My Journey from Mrs. to Mom: Doctor's Appointment

I had an appointment with one of the more relevant doctor's of our time right now. How lucky am I??!

That's right I went to visit Doctor Oz! Not as a patient (sigh of relief), or as an audience member, but as a participant!!

How it all started

On April 24, 2012 I received a call from an assistant producer (let's call her Cara) at the show. She left a voice message stating she's contacting me from a post I did on the website (huh?) and she had an opportunity for me to be on the show! She also stated that it was time sensitive and it would be imperative that I called her back ASAP because the show would tape Wednesday May 2. I have absolutely no recollection of posting anything on the website but I wouldn't put it past me. I am a fan of the Dr. Oz and I have been recording the shows since it's inception on September 14, 2010. Yes, I know the first air date because it's my birthday :)

So back to the message. Guess when I actually checked my voice messages? On Thursday May 3th.

Crud. I am notoriously bad for checking my voice messages. It used to be because you have to go through a lot to check. You have to call your mailbox, enter a password, listen to her tell you how many messages you had, etc. It was a little time consuming and cumbersome for a world of instant gratification. Now that I have an iPhone all of that has been eliminated but old habits die hard.

Despite the missed call, lack of voice message checking, and passed deadlines- I called Cara back. I really just wanted to know what the heck I had posted and what the show was about. If she jogged my memory I would keep a look out for the show and watch because I clearly wanted to know more about this subject. Well, whaddayaknow... I had to leave a message because she didn't answer.

The phone call

A few hours after I left Cara the voice message I got a phone call from an unknown number. Because it had a 212 area code I assumed it was her and boy was I surprised to hear her voice on the other end! I was driving home at the time and although I have bluetooth in my car I still pulled over because I was talking to an assistant producer from the Doctor Oz show... com' on.. wouldn't you?!

Okay so she said although I never called her back there was another episode coming up that I met the credentials for. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! So we discussed the details and she invited me to be on! For real! real live TV!! She also said that I should and could bring a friend because it's always better with a friend! Lastly, I had to email her a picture and she would give that along with all my info to the producer and if she 'liked' me she would call me Monday. In hindsight that sounds really weird but whatevs. I immediately called my hubby but he was working (I hope to post more on the event in the future) and didn't answer so I called my mom. She happened to be in the same room as my dad and brother (perfect) and s I shared the good news with them. They were all with me when I actually listed to the voice message so they were super excited that I called her back and then she called me back, lol!

Finding a friend

After I told them the good news and I pulled up in front of my house (I can talk and drive to them) I spent a good 2 hours trying to 'find a friend'. It's amazing how many people are excited but scared. But I knew I couldn't pass up on this opportunity so I kept searching.

I texted and tweeted everyone I knew.

Cara was very limiting (age, personality, etc) in the people I could choose and those that fit the bill were too scared or couldn't clear their schedules. Finally I texted my co-worker. While I try to keep my personal and professional life VERY separate she has succeeded in breaking that barrier. She has been an awesome friend since my first day of work so I would be happy to share this experience with her. She actually thought I was playing a prank on her and demanded that Cara tell her the truth. After some laughs she was signed up to be on too!

I also tried unsuccessfully to get my mom on. Cara suddenly dropped off the face of the earth and stopped returning phone calls and emails. Seriously?!

The Process

All day Monday my co-worker, my mom, and I (we'll call her Daisy) were on pins and needles. Although Cara didn't get back to my mom over the weekend I was hoping on Monday we would strike gold. My mom even took the day off- just in case. Daisy was the one who got the call for the producer with instructions. They were sending us a car service to make sure we got there and we also had clothing instructions. On Tuesday the producer called me with more instructions (my lines.. yes I had lines!!!) and when I asked about my mom she broke the bad news that Cara has been out sick and didn't pass along the info regarding my mom. Crud. No wonder she dropped off the face of the earth. It would have been wonderful to have her there as well. This was really nerve wracking. It seems as though everything was happening haphazardly. Daisy got some instructions, I got some instructions (my mom didn't get any) and I guess they were assuming we would communicate the fill in the blanks to each other. I was nervous... what if none of this actually panned out.

Getting there

I woke up at about 5:30 Wednesday morning. There is only two other things that I can think of right now that would get me out of bed at such an unworldly hour- an airplane flight to vacation and my son. Now Dr. Oz is a part of that elite group. The car was picking Daisy and I up at 6:45 from a location about 20 minutes away with traffic. At 6:29 I got a text stating the car service was 'on location'. WHAT?! And then Daisy called me asking me where I was. Really people? I have 16 more minutes before I need to be rushed. I got there at 6:44 and we were on our way!

The car ride over was pretty uneventful. I was tired as all get out and there was traffic going into the city. I really just wanted to take a nap in the car but a) I wouldn't be able to monitor where this guy was taking me and b) Daisy wanted to talk. I will admit I was barely listening as I was in this sleep deprived stupor and the driver's cell phone and the most obnoxious text alert. It was the sound of a blaring fire horn and every time it went it he kind of looked around confused for a second. Who the heck does that?? After more traffic, more conversation, and no more sleep we finally were in Manhattan. Towards the end of our ride the driver confessed that the phone stays with the car so someone must've set it up to ring like that and it was aggravating him. Poor guy.

We arrived in front of NBC studios and I immediately woke up. This was really happening. We were met at the car door by a guy. I forget his name. He was nice though. Let's called him John. All those obnoxious phone calls and text messages were from John. He needed to know when we going to pull up in front of the building. John held up an umbrella for us as we exited the car. Daisy had bought a wardrobe with her so he helped her while she unloaded it from the trunk. John escorted us inside where we met Stephanie. I guess that's her name- I really don't remember. Stephanie took us to security and checked us in the took us to the elevator. I remember thinking 'wow! this is a really nice elevator'. Then the doors opened and there it was. A pile of stuff tagged with 'Dr.Oz show'. How dare they leave their deliveries in the middle of the floor. Whatever- I'm about to become a star. At least that's what I'm saying in my head.