How I Met Some People on the Set of HIMYM

After Saturday's barrage of pictures on the set of How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) you're either wondering, “Wow, how did Rodney get that opportunity?!?!?” or “Wow, who the heck are you taking pictures of and why do you think I would care????” Well, to make a long story medium-length, a friend’s best friend (Shannon) is the assistant to one of the show’s creators (Carter Bays). Shannon helped organize Saturday night’s fundraiser on behalf of the other creator, Craig Thomas. His son is diagnosed with a rare disorder called Jacobsen Syndrome (or 11q Deletion Disorder). The research behind the disorder doesn't get much support so Glodine & I were more than happy to contribute. We heard stories from affected families and the lead research doctor shared his staff’s work and the possibility of their findings impacting other conditions such as Alzheimer's or Autism.

Thanks to our hookup, we received our invite a month ago and we made it down to LA despite me being sick. We arrived to Fox Studio Stage 22 right on time for the 7pm start but were not prepared to be suddenly thrust into the presence of celebrities. We walked into the studio and were immediately next to five actors... geeking out in the inside, we tried to keep it composed on the outside. Here were our encounters that night:

• Alyson Hannigan (HIMYM’s Lily aka Willow from Buffy aka One Time at Band Camp) – while it would have been a dream to take a picture with her, she was always deep in conversation with people so we left her alone. But her husband on the other hand…
• Alexis Denisof (annoying anchor guy on HIMYM, Mr. Alyson Hannigan, best known as Wesley from Angel) – got a chance to chat with him as his wife was busy talking. He was gracious in our compliments to him saying what big fans we were (this past year, he was in Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing) and he didn’t mind at all taking a picture
  
• Josh Radnor (HIMYM’s Ted) – turns out my friend used to be his travel agent; I mean, how cool is that? He did a great job emceeing the event and was always nearby but seemed somewhat unapproachable – even though lots of people did ask for a picture with him and he always obliged
• Jason Segel (HIMYM’s Marshall, movie star, extremely tall dude) – possibly the highlight of my night was Jason tapping my elbow and asking me to grab a pink gift bag with wine that was next to my foot. After handing it to him, I smoothly said, “Here you go Sir!” I still question why I referred to him as “Sir”. Ugh.
• Bob Saget (HIMYM narrator, Full House’s Danny Tanner, also very tall) – couldn’t believe how much older he looked but he was cracking jokes making Jason & everyone else around him laugh hysterically
• Cobie Smulders (HIMYM’s Robin, SHIELD agent from Avengers, brunette cutie) – after we donated to the Giving Tree, we turned around and, BAM, there was Cobie. As if though we were long lost friends, I casually said, “Hi Cobie! I’m Rodney” – she thanked us for our donation and was totally down for a picture together. With nobody was around to snap a shot, she suggested we take a three-way selfie.
   
  As she sent us on our way, we could hear her introducing her husband to a former HIMYM costar…
• Taran Killiam (Cobie’s husband, SNL funny man) – Did you guys know this currernt SNL featured player is married to Cobie? No idea. Some of his SNL characters are disturbing but he’s hilarious.
• Nazanin Boniadi (former HIMYM costar aka Nora aka one of Barney’s serious love interests) – I only bring up seeing her because she looked absolutely GORGEOUS. Yes, I’m happily married, but I’m not blind. This woman was stunning and if I had gone up to her the only thing that would come out my mouth would have been “blehrrrrrrrr”
• Scott Foley (from Felicity aka ex-husband of JenniferGarner) – this guy. Man, looked skinny as heck. He walked in with us and was next to us for awhile in MacLaren’s Pub. While I wanted to say something to him, it got to the point where it would have been awkward to start a convo. Totally lost our window of opportunity. But thanks to IMDB, learned his wife is an actress too…
• Marika Dominczyk (Mrs. Scott Foley aka actress in random stuff) – wish I had gotten a better look at her the other night but turns out she was in 40 Year Old Virgin. She played Bernadette - the girl who Seth Rogen's character hired to replace Steve Carrell's character in the stockroom. I swear, I remember the oddest things.
• Kevin Weismann (Marshall the tech geek from Alias) – randomly standing around, Kevin and I made eye contact, face to face, in MacLaren’s Pub. I, of course, had to introduce myself and told him how awesome I thought he was on Alias. We chatted a bit about his new show with Stephen Merchant cuz that’s something I noramlly do on Saturdays – ya know, talk casually with a Hollywood actor about his current projects. No big deal.
  
• Lyndsy Fonseca (the "daughter" on HIMYM listening to Ted's stories aka Alex on Nikita) – well, we didn’t see her but saw a picture of her at the event on Instagram. Wish we had seen her since she’s a badass on Nikita.

So that was it. Lots of good food and drinks. Saw someone figure out the hard way that MacLaren Pub's bathroom isn't really functional. And, even though I was sick, the trip down was totally worth it - a great cause and a memorable evening.

Almost to the finish

Here goes. Tomorrow morning will be my final weigh-in of the twelve week Slimfish competition. It's been a grueling experience. But all the hard work comes down to whatever number spits out of the scale at 9am manana. Right now I'm almost 25 pounds down with one final morning run to do.

At work, I left behind my scale and change of clothes. I'll get into the city in the morning, head out for a run along Embarcadero, shower up, and then see what poundage I'm at. I honestly can't wait for this to end. It's rare that I've had the lead in any competition. I don't like it. I'm obsessive and super concerned about the fellas in second and third place. They shouldn't be able to catch me. But they could. Nah... there's no way! But maybe they'll figure out a way. Is it possible? Paranoid I am.

I can't wait for this be done. I'm over it.

Weight for it...

Drama. Enjoyable on TV and movies. Not in real life. But, of course, it's often unavoidable. This weight bet I'm involved in has had a wee bit of cray cray and I have no shame sharing what happened with my closest pals.

I live in the Bay Area. California. I happened to be in Seattle in March where I joined this biggest loser-ish competition. When I started, the people in charge casually agreed that my final weigh-in would have to be in San Francisco and verified by a trusted person in that office. No biggie? Wrong. It became a big deal especially once I was in the lead.

I happened to be back in Seattle for work near the end of Week 10 of the twelve week competition. I promised competitors that I would bring my scale to compare to the one in Seattle and then we could adjust my May 31 final weight accordingly. Again, no biggie? Oh no girlfriend. It was not enough for someone who we'll anonymously refer to as "Diana". Even though I lugged my scale to Seattle. Here was her message to everyone:

"Several of the folks that initiated this competition learned that Rodney will not be here for the final weigh-in, and after discussing it as a group we feel that his final weigh-in needs to be at the same place using the same scale as everyone else.  We discussed comparing his scale to the one everyone else has been using, and we still feel that there is a possibility that using a different scale may sway the results.  Even though this is a friendly competition, everyone has worked hard to achieve their goals and we feel there should not be an exception to the final weigh-in.  Similar to any other race or competition, everyone starts at the same starting line, ends at the same finish line, and is clocked by the same stop watch. 

So we thought we should see what the consensus is on this matter . . . since Rodney will be here to weigh in this week, should this be his final weigh-in and the results used for the actual final weigh-in on the 31st? 

Again, this was a group discussion and I was the only one comfortable in delivering this message, so please do not shoot the messenger . . . I volunteered to facilitate an open discussion so that the decision can be made by the group and everyone can feel comfortable with the results."

If you didn't cuss while reading that, I have a lot of respect for you. I was filled with nothing but WTF and couldn't believe what I was reading. I won't share every detail of what followed. But I truly appreciate one individual in particular who defended me (such a great person):

"Who discussed this?  I don’t recall being a part of any group discussions on this matter. 

If you are proposing that the competition ends early so that Rodney can weigh in on the same scale, then it seems only fair that the competition ends early for all of us.  Otherwise, everyone else gets a two-week advantage over Rodney, and that hardly seems fair.

Let’s also be honest and admit that this wouldn’t be an issue if Rodney wasn’t kicking ass!

I’m all for an open discussion, but it seems as if there was a pre-discussion to this “open” discussion…"

There was a little more back and forth but, after a vote, it was decided that the original plan would stick:

"Rodney compares his scale to ours (he has his up here) and if there is a difference we can determine the amount to adjust his final 5/31 weight by. Linda will also verify his final weight."

How did I personally respond to any of this? I immediately bit my tongue and decided against any haste response. Of course I wanted to tell this person off and defend myself. But, honestly, what good is negativity vs negativity? It was clear this person needed to add drama to this otherwise friendly competition. Instead, I replied the next day trying to keep it positive:

"I’m sure we all have stories to share but, just to let you all know, my weight loss journey has been filled with declining on tons of social outings in order to avoid temptations. The Razorfish SF people think I’m ridiculous – don’t even get me started on friends & family. Or, if we do meet up, I’m eating only a salad or avoiding the most deliciousest options. And no alcohol (GASP). I’ve been focused on consuming ONLY healthy foods. Running/working out helps but it’s definitely what I’m eating that’s made the difference. I’m quite obsessed and my body has never been happier (yes, my body and I chat about it all the time).

It’s also pretty awesome that my wife has been my rock and the support that’s helped make this lifestyle change possible. If I win any money, trust me, half my winnings go to her. Actually, a first place win would mean treating her to a nice weekend get-away to celebrate what we’ve done. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Anyway, please realize that I completely appreciate being part of this competition (shoutout to Kelly for being our commissioner). And "Diana" was completely right - everyone HAS worked hard to achieve their goals. I love that we’re all making changes for the better!"

I have about one more week to find out how I finished. Wish me luck!

Where ya been Rodney?

Wow. Where have I been since Thanksgiving? Let's quickly recap:
     - Christmas back in Seattle for a week
     - January visit in Seattle for a week to meet new client
     - Back to Seattle a week later for my bud relocating to SF - helped her drive her car down to the Bay
     - Back to Seattle beginning of February for five weeks to spend time with mom-in-law who had a bad head injuring fall outside her house but who's now recovering nicely
     - Before leaving Seattle in March, joined in on a "biggest loser" type bet with Razorfish accounting/HR folks. Started my new healthy eating lifestyle (week ten and counting now). I'm leading the competition with eight days to go. Hoping to win that $400 first place prize.
     - Also in March, started running again... was part of a SoCal 200-mile -ish relay (Ragnar) and now prepping for another one in September

And, lastly, I turned 39 this past May. Wow. 3. 9. Can't wait for 40 so I can get away with old man antics. Or do I have to wait until I'm in my 50s? Is that when I can flirt with waitresses and my wife rolls her eyes at me?

Life is good in the Bay Area. Still haven't explored as much as I would have wanted at this point but that's why we'll be here for several years to come. And the sun. Oh, the sun. Cannot be beat. Especially here in the East Bay. And can't wait to see the Seahawks play in the Superbowl here in SF in 2015.

Next post, I hope to share pictures of before and after Rodney. Totally naked. Just kidding. Wouldn't want to traumatize peeps for life. That's just gross. Nah, just shots of my face to see what changes in food have done for my weight.

giving, Thanks

Thanksgiving is two days away and I wanna get my 2012 thanks and "no thanks" out of the way now. Since it's on the 22nd of November this year, I'll make a list of 22 items:

1. I'm thankful for the opportunity my employers gave me to do my job in a whole new wonderful city but 
2. I'm not thankful that the sacrifice is leaving behind so many wonderful coworkers, friends, and family in Seattle and the whole Washington vacinity.
3. I'm thankful that I live in such a peaceful town not so far from San Francisco but
4. I'm not thankful that it can sometimes be time consuming commuting into work all the way from Walnut Creek.
5. I'm thankful that my longer than usual commute affords me the opportunity to write blogs, enjoy music/podcast, and/or read but 
6. I'm not thankful that I still have a problem with motion sickness and can read only so much before I feel like I'm going to blehhhhh.
7. I'm thankful that I'll be spending Thanksgiving in Anaheim having a good ol' time at Disneyland but
8. I'm not thankful that I won't, instead, be with family eating turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, stuffing, and all the other great Thanksgiving traditions.
9. I'm thankful that I finally realized, after five years, that I could change the voice on the GPS to an awesomely cool British accented female voice but
10. I'm not thankful that I'm addicted to hearing it and, in fact, will use the GPS to drive to Safeway just three blocks away
11. I'm thankful that I finally tied the knot to with my bff,  my soulmate, my forever evah back in January but
12. I'm not thankful that we didn't have a big ol' party to celebrate it with everyone (maybe one day).
13. I'm thankful that all the hard work I put into my job was recognized this year with a promotion but 
14. I'm not thankful that I stooped to injuring myself in order to make management feel sorry for me. ;)
15. I'm thankful that my accident (smashing my mouth into the pavement) wasn't worster than it coulda been but
16. I'm not thankful that I was such a klutz and could have easily avoided crashing (I replay it in my head all the time).
17. I'm thankful that we've already had some guests in our little abode after less than three months but
18. I'm not thankful that their visits are so short.
19. I'm thankful for making some quick friends in our new home... and already have had a board game night with a few of them but
20. I'm not thankful every night isn't board game night.
21. I'm especially thankful for the ability to virtually keep in touch with all the long distance people in my life but
22. I'm not thankful for the non-invention of teleportation. So, you know, visiting each other would be so much quicker (I stole that from the sis-in-law).

Anyway, it's not much but there you go. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

After all, it's a small world

I'm tired. A busy weekend followed by this busy week has made me so tired that I"m tard. I really really really really (x infinity) can't wait for this week (tomorrow/Friday) to come to an end.

The week being over means I'm that much closer to seeing my sister, bro-in-law, niece, neph, and dog neph this weekend. They'll be our third set of visitors to stay/sleep here in our little Walnut Creek apartment. Too bad my bro couldn't stay here more than the six hours he was here for today. I mean, check this out, yo. Around 1:30pm today, I decided it was time to fill my belly with some food. Just as I was about to get up from my cubicle area, my bro texts me, "Where do you work?"

I'm like, whaaaaaat? I quickly type, "Razprgish" but then realize it's a typo so I correct it to, "Razorfish. Why?"

He responds with, "Going to Hard Rock Cafe."

Having not seen him since September, I suddenly remember [pause to admire rhyming] that my brother was going to be in Japan for three weeks. Ah. Makes sense. He must be in SF on his way back to Washington. But it's crazy that he and his buddy decide to go Hard Rock Cafe since it's literally RIGHT ACROSS the street from my work.

So that was coo. We met for only half an hour but it was seriously awesome to see him. It was a nice ending to a week of "small world" happenings. Last Friday, we went to the UW-Cal game at Berkeley and, while getting in line for a bus, ran into a couple I had just met two days prior at the SF Giants World Series parade. They were pals of my friend Carmen. But then AFTER that game, when we got in line to take the bus back to our car, guess who ended up being behind us?  The SAME couple. Ummmm.... stalk much folks? Just joshin... I kid new friends.

The next day, we met with G & A visiting from Washington. They were in town for a wedding and staying at a hotel in Mill Valley in the North Bay (north of SF). We met them at their hotel, had lunch, hung around for a couple of hours, then parted ways. But we weren't done with that hotel.

Later in the evening, we went back to the very same hotel to visit another friend who was also staying there. She was celebrating her birthday by getting away from her house and staying in one of her favorite SF Bay areas. We had made plans with her earlier in the week not knowing that she would be in the same place as G & A!  Isn't that crazy? One obscure hotel in a random small town serving as the meeting point for two different sets of friends who don't know each other [cue Twilight Zone music].

Of course, those who know me KNOW that I love this small world stuff. It's so intriguing to me when events like this prove how intimately connected we are...

Not moving on... ADDING on

I remember a time long long ago when I started watching sports as a youngin in Colorado. John Elway was a third year quarterback leading his Broncos to their second Superbowl (his first of five). Alex English and Michael Adams were my favorite NBA players on a fun Doug Moe coached Denver Nuggets. And the Colorado Rockies? Well, let's just say that I'm so old that, as a kid, there was no MLB team in Colorado back then.

Three years later, my family moved to Washington. Although I was in Seahawk/Supersonic territory, there was no way I was going to root against my Denver teams. The Broncos were in the same AFC West division as the Hawks. And I was a die-hard Elway fan. But after he won his two late 90s Superbowls & retired, I felt it was time to move on and start cheering for my local, newly aligned NFC West Seattle Seahawks. It was a great time too... explosive players and a new commitment to winning. You knew fans were going to be in good hands with Matt Hasselbeck as their new QB and Shaun Alexander running the ball.

The Supersonics were a much easier team to transition to. I went to my first NBA game in 1992 and quickly fell in love with the Glove and the Reign Man. Easy fa breezy. Gawd how I miss that team... Seattle professional basketball under George Karl? YES!  The change of ownership and moving? Oklahoma Thunder? No thanks.

Baseball wise, I had no problem joining in on the Ken Griffey Mariner fun. The Kid brought excitement to baseball despite being part of a losing team in the early 90s. But Lou Pinella came along and Seattle became a hella fun baseball city. Griffey, Buhner, A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Ichiro... the list of fan favorites go on and on... Can't wait for the time when they're in the playoffs again...

So speaking of World Series, I don't think I could have come to SF at a better time. It's nice that the Giants aren't in the same league as the Mariners. I CAN be a fan without a single worry. Call me a traitor once I start rooting on the Oakland A's over my M's (that's not gonna happen).

I think one of my work besties properly prepped me for this new found fandom the past year and a half. She's the HUGEST Giants fan who's always singing their praises and it all came together for me when I went to my first game in early September. The magic in that stadium was amazing. Been following them ever since and so thrilled to have this enthusiastic feeling about a baseball team since... wait. Have the Mariners not been back to the playoffs since 2001? My oh my.

Even though I've only been a fan for two months, I think I'll look back at this year as the start of my love for this team. Like almost every other person in the Bay Area, I can proudly say... Go Giants!