Come along and ride on a fantastic voyage...

Growing up in Christopher did not offer me a lot of opportunities to run into celebrities. I think the closest I came was Lou Henson (former Illini basketball coach) when he was at our high school, recruiting the one and only TJ Wheeler. I was eight years old. I got his autograph.

I still don’t have a long list of celebrity-sightings or -meetings, but I’ve upped the ante a little bit since the days when Papa Cook coached the Bearcats to countless victories. I thought I’d share my photo of Coolio and me because it’s pure ridiculousness. And I want to make you laugh. You deserve it.

On a relatively recent trip to NYC, Britt, Nikki, Vanessa, and I managed to see everyone who’s ever worked for MTV. (A show of hands…how many of you have met John Norris? I think it might be everyone reading this blog. That man’s like horse shit...he’s everywhere). We also went up to a poor soul at Pastis and interrupted his dinner…just to ask him if he was the former child star who played “Chip” on Kate & Allie. I know, it’s sad. I saw Rosario Dawson somewhere in SoHo, and I pinched Britt so hard she yelped in pain. But then she realized who it was, and that justified the abuse.

My friend Kara’s boyfriend is a struggling actor in LA (he was Joaquin Phoenix’s stand-in in Walk the Line), working at some boutique. He had to stop talking about his job with Kara because she obviously cared more about whether or not J. Simpson was wearing her wedding ring while shopping at the store than his actual day. That’s my girl.

Matt's dad is best friends with Scott Wolf's dad. When Scott married Kelly from The Real World: New Orleans, Matt and I schemed and schemed on how to possibly get invited to the wedding. Maybe it was more of me doing the scheming. I swear, I'm not a loser.

My favorite cousin-in-law, Ward, went to school with Jeremy Piven.

Part of me thinks it’s disgusting that I am so fascinated by these people. I love to hear about these sightings and "connections." I won’t assume you’re with me on this, even though I know for a fact that some of you have already accepted the editor of US Weekly as your personal lord and savior. But the other part of me thinks it’s harmless fun. To be ashamed, or not to be ashamed? I'll say "not ashamed" for $1000, Alex.

Perhaps the best celebrity run-in story I know can best be told by Josh. I don’t think I should attempt it because I wouldn’t do it justice. But let’s just say it involves Drew Barrymore’s boyfriend, a ticket stub, and a famous line from a Matt Damon movie. Josh, humor me, please.

Anyway, it’s Hump Day. Our tired minds deserve a little break mid-week to focus on pure fluff. It’s like our own little (gangsta’s) paradise.