New York City — Day one in the Big Apple (hold your tongue!) was a wild one. Arriving a few ticks before my work day was to begin, I was met by a fanfare of screaming teenage girls.

I felt like Seinfeld on his last day rather than an intern on his first, but my ego was quickly deflated when I realized it was Backstreet Boy mania that was causing the commotion in Times Square.

The boy toys happened to be whoring themselves out to Carson Daly and his MTV posse in the same building I was to begin my summer job.

The chic thing about it was any lad with a dose of bleach in his hair walking into 1515 Broadway had a good chance of being mistaken for a Backstreeter.

Most tourists consider themselves lucky to see a celebrity on their first day in the City; I was lucky enough to pose as one.

It is hard to keep your mind off of fame living in New York.

The public’s infatuation with it is so common the newspapers have, not one, but several celebrity gossip columns, releasing such important news as where Bruce Willis ate dinner last night.

Could you imagine if the Daily had a celebrity gossip column: “God Socks was spotted enjoying a bowl of chili at the M-Shop.”

“Chad Calek was seen exiting Pleasure Palace with a large bag of video tapes last weekend.”

It would truly emphasize how silly star-searching can be.

Last summer, one of my few celebrity sightings in New York was the great Quentin Tarantino in line behind me to see “Something About Mary.”

I joked to my friend that I was going to call in to the papers.

The next day, The New York Post reported the sighting. Apparently, his theater appearance was a big deal to someone else in line.

Working for VH-1, this summer should be filled with the famous. Over the weekend, I scored a gig as a celebrity escort at the Daytime Emmys.

My laborious task was to keep “The Bold and the Beautiful” star Ashley Lyn Cafagna entertained and informed before her presentation.

It was a match made in heaven — I provided the boldness, she provided the beauty. (I learned later she is only 16.)

The real entertainment of the night however was watching the other celebrity escorts who were all either struggling actors trying to make connections or die-hard soap fans trying to get autographs.

The latter of the two were the ones constantly asking, “Who do you have?”

Watching Ben Stein, Rosie O’Donnell and Bob Barker chow down the pre-show dinner was an experience to remember, but just being at the ceremony was enough for me.

Fame is not as enjoyable to observe when it is served on a pedestal high above mobs of teeny boppers or daytime TV gurus.

It is easier to enjoy fame as it radiates from a stage surrounded by its peers.

Take, for instance, the only celebrity with more losses than the McCarney-era Cyclones: Susan Lucci.

I can honestly say I have never watched a minute of “General Hospital” and truly have no idea about Lucci’s talents.

But her acceptance speech Friday (after being snubbed for the top soap actress award for 19 years in a row) was as memorable as anything I’ve seen in this crazy city.

Lucci said if it wasn’t for all of those years of losing, she would not have the huge collection of cards and balloons from her family. It was something so sweet I could picture my mother saying it.

And I just can’t picture her telling Carson Daly how stoked she is about a new record.

Fame is a funny thing.

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Corey Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is currently lending his boldness to VH-1 and SPIN.