Hi Everyone, I started this blog for people who read my EyeContact columns in the RedEye Edition of the Chicago Tribune. People always stop me in bars, restaurants, parties and even on the street to find out what my job is like and what celebrities are really like in person. I've found that a lot of my readers find it more interesting to hear about the crazy things I've done to get my stories than the actual story itself. I agree with them. The story behind the story is usually more interesting. Reading a quote from Jessica Simpson in a celebrity magazine about how she reacted to the news about her hubby Nick Lachey cheating on her is interesting. However, a lot of people find it more interesting that I approached Simpson in the ladies room (and no I did not follow her in; she walked in after me!) of a steakhouse in Baton Rouge to get the quote. I thought she was going to for sure slap me across the face! Instead, in her cute Southern accent, she thanked me for giving her a heads up and gave me some great quotes. Or, how after I politely introduced myself to John Cusack at a party in Chicago he mistook me for another reporter and called me a "parasite". Ha! And then there is the time a tipsy Jennifer Aniston approached me at a private party I had snuck into in Chicago while I was sitting next to former Bear Jim McMahon and his wife. Since I had just spent the whole summer covering her almost daily on The Break-Up set and out and about town I thought she for sure knew I was a reporter. (I know for a fact her bodyguard did.) I was preparing for her to order her bodyguard to escort me out of the party. To my pleasant surprise she said this as she put her hands on my knees: "Ohhhhhh your Jim McMahon's daughter!" I just nodded my head and said "yes". One of my favorite adventures was when I snuck into the kitchen of a hotel past 12 of Tom Cruise's bodyguards and acted like an obsessed Cruise fan who just wanted to get a photo with him. Yeah right! What I really wanted was a quote about his newborn baby Suri who no one had seen yet. Despite the minor obstacle of a dozen football player sized bodyguards I managed to get my quote and a photo. I could go on and on. I hope this blog exposes more of what my world of celebrity journalism is like and what the people in the industry are like as well. Warning: Many unique and, more often than not, shady characters to come! In addition to my personal encounters with celebrities, I will also be updating the blog daily with the latest celebrity gossip. And you will find that I feature other female celebrity reporters and columnists, The Boots Girls, who contribute to the site. I encourage everyone to post comments and e-mail me your suggestions and celebrity photos. I hope you like the blog and thanks for reading! Cheers! Liz Crokin