3 days until California

I'm leaving for Los Angeles on Tuesday. I will be there for 25 days. I am nervous. Nervous and more excited than I've ever been in my whole life. Everything has come together, and I am just keeping my fingers crossed that there are no complications when I get to LA. I am literally spending every penny to my name this time to make this work and it could not be more worth it to me.

Tomorrow is my last day at work before I leave. I told my bosses about this a month ago. I can tell that while they are really happy for me, they are also really bummed out at the same time. I was talking to one of my bosses the other day and she commented, "You know Carli, a few of us think you might not be coming back. I don't know what we are going to do without you."

It hit me at that point, that while I do really love everyone I work with, my job here at home is not what I want to do forever. It's not something I can do forever. This job in California...THAT is what I want to do forever.

I replied to my boss, "I will be back on the 27th!" in an enthusiastic voice, but deep down, I know that I am more than ready to move out to California. If I had a long term job opportunity in LA, I'd be out there in a heartbeat. I'd make it work, and I think my bosses know that. I actually overheard two of them talking and they are under the impression that this opportunity may lead to other ones. I've also heard the same comment from my parents and a couple friends. I am lucky enough to have some great people in my life who support me 100%. I actually got a card in the mail last week from a family friend, someone who has known me since I was five. The card made me cry.


It's funny because in the beginning, it never even occured to me that this could lead to something else. I was so excited about this job, I wasn't really thinking about the future. Nothing in the world would make me happier than getting a full time job offer from this, moving out to LA and actually being able to go to work every day at a job that I love. That said, nothing has ever been handed to me, everyone has to work for what they want in life. I am ready to go out there and show everyone that I am dead serious about wanting this. I will work harder than I've ever worked in my life because this is all I've ever wanted in life. If I did get a long term job offer.. Holy shit. That'd be it. I'd have officially conquered my dream.

Right now, all I am focused on is giving my all at this job. That is what matters the most. The future is important to me, but this job is all that has been on my mind for the past two months. I know I am more than capable of doing a great job, and I will. I'm not worried about that. I'm just really REALLY excited to experience what this job has to offer.

What I AM nervous about is being in the city by myself. I've been to LA tons of times, but always with a friend or family member. Never by myself. I'm not going to lie, it's a little intimidating. I know 2 or 3 people in town, but I assume that I will by by myself on most of my days off. I don't know what I'll do with myself. I want to see Venice Beach. I've never been there. I could go to City Walk. I could go to Santa Monica. I REALLY want to see a Laker Game. I don't know, I'm sure I'll figure it out. I'm just not great at being alone. I guess it's something I need to get used to if I want to move out there sometime soon.

Alright, I'm going to wrap this up. I probably won't blog again before I go. Maybe I'll have some time to write on one of my days off while I am there.

I am ready. I am ready for this. I will miss my dog more than anything, but I know he will be okay here without me. I've been gone for weeks at a time before and he did alright. Plus, my little brother and sister promised to put him on the web cam occasionally while I am gone. Yeah, I am "that" girl. Anyways..like I said..I am ready. I am ready for this (possible) life changing experience. Wish me luck!

Karma, Happiness and Goals

Money is tight these days. I am saving up for something very important, something that I’m not sure will happen at this point, but if it does, I need to be ready. I don’t want to talk about it at all because I don’t want to jinx it. I actually haven’t told ONE person about it outside of my immediate family. I never keep secrets, so you know this is huge for me. I don’t want to tell anyone until I know it is happening. I will say, if this does work out, I will probably be the happiest person in the entire world.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past lately. Nothing bad, just kind of reflecting on my life and decisions I’ve made. I guess I’ve been thinking back because the idea of karma has been on my mind. Some people believe 100% in karma – what goes around comes around – basically if you are a bitch to someone, things won’t work out in your favor, but if you are nice and generous, things will go well for you.

How far back does this karma thing extend? Because I will admit, back in high school and maybe the first year or so of college, I wasn’t always too nice to everyone. I mean..I’m never really mean unless I’m provoked, but still, these days I’m trying really hard to always be positive and not have any “beef” with anyone. I’d say the past year or so I’ve been doing great. I really don’t fight with anyone, and if someone wants to fight with me for whatever reason, that is their issue. If I happen to do something wrong, I apologize. I’ve never thought too much about karma being real, but when I think about it now, this past year has been amazing for me. Is it because I have been a better person? The timing seems to add up pretty well.

Whether or not karma is real, my life has been better recently. This year has brought a lot of new changes to my life. For the first time, I’ve started focusing on what is important to me instead of only worrying about other people. From the time I was 16 until I was 22, I was in two long term consecutive relationships. There really wasn’t a break between the two. Thinking back, I accomplished nothing in that time. I spent most of my time worrying about making my boyfriend happy, and I was extremely depressed. Now I am 24 and this past year, I’ve been happier and accomplished more than I ever thought possible. That’s not to say I don’t want to be in a relationship, of course it would be nice to find someone who would love me and not treat me like absolute shit like the last one did. I’m just saying, right now, it’s not very high on my priority list. I do want to move out to LA eventually, so I really have no interest in even trying to meet a guy in Chicago. I don’t want to worry about falling in love and then trying to convince them to move across the country so I can follow my dreams. It wouldn’t be fair to them.

For the first time in my life, I have a goal set and I am determined to get there. As far back as grade school, I remember when we went around the classroom and it got to my turn, “Carli, what do you want to be when you grow up?” I’d reply “Uhh…umm…I don’t know?” It really sucked. All the other kids had some idea..I had none. Now, I know. I know, and I think it might actually be reachable. I’m not saying it will be easy, because nothing in life is handed to you. I am an extremely hard worker and I have pushed to get as far as I’ve gotten. I am ready to keep pushing. It’s not just about the dream job. It’s about being happy and content with my life. I feel the only way to be truly happy is to love your job. I’ll never be able to afford being a housewife, and frankly, I don’t think I’d want to. I’d be bored. I finally know what I am passionate about and I want to turn that passion into a career. There will never be an exact right time to move out to LA. I’ll never have all the money I need to feel secure. One day, I am just going to have to do it. And I will.

Season 3 Episode 12 of of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory!

Season 3 of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory is over! It went by so fast. It seriously seems like yesterday, I was super excited about seeing the season premiere with the Drama masks. In reality, it was July..3 months ago. Sorry once again, I know it's taken me awhile to get this blog finished. I've been working a lot lately, trying to save up some money for something really important that might be happening. The more hours I can work, the better. Unfortunately, that means that I have less time to just surf the internet. I'm actually at work right now, but tonight it is a little different. I am just working the lobby at a wedding...so all I really have to do is sit here and make sure nothing goes wrong. I get to have my netbook with me, which means I get to work on my blog.

Before I get into the episode re-cap, I just want to say, all in all, season 3 of Fantasy Factory was fantastic. I am not just saying that because I love the show. It really was a phenomenal season. So many hilarious and crazy moments. I can not WAIT until season four. Yes, that's right. Season four was announced! Season four begins filming in January and I can't wait to see the cast and crew's tweets to see what is going on. Also..Rob mentioned in a few interviews, Big Black is supposed to be making an appearance this season! I am not sure if he will be a series regular, or just in an episode or two. Either way, it will be great! I know a lot of fans have been waiting for a Rob and Big reunion, and now it will finally happen!

Personally, I am excited about three things including Big Black. Obviously, number one, seeing the hilarious chemistry between him and Rob. Two, seeing Meaty reunited with BB. I don't know if it will be possible, but I hope the camera captures the moment Meaty sees his old buddy again. Three...I want to see what Big Black looks like standing next to Chanel. Chanel is so tiny and BB is so big. He could probably lift her up with one hand.

Okay, obviously I am getting side tracked talking about Fantasy Factory. That tends to happen with me. Time to write about the season 3 finale of Fantasy Factory.

This episode started out with Rob leading a handful of models in bikini's into Drama's office, with someone named JT. Rob mentioned that him and JT were thinking about getting into the bikini business, and then Rob thanked the girls and JT led them out of the office. On their way out, Drama said "Girls, be safe!" and with that he raised both of his hands and did a double wave. After the girls left the office, Rob called Drama out on it and told him that he believes he might have just done the "horn-dog double hand wave." Drama had no idea what Rob was talking about, so Rob showed him what he did and explained that it's pretty much a known thing in the streets that when a dude does the double hand wave, he is acting like a perv. I think Drama got a little embarassed. Rob did it again, and this time he really got into it, with tounge and everything. It was a pretty funny scene.

The opening credits rolled and when we get back, the crew is jumping off a diving board into the foam pit. Rob and Big Cat were both able to successfully dunk a basketball into the hoop before falling in to the pit, and when Drama attempted to do it, he slammed against the mat on the wall and landed in the foam pit face first, leaving just his shoes visible to everyone who was standing around. Chanel was cracking up and described Drama as looking like a rag doll. After that, Rob explained that the diving board was set up for a charity event he was holding at the factory. It would be a fundraiser to raise money for underprivileged children to get skateboards through the Rob Dyrdek Foundation. Rob said there will be celebrities around, Travis Barker on the drums, some of the Street League pros doing a skate demo, and Rob said he might even dance a little to get everyone hyped up. Rob told Drama that he expected him to get his checkbook out and donate some money.

Drama - "Ill give some t-shirts or something."
Rob - "Hey, here we are again, it's charity time, and one of the Pfaff brothers hates kids."
Drama - "I don't hate kids..."

In the next scene, Rob and Drama were sitting at Rob's desk and Rob was eating a cookie. He told Drama to try a piece, and he asked Drama what it tasted like. Drama replied, "Oatmeal?" Rob then proceeded to sing a jingle about how the cookie tasted like Heaven on Earth. While Rob was singing his jingle, Drama was looking at him like he usually does..like Rob is insane. Rob asked Drama if he agrees, that Rob is the greatest Jingler of all time. Drama said he does agree. Rob was wondering why he never had a chance to do real jingles, so he called upstairs to Jeremy.

Rob told Jeremy he was frustrated. He was the Jay-Z of jingles and he didn't have any work. He just wanted someone to believe in him. He told Rob he didn't care what company, he just wanted to do a Jingle. Rob suggested Butterfinger, or Taco Bell. Drama suggested Olive Garden, and Rob broke out into a pretty catchy Olive Garden jingle. That jingle was funny, but I pretty much lost it when he made up a jingle about Wienerschnitzel.

Rob - "If you love a wiener like I love a wiener then come on downnnnn!"

Rob said he could make up a jingle about anything, first try, not writing anything down, just making it up as he goes. Jeremy said if Rob could put together a really good demo reel, he would get him a jingle deal. Because Rob called himself the Jay Z of jingles, Drama wanted to know if he could be the Pharrell of jingles. Rob said absolutley, Drama is with him all the way.

There was a commercial break, and after that Rob waddled into Drama's office, dressed up in a giant skateboard costume that we would later come to know as Skatey. Skatey was equipped with wheels and trucks. He was actually a functioning, human sized skateboard. Rob told Drama that he was going to have Skatey at the Sk84Life event, to represent the happiness of skateboarding. He also explained how it was very difficult to breathe and he felt like his neck was compeltely weighted down while wearing the costume. Rob said he feels incredibly sad inside, but then Drama came back and said luckily for him, he had a "perma smile" affixed on the front of the costume. Drama then pointed to two of the wheels, and explained how they kind of resembled boobs. Then Rob reached up and started playing with the wheel boobs. It looked hilarious.

Rob - "I don't need no implants, I got these wheel boobies!"

After that, Rob decided he wanted to have a skate session with Skatey. He ran out of Drama's office and landed on his belly on the concrete. Drama climbed up on top of him and rode him like a real skateboard. Rob took Drama down a ramp and Drama was pretty skeptical of it working. It did work, and then they showed a montage of Rob in the Skatey suit skating over the wild grinders area and down the large blue ramp. After that, Drama and Big Cat wanted to test the speed of Skatey going over a bump, so they took a running start and pushed Skatey over the orange bump in the Wild Grinders skate area. Rob hit the bump, flipped, and landed flat on his back, and then flipped back over to land on the wheels. I don't know why, but it was SO HILARIOUS to watch. My whole family was cracking up. Drama and Big Cat were laughing and then poor Rob was not moving, and he explained that he might have just knocked himself out. Drama and Big Cat unzipped the costume and Rob had a little gash on his head.

Rob - "I will tell you one thing. This will be an incredible benefit, but you will not find me inside this great costume."
Big Cat - "I feel kinda bad for whoever has to wear that after you."
Rob - "Well, let's hope it's not you."

After that scene, Rob goes into Drama's office, completely hyped up about making his jingle demo. He gave Drama a high five with the double J's and then Big Cat brought in a box of various items that Rob could sing about. In the box was hemorrhoid cream. Rob pulled the cream out and started singing on the spot about hemorrhoid cream. It was so funny. They all head into the studio and it was time to record the jingle demo. There is no way I could type out the jingles and it would have the same hilarious effect of you hearing them in Rob's voice, so I won't. I will just say that Rob sang about hand sanitizer, a pregnancy test, nicotine patches, jock itch relief cream, baby wipes, and butter. It was funnier than words can describe.

There was a commercial break and after that, Rob and Drama walk up to Big Cat's office, with the Skatey costume in hand. Big Cat already had a look on his face that showed how bummed he was. He knew what was coming. Rob asked Big Cat to put on the Skatey costume and come with them to a skate plaza, where they were going to hand out skateboards to kids.

Big Cat - "This is why I don't say anything, because when I do, it ends me up in shit like this."

Big Cat puts the costume on, and the front door to the factory opens up with Big Cat hobbling out. I was already laughing at this point. They got up to Rob's SUV and realized that there was no way Skatey was going to fit. Rob, Chanel and Drama were bending Big Cat in ways that a human should never bend, trying to fit him into the car. They finally got him in and drove off. Drama made a comment on how it was kind of like if someone were to kidnap Skatey, haha.

They arrive at the skate plaza and Rob introduced Skatey to a bunch of kids and handed out some boards. After Rob was finished handing out boards, he asked if anyone wanted to ollie Skatey. We hear Big Cat say "WHAT!?" in a voice much higher than Big Cat's usual tone.

Rob - "Skatey, you wanna skate for the kids? You wanna skate for the kids?!"
Big Cat - "No."

Of course, it wasn't really up to Big Cat, and before we know it, he is on his belly, ready for Skatey to skate. Chanel said she wanted to try and ride him. She climbed up on his back and she was having so much fun!

Chanel - "Woo, go faster! Yo, this is tight! Uh oh, there's stairs coming!"

Chanel hopped off Big Cat and he stopped rolling before reaching the stairs. Rob gave Skatey a big hug and thanked him for helping the kids.

In the next scene Rob met up with Jeremy in his office. Jeremy informed Rob that he got him a deal based off his jingle demo reel. The jingle was for Panasonic and Panasonic also wanted to sponsor the Sk84Life event. Rob decided that he would not only make the jingle, he would perform it at the event! The jingle was for a new product called the Jungle. It is a portable handheld gaming device. Rob starts singing a jingle and he leaves Jeremy's office and heads downstairs to Drama. He goes into Drama's office and starts making up a Panasonic jingle on the spot. Rob explained to Drama that Panasonic believed in him enough to have him create the Jungle jingle and sponsor the Sk84Life event. They head towards the Hands of God studio, and then there is a commercial break.

After the break, we see the Sk84Life party. This moment was one of the most exciting Fantasy Factory moments for me because I was lucky enough to attend the Sk84Life event back in May. Seeing the footage brought back all the excitement of actually being there. We see Rob welcoming Pharrel, The Game, and Yelawolf. They walk the Red Carpet and we see the Mayor of Los Angeles, Dana White, and Mel B. Then we see a performance from The Cool Kids with Travis Barker on the drums. After the performance we see the live auction for the charity with Rob on stage. That was the first time I spotted myself, front and center, in the crowd. A bunch of people start donating, including Dana White and Jeremy. Then Rob looks for Drama in the crowd and kind of volunteered Drama to donate $10,000. The camera goes to Drama and he has a confused look on his face.

After that, Rob performs one of the jingles he made for the Panasonic Jungle. He performed another one at the event, but that one got cut out of the episode. It was REALLY catchy, I still get it stuck in my head sometimes. After the performance, we see the Mayor take a ride down the zip line, and then we see Rob enter the DC Lounge where he had a place for kids to design their own DC Shoe. Rob and Drama took a picture with Meaty and Beefy, and then Rob thanked Dana White for coming out to support Sk84life. We see a little bit of the Street League skate demo with Torey Pudwill, Sean Malto and Chris Cole. Then, Pharrell, The Game, and The Mayor of Los Angeless all jumped into the foam pit. That wrapped up the party footage.

In the next scene, Rob goes into Drama's office and tells him that the party was extremely successful. He raised over $600,000, of which Drama donated $10,000. Drama didn't recall actually saying he would do that, and Rob said he might've misread his signal a little bit. Rob decided to make a deal with Drama. If Drama could get Skatey into the foam pit, Rob would donate th $10,000.

Drama got into the Skatey outfit and Rob grabbed one hand, while Big Cat grabbed the other. They took a running start and pulled Drama until he got up to the ramp. He almost made it in...except for the fact that his wheels got hooked onto the edge of the ramp, getting Drama stuck at the top. It was SO FUNNY! Rob told Drama if he stays up there for awhile, that is worth 10 G's. That ended the episode and season 3.

It was a great episode. My dad said it was one of his favorites this season, haha. Lot's of great moments. All the episodes are up on mtv.com if you need to catch up. I still have to write the re-cap on the Hawaiian Manventure episode. That episode is not working for some reason up on mtv.com. As soon as it is working, or if I happen to get the Season 3 DVD first, I will get that re-cap written.

Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of Fantasy Factory. It was a great season, and I hope we have many more to look forward to!

Season 3 Episode 11 of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory!

I've been hoping to catch up on my re-caps this week. Unfortunately, the "Hawaiian Manventure" episode is not working on mtv.com and my DVR doesn't really like to pause when I need it to. I have been waiting for the episode to work online, but now it is Saturday and it is still unavailable, so I've decided to skip that re-cap for now and write one about this past episode, "WWII 1972." As soon as the Hawaiian episode is up and running again, I will get that re-cap done.

This episode was another one of my favorites this season. It was so hilarious and so well done. The episode started out with Rob peeking out from his office, dressed in an all black ninja outfit. He sneaks over to Drama's office, and Drama has no idea Rob is there. He slides the door open and starts hurling ninja stars at Drama's wall. Then he pulls out his nunchucks and starts whipping them around, terrorizing Drama. Rob says that Drama needs to be ready..if someone runs up on him in the streets, he needs a full fledged ninja to watch his back.

The opening credits roll and when we get back, Rob and Drama are sitting in Rob's office and Rob is telling Drama how he feels really bad. He got in a fight with his mom the previous day and used some pretty bad words. He said he probably "F'd" at her at least 20+ times, haha. Because of this, he called his mom to apologize.

Rob - "Well, what do you say when you get super angry, when dad burnt some cookies. What do you say?"
Pat Dyrdek - "In 43 years of marriage, he's never made a cookie."

Rob decided to start the ACC - Anti-Cursing Coalition. His mission was to get curse words out of kids vocabularies and replace them with less offensive words. Rob said it must be destiny, because he was just about to release a new line for the DC Dyrdek Collection, and he thought within that, he could create a t-shirt line featuring alternative curse words. Rob wanted to take the style from old people, and modernize it to create a style for younger people.

Rob - "Imagine if I took their style and modernized it. Think how many great looks old people have. Old people have incredible plaids, they have great sweaters! They wear incredible vests!"

At this point Rob explained to Drama that they were going to go undercover to talk to old people. Then...he put poor Drama on blast. I felt bad for Drama..but it was SO FUNNY. Rob said they were going to talk to WWII people. Drama had a look of confusion on his face, then said "Oh." Rob asked if he knew what WWII was and Drama said World War II.

Rob - "Okay. Do you know when it happened?"

Now at this point, I knew Drama had no clue. History has never been my strong point in school. In fact, it was my least favorite subject. I hated it. Despite that, I still know what year WORLD WAR II happened, haha. I thought pretty much everyone in life had at least a ballpark idea of when WWII was. Not Drama Beats.

Drama - "Sure don't."
Rob - "Give me an idea of when you think it might have happened."
Drama - "Not even a clue."
Rob - "Give me an idea!"
Drama - "Umm....19....65."
Rob - "1965" (in between laughter)
Drama - "Maybe 75.."

At that point Rob continuted to ask Drama if he really had NO CLUE about when WWII was. He didn't, haha. Rob laughed and said "FUDGE ME! Fudge me and fudge all the baby brains in this world." haha. I was laughing so hard at this point. Rob explained that the 70s were when hippies were around. Not WWII.

In the next scene, Chanel called Rob over and explained that she had a really good idea for an invention. Chanel explained about how skateboarders wear shoelaces as belts when they skateboard, instead of regular belts, to help keep their pants up. They do that because the belt buckles hurt them while they are skating. Chanel came up with a belt made out of shoelace material, clasped together by a bra strap.

Rob - "Bras are for boobs."
Chanel - "Isn't this so much better than just a shoe lace?"
Rob - "Did you make this yourself?"
Chanel - "Uh huh!"
Rob - "This is a bra belt."

Rob then proceeds to put the belt on over his chest, similar to where a bra would be on a woman. The he sniffs it.

Rob - "Oh my God, it smells like SEX!"
Chanel - "No it doesn't! Okay, that's weird."

Rob puts the belt on.

Rob - "Oh my god, I feel like I'm in Jr. High right now. Here we go, boobies! The boobies are coming! The boobies are coming! Oh, no, it's just a belt!"

This scene was so funny. Rob tells Chanel it needs a little bit of work, it can't look like a bra.

Rob- "When you are just trying to keep your pants up, you don't want to touch something that makes you think about getting your pants off."

In the next scene, it is time for Rob and Drama to be transformed into old men. We saw the process that they had to go through to get their makeup done, and it turned out so awesome. I assume they used the same makeup artists that Jackass used back in the day. It turned out so realistic. After they were transformed, Rob was sitting at his desk, dancing, and Drama came in. They decided they needed better old person names, so they decided to use their middle names. Drama, being Russ (Russell) and Rob being Stan (Stanley).

Rob tells Drama they need to go do some research, and they are going to the senior center. Big Cat is sitting in his office and Rob and Drama walk up to Big Cat. Rob is walking with a cane, dressed in jeans and a DC hoodie, and Drama is wearing jeans and a Young and Reckless hoodie.

Big Cat - "Why are you guys 75 from the neck up and like 16 from the neck down?"

Haha, Big Cat was right, Rob and Drama did look kind of ridiculous in their young people's outfits. The next scene is one of my favorites. I think it is so funny seeing old people able to do young person activities. I don't know why, haha. Rob comes skateboarding out, dressed in old people clothes, looking like a complete old man. Drama follows, and they have a little skate session as old men. Every time they bailed, they yelled out alternative curse words. It was so hilarious.

They cut to a commercial and when they come back Rob and Drama are on their way to the senior center. They sit down with the old people and ask them about alternative curse words. "Frickin, Cotton Pickin, Chicken Pluckin, and Hot Diggity Dang," were the words that the real old people suggested. Rob and Drama then went to do some line dancing, and once again, i found it hilarious. They were moving a lot better than any normal old person, and it looked awesome, haha. They played a little ping pong and basketball, and it was time to leave. Right before they left, Rob mentioned how he wasn't only learning about alternative curse words, he was learning about fashion.

Rob - "An old person's closet is like a pot of gold!"

In the next scene Rob and Drama are in the DC Lounge playing ping pong. Rob noticed that Drama was wearing one of Chanel's Bra Belts. He asked Drama about it and Drama said Chanel told him to wear it, it would help him keep his pants up. Rob calls Chanel in and asks why she gave the new version of the Bra Belt to Drama to wear. Chanel said she worked on the design, so now it looks more like a shoelace. Drama had no idea Chanel invented it, he thought she bought it in a store. Chanel thought because of that, it meant it could probably sell in stores, and Rob said it actually had some potential. Drama tried to take it off, and realized it was like a bra. He said it was kind of difficult to take off, and Rob told him to do it with one hand, like he was taking off a bra. Drama said he couldn't do it.

Drama - "I can't do the one-hander"
Rob - "So when you go to release a bra, you use two hands?"
Drama - "Every time."

Rob told Drama maybe he should just keep the belt for practice, haha.

Rob - "That things got potential. I don't know if it has potential in my world, but if it helps Drama get to the boobies quicker, that's all that matters."

In the next scene, Rob calls Big Cat, Drama, Jeremy, Geoffrey and Chanel over and explains about how he designed an entire collection of clothes around old people style. He was having a fashion show at the DC Store, and he invited some of the older people he met last week to the show. That wasn't all. They were going to help model the old people clothing line. Jeremy and Geoffrey didn't look too amused. Rob asked Drama how good it is going to be. Drama responded with "It's very impressive."

Rob - "And that's coming from a guy that has an incredible button down v-neck with chest hair! Have I ever told you how ugly you make me feel?"
Drama - "That's the worst compliment I've ever gotten."
Rob - "You know when I feel pretty? When I'm with my dogs."

In the next scene we are at the DC Store, you might remember it from Rob's RD 1.5 shoe release party in season 1 of Fantasy Factory. The store is set up for a fashion show. Rob says hello to the old people from the senior center. They didn't recognize him because last time he was dressed as an old man, and Rob said he forgot that they didn't know what he looked like.

The fashion show gets started and Rob gets on stage and explains a little bit about what influenced his new line. Rob brings out the old people he met, then one of the models come out to show the outfit that was based on that person's style. We see Big Cat, Geoffrey, and Drama. One of the old men models was actually a WWII veteran. Rob makes a point to explain that Drama actually thought WWII took place in 1969. They cut to the old men laughing and Drama looking embarassed, haha.

The rest of Rob's line features t-shirts with old men on them, using alternative curse words. After that, Rob explains a piece that he added to the collection. Rob said HE invented something unique for a skateboarder. He explained how skateboarders use shoe strings as a belt to hold up their pants because the belt buckles hurt, and as he was explaining, Chanel was in the audience getting madder by the second. She looked genuinely pissed off. Rob saw Chanel getting mad and he decided to give her her shine. He explained that it was actually Chanel's idea. She looked really happy and proud of herself, and then Rob brought everyone out to walk the runway one last time. At the end, Rob introduced Drama to the WWII veteran and Drama looked pretty ashamed of himself, haha.

Drama - "I learned my lesson. It was 1939. 36? 35."
Rob - "Are you fucking with me right now?"

And the show ended on that note. It was such a hilarious episode. My whole family was cracking up the whole time. Definitely one worth watching again and again.

The time has come and next week (Monday) it is already time for the season 3 finale. Rob throws a fundraiser for the Rob Dyrdek Foundation and invites a bunch of celebrities to join in on the fun. He also records some pretty hilarious jingles. I am a little nervous about this one...I was there and I was front row for the performances so watch the episode and let me know if you see my face anywhere in there! haha.

Also, go to youngandreckless.com to get this week's exclusive limited edition Y&R shirt featuring Russel - Old and Reckless.

As soon as the Hawaiian Manventure episode is up on mtv.com, I will try and get that blog done. Sorry again for the delay!

Season 3 Episode 9 of of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory!

I’m really sorry I’ve been so behind on my episode re-caps. After I got back from California, I had three huge blogs to write about Street League and I wanted to make sure I finished those while the details were fresh in my mind. After this blog, I will only be behind one episode, and hopefully I can get that done before the new one airs on Monday. This episode was the Best of, Bonus and Behind the Scenes episode. This episode is one I look forward to every season! I love behind the scenes stuff in general, so I especially love watching it when it has to do with my favorite television show.

The show opens with the cast and crew in Rob Dyrdek’s parents house in Kettering, OH. There is a loud crash and you hear someone say “I’m sorry you guys.” It was Pat Metcalfe, the Director of Photography. He accidentally knocked into one of the heirlooms on the shelves in Rob’s house and sent it crashing to the ground. Rob takes the camera and begins to film as Pat and Rob’s dad Gene pick up the glass. You hear Patty in the background yelling so Gene doesn’t let Pat touch the glass. Then Rob welcomes us to the Best of, Bonus and Behind the scenes episode of Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory. Rob starts singing the opening notes to the theme song and then the opening credits start rolling.

In the first scene, Rob is sitting in his go kart, wearing the outfit he wore during the season premiere when he drove the skateboarding car. Drama is standing next to him and Rob welcomes us to the show. He messes up the delivery of his opening and screams “FUCCCCCKK!” loud at the camera. Rob says sometimes you mess up and you just need to curse. The camera cuts to the executive producer, Shane Nickerson, who is sitting on the steps by Rob’s office, laughing as Rob tries to get his lines out. After that, Rob dives into it and introduces the first clip which he says is one of his favorites - the skateboarding car. After they show the skateboarding car clip, they show another clip from the season premiere where Rob was trying to get Drama to have a little more fun and take the go kart for a spin. He was telling drama to “hammer it,” and Drama went extra hard and hammered it right into the concrete. I’m sure you all remember the clip from the season premiere.

After that clip, Rob, Drama and Big Cat are standing in front of the camera wearing their grilled cheese necklaces. Rob explains a little bit about the Cheeseballers episode, and to help set it up, he pulls out his can of edible grilled cheese and sprays Big Cat’s mouth gold, haha. Big Cat did not look to happy about it. Rob got into the Cheeseballers cheer “I say cheese, you say baller, Cheese! Ballers! Cheese! Ballers!” and he was dancing while Drama and Big Cat just looked at him like he was crazy. They show us the clip from the episode when Rob was spray painting Drama’s face gold. They also showed us a little bit of behind the scenes stuff at this point. Rob went out to show the crew what his face looked like with the gold mouth and everyone was cracking up.

Rob and Drama begin to intro to the commercial break while Rob was playing tug of war with Meaty. They were using a long rope of some sort and Rob pulled Meaty up to the point of him being off the ground.

Rob - “…Ohh it’s the deadliest catch! It’s a live big BULLDOG!”

After the commercial break they showed one of my favorite scenes from the episode. They were at the warehouse where Rob was driving the skateboarding car, and Drama and Big Cat were off by themselves sliding down the concrete ramps. They were sliding in different ways, sometimes on one foot. Rob decided to give commentary on their sliding to the camera and it was hilarious!

Rob - “We’re the Pfaff’s! Hey we’re the Pfaffs, hey! We are just hanging here and we are gonna do our little shoe slides, we’re the Pfaffs! Pfaff’s! Yeah, we’re like super psyched with each other cause we get around each other and do crazy games together cause we’re super silly!”

At that point Drama and Big Cat realized what Rob was doing and the camera panned to them standing next to each other, looking alike, both staring at Rob. It was SO funny. I was seriously laughing so hard when this aired.

In the next scene, Rob and Drama are in the Fantasy Factory and Rob is sitting on an outdoor toilet. Basically it is a seat with a hole in it. He was sitting on it because they were about to show us a preview from the next brand new episode which took place in Hawaii. Rob and Drama traveled to Hawaii to test their “Man Level’s” and taking an outdoor dump is a huge part of how high your man level is. They cut to a hilarious scene where Rob and Drama are in Hawaii and Rob is sitting on the outdoor toilet while Drama gives him an odd look. Rob explains that even if he wasn’t about to go camping, he still might use the outdoor toilet just so he could see what it feels like to take a free dump in paradise. They set up their tents and as soon as they both get comfortable, Rob releases a loud fart which makes both him and Drama start cracking up.

Drama - “No Fucking Way! NO WAY”
Rob - “Dude, I’m telling you man, that bucket was teasing my butt! You know what I‘m saying?”
Drama - “You just hot-boxed yourself man! And that sounded like you might have shit a little..”

After the Hawaii preview, they cut back to Rob and Drama in the factory and Rob sets up a scene featuring His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. He explains how he wanted Sri Sri to experience something that he never thought was humanly possible, so Rob decided to go out and get a car that drives on water. Yes, it is exactly how it sounds. They show a deleted scene from the “He’s Just A Little Mini Pig” episode, and in the scene Rob, Sri Sri, Jeremy and Drama are driving down the road and Rob drives the car right into a lake. The boat/car was fine and they were able to drive through the water. It looked really cool. After the scene, Rob, Drama and Jeremy are in Jeremy’s office and Rob sets up the commercial break by talking about happiness. He has a picture of Sri Sri in his hand and he says while we watch commercials, he is going to go into that port-a-potty and get a little bit more happy, haha.

After the commercial, Rob, Drama and Big Cat are at the top of the foam pit with the go-kart, presumably filming a scene for the first episode of the season when all of a sudden Gentle Neill skates up and the sound of the skateboard kills the scene. I feel bad because I know exactly how it feels to be shy and awkward, but I can’t help but laugh every time they tease him. It is SO FUNNY.

Rob - “Gentle Neill man, he is just trying to do anything for that behind the scenes look. Cause he knows he gets chicks off it’ Yea, I work on that show! That behind the scenes show.’ Welcome back from the commercial!”

Then Rob goes on to explain Neill’s awkward presence and as Neill walks away, Rob continues to comment on how awkward it looks when Neill walks away. Neill darts into the DC Lounge and that brings us to the next scene - Rob dressed in his Bengal outfit, sitting on the Cat Car with Big Cat and Drama. Rob intros us to the scene where he demolished Big Cat’s car in the “Live Your Brand,” episode. Rob goes crazy smashing the car in with the sledge hammer and then he passes off the hammer to Drama. My favorite part of this scene is when Rob is on top of the car and Drama is in the process of smashing it. Rob turns to Drama and says “What are you?” Drama was supposed to answer “Young and Reckless!” but before he could, Big Cat answers - “A Dick.”

The next part of the episode is another part I always look forward to - Unseen Puppy Footage! It starts off with Beefy licking the camera and we see all sorts of adorable footage from Meaty and Beefy sleeping, to homemade diapers, to Rob having a stare-down with Meaty while wearing the Drama mask.

After the puppy clips, Rob is about to set up a new scene while holding Meaty on his lap at his desk. Drama is also sitting at his desk and it is pretty clear that Meaty has a Red Rocket issue going on. The Fantasy Factory editors decided to blur it, which turned out hysterical!

Rob - “Oh boy,” (as he uses his hand to cover it)
Drama - “Censor that thing.”
Rob (in a puppy/baby voice) - “Is that your little defense mechanism?”
Drama - “Ughhh, I’m gonna puke. Dude..it looks like a clown nose!”
Rob - “Why you got such a little cherry top?”
Drama - “Dude, I think your dog has herpes.”

Haha, it was so funny. Little meaty had no idea what he was doing would be shown on national television in front of 1.7 million viewers.

They cut to a commercial and then we see some more behind the scenes footage with the crew. We get to see how much fun the entire cast and crew has while making the show. There are a lot of jokes, laughing and random dancing done while filming. I remember a few months back, Rob tweeted something and asked everyone if they knew what “Twerking” was. At the time I had no idea what he was talking about, so I googled it. I have to say, this scene had to be the funniest scene in the entire episode. After this scene, I was laughing for the rest of the show. Byron, one of the camera operators starts shaking his ass and Rob just gives him an odd look. “We were just talking about twerking man!”

Rob - “It wouldn’t surprise me if you were part of some weird dance crew on the weekends!” Then Rob started dancing.
Byron - “Go to youtube. “Twerk team.”
Rob - “Is that your crew? You wanna know what would get me really psyched? Is if I googled it and you popped up.”

Rob pulls up the twerk team video on Youtube and basically it is just girls with huge asses shaking them. It is almost impossible to explain in words, I think to get the full effect you should search it yourself. The video starts and Rob’s face was priceless. He started pointing at Reno (one of the sound mixers) and saying “Stop it! STOP IT! This dude is getting so fired up right now! Get him out of the room! Before he starts humping the screen!” It was SO FUNNY!

In the next scene, Rob brings out the iCore Cruncher and explains a little bit about what it does. They show a clip from the episode, “It’s Barry! Barry Bright!” We get to see a little bit of the hilarious infomercial that they shot that day and a little bit of the preparation for filming.

After that, Rob was holding a glass frame with a picture of Drama and two Young and Reckless models (the same picture that is on the wall in Drama’s office) and he talks about the “Live Your Brand” episode. He explained how there was really nothing reckless about Drama and he told Drama that he needs to go hard! With that, Rob smashes the glass frame on the desk and glass goes flying everywhere.

Rob - “That’s reckless. That‘s how you do it.”
Drama - “Really?”
Rob - “Look, hey, I just get caught up trying to live your brand…Let’s take a look at Drama living reckless.”

We see the clip where Rob and Drama jump out of a window from the “Live Your Brand,” episode.

That wraps up the Best of, Bonus and Behind the Scenes episode. I honestly think this was one of my favorite behind the scenes episodes ever. Being a hardcore Fantasy Factory fan, I wish I was able to see EVERY ounce of footage that hits the cutting room floor. I know that is not possible, so seeing these behind the scenes episodes is the next best thing. I know the Hawaii episode has already aired, so I will do my best to get that re-cap done before the new episode on Monday!

Street League Vacation Part 3 - FANTASY FACTORY!

This is part three, the finale of my Street League Vacation blog series, haha. While on the trip, I had no idea this day was going to exist. It was a complete surprise, and probably the best unexpected event of my life.

Street League festivities were over on Saturday night. If you've read my two previous blog entries, you know that both days were so incredible, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I always know that my trips will be amazing, but Rob exceeds my expectations each time.

Sunday, my brother and I just drove around LA a lot, I showed him things he has seen on TV that he wanted to see in person. I DID want to drive by the Fantasy Factory once before I left LA. How could I be in LA and not see it? I was thinking about doing it on Sunday, but someone on twitter reminded me that it probably isn't a good idea to drive downtown Sunday since the VMAs were going on and traffic would be horrible. Sunday was pretty low-key and on Monday morning, we woke up and headed to my second favorite place in the world - Warner Brothers Studios. I've been in LA 9 times and I've taken the Warner Brothers tour 8 times. The only time I didn't go was back in May because that trip was really short and money was tighter than ever. Warner Brothers is amazing. The first time I was there, I was 13 years old and it was at that point that I knew I wanted to move to Los Angeles.

Everything in television fascinates me. Actually getting to go behind the gates of a full fledged working movie studio is amazing. I highly recommend taking the tour to anyone who plans on visiting LA. There are two, one is $225 and that is a 5.5 hour tour, which I've taken twice and it is incredible. There is also a $45 2.5 hour tour, which is also so much fun. That is the one I took this time.

The tour ended at about 1:15pm and since we were flying home the next day, I thought this would be the best time to drive over to the Fantasy Factory. I put the address in my gps and it told me it was 19 minutes away. It was much easier to find this time, last time I got super lost. We pulled onto the street and the gate was open. Rob's truck was sitting outside and I assumed he was in the factory. I had no intention of seeing him, or seeing anyone really. I just wanted to see the factory. I turned the car around and parked in front of his truck, so the factory was on my side. Just as I did that, a white car pulled into the factory. It was Rob's Porsche. He got out and I waved to him nervously. He started making his way over to me, and I didn't know what to do. I got out of the car and met him halfway. I felt really horrible, I knew it must have looked so bad, like I was following him or sitting outside the factory or something, but I swear that wasn't the case. No joke, he pulled up the SECOND after I did. It was "destiny," as he would say.

"Look who it is!" Rob said.

"Hey! I'm sorry, this must look really bad, I promise I am not following you or anything, I just wanted to drive by the factory once before I head home tomorrow." I said.

"Come on in," Rob replied.

At that point I kind of silently freaked out. Go INTO the factory? SERIOUSLY? I think I might have actually asked him if he was serious, it's kind of hard to remember. We walked up to the door and someone threw some rolled up paper over the fence. Rob picked it up and it was a picture of an old man with a letter attached to it. He started singing a song, I wish I could remember what he sang, but I know I've heard it before somewhere. When we got into the lobby area it was kind of dark and he opened up the fan letter and read it out loud. It went something like this, but not exactly -

"Dear Rob,

This is a picture of an old man. It kind of looks like you. (Rob looked at the picture and said it kind of did, haha). This old man is my great-grandfather. I am a huge fan of yours and It would be really awesome if you could give me a call sometime. Here is my number. PS - I can fake Picasso's too."

If you are a Dyrdek fan you will easily remember that the last line in that kid's letter is referring to the episode of Rob and Big when Rob's parents came to LA and Rob lost the poem his mom gave him, so he typed out a new one and said if she cries, that means he can fake Picasso's.

I asked Rob if a lot of people throw things over the fence for him, and he said yeah, he said I'm not the only one who goes hard, I just go the hardest or something to that effect. We took a picture in front of the Dyrdek Enterprises sign and then he said to follow him and he led us into the factory. I asked if Meaty and Beefy were still at boot camp, it would have been SO AWESOME to see those guys, and he said they were. The lights were off in the factory and he turned them on and told us to go crazy and do whatever we want. Rob went upstairs for a little bit and while the lights were turning on, my brother and I went into the DC Lounge.

Inside the DC Lounge, Bobby Light, Lil Rob and Rob's Gymkhana outfit were on display. They used to be in his office, but his office was empty, I guess he is in the process of re-doing it. I took a picture with all three because last time I was at the factory I didn't do it. Don't ask why, I accidentally threw up the peace signs in my picture with Bobby Light. I swear, I have never done that in a picture before in my life. I guess being around Bobby Light kind of brought it out? I don't know, haha. This time the factory was a totally different atmosphere. Last time it was the Sk84Life party, so the whole place was decorated for a party. It was still the factory, it was AMAZING to see, it was just super busy. This time, it was the real deal. The Fantasy Factory exactly as seen on TV. Like I said, I took a couple pictures, I snapped a picture of Rob's signature shoes on display (though it looks like one of them is missing?), and then the lights in the factory finally were fully on. We went out into the factory and it was incredible. We could literally run around the whole place. It was every Fantasy Factory fan's dream.

I took pictures with a bunch of stuff. I didn't go into the foam pit because let's face it, I'm not really what one would call in shape, and there was no ladder or anything leading into it. All that was there is the little red, blue and yellow ramp that Big Cat hit his head on in season one, and it really isn't little at all. That thing is REALLY steep looking. I don't know how people can just run up it, it looks like it would be similar to running up a wall.





I went over and peeked into Drama's office. The door was open, but I didn't want to go in. He wasn't there and his stuff was inside and I thought it would be weird to just walk in. I did snap a picture, and in the picture there is a pretty exclusive Young and Reckless item that the public does not know about, so I am not going to post that picture. I will say, if Drama releases it, I will buy it so fast! He also had like 3 pairs of the DVS/Young and Reckless Collabo shoes and the boxes all said "Sample only." It was pretty cool.

Soon, Rob came back downstairs and we just hung out and talked for awhile. My brother was sneaky and snapped a pic with his cell phone while we were talking and I love it, haha. It is just a picture of Rob and I talking in the Fantasy Factory, but it is so cool to me. I know, I am a loser, the smallest things make me so happy, haha. We talked about Street League, and a lot about Rob and Big and about Big Black. I asked about him since Rob tweeted that picture of the two of them about a week or so ago. We also talked about Rob's new show a little bit and about Fantasy Factory. While we were talking, Rob's phone rang and it was Chaz Ortiz. I guess Chaz is looking into getting a bulldog because he asked Rob what kind of bulldogs he has. Rob described Meaty and Beefy as "45-50lbs of fat puppies" haha.

When Rob got off the phone we talked a little more about Street League and about Chaz's fall at the end. Rob walked over to some boxes and grabbed something and headed back over to me. This is when my nerdy personality really shined through. As SOON as he started walking towards me with those items I knew exactly what they were and I was SO EXCITED about it.

Me - "Oh my god, are those the LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE COMIC-CON WILD GRINDERS?!"

That is exactly what I said out loud and when I heard myself, I knew I sounded like a loser. I didn't care, I wanted one of those ever since I saw a picture of them on twitter when Rob was at Comic Con.

I am still so excited that I have them, haha. They are awesome. Anyways, he gave my brother and I each an exclusive comic-con Wild Grinders toy. Tracy came down from upstairs and said hi, and also asked Rob if he wanted to order food. I didn't think about it until after I left, but if Tracy was at the factory, that meant Tux was probably at the factory too! It was later confirmed that he was, and I would have LOVED to see Tux.

After that, Rob had a lot of work to do, and my brother and I had to head over to Hollywood and Highland because my brother wanted to see a movie premiere and Easy A was premiering that night. We took another picture, this time Rob was on the PK Ripper. I thanked him again for everything and he walked us to our car.

Monday was insane. I got to go to the two places I love most in the world in one day. Warner Brothers and the Fantasy Factory. Rob was so generous, he always is, but he just went above and beyond. I was careful not to ask Rob if I could go into the Fantasy Factory because I never like asking for too much. He already was so amazing to me the other two days. Once again Rob read my mind and invited me in without me even having to ask for it.

This trip was truly incredible. If someone were to tell me beforehand how amazing it would be, I wouldn't have believed them. It was a dream come true, once again. I honestly can not wait until 2011 because I plan on attending as many Street League events as my wallet will allow. I forgot to ask Rob if he plans on bringing Street League to Chicago, but I really hope he does. Even if he doesn't, I will find at least one event I can go to. I will make it happen. And who knows? Maybe by that time I will be able to save up enough money to move out to LA. That is another dream of mine that I am determined to make happen sometime in the near future.

That wraps up my vacation. I put together a slide show of a bunch of my pictures, you can check it out here -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30huKlJG-v8

Also, I know I am an episode behind on my re-caps. I have not finished the re-cap of the Best of, Bonus and Behind the scenes episode, but I will do my best to make next week a double. I will finish that one and hopefully finish the blog about tomorrow's new episode of Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory.

Street League Vacation Part 2 - Street League!

Now that I've unpacked, finished my laundry, and have two days off of work, I think it is time to start part two of my vacation blog. Before I get into it, I first want to say that Wednesday night, Street League made it's television debut on ESPN2 and it was awesome. It was so cool seeing it on TV, and the Glendale, AZ stop was great! It was really anybody's game up until the very last set of tricks and it was so intense to watch. I highly recommend watching stop 2 next Wednesday night on EPSN2, not only because it is the event I was at, but because I promise, it is one of the most exciting sporting events you will ever see.

My brother and I woke up at around 8am on Saturday morning and headed out to Ontario. I knew there would be traffic and we were staying about 45 minutes away. We got to the arena at around 9:45am and not too much was going on, so we headed to a little strip mall across the street and went searching for a Starbucks or Coffee Bean. We found a Starbucks, parked and went in. The second I got up to the counter to order, the girl behind the counter looked at my shirt and said "Hey, is there some sort of event going on?"

"Yeah," I said. "There is a Street League Skateboarding event at the arena over there."

"Oh, because that FAMOUS guy was just in here right before you, you just missed him!" She replied.

Me -"Who, Rob Dyrdek?"

Her - "Yeah, that's him!"

I thought that was pretty funny. I was actually kind of relieved that we didn't run into Rob at Starbucks because it really wasn't my intention to see him everywhere I went. It would have looked kind of weird if we showed up at the same time. Anyways, my brother and I got our drinks and sat down outside for a little bit.

After that, we decided to go to Target because we needed a case of bottled water for our room and a few other things. We parked and went in, and as we were leaving, we saw the Cat Car pull in! What were the chances?! Even though Big Cat did briefly say hello the previous night, my brother never really met him and I never saw the Cat Car in person. Being the huge Fantasy Factory fan that I am, I really wanted a picture with Big Cat and the Cat Car. We waited a few minutes to see if he would come out, and he did. I apologized for bothering him at Target, I explained that we were leaving and saw the car pull in and wanted to say hi. He said it was no problem at all, Big Cat was super nice, he always is. He took a picture with my brother and I, but my brother was kind of nervous and didn't really get too much of the Cat Car in my picture, haha. It was alright, I knew it was there. It was really cool to see in person. I thanked him and told him we will see him later, and then we headed over to the arena.

The morning of the event, I was planning on meeting up with a couple of my friends, both whom I've met through Drama's Young and Reckless street team, the Reckless Rangers. Rob (I'll call him Yusta so you don't get him confused with Dyrdek) and his girlfriend won tickets through a Young and Reckless contest and drove down to Ontario from San Francisco. Lisa, she is from Ontario and she wasn't able to buy a ticket for the event but she really wanted to go and she had made pillows for both me and Rob. Money is really tight for a lot of people right now, me included, but I really felt horrible because she was going to come out to the arena just to give me the pillows so I could give one to Rob. I didn't want her to do all that and not even get to see the event, so I helped out and bought her a ticket. I couldn't afford a lower level one, but the upper level was only $25 so that was doable.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I first saw Yusta and his girlfriend Jessica. It was cool to meet Yusta because we have been chatting on the Young and Reckless board for quite awhile now but we have never met. Both him and Jessica were super nice. I told Lisa I would meet her at the box office so we all walked over there and she was there with the pillows. They were SO CUTE! She made two, one for me and one for Rob, out of Rogue Status fabric. I love it. I bought her the ticket and we walked over to my car so I could drop off my pillow. After that, I saw people checking in already at the Guest Check In will call, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Doors technically didn't open until noon, but I thought getting in early would be awesome. I told Yusta, Jessica and Lisa that I would see them later, hopefully we could meet up after the contest and go over the the meet and greet together. The three of them have never met Rob before and they are all huge fans, so I thought it would be cool if they got to meet him.

We went to check in and they handed us our bracelets and tickets. The tickets were VIP main floor, general admission. We could sit on the floor anywhere we wanted! The bracelets were awesome because they said "Athlete Guest," haha. I've seriously never been a guest of anyone at an event like this, so the whole VIP thing was very awesome. Rob really hooked us up and I am more appreciative than he will ever know. It means so much to me that he gave us such amazing seats. We got in and sat in front row, a little bit off to the side. Perfect seats! I saw Talisha and thanked her again for everything. She really was so amazing to my brother and I. Rob was on the other side of the arena doing press and when he was done, he made his way over and said hi. I could tell he was really busy, this day was HUGE for him. The pro's started making their way to the course and we watched them practice. The arena was still fairly empty and time just flew by because i was concentrating on all the skating happening around me.

Soon it was noon and the doors opened to the public. People kept filling in and it was so awesome to see how many people came out to support Street League. Steve Berra was sitting behind me for awhile talking to someone else and then he went in the back. When he came back out he was standing by himself, so I went up to him to introduce myself. I've had a game of Words With Friends going on with Steve Berra, and I talked to him a little bit before I flew out to Cali, so when I introduced myself he knew who I was. He was super nice. We talked for a minute or so and then I went back to sit down. I've been a fan of Steve Berra for years, so it was really cool to get a chance to meet him.

Rob came out to start things off and everyone in the crowd went crazy for him. I actually took this really awesome picture of Rob with the crowd in front of him. The Last Chance Qualifier was intense, it was close but Nyjah Huston made it in. That meant that the seven skaters in the finals were Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, Chaz Ortiz, Sean Malto, Paul Rodriguez, Ryan Sheckler and Greg Lutzka. That was a pretty crazy lineup because they are all so incredibly good. Shane O'Neill and Torey Pudwill didn't make it into the finals and they were both sitting behind me for a good chunk of the competition. Tracy walked by with his wife and I said hi to them briefly. The only people who were missing was Chanel (Who had a show out of town), Jeremy and Drama. Drama tweeted that he was on his way, better late than never.

It wasn't difficult to tell when Drama arrived because everyone in the crowd was screaming his name. People put on their drama masks (Young and Reckless was giving them out outside the arena) and Drama looked up at a group of three other Drama's in the crowd and started laughing. So many people wanted to get Drama's attention, there was a point where Rob grabbed the microphone and told Drama to go over and meet this one kid, just so he would stop screaming his name, haha.

The main event started and everyone was skating so well! I tried to take pictures, but my camera didn't take great action shots. I did get some pretty good ones of the skaters while they were waiting for their turn.







In between each of the sections there was a small break so at one point I went up to say hi to Drama. I told Drama I was a Y&R Street Teamer and I think he knew who I was. I told him Yusta drove down here from San Francisco and Drama asked where he was sitting. I pointed him out in the crowd and Drama waved to him.

There were only a few more minutes left of the break so I went back to sit down. It was getting close to the final section and it was REALLY intense. I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat and it was really fun to hear both Pudwill and O'Neill get all worked up after every trick. Their commentary was SO AWESOME. The top two were Chaz Ortiz and Sean Malto and Malto ended up winning. I don't want to give too much of the excitement away because you need to watch it on Wednesday. It was a CRAZY ending!

When Malto won, everyone rushed over to him and picked him up. Everyone was SO excited. It was so awesome to watch, it looked like Sean was in a little bit of shock when he realized that he came in first. Rob presented the trophy and check for $150,000 to him. He also got on the microphone and briefly interviewed Chaz Ortiz and Sean Malto and asked Chaz why he picked such a difficult trick when all he had to do was land it and he could have came in first, haha. Chaz was a good sport about it, he said he was really happy for Malto and he deserved it.

After the event, people started clearing out and I told Lisa, Yusta and his GF we would meet them outside of section 117. We got our stuff together and when we went to meet them Yusta was standing with a bunch of the guys in the Y&R crew. I didn't get too much of a chance to meet them, but it was cool seeing everyone in person because I've only ever seen/talked to them online. There was a table with Street Dreams posters and I went and grabbed a few. I've wanted one for so long, haha, I was so excited they had them there. We hung around for a little bit trying to figure out where the meet and greet was, and I bought a Street League program. We figured out that it was outside and we all headed out there. The line to meet Rob was INSANE. There seriously must've been at LEAST 1000 people in it. Probably more. We headed over to the area and stood around for awhile. It was so hot. Ontario, CA hot is way different than Chicago, IL hot. It was a dry heat...but I guess that is normal for the desert. We were standing outside maybe 30 minutes and I got completely sunburned. It's probably because I am so pale, haha.

Rob came out and Talisha was so awesome and she helped us get over to Rob. Talisha has such a tough job but she does an amazing job. She stays calm in chaotic situations and make sure everything runs smoothly. She really is awesome. Rob saw me and he said "Get Carli over here!" He asked if I had fun and I thanked him and told him it really was a dream vacation. I introduced him to Lisa, Yusta, and Jessica and Lisa was able to give Rob the pillow. Rob gave me a hug and I told him hopefully I will see him again sometime soon. He said bye to my brother, told him it was nice getting to meet him, and then that was it. It was super short because like I said, thousands of people were waiting to meet Rob and I didn't want to take a long time. I was happy I got to say goodbye and thank him again, and I was REALLY excited that Yusta, Jessica and Lisa got to meet him.

When we were leaving they pushed us into this other area and Torey Pudwill and Shane O'Neill were sitting there. No one else was really around, it looked like they were getting ready to do a different signing. When they were sitting behind me, I told my brother how awesome it would be to get a picture with both of them together, but I never got a chance to. It must've been "destiny" as Rob would say because there they both were. I asked if I could get a pic really quickly and they were awesome. Torey Pudwill even drew a grizzly bear for Yusta, haha. As I was taking the pic, Sean Malto came out but at that point they wanted to get the line moving so I didn't get a picture with him.

After that, I said my goodbyes to Jessica, Yusta and Lisa, and my brother and I headed home. It was a truly amazing day, I couldn't believe my seats, who I got to meet, and just the overall experience of Street League. It was so much fun. Finally getting a chance to meet Yusta, Jessica and Lisa was great too!

I thought this was the end of my Rob Dyrdek/Street League vacation, and I was 110% satisfied with how things went. I already thanked and said my goodbyes to Rob, but little did I know that Monday, I would get to visit the Fantasy Factory! I will stop this blog right here because it is already running long, but stay tuned for my Fantasy Factory Visit blog!

Street League Vacation Part 1 - Preliminaries!

Incredible. That is the best word I can come up with to describe how the past 5 days of my life have been. It was truly incredible and it is all thanks to Rob Dyrdek. I know there is absolutely no way I will remember every single detail of every event from the past week, but I will do my best.

As you may already know, Rob Dyrdek was kind enough to give me tickets to his Street League Skateboarding event which was held in Ontario, CA on Sept. 11th 2010. He said I could have the tickets as long as I was able to fly out to California for it. Money is super tight, but when I am determined to make something happen, I do it. I decided to bring my little brother along on this trip because he has never been to LA and it has always been a dream of his to see the city. I saved up every penny I had, and we flew out to Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept 9th. The plane ride went by quickly, probably because I had a few episodes of Fantasy Factory on my netbook.
I know you are probably wondering why Lil Rob was in the photo. I had this brilliant idea to take Lil Rob on this vacation and take pictures of him with all the famous landmarks and with every major thing we did. It started off alright, I got Lil Rob on the plane, Lil Rob watching Fantasy Factory. I think I even got Lil Rob with the Hollywood sign. By the time I got to the Street League arena, my mind was not on Lil Rob at all. I totally forgot about the little guy and didn't take any more pics of him. I still think it would have been cool. Oh well.

Once we landed,the trip didn't start out on the best foot. I had some trouble with the rental car I reserved. I had the reservation all set, but the company didn't let me rent it. I thought I'd be stranded in Los Angeles without a car, but luckily another company came through for me and it actually ended up being cheaper than the original quote. It worked out for the best. The rest of Thursday was pretty tame. I drove my brother all over Hollywood and visited the Wild Grinders 711 in North Hollywood. After that, I was pretty exhausted, my brother was exhausted, I had a headache and I knew I had a HUGE two days ahead of me. We decided to go back to the hotel and relax.

Friday morning we woke up, I showed my brother a few Hollywood landmarks, and we headed out to Ontario, CA. A few days prior to leaving for California, I was thinking about how exciting it would be to be able to attend the preliminary event on the Friday night before the actual Street League contest. Preliminaries are where all 24 skaters skate each section, and the six skaters with the highest score go on to the finals the next day. I really wanted a chance to watch everyone skate and while they were all going to skate a little bit on Saturday to see who wins the last chance qualifier, I still thought it would be so much fun to watch everyone on Friday.

It was really really difficult, but I did manage to get in touch with Rob and ask him if it would be okay if I attended. I was a little bit afraid of asking, I mean, he was already doing so much for me and didn't want him to think I was not satisfied by just going on Saturday because that wasn't the case at all. I just thought if I don't try, I will never know if I would be able to. Rob is so generous, and he said it would be no problem for my brother and I to attend the preliminaries. I was SO EXCITED! We got to the arena around 1:30pm and went over to the Guest Check-In area.

Our names were on the list and they gave us our bracelets and pointed us in the right direction. We walked over to one of the entrances to the main floor and it was AMAZING! California Skateparks really did an awesome job building this course. I was totally nervous at this point and I couldn't bring myself to walk down the stairs yet. We kind of watched from the top for a little while and then made our way to the first row behind the barricades, right behind where the judges sit.

We sat down and I saw Talisha, Rob's assistant walk by. I waved to her and then next we saw Geoffrey. I didn't really get a chance to meet Geoffrey at the sk84life party, so it was really nice to meet him this time. He came over and shook my hand and said he was glad I could make it out. He was super nice. Then, Big Cat walked by and he said hi to me as well.

My brother and I watched all the pro's practice for awhile and then I noticed Rob across the arena doing an interview. He made his way over to our side of the arena and he was stopping to say hi and shake hands with everyone that he saw and recognized. So nice of him. I wasn't sure he would be able to pick me out of the crowd. There weren't very many people in the arena at all, but still, I didn't know if he remembered what I looked like. I was wrong, he was able to recognize me and when he saw me he ran over and said hi. He told me he was glad I could make it out and he told my brother about how driven I am and how I could make millions of dollars because of how hard I work for things I want (I wish, haha). I can't remember exactly what he said because things are kind of hazy in my head when Rob Dyrdek is around. Anyways, he had a lot to do and after that he had to run.

It was really surreal seeing all these pro skaters a few feet in front of me after watching them on TV for so long. I've seen Malto, Cole and Pudwill skate before at the sk84life party, but that was kind of just a small taste of what I was in for on this night. Eric Koston was there. ERIC KOSTON! He is a legend! I knew he would be there, but still it was really cool to see him in person, haha. Ryan Sheckler was there. PAUL RODRIGUEZ! I don't know why..I just think P-Rod is awesome. Not only is he a phenomenal skater, he is really good looking. I actually think when I met him, that was the only time I was kind of star-struck on this trip because he is just SO good looking, haha. I'll get back to meeting him later. Steve Berra was floating around...I wanted to get a chance to meet Berra so bad, haha. Everyone was there. I think maybe 3 or 4 out of the 24 pro's didn't show up and one of them injured his ankle while practicing before the prelims.

The actual preliminary event was about to start and Rob was standing about 3 feet in front of my brother and I, talking to someone. I really wanted to get a photo with him on this trip and I knew as soon as the event started he would be swamped. I also promised Natasha aka @TeamDCFantasy on twitter that I would try and ask Rob to say hi to her on video if I got a chance, since she wasn't able to make it out to the event. I would never interrupt anyone, so I waited until Rob was done talking and he kind of caught me looking at him and knew I wanted him to come over. I asked him if I could get a picture with him and he said "Anything for you," haha. He hopped over the barricade and was like "Yeah, I know what you are going to do with this, you are going to go write your blog and be like '...and then Rob hopped over the barricade to take a picture with me,' hahaha. I told him he was probably right, that is exactly what I was going to do. Some other kids said hi to him and he explained to them how hard I worked to get out to this event. He stood with me there for two or three minutes and took pics with my brother and I, and he was nice enough to record the video for Natasha, which you can watch at -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAzV7vzyGd0


Rob was really amazing. He asked us our t-shirt sizes and then he had to run off. The prelims started and it was SO MUCH FUN to watch. The skaters were doing great, Malto was incredible! I took TONS of pictures and a little video, but unfortunately my digital camera doesn't take great action shots. I definitely didn't want to use the flash on my camera because I didn't want to distract the skaters at all. Other people were using it, but still, I thought I shouldn't. Here are a few of the pictures I took that came out alright -

Sean Malto


Chris Cole


Nyjah Huston


Paul Rodriguez

Anyways, watching the pro's skate was so awesome. Between every section there was a small break and I noticed random kids going down to get pics with Rob or the pros, and I saw Rob was standing next to Eric Koston. I really wanted to meet Eric, so my brother and I ran down there and Rob introduced me to Koston as his biggest fan. He told him a little bit about how I came all the way out for this and I got a pic with both Rob and Eric. Then, Ryan Sheckler skated by and I didn't even ask him to do this, but Rob called Sheckler over to meet me and I took a pic with Rob and Sheckler. Everyone was so nice, it was really great.

Rob, Me, Eric Koston


Rob, Me, Ryan Sheckler

I saw Talisha and asked her if it was okay if we just sat down at the bottom instead of going back up and she said it was cool as long as we didn't bother the skaters. I had no intention of bothering them anyways, so we sat down. Talisha came over a little bit later with two DC bags for my brother and I filled with Street League T-Shirts! It was AWESOME! I was going to buy myself a couple shirts anyways and I was actually a little worried I wouldn't have enough money to get the two I wanted. They were $25 each and I already spent a lot to just come out there. It was basically like Rob and Talisha read my mind because the exact two shirts I was planning on buying were in the bag.

We sat down in the front for the rest of the time and Geoffrey walked by. I didn't get a picture with him at the sk84life event, so I asked him if I could get one really quick and he was awesome about it.

Steve Berra was wandering around, but he was busy talking to people the whole time, so I didn't want to bother him and introduce myself. Preliminaries ended and the six that made it to the finals were -

-Chaz Ortiz
-Sean Malto
-Paul Rodriguez
-Chris Cole
-Ryan Sheckler
-Greg Lutzka

I saw Talisha and thanked her again for everything. I went up to Rob and waited until he was done with the conversation he was having. He looked over at me and asked if we were leaving, and I said yeah, and I thanked him again. He asked if I had fun and I said I had the best time. I asked if Berra was still around and Rob said he didn't think so, but he would make sure I got a chance to meet him tomorrow. I asked if I could maybe say hi to Paul Rodriguez and Rob yelled across the arena for Paul to come over. He skated over and really...i was starstruck. I hate to admit it because I usually never get that feeling, but it happened. Rob told P-Rod I was Rob's biggest fan and asked if he would take a picture with me. Paul asked how I was doing and said of course he would. I kinda just mumbled thanks, probably with a stupid grin on my face, and got the picture. P-Rod told me to have a good night and I said you too. Then I thanked Rob again and he said he will see me tomorrow!

That was prelims...it was so incredible and I'm sure there are tons of things I accidentally left out in this post. We are landing shortly, so I am going to cut this blog short right here. I will write another entry as soon as I can about the Street League event itself. If you thought this day was amazing, just wait. Every time I thought it couldn't get any better, it did. To Be Continued...