Hooray! Tomorrow I’ll get to meet another good internet friend of mine. 🙂 I’ve known Michelle for probably three years or so now. It’s hard to keep track because it feels like I’ve known her forever. We’ve always gotten along so well and she’s such a kind person, I’m thrilled to meet her finally. Her dear sweet father has agreed to make a stop in Virginia while they’re on their way home from a road-trip. I’m very, very happy about that.

Michelle and I actually got to talk on the phone for the first time last week. That was very interesting – I have to admit, she doesn’t really sound like I expected. But then again, I don’t know what I expected, so hey ho. 🙂 I’m curious to see her tomorrow. I only vaguely remember seeing a photo of her from about two years ago, so it’ll be nice to see how she’s changed. Of course, I’m sure she’ll know what I look like, so she won’t be too shocked. We’re meeting up at a Borders bookstore tomorrow – actually, come to think of it, it’s one of the places Sujit and I went the first time we met. Interesting.

That will be two internet friends within four days! Wow. I’ve actually been meaning to get to work meeting as many of my internet friends as possible before I actually have to get serious and go to college, get a job, etc. Sigh, stupid responsibilities getting in the way of fun… nah, just kidding. The job I’m working on would actually be the coolest thing on the planet, if I can get it to work. More on that later, though. 😉

So I’m pretty sure my total of Internet Friends That I’ve Met will be around 17 when I meet Michelle. That’s not counting all of the people I met at MIT or Childnet, because, well, I knew I was going to meet them so that hardly counts. We started talking because we knew we would get to meet up, which isn’t the same thing. That’s just 17 people that I came in contact with over the Internet and happened to be able to meet. The most recent have been quite interesting. Michelle’s Tuesday, Spencer was on Saturday, a few weeks ago I met Stephen for the first time, and a few weeks before that I met a charming young man named Eric who was a columnist for the Daily Prophet for a while. It was great! I’m setting records this summer, I need to meet some more real quick. I might get to meet my uber-good friend Erick this October, if all things go as planned. Hmm, who else can I manage to meet… If I win the Austin Film Festival, I might be able to meet another close friend, David. But it’s a pretty big “IF” that I’ll win that festival, it’s too big-time for me and my silly little screenplay. Still hoping, though, cause that would rule.

There are actually lots of internet friends I could go meet in New York, which isn’t too far away. Hey, maybe once I get my driver’s license I could go on a road trip with the sole purpose of meeting internet friends. Then, I could make a blog serial out of it. How fun would that be?

I’m kind of bored at the moment. It’s one of those days where I’ve finished everything on my To-Do list, so I’m just kind of sitting around wondering why I suddenly don’t have anything pressing down on my mind. There’s nothing I can do for the Daily Prophet – I’m still waiting for confirmation from the state corporation commission before I can do anything else. There’s nothing else I can do for my TV show – I emailed Mr. Producer-Man last night, and now I’m just waiting for a response. There’s nothing else I can do on the hunt for a job – already did that this morning and applied to be some bloke’s personal assistant for $75,000 a year. That’s a long shot, but hey, why not give it a go? I don’t have any appointments today, no other pressing responsibilities, already done my household duties for the day. My room’s a bit messy, but there’s no reason to clean it up. I even wrote my spiel for a class I’m teaching on Music Appreciation a whole week and a half from now. I’m out of “Responsible” things to do, and I’m having a hard time being irresponsible because the responsible things are too much fun. So I guess I’ll tell you about the responsible things. 🙂 I’ve actually been itching to tell everyone about this for a whole year now, but I’ve been a good girl and I’ve kept my mouth shut. But right about now, it’s time for some hype, so it’s about time that I spill the beans.

One year ago – almost exactly – my dear friend Sujit sent me an email with a link in it, saying something to the effect of, “This is too funny, and it sounds like something you’d do.” The link was similar to this one (sorry, I can’t find the original anymore); a BBC story about a royal in need of an heir.

In a nutshell, did you know that there’s a real Count Dracula? No, he’s not a vampire, he’s actually a part of Romanian royalty. He is now in his sixties and has yet to have any children. He’s looking to adopt an heir so the family line won’t go extinct. He approached the BBC with the story, and they publicized it on the BBC and the CBBC. Beyond that, only a few small European newspapers picked up on the story, and then it kind of disappeared.

I completely agreed with Sujit; it was hilarious, and yes, it was something I’d do. The Count – Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prinz Kretzulesco – asked anyone who was interested to send him a letter of introduction and a photograph. I did so, thinking if nothing else it would be a great story to tell my grandchildren that hey, I corresponded with Count Dracula for a while. It’d be good for a laugh, I thought.

Little did I expect him to actually reply. He did. He sent me a fabulous, flattering two-page letter telling me how much he admired my work, what a great person I am, how “worthy” I would be to be his daughter, et cetera et cetera. I was thrilled – it fit perfectly with my story for my grandchildren; not only did I apply, but I got a response! That alone was enough to make me happy.

In the letter, Count Dracula said that he needed time to consider who exactly he would choose to carry on his family name and his various charity efforts. He asked me to keep him updated, and I have done so. I actually just sent him another update last week, telling him about the Childnet awards, getting accepted to Courtauld, and further exciting developments with the Daily Prophet. I’m eager for his response, because I think I’ve been doing pretty well keeping up appearances, doing my charity work, and being generally a very nice person. I’m curious to hear what he thinks of all this.

This whole Dracula thing is just one more of my crazy plans to try to get my various other projects going. I want to be able to make my mark on the world, do some good, and have a great time doing it. This, just like the Branson plan, the television show, et al, is just one more interesting thing to keep my imagination occupied.


But a few nights ago I came to a realization; why not combine some of my crazy plans? If you make something unique enough, it does tend to have a better chance at success. Do something that has yet to be done, boldly go where no man has gone before, all that jazz. So, last night when I wrote to Mr. Producer-man, I pitched an idea for a television show; “How to be a Princess”. If I can get the Count to agree to adopt me, I can promise him publicity, which he needs for one of his projects – a theme park in Romania. He needs public approval, and this would certainly supply him with it.

Also, it would be unique. The show would chronicle the development of a Princess – what it takes to be royalty, how to learn it, how to apply it, etc. It would be a real life ‘Princess Diaries’. What would be better than taking an average American teenager (me), and grooming her to enter the world of old-world European royalty? It would teach everything that I wanted to teach in my travel show idea – culture, history, awareness of the world around you, and a return to gentility. More than anything else, I think it would be a great way to show young people how easy it is to be “royal” in the sense that anyone can have good manners, anyone can be pleasant, anyone can be well behaved. It’s not stuffy, it’s not cold; it’s a way of being a Prince or Princess in every day life. That sort of thing.

I think it could really take off. I haven’t polished off all the edges yet, it’s still just a rough-sketch of an idea. Right now I’m thinking it would be interesting to have one constant mentor – preferably a British Lord, Lady, Duke, or Duchess – who could show me the ropes and be a kind of constant guide and companion. Like my own royal Jiminy Cricket.

I can see the potential for it being highly entertaining, if it’s pulled off right. It could almost be like a visual blog, educational show, documentary, travel show, and comedy all in one. Now if only I can convince Mr. Producer-man and the Count to go along with it…

Plus, another perk of being adopted, I’d get a really fantastic name. I would be Heather Rodolphe Contesa Dracula Printesa Kretzulesco. How fun would that be? The Count seems like a very interesting fellow – he too was actually adopted into the family by the last remaining blood-relative to the Draculas and Kretzulescos. If what I’ve found is correct, he was an antiques dealer in Berlin before he was adopted, and now he has extensive antiques collections, including vintage herses. I think that’s just hilarious, I love it. He sounds like fun. He invited me to visit him at his home in Berlin, so now I have to figure out how to get myself over to Germany.

Sounds rather like a fairytale, doesn’t it? That’s why I love it, and why I think a television show based around that idea would be fantastic. Please, post your thoughts, let me know what you think about it all. I’m eager for feedback. After practically keeping this to myself for a whole year, I’m dying to know what others think. I’ve only told a few close friends, beyond that it’s been a secret.