2005.
You see, back in the day, I was a struggling undergraduate student at the University of Utah, reading and writing towards a degree in English Literature, working at Kaplan Test Prep, and dating some really cute girls.
When compared to my life now, I realize that, while not much of the nouns in my life have changed, the verbs have gone skee-wompus on me. I am essentially dating my graduate studies at BYU (how else would you describe a Saturday night study session?), struggling towards a juris doctor degree, reading and writing at the Attorney General's office, and working at meeting some really cute girls.
So, maybe it's just the nostalgic side of me crying out for a bit of reminiscence, or just the fact that I was browsing some of my old UofU files, when I came upon this little nugget:
A PowerPoint Presentation titled "JumpinMo!"
If you read the title of the post (congratulations, you can do at least 20% of what I do as a law student), you'd know that Mo Rocca was going to play some part in this. Well, here he is.
In the fall of 2005, Mo Rocca came to lecture at the University of Utah about politics, history, and the history of political pets. By all accounts, it was a smashing success...except for some technical difficulties. I didn't get to attend the lecture/performance, as I had a date with Annie Rosevear that night, but I did get a call at about 6:30 asking if I could bring my laptop.
It seems that Mo had a Powerpoint presentation that he would be using as the focus of his speech, so my dear friend Cody Roberts, who was heading up the Presenter's Office at the time, needed a laptop equipped with Microsoft Office.
Enter: me.
Cue: Mission Impossible Theme Song
Scene: Tires squealing, as the forest green Subaru Legacy peals out of my parents' driveway.
Well, to make an already long and dull story much shorter and more exciting, I got to meet Mo Rocca as the Presenter's Office team were desperately trying to make my laptop work with Kingsbury's technology. Imagine 6 high-strung college students trying to put the last finishes on a sold-out show with the best reporter the Daily Show had ever seen. Then throw Red Bull into the mix. It was hectic.
Anyway, somewhat removed from the commotion, I found myself looking on at the hustle and bustle with none other than Mo himself. Our conversation went something like this:
Mo: Is it always this disorganized around here?
Me: No. It's usually worse.
Mo: Really?!
Me: Yeah. You should have seen the hell raised when the Indigo Girls came through.
Mo: Whoa.
And that was all of the conversation that I can remember. Beyond the above exchange, I know my Grandma's recently broken hip somehow came up, we chatted about the heavy Mormon population in the surrounding area, and I'm certain I made some asinine comment about the Daily Show and how I thought he "was really funny." I swear I saw Mo's eyes glaze over, but he never looked away. That's a true professional.
From there, I went on a nice date with Ms. Rosevear, who unfortunately had no idea who he was, and slept peacefully, happy in the knowledge that I had made a new friend. I recovered my laptop the next day, only to find to my utter joy that Mo's entire presentation was still there.
Joy!!! The JumpinMo powerpoint presentation was at my very fingertips! And although I didn't get to see his speech, I could almost imagine him dedicating the Powerpoint to his friend, "laptop boy with the broken-hip Grandma" from Salt Lake City.
I'm very grateful that Mo left me a gift as a seal of our friendship. And out of respect to my best friend from Comedy Central, I have decided not to post all of the pictures from it...
only these two (and if someone comes along and asks me to take them down in a very professional, legal manner, I'd be more than happy to...but until that time):
I think Mo might be anti-Christmas. I don't quite get it, because I didn't hear the speech. But I can imagine that he's kind of got an Ivy League Grinchy-ness to him during the holidays.
BASIC CABLE SUPERSTARS: Mo Rocca and Flavor Flav!!!
Their clocks are Off the HOOK!
Thanks, Mo. You're a true intellectual's comedian. May you continue to enthrall college-aged kids for the rest of your years.
4 comments:
I'm glad you had so much fun. I would like to say that Mo Rocca was not my event.... but since everyone was disorganized it quickly became my responsibility..... I had totally forgotten about this until today. Awesome.
I went to Graywhale with him so he could buy a Hootie and the Blowfish CD. He was getting head turning looks.
Wow! You got to have an exchange with Mo Rocca! I'm insanely jealous. I'm a big fan of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't tell me! The episodes are always taken to a high level of good comedy when he is a panelist.
Looks like the mission journal won out on your poll. That's going to be a good blog. Can't wait to read about your experiences. You're an excellent writer.
Like Vanessa I am a huge Mo Rocca fan - thanks to his gig on Wait, Wait. I got to see the show taped when I was in Chicago and just about peed my pants with laughter. The fact that you got to meet him in the wonderfully awesome year of 2005 - well that is just smandy.
Now I'm off to twiddle my thumbs and fake joy for you (and Cody) as my insides rage with jealousy.
OK. So I'm sad that I procrastinated seeing these amazing pictures out of fear of having a fight. I LOVE FLAVA FLAV!
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