"Who is Colin Farrell?"

About a year and a half ago, I got this text message from my mom, who was in California for a work-related conference, that just said, "Who is Colin Farrell?" This kind of random question isn't really odd for my family. My brother will probably never get a smartphone or use 411, because he just calls or texts me to ask where he can get a Bob Marley t-shirt in Virginia Beach at 2:00 in the morning. Anyway, I told my mom, who admits to just not being good with names, "He's an actor - you like him. He's one of the pretty ones. Why?" It turns out she accidentally had tea with him in her hotel. I think she'd have preferred to accidentally have tea with Hillary Clinton, who was also a guest there at the time. The next text message I received from my mom during that trip was asking me for the identity of the tall, attractive African-American actor on Heroes. I don't watch the show, so I had no answer for her other than, "why?" As it happened, she'd collided with him on a staircase. Along with the willingness to shoot the breeze with just about anyone, klutz runs strong in our family, you see.

All of this is to say that my mom has had more quirky Hollywood moments during her visits than I've had since I moved here. Yeah, this is my way of saying by the way, in case you didn't know, I moved to Los Angeles. I got to California on the 5th - Guy Fawkes Day, which I know we don't do in America, but it's easy to remember, remember.

I've been chastised for not writing about this sooner, and also for neglecting tales of driving across the country, experiences I've had, and people I've either gotten to meet or see more of since I got here, but I'll get to it. I promise. Just not today.