Name Dropping

Name dropping is not cool here in Los Angeles.* There is a whole code of conduct in place regarding the celebrity sighting and the way to handle one. I am not privy to this code of conduct, nor am I interested in becoming acquainted with it. I drop names to as many people as possible immediately upon spotting a celebrity in public.

And today, names have been falling like rain.

It was around noon when my student heard a familiar voice coming from the hallway outside the office. Being unhip, I did not recognize the voice. But my student was sure. "That's Flavor Flav." He and I suddenly needed to get a textbook from my car. Upon entering the hallway, I saw a small, unattractive man wearing a large clock. Indeed, it was none other than Flavor Flav.

The VH1 show "Best Week Ever" is filmed across the hall from my office, so random B-/C+ list celebrities are in and out of there daily. Which explains the presence of Flavor Flav during my explanation of polar coordinates.

It also explains another familiar voice I heard outside the office a few hours later in the afternoon. This one I knew immediately. It was Edgar from "24". For those who don't watch 24, Edgar is a fat, hideous, extremely likeable character on the show. He's been a prime character on 24 for over a year, so it was shocking and gut-wrenching when he died on Monday's episode. My roommate and I sat in stunned silence following the episode, and the next day we both agreed that we were still shaken up from the incident.

So naturally, I was terribly happy to see Edgar, the troll that he is, standing out in the hallway as they prepared the studio for his segment. And I told him just that. "I'm terribly happy to see you." At this, he chuckled, as only Edgar can, and explained that a lot of people had been happy to see him over the past two days.

Flavor Flav and Edgar. Just another day at the office.


*Other things that are not cool here:
-baseball
-polo shirts, khaki pants, sweaters, or shorts
-a Harvard diploma
-black, 1996 Honda Accords with Massachusetts plates
-NVIP
-employment

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you are mistaking cool for impressive. Maybe they are just not impressed with the Harvard diploma. Usually the only people impressed with ivy league diplomas are those who have received them. Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

i think the people who are not impressed with the harvard diploma are actually those who HAVE received them, as in.. people in LA don't value intelligence as much as they value looks. and i'm drunk right now so i apologize if i'm being a bitch

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why Eve is up so late on a school day.

Anonymous said...

The drunk bitch is right. LA is the only city in the country where people care more about what car you drive than where you went to school.

Anonymous said...

Where you went to school is simply becoming another status symbol. People flaunt Harvard as they would a BMW, or a state school... well choose your car. Grow up. Why should anybody care where you went to school?

Anonymous said...

i didn't go to harvard, but my impression is that harvard grads if anything are embarrassed to say they went to harvard. when have you actually heard a harvard grad flaunt it in public, other than in the movies?

but then again, i breast fed until i was six, so maybe my opinion should be ignored.