Well, let me first explain that we broke the rules. We were not supposed to talk to each other at all between Palm Springs and New York. We cracked all those rules in half. I talked to Kevin, Malik, Rachel, Ellen, and Adam within that month between finals and the show. In fact, I went to Adam’s birthday party in that time.

We were keeping tabs on each other to try to figure out which shows we were on. I was terrified that I would be on Road Rules. Never wanted to be on that show. Well, Tom was good at keeping in touch with everyone, and the week before we moved in, he told me where Rachel was staying. Because I lived in NJ, I didn’t have to be secluded in a hotel, I could just stay at home until moving day. Anyway, I called Rachel’s hotel and got some juicy info from her. Apparently, she and Ellen were on the same flight to New York. When the crew member came to pick up Rachel, Rachel had to introduce Ellen to him. He didn’t recognize her, thus meaning that Rachel and Ellen were on different shows. The crew member raced Rachel away at an unnatural pace. As Rachel rushed away from Ellen, she was curious as to why they needed to be separated. It became clear when Rachel was driving away and saw Ellen through the airport’s window surrounded by a camera crew. When Rachel told me this, we speculated that Ellen was being whisked away to another flight, meaning she was on RR. Rachel and I concluded that no matter what, we were obviously on the same show. We assumed we were on Real World because we couldn’t imagine Bunim-Murray being so bold as to not put one white girl on the cast of RW. Rachel was the only purely white girl chosen, and I was the closest to being white being 50%. The rest were various ethnicities, and I know I was very proud and excited about the diversity of the two casts.

So, we received text pagers while we were at our isolated places. Rachel was wise enough to call the pager company to find out what account her name was under. She was listed as Rachel Real World. She called me and suggest that I call the company and do the same. I called the Motorola and asked them what my full name was on the account. They wouldn’t tell me, so I replied, “Is my name ‘Lori Real World’?” The operator told me yes. So, there it was. Rachel and I knew we were on Real World. We assumed Kevin would be on because of me, and Malik would be on because he was so unRR. We assumed Nicole because she’s high maintenance. Neither Coral nor Mike were obvious in our minds, but we were pretty sure.

The day I was picked up, a white stretch limo arrived. I was nervous as hell. The night before, I decided on pigtails for my hair because in pigtails I feel quirky and confident. The limo driver drove me all over the place. Finally, I got off at a Ferry station. There was this abandoned church across the street and I thought that that was the loft. Ballsy, I thought, but I was wrong. I got on the Ferry and bumped into Coral. Obviously, I was intimidated by her confidence, but I knew I liked her from the start. Since we were the only smokers, we decided then and there that we would be roommates. Production slightly hinted that we move outside, which was where we bumped into Mike. Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about Mike at finals because I thought he was a stupid frat boy, but it’s clear that he’s loving and good hearted, so it was a lovely discovery to see him.

We were totally confused as to what to do from there. When we received pages from production for where to go, we weren’t clear whether or not that meant all of us, or just the person who received the page. We didn’t understand the subway system, and we weren’t allowed to take cabs, so we walked from 1 Hudson to 632 Hudson. It’s really fucking far when you’re carrying your luggage. I couldn’t believe how long it took.

We finally arrived at the house, and Mike and I were morons enough to believe that arriving at 632 Hudson was the objective rather than actually going INSIDE 632 Hudson. Coral noticed our idiocy and went upstairs. She came back down and said, “You guys, we’re supposed to go upstairs. There’s a camera crew up there and everything.” So, we dropped our bags and went up the steps to discover an unrealistically fantastic apartment that was to be our own, this you saw on the show. I thought maybe they were just showing us the apartment and would then throw us on an RV to fuck with us.

Coral and Mike made a bet that Ellen would be there. The only reason I didn’t go in on the bet was because I knew for a fact it was Rachel and not Ellen. Maybe I should have gone in on it. Would have gotten some cash.

Anyway, it was a great day. I bought the other four roommates beer so that we could all settle together and get tipsy once we all arrived, but Rachel wasn’t comfortable drinking yet and Nicole doesn’t drink at all (unless Bobby’s around as we discover much later.) I have to say, I was disappointed. I come from BC, the land were beer flows like water. I was ready to get trashed with my new friends, and few seemed up for getting trashed.

Still, once everyone arrived, we received the page about us being the tenth cast of Real World. A bizarre moment that was. I’ve been watching this show since I was 12. I learned lessons from this show, it was monumental, and here I was…a part of it. Hard to believe, it was only half sinking in.

Anyway, we all tried to go out. We were afraid to turn a corner without feeling lost in the big city. We had a hard time getting clearance into any bar with the cameras. Finally, Flights 151 on 8th ave let us in, and Malik, Kevin, Coral, and I got fucked up, as you saw. Coral was already my ally. She was in the corner asking Kevin what was up since he and I had some obvious chemistry brewing. Kevin was being is normal vague self, and after all the dancing and flirting, little was accomplished. Matt and I were broken up and I was going through my needy stage of a break up.

Kevin was being a dick. Sorry, Kevin, but you were. I was NOT being neurotic and crazy, and I’m saying this a year later with a clear perspective of what was going on. He was teasing me and leading me on, then he told me I was being overdramatic and neurotic. It wasn’t fair. He talked a lot of shit about being into me and then gave me the whole “let’s be friends” trip when I followed through with the interest.

Yes, I WAS being lame when I crawled onto his bed and called him <gag> “silly guy.” Yeah, what the FUCK what that about? Never before or since have I said “silly guy” and I can’t believe that shit was on episode one. Well, whatever. He wasn’t playing along, and I thought he was deliberately trying to make me look bad on TV. He kept saying things like, “You really care what you look like.” What does that mean? It’s an unfair trap because it wasn’t true, but if I denied it then I only look defensive. I was being rejected, so no matter how it was done or who was in the wrong, I would be the one looking stupid.

The Coral and Mike thing…not much to explain there. It was exactly as you saw it. Mike said something he shouldn’t have; Coral and Malik were offended. I don’t blame anyone at this point for acting the way they did. Mike was fresh off the plane from his small, unexposed environment and didn’t even know he was being offensive. You can’t be mad at him because how can you be mad at someone who has never in his life wanted to hurt someone else’s feelings. You CAN, however, be annoyed because a person in general should think before he speaks.

Coral was more shocked than anything that Mike lacked the sense to keep his mouth shut about something he knows nothing about. Still, Mike wasn’t saying that HE thought “black people were slower and less educated.” Mike stated that his UNCLE felt that way, so again, was it that bad? Hypothetically, if Malik told me that he had an aunt who thought Asians were a cold race of bad drivers (as some people think), I don’t think I would have been offended because that’s Malik’s aunt, not Malik. Again, I don’t think Coral’s reaction was wrong by any means, but I wonder about the hypothetical.