I decided that I would do an Oprah entry separate from the Chicago one. I did so much and there is so much to say!
So before I mention how awesome the Oprah show was, let me preface this entry with some information. My original show was slotted for Friday, October 15th in the morning. A couple of days after receiving the news that I had reservations, I received an e-mail from the Oprah show saying that the show I was signed up for is moving moved. I had the option to stay with the same show, but I would not know who the guest was. Or I could move to the 13th show in the afternoon and be guaranteed that I would be seeing Portia de Generes, formerly known as Portia de Rossi.
I opted for the 13th show for a number of reasons. I knew who the guest was. Nobody how "sad" her show may be, it still would be bearable. I didn't want a weeping show or one where I walked away all upset because of the topic. Secondly, by leaving on the Friday, I saved myself a couple of hundred bucks. Chicago is a very pricey place on Fridays. And by coming home Friday night, I would be home on Saturday bright and early to take the girls to their lessons.
On the 13th, my girlfriend and I were very excited! We ate breakfast but our minds were on Oprah. We went back to the hotel room to get changed. Then we heard some really loud bangs. Holy smokes. Thunder, lightening, wind and a whole bunch of rain. It was a really nasty storm. But we were prepared...we had our umbrellas.
We took a taxi to the studio an hour earlier than we needed to because we decided that we would do all our shopping at the Oprah store before the show. That way we could beat the line up and rush between shows. And we could leave all our stuff there at the store until after our show and not have to deal with the crowds.
I had done a lot of research on the Oprah site before I went to the store. I had my lists and I was ready to go. But the online store only shows 80% of what is in the store. And I got to hang out at the Oprah closet. In the store, there is a large armoire. Inside is clothing that Oprah has worn on the show and that you could get for cheap. I so wanted to get the A line grey skirt by Valentino. But $200 was still a little pricey for me. But how fun to see some amazing dresses, and other outfits I recognized!
After too much spending at the Oprah store, it was off to the studio that is across the street. We got in with no problems. I was prepared for the next couple of bits as it was the same process as the last time. Coat check, security check, signing forms and waiting in the upstairs room before people are called down to the studio. In the upstairs room, there are extremely large photos of Oprah and special guests. And every person in that room remembered those episodes and we all talked about it.
Then came the time to go down to the studio. You either get called down by name because they want you in a certain area. Or they go by number based on your form number. Out of the 317 people that day, I had number 233 or something ridiculous like that.
So imagine my suprise when I get called by name to go to the studio. Then imagine my suprise when I go into the studio and they sit me and my friend in the reserved section. Yeah. RESERVED section of the studio audience. My friend and I were FREAKING out. This was so wild.
And we sat next to this couple. The husband had really wanted to get tickets for his wife. So we shared stories of how we got tickets. We used the exact same methods and we were just killing ourselves laughing. His wife and my friend had no idea why this was funny but we understood the work needed to get these tickets. LOL!
We also shared our essays that we had to write for this particular show. And I told him that this was by far the weakest submission I had put in. I wasn't even going to write into the show to go see Portia. I really debated whether or not I was going to even do the work. Then I thought, why not? I have nothing to lose and it obviously paid off.
Before the start of the actual interview, Oprah has a staff member come out. I got Beth last time I was there and she was just as awesome this time around. However, she really amped up the energy there. She started to say some fun things and talked about the amazing 25 years of Oprah, and next thing you know, awesome music started up, the tv monitors showed amazing clips that everyone knew, next thing you know we're all doing the flash mob dance from a couple of seasons ago, we're all jumping, dancing and screaming! Oprah hadn't even shown up yet! But it put us all into such an amazing mood!
Time for the show to start now. Oprah walked out and we screamed big time! Oprah did her amazing intro. And the next thing I knew, Portia was walking onto the stage and she was literally 5 feet away from me. Awesome. The actual interview went by so quickly even though this whole process took me about 4 hours to complete. I had the perfect view of Oprah and hung on to every word. She really is amazing at what she does. Though the Portia interview wasn't that "happy and fluffy," it was still a great show to watch. She talked about her anorexia which I had no clue she had. And it was very informative and showed how resilient she really is.
At the end of the show, Portia left the building and Oprah just sat to talk to the audience for a couple of minutes. I'm sure she says this almost every show...especially since it's her last season. But she thanked the audience for the 25 years, how it's because of people like us that kept her on for that length of time. She thanked people for taking the time and effort to see her and that she is humbled by it, etc., etc. I don't care how many times she has said it in the past, but it really felt heart felt. If she was acting, I believe it all, and it's ok. I'll buy into it.
And before you know it, we were all being escorted out of the building. We ended up getting a copy of Portia's book. No big give away. But that's ok. It is a great reminder of the show itself and a great reminder of an amazing experience and day.
As awesome as her show was that day, my girlfriend and I opted to wake up early and try to attend the 15th show in the morning as standby folks. And if you can believe it, we got there only for staff to tell us that it was cancelled. If I had kept to the show on the 15th, I would have been SOL...having gone there for no reason. Sometimes, things are just meant to be.
Oprah you will be missed! But I am so happy to have shaken Oprah's hand, to have sat in on 3 of her shows as part of her live audience and able to see her during her last season. Memories, memories.....
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