Unpacking Baggage

Just going through my luggage, clearing out some things to make way for enlightenment

Well... before I flew to Chicago I was in Lancaster, PA for 5 days, which was akin to being in a vacuum. I do love the PA accent though. It's not quite as sweet as the southern, but it's warm and homespun just the same. But none of that has any reason to do with why I ask where the hell I've been. The weekend before Lancaster I was in DC, laid up in a hotel on Embassy Row, watching a Law and Order marathon. I'm one of those strange people who enjoy the commercials as much the show. As a result I have to really be strategic about bathroom breaks. Anyway... while staring at the screen, I saw a familiar name attached to a Pantene ad... Maria Menounos. How shocked was I?

When I was a Resident Assistant at Emerson College back in da day, Maria was one of my tenth floor residents. I remember her as the extremely pretty girl with the thick Massachusetts accent (she has definitely worked that out). She was usually smiling and always nice. I may have written her up once or maybe not. I vaguely remember finding the Real World Boys up there with some Heinekens. I know I was supposed to write them up, but since the alcohol was found in the suite and not the room, blah blah blah. Maria was very charming. It appears that she still is. To get some clarity on this development. I reached out to Shaun Andrew Young, the trendiest resident at 100 Beacon Street and my absolute favorite of all.

Shaun was a New York boy with a Cali connection. His father was on the east coast and his mother on the west, making him bi-coastal. After finishing up at Emerson, he returned to the west, where he now works in the industry. I knew that if anyone would have the grease on Maria's rise to fame, Shaun would be able to scoop it out like Crisco.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked and went on to run down her impressive list of credits. I was left feeling just a little out of touch, but how can one keep up with everything that goes on in the world? Especially with 100 Beacon Street residents, who were always on the move and on their way to the big time. It was really great to chat with Shaun and catch up with the haps in his life. I think the last time I saw him was when Ian, another favorite resident, married CafeConLeche. That had to be about 6 years ago.

Actually her name was Capucine and she was from France (did that girl have a green card?). I remember there being some tension around that event. I don't think Ian's mom was happy. Come to think of it, neither was I. Well Shaun says that last he heard they were still happily married and parents of a little girl. I wonder what the rest of the 100 Beacon folks are doing.