Believe It, Be It

You know when you meet celebrities, you always hope that they are as cool as you've made them out to be in your head?

Well, Ali Vincent was even cooler and nicer then I imagined she would ever be! How did I meet her, you might be asking yourself, well let me start at the beginning...

To tell you the truth, I did not watch Biggest Loser until Season 5 when I totally fell in love with Ali and Brittany.* They were cute and fun and nice and committed and let's face it, they passed my ultimate celebrity test: I could see myself hanging out with them on a Saturday night talking about things you only talk about with your best friends.

So, since they were my new best friends, I was dedicated to watching their show and cheering for them on the sidelines. When Brittany was voted off, I continued my rally for Ali. I mean it was definitely destiny that brought her back to the show and eventually what helped her become the FIRST FEMALE BIGGEST LOSER!!! (Destiny and a massive amount of dedication and strength --- I mean, she was JACKED at the end of the show).

Imagine my surprise when I found out that we had published her new book Believe It, Be It! I was so excited. When I started my new job, it was the first book I set out to read "to familiarize myself with our merchandise" (more like I totally freaked out and neeeeded to read her book. helloooo, she is my best friend).

Anyway, enough of my being a superfan. Believe It, Be It is unlike any memoir I've read. Her voice was threaded throughout the whole thing. She was open and honest about everything. She did not hold back on admitting her faults or her insecurities. She is strong and truly inspirational for any woman. Even though it was a book about her journey on Biggest Loser, I wouldn't categorize it as a weigh loss book. You can draw inspiration from her for anything you are striving to achieve. Ali has an uncanny ability to put her mind to anything and come out at the top. And that is what I took from her story; the strength to accomplish any goal. When you want something bad enough, you will get it.

Genuine.

Ali is genuine when it comes to the stories in her book and she is genuine in real life. There was no "I'm a celebrity, so back up" air to her when I read the book or when I met her, on our way to her first book signing.

Honestly, she was exactly how I thought she would be, just better. Of course I had to keep my fan-ness in check before I met her, because let's face it, I pride myself in being a calm and collected New Yorker who acts like seeing a celebrity is "the norm" (please see NYC Prep Episode where they go to the fashion show and the public school girl freaks out because they see Amanda Bynes, you'll see what I mean). But it wasn't that hard because, she was so down to earth. It felt like I was sitting at home, talking to one of my sisters, that's how un-pretentious she is.

Example: As we pull up to B&N, she gets this huge grin on her face and says:

"This is my first signing! I am so excited. I am getting that same exciting
feeling I got when I first won Biggest Loser."

So I offer to take her picture with the sign announcing her book signing.

And you know when you go see your friend in a concert or in a show and you take a million pictures so that she will remember that very special moment in her life. Well, I was that friend for Ali. Picture of her signing her first book, picture of her talking to the awesome fans that came out for the signing, picture of her sitting at the signing desk, picture of her walking around, picture of her first microphone malfunction at her first signing.....need I go on? And I loved every minute of it.

The only picture I didn't get was one with her at her first signing, because I am an idiot and totally forgot my camera. When I asked her if she would mind taking a picture with me in the office the next day, she looked at me:

Ali: "We didn't get a picture last night?"
Me: "No, I forgot my camera"
Ali: "Why didn't you just use my camera! Come on!"
Me: (Stunned into silence, because how COOL IS SHE?) "Because I'm stupid"

Believe It, Be It.

"Have I gone too far?" - KG

I kind of have a major girl crush on Kathy Griffin. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that she says whatever she wants and doesn't really give a s**t about what other people think.

And, yes some may say that she takes it too far, but for some reason when Kathy says "Suck It Jesus!", I laugh and when Kanye West says something equally offensive it is just not on the same level. Where I want to punch Kanye in the face, I just want to ask Kathy over for brunch and mimosas on Sunday so we can laugh about it all day.

With that being said, when I saw that Kathy was going to be signing copies of her new book at the B&N a few blocks away from my job, I thought,

"YES! THIS IS MY CHANCE!"*

I mentally prepared myself for the adventure ahead of me. Took my regular 7:04 a.m. train from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station and prayed that I would get to the B&N before 9 a.m. and before all the krazy Kathy fans got there and bought up all the books and all the wristbands...

Oh, what wristbands, you ask? Good question.

You couldn't just buy a book at any B&N and just walk in expecting to see Kathy in all her glory. You had to go to the B&N on Warren St in Tribeca, buy the book and then get a purple wristband that guaranteed you a seat! And there were only about 150 seats!

Anyway, I rushed from Penn Sta. to get to Tribeca before 9, and I got there just in time. There was a long line of ..... 10! 10 people? Wait a second? Why aren't there more people?

"Excuse me Miss, the signing is today right?....Oh, it is?...Good.....Where are all the people?"

But, HEY, I'm not complaining I got two books, two wristbands! Then left work early (at an embarrassing 4 p.m.) to get in the line, so I would get a great seat, and thank God I got there when I did or else I wouldn't have gotten a seat.....in the front row because there were only about 12 people waiting in line. It got busier as the night wore on, and once it hit 7PM, it was a mad house. But I got a front row seat!

She did not disappoint with hilarious anecdotes about her day. She was wearing a really fantastic outfit, too. Navy blue, silk dress and high silver pumps, very classy.

One problem: When I meet celebrities, I try so hard to be "cool", but I end up blurting out something ridiculous and then wanting to shoot myself.

Example: "Kathy, you look great today, really great! I love your dress and your shoes, and your......face!" Really? Her face? Am I hitting on her? I hang my head in shame.

But you all can suck it because I have a signed copy of her book and you don't and she now knows that I love her face. So that's more than any of you can say!

PS. The book was great. It was funny, emotional, enlightening and something completely different than any of her stand-up and even her TV show. She definitely shows you a side of herself that you are not normally privy to. BUY IT!