Let me begin by saying that, frankly, Siobhan and I didn't exactly think we were going to last night's gala to work. She carried her sparkliest purse. I wore my sparkliest top. It was decided -- by us, of course -- that we'd be the cutest girls at the party. We were going to schmooze. (And since Iman was being honored, I thought maybe, just maybe, we'd see David Bowie -- and maybe, just maybe, sing "Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes" with him. ...Hey, a girl can dream, right?)

But the minute we walked in the door, we learned otherwise.

Now, first, you have to understand that I am the geekiest of all geeks when it comes to my job. I would never, ever interview someone without knowing the entire life story: career path, biggest petpeeves, dog's name... everything. I would never be caught off-guard.

...Or so I thought.

We dropped off our bags at the Waldorf-Astoria coat room and checked in with the event's media relations coordinator. Her first words were, "Josey! Welcome! We love iVillage! Let me find Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem for your interviews."

In my defense, I was pretty clear over email that I wasn't going to do interviews -- I told her I was only coming to the event to get a vibe ("vibe" is journalist speak for "drink"). But she was already gone.

I felt the color drain from my face, and Siobhan and I looked at each other blankly. What on earth were we going to say to Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem with zero preparation? These are two of the most powerful (and most intimidating) female figures in recent history... icons... and we didn't even have a tape recorder!

We didn't even have a PEN.

I was ready to sneak out the back door until Siobhan turned to me and said, "All right, Josey, this is it. Are we mice or are we men??" I took a deep breath and simultaneously, I said, "MEN!" and she said, "MICE! ....Fine. Men."

So we stayed.

(To be continued...)

Update: Read Part Two here.
Update: Read Part Three here.