OMG MO ROCCA IS MY BFF!!!

thursday night was THE GREATEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!!!

okay, probably not, but it was very awesome. and let me tell you why -- my dear friend grant offered me his extra ticket to a taping of (drum roll!) WAIT WAIT... DON'T TELL ME! and if you know nothing about me, at least know this -- "wait wait" is my absolute favorite NPR program ever of all time!

and our tickets? in the second row! zomg! i had also had four whiskey sours (i only meant to have three, but the bartender at the byham theater couldn't find the sour mix and made one of the drinks with margarita mix, then he found the sour mix and he gave me a real whiskey sour, too)! and the panelists were tom bodett, roxanne roberts, and my favorite "wait wait" panelist ever of all time, mo rocca!!!

so, pretty much, i was happier than a pig in shit! it was a delight!!! oh! oh! and the celebrity guest for the "not my job" segment? governor ed rendell! i LOVE ed rendell! and his strange knowledge of madonna's movie career only deepens that love!

the show was fantastic and smart and hilarious and chock full of eliot spitzer jokes. we got all that fun extra stuff that only the live audience gets. i now know what the show's producers look like. but hold on, it gets better!

grant got the tickets because he's a sucker and gave too much money to local NPR station WDUQ during a pledge drive. in addition to the show tickets, he also received tickets to the reception after the show. and this is where the magic happened!

grant and i were awkwardly lurking about, wondering what to do with ourselves, i noticed that there was cake. i said, "grant, we should have some cake." so we got our cake, we're again standing about, and all of a sudden i heard grant say, "hello mr. rocca!" and i IMMEDIATELY turned into a bumbling nervous schoolgirl (much like i did when i met david foster wallace). but we totally hung out with mo rocca! with cake! we talked to mo rocca!!! we talked about pittsburgh, about how the show was terrific, i told mo that he looked a bit like an easter egg in his lime green jacket with blue tie. he said he was doing his part to usher in the spring. things seemed to be going well, so i said, "mo, this is corny, but could i get your autograph?" he said, "of course." i handed him my program to sign and i said, "i was going to ask if you'd be my best friend, but i thought that might be a bit much." he responded, "well, maybe if were going to be in town longer." when he handed me my program back, i glanced at it and i said, "DOES THAT SAY 'BFF'???" he said, "yes it does." and i said, in i guess what you would call a stage whisper, "i knew it!"

that's right, friends! that's how mo rocca became my new best friend! i called krista on my way home to break up with her. when she heard that she was being replaced by mo rocca, she understood. that's why she is, i mean, was my best friend.

and even though i didn't get a chance to meet carl kasell, i got to talk to the fantastic peter sagal, who cemented his position as emily's favorite NPR show host ever in the following exchange:

me: so peter, i have to ask you this. who would win in a fight? you or michael feldman?
ps: oh, i'd beat his scrawny ass!
me: i know you would. i know you would.

that's when i knew that i would follow peter sagal to the ends of the earth.

the thing that kinda sucks about not having had the internet all week is that last night i found peter sagal's blog and it makes me like him even more now. i wish i could have done a bit of pre-show research, alas, it wasn't to be. and it doesn't really take anything away from the evening, which was so freaking nerdy and wonderful!

so listen to the show, guys! you can download the podcast if you miss it on NPR. you might even hear me cheering and clapping! i was the drunk one in the second row.