You may know me as the person who gives you a daily dose of TV gossip here on ivillage's TV cocktail, but that's not the only hat I wear.
I'm also a TV writer and a member of the Writers Guild of America and I'm on strike.
Who exactly are we? Well, we're the people who write all your favorite TV shows and movies in Hollywood and as of Monday, we've been on strike.
But what does that even mean? Well, every Writers Guild member is required to picket twenty hours a week outside an assigned studio or network. That means we carry these heavy "On Strike" signs and walk in a circle for four hour shifts each day chanting and trying to get cars who drive by to honk. It's grueling. We're used to sitting in front of our computers for twelve hours a day so as you can imagine this new regiment has been a shock to our systems.
It can also be pretty boring and you're looking for things to keep you entertained. So some smart soul decided to organize an event for Single Writer Picketers yesterday over at the FOX studio in Century City. As soon as people heard about this event I started getting inundated with emails from people who know I'm single and looking. I even got a message from someone in London. Oh yes, my desperation spans continents!
So I got all dolled up in jeans, a cute top, a pair of sensible shoes, waxed my mustache and I headed to what I termed “Strike and Date.” My friends and I picketed at the designated back gate of the FOX studio for over an hour. We spotted a few cute guys and because I’m outgoing my strike sign "accidentally" bumped into one of their strike signs and we all began to chat. No missed connection there.
Unfortunately, these guys who were brothers, were the only ones who looked this fine in the whole group. Anyway, we all chatted and laughed for a few times around the circle but then we had to move on. We didn’t want to get stuck just talking to one group of guys, we needed to get as many irons in the fire as possible, also I have a major fear of commitment. But the pickings were slim and we decided to head back to the main FOX gate to see what was going on over there.Apparently FOX's front gate is where all the celeb action happens. When we showed up, I spotted Bones star David Boreanaz, (who I wish had been at Strike and Date because he's a hottie) exiting the studio on foot and heading over to our strike line. He picked up a sign and joined the circle. He wasn’t looking for praise or for a photo op, he just wanted to show his support and I thought that was very cool. He must’ve picketed with us for at least an hour.
Also showing their solidarity were the new cast members from House, Kal Penn, Anne Dudek, Peter Jacobson and Olivia Wilde.
But let’s get back to me finding a mate. I did see one writer guy who was super cute and who I wanted to talk to, but hadn't had a chance earlier. When I saw him at the end of the day and knew I might never see him again, I walked up to him, made small talk, learned he was a writer on ABC's new drama Dirty, Sexy, Money and then asked him if he wanted to date me. Oh yes, I used those exact words. He was eating at the time and kept shoving food into his mouth to avoid answering the question. I tried to cover it up and pretend I was just joking, but it was so awkward that it was obvious I wasn't fooling any one.
At the end of the day, my friend made me go to the guy in the cowboy hat (in the photo above) who is scrumptious and give him a piece of paper that she wrote her number on while she ran and hid. She said she wanted to avoid the humiliating situation I just went through with the Dirty, Sexy, Money writer. When I explained to the cowboy who my friend was, he didn’t remember which girl I was talking about. Yikes!
Bottom Line: Strike and Date was a big bust, but you can't blame a girl for trying!
