Dinner itself and the four-plus-hour award ceremony go by in a blip. It doesn't hurt that each course, prepared by Morton's chef, is more delicious than the last -- burrata with a red and yellow tomato salad, New York strip steak with spinach and French fries, thyme-encrusted tuna with a fondue of leeks and rice, butternut squash ravioli with sage sauce, and apple tart with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The company is even better. Whoever did this seating chart must have read one of my interviews -- I just spent four hours sitting next to Carrie Fisher. THE Princess Leia!

I'm sure she thought I was crazy because I kept staring at her. I wanted to ask her to say a line from Star Wars or something, but I was too embarrassed. I couldn't wait to steal away from the table and tell Austin. I even took a picture of us together with my Canon Sure Shot (the perfect camera for a tiny metallic purse). I'm going to have to blow it up wall-size for my room.

But you know what was even better than getting that photo? Carrie Fisher knew who I was! She loves Family Affair. My show! I could have died right then and there. The two of us started chatting about storylines and the next thing I knew she said the ten little words that make my heart start beating like an athlete after four Red Bulls:

"I can't believe Family Affair is going off the air."

And even worse:

"What are you planning to do when the show ends?"

Even on Oscar night, when everyone is focused on someone else's body of work and who's going to win the little gold man, I can't escape my career anxieties. Even sitting next to Princess Leia can't make me forget about that. I give her my stock answer that I've perfected by now: "I'm excited about the future and am exploring my options."

"Kates, can I talk to you?" Matty asks me after dessert, when everyone has moved to the 7,000 square foot tent for the after-party. It looks like a giant living room. It's quiet now, but it won't be for long. Throngs of famous faces are filing in behind us, air-kissing, congratulating one another on films recently released and quietly making business deals. I'm in awe of the string of A-listers walking past me. I keep a smile plastered on my face the whole time. I've never seen so many of my favorite stars in one room before. Matty's right -- this is kind of nerve-wracking. Thank God I'm not alone.

"Hang on to my arm so we don't get separated," I whisper.

"Um, that's the thing," Matty explains. "I was kind of wondering if you'd be all right on your own for a while."

"What?" I'm surprised. "Where are you going?"

"A few actors from the Scooby-Doo pilot are here and they asked me to sit with them." Matty looks desperate. "I really want to make a good impression since we're shooting it next week." Tom is the show's director and he and Matty have cleared part of their days to shoot the other show. Since Scooby is all about monster-chasing, they're shooting a large part of the pilot at night anyway.