I hope everyone has watched the video in the previous post. If you haven’t, please do. If you have already watched it, please do it again. Three things:
1. There is a man who kind of dances by in the background. It’s excellent.
2. Amanda hates birds a lot. Note the amount of birds in the video. She really did not enjoy herself. It was, and remains, just the best.
3. Amanda really doesn’t like that the video is online and everyone gets to watch it. She should have thought of that before she choked away a 30 pin lead…
Once that dance was finished up and Amanda peeled off her Miley Cyrus (really) brand jeans, we hung out some more with Justin and Sarah, staying out of the constant drizzle. We watched some bad movies and did some arts and crafts (Amanda did. You’ll see the results later in this post).
Since we were in Justin and Sarah’s territory or whatever, we decided to go someplace that they recommended for dinner. It was this place:
They both said that this place had incredible sushi. I’ve had sushi before, and didn't much care for it, but I figured I could get something else and try the incredible sushi.
We started out with some edamame, which I enjoy (mostly because it has salt on it):
It was standard.
I ordered some seafood udon soup and some shrimp tempura sushi:
The soup smelled like feces. For real.
I also have no idea what those white, thick condom looking things were. The shrimp in it, as well as the udon noodles (basically thick wheat noodles) were, despite the scent, delicious. I avoided the condoms and broth however…
I had a section of the shrimp tempura roll and wasn’t too queasy, so I figured, since Justin was singing its praises, I’d give his, fish filled sushi a try.
Justin had ordered this crazy sushi roll. It had tuna, salmon and all types of uncooked fish in it, plus, on top of it? Bright, almost highlighter-orange fish eggs.
I figured, since we were on a road trip and I was up for trying things, that I should give it a go:
Like I said before, I had tried sushi before. I did not like it at all, but it was a long time ago. Maybe my tastes had changed and I would actually enjoy it? Maybe Justin was right? Maybe the quality of the ingredients makes the difference? Maybe I was making a huge mistake by shoving an entire mouthful (the roll was huge) of raw fish with a dusting of orange boogers into my face?
I was.
It was foul. The texture of the caviar on top (gross) mixed with the density of the salmon and tuna (gross) mixed with the temperature of the roll (gross) mixed with my taste buds and brain (grossed out) added up to something that I perceived as gross times four.
Not only did I not like it, but I didn’t want to spit it out at the table, so I was stuck finishing it. I said before that the size of the roll was just monstrous. Take a look at the shrimp tempura roll up there (next to the condom soup). The roll I stuffed in my mouth was two times the size of it. It took me over a minute to chew it and swallow. I did not enjoy it for a millisecond.
To explain further: I sat there chewing on a food item that my mind wanted to be warm (fish and rice), but was actually chilled. I sat there chewing of a food item with different densities all mushed together. I sat there chewing on a food item that, literally, had bright orange eggs from a fish spilled on top of it.
In short, I didn’t barf, but I did gag slightly a few times during the process. It was super extra gross.
Once I finished up that enormous bite and everyone had a good laugh, I patted the sweat from my forehead (seriously) and got back to the business of the food I ordered. I popped a second portion of the shrimp tempura roll into my mouth and didn’t enjoy it at all. Once my mind realized that the food was actually cold, rather than warm (again, my brain thinks fish should be warm for the most part), I didn’t enjoy that bite either. I gave up and stuck to the feces and condoms soup.
After dinner, we headed back to the apartment in the rain and called it a night. We had an early morning ahead of us. Why?
Well.
It’s only the most exciting thing ever.
The best part of our trip.
It was.
It…it was…
The Price Is Right.
Kablam.
What follows is our Monday, trying to get on stage at the best game show ever.
We woke up to my cell phone alarm at 4:25am. Seriously.
We woke up so early because in order to get a place in line, you have to get there pretty early. We grabbed our camping chairs and headed to the studio. We arrived around 4:45, walked a few blocks and sat in line.
Around 6am, some CBS pages (with red jackets, like Kenneth from 30 Rock) made their way out to the line and started handing these things out:
Amanda and I were 30th and 31st in line (the first guy there was in line by 2:30am). Once we had these, we were told to come back to the studio at 8:15am to get back into a line.
Basically, to get tickets to the show, you get request tickets from the show online or by phone or whatever. They hand out as many of those online/phone tickets as you want. They are almost meaningless. They earn you the right to line up early in the morning and get your hands on the above tickets,
Once you have those pink, numbered tickets, you’re in. We headed back to the studio at 8:15am and waited around to find out what to do next. There were a few hundred people milling about, and a bunch of those pages from CBS starting to get things organized.
Once the pages were ready, they started to make announcements over this old school microphone system. They called out for folks holding pink tickets (us) to start lining up and sitting on these metal, bleacher style benches. Numbers one through 30 (or in this case, 31) took a seat on the bleachers and waited for further instructions. A few minutes later, a redcoat came by and handed out some cards to fill out. We borrowed some pens and got to it.
The first card was basic info: your contestant number, your name, your social security number (for winning stuff). The second card was a little mini-essay card. Basically, the card asked for why the holder of the card wanted to be on The Price Is Right. Are you super fun? Are you having a birthday or something? Are you with Make A Wish? That type of stuff.
Amanda and I filled the cards out (obviously explaining that we had quit our jobs to go on a road trip), handed them over and waited a little longer.
Next up? The name tag.
Hecks yes.
A fellow came by, you handed him your ID, and he wrote, methodically, your name on a world famous price tag shaped shirt sticker. It was, and remains (because we obviously still have ours) completely awesome. I now have a sticker with my name on it from The Price Is Right. You don’t. Eat that.
Once we had that, we waited around for a few more hours and minutes and were shuttled onto a separate bench, around the corner.
Oh, by the way, this is done all outside. It’s basically in a concrete lot right outside of the studio with an awning over it. I can’t imagine what it is like to sit around for hours in the California heat waiting to go into a TV show. I would sweat a whole lot. Luckily, it was miserable outside and thus, not too hot.
Around this corner, we sat for another hour on another metal bleacher waiting for the shows producer to speak with us. Basically, whether or not you are selected for the show comes down to this meeting. All of the selections are made based upon this (as well as the crappy photos that were taken minutes before). No pressure…
The producer finally made his way out to the crowd and we were all told to shut up (this was not hard for me, but very very hard for many people around me, since generally, people are crazy and annoying). The producer likes quiet, as he has to talk to 300 people in a row.
Ten or twelve people at a time, we were ushered to this little area in front of the producer and his assistant (who was taking copious notes) and stood there. The producer went down the line, talking to everyone one at a time until the group was finished. He made lame jokes that everyone laughed at and tried to get a sense of who would go crazy on the show. He talked to Amanda and I and we told him our little road trip story and he moved on.
Once the interviews were finished up for our group, we were sent over to a third holding area (with metal bleacher style benches, duh) and sat down after going through a metal detector and handing over cameras/cell phones. We sat there, and got to watch some sweet episodes of the show until we were finally allowed to go inside.
It was awesome.
We all filed into the building and went up a few flights of nondescript stairs. We went through a curtain and wabam, there it was. The Price Is Right stage. Bob Barker Studio. It was hilarious. So very tiny.
On television, the camera work and direction of the show makes it look a whole lot bigger than it actually is. The stage itself is probably thirty feet wide and twenty feet deep. There are huge doors lining it and on the left side there is a little stage (where the Showcase happens). Also, above, there are probably two hundred lights pointing at the stage, each about two inches from the next one, all pointed in different directions.
When you arrive, there's some bad disco music playing to keep everyone excited and you’re ushered to your seat. We were third row. Bangin’.
The show started and was fairly normal. You’re told when to go crazy by some interns or something (including one that looks like this weird kid from college) as well as the director.
The show was both awesome, since we were actually in the crowd and yelling prices at people, and terrible, as, literally, nobody won any games. Not one person won anything other than their initial bid to get on stage. Including the showcase. It was a disaster. But still super fun for us. Despite our incredible t-shirts and charm, we were not selected, but we’ll be all over the TV when it airs. TiVo that essword.
November 10th. We’ll be in the third row yelling and laughing behind the leftmost (our rightmost) contestant. We both have glasses.
Oh, and here is my t-shirt:
Master Key is a game on the show. I am so clever…
Also, I am gay.
Amanda’s shirt was a little more to the point. It was a white thermal tank top that said “The Price Is Right Makes Me Happy”. It was awesome. Sorry I don’t have a picture of it.
Again, November 10th, 2010, Amanda and I will be all over CBS when the show airs. You’ll get to see me yelling out random number at complete strangers trying to win a car. You will enjoy it.
After our really crazy and sort of surreal day at TPIR, we headed to a place for lunch. I have no pictures of it, as no cameras are allowed at the show, so I didn’t have my camera with me, but it’s a place called Pinks. Here’s the website if you want an idea of what it is.
It’s basically this “world famous” hot dog stand in downtown LA. It’s only famous because it’s been around so long, not because the hot dogs are good.
I ordered a chili dog and Amanda had a regular hot dog. Amanda’s regular hot dog was cold, so that wasn’t too great for her. My hot dog was semi-warm, but the chili on it was awful. It was basically a beanless meat mash without any sort of flavor or heartiness to it. Disappointing.
If you’re ever in LA, I would recommend that you don’t bother with Pinks, as it was a really low quality hot dog with sub-good toppings.
After lunch, we headed back to Justin and Sarah’s, packed up our car and headed out.
All in all, LA was great. The weather stunk, and the food was average, but we got to hang out with people we like and watch TV. Oh, and be on TV. And have Drew Carey tell slightly off color jokes during the breaks in the taping.
Next up? San Diego. Where it rained more. Awesome.
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