I figured it was only fitting that I write about my last class at USC before I actually leave Los Angeles. I also hinted at and promised to write about this historic occasion in an earlier post. Now it’s all built up and everything…

My last class happened to be my feature writing class. We decided to convene at Mr. Pizza on Fairfax, across from Canter’s, after an unsuccessful attempt by Roozy to pitch the La Brea Tarpits as the most ideal location to discuss the goings on of cross-dresssing priests, dying mothers, astronautical engineer loser fathers, CIA operatives in Iran, demon killing agents, Libertarians and the like. Man, if only we could combine these elements we would have a killer script. Sadly, this idea was vetoed for a reason which was either unclear or I have forgotten (or more likely, both). So, Mr. Pizza it was.

I arrived early, an extremely unusual occurrence. I was closer to the West side of town, again for a reason I have already forgotten — do you see a pattern here? So, I waited in my car for a few moments savoring the air conditioning and NPR and avoiding putting more money in the meter — though again, if I was more with it, I would’ve realized the meter was about to end in 15 minutes anyway and thus would still have those 2 quarters I wasted and could have put to much better use cleaning my clothes. I digress.

I then got out of my car and wandered up the block to a very cool store I had never been in called Family. I perused the eclectic wares of comics, DVDs, books, music, and original art. I bought the new Optic Nerve (#11) that had come out a week ago…that was a nice surprise to see it in the store.

When it hit 6:00 I walked down the block to Mr. Pizza. I turned into the narrow doorway, where the place looked empty save for a few random workers.

Okay, now I am resuming this post days later in Omaha. I will try to pick it up where I left off.

So, I walk into the dark, dank restaurant that is more like a dive bar than a restaurant. As I entered, the single beam of light from the outside illuminated a few of my classmates in the last booth. I sat down and confirmed that this restaurant not only met my low expectations, but exceeded them. I was confused as to why we were having our last class here. Others joined and looked equally confused. Our teacher Bonnie arrived and was grossed out and wanted to leave. Due mostly to apathy, time, and a lack of communication, we stayed.

We discussed writing, films, and careers, and I tried to make out the face of who was speaking. You could try to angle yourself in a position to use the daylight to your advantage, but the sun was quickly fading. I gave up squinting after my eyes hurt from the strain. We asked the waitress who was in some sort of tuxedo if she could possibly turn the light on that was on the ceiling not too far from us. “Oh, that went out a few days ago,” she replied with a shrug. Guess they’re not into changing light bulbs at Mr. Pizza. The pizzas came and we used the light from our cell phones to discern the toppings. I gave up trying to see what I was eating and just went with it. It involved more of an element of surprise, which can be fun, I guess. A classmate finally did pull out a lighter and lit the two candles at our table, providing a bit of a glow.

We were also really smashed into this booth. Sitting very close to people you don’t know all that well can be awkward, but the night was already past anything that could be called awkward. We asked if they had any extra chairs. We should’ve known from the light bulb incident that this would only get us strange looks, as if we were asking for our pizzas to be made at the table right in front of us. For all we could see, they might have been. A few minutes later, they managed to pull out a couple of bar stools, taller than the table itself. So a few classmates held court over our darkened round table.

There were countless other strange things about this night, and many amazing comments made. However, I will decline to divulge any more because I am tired, my memory is failing, and for reasons of privacy and security. All in all it was a great and fitting ending to my time at USC.

No more Gilmore Girls. The fun and allure of coming to campus is now gone. I arrived at campus at 12:15 (slightly early for work, just in case they were still filming) and the lights were gone. No more tents, no more Gilmore Girls chairs propped around to brighten my day, no more Stars Hollow denizens walking around campus. Just as soon as they came, they were gone. I should have pushed myself to come earlier this morning, as I thought I overheard from a crew member last night that they were filming some more the following morning (this morning) but he thought they would be done by lunch. Oh well. I’ll still have the memories.

Now I will give kind of a more detailed wrap-up of my Gilmore experience. Probably more detailed than you care for. It all started on Wednesday. It was a clear and sunny day, one that seemed just like any other L.A. Wednesday. That is until I received a message while at work from my friend Dave informing me to sit down because he had big news — which was that Gilmore was filming right now outside Norris, mere yards away from where I was working diligently at the Dean’s Office! I then received both a voice-mail message and text message from Jeff giving me the same news. I called Jeff and he was already on his way, camera in tow. So I worked a few minutes longer and then met him at Norris.

They were filming a scene where Lorelai, Richard and Emily walk down the pathways near the Cinema School, ending near the fountain outside Norris. It was easy to spot Lorelai and Emily, as they were wearing bright fuchsia and aqua dresses respectively (Jeff has a photo of this). Richard is also quite an imposing man, so he was easy to follow too. Jeff was saying how he wondered where Alexis was because he had heard that she was there. Cue Alexis, who walked right past us (from behind) in jeans, a zip-up hooded sweatshirt, boots, and sunglasses, looking like quite the relaxed, TV/movie star she is. She walked about 10 feet past us and plopped down on a small grassy knoll and laid down. So we sauntered over to the knoll (no closer than we already were, just a few feet to the right) and sat down as well. We alternated watching the scene and watching Alexis nap, all the while Jeff taking some photos while I provided cover (they told us no photos). Again, these photos can be seen here.

Then that scene wrapped and I was going to head back to the Dean’s Office. Jeff parted to take some more photos. Then I thought that I should ask Jeff to send me updates on what scenes they were filming, so I headed through the fountain area, right past Lorelai in a huge jacket talking to another woman. I was walking kind of fast, because I knew I needed to get back, and I nearly ran into someone (it was kind of crowded and chaotic) and stopped and was face to face with Emily. I was then a little scared because I nearly bumped into her and I momentarily thought she was her character, so I scurried off and found Jeff. Then the entire cast and crew walked right past us to break for lunch.

I had perfect timing that day, because right when I got off work at 5 is right when they were ready to start shooting the next scene, a heated exchange between Rory and Logan where something major happens. Jeff has reported the spoiler at the end of his blog, so if you want to know you can go there. I will keep it a secret. Alexis was pretty adorable throughout. She was wearing her boots in all the close-ups, so check out Logan’s eyeline and see if it isn’t a few inches lower than it’s supposed to be. We were pretty close to her chair (though no photos from our position there, kind of awkward), where she would return after every take. After the first or second take she said, “That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?” She would also sometimes make faces like she didn’t know if she had gotten it or not. Someone on the crew complimented her on one take and she was smiling and said, “You thought that one the best?” She also checked and talked on her Blackberry (she paces, like I do, while on the phone — I was happy to see that commonality), she looked at the script a few times, and drank Canada Dry ginger ale. She stayed kind of to herself for most of the shoot. Though she appears to get along well with Matt Czuchry (who plays Logan) and Jeff has a nice photo of Alexis and Liza Weil (who plays Paris) sitting by each other talking.

Jeff and I left while they were still filming. I had to go home to take Rufus out, get a jacket and eat, but we agreed that we would both probably come back later that night to watch them film a carriage scene, which we did. We left again at 9 with Rufus with us for the night portion of Gilmore.

So, Jeff and I speculated about who would be in the carriage. Would it be Logan and Rory, Logan making another romantic, grand gesture to win back Rory’s affection? Or possibly Luke and Lorelai, echoing the episode in which they took a carriage ride together at the opening of the Dragonfly Inn? Surprise! It was Lorelai and Rory, taking a carriage ride down the pathways between the Libraries and Taper Hall, not what I would think of as an ideal location. But it’s TV and I’m sure they’ll make it look much different. Here’s a shot:

And another one. It’s blurry, but closer:

All went well until they brought the horses out. Then Rufus started barking and I politely escorted him from the set. It was cool to see how they filmed it and to see the two of them together, but it wasn’t the most ideal viewing experience because they are driving around in an oval and unless you want to walk alongside them, you can only see pieces of it. But fun nonetheless. We left when they wrapped at about 11:45.

I got home and took Rufus on a short walk before bed and he ran off after an oppossum in the alley/driveway on Lyman. He was faster than the gross-looking little creature so he would chase it away from me, get in front of it, then chase it back at me. We made quite the scene. I was yelling his name, lights were going on in the apartments around me, and a group was congregated across the street watching (luckily it was dark). I would walk a few feet in, trying to get his attention or possibly grab his leash, but then the possum would turn towards me and start running and I would then back up out of the driveway, at times turning and running. Basically, it was a human/animal Laurel and Hardy skit. Luckily the opposum and Rufus walked away unharmed.

Gilmore Update Day 2 coming later…and more photos…

Jeff posted some photos of our Gilmore-watching from yesterday here. Rumor has it that they are filming today and tomorrow on campus too, so I hope to catch some more Gilmore action today. Details, updates, and maybe photos later…

2:30 pm update: They filmed a scene or two this morning that I missed (I knew they were shooting, but felt guilty for spending so much time watching Gilmore shoot…I do also have a life). Got on campus at 1:15, Cynthia met me here on her lunch break, but unfortunately they were also on their lunch break. Crew was setting up for more coverage of the actual graduation. Here’s a photo from that setup (Branford is one of Yale’s residential colleges, the college that Rory attends and where Richard is an Alumnus):

3:05 pm update: I left work for 20 min. and timed it perfectly. I arrived just in time to see Rory graduate. I felt so proud of her. She walked across the stage, flipped her tassel and looked into the crowd (presumably at Lorelai) and smiled her Rory smile. It was quite a historic moment. It felt so real. I wanted to cheer or cry, but I restrained myself.

I have just come from USC where they were (and still are) shooting an episode of Gilmore Girls, the best show on television. I saw Richard, Emily, Lorelai, Rory, and Logan. It’s graduation at Yale. They are supposed to be filming a nighttime carriage scene, so I will be heading back to campus tonight with Jeff and Rufus. Very exciting. Jeff took some photos, which I am sure he will post somewhere. I will provide updates and details later.