I always look forward to the Oscars. It’s the most wonderful time of the year (besides Christmas of course). Ever since a child I have had a deep infatuation with Hollywood. For my 10th birthday party, I turned my NYC apartment into a Hollywood movie premiere complete with a maroon carpet from Kmart, a blow up palm tree, cheap fake Oscars, and a hand-painted “VIP” posterboard.
Needless to say, the Oscars have always been a hot topic in my house. Moving out to California, I thought Oscar Sunday would be the end all, be all. I would meet enthusiasts alike, and we would predict the movies that would take home a golden new friend. However, that was not the case this year.
Instead, I woke up with a headache and a sore throat. The initial panic began to set in of not being able to watch the Oscars in comfort. I convinced myself that I just needed a hot shower, water and coffee, and then I would be good to go! Nope. My normal venti Starbucks drink couldn’t fix this headache, which only got worse when I arrived at the library and realized how much homework I needed to do.
I ran outside to call home, hoping to receive comforting words. My parents told me to focus on my homework. I opened my laptop to log on to the “Philo” television network, but all of the channels kept freezing. I called my parents back in a frenzy to ask what the Wi-Fi password was for our Time Warner account. My father had no idea what I was talking about, claiming that he wasn’t involved in the tracking of any passwords.
After a couple of hours in the library, I left. I was exhausted and hungry. I went to Cafe Habana with my sister. Luckily for me, on a projected screen, they were playing the Oscar red carpet event. All was right in the world. That is, until a man sitting at the table next to me asked to switch the channel to some sort of football game.
In a half-hearted attempt to justify not studying for my midterms, I told myself that I needed to relax, otherwise I would get even sicker, and not be able to study at all. So I went to my sister’s house, where I knew she had a large television and reclining chair.
I arrived. Panic began to set in again. Her roommates were home, but it didn’t look like they were planning to watch the Oscars. I quickly texted my friend down the block asking if she was home. She replied yes, and without even asking I invited myself over.
On the way over to her house, I peered into the living room of a townhouse where E! was on. There were some toys outside the house, surely a family lived there? Surely they wouldn’t mind if I joined them for a couple of hours? No, Veronica. Keep moving.
A couple of hours into the show, I got a text from my sister asking where I went. She said they were watching the Oscars at her house.
It was said that this year’s Oscars was the lowest rated one in seven years. Maybe it wouldn’t have been, if I didn’t have such a hard time finding a place to watch them.
Until next year, Oscar Sunday — stay golden, my friends.
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Follow Veronica Johnson on Twitter: @veronajohn36
