Hubby drove me to the airport and after we got there I insisted I take a picture of him looking all sad (lower lip pouting) so I could tweet it. Well we ended up in a major giggle fest because he kept making the silliest faces in the pictures.
Then it was off to stand in the even longer US customs line up. That took just as long. I finally made it through them both and through the security check, even saw the new ex-ray machines they will be using. They look kind of like a futuristic shower unit.
After all that, I was finally in the terminal only to be directed to a new line up. This one was checking ALL the carry on bags for explosives, they even tested my hands. But luckily the line up took longer than the search. All I can say is that I was very glad I got there early!
I made it to Newark all safe and sound after all that, with no further events. I arrived in the room to find an already asleep Rosie, though she did leave a light on for me (that was nice of her). She woke up after a while and we caught up a bit. I also called Colleen (who had arrived earlier) so that she could come up to our room and confirm the details for the next day. After that it was off to sleep for a few hours before we headed out.
Saturday February 13, 2010.
After only a few hours of sleep I was up early, complaining about the mean cruel person who plans these outings so early (oh wait that’s me!). Rosie took a picture of me still in bed and NOT wanting to get up, which I tweeted.
The three of us (Rosie, Colleen and I) were downstairs by 7:50am where the car service was waiting for us. We drove to Liberty State Park – well actually he drove us to where the ferries left from, which was NOT correct, even though I told him, we were going to Liberty State Park. He finally did make it there, though he dropped us off at the wrong place and we had a walk a ways. Not a problem except that we were booked on the 8:30am ferry that left to tour Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. And can I say that I found the fact that it cost 4 times as much to get to the tour then it did to take the tour very disturbing!
We got there and they waived us in. Luckily, I had already gotten our tickets, so it was a matter of going through the security check. We had to take off our coats and watches and have our bags x-rayed. But we made it on the boat in time. Once we were on, one of the boat crew asked if one of us was missing a watch. Sure enough Colleen had left hers at the security check. Fortunately for her, they brought it to the boat and she didn’t have to get off.
I asked what the best way to take the tour was because we wanted to get off in New York City. The very nice gentleman told us to stay on the boat once we got to Ellis Island and to start the tour with the Statue of Liberty, since the tour that departs from New Jersey, does the tour as:
Liberty State Park, Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty and then back to Liberty State Park.
While the tour from Battery Park in New York, does it this order:
Battery Park, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and back to Battery Park.
We walked around and took some nice pictures. Our tickets only gave us access to the pedestal of the statue. I couldn’t get tickets up to the crown because they were sold out.
Once we arrived in Battery Park, we took a taxi to Bloomingdale’s for some shopping.
We had some time before our reservation for high tea at the Russian Tea Room. So we walked to it. It was about a 20-25 minute walk, but we were able to check out the sights and stop along the way if we wanted to. We stopped at Hammacher Schlemmer at my suggestion because I wanted to check out the fun gadgets.
Rosie got a picture of me trying out an eye massager, which was cool and felt nice (though I was the only one who thought so).
They had a picture booth and the 3 of us crammed in to take some fun pictures. We also had to talk Colleen out of buying a video camera that she was seriously macking on. What we really should have done was encouraged her and had her get 3 of them, one each!
We arrived at the Russian Tea Room just before 2:00pm and had a nice long tea – which was heaven after all that walking, climbing stairs and shopping. I had been to tea before (in Toronto) and quite liked it, even though I always get the weirdest looks because I always order coffee (sorry but I don’t like tea!). And even though you only get these little tiny sandwiches and cakes, it leaves you completely full, in fact NONE of us finished all our food. Oh and I would like to point out I had Caviar for the first time. We got two kinds, not sure which kind they were, but one was OK – I could see myself eating it again (a lighter colour) – and one that was stronger and a darker colour that I did NOT like.
After tea was over, it was time for us to split up. Rosie was going to South Orange to attend the special event with James Marsters that night. While both Colleen and I had bid on spots, we had dropped out at the end. For me it was just a little too much to pay, since for the same cost I could do an entire convention at some later point in the year and I wanted to save my money for that. Plus I knew it the bidding would go crazy at the end and I so wasn’t willing to play in that sand box. But I knew since Rosie was going I would get a full report. So that was cool!
Colleen and I were off to the MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art). She had requested to see this and I was game. As it turns out they were having a Tim Burton exhibit. I got us tickets before hand, since they were time stamped as to when you could enter. Well, they well may have been time stamped but I really don’t think anyone was paying attention to that fact, that or they over estimated how many people should be in the exhibit at one time. It was beyond crowded. I could barely move let alone see all the artwork and props. I would have enjoyed it had I not been swimming in a sea of people and going (what felt like) the against the current of that sea.
It was so bad that I had to get out of there before I grab the scissor gloves off of Edward Scissorshands and started stabbing people!!! We ended up in the Monet gallery on the second floor, which was nicer more quite and had some lovely paintings in it.
It was part of Monet water lilies collection and since Monet is my favorite painter it was a special treat for me!
Though I did end up buying a T-shirt that said “FRAK OFF” for myself.
I also picked up some look-a-like Coach bags off a street vendor which were nice and I thought for the price, why not? Only wish I could have found some Burberry ones.
We grabbed a cab to Macy’s which was our final stop (yes more shopping for Magie) and while I did find a dress I liked, it wasn’t on sale and right at that point was when I hit the wall.
No more energy for Magie. I was beyond tired and no longer cared, and when I give up on shopping you KNOW it’s bad. Colleen once again found a shirt that was 75% off and got it dirt cheap! I’m really beginning to hate shopping with her! She walks away with the great deals and the rest just walk away. Grrrrrrr….
Instead of continuing the shopping, we headed down to the cellar for dinner. I had reservations for us at Macy's Cellar Bar & Grill, however it was for a later time.That wasn’t a problem for them and they sat us right away. I really wasn’t hungry, so I only ordered a plate of fries, which had garlic and parmesan cheese on them (yeah not doing that again). They were interesting… but the truth was I was too tired and not hungry to eat more then 4 fries. We were able to leave earlier than I had planned since we were trying to catch the 8:14 train at Penn station. We stopped along the way so Colleen could get gifts for her grandkids, but I had to hurry her. We got there and the train was already there, but we were able to buy tickets and get on board.
We made it back to the hotel by 9:00pm and I fell into a hot bath to try and relax my aching feet. After, I went down to visit with Amy Sue and Mom (Amy Sue’s Mom) for a little bit, and while I was there Amy Sue surprised me with a gift. It was a teddy bear wearing a little jacket that had a picture of James and me on it. It was beyond cute! And I LOVED it! Not only that, but I could get it signed the next day. I had brought something but it was a back up because the Caprica Poster I had order to have signed didn’t arrive in time (even though I ordered it 3 weeks before). She really was too sweet to get that for me!!!
After my visit with Amy Sue and Mom, I went back to my room to wait for Rosie. By 11:45pm I was hungry and I was looking at the room service menu when Rosie finally showed up. The first thing I asked her as she walked in was if she was hungry because I wanted to order something. She said sure, so we ordered a small little pizza that we could spilt and some pop. However that small 6 inch pizza and 2 cans of pop took an hour to arrive and 4 telephone calls to room service. I was so NOT pleased about that. They brought up an extra can of pop to make up for it, – yeah like that would do it.
We spent the time waiting for the food going over the night she had with James (and 10 others). I made her go over it in detail, right from when she left us. It was cool to hear all about it. Rosie warned me that James had lost a tooth. He was biting down on something and it fell out (a couple of days before) and he hadn’t had a chance to get it fixed. Most of his front teeth are loose because he has taken too many hits to the face, both personally and professionally. So I asked if we were going to get “Hillbilly James” the next day. She said yes pretty much.
Our food finally arrived and we ate while watching “17 Again”. Rosie fell asleep before the movie ended. But I watched until the end, since I hadn’t seen it before.
Rosie said she got Neanderthal Magie this morning, all she could get out of me were groans, mixed in with some moans and a lot of whining noises. I was still really tired and NOT happy about the being awake part. I had scheduled the car service to pick us up at 10:00am, which would put us in to SOPAC (South Orange Performing Acts Center) at 10:30am – a full hour and a half before we had to be there. Originally I had it like that because I wanted to give us lots of getting there room in case something went wrong. I did re-think the time and called to see if I could change it to a little later, short answer was no, not without a charge. So we all met down stairs at 10:10am and off we went. There were 7 people in our van, myself, Rosie, Amy Sue, Mom, Colleen, Beth (Colleen’s roommate) and we pick up Ulla who didn’t have a ride as well.
We made it there at about 10:45am. Rosie and I picked up our tickets (they hold them if you’re from out of the country) and I had gotten Colleen’s as well. And then all that was left to do was wait and catch up with the people arriving. I did get to see a lot of friendly faces I hadn’t seen in a while, which was cool.
Krista, Rosie, Amy Sue and Mom
Ok, back to our regularly scheduled report. The doors were supposed to open at 11:30am so we could go in, but didn’t until after 12:00pm. Once we were all seated, Steve Himber came out and welcomed us to “The Be My Valentine Event with James Marsters”. He let us know what would happen during the day and in what order.
He also let us know that James would be performing Shakespeare’s Sonnets AND that James was super excited about it and if he had to hear one more thing about them he was going to lose it. So it seems James has been going on and on, which is always a good thing when he gets excited about things, especially when it’s theatre!
The order of these events were:
- Business first (people were able to purchase extra photos ops, autograph ops, as well as a special copy of the sonnets being read that were copies of the ones that James would be reading from and had James notes in it. Also they had some remaining CD’s including a few copies of Mad Brilliant and a couple other Ghost of the Robot singles.)
- Photos Ops next, called by row.
- Performance of the Love Sonnets.
- Q&A
- Autographs Ops called by row
- Dinner
- Concert
About half the people there went up to either purchase something else or to make a payment for the She Scoop to Conquer Event in June, so the line took a while to get through. I did get 2 extra photo ops, as well as a copy of the sonnets. All in all it took about 45 minutes to an hour to get through, so it was 1:00pm before the event started.
The first thing Steve did was bring James out so he could say a few words. James welcomed us, thanked us for leaving our loved ones (if anyone did) and he told us he was in love big time. For a second there I thought he had found someone new, but no it just turns out he and his long time girlfriend Patricia have found new love in their relationship, which – after 5 years together – is really good!
James also apologized for reading the Sonnets. He said that when he first decided to read them, he thought they would be sweet instead he found them harsh and depressing for the most part. But he did pick the best of them and he found out so much about Shakespeare during his research – that Shakespeare had been bisexual because most of his sonnets were about a man, though there were some about a “dark” women and so on.
James was all bouncy and light hearted and I always love it when he is like that! He is soooo much fun to be around! I had heard he had been in bad mood the weekend before when he was in England at an event so I was worried but no need, he was the happy go lucky James I have come to love.
After James stepped away, they started the photo session. We were called to line up by row. Since Colleen, myself and Rosie were in row ‘B’, we were second to be called. As we got up, Colleen surprised me by saying she wanted to get a picture of both of us with James and it was her treat. She said that it was a thank you for everything I had done. Wow…that was sooooo sweet of her and I was NOT turning down an extra picture with James (she knows my weakness damn her!).
So I suggested she go first and for the second picture I would step in and then she could step out, but she wanted our together picture to be first. Ok. So when we got to Helen (James’ helper extraordinaire) I explained the confusing order of me and Colleen, then just Colleen and me again. She looked at me and said that I just had to make her life harder didn’t I, then laughed and said she was not sure what we were doing so just go ahead and do it.
So we both went up to James for the first picture. Colleen went first and James shook her hand. Then he turned to me with his hand extended and I believe I looked at him with a ‘what is that’ look and he laughed and said, “Well if that’s not a fuck you look” and I quickly said, “No, but I want to know where my hug is?” He laughed and said, “I’ll hug you baby” then he pulled me in for a tight hug. I thought it was meant as a hello hug but James squeezed me really tight and then after a while I dropped my arms and he kept hugging. It went on so long, I half turned to Froggy and said, “He won’t let go!” At which point James laughed and let go.
Then it we got into positions for our together shot. I told James we wanted to be hugged in the photo, so he had me on his right and Colleen on his left and he squeezed us tight towards him and Froggy snapped the picture. It came out GREAT! Very sweet!
Then I stepped out and let Colleen have her single shot. After that it was my turn for photos. I was having 3 single shots done and I went up again I got another hug but this one was just a quick one and I asked how the kids were doing. James kind of looked down and said, “Well they’re not doing so good in school…” I was really surprised and asked “Why? They have always done so well.” And he replied “yeah, but they never had to really study before.”
Before we could really finish the conversation, Froggy gave James the hurry up and take the photos sign and James went into photo mode. I showed him the 3 poses I wanted done. (I always bring a copy of them for him to see, as per his request.)
The first one was a hug, which I always do and it came out ok.
The second was a copy of one we have twice before of me kissing his nose, which came out good (better then last time).
And the 3rd was a new pose that is my favorite from the day. In it James is kissing my wrist while holding my hand. It came out VERY romantic, which was my goal!
Then I had to leave, and I really didn’t want to, but I did stop and ask him if he would be my Valetine and he replied sure darling! I then said bye and that I would see him later. I did stay to see Rosie take her shots, all of which were great as well.
I can’t really remember much after that because, well, the James fog strikes again and that warm fuzzy feeling spreads over you and you can’t remember your own name let alone what is what.
It took awhile for them to get through all the photos and most of us just hung around and talked and got caught up. Becky was sitting in row A and across from me, so I talked to her a bit to see what was up in her world. She takes some GREAT photos and if anyone wants to see them you can go to:
http://www.jaded-paradise.net/lights/
I also got to hang a little with Squirl who was sitting behind me, so that was great!
Amy and Mom were on the other side and further way, so not as much hanging out during the day, which sucked!
I managed to put myself together enough to get back in line at the very end of the photos for our group shot. (Groups always go last, usually by size, so small groups first, followed by larger ones.) There were only 2 others. One with a very large group and one with only 2 people, who kept trying to tell us they should go last, because Steve told them to go last. Finally Steve told them that no they should just go ahead because the other groups were following Froggy’s orders.
It was just me, Amy Sue and Rosie who were doing this photo. We have sort of made it a point to get a group shot done with the 3 of us and James whenever the 3 of us are together. And we have a lot of fun coming up with interesting poses to do (not all of which I can share…). This one was pretty tame though. I think it was Rosie’s idea to do a Totem pole pose. We had already decided which spots we would be in (me picking the front and being on the floor). It was also decided that I would speak to Froggy to let him know what we were doing and how we wanted it shot and Rosie would speak to James. Amy Sue had the important job of looking cute, which she did wonderfully! Kidding, I think she also spoke to James.
While they were talking to James, I told Froggy how we were posing and he told me that I had to talk to James because it was up to him. I explained to Froggy that I was only advising him how we wanted to have the photo taken. To which he said, “Ok you want me to hold the camera like this (on its side) or like this (straight on).” I signed and said on its side (it’s a long shot).
Then we got into position with me sitting on the floor, Amy Sue with her head on top of mine, James with his head on top of hers and Rosie at the top. When we got into the pose Froggy realized what I had been trying to tell him and ‘oh ok, you should have told me you were getting that far down’ (grrrrr tried!) so he sat on the floor and took the photo from there. He took more than one, which turned out to be a good thing. I could feel the others struggling to hold their positions (see that’s why I was on the floor!).
The first one we all didn’t like because half of James face was cut off by the top of Amy Sue’s hair.
In the second one, even though half of James face is cut off, the look on his face was priceless and soooooo funny!
Once the pictures were done, it was time for The Love Sonnets. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I wasn’t very familiar with them. I knew they were poems and I was wondering how James would perform them. I really should have more faith in James. (Bad Magie for that!)
The entire thing was AMAZING! It reminded me of a University lecture, but where the professor is amazing – the kind of classes that change your life.
James preformed 30 sonnets in total. Below is a list of all of them in order.
First he would read them, then he would analyze it and explain what words meant and then lastly he would PERFORM it with feeling and emotion, leaving us breathless!
I started taking notes during the reading so I could put it all in this report, and at first James would tell us what number he was reading, but about halfway through he skipped the number on one I felt bad about it, but I really wanted to know the number so I asked James what number it was. I was the only one (other than him to speak) so it was really weird. James told me the number and moved on. Then, a couple of sonnets later he did the same thing, so I once again asked for the number and he told me. It happened about 3 or 4 times and then after each reading James would look to me and say the number, which was great and kept me from having to ask.
We weren’t supposed to take any pictures during the Sonnets and I personally did not since there was no way I could do it without some bright light. I did find a couple that were taken by someone else, so I am including them in the report.
Here are the Sonnets he read and a brief note on what he did during it:
- Sonnet # 12
- Went through the sonnet line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Lost his tooth during explanation said that he had glued it in for the photos with us.
- Sonnet # 17
- Explained what each line meant.
- Read it a second time after explaining it.
- Sonnet # 18
- Got teary eyed and emotional during the reading.
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Sonnet # 20
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Got emotional at the end of the reading.
- Sonnet # 26
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Didn’t say which number the sonnet was, so I had to ask.
- Sonnet # 27
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Read it a second time with greater emotion and vigor.
- Sonnet # 29
- Told us he was a “Flaming Liberital”.
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Sonnet # 34
- At first he seems like he was crying but I believe he was playing up the emotion.
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
9. Sonnet # 42
- Explained how that how things in that time were not considered real unless they were written down.
- James did tell us one of his favorite Shakespeare’s story about how some of the actors during a play of Hamlet were trying to figure out why Hamlet’s Mother went for the uncle and that the actor who played Claudius said, “He has a big DICK!” (It was funnier when James told us.)
10. Sonnet # 44
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- And read it a second time.
11. Sonnet # 55
- He told us that with this Sonnet Shakespeare gets cocky.
- Explained line by line how it was cocky and what Shakespeare meant.
12. Sonnet # 57
- He said that this Sonnet was used in Star Trek the original series. Colleen told me it was in Plato's Stepchildren.
13. Sonnet # 60
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
14. Sonnet # 71
- Went through it line by line and explained what each line meant.
- Steve told him he only had a few more minutes and he swore, since time had slipped away from him.
15. Sonnet # 75
- James told us that this sonnet meant that Shakespeare saw that he was being hurt by his lover but that he loved him anyways.
16. Sonnet # 78
- James called Sir Thomas White a “Fuck Hole!”
17. Sonnet # 80
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it line by line.
18. Sonnet # 83
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it line by line.
19. Sonnet # 89
- He said that this sonnet was like Kurt Cobain’s ‘Never Mind’
20. Sonnet # 91
- He got very emotional during the reading and then said, “Sorry I’m in Love!”
21. Sonnet # 93
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it line by line.
22. Sonnet # 104
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
23. Sonnet # 109
- Explained this sonnet was about Shakespeare’s own affair.
24. Sonnet # 127
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
25. Sonnet # 130
- Explained that this one meant “Baby you ain’t that pretty!” (Those were James own words.)
26. Sonnet # 133
- Explained that this sonnet meant that the dark lady, Shakespeare’s new lover, had started sleeping with the younger lover that Shakespeare had lost.
27. Sonnet # 137
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
28. Sonnet # 143
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
29. Sonnet # 147
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
30. Sonnet # 144
- Explained what it meant but didn’t go through it, though he did read it another time with more emotion.
During the reading James spent some time telling us not only about Shakespeare and his life, but what life was like at court and what life for a writer/actor would have been like then.
James got so caught up in his reading, he didn’t notice he was running out of time, so he had to hurry the last few and would read them, discuss only a couple of things and then perform them.
The entire performance was fantastic! I heard some people found it boring but I sure didn’t! I love James reading Shakespeare – his passion for it just comes through so strong!
After the Sonnets were performed it was time for the Q&A. James once again went straight into questions and while I was standing up waiting to ask mine, I wasn’t the first one to be picked. I had to settle for second.
“Many of us get tongue tied or babble away when we talk to you, so I want to know when was the last time someone made you tongue tied or caused you babble?”
When I said “Many of us get tongue tied or babble away when we talk to you,” James’s reply was “I like that!’
Then he replied with: Leonard Nimoy. He said that if he sees him at a convention, he tries and stay away from him. And that one time, in a green room with Mr. Nimoy, when asked how he was doing by staff, James replied he was just trying to stay out of Mr. Nimoy’s way, to which Leonard smiled a little.
Video of my Question (2nd asked)
Question about who on Buffy “wanted” him, working on Angel, doing conventions.
I did like all my photos (which is rare!). The one with Colleen came out way cuter than expected – we all looked good in it. And I really liked both the Nose kiss one and the one where he is kissing my wrist! James just looks soooooo sexy in that one.
I wasn’t too pleased (and neither was Amy Sue) with the group picture because half of James face was hidden behind Amy Sue. Froggy made up for it with the ‘funny’ because, man the look James was giving was sooooo funny! Maybe I should ask him what he was thinking during this, then again, I may not want to know!
We were being called by row again, but this was going to take a while. Most of us had dinner reservations, since it was Valentine’s day, and we didn’t want to take to risk of not getting in anywhere, so most of us had to call the restaurant and advise them we were running late. So much for Steve’s (Himber) plan to have us out of there by 5:30pm. It was closer to 6:30pm.
Rosie was in front of me (and I only know this because of the video) and you can see some of her exchange with James before mine in the video I took during my autograph session. I have no idea where Colleen was because once again the James Fog hit and I wouldn’t have remembered my own name had I been asked. This is why I tape these things, because if not, I swear my report would sound like, ‘Yeah, I went up to James and I think I got an autograph, I know my stuff was signed after, I think I talked to him but I have no idea what I said, oh and James is hot.’ I don’t think people would like to read that…
I was getting the Teddy Bear Amy Sue gave me signed! And it gave me the chance to give James his Valentines gifts – a couple of toque hats (with maple leafs on them) and some sugar Free chocolate for them all, knowing he doesn’t give kids any sugar. You will see me telling him it would be mean if he kept it for himself. I also gave him a t-shirt that said “Then Spike Staked Edward. The End”. I had the t-shirt made for him by Mel at www.geek2chic.ca. I did so because of the conversation I had with him at the bar in Boston in November about New Moon, where I asked him if I should get him a ‘The Buffy Staked Edward. Then End.’ T-shirt and he said YES! Do that! But I choose to get one made that said Spike, because I thought it would be perfect for him!
Ulla took an amazing picture of James holding the t-shirt which she allowed me to post it here: (http://www.pbase.com/uih/image/122500850)
You can see this and her other great photos here: http://www.pbase.com/uih/be_my_valentine_2010
Becky took some GREAT photos of me talking to James, which she was beyond wonderful to send me. (These photos are the property of (madbrilliant and cannot be posted without her permission!)
It was a short walk to Cafe Arugula where we had a reservation, it was a nice place. They were super busy but the food was good.
Kim joined us for dinner after she got her autograph and it was nice to see that we hadn’t scared her off since Boston. Ulla and Rosie did join us after a while and we had a nice dinner – with good food and even better company.
When I got back to SOPAC, I took some pictures of the new Sideshow Electric Tiki Tooned Up Statue of Spike prototype that Steve Himber had put out so that I could share them with everyone who wasn’t there. But after posting them I got a message from the owner of Electric Tiki that she hadn’t given permission to have it released and asked me to take them down. So I did. And THANK YOU Skytteflickan88 at Sideshow Freaks forum for re-posting my link without permission and getting me in trouble!
When James came out he had taken off his Jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves for the performance. It was just him, his guitar, a dark stage, and a spot light. It was just magic!
Here is the set list from the performance:
- London City
- Looking at You
- Lay About
- Too Fast
- All that She Wanted
- Dangerous
- This Town
- Poor Robyn
- Dance Slow
- Up on Me
- For What I Need
- Goodbye
- Fall of Night
- Angel
- Katie
- Smile
- Finer Than Gold
- Moonshot
And here are a few videos from the concert! Enjoy them!!!
James told us a great story just before he performed Katie. He said that she had been a makeup artist on a show he worked on and that he had thought she was cute. James asked another of the makeup artists, who was gay, if she was single and was told that no that she was NOT single and for some reason he had always thought she was gay too. Well a few weeks before, James was on another set and another makeup artist came up to him and said, “You know your song Katie? It’s about my wife.” And he then showed James a bunch of pictures of Katie and their kids.
So after all that time he found out she was not in fact gay and was happily married with kids.
The concert was wonderful! I enjoyed every minute of it!
After the encore, James said good night and it was over… Aaaaah! Magie sad, wants more James!!! And incase anyone is ever wondering, I ALWAYS want more James. There would never be enough James for me!
We all headed out into the lobby to discuss the day and say our goodbyes.
I called the shuttle service and told them that the event had let out early. I believe it was a full hour before they were supposed to pick us up. I asked if they could come and get us earlier and they said they had to check to see what van they had available and would give me a call back. While I waited, these 4 younger girls came up and asked me about getting a ride. Turns out they had taken a cab there but now the cab company had told them they won’t come and get them. They weren’t sure how to get back to the hotel but someone had given them my name as the person to speak to.
I told them that I would see if the shuttle service could take them as well and what the cost would be. I called the service once again and advised we had 4 more people that needed a ride. I was asked if it was ok if they took 2 more people that were going to a different hotel with us. (I had arranged with the service that they would pick up from any hotel in Newark area and take people to SOPAC for the same fee, so I knew there were people from different hotels using them). We said sure and this allowed them to send a larger van right away.
All of us headed back to the hotel after a short wait (except Beth who went to party elsewhere). I have to say the company My Limo (http://www.mylimo.com/) did a great job! And if James does another event in SOPAC, I would contact them again!
After we all made it back to the hotel, most of us were still up for partying so we headed to the bar for some talking, drinking and laughs! I believe it was Iesha, Jillian, Karen, Amy Sue, Rosie, Kim, Ulla and myself. Along with the drinks, a lot of us were also on a sugar highs from the dessert we ordered. I am sure many of the staff were hiding from the crazy James fans who were hopped up on sugar and alcohol, which lead to many loud laughs!
Monday February 15, 2010
On Monday I was abducted by aliens and taken to a wonderful planet where everyone looked like James Marsters and we all got together sang James songs and re-acted scenes from Buffy…
Ok well that didn’t happen, but it was a lot more interesting than what really did happen so I thought I would start with that.
Rosie had to get up very early since her flight left early. I did tell her I would wake to see her off, but yeah right a train could have gone through our room and it wouldn’t have woken me up! She did wake me up enough to say goodbye and I think I wished her a safe flight, but for all I know all she got out of me was “hmmmm ppptrgurr hawaas…” which, if you aren’t fluent in Magie sleep talk, means, ‘See you babe, have a good flight and email when you get home’.
I was able to sleep in until later. I ordered breakfast from room service and got more trouble then it was worth – starting with them getting my order wrong. Then I spent 5 minutes explaining I did NOT want what they kept trying to say I did. Grrrrr. One bad thing about that hotel was the room service. If you decide to stay there, I suggest eating in the restaurant – less of wait and much better service.
Both Colleen and Amy Sue had left during that morning. I got to say goodbye to Amy Sue and Mom via phone and later got some text message from Amy Sue saying they had gotten home safe and sound and had made some good time.
I was packed up and checked out of my room by noon and I only had to wait for the airport shuttle. I ran into Ulla in the lobby. She had just come back from shopping at the outlet mall that is close by. Something I had considered doing but decided I’d rather sleep. She did show me some beyond cute things she had picked up for her niece and I got to Ooooo and Aaaaaa (always fun!). She was also nice enough to keep me company until my shuttle arrived and wished me well when I left.
Since I was early when I got to the airport, I did some shopping/looking around and found they have a massage place. More and more airports have them and I was able to get a relaxing chair massage to de-stress from the knowledge of no more James for a while (tensing up from the thought now…). Afterwards, I headed to my gate and started my report. Got a good way through it by the time my flight boarded, though I had to finish and post my Boston one before this one so that is the reason for such a delay.
The flight back was uneventful, though I did add ‘The Time Traveler's Wife’ to my list of movies I start watching on planes and don’t finish and then have to watch later on to see what happens.
Got back to TO safe and sound and hubby didn’t make me wait to pick me up, which was NICE! So that’s it. I hope you all enjoyed the report.
Magie
P.S.
I can’t post all the pictures I took on the report but if anyone wants to see them all you can check them out at:
NYC Trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85344102@N00/sets/72157623444325210/
Be My Valentine Event:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85344102@N00/sets/72157623320326755/
Be My Valentine Event Photo Ops:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85344102@N00/sets/72157623449208682/
Special Thanks to Ali for editing this report!!!
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