Saturday was just awwwwwwwsome!!!!!

The day didn't start so well!  I was working in the press office near the entrance and bent down to retrieve some badges.  When I got up everyone was looking at me.  I said,"What?" and my friend Jade was "Err... you don't want to know who you just missed...". Turns out Kate had passed in front of the office while I was picking up the badges and I didn't see her!  Noooooooooo… But then I started jumping around because she had arrived!

After a while my boss, Monica, came by to ask if I was happy that Kate was there. I answered that yes, I couldn't wait to see her! And she told me, "Well, then go and watch her now! She's sitting in the foyer doing interviews." And I was "Omg! Where, why, how? But I'm working, I'll see her later!" But my other boss pushed me outside the office and another volunteer dragged me half the way till I turned the corner and BANG, there she was, sitting at a table and speaking with a few journalists!! I didn't want to intrude so I stood a few meters away, but I could hear her voice and see her perfectly, as she was facing my way!  I couldn't believe I was finally able to see her!!!

After 10 minutes or so my friend Jade arrived too and we just stood there chatting and glancing at Kate now and then. She told me our friend Alice, the photographer, had arrived and that we needed to find a journalist called Angelica Tintori, because she was the one who had brought Kate to Italy and she was a friend of our friend Ketty. So we looked around at the journalists who were hovering near Kate and located her, and she was sooooooo nice! We told her Alice was searching for her and it was Ketty sending us and that we were friends of Ketty too and she said to go call Alice and bring her there. So we ran to get Alice and ran back and explained that we were there because a girl (guess who?) had asked us if we could take a few pictures of Kate, during the Q&A session, and Angelica said it was no problem at all!  She added that Kate was going to do a picture and autograph session after the Q&A session, so we could take a picture with her too if we wanted! We spent the whole time we were speaking to Angelica looking at Kate of course, till she ended the interviews and Angelica told us they were going to take Kate out to lunch and asked if we could wait to take our pictures later. Of course we said it was all right! 

Then we got back into volunteer mode and went back to work and shooed away all the fans and journalist who had gathered around.  Monica had given Jade and l the afternoon off in case we wanted to watch the Star Trek episodes they were airing at the festival, but I was so anxious that I preferred to stay in the press office and work a while more, which was a good idea, because after a while I saw Kate walk up the stairs and go out. I know it was only a few seconds, but still awwwwwwsome! 

Then it was almost time for the Q&A session and we walked toward the conference room. There we noticed the volunteers in charge of letting people in and out were not around, so we did their job *sigh*. We let in the journalists and the fans and then we saw Angelica come our way. She told us Kate was entering from that same door. She was so nice to trust us about that!!! So we let everyone in, and then Jade went in too, to find the best place to take pictures, and I waited outside the door with my other boss, Nadia. I was so anxious she hugged me for comfort! And then Kate was there!!!!!! She stopped a few meters away to let the photographers take pictures and then came toward us. We straightened up on both sides of the door and she passed by and entered the room. I let in all the journalists and then entered and stood at the wall on the left of the stage at the end of the room. 

The first thing Kate did was thank everyone who brought her to Italy (Angelica and other 2 women,) and to our surprise she did that in Italian!!! (right click to download short (30sec) video clip - .avi file - 3.09 MB)  She said she lived in Florence for a while and used to speak Italian almost fluently.  She said that now she had forgotten part of it, but she was still good, and she understood a lot of the questions that were asked without the need of the translator! She was very nice and funny during the whole Q&A session; she was wonderful!  She spoke with the photographers, who were making a lot of noise as always, and said they were really different from American ones, but she liked them. In truth I thought they were annoying!

The first question they asked her was about Enterprise and she admitted she had never seen it so it was a bit hard to answer.  Then the usual "How did you feel being the first female captain in Star Trek?" question was asked, and she answered that she was very conscious of the importance of that fact and that's why she didn't want to be like the other captains and have relationship with members of her crew, she said it wouldn't be very serious saying "Red alert... commander please join me in my ready room" and she said it in a way, she had us all laughing with tears on our eyes. Then someone asked her what she wanted to do in her future and she said she wanted to spend it in the arms of her husband (who was there). That was so cute!! 

Then someone asked her about reality shows and she said she really doesn't like them and doesn't see the point in them at all, and she spoke a bit about the difference in the way  men and women watch TV and made a reference about her husband going channel zapping.  She said she doesn't watch a lot of TV, she grew up in a big family and they didn't have TV, they only watched The Wizard of Oz once a year!

Then a 7 year old girl asked her in English what was her favorite book when she was a kid, and Kate asked her to repeat the question in Italian and then asked her if she knew any other languages and the girl said French and Kate asked her to repeat the question in French too, please, for her!  (right click to download short (30sec) video clip - .avi file - 3.01 MB) She fell in love with the kid and her sister, as everyone else did too, they were so cute!!! Then Kate asked "Can I take her back?" or something like that and their dad answered "Yeeeeees” and the whole room burst out laughing again! Kate answered as a kid she loved to read "The Little House on the Prairie" and told the kid she should start to read classics, like Jane Austen, soon and not to watch TV - well except for Voyager!

Then someone asked what Kate thought Voyager character's were doing after they came back to Earth, and she said she imagines all of them are still in Starfleet doing this or that.  She said her favorite person to work with on set was Robert Picardo, the Holodoc! Then she spoke about her last days on the set and the fact that the last day she was the only one left to shoot some scenes and she was very sad and sat down on a chair while they were dismantling the set around her, and it was sad because she had been there for 7 years. Then the silhouette of Robert appeared in the doorway and he held out his hand for her, it was sooo sweet!! At one point a photographer was lying down on the floor in front of the stage to take some pictures and Kate said, "A photographer fell asleep." and he scrambled up and ran away - hehehe!

Then she mentioned the episode with Tom Paris and the lizards, but I don't remember why, and then she started speaking about Tea at Five and impersonating Katharine Hepburn and she said she was curious to hear Hepburn's voice dubbed in Italian, because she had a very particular voice, and then she imitated Hepburn. Then she said the other day while her husband was watching some TV in their hotel room he found a Voyager episode. Kate was curious so she watched a scene with Chakotay talking with Janeway. She said she was impressed by Chakotay's voice, she loved it a lot, but then she heard her voice and was really surprised because it's a very high pitched voice that has nothing to do with hers, and she imitated herself speaking in Italian with Chakotay and said she would have gone to bed with him if she had that voice! That was so funny! She doesn't like her Italian voice at all and neither do the fans.

Someone asked her about her role in an episode of Law and Order SVU and she spoke a bit about it and said it's one of the few shows shot in NY and that she lives in NY and loved playing with... I forgot the name of the actor *coughs* the main character I think… 

Then she said something, I don't remember what, but I know I was nodding and she looked at me and said "sì eh?" (yes eh?) And I went all red and hugged Nadia who was standing behind me, lol. Then the little girl asked her if she wanted to do another job and Kate asked with mock indignation if she thought she was a fossil coming out of a cave?  And then said she was doing something already, she had just ended theater in London. (right click to download short (30sec) video clip - .avi file - 3.11 MB) They asked a few other questions, but I don't remember them now. Then one of the organizers said whoever wanted a picture and an autograph could go up on stage.

I was so shy and Jade and Nadia had to practically drag me up there, as we had work to do. We were among the first in the line - omg!!! A nice thing was that a lot of the volunteers who were there with me didn't know Kate at all, but at the end of the Q&A they all came away saying she's great and they loved her and went to take a picture with her - it felt so good to hear that! Everyone fell in love with her! 

When it was almost my turn Angelica asked if I wanted to take a picture with Kate and I said yes, she said then I needed to sit down beside Kate. Then my mind went blank. I know it was my turn and Kate said "Hi" and I don't know if I answered, then she said "How are you?" And I think my answer was "erm". Then they made me sit down and I just stared dumbly at the camera *sigh*. Then Kate asked, “What's your name?" and thank God I answered "Serena" and then I was showing her my badge so she could copy it but she waved me off and wrote it on a picture saying it's a common name and wondered why it was so common. I tried to kick my brain to say something, anything, but my only answer was "boh", then she said "It's a beautiful name" and I said "Thank you" and then when it was time to get up and leave something finally kicked in and I remembered to at least say "Happy Birthday for last week" and she smiled and said “Thank you" and then I went off stage. I really, really wanted to kick myself for not telling her anything that I wanted to tell her, stupid shyness… uff! But I'm happy anyway. 

I stayed on in the room with a few other volunteers to make sure people didn't try to do a second or third queue to get more pictures and autographs and when everyone was done Kate got up and exited from the door near me. It was soooooo sad to watch her leave!!! She's one of the most kind, funny and wonderful people I ever met and I hope I'll meet her again at some con.