I'm In LA Trick

Any Other Day - Hilary Duff

On a day like any other day, sky so blue it could take your breath away. ‘Cause I remember where I was when I heard the news, I remember where I was when I heard the news, I remember where I was….sky so blue like, any other day.

That’s how the most recent song, probably last in a while, by Hilary Duff goes. That is also the perfect song to describe my series of extremely fortunate events last week. It started off with me making a music video to this song for a promotional contest for Hilary Duff’s latest film, What Goes Up, and ended up with me winning a trip to L.A to attend the premiere of the movie with the cast and crew!

It all started out when I heard there was a promotional contest created by the team of Hilary Duff’s film “What Goes Up”. The contest was to find the most dedicated fan of Hilary’s by asking fans to make something that involves the film and also proves how you are a fan. The winner would get a signed prize pack of the soundtrack and poster of the film. I jumped on this opportunity by making a video to the single ‘Any Other Day’ that was released from the movie. While shooting and working on the film, I came across another contest for the film. This contest had the most amazing prize of all time; an all expense paid trip for 2 to attend the premiere of the movie in L.A. For this contest the rules were to write a 100 word piece on why you are a fan of Hilary’s (or any other cast member of the film). I worked for days on my entry and had it ready just before the deadline. This was my submission as featured on the What Goes Up official movie blog (http://whatgoesupmovie.blogspot.com/):

Hilary Duff is more than a celebrity; she’s a role model who has helped me get through the deepest struggles in life. In 2007, I went to give my grandma breakfast when I heard her take her last breath. Having no one to lean on, Duff's self titled album became my companion through this struggle. Attending this premiere will not only give me the opportunity to thank my role model for greatly influencing my life, but will allow me to see a movie that emphasizes how one event that occurs on a day like “any other” can change life forever.

On May 21st I received an email from the What Goes Up insider team stating that I was one of the 10 winners of the contest and if I could give them my number so the executive producers of the film could call me personally. Upon receipt of this e-mail I was ecstatic. I wasn’t 100% sure that I won, but the part about the calling me personally gave me high hopes! I replied to the e-mail and soon after I got a call from the executive producers. “I remember where I was when I heard the news” was a line that could best describe that moment. I was in the grocery store across my apartment, Independent, when I got the call. The two producers, James Hoke and Anthony Miranda were both on the line personally congratulating me and telling me I won the trip for two to L.A! They told me how the entry was amazing and that I understood the concept of the film and that they couldn’t wait to see me. I was so thrilled! I made the first phone call to my best friend who I had promised to take if I won, and she did the same! I told her about the win and she was just as excited! Within a few days all the travel arrangements were set, my passport was ready, and my friend had made it to Ottawa so we could fly out together! The trip lasted three days, so I will include my experiences on a day by day retelling below.

Day 1: Wednesday May 27th, 2009

Wednesday was an early start as our plane departed Ottawa at 6:00 AM. It was a flight with a stop-by in Detroit from where my friend and I caught a connection flight. After a few hours, we arrived in Los Angeles at 11:27 am. In Ottawa time, that would be 1:27. It was funny to see how my cell phone clock changed when I was in Los Angeles.

Getting off the plane at LAX was an experience of its own. It was the airport that was always talked about; where all the celebrities flew out of. Outside, there was a driver waiting in a car that had a sign with my name on it. We already started feeling the celebrity treatment. The ride to the hotel was very fun. It was cool to see different parts of the city that was so different from anywhere I’ve been. There were palms trees nearly everywhere and movie billboards in every direction you turned. It definitely felt like the city of celebrities. In about 15 minutes we arrived at our hotel, the Four Seasons.

The hotel was beautiful. I had never stayed in a hotel as marvellous as that before. At the hotel we met up with the PR person for the movie who welcomed us and told us about the $200.00 credit we had on our room. She helped us get checked in and gave us her number to contact if we needed anything. We were in our room shortly after and unpacked and admired the stunning view. We could clearly see the infamous Hollywood Hills and many other cool landmarks! The rest of the day was spent relaxing in our room and exploring our hotel. We also had lunch in the lounge. I had ordered a chicken dish, while my friend ordered pasta.

Later that evening we got a call from the producers of the film welcoming us and ensuring we were having a good stay so far. They invited us down for a meet and greet but because my friend was asleep and I was extremely tired, we decided we would see each other at the premiere the next day. It was definitely the cherry on top of a great day to hear from them!

Day 2: Thursday May 28th, 2009

Thursday was a very long day. It started off early morning when my friend and I ordered “brunch”. It wasn’t quit breakfast, it wasn’t quite lunch. We watched a little TV while I texted a friend of mine who was in Los Angeles for a few days as well. We arranged a time to meet up and soon after I was out the door.

Because I wasn’t really familiar with the bus system of the city I decided to go strolling in the city. I was a typical tourist looking at every angle taking pictures. The city itself was amazing. The houses were all so unique and different than the ones back home, and as mentioned before there were palm trees everywhere! Designer stores, high class restaurants…everything you could imagine was in that city. I met my friend and we went to Starbucks where I got the most delicious Watermelon juice. It was freshly pressed and not from concentrate and was just amazing. I still crave it to date. After some more touring of the city with my friend I made my way back to the hotel to get ready for the premiere of the film.

I went back to the hotel and got ready for the premiere. I had bought a new shirt just for the event and made sure I looked my finest. We soon got a call from the producers to go down to meet our driver. This is where we met up with James Hoke the producer of the film, and his wife. We rode in the same car as them and felt so VIP. In the car we were able to have a discussion with James and he allowed us to ask him questions. He was so down to earth and he really put his heart and soul into the project. He was so dedicated to the film it was unbelievable.

After we arrived at the venue for the premiere, Pacific Design Centre, James and his wife introduced us to other crew members. We met up with Anthony Miranda, another executive producer and also the producer of the film’s soundtrack. He told me it was a pleasure to finally meet me and that he loved my essay. I met his wife, and was then escorted with them to the hall of the movie theatre. There, we met up with the PR person again as well as other cast and crew members. Unfortunately, Hilary Duff was unable to attend the premiere but they told me that she did read the entry. That enough meant so much to me. We took some pictures behind the poster of the film as well as did some interviews with the press/paparazzi. It was surreal. They asked me what it was like winning the contest and what I was most excited about. It was amazing. I felt like a celebrity.

We went into the theatre and were placed in our VIP seats. There we also met with Richard and his wife. He was part of the What Goes Up Insider team and we had exchanged many emails. He was also the one that brought me the news of winning the contest before I got the call from the producers. It was great to finally meet him. When everyone was seated, Jonathan Glatzer, the writer of the film was invited up to make a speech about the film. However, before that took place another surprise came my way. The master of ceremonies had made a short speech about the contest and told everyone at the premiere about my essay and invited me to stand up while I got an ovation. It was a really emotional moment for me and I couldn’t be thankful enough for everything that had happened to me that week. Jonathan Glatzer gave his speech and the film began. Though a little bit slow at the beginning, the film picked up and was beyond amazing and definitely sparked more emotion in me. It was one of the best films I had seen in a while and I loved it! A review will be posted on this blog shortly.

After the film premiere we went back to the movie hall where I congratulated every crew member on such an outstanding and brilliant film. I did a follow up interview with the same people who asked my opinion on the film and my favourite scene and to do a shout out for the film. It was so cool! A lady also came up to me and congratulated me on the win and also made a few flirtatious comments. Because she was nearly my mother’s age, I reckon she was a little bit tipsy.

We waited for James Hoke and his wife once again, and once they had finished speaking to everybody we went with them to the after party of the film at a club called Eleven. On our way there, James was beyond happy that we had enjoyed the film and told us that the fact that we liked it means much more than what any critic would say about the film. We soon reached Eleven, a really hot club for which the upper level was reserved to the What Goes Up team. We got VIP wristbands and had an amazing time. We took pictures with the crew members and mingled and danced. At about 12:00 am our reservation was up and the general public was allowed in. This is when we realized it was a gay Middle Eastern club. We saw some really interesting things, and the music was awesome. Shortly after, we made our way out of the club.

It was a day of amazing. It was an amazing morning, amazing after noon, amazing movie, amazing after party, and amazing night. I was so glad that I had won the contest and I was given this opportunity.

Day 3: Friday May 29th, 2009

The night wasn’t over yet. Just as we thought we were being escorted home in the car, we were told that we were going to another club called Bar Deux. Could it get any better? This club was located at Hollywood & Vine, another infamous location that is also mentioned in Hilary Duff’s song “Wake Up”. The club was right at the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was one of the most exclusive clubs in town!

At first we were almost denied entrance because we were underage (in Canada the age is 19, while in the US it is 21). The PR person that had been so good to us the whole trip was able to pull some strings and get us in. The club itself was really hot inside and had many different rooms. We were sitting in a lounge with the producers of the film and also danced some more on the dance floor. The music was less top 40 and more 90s and even some 80s music. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun. I danced with the PR girl as well as with the producers of the film and my friend. Soon we had to vacate the lounge we were sitting in for one reason and one reason only. PRINCE had a reservation in the lounge we were sitting in! I had to move where I was sitting, because Prince wanted to sit there! That’s how exclusive the club was! It was so exhilarating. Everyone was having a blast! Soon during Madonna’s Into The Groove, James Hoke took off his suit’s jacket and put it on me to wear. I felt so special and so thrilled. It was symbolism of an event that happened in the movie where one of the main characters of the movie gave another character his jacket because he felt he was deserving of it. It was like a re-enactment of that scene and I truly felt so humbled and so special. It was then that James had asked what I wanted to do in life. I told him I was undecided between Medicine and Film and he told me that I had a friend if I went into medicine, and if I went into Film, I had not only a friend, but also a contact. He had really reached out to me and it was just amazing. I learned a lot about him and I really felt so honoured that night. My trip could not have got any better!

Soon after we left the club and were faced with a little bit of paparazzi who were trying to get a snapshot of Prince. The producers and directors were going to have an after party of the after party’s after party at one of the crew member’s house however; my friend and I thought it would be best if we went back to the hotel since we had a flight in the morning. We went home with Anthony Miranda and his wife and he recounted how my essay was really personal to him as he had gone through something similar. He told us about the film and more about the production of the soundtrack. We got back to the hotel, and they gave us their best regards and that it was a pleasure meeting us and hoped that we had a great experience. We then went back to our room, discussed the film and our most memorable moments, packed our bags and crashed.

We got up a few short hours later and met our driver downstairs who took us to LAX. It was the same driver that drove us to hotel when we first got there. We got checked in at the airport and were soon on our way back to Ottawa. Like before, we had a stop by in Detroit before reaching our final destination; home!

The trip had come to an end. Summer hadn’t even started and I felt like it was the best part of my summer. I was extremely thankful to everyone apart of the What Goes Up team for giving me such an extravagant experience. It was an unforgettable trip, a great movie, and a one of a kind experience to say the least! It was a day like any other when I heard the news, I still remember where I was when I heard it.

The Ping Pong Blog

Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song) – Enrique Iglesias

Do you know what it feels like loving someone that’s in a rush to throw you away? That’s how that 2007 hit song by Enrique goes. On April 30th, a day I thought would be filled with happiness and excitement turned out to be a day where I was able to relate and understand how Enrique felt when writing the song.

It was my last day of exams for semester two of my first year in University. It was also the day where I’d be flying back to Toronto with a special friend of mine. Despite some tension between my dad and I at the time, everything was great and I was looking forward to finally finishing exams and going home for a weekend.

The day was going just perfectly till I received a text from my friend saying “We Need To Talk At The Airport”. I had knots in my stomach and I knew the outcome of this wouldn’t be good. I asked why and the description she gave me itself foreshadowed events to come. I suddenly did not want to go to the airport; I wanted to stay outside of my building where I got my text and pretend like nothing happened. Of course I couldn’t do that, and I biked to the mall from where I took my first bus before I had to get off and take a transfer. On the transfer I saw her standing with her luggage at the front of the bus. Acting like everything was perfect, she was all smiles and asking about my day and chatting like no tomorrow. I felt like nothing was wrong at all.

Shortly, we arrived at the airport, checked in, got through security check and sat down to wait for our flight; a flight that wouldn’t board for another hour. This is when the “talk” began. Before getting into those details, I’ll tell you a little about our relationship. The two of us were “seeing each other” for the last little bit and though it wasn’t official, we knew how we felt for each other and were extremely close. Whether it was a movie every week or just random hangouts, we definitely had a really nice “thing” going on. It was definitely a unique relationship.

We sat down and after much lollygagging, I asked what was up. She responded by saying she was hoping I wouldn’t bring it up and then finally got into it. She mentioned that over the last week or so she started talking to one of her friends from her high school over Facebook and they got really close. She went on to say that although they aren’t anything yet, she is going to visit him when she goes back and is going on a few dates with him. It wasn’t going to be anything official she said, just trying out something new. She paused. The pain I was feeling inside was immense, but I didn’t show it; I kept a straight face and let her continue. She then said that she feels really bad about it all, and knows that the two of us have something really special but she also needs the opportunity to go see other people since she just got out of a horrible relationship (before we started seeing each other). She paused. She asked what I thought. I was silent. I then asked,

“What about us?”

She gave a depressed smile and said she was hoping I wouldn’t ask that. She continued and talked about how we had something really special and that I was her “Khizer” on and on and how we have a great friendship. She then said that she would hope that maybe I wait for her (aka letting her see others then when she’s done, we settle) but that would be selfish. She then went to mention that she imagined what it would be like if we were married and that she liked what she saw. She said that she wouldn’t care if I saw others as well, though it would make her very jealous.

“Now you know how I feel,” I remarked. “It hurts, but I appreciate you telling me,” I went on to say.

She was now teary eyed. Our conversation continued and she went onto explain herself and finally ended with, “We’ll always have something special and if nothing else, at least there is always a great friendship.” By this point I didn’t need anymore explanations. It was done. I learned my lesson. I thought of Keri Hilson’s song “Knock You Down” featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo:

I never thought this would happen to me…Sometimes love comes around, and it knocks you down, just get back up when it knocks you down.

I felt some tears coming down, but swallowed and ended off with a smile. Silent, I checked the time and saw that there was still about an hour before boarding.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” I asked out of curiosity.

“It was sudden and I didn’t want you to not fly back with me anymore,” she replied.

I forced a nervous laugh. Shortly, the air hostess announced that there was a delay in our flight because of extreme weather conditions in Toronto. Great, just what I needed to make the situation even more awkward and uncomfortable.

After a while of silence, it seemed she got over it very fast as she suggested taking pictures, and took one of me immediately after telling me the news. Another forced laughter. I tried not to show much emotion and acted like nothing happened. On her end, it definitely felt like she was now over it and life would go on. Although it hurt, I did the same. At one point on the plane as she was playing some jokes on me she ironically said, “I love playing with you Khizer” to which I instantly replied “Yeah, you really do.” The night continued and it slowly became more silent with a few forced laughs thrown in.

After a long night, I finally got home. A home that I was expecting to be my shelter, there was still tension with my dad. This did not help my situation and I didn’t need any more conflict so I quickly ate and went to bed.

The next day I went to my Ancaster (what I feel is home to me) and met up with two of my best friends and vented my situation. I was glad they were there to listen and understand. A couple days went by and I was getting better with it. I decided to lurk Facebook and saw pictures of me taken from that dreaded night on her Facebook. Another thing I noticed: She was in a relationship. Yeah she did mention to me she was going to go out with the other guy on a few dates, but she also told me she wasn’t going to go into another relationship soon. Shocked at this I sent a text asking if she was planning on telling me she had a boyfriend or if I had to find out through Facebook. She replied with an excuse saying she was going to but her dad and her got in a fight when she was going to and she forgot.

The excuse itself was pretty lame, but it was also the fact that she told me something different at the airport and it turned into something different a few days later; three to be exact. After that, I was done. The little effort I was considering of making to make everything work out drained out of my system. I’m not really the type of person who cuts people out of their life forever, but this incident did push my buttons after all I put into the relationship. I haven’t spoken to her since and have made no contact as of late. Whether it will stay that way or if we may become ‘friends’ or just casual talking when in a group setting (we have a few mutual friends) is beyond me right now.

What I can say for sure is yes Enrique; I do know what it feels like loving someone that’s in a rush to throw you away.