Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? (Pt.3)

So, as already mentioned, we signed some pretty serious non-disclosure paper when the videos were shot in February.  The six of us (Dylan, Emi, Mike, Rachel, Tom and I) sorta got our stories straight and worked hard to keep the lid on the whole thing for almost two months.  I think we did a pretty good job.  One idea that made it easier was that we figured that it would be so much more fun for everyone else to watch the show on April 17th in order to find out.  That doesn't mean that there weren't a few souls who pressed for answers.  There were more and more of them (you?) as the time drew near.  But we pulled it off.


As the airing of the show approached, it became a little more complicated.  7pm Eastern, 6pm Central, and All Over The Map Pacific.  Some cable/satellite providers scheduled it for 4pm, others at 7pm and still others at 6 or 9.  Some people had friends or relatives who saw it at 4 and called them with the spoiler, not realizing the difference in airing time.  Ah, no worries, though.


Dylan and Emi found a little restaurant, not usually open in the evening, that agreed to let 50+ people come in to party and watch their nice big TVs.  The Soccer Cafe in the Mission turned out to be the perfect place.  

Friends of Dylan, Emi and Rachel, plus a few of Dylan's students drifted in gradually for about an hour before the show, pretty much filling the place up.  Dylan had ordered up some Mexican hors d'oeuvres for everybody.  

Then Macy's Million Dollar Makeover started and everyone focused.

It was a really fun hour.  The six of us had no idea how they would tell the story.  We were all somewhat relieved to see how little footage of the rest of us made it in.  We were very interested to see Pat and Katie and their product.  Half-way through the show, Dylan passed around Pat's Cheesecake balls for dessert.  A classy move, I say.  He had ordered them from her for that evening.  

We loved watching the challenge cubicles take shape and it was so interesting to hear what the judges had to say.  We know there was much more that didn't make the show.  And, of course, we loved watching the watchers in the restaurant.  If they suspected, they didn't show it.  

So, when Dylan was declared the winner, the place went crazy!  It was so cool!  You can pretty much determine which photo tells that story.  

Dylan, then got up and thanked everyone for their support and friendship and, after a little while, the crowd dwindled to just us, again.  Best party ever.  It was something I'll never forget.

So, what now?


Dylan is connecting with people who can help him organize his business and new financial situation.  He'll need to hire a few key people and update some tools--maybe even the CNC machine, which is tempermental, to say the least.  He'll probably cut down, but not curtail entirely, his teaching schedule at California College of the Arts.  Macy's has promised to work with him to merchandise some of his furniture.  Most of all, he has the wherewithall to move in the directions he's dreamed of and make a living doing it.


He'll also have the opportunity to have more regular hours (because of the help he'll have) and say goodbye to the all-nighters.  We'll see, right?  


To say we're very proud and excited about all this is an understatement.  Our heads are also still spinning.  It's a crazy turn of events in the last three months.  We're quite sure it's going to be wonderful. It already has been.  Friends and family have been so supportive and happy for him!  We're very grateful for everybody and their enthusiasm!


And, though I've always been kind of allergic to shopping, I may even have grown rather fond of Macy's Department Store.  Maybe we call this The Miracle in the Mission.  OK.  The reference is too obscure.  How 'bout, The Miracle on 16th Street?  You know, from the movie, The Miracle on 34th Street which featured Macy's?  The restaurant is on 16th, which is in the Mission area of San Francisco, and, ah, well...

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? (Pt.2)

Even as Dylan was leaving for New York in early March (they had shipped a bunch of his furniture back the week before), none of us, not even he, knew what to expect.  All we knew was that we just had to shut up about it.  We searched the internet, but the only other show under that title, from the year before, was a completely different idea than this year's show.  All we could do was wait for news.


When Dylan called to check in on the first evening, we learned that he was in New Jersey, for one thing.  That's where the Macy's Magic happens.  And that he was getting new clothes and a fancy haircut.  Oh, and that the other two contestants were women.  Did we know there would be some sort of challenge by then?  I can't remember.


And that was about the extent of it.


He had left for NJ early on a Tuesday morning.  About Thursday, we heard that we needed to be in San Francisco on Saturday, March 10 at 3pm, all together, in front of one computer set up for Skype.  I'm sure that was requested of all three contestants' families.


Rachel had a good set-up at her house.  That's where we decided to go.  So, there was a relationship set up between Rachel and the assistant producer for the show.  They talked many times that day, the AP being just a little nervous about our meeting our end of the deal (everybody present?  Skype working?).  Rachel trying to ease his mind about it.  

The time kept changing.  Earlier.  Then later.  Emi and Mike struck up a game of Mancala.  More phone calls from the AP.  More assurances by Rachel.  Then, we're given a Time Certain of 5pm. At about 4:30, Rachel and Mike's internet connection flaked out.  Yikes.  The usual fixes didn't work.  So, they called a neighbor and asked for the password to their connection.  By 10 of, we were up and running, again, with literally minutes to spare.  Whew.


Finally, and I don't remember the time, we were told to sit down in front of the computer screen and wait.  Soon, we got connected up and, after a few more minutes, we watched a meticulously-groomed-Clinton-no-Dylan!-walk up to the other computer in NJ.  


He chatted about nothing for a few minutes, then dropped the bomb.  He held up a fake check made out to Dylan Gold for one million dollars signed by Macy's and told us he'd won.


Pandemonium.  You can imagine.  I think they liked the footage from the other side.


He had just found out about a half-hour beforehand.


And he'd be home the next day to tell us all about it.  And that was it.


We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate.  Mike's birthday would be in two days, so we worked that in, as well.  (that's a birthday cake I made for him below)

Next day, we picked Dylan up at the airport and peppered him with questions.  He told a lot of stories.  One of the coolest parts, was that he and the other two contestants, Katie and Pat, were wonderful people and they became good friends over the course of the week.

He talked some about how it felt to be "made over", head to foot.  Hair stylists, make-up artists,  tailors.  It's not surprise that he ended up looking a bit like Clinton Kelly, the host. 

(Clinton also co-hosts "What Not To Wear" on TLC--a show I had actually been on a number of years ago as part of the group of supportive friends for the subject of a makeover, Molly Phillips, Francine's daughter.  So, yes, fans, this is the second TLC reality show on which I've appeared, however briefly and insignificantly, and both hosted by our friend, Clinton Kelly)

He also told the story that, somehow, he was given the wrong socks for the final judging, and the crew scrambled for a half-hour before they found some of the right color--on the feet of the hair stylist.  So Dylan was wearing that guys socks for the finale.  Ha!

He had a great time with his "mentor" for the challenge, Sheila Bridges, a well-known interior designer, who coached him on his cubicle decor as well as his oral presentation to the judges. He had very positive interactions with the judges, as well.


All in all, he reported a wonderful experience and was still a bit dazed by it all.  As were we all.


Next:  The Show

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? (Pt.1)

So, Dylan had casually mentioned making a video of some kind for some reason.  I didn't pick up on it too quickly.  Mike was helping him and it was causing them to lose a little ground on a deadline or two.  Seriously?  Well, OK.  That was in mid to late-January, more or less. 


 [You may or may not know that Dylan has been working SO hard over the last 4+ years, crazy hours, tons of stress, and getting lots of great awards and attention, not to mention orders for his amazing furniture.  But the business side of things has always been, shall we say, just on the verge of having to call it quits.  It's a tough business.  OK, back to the narrative.]


I registered little bits of additional information over the next few weeks--enough to know that he'd gotten a positive response (from whom, I still didn't "get") and he was busy making another video or two at "their" request.  For one of them, he needed a few shots of Tom and me in his shop.  We worked that into one of our visits to SF in early February, I think.


Mid-February.  Dylan lets us know that a film crew wants to film him and his family in San Francisco. For a show.  Did it have something to do with Facebook?  I still hadn't paid enough attention until the thought of being interviewed on film terrified me down to my socks (it's winter).  Macy's, the department store is involved, I'm finding out.  And it's for a reality TV show on TLC.  It's starting to sound like a real Thing, but I didn't know what kind.  And there must be some sort of cool prize at the end.  And Dylan must be one of who-knows-how-many semi-finalists, or something.


We arrived at Emi's apartment, because it's way cuter and roomier than Dylan's place for a video-shoot, on Saturday, February 25th, obediently wearing no black or stripes.  I had made cookies to share with everyone.  They were those salty chocolate-chip kind that you have to refrigerate for 24 hours before baking.  It's completely against my character and life experience to leave chocolate chip cookie batter in the fridge without eating it all up.  But I managed, somehow (for an outstanding result, I must say).  Rachel had been summoned, too, of course.  She brought me a hipper kind of jeans to wear.  Rachel does what she can to make me more presentable.


That day, we learned that it was for a show called Macy's Million Dollar Makeover.  Whoa.  What?  We hadn't heard of it, but it was a real contest with thousands (more than 20 thousand) of applicants.  This was the second season.  And Vanessa and her crew and the Macy's people were there from New York.  And we had to keep it a big secret.


(here's a shot of just a little of the equipment they loaded in for the shoot)

All the video and corporate folks couldn't have been more friendly and supportive!  They made what was, for me, a completely intimidating prospect a little less frightening.  They totally rearranged Emi's living room to make it work for their interview of the four of us--so that we could be filmed sitting side-by-side on a sofa that was just a bit too small to make it look comfortable.  It was during that interview, that a. my mouth and brain decided to work against each other (Dylan, Tom and Rachel's brains were much better engaged), and b. we were told by means of a laptop video starring Clinton Kelly that Dylan had been selected as one of three finalists for the Big Prize.



Oh. My. Gosh.  One of only three?


I was starting to get the gist, now.  I still didn't understand the process for the contestants, or how the TV show was formatted, but Clinton Kelly told Dylan to pack up and get on a plane for New York.



(this is Vanessa and her assistant testing light and sound on the sofa before our interview)

(Tom and Emi hanging near the the cookies)

After the Big News, Vanessa and her crew spent a couple of hours setting up for (in the dining room) and interviewing Dylan by himself, as well.  I hung off to the side, listening to how easy and relaxed he sounded.  A natural.


(Dylan, waiting as the lights and sound get worked out before his solo interview)

There's a small piece of video of Dylan "packing" and us "waving goodbye", but I think TV audiences understand that as a bit of theater to tell the part of the story that, well, Dylan was really going to go to New York to participate in a real show sponsored by a very real and major department store on a network that we'd actually watched before.  

(above, "packing"; below, filming Dylan's "departure" for NY)

(waiting for the cue)


To finish off the day, we all trooped over to Dylan's shop, where there was more shooting, but, mercifully, no more interviewing.  We were all more relaxed and more energized, with the new information.  

About 10 days later, Dylan left for New York and a real shot at the Big Prize, but, at the very least, the best publicity he could ever hope for.


Next:  New York bound.

Early Spring...

I might be making this up, but, around here, anyway, the transition from winter to summer ("spring") always feels a little more volatile than the reverse ("autumn").  A couple of weeks ago, it was snowing like crazy.  Last week: lots of rain, but also a few days in the 60s.  Today started out below freezing, but clear.  It then warmed up into the forties.  Half and hour ago, it was snowing, and now the sun is blazing away.  

As usual, the daffodils in this area are stunning.  It's a rare home that doesn't have at least a few popping up.  Our little freeway is banked by thousands.  I've been planting more and more, each fall, and we've got quite a nice display by now for a month or two.  Crocus, muscari, and a few other random bulbs add to the mix, but the daffs rule.  I have a few primitive red tulips in one planter, though, that flame out for a week or so every year.  Intense.  On Saturday, my friend, Lorri, and I will, once again, visit the nearby Ananda gardens, where there are at least 10,000 tulips and myriad other blooming plants set high over the Yuba River.  Pics to come.

  It's also birthday season for us.  Mike's is March 12th, Rachel's is the 20th, and Tom's, the 24th.  It was a complicated time, with Dylan off to Columbia, Rachel to Australia--and, well, a bunch of other stuff.  So, for now, these few pics of Tom's birthday will cover it.

 With the new (since Christmas) waffle maker in the house, Tom finally got the breakfast he always requests when asked what he would like to eat.  It's no longer a little joke that (eye roll) he has to pick something else.  He opened some fun gifts from friends and family.  You can see the beautiful bouquet from Pavita on the table.  One gift, from me, was more of a preview that, unfortunately, wouldn't be available until the next day.  I had had to buy the gift card for it to be redeemed for the real thing on Sunday, the 25th.  Yep, an iPad 3.  

 We went for some lovely Indian food for dinner.  Then, Sunday morning, we drove down to Auburn to pick up his new toy.  I must admit, it's a marvel, with it's stunning display.  Whirly Words looks awesome.  


I had decided that I could splurge a bit on it when I remembered that we had a quantity of coins, mostly rolled, thank heaven, in a closet somewhere.  Having found them, I spent a whole morning rolling the rest and counting.  $496.  I was just (only just) able to haul them into the bank in one trip (in two canvas bags) where I, very fortunately, was helped by a patient and somewhat bemused bank teller.  Twenty minutes later, I walked out with feather-light bills.

So, Tom is readin' his books, workin' his crosswords, and surfin' the net in style, these days.  


Gotta run, for now.  More soon.