Extreme Makeover Home Edition Diary #2

Before heading to the set of EMHE, I had a chance to do a bit of sleuthing (i.e. I had to work for 9 hours, but still found a way to be there in spirit). As far as I can tell, our Kirkland design team consists of Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo, Michael Moloney, Paige Hemmis, and Jonathan Littlefield, so I now know who I might be running into about town. I had obviously hoped that Preston Sharp would be here, but I don't even see him in the cast bio section of their website anymore. Did he leave the show when I wasn't looking?!

I was disappointed to see that there has been some grousing online about no one in Kirkland needing an extreme home makeover because it is a swank suburban oasis and we all live in half-million dollar homes. Note to the grousers - the home in question was roughly 100 years old, and has been in the same family for generations. Despite working good jobs and going to college, a lot of old Kirklanders are being displaced by the cost of living (thank you Bill Gates!). The middle class is definitely a dying breed in this area, and I'm happy to see one regular family get a leg up in this town. Apparently a lot of other people are too, because the spectators' area was quite full when I arrived last night.

There was a huge mound of dirt in front of the work site, partially (and probably intentionally) obstructing the view, and behind it, an army of workers was busily laying a foundation of some sort. I had assumed it was for the house, but they were actively preparing to install the pool, so who knows. I'm 99.9% sure I spotted Paul DiMeo shinnying up and down the cement truck, and Michael Moloney was definitely preparing to film something. Rumor had it that Ty was asleep on the bus at the end of the road - do you love it?

We waited with mounting anticipation as it got darker and darker and colder and colder, and at long last, a flatbed truck carrying the pool began inching its way down the street. One of the workers told us they had spent 2 days painting its underside, just so it would look pretty for television. Apparently even the building materials spend time in hair and make-up! Michael stood above the truck's cab in the shallow end of the pool and tried to get the crowd to chant, "Move that pool!" We did so with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but since the truck was barely moving, and Ty's bullhorn is fairly faint in person, it was hard to get too worked up.



Filming continued at a snail's pace, but offered plenty of photo opportunities and gave a real sense of what it would be like to be on a the set of a television show. HOLY CRAP! IT IS THE SET OF A TELEVISION SHOW! As we stood around, my mom (who is both gregarious and blessed with a solid shouting voice) yelled over to Michael, "How deep is the pool?" By then he was standing on the trailer bed, just under the shallow end, and he gave us a blank look followed by a Vanna White-like presentation: "Well, it's about that deep down there," he said, pointing to the deep end, "And about *this* deep on the shallow end." It was very cute, and to be honest, he looked kind of foxy in his black leather jacket, dark jeans, and black boots - sort of late 80's George Michael. He's also got a stunning tan and the whitest teeth I've ever seen.

After that, they attempted to rally the crowd for several more shots, and at some point my priorities shifted from snapping pictures to having my picture snapped. What a weird freaking feeling! There was no great Spielberg moment where they explained what we were doing and how we should look, just an occasional "scream real loud" cue. I'm not sure how we did, but I'll certainly be watching in January to find out. They sent us on our way at 9 p.m., probably as a courtesy to the neighbors, but it was kind of good to be excused. With action going on 24/7, how the heck else are you supposed to know when to go home?