Monday night I made my first red carpet appearance since my accident. It was an Emmy nominee reception hosted by the people who actually vote for who wins the Emmys.
I’m going to be honest. Monday was a rough day, recovery-wise. I almost didn’t go but went for a few reasons. First, it’s a fantastic opportunity to schmooze with the people who will potentially vote for me to win the award. Second, I saw it as an opportunity to prepare for a night of filming, which would be the next night, in terms of staying awake past 7 p.m., which I had yet to do since the accident. And finally, I had an awesome Tadashi Shoji dress already picked out and we all know you can’t disappoint your stylist.
The evening was a tremendous success, both professionally and personally. Here are my highlights.
1. Getting dressed. It normally takes me one hour flat to get ready. Monday night, I left myself two hours since things I took for granted, such as putting on my own SPANX, takes a longer time when someone else is doing it, especially when the SPANXer and the SPANXee are giggling hysterically. We got me out the door lookin’ pretty sharp and all I could think was: we put Humpty Dumpty back together.
2. Getting there. My BFF happens to be in town from Atlanta and she stole away from her two kids to join me. She, my publicist, and I arrived at the Sheraton Universal just in time for valet to fill up. The upside to this was after the event, no one expected me to walk to the self-park garage so I wasn’t stopped to take too many pictures and, thus, got to go home and go to bed.
With Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and other Emmy nominated stars!
3. Practice makes perfect. I survived the red carpet only because I rehearsed at home how to pose with my mangled hand. I felt comfortable and fielded questions about the injury with a sense of humor and a sense of privacy. That felt good.
4. Fame. I don’t watch television but you don’t need to watch television to know there were a lot of famous people there. I got to pose with all my fellow nominees, including having somewhat of a girlfest with two comedians I so admire, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. Many of the other actors expressed concern about my injury and the overwhelming thought running through my head was, “What am I doing here? These people are so famous.” I felt like Forrest Gump, transported into a life that included posing with some very famous people.
5. Lily Tomlin came up to me. It couldn’t have been more perfect, had it been scripted. She was so kind and complimentary but then she almost squeezed my hand in delight and I had to tell Lily Tomlin, “That’s enough.” She took it well. I think we’re still friends.
This event marks the end of Emmy voting season and the beginning of Emmy waiting season, also known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder with insomnia, eating too little, and also eating too much.
Let the games begin!
For more celebrity-studded excitement, check out Mayim’s recap of last year’s Emmys, the time Chelsea Handler mistook Mayim for a lesbian, and the scoop on the Golden Globes after party.
