Tuesday, April 19, 2005

One minute in heaven with George Stroumboulopoulos

He called! He called! George Stroumboulopoulos actually called this morning to personally offer me tickets to his show! This is, like, the most exciting thing that’s happened to me since I won $50 in the lottery 14 years ago!

Here’s how it went down. The phone rang at 10:23 a.m. It was the receptionist. "Sarah? I have George on the line for you."

“Okay. Put him through,” I said, with a roll of my eyes. I assumed it was one of my friends playing a practical joke.

And then I heard the voice. That deep sexy gravelly voice. “Hey Sarah, it’s George.”

My stomach flipped, my heart stopped and my brain went into overdrive (be cool, don’t stutter, act naturally, speak slowly, don’t fawn, you’re not 13).

I think I said something sophisticated and eloquent like, “Hi!” And then he started firing off questions faster than Lance Armstrong on the backside of a steep mountain pass.

Strombo: “How’s your day going?”
Me: “Pretty good so far.”
Strombo: “What are you working on?”
Me: “Kyoto.”
Strombo: “Saving the world one tailpipe at a time?”
Me: “Something like that. So how are you doing? How are you liking Vancouver?”
Strombo: “I’m exhausted! I did morning television today. I HATE morning television.”
Me: “Ha, ha.”
Strombo: “So, I’m calling to offer you tickets to the show.”
Me: “Oh, awesome! Thank you. So, uh, how do I go about getting the tickets? Should I pick them up somewhere, or, uh…?”
Strombo: “Just email me. Just tell me the day you want tickets for. Do you have my cell number?”
Me: “Um…no.”
Strombo: (gives me his cell number)
Me: “Thanks.”
Strombo: “Okay cool. I’ll see you at the show.”
Me: “Looking forward to it.”
Strombo: “Bye.”
Me: “Bye.”

I hung up the phone and squealed like a teenage girl. I invited my friend Annelle to the live broadcast and emailed George with the details. We’re going to the taping on Thursday because it’s the last show in Vancouver, which means there might be a wrap party I can wrangle an invitation to (pretty smart, eh?). Or maybe he’ll invite me to have a drink with him in his hotel room, er, I mean at the bar.

So I have two days to figure out what to wear. Heels or sneakers? Sexy or casual? I also need to come up with a good question so I can stand up and say something when George takes questions from the audience. Help!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

What if George has GOOGLED your name and come across this blog...

would you be embarrassed?

thestraightpoop said...

I should hope she wouldn't be embarassed!! I would think he HAS!

And Sarah, say no to the sneakers.

Anonymous said...

Sarah since the tickets were to be arranged via e-mail how come you received the cell phone number too?!?! Hmmm.... most interesting. :-) I look forward to hearing how the live and in person experience turns out. PSTC K

Wendy said...

I'm curious about the cell phone number thing too.

Are you holding out details on us, Sarah?

I don't get it. Why is George wrangling up people to be in the audience and giving away tickets? Shouldn't a producer be doing that?

And why the cell phone number?

Wendy said...

P.S: I don't mean to sound nosey.

I'm just curious.

As far as questions, if you're going to be there on the final day, why not ask if George, during his short visit, has noticed whether people in Vancouver seem to care about issues more, or differently, than people in Toronto (or something along those lines).

George seems to like to believe he's "plugged into the pulse" of the country. (At least the CBC likes to encourage us to think he is.)

I'm sure he'd love to share his observations.

Anonymous said...

nice work,

You could get something pierced. You could wear a shirt with a picture of a cat on it. You should think up a cool hip B plan so when he turns to you at the end of the show and goes "So Sarah, let's go somewhere and do something cool in this town" you have the perfect answer.

And get pictures!
-E

Anonymous said...

that's amazing! definitely go for heels...AND ask him out after the show/wrap party. i doubt he gives his cell number to just anyone, he wouldn't have given it to you if he didn't want you to have it...he gave you his cell number so use it! the romance can continue when you're in ontario next! ;)

Kathryn said...

Tres exciting, indeed! You are special --- I just got a call from one of the producers (yes, there is a faint tinge of green forming around me). See you Thursday!

p.s. remember the height issue when choosing footware

Anonymous said...

On Monday I had come across a posting on Craigslist.org for tickets for Tuesday's taping, & immediately thought of you. However, from your recent postings you've obviously done much, much better!

You go girl! Looking forward to your post-show blog.

Anonymous said...

good point about the height factor...maybe low heels would be better - although George does like a casual look..go for something you're comfortable in, I'm sure he'll love whatever you end up wearing ;)

Sarah Marchildon said...

You know, the whole cell phone thing was kind of strange. What am I supposed to do, just call him up and say "hey." Not really sure what that's all about. Though it could be work-related. I know he's a huge fan of David Suzuki. But it would make more sense to be in touch with a producer, not the host. Scratching my head on that one.

I'm leaning towards heels but I don't want to be too much taller than him if he's only 5'7" or whatever.

How would I feel if he googled me and found this blog? Well, I'm pretty sure he's seen this blog but that was before I started writing about him. I don't know. I'd feel fine about it. There's nothing I'm trying to hide. It would make me look a little dorky, but that's who I am :)

Sarah

Sarah Marchildon said...

Sorry, just thinking more about the whole thing with him calling me and giving me his cell phone. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it's strictly professional.

I've had contact with him back when he was on Much Music to get David on the show and stuff. So I'm sure it's just a personal touch to maintain friendly business relations.

Or maybe he just thinks I'm hot ;)

Sarah

Anonymous said...

I don't think it's just professional, he could have had a producer contact you. I'm thinking he obviously remembers you from his MM days and thinks your hot!! I'm not sure about that whole girlfriend thing...I guess there's only one way to find out.. Way to go...keep us posted on what happens (well, not the details after you invite him back to his hotel room! ;)

Anonymous said...

Whatever happens, have a great time.

If I was going to ask him a question, it would be, "What do you miss about Toronto when you're in Vancouver, and what do you miss about Vancouver when you're in Toronto?"

And when you ask it, George will look at you with his soulful, penetrating brown and and say to the second part, "I'll miss you, Sarah."

On TV. In front of an audience of millions.

Next thing you know, production of The Hour will be shifted to Van, and the rest, well ...

Anyways, I'm going to Kensington Market. I'll be having a coconut/banana cone from the organic ice cream guy there. Thanks again! :)

PS: Hopefully this didn't land twice

Sarah Marchildon said...

The guy has a girlfriend so I'm not going to read anything between the lines. And if there is something to be read between the lines, well, getting it on with a guy who has a girlfriend isn't really my scene.

George seems like a nice guy so I don't actually expect anything to come of my little crush (as much as I would like him to shift production to Vancouver forever).

Bill...enjoy that ice cream. Shall I send the cheque to CTV? Will $3.50 cover it?

Sarah :)

Anonymous said...

Here's a price break-down for ice cream in T.O.:

- A small soft ice cream cone from a sidewalk truck: $1.25

- A single-scoop cone from the sublime Big Chill: $2.75 (with a tiny chocolate Oreo cookie on top)

- A single-scoop coconut-banana in a waffle cone from Brad the organic ice cream guy in Kensington Market: $3.75

Whatever you figure is an appropriate reward for hitting the 1,000-post mark is OK by me. :)

(For those not following this, over on my blog, Sarah offered to treat me to an ice cream cone for achieving that milestone).

If your schedule is ever free at the same time mine is during some future visit to T.O. (at a time that is seasonally appropriate to ice cream consumption), we can rendezvous and you can buy me a cone then.

And if this matter isn't resolved before any future visit by myself to Van (which hasn't happened since 1999, so you're probably safe), you better have some ice cream spots marked out. I hold people to their commitments. :)

PS: As a winter/autumn alternative, a chocolate croissant would be seen as fair compensation

PPS: I wonder if it would be possible to set up a PayPal account with a favourite pub so that if someone liked your blog and wanted to buy you a pint, it would credit your account at the pub.

Sarah Marchildon said...

Ice cream option three sounds good to me! I'll probably have time for an ice cream (or 10) after the swim meet.

On a more pressing note: What the hell is Paul Martin doing on prime time TV tonight? Who does this guy think he is? The prime minister or something?

It's not like he's actually going to say anything. It's just going to be Liberal spin. And then Newsworld is letting the opposition leaders give their spin afterwards. Save it for question period.

If this screws up the taping of The Hour tonight, I'm really going to be pissed at the Liberals.

Sarah

Kathryn said...

Sarah -

I doubt that Maggie will be coming with me tonight, though she was looking forward to another tv appearance (she is a complete camera slut). However, it would be fun to say "hi!" --- is that weird??

Also, I had the same though re the PM's address tonight --- they had better not cut into "our" Hour!!!!! Though, on the other hand, if it does run long, then we will have time to kill just sitting in the studio waiting for the on air sign .....

Kathryn

Sarah Marchildon said...

Hi Kathryn,

It would be nice to meet you in person since I've been reading your blog and vice versa! Would be nice to put a face to the blog!

I'll be wearing jeans, and a slinky black top. I'm about 5'8", brown hair and I'll be with my friend Annelle who is cute and little and has curly blonde hair.

And they better not turn the show into "The Half Hour" or "The 10 minutes." Paul Martin is wrecking our life.

Sarah

Anonymous said...

Good call on your outfit - casual yet glamourous! Hopefully Paul won't get in the way...have fun tonight ;) Maybe George will stick around Vancouver over the weekend so you can show him your favourite hotspots!

Kathryn said...

Sarah -

Slinky black top, eh? Don't know what I will be wearing, but am 5'9, long brown hair and will be with my friend Karen, also a blond.

As for the PM PM, if he wrecks this I will be most annoyed and will seek retribution. In fact, the next time I am home I might just have to drop by his country digs and give him a piece of my mind or have my mum heckle him on the golf course (she already gives him a super bad time for his terrible wardrobe choices).

Maybe if it takes up the Hour's hour, they will feel really badly for us and take us out to make up for it ...

Kathryn

Sarah Marchildon said...

Looks like they moved the broadcast time of the PM's lame PR exercise back to 7 p.m. so we should be okay!

Sarah

Anonymous said...

"Ice cream option three sounds good to me! I'll probably have time for an ice cream (or 10) after the swim meet."

Cool! (no pun intended)

I usually have Thursdays and Fridays off and work Saturdays and Sundays, starting at 3:30 p.m.

When you have a solid idea of your T.O. itinerary, drop me an e-mail:
bill-dot-doskoch-at-sympatico-dot-ca.

Hopefully an election won't be triggered on May 19 and throw my life into turmoil. :)

thestraightpoop said...

Sarah, we're all waiting with bated breath for news of your date with destiny. Or at least, your night on set.

Do tell...ALL!