.i'm going to see oprah effing winfrey tomorrow: part one.

i'm going to see oprah tomorrow. yes, you read it right, but just for shits & gigs, one more time with feeling, 

i'm going to see oprah tomorrow.

holy shit.

i can't believe i have held off this long on writing a post about it, but it didn't actually feel real, until i held the ticket in my hands for the first time last night. and the minute that gorgeous glossy card stock slipped into my  hot little hands, it all felt real. really fucking real.

a few months ago, my friend jules and i were chat chitting about how the oprah's 'life classes tour' kept creeping up on our facebook feeds, as we both 'like' oprah on facebook, naturally. one day, 'her' status was about the tour coming to toronto, and i wasn't the only one who noticed, jules did too. that night we talked about how amazing it would be to see her live (as we have discussed a million times before), and decided we would check to see if tickets were still on sale. of course, they were already sold out, probably within the first 20 seconds of being available, this is oprah we're talking about. bummed, but not defeated, i kept a hairy eyeball on oprah's facebook posts like it was my job, and it paid off big time when she announced another block of tickets were going on sale, as she added another show to her stop in the t dot. within minutes of the tickets going on sale, i was on the phone with jules, debated the $190 tickets for about 1.2 seconds, and we ordered 2 before they could be snatched away from us forever. 

i'm going to see oprah tomorrow.

now, the decision to see oprah wasn't based on the fact that it would be "pretty amazing" to see her live, or the perfect reason to book a monday off to spend the day with one of the best girl's i know, (jules, not oprah. well her too obviously). it wasn't really a decision at all, i don't know that i had any choice in the matter actually. this is oprah. oprah winfrey. the woman i grew up watching since as far back as i can remember. there was never a time when oprah wasn't around, she's been on my television since i was 7 years old. i can remember watching the episode when she hauled a wagon of meat on stage to represent how much weight she had lost, in my mom's bed with her. almost everyday in high school, i would come home, grab a snack, and sit down to watch oprah at 4:00. i have laughed with her, learned the "ugly cry" from her and became a maya angelou fan because of her. she's like that fabulous black auntie 
everyone loves to be around, that i never had.

i have learned some of the best lessons and most wonderful words from oprah, and we have never even met. a few i think worth sharing.

"breathe. let go. and remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure."

"so go ahead. fall down. the world looks different from the ground."

"we are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

a quote from 'the tempest' by billy shakespeare she loved.

and maybe my favourite, which is one of her favourites, a dr. maya angelou lesson, "when you know better, you do better."

preparing for the show has included emailing jules daily with the same subject line each time, "omg. this is really happening", picking out an outfit (which was more difficult than picking out an outfit for any date i have ever been on with a boy, almost more difficult than picking my wedding dress out, and includes new pair of panties--only the best for oprah), painting my nails worthy of an oprah taping, and planning a sleepover in toronto at our girlfriend jen's place tonight, dinner and drinks with friends will be the perfect way to spend  'oprah eve'. 

my oprah outfit. because oprah doesn't want any dirt bags in her audience, she clearly states a dress code for all her attendees. no tank tops, shorts, all black clothing. colour is suggested. what oprah wants, oprah gets.

my oprah nails. coral + pink & a hint of turquoise.

chevron pattern bling nail.

golden.

paul says he is thankful i am going with jules and not him (not that he was ever considered, it's always been jules), as he is confident i will have the same reaction to seeing oprah for the first time, that i did when he took me to see david bowie for my birthday a few years ago (i have had an unhealthy crush on david bowie since i was 3 years old, and saw him and the outline of his penis in those silver spandex in the labyrinth). first i scream like a crazy person. then i bawl (ugly cry for sure, no questions asked) followed by sobbing like someone has just killed my entire family and pets. am i embarrassed? no. should i be? absolutely. do i care? not a single iota of fuck will be given.

because i'm going to see oprah tomorrow.