Hello world-wide-web,
Thank you Jesus for all prayers answered, for travelers safe departure and return, for healthy births, for all those suffering from addiction and are in denial, a special intention for those with doctor's appointments-your healing, Lord, always-for a continued mending of the Gulf, for those who are in the hospitals and nursing homes, for everyone who has no one to pray for them, and most of all, Heavenly Father, thank you for the many blessings and mercy you bestow on each and every one of us everyday. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
I received a rather unusual phone call from my g-y-n this past May.
He asked me, "How would you like to be in a commercial?"
"Sure."
(I didn't know what the commercial would entail, but when someone asks you to be in a commercial, ride in a sleigh drawn by huskies, or go to NYC's Times Square for NYE, you just say 'yes.')
By saying 'sure,' my doctor informed me, I was accepting an offer from Baylor Hospital to describe the service I'd been given while in one of their facilities recently (see "I heart nurses," blog for more info on my hospital stay).
My famous, or infamous, he he, appointment was set for June 18th, in the afternoon, but I wasn't ready for 'distinction' until I loaded two cute outfits in my car and ran by Regis at Collin Creek Mall in Plano for a quickie hairdo.
Upon my arrival at the studio a good-looking guy greeted me and escorted me to the 'green' room. The room was in fact green, but that wasn't what first caught my attention when the door was opened. What first caught my attention was the honking huge television that dwarfed the green room. I recovered quickly from the size of the TV to notice two comfy couches and the people sitting on this lovely furniture.
A distinguished gentleman in a finely tailored suit sat on one of the upholstered, while two attractive blond women sat on the love seat opposite him. When I entered the room one of the women hastily said, "Please sit here, I need to go anyway." The woman I sat next to was the person in charge of marketing for this project; turns out she is also the person who organizes juice and coffee for my district's convocation in the Fall. She and I chatted politely and she gave me a beautiful blue Baylor bag with goodies inside as a thank you for participating.
My claims to fame were two-fold: first, glamour shots of me, then the filming of the commercial. But not until I had my make-up session. Baylor hospital hired professionals to do make-up on their volunteers, and touch-ups during the filming. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't like wearing make-up and this was no exception, even though the woman who did my make-up was sweet and flattering. She had a thing for people's eyes and took lots of time in highlighting mine. Thankfully the make-up didn't feel heavy on my face.
The glamour photo shoot was fun. The good-looking guy that I met when I first walked in was my photographer.
"What kind of music do you like?" He asked me.
"Rock," I flashed a bright smile.
"Cool, we were already listening to rock on Pandora so we won't need to change the channel." (There were two other guys besides the photographer in the room.)
I was asked to sit on a bar stool in different positions. We took a few serious pictures, and then I had a blast making silly faces as the camera *clicked* away. I didn't realize it at the time, but people outside of the room could see the shenanigans going on in the studio! Funny. I had a good time and I hope they were laughing too.
The commercial was a bit more grueling, serious and intense. I walked into a different studio where my make-up was refreshed. Not much laughing in this room. I stood alone, under bright lights. There were two men sitting at the camera. Behind these men was a long table where the woman interviewing me, a couple of other important looking people, and the make-up artist sat. I was only to look at the camera and answer her questions in complete sentences. She prompted me with a question, and then I answered. If she needed more information, she prodded me with more questions. I had to go into some detail about why I was in the hospital; details I will spare the reader. There were a couple of 'signature' statements I had to make; at the beginning I had to say, "My name is Debi ---- and this is my story." And at the end say, "I'm Debi ---- and that is my story." I was not allowed to mention the name of my doctor, or even Baylor. A couple of those sentences I had to re-do.
I then switched gears to do the whole thing again, but this time in Spanish. I liked the Spanish questioner best. She was gentle and less abrupt. She also seemed to be listening to my story. The Spanish didn't seem to take as long, I'm not sure why that was; I guess it was partly because my interviewer knew how to get what she needed from me.
The most agreeable moment for me was when the interviewer asked me what I wanted to say to women about their health. You'll need to watch the commercial to see how I answered.
I was on a high when I left. Wow. What an experience. The commercial should be released sometime this Fall - November/December. I will be given a copy of all the photos taken and the commercial itself. I'll see if I find any photos or even the commercial worth posting.
Until next time my friends, stay healthy!
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
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