Sleepless in Seattle While Driving the Stars- Part II

I was either crazy or had amnesia when I agreed to return to Seattle to be the transportation coordinator for Richard Karn’s Star Days for the second year in a row. 

This time, Cindy actually came along so we could work as a team.  She even brought one more person, Christina, a former co-worker, who was also in the biz and had a lot of coordinating experience.

Cindy, Richard Karn & Christina

Even with the three of us, it was a lot of work; but it was great to have back-up to share the responsibility and actually enjoy the different perks of the event. 

At a volunteer event, Cindy made the mistake of letting one guy know that she worked in the entertainment industry.  He was a legally blind young man who was extremely ambitious.  His idea of networking was pseudo-stalking in my opinion and poor Cindy couldn’t shake this guy.

The best was when he told her that he was a “blind photographer,” and was winning contents for his photography.  Mind you, he was legally blind.  He was not a volunteer driver (Thank God), but he did some other unpaid work for the event. Trust me when I say photography was not his forte.  He talked Cindy into allowing him to take our photo and it might just be the worst picture of me that I have ever seen.

But even though there were three of us, we were still sleep deprived.

We actually broke the jobs up into shifts.  One person would stay late until each minivan had been returned, but would get to sleep in the next morning; while the other two coordinated the transportation in the morning.

One night, I was on the late shift and, when I returned to our room, I noticed that there was a person sleeping in my bed.  I looked around and saw the sleeping forms of both my roommates in their own beds.

It was between 2 and 3am, so I was trying very hard to be quiet.  I was wracking my brain, but could not even guess who would have been in my bed.

I locked myself into the bathroom and changed into my pajamas; all the while I was freaking out, “Who was in my bed? 

Tracy, Zachery Ty Brian & Cindy

Then I thought I heard a sound out in the room.  On such little sleep, I started to get paranoid.  Was it some maniac who snuck into the room undetected?  I was at a loss.

I tip toed back out to my bed and said, “Excuse me.”  The sleeping shape did not move.  This time, I put my hand out to gently shake the person’s shoulder when I realized it was just pillows.

Both Cindy and Christina couldn’t contain themselves anymore and started cracking up.  I was annoyed for one second, but also relieved to know it wasn’t a real person.

We literally were giddy with sleep deprivation.  I did feel like I was buzzed part of the time but luckily not one morning when this “total B list” Comedian needed a lift to the golf course.

We didn’t have one available driver and this guy had overslept, so he was trying to make it for his T-time.  Being my second year and never having left the hotel, I volunteered to drive the guy.

Big mistake: I got so lost and ended up making the guys even later.  He totally blew up at me and called me stupid or something.  I was so pissed; I told him that I was a highly intelligent human being even if he didn’t think so at the time. 

Finally, after getting some directions, I got him to the golf course even though he was an hour later.  It serves him right for oversleeping.

The clincher happened on one of the last nights.  One of the other gals had come back to the room after closing up shop.  We were getting ready for bed and chatting; trying to wind down after the long day.

Suddenly, we heard a loud crash and then a car alarm.  As we looked out the window, we were just in time to watch the red taillights of one of our mini vans disappear down a dark street.

We all just looked at each other and started cracking up.

The second year was still extremely difficult but, I can honestly say, it was oodles of fun to do it with Cindy and Christina.  It seriously brought us closer because we had to eat, sleep and live with each other 24/7.

The responsibility was divided three ways and that took away most of the pressure for me.

At the end, the three of us were able to attend the red carpet event again.  We had a blast mingling and dancing with some of Hollywood’s hottest stars at the time, but I think we were the brightest ones in the bunch.