Why Zach Braff Is Dead To Me

The other day I heard a song from the movie Garden State.

I thought fondly of the movie and how much great music was packed into it. I remembered being excited watching such an original and quirky show. I remebered Zach Braff and how I thought he seemed really cool. He seemed like the kind of guy that wasn't like a normal celebrity. I pictured a down-to-earth guy that didn't let celebrityism get the best of him. I realize now how wrong I was.


Ladies & Gentleman I now present the story of why Zach Braff is dead to me.

Jump back with me will you - to the spring of 2007. I had just completed my first event at Make-A-Wish and was desperate for a vacation. I convinced a few friends to head to St. George & Las Vegas for the weekend. Me, Seth, Britney, Sean, Emily and James packed it up and headed down to Southern Utah.

We spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's winter place. Looking back I am so glad that we did. I loved Grandpa preparing a great Italian pasta dinner for us (and breakfast in the morning). They were fine with 6 people crashing in their place. I love them for it.

The next day we woke up and headed to Vegas for the day. We spent time wandering the strip, eating at The Paris buffet, shopping, etc. Seth played poker and won a bunch of money. Finally toward the end of the night we decided to check out the Bellagio. Cause, all the celebrities are there right?

Turns out we were correct!

While wandering through the black jack tables we happened to see Zach Braff. I thought, "Oh cool! I kind of love him!" The best part was that no one else seemed to notice he was there - along with Turk from Scrubs.

You know Turk right? Another celebrity that I would expect to be cool in real life. Unfortuntely his role in the story ends here.


We stood around and stared for awhile and then most of my friends got bored and walked away.



But not me.

Nope. I am not afraid of celebrities and by damn I was going to walk up to Zach and ask to have my picture with him!

Problem was I didn't want to interrupt his game. I am cool enough to know that that would potentially be annoying.

So I waited -

I waited behind the shadows of the slot machines.


A bit creepy and stalker like - I know. But I really didn't want to be one of those annoying girls that runs screaming up and says "Zach Zach! I love you! OMG I am so excited. Will you sign my boobs!?"

I waited for oh 15 minutes I would guess?

Finally Zach stands up!

I start to walk toward him.

Damn - he is talking to a really pretty girl! Look at me! I am 10 pounds overweight and have no sense of style (especially for a night out in Las Vegas). Clearly I am not looking my "just about to meet a hot young celebrity" best.

Too late though, I am on my way so I have to stick with this.

I continue my trek to Zach...

Oh good, he stopped talking to model-esqe girl. Now is my chance!

I walk quickly up to him - camera ready.

Right when I get to the table, Zach turns around and sits back down.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.....................................

I realize this is bad. But it's too late now. I am standing about a foot behind him. I can't just turn around and walk away.

I take a deep breath, swallow hard, and tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Zach, would you mind if I got a picture with you?"

Zach proceeds to stiffen and without even turning to look at me (in hindsight I am glad he didn't look at me) he says in a really annoyed and snooty voice - and I quote.

"Now is not a goodtime SWEETheart - I am gambling!"

I stand there shocked for a moment. Then quickly feel the blood rush to my face and turn quickly to walk away. Back to my friends. Back to people that loved me. Back to friends that were dressed equally as "blah" as me. Back to friends that were laughing.

Whatever Zach Braff. You are lame. I expected so much more from a man who introducted me to Frou Frou, the Thievery Corporation, the Shins and the like.

You are dead to me Zach Braff. Dead to me!

Don't act all annoyed - you brought this on yourself!


Coming soon from the blog of Becky - why Conan O'Brien is NOT dead to me. The other celebrity story I have in my arsenal - and it's a good one.

Utah - What I Miss (& don't miss)

I'm not going to lie. I miss Utah. Perhaps it is the coming autumn season and not having the mountains to stare at. Perhaps it is the anticipation of the holidays and knowing how many things I will miss (like the Coon Family party). I am not sure why it suddenly became so real. But I do miss Utah. There are a lot of things I don't miss about Utah however. Here's my attempt at a list.

I miss the mountains - I don't miss the smog caused by said mountains. I especially miss Mt. Olympus.

I always knew that I loved the mountains in Utah. I just didn't realize how lucky I was to have something so majestic in my backyard. I miss seeing them change with the seasons. I miss driving along the east bench of I-80 and staring at Mt. Olympus - especially in the pinking hour. I miss barbecues and fires up the canyons. I miss driving up the canyons when the leaves are changing. I just miss them alright? Somehow the Boise foothills don't compare.

That being said, I don't miss the smog cause by the mountains. One thing I have loved about being in Boise is the clean air. It isn't smoggy. It always smells fresh (other than a few days in the Summer when there was a fire). I hate hate hate the smog in Utah. And it is only getting worse. Even summer days you can see a layer of pollution. I hate that. Bad mountains!

I miss working with an office full of people. I don't miss office politics. It's no lie that Make-A-Wish has been one of the top things on the things I miss about Utah. I miss having people to eat lunch with. I miss laughing until I cried during lunch. I miss talking to people about their lives and talking way too much about my own. I miss the office pranks and holiday celebrations.

I don't miss the office drama. I don't miss the gossip and the anger. I don't miss being mad if someone isn't pulling their weight. It's kind of hard to have issues when you work practically alone. I will say that cute Katie has been amazing. Sadly I have to say goodbye to her in just 2 weeks.

I miss right hand turn lanes. I don't miss crazy drivers. One thing about Boise that really ticks me off, not many right-hand turn lanes. I can't tell you how many times a day I get stuck behind one car for 3 minutes at a long light - because they just don't have those turn lanes here. I know I know, it's petty but dang it is annoying!

I don't miss crazy Utah drivers though. Driving in Boise has really mellowed me out. I have learned to drive the speed limit - not the regular 10 mph over the speed limit. I don't ride people's tails. I don't speed around people anymore. I has made the driving experience more enjoyable. As soon as I cross the border and am back in Utah I notice a difference. People are intense in Utah. They will run you off the road. It's crazy. I didn't notice it before but I sure notice it now! Plus Utah doesn't have nearly as cool of license plates. Just sayin...

I miss Sunday dinners with the family. I don't miss family dinners at El Farols. One of the things that makes me the most homesick is missing family dinners. My mom is an amazing cook and pretty much every other Sunday she whips up something delicious for the family. I miss those homecooked meals. I miss visiting with my family. Sunday night's are kind of lonely in general. We have tried to do dinners with Ashtin & Brian but it doesn't happen often enough. I usually get a text from mom or someone Sunday night that says "Sunday dinner! Wish you were here." This doesn't help.

A perk of living away from home is missing the monely "birthday dinner" at El Farols. Anyone that knows my dad, knows that he loves cheap Mexican food. I grew up on the stuff. However for EVERY birthday my dad thinks we need to meet for dinner - and it's aways at El Farols. The funny thing about this is no one else wants to go there. It's overpriced and not that good. I think the person whose birthday it is should decide where they want to go. Everyone pays their own way anyway! So as much as I love my family and miss my family, I don't miss the obligatory El Farols monthly meals.

I miss KUER but I don't miss hearing about crazy Utah politics. Oh NPR, how I love thee! I miss Doug Fabrizio, I miss Dan Bammes, I miss good radio and solid news stories. The NPR station here is horrible. The morning show guy is horrible and finds it necessary to ennunciate every word properly. As a result he sounds like a robot. The local news is overkill and dreadfully boring. I just really miss KUER.
On the flip side - I don't miss hearing about crazy Utah politics. I don't miss hearing about BYU and the latest censorship issue. I don't miss people who think Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck are valid news sources. I don't miss Gail Rezika and the Eagle Forum. I don't miss having such as strong pull from a particular religion. That's what is nice about Boise. Sure there are crazy issues but they aren't nearly as in your face as Utah. It's been nice to be away from the crazy.



I miss our house but I don't miss the upkeep for the house. Seth & I have a lovely house in Millcreek. I love it. It feels like home to me. I miss living there. I miss the amazing kitchen. I miss the neighborhood. I miss the close access to Oh Sushi, Citrus Grill and Cafe Rio. I miss the smell of the neighborhood. I miss being so close to these cute babies

I don't miss the upkeep though. For those of you that have seen the house you know it has the yard of doom. I actually don't mind yard work for the most part but damn our yard is a lot of work. In Boise we don't mow, weed, water, shovel, nothing. In short we are lazy. But it has been kind of nice.

I miss yoga, I don't miss Sugar House Golds Gym. I have talked over and over about how much I love and miss yoga in Utah. Seriously though my yoga teacher in Salt Lake changed my life. I rarely practice in Boise. I have gained weight, stressed out and the headaches have returned. Dang I miss Micah! This is a picture of her that I stole from her Facebook page. I know it's creepy of me. Whatever.

I don't miss the ghetto Sugar House Gold's Gym though. I don't miss trying to meditate while a greasy 60 year old man in too short of shorts did squats next to me. I don't miss driving 20 minutes to get to my yoga class. But I would do it over in a second if it meant the mind blowing yoga that I have miss desperately.

Oh my goodness I must stop! There is so much more to go on about. I do miss Utah - a lot. More than I thought I would actually. Living away has made me appreciate the beauty and quirkiness that it offers. I miss you all too!