the hair dryer, Mike thought it was a funny site and went to the car to get the camera and took a few photos of me. I kept a good humor about it all (as long as he doesn't post them online which he WON'T because he knows what I would e-mail all his friends if he did… Zzzzzz).

We finally got out of there at 1:00pm and rushed over to HAC for the final set-ups and to get dressed up into our formal wear. I crammed into the bathroom upstairs in the VIP section along with Asfaloth and a few other women, rushing to get our makeup and dresses on just perfectly. When everyone was dressed the staff and volunteers gathered in The Golden Hall (the main viewing room) for an assembly. Everyone received their VIP bracelets and/or "Staff" tags to wear around their neck as well as being given a schedule of individual tasks for the party. Once everyone knew what they had to do they went to their station for a briefing to make sure all the details of what they were to be doing was clear. It was mere minutes to the start of the party and a line-up had already begun to develop outside the door. Mike and I had first shift as VIP wranglers from 4:00pm to 5:00pm and Mike even got a walkie-talkie with a head-set (making him look very powerful and sexy I must say).

Guests started coming inside at 4:00pm and the party was underway! Quickbeam was the emcee for the event and was introduced by Mike in a joking way. We stayed and watched the beginning of the Oscars in the Golden Hall witnessing The Two Towers winning for Best Special effects. Sitting in the large room with all those people watching the Oscars on the big screen gave the ambiance of actually being there. After a little while we then went up to the VIP room for some food. We took it easy for a while hamming it up with the other VIPs in the many different rooms as well as watching a few more awards being won from the Golden Hall's balcony, feeling like stars ourselves with the exclusive view. At 9:00 Mike and I retreated to the TORn store for an hour but almost as soon as we got there, Mike was called up on stage to join the other TORn members to give thanks to the guests. I was disappointed that I had duties to attend to which made me miss out on seeing him on stage. I am so proud of him and wished I could have seen it. The first little while at the store made me uneasy because of never having worked a cash register in my life, but after a little while I got the hang of it. About half-an-hour into our shift, Tookish came to tell us that John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli, had arrived at the party. After our shift was over we made it upstairs to the VIP area to meet him.

Before this night, the only celebrity I had met was Viggo Mortensen (also thanks to Mike) in Canton, NY where he was showing photographs from his latest book, and now I was about to meet many more celebrities all in the same night! After talking with John Rhys-Davies for a short while, we looked out of one of the VIP room widows and noticed a couple of white limousines parked out front. We both took our places on the steps leading up to the VIP area to be one of the first people to greet the incoming celebrities. Having never schmoozed with stars really, I was quite nervous as to how to act and what to say but Mike calmed me down and told me just be myself and follow his lead. The first ones to show up were Craig Parker who played Haldir and Bruce Hopkins who played Gamling. Bruce Hopkins was extremely animated and looked quite happy to be attending the party. When Mike introduced himself Bruce gave him an enormous hug like he's known him all his life. When introduced to me he even gave me a kiss on the cheek and was surprised (like many others) when I attempted to kiss the other cheek as well. "Ah, European!" as he said. He then attempted to show me how people kiss in New Zealand which caught me off guard at first because I thought he was trying to kiss my lips and I turned away slightly embarassed before he could do so. He laughed and said that how it's really done is by putting foreheads together, sharing a breath and then pulling away (which he and Mike portrayed quite beautifully as I observed with a smile). The next to arrive were Billy Boyd (Pippin) and Dominic Monaghan (Merry) who were both up to their usual silliness for the awaiting press and on-looking fans.

We then headed back upstairs and continued to mingle among the VIPs and waited patiently for our turns to speak with the celebrities. I got my photos taken first with Dominic Monaghan who was extremely nice and seemed pleased to do so, and then Billy Boyd who seemed a little more distracted, however very pleasant. Meanwhile we learned that Sean Astin had arrived and we were on our way toward the stairs to go down and greet him but we stopped short noticing that we almost passed right by him! He was already upstairs in the VIP section greeting many fans that circled him. He seemed more than happy to meet everyone. We heard him say to someone that he was looking for Billy and Dom and from the background somewhere, Mike said that they were in one of the small rooms. Sean Astin took off right away looking for them followed by a stampede of everyone who was surrounding him previously. I looked at Mike and he made a face that said, "Oops, did I do that?" It was quite funny. We didn't get the chance to talk with him though since only moments later we were instructed to help all the celebrities through the secret passages to make their way on stage.

Meanwhile, Andy Serkis had arrived along with producers Barrie Osbourne and Mark Ordesky as well as all the Oscar winners complete with Oscars in hand! They all got up on stage and when Mike and I made it to the Golden Hall, Andy Serkis was up at the microphone talking as Gollum! It was all so exciting, people cheering that I can't even remember what he said! All the celebrities were on the stage together and Sean Astin seemed to play temporary emcee for a little while. At one point they even got the director, Peter Jackson, on the speaker-phone from New Zealand! It was hard to hear him speak but the crowd went crazy non-the-less. Quickbeam presented the "Golden Gandalf" statue to Barrie Osbourne, everyone said their last words and then they all got off stage.

A few TORn members and volunteers (myself included) escorted them all off the stage and out the back door of HAC where they proceeded to re-enter the building through a safer entrace as opposed to plowing through the crowd to return to the VIP rooms. While outside I had the pleasure of being introduced to Mark Ordesky who seemed to be a very nice man and loving husband. I saw Andy Serkis also pass buy but did not have the opportunity of greeting him. Finally the actual Oscars came to pass and I had the once in a lifetime opportunity of holding one! That Oscar belonged to Randy Cook who won it for Best Special Effects. I just HAD to get my picture taken with it and Gamgee did the honors as Randy Cook waited patiently to have his precious returned to him.

We all returned once again back inside and upstairs where our night was slowly winding down. Everyone was getting tired after an incredible fun-filled night. I sat down on one of the stools and took it easy as I watched some people playing pool. After a while a couple of the Oscar winners came in the room and sat down on the couch as 2 Oscars rested comfortably on the tables in front of them. I found it remarkable to be lounging casually in a room and at the same time having 2 Oscars standing no more than 10 or 15 feet away from me. Mike had wandered off to the interview room to speak with Barrie Osbourne while I rested my aching feet. (I had been standing and walking around without rest for hours). After a little while I made my way to the interview room as well where I met up with Mike and was introduced to Barrie Osbourne myself. Moments later we were approached by Craig Parker and talked with him for about 10 minutes about various things including Canadian accents. He's a funny guy and extremely friendly. Jincey took a photo of him with Mike and I. I can barely keep up with the number of wonderful people I met that night.

Not long after we spoke to Craig we both made our way to the inviting couch. We sat down with a big sigh and made ourselves comfortable. I took off my shoes and my baby even rubbed my feet. (What a sweetheart!) That was it for us. We officially ran out of steam. We said our goodbyes and slowly made our way back to the car. We had an incredible but exhausting night and we were eager to get some rest. Back at the hotel the first thing I wanted to do was crawl into bed, but I knew if I didn't wash out my rock-hard hair-do I'd wake up with a birds nest on my head. So that's what I did and when I was ready for bed, Mike was already dead asleep. It was a long and crazy day.