Although my exchange with him was brief, he was SO nice!  Very personable, shook hands with everyone, said hi… he requested to have hot tea during the interview (it’s always fun to know that stuff, huh?).  I think he really appreciated the mini-paparazzi crew we had created in the halls of Q104!  He walked down the hall high-fiving everyone!

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BOX OFFICE STAR VISITS CLEVELAND!

 WILL SMITH IS MAKING A SPECIAL TRIP TO OUR CITY THIS THURSDAY!

COME OUT TO SEE HIM WALK THE RED CARPET AT CLEVELAND’S

SEVEN POUNDS PREMIERE IN SUPPORT OFF THE CLEVELAND FOODBANK!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2008 AT CINEMARK VALLEY VIEW

RED CARPET ARRIVALS BEGIN AT 6 PM - COME OUT TO SEE THIS FREE SPECIAL EVENT!

Will Smith will be giving back by donating 200 turkeys to the Cleveland Foodbank for the holiday season.  This is the general public’s opportunity to come down to see Mr. Smith.  The first 200 people to bring a non-perishable food item to Cinemark Valley View starting at 4 pm will have a chance to receive a special screening pass for admittance.  Tickets will go fast, but bring your family and friends to show Will how much we appreciate his visit to Cleveland!  The Red Carpet arrivals and presentation, which is open to the public, will include other local celebrities, politicians and VIP’s. 

 SEVEN POUNDS WEBSITE:  www.sevenpounds.com

Academy Award® nominee Will Smith reunites with the directors and producers of The Pursuit of Happyness  for the emotional drama SEVEN POUNDS.  In the film, Smith plays Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with a fateful secret who embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

SEVEN POUNDS opens nationwide on December 19th

The film is rated PG-13 for the following reasons:  for thematic material, some disturbing content and a scene of sensuality.

Last week I had mentioned on air that I was invited to my high school 15 year reunion, and I was “iffy” about going.  Got GREAT calls and emails offering advice and wanted to share this one with you in case YOU’RE teetering on whether or not to go to yours:

Hi, Jen.
 
I heard your show the other day about your upcoming HS reunion — I tried to call in but then had to go get my daughters off the bus.  (Sorry, but they do come first over Q104!)  I, too, have my HS reunion the weekend after Thanksgiving — must be a PA thing — I’m from about an hour north of PGH.
 
I have my 20th this year — and have been to my 10th hs reunion, my 10th college reunion, and a few others for different groups that I belonged to on the college level.  I must say that I was miserable in hs and didn’t want to go to the 10th — but I went.  And I’m going to the 20th mostly because a great friend from hs will be there and she has spent the better part of 20 years on research vessels for marine biology — I really want to see her and she personally asked me to be there.  For her, I’ll go and not worry about the other 87 classmates and whether or not they’ll be there.
 
My advice to you is this (if you do go)
 
1.  Scale back your expectations
I was so disappointed by my 10th hs and 10th college reunions — and that’s because I built them up with HUGE expectations of who would be there, seeing people that I wanted to see, reminiscing over the old times.  Found out that you’re lucky if one or two people you enjoyed in the past actually show up.  So, you need to go with the expectation of “I hope to see one good old friend” or “one person who I don’t hate” or something!  If you go in expecting to see all your old teammates from Track (for example) or the group of girls from your lunch table, you’ll be disappointed.
 
2.  Check your disposition
The biggest influence on how you feel at a reunion is how you feel about yourself inside.  It’s amazing how fast insecurities and behaviors that you USED to have come flying back, if you let them.  Even good behaviors — if they were how you used to be but aren’t how you are now (like perky, high energy vs. now you’re calm) — come back.  You need to walk in there and pretend that the nametag that says “Hi, My Name Is JEN” does NOT say “and this is who I WAS” but instead walk in with the “This is who I AM NOW” — because if you are comfortable with who you are, it doesn’t matter if the jerks from HS treat you the same way:  you’re not the same person and you won’t react the same way.  And you’ll be who you are and they’ll still be who they were, stuck in time.
 
3.  Take and make the most of what you get
This is huge — I went to homecoming at my college this year and made the most of it — I didn’t really see the few people who I really wished would be there (it was the newspaper staff reunion) — but I found that I had an AMAZING time.  Who did I talk to?  One guy who I had barely known brought his best friend with him — and I found that I had a great time talking to this man — who enjoys cooking as much as I do.  So we talked techniques and recipes and cookbooks I didn’t regret that my two best friends from college skipped the reunion.  I had a great time talking to a few friends who were there — and sharing pictures of our kids — and feeling grateful for the good moments we shared.  I think this ties in greatly with tip #1 in that for this reunion, I did NOT have huge expectations.  At each reunion I’ve gone to — as I’ve gone to more and more — this becomes the biggest factor in if I enjoy myself.  Not expecting a lot but recognizing what was nice about it and focussing on that.  (I could have focussed on an incident the first night of the weekend when someone snubbed me — ouch! — but instead, I enjoyed talking to people who I may never have met otherwise.)
 
4.  Dinner and a Show
[this tip comes from my husband] — We were discussing your show and the fact that I felt compelled to email you and he reminded me of HIS 10 year HS reunion — which I enjoyed immensely because I didn’t know any of those people and got to watch them get drunk and be total idiots.  He wants you to remember that at any reunion, you have the potential for Dinner AND a Show!!!!!  Just sit back and watch it unfold!!!!
 
 
Okay, now that this is horribly long (sorry) I will close.  I really enjoy listening to your show — I like your attitude, the way that you treat the listeners who call in (not rude to them), and the songs that you play!  And I love the advice from your Mom!  I guess I feel akin in general as I’m another PA transplant living in Cleveland.  
You should put on your show sometime a quiz of “what do I mean” and ask people what you mean when you say “I’m being nibby/nebby” or “Redd up the room” or “jagger bush” — because I’ve learned that no one up here knows what I mean when I say that.  And that people say the names Don and Dawn differently here.  Being from near PGH, you have to have encountered some of that, right?
 
Thanks and I hope you go to your reunion — someone there might have a better time because of YOU!
 
Laura
Elyria, OH

Let’s help a fellow listener out… got this email to jen@q104.com.  Can you post your songs/comments here?

Hi Jen,

First, love your show - listen every day!

I need your help.  So - totally have lost over 100 pounds the long, hard, old fashioned way of eating healthy and working out.

The working out part is now a daily thing that I love - BUT OMG I AM GETTING SO BORED WITH MY IPOD.   So, if you and your listeners could help me out, I would LOVE to see a list of the best workout songs on your page! 

I would love to fill my ipod up with all new songs to carry me to my goal weight over the next few months!

Hope you can help!

THANKS!

S.D.

This was too fun!  Got to meet “Elle” and “Bruiser” from the musical Legally Blonde currently at Playhouse Square!  Get the inside scoop here on how they got involved with the show and even see Bruiser do some of his on stage tricks!