NKOTB at Nokia!!! 11-26-08

And now a show I CAN write about ~ the NKOTB show at Nokia Theatre. It was their last one in the U.S. for 2008, and the show was AMAZING!!! I honestly think it was the best one I've been to.

Starting with before the concert. My friends and I got there pretty early, and we're pretty sure that we were right behind one of the vans escorting the guys to the show. After circling the block a few times and no longer seeing the van, we ended up parking, put the finishing touches on our makeup and such. The area we parked looked pretty secluded and we wondered if this would be where the guys were parking their cars if they drove themselves. An Audi looked familiar, but we didn't know of anyone who drove it.

We went up to the venue and just walked around/hung out out front till they opened the doors. I got in touch with a mutual myspace friend of mine and Brenda's to find out where she was at. We found her, and we also discovered where the 5* VIP people were waiting. Within 5 to 10 minutes, we saw Jon being dropped off. We were all across the street and not allowed to go anywhere, so we just "woo-ed" and Jon waved.

After we met up with our myspace friend, we went to the restroom, and when we got out to re-meet up with our other friend in our group, we discovered that security wouldn't let us through! Our friend, TC was in line with the 5* people, and security wasn't letting us pass. We told him that our friend was right there, and he was like "Well, she's gonna have to go, too." Brenda and I ended up walking around the building to get to our friend from the other side. TC texted as we were on our way over to tell us that Jon was just there smoking! We were hurrying as fast as we could. When we finally reached her, some of the guys had stepped out into the hallway, and it was all glass windows, so we could see them. Security was trying to keep us back, but finally let us go. There were maybe 6 or 8 of us. So, we ran up to the window, took pics and waved. I got some pretty clear shots of Jordan and Donnie.

Soon after, we went to Will Call to pick up our 4* tickets. We were in the 8th row!!! and all of our seats were together, which was a miracle because we were only allowed to purchase 4 tix at a time, and there were 5 of us. I was going to buy mine as a single, but I Love All Access wasn't happy with my billing address ~ grr argh. So, Brenda ended up buying it for me, but minutes had passed before she did.

Lady Gaga opened for them (I thought that was a one-time Vegas thing ~ guess not), and of course, Natasha Bedingfield. Lady Gaga is just as weird or weirder than I thought she was in Vegas! Very pretentious. And Natasha was awesome, as usual. It was her b-day and her last day on the New Kids tour.

The guys gave all their energy, but I could tell they were tired. Joe and Jordan went off a little bit a couple of times ~ no real support to some of the notes, but that's okay ~ I saw them do it right before. ;-)

Generally, at their concerts, they had a second stage ~ a circular, moving stage that was set up towards the back of the stadium. Nokia theatre couldn't be set up for the B-stage, so they did that part of the concert on the main stage, BUT in the middle of "Tonight," they ran out into the audience and to the back where the audio boards were ~ jumped on top and sang.

Word had spread before the show that after "Click Click Click," we would sing "Happy Birthday" to Jon. I think we were all wondering when to break out in song because the "Click Click Click" pose-off was quite a commotion! Joe showed his nipple! LOL ~ Jordan had bet him $2000 to show some skin. So, a girl in the front row passed the flyer to Joe, and he looked at it saying "Oh, so someone thinks we should sing Happy Birthday to Jon." We cheered, and he started singing NK's version of "Happy Birthday," then he asked if we wanted THEM to sing it or US, we screamed "UUUS!!!" So, he counted us off, we sang, and the band joined in. The guys and dancers gave him hugs, Jon really hugged, picked up, and twirled one of the girls around; and Joe commented on that. Then he was going on about how you only celebrate your birthday for one day, not a week, not a month...but one day! During this time, Donnie kissed Jon smack on the lips!!! The crowd went crazy!!!

After that, Joe explained the whole thing about "Let's Get This," which has appeared as a slogan on their community board. Basically, it's just a saying in response to anything that's going on in your life. If a friend invites you for dinner or you see someone cute in a club, etc. Your response is: "Let's get this." If your best friend tells you she has two tickets to the New Kids concert, you say "Let's get this!!!!!!"

The time that Donnie talks to the crowd, he was like "Are you guys ready to go home???" We were like "NOOOOO!!!!" And he went on about how some of us have husbands (mixed crowd response ;-)). He continued "waiting for you at home to baste the turkey..." He was going on about all of that, and didn't we want to be home getting ready for Thanksgiving. There were boos and no's from the crowd. Then Donnie screamed "Yeah, tell your husbands: 'BASTE YOUR OOOWWWN TURKEY!!!! This is MY night!!!'"

The only other personal memory is when they started "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)." The moment the song started, I felt myself choking up. I have NEVER cried at any of their concerts or when I met them. So, this was a surprise for me, and I couldn't stop myself. It felt like the end of an adventure for me. I know they'll be doing it again in '09, but it's the end for now. And the song is very iconic for me because it's the one song I remember hearing on the Top 5 at 10 at my local radio station (top 5 songs that aired at 10pm). My friends and I would call in and vote, there was one time that I got to announce the #1 song (I think it was "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)). But I would always fall asleep and/or wake up to "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," all snug in my bed and SO happy that NK was at #1 or a little disappointed of a slip to #2, but determined to bring them back up to #1 the next night. I remember them singing it at my first NK concert. I was in the 3rd row, and it was like Jordan had pointed right at me when he was pointing at ALL the fans on the line "...and a million for you." *guh!* And how now when they perform it, and we're all singing it...it's like they're singing to us that they'll be loving US forever, and we're singing that we'll be loving THEM forever. It tugs at my heart... :-)

After the show, we went back to the back area ~ where we had seen Jon being dropped off, and we waited out there in the cold for quite a while! We saw Jordan...and...SOMEONE else leave. There was a white van...Jordan came out, waved, got on the ledge of the van, threw both of his hands out in the air, we all ran towards the van. LOL ~ I never thought I'd be one of THOSE girls! But my friends and I DID slow down in the run cuz it was a little ridiculous. And I think we started to run cuz we were in the front and didn't want to get trampled over. Then Brenda and I moved towards the corner of the street with a few other fans and got our pics from there.

After the van left, we met back up with TC and waited some more. TC had a sign for Donnie ~ Florida girl in emergency need of Facetime. Anyway, this someone else who was with Jordan...Brenda thought it was Danny...but I read somewhere else where someone said it was Jon. So, i dunno. We waited, waited, and waited. One of the security guards (and really, how much help were they in keeping us back? ;-)) kept us in the loop. First, saying that it sounded like all the guys were gone, and there was another exit that at least one of the guys took. We still stuck around, and then he heard that there was one guy left in the dressing rooms. Then that went up to two guys. There was slight commotion when people thought they saw Donnie, but who they saw were actually, first, Nick Leche...then about 10 to 15 min. later, it was Drew Leche. Drew actually waved to us (nice), and when he drove off, he honked. And ONE of the Leche brothers had that black Audi that we noticed in the garage. I don't remember which one now.

Oh, and we saw Joe's wife, Barrett. She waved to us. Woo.

We gave up after a while cuz it was cold, the security guards had been gone for a while, and no one was coming out of the building anymore. We hung out in the garage for a little bit to see if anyone we knew would come down. ;-) There was a woman who left who waved to me ~ I think she thought I was about to wave, when I really, I was just pushing the hair out of my face. But that woman kinda looked like Barrett. Then we FINALLY really gave up.

Thus ends our New Kids adventure 2008. I later heard that the last two guys in the dressing room was Donnie and Joe, and they left using the other secret exit ~ honking to the last few remaining girls.



Finally ~ a nice concert montage:

Find more videos like this on New Kids on the Block

NKOTB Vegas ~ Oct. 11th, 2008

So, I haven't written about the Staples show or the Vegas show/adventure because well, as much fun as I had, I couldn't say much about the show except that it was great/awesome/etc. I CAN, however, write a few things about our Vegas trip. While hanging and chillin' out in Mandalay Bay before the show, we saw Robo (their bodyguard), who ended up being pretty rude. Alicia said "hi" to him, and he took off his tour jacket and wrapped it around his waist (thus hiding the NKOTB) and walked away. She wasn't even being obnoxious. I was in the 12th row for the show, and it was great, and would've been even better if there weren't as many tall girls around me. The afterparty at LAX was crazy! The line (or should I say crowd? herd?) to get in was out of control!!! Pushing, shoving, girls screaming that they are on the guest list...yeah, so was everyone else there! It was a good thing Brenda's husband was with us because HE got one of the bouncer's attention and got us in. Girls behind him grabbed onto his shirt in hopes of getting in behind him. No such luck. As we were headed into the club, they noticed that Alicia was still in line, so they went back for her, as Shala and I kept going and were forced in by the security guards. We went down to the dance floor, and the next song to come up was "Put It On My Tab" (a song from the new NK album)! Suddenly, we hear Donnie's voice...LIVE!!! We couldn't see him, but we danced, sang, and represented! Brenda and her cousin weren't able to get Alicia in, but found where the guys were hanging out. We joined them by the back bar and hung out by that entry way. Robo and Kevin (one of their roadies) passed by several times, and only VIP people were allowed to go in. The guys came out another time to perform/hype up the crowd ~ singing "Single" and "Dirty Dancing." This time, Shala and I could see them...through the stair railing and past a guys butt who decidely stood in our formerly perfect view.

580 hrs. down, 20 more to go!!!

Technically, I guess to follow the lead of my first blog about esthetician school, I should've waited till Monday to blog, but ehh ~ I'm gonna go by the fact that I wrote my first blog after my first week of school, and yes, I missed a day during that first week. And now, I technically have 5 days (split up over two weeks) left till I graduate!!!

Hoorah, I learned a lot, and I still have tons left to learn. I'm happy to have found a career that I believe I can excel in and enjoy. And double hoorah for a flexible, live-able 20 hr./week schedule with an income I will be happy with... hoorah! And hoorah that I'll be getting away from the DRAMA that was that class, but I must say that I am also happy to be walking away from that class with one new friend who'll be sticking around for some time. :-)

Hoorah!

P.S. That graduation date is October 15th.

NKOTB Camp Out

On Thursday, August 7th my phone was ringing off the hook ~ from phone calls to text messages. News had just come out that New Kids on the Block had added some Meet and Greet locations following their Mall of America appearance. First on their list was Burbank, CA on Thursday, August 28th! Granted, my friends and I had JUST met them at the CD Listening Party, but there was no way we were gonna miss another opportunity to be close to our 5 favorite guys! As we all say, we don't know how long this wave is gonna last, so we're gonna ride it out for as long as we can!

For three weeks, we were planning it all out ~ from who was picking up who, who was staying at who's place, what time we would head over to Best Buy (where they were doing the Meet and Greet) to get our wristbands ~ there was limited space, and we were gonna make DAMN sure we were getting in! It was finalized that we would have a sleepover at my place, since I lived closest to the Best Buy in Burbank, and our sleepover would be filled with pizza bagels, a variety of yummy popcorn, cookie dough, and ice cream...and fruit (gotta have at least ONE healthy thing in the mix ;-))! I cleaned my apt. like mad. I was READY!!!

Around 9:30pm on Wednesday night (Aug. 27th), I received a text from Shala, informing me that a contact of hers reported there were about 30 people already lined up in front of Best Buy. She asked if I wanted to camp out. Uuuggghhh...I really didn't want to do that...sleeping bags, pillows, tons of people, out in the open... What about our sleepover?!? We decided we'd scope the place out as soon as I got out of class. By the time we got there (around 11pm), there were about 100 people in line! Oh, we knew a change of plans HAD to be made...immediately! We headed out to the store to buy some fold out chairs, then to my place for some showers and blankets/pillows to bring to our new sleepover site.

We arrived there around 2:30am, and were about 170-something in line. Our lovely locale was in the Best Buy loading dock, right next to a drainage pipe. Some of the girls were about to tear the pipe down with the "noise" it was making, but it actually reminded me of rain falling on a roof. Great for sleeping! Although, not much sleep happened, as we were full of adrenaline, and even when we tried to sleep, all we could hear were the excited fans behind us. haha! Time went by fast, though. We took turns watching our campsite, going out to take a ride in Brenda's Suburban to Starbucks, Krispie Kreme, my apartment, Donnie house (oh yeah, he lives near me :-P; although, it's questionable if he's still there). Soon enough, it was 9:30am, and we were all packing up our campsites and getting ready for the 10am opening. Wheeeee!!!

The line moved pretty quickly, and by 11am, we had our wristbands and lanyards in hand!!! ROCK ON!!! The Meet and Greet was set for 7pm, and we had some time to kill. Some fans got right back in line as soon as they got their "tickets" in, but we had plans of being towards the end in line, knowing from previous experience that we'd have more "looking" time, and they'd be less inclined to rush us being at the end.

It was almost noon, and we were all starving. I directed the ladies to my favorite breakfast spot, Vivian's. When the staff saw us walking in with our "special" lanyards, they asked us what it was all about. We filled them in, and they couldn't have been more excited for us! Our waitress kept coming by singing "Please Don't Girl" ~ horribly! LOL, but it was entertaining enough. After breakfast, it was to my apartment to relax, watch some NKOTB videos ~ interviews, performances, etc. ~ past and present (it was madness!!!), and get ready to see our guys!

Deja vu, we were back at Best Buy close to 7pm. One of the girls saw the guys get out of the van. We got back into line, in our old familiar spot by the loading dock...and proceeded to shiver for the next 3 hrs. Of all nights, the weather got cool with slow breezes. To the thin-blooded Californians and us girls wearing halter tops, that equals FREEZING!!! At this point, while excited, we were also very zoned, and the most "exciting" things that happened was having to hold our wrists up as the Best Buy employees came around to count and make sure no one was trying to sneak in line without a wristband. Besides checking on that, they also announced several times that pictures would no longer be allowed! Oh, we were NOT happy! On the other hand, I was SO happy that I got my pictures with them at the CD Listening Party. Jonathon & Jordan's mom walked by a couple of times, and Joe's cousin (Matthew, I think?) came by and chatted with some girls in front of us. Apparently, they all knew each other.

Three hours later, with numb fingers and toes, we reached the door. They let us in, 20 at a time, and there was another line to get to the table where the guys were. Exciting, exciting! We also found out from someone who knew Shala that we COULD take pictures inside, and that a Best Buy employee would take pics for us as we're walking through the line and meeting the guys.

For most of the day, I was brainstorming on what I was gonna say to the guys. Everything that I came up with sounded so lame, and I didn't even know if I would go through with it. I didn't really come up with anything to say to Jonathon, Jordan, or Donnie. I had a couple of MySpace things I could've said to Jordan and Donnie ~ like "Jordan, are you EVER gonna accept my friend request???" And for Donnie "Hey, I know it took a while, but thanks for finally accepting my friend request." LAME! The others, I actually went through, and it didn't come out sounding too bad. ;-) All it took was a little confidence behind what I said. hehe.

Jon was first in line. I introduced myself (a goal I had this time around), and he said "Hi, it's nice to meet you!" (huge grin). I replied with the usual "It's nice to meet you, too!" Oh, but I wanted to say "It's nice to meet you AGAIN, too!" One of the lame things I thought to say was that he gives the best hugs, but I couldn't bring myself to it...of course, now I'm thinking I could've added "Can I get another hug from you?" or something along those lines. I know, to the outsider, that sounds lame, too...BUT to the New Kids fan, we do it all the time. So, it wouldn't be so lame. Anyway, that was fast, and we were moved along.

Next was Jordan ("he's fresh, he's the master of mix, there ain't no rhyme that he can't fix"). I had absolutely nothing to say to him. I had even forgotten to mention the MySpace thing. In any case, he didn't seem all the interested in making convo, or even to say "hi." So, no introduction there! Since he was so disinterested, I waited for him to sign my lanyard, and I listened on Brenda asking Jon if he remembered her from Mel's Diner (and they also met at the CD Listening Party, of course), and he said "No...but I remember her," and pointed to Shala, "Her pic-chas ah all ovah the inta-net!" *For those who don't read Bostonian: "Her pictures are all over the internet!" I got a kick out of that! Then Jordan SMACKED his hands on the table and burst out "SO!!! What's goin' ooonn?!?" Oh, he totally threw me off guard! I told him "Not much...we're all cold from standing out there for 2 hrs. We were all shivering!" At that, I demonstrated the shiver ~ haha ~ and Joe looked over. Jordan said "Well, thanks for waiting!" I replied "Thanks for waiting for US!!! :-D" And movin' on down to Joe.

I reached Joe, and just as I did, he opened his small bottle of pepsi and started guzzling it down. However, I was distracted by Danny jumping in and saying "I like your hat!!!" I said "Thanks!" I was gonna continue talking to Danny, but realized that my focus needed to be on Joe. Just as I refocused, Danny leaned over to Joe, glanced at me, and whispered something in Joe's ear. Joe smiled and nodded. WHAT did Danny say?!? Again, I refocused solely on Joe, and he was still guzzling his drink down. Sarcastically, but lovingly, I said "Hi Joe!" [Helllooo. I'm here...waiting for youuuu...] He winked (teehee!), finished his gulp, dramatically screwed the cap back and and nearly slammed the bottle on the table. Sharply extending his hand out to me, he exclaimed "HI!!!" I said "Hi!" again, and I honestly don't remember if I introduced myself...I don't think I did. Dang! But as he signed my lanyard, I told him "You know, they really should bring you back as Fiyero in 'Wicked.'" And he said "Well, off the radah [*radar], that might be a possiblity!" (or something along those lines...he could've said "that might be in the works," but you know...). My response was basically "Aww cool..." And I moved onto Danny.

I said "hello" again, and I might have introduced myself. As he signed my lanyard, I said "Thanks for the myspace message, by the way..." He warmly replied "You're welcome! What did I say???" LOL ~ I hinted "Studio City...How do you like Studio City? ;-)" That triggered it. He remembered!

Finally...last, but not least, I greeted Donnie. My voice was super cheerful! LOL ~ I think because I've just been LOVING his blogs and his enthusiasm! He looked oh-so-tired, but every ounce of the energy he had left, he was giving to each one of his fans. He gave his undivided attention, and as one of my friends put it, he wanted every fan to feel special. LOL ~ another friend and I thought that he was SO smooth! He extended his hand out to me before I could even react, and he just looked right through me as he asked how I was doing. I was already overwhelmed by talking to the other guys, and he just put me over the edge! Sensory overload!!! I told him I was doing good and asked how he was. He smiled and said "good... :)" I thanked him when he handed my lanyard back to me. He actually replied, looking right at me, as I started to walk away and said "You're welcome. :)" I wished him a good night, and he said "You too... :)" LOL ~ this could've gone on ALL night.

By the time I reached Shala and Christina, all I could say was "omg omg omg omg omg!" THIS time I had a story to tell!!! Not like last time at the CD Listening Party. Oh no.

We hung out to tell our stories, and to wait for the guys to come out. Their van was parked inside the garage for Best Buy, and we weren't the only ones who were waiting. There were literally fans standing outside the garage door and taking pictures through the tiny window! The door opened, and the security guards shooed the girls away. As soon as the van pulled out, fans in their cars PEELED out and followed the van!!! Granted, yes, we did try to do the same thing, except that, Brenda figured it would be smart to beat them to the main road by going across the front of the store, rather than the back. Would've been a good idea, but it just didn't work. We'll leave it at that.

Some were less than thrilled with their experience, but I LOVED mine!!! While we had more personal time with them at the CD Listening Party, I used my time more wisely this time around. It can only get better from here. ;-)

20 Years in the Making...A Dream Come True!

It all started when my friends and I heard there was a secret, private CD Listening party for the New Kids in an undisclosed location in L.A. "What?! How can we get in?!?" We found the contests to enter with XM and KIIS FM, we entered, but none of us won. Ah, the luck! But we weren't gonna let that get us down; Oh no! Information came to us as to where the winners were staying, and they were leaving on a bus by 3:15pm.

My friends, Shala and Brenda met me at Hollywood and Highland Center for a quick slice of pizza, then off to the Renaissance Hotel we went! Groups of girls filled the lobby; a majority with wristbands (those on the list), and a handful without. Information was tight, but WE hung tight (or should I say "hung tough"? ;-)) to find out what we could, and even to try our luck in finding out if we could get on the bus if there was room. No go on that one! "This is a *private* party" we were told...as if we didn't know. Shala ran into someone that she knew, though (the beginning of a regular occurrence for the evening), and this girl - Alicia - got a head start out in following one of the buses, and kept us up to date with texts as to where the bus was going. As back up, Shala and I spied on the last incoming bus and took note of the bus number (52). I won't even mention that Shala tried to push some binoculars on me to get the license plate number! I refused it, though. ;-)

When we finally hit the road, Alicia texted letting us know that the venue was on the corner of Sunset and Wilcox. Ooh, that much closer in our mission! ...of course, we ended up going the wrong way on Sunset. It was all good, and we weren't worried about it. Alicia texted us with the exact venue of S.I.R. (Studio Instrument Rentals), and I KNEW Andrew and his brother Chris would know how to direct us. Alicia also added that we better hurry. She and her friend were in the doors! Texting both Chris and Andrew, Chris wrote first and confirmed that yes, S.I.R. was on Sunset and Wilcox. And so, we found it! Hooray! We hurried our little selves down the street, and we could hear the music through the closed side doors ...What should happen but we get to the front door, and it's locked!!! A guy came to the door, about to open it for us, when, ever so abruptly, he turned around and walked away. Boooo!!!

Plan B - we headed to the door where we could hear them best. The door right next to the stage! The door that had a PEE-stained smell surrounding it, but we kept our ears peeled to the door...and even slid a note under reading "Hey guys, You have 3 fans standing outside this door - locked out!!! Please let us in to join the party! WE LOVE YOU!!! Charlene, Shala, and Brenda" Oh yeah. As you can imagine, nothing came from that. ha!

Brenda tried a couple of times to talk to the guy at the front door. Asking if he would let us in, and that we have friends in there without wristbands who were able to get in. He said "sorry, if you were here 5 to 10 minutes ago, you would've gotten in; but my boss already said 'no,' and if I let you in, she would get really pissed." Dang! Well, we went to listen by the door for another few minutes, and I gotta say, that their new music sounds awesome!!! "Full Service," which they sing with New Edition ROCKS!!! And a song they do with Lady Gaga of The Pussycat Dolls is HOT!!! And yes, we were dancing and cheering from outside the door, on the sidewalk. We headed back to the front door when the concert sounded over, and we heard the guys saying that they were gonna go out into the audience.

The front door guy kind of just gave us a look, then ignored us. Shala scoped around the building to see if there might be another door the guys might exit. Brenda and I joined her a minute later and approached two S.I.R. guards. We told them our pitiful story and asked if one of them, if he were us, where would he stay to wait for the New Kids. He thought about it a moment and said "Why don't you go through the gate and see how far you can get?" We looked back at the gate, puzzled, and said "But...the gate is closed..." His thumb reached for a button, and he said "Doesn't look closed to me..." We looked back and the gate was opening! We silently said "thank you!" and walked right in...looking like we belong. ;-)

When we got inside, a guy at the desk asked if he could help us. Brenda told him that we were let in. The guy asked "for???" Brenda whispered "New Kids on the Block." The guy had us follow him, and he led us right up front...to the front door guy. "These girls are here for New Kids on the Block," he said. The front door guy replied "Have at it! It's not in MY hands!" We walked right into the party! We immediately saw the guys about 20 ft. in front of us, doing an interview for E! Not much later, were we shooed away because we didn't have purple wristbands (they had dibs on meeting the guys first). Okay...whatev...chill, woman! We weren't in line...simply admiring.

We mingled, and Shala ran into a million people she knew or who knew her. We met some nice folks and some um - questionable ones. And Brenda recognized someone, who she couldn't place. Shala took the liberty of going up to the guy and asking who he was, despite our protests ("no! no! noooo!!! ...oh my gosh..." ~ and hiding our faces NOW!). It was Manny from Manny-on-the-Streets from KIIS FM. He had MC-ed the show that night, and Brenda had seen at some sort of event at some point, which was why she recognized him!As more fans left, and we got closer and closer to the guys, plans were made as to how we would handle photos on each of our cameras. It turned out that there were a couple of women from Interscope Records taking pics for the fans, and holding on to their purses. We each got our time with the guys, and I let Shala and Brenda go first. They have great stories! Jon remembered meeting Shala at Mel's Diner a couple of months ago after their House of Blues show. Joe thought it was "very special" to meet Shala, and Donnie "needed the love" from Shala. haha...he grabbed her arm, as she was turning around to take the picture, and he wouldn't let go.

Brenda told the guys that she had waited 20 yrs. for this, and she was going to take her time with it. Donnie told her "You do whatever you need..." Brenda asked if she could have a kiss, and she got one! Half on the lips, half on the cheek. She also got a kiss on the cheek from Jon. I wonder if he also remembered her from Mel's Diner. Hmmm...

My story...whew! I went in and was gonna start with a Donnie hug...however, both Danny AND Donnie were coming at me with open arms at the same time!!! Oh, who to hug first?!? I couldn't decide, so I hugged them both at the same time. haha! And I said/squealed "I am SO HAPPY to meet you guys!!!" As I turned towards Jordan and said "Hi Jordan!," Danny said "Look at that smile!!!" ;-D heehee! So glad to know that Invisalign did a world of good for me! Then I went to Jon and said "Hi Jon!!!," gave him a hug, and oh my goodness, he gives good hugs!!! And finally, I turned to Joe ~ and one of the guys, probably Donnie said "Don't forget about Joe!" And I said "Oh, of course not!!! Hi Joe! :-)" And then it was picture time!!! eeee! I was shaking! I got my arm around Joe, and as he was wrapping his arm around me, he was saying SOMETHING, but I have no idea what he said. I know I giggled...and the comment wasn't towards me; I have NO IDEA what he said! After the picture was taken, I don't even remember what I did or if I said "thanks" or "bye"...I know I went for my camera, my purse, and was looking for Shala and Brenda. But did I say anything to the guys? I have no clue!

Post show...we decided to visit the security guard who opened the gate for us to thank him. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but a few fans were. We saw Joe come out and get into his Lexus SUV, but he didn't exit at that gate, he drove in the opposite direction. Next, Jon and Jordan came out. The three of us went around the building, as we realized that none of them would be exiting there. Jon and Jordan pulled out and took a right onto the street. We kept walking (in their direction). I didn't know if we were going to wave or not, but by the time Brenda looked at me, and I looked at her, I was also looking right at Jordan...and Jordan was looking at me. So, we had no choice but to wave to the Knight brothers! Eeee!

And before I could get too in the moment, I recognized two people coming out of one of the buildings ahead of us. It was Allan Hunt (my director from "Oliver!" last summer) and his girlfriend ~ her name escapes me, but she was in the show with us. Of course, I stopped to talk them. hehe, the "cool" factor was that Jonathon and Jordan were still waiting for the light to turn green, so if they were looking at us (and of course, they had to be ;-)), they saw that I "know people." hehe...I have a life outside of stalking them! So, while I was talking to Allan, his girlfriend, and a friend of theirs, I couldn't help but be distracted. I was still in shock from the entire day, just seeing Jordan and Jon, and wondering where Brenda and Shala were going! They started to walk off, and I wondered if they were going to talk to Jordan and Jon! They stopped, though, and I later found out that they saw Danny drive out, and they were going to go to his car. They didn't want to leave me behind.

The closer for our night was blaring New Kids "No More Games" Remix as we drove to Mel's Diner. We relived our experience, and at the end of dinner, Brenda drove Shala and me back to Hollywood and Highland and dropped us off. Before Shala and I left, though, we HAD to stop for Coldstone ice cream! I drove Shala back home to Irvine, and thus ended our night!

However, the story does not stop there...oh no. This afternoon, while I uploaded my New Kids pics on MySpace and Facebook, I sent comments to Joe and Danny, thanking them for last night and how great it was to meet them. I thanked Danny for his comment on my smile, that I just couldn't stop grinning, and I don't even remember if I said "bye" or "thanks" when it was all over ~ haha. About 30 min. to an hour later, I checked my email...I had two new myspace messages from Shannon, and a new message from Danny Wood. ?!? WHAT?!? I checked the message, and Danny said "It was nice to meet you, too. Sorry it was so fast. I live in Studio City, too." Quick, short, simple. Okay...but WHAT?!? DANNY WOOD wrote me?!? Could this get anymore surreal?!?

Only-Child Instincts

God, I've been feeling so out of it. So ostracised. I feel every where I turn, every situation I'm in (minus being with Andrew), I'm the only one standing. Everyone seems to desert me as soon as other people, other friends (or what's above acquaintances?) show up, they gravitates towards them and away from me. I'm alone. All alone. No, I don't really want pity. I have enough for myself at the moment (haha!).

Is it the changes in me? The rediscovery of my true self that is driving people away? It's not like I'm broadcasting these changes to the world, but perhaps it's the hint that I just don't fit that mold, that "idea" they have of me. I've already been written off by someone who swore up and down they'd always be there for me, but in all honesty, they were toxic to me. It doesn't discount the fact that it hurt in that moment.

While some of my friends seem to be deserting me, I know they'll tell me that I can count on them, but I still feel that there's a part of me that needs to rely on my only-child instincts of being able to be by myself.

I am Elphaba

This past Thursday, I participated in a student project for a music video shoot of Wicked's "Popular." I was most ecstatic to be cast as Elphaba, and even more pleasantly surprised to discover what an amazing job the production team did with the project! Take note that it was all lip-synced, but the team built the set, shot with 3 studio cameras simultaneously, and all the cuts were taken LIVE. In other words, no edits were made after the shoot.

The experience was fabulous, and I sincerely hope to work with everyone again! There IS the chance of doing another "Wicked" video! hehe... :-)

NKOTB - House of Blues Concert

This video was shot by my new friend, Erica...and the hand you see swinging away in front of the camera does belong to me! ;-) A few "whoo's" are from me (with the exception of the SHRILLY "whoo"). And if you listen closely, you can kinda hear me singing "The Right Stuff."

UPDATE (6/8/08): An extended video shot by people.com is on NKOTB's site ~ with quite a few shots of the audience on my side ~ so, yup, you'll see me with the slap-happy grin! www.nkotb.com/media ~ the video title is "House of Blues - Los Angeles" (although, fair warning...they could change the title; it just happened as I was double checking it). :-)

UPDATE (8/16/08): Here it is! :-)

20 Glorious Minutes

The Intro...
Last night, I relived my childhood, and I believe my 12 year old self would say this was the coolest experience EVER!!! My present self was just as enthusiastic. OMG! New Kids on the Block are BACK and better than ever!!! As my music tastes have grown (yet still enjoys the fun, poppy days of NKOTB), New Kids have grown with it AND kept the fun in their music!

Last Thursday, I received an email alerting me that this was my chance to see New Kids on the Block's final rehearsal at the House of Blues before their Today Show appearance. They were only allowing 200 people into the club, and it was on a "first come, first serve" basis. Some fan club members (including myself) would tend to disagree. Friends of ours who had RSVPed within minutes of our RSVPs were denied, and we got on the list. Sadly, my friend, Wendy, did not get in. I received my confirmation email around 10:20pm Monday night ~ omg, omg, omg, omg! When I saw Andrew later and told him the news, I couldn't help but jump up and down (and being an ex-cheerleader, these were HIGH jumps)! There was much buzz going around on the New Kids message boards of who was going, who wasn't, and a lot of us were going solo ~ only meaning that a lot of us would be making new friends. ;-)

All dolled up and somewhere to go
I arrived at the House of Blues around 5pm (fortunately, finding a very close spot to the venue for my MINI where I wasn't ticketed or towed). Knowing that the doors were opening at 6:30, I suspected a line to be wrapped around the building; people getting there super early to claim their spot. I mean, heck, girls are already camping out in NYC for the guys' performance on Friday! To my surprise, the line wasn't long at all!

Driving through Hollywood to the club and while standing in line, yes, I was very excited to see my childhood idols, but I had NO IDEA how I would react once they were out on stage. How scream-y would I get? Well, I had to wait 3.5 hrs. to find out.

I started chatting with a few girls behind me ~ a couple of them who had come by themselves. Thank God I didn't keep to myself (not that I planned to), especially when I decided to head back to my car to drop off my phone (cell phones and cameras weren't allowed inside HOB), they started to check people in and get them lined up by the door! When I headed back, the line was moving ~ "crap!!!" I ran up the hill to catch up and look for my new friends. I found three of them, and fortunately, didn't piss off the girls I got in front of. While they were checking us in, checking bags, and giving us our million and one wristbands, I found out that they were only letting the first 50 confirmed fan club members to the orchestra/mosh pit. The guy wrapped the wristband on me and said "You'll get to see Joey McIntyre in all his glory!" How did he know Joe was my favorite?! ;-)

As I fell in line (again), I saw my new friend RIGHT AT THE DOOR!!! She waved me over, so I ran up and told the other girls that I was headed up there. My new friend was suddenly excited and talkative. Her name was Erica. Another girl in front of us had a sign that read "Thanks for the last 20 years!!!" on one side (don't remember what it said on the other), and she said "Oh my gosh! I'm SO excited for US!!! ALL of us!!!" They opened the doors, and we scurried inside.

6:30: Inside the House of Blues
I couldn't believe it. We had our choice of where we wanted to stand...for a New Kids concert!!! You better believe it, I was right up at the stage!!! I had the chance to be front and center where the stage jutted out to a short catwalk, but I had a feeling that they would coming over more to the corners/sides (of the catwalk and end of the main stage). And so, I split the difference (haha), then wished that I did go front and center ~ ah, it was all good.

So...we had another 1.5 hrs. to wait...which turned into a little over 2 hrs. Erica and I chatted, ordered some Coronas (drinking at a New Kids concert?!), and shared stories of how people currently in our lives are calling us "dorks" (which we proudly live up to). Soon, a girl came up behind us, and apologized in advance if she screams and blows our ears out. We got to talking to her, and she was excited as can be to see the guys. I believe she said it was her first New Kids concert!

Passing time...and I chatted with another girl behind me. She pointed out that Lance Bass (from N*SYNC) was there, on the mezzanine level, directly in front of us. This happened to make a previous event make sense. Earlier, a group of girls screamed in unison: "We love you, Lance!!!" My first thought was "Uhh...wrong concert..."

To entertain ourselves, we tried to get a group sing-along together singing "The Right Stuff." We hoped for the entire mosh pit to do it - even getting the attention of the girl with the poster to get her side going - but we weren't very successful. We did, however, entertain the videographer so much that he began filming us. How funny if we end up on some NKOTB Reunited DVD one day!

Finally, 8:35 or 8:40pm arrives, and a DJ from KISS FM comes on stage asking if "we're ready" (oh, we've BEEN ready!), says the guys will be out in a few minutes, and they roll a video. The video, while hard to hear (because everyone was screaming at each and every new shot), had interviews with the guys, showed them at Donnie's house - which Joe claimed to be their "frat house" - showed them in the studio, showed them playing ping pong in their downtime, and more ping pong, and yes, more ping pong. They showed them with their kids (Donnie's and Danny's), and Joe's new baby boy (awww!!!).

The Show...er, *rehearsal*
As soon as the video was over, the screen went up, the curtains open, and there they were! They started with a medley of their old songs, "Step by Step," "The Right Stuff," "Hanging Tough," and "Please Don't Girl." Mixed into that medley was the instrumental of one of their new songs, "Click Click Click." And yes, they danced. They still got it (the right stuff)! ;-) The great thing about their choreography was that alternated sides, giving equal time to all the fans. ;-) Next, they did their new single, "Summertime." Hot, hot, hot! Backup dancers also came out, and while they were good, New Kids seriously do NOT need backup dancers. The guys stepped off stage, and came back with a baby grand piano. Joe claimed it to be "the world's smallest baby grand piano," and it was really was ridiculously small! In the midst of all this, one of the girls I had talked to (who was front and center), handed a note to Donnie. And while she asked him not to read it out loud, he - of course - did! The note read that she and her husband had talked and agreed to one "freebie," would Donnie be hers? Joe said that he and his wife were working on the same sort of deal. ;-) haha... Leading into the next song, Donnie let us know that because ticket sales went so well on the east coast, they would be performing here in L.A. either late next summer or early fall. Well, of course! I don' t know why people were worried that they wouldn't come here. Apparently, they never came here for the Face the Music tour in 1994. So, their final song (with Jordan playing the world's smallest baby grand piano) was "Tonight." Perfect! Donnie took the girl's poster of "Thanks for the last 20 years!!!," held it up, the crowd cheered, set it next to the piano, the guys waved goodbye, and the curtain closed on the sign. As many times we chanted "Encore," "We want more!," and "New Kids! New Kids! New Kids!," that was really it. A glorious 20 minutes.

My personal fun highlights
I touched Donnie's shoe and legs twice. I touched Joe's shoe and leg once, and got a hold of his hand (and pinky) as he was going by touching our hands. Erica got 32 seconds of video footage until the security guard told her to put it away. We emailed today, and she told me that she just has to upload it, and she'll send me the link. I can't wait! :-) One of the girls I talked to went out to eat at Mel's Diner after the show and met Jon!!! He went up to their table to thank them for coming to the show and for their support, and she got her picture taken with him. One of Erica's friends actually hung out at HOB after the show and met Danny! I don't know WHY we didn't think of hanging around longer...darn it! I think just being that close to the stage and touching the guys overwhelmed me that much that I couldn't think there'd could be anything more!!! Also, the security guard said that the guys would probably hang out for a bit backstage, then go home...which I could totally see happening since I had been on the road with Andrew a few times, and I know that's what George Duke and his guys do! BUT if I had remembered the Buble shows at all, I would've known that it could be anything BUT! Oh well...

I had SUCH an amazing time and feel SO lucky to have been a part of that special event. I'm so happy to have met some really cool girls, too. It was a warm and inviting atmosphere. It's really awesome of the guys to do this for their fans. A free event for such a small, intimate crowd...when is that gonna ever happen again? The next time I see them, it will be in a huge stadium! I can only wish and hope to get seats where I won't have to use binoculars to see them!

Ahh...a memory I will cherish forever. :-)

meet mark. :)

My new job (that I gave myself ;-))! Please visit, shop, and have fun!!! And feel free to ask me any questions.

www.mymarkstore.com/cmcdonald

A Milestone and Some Updates

Another milestone has been made in my esthetician world. I reached 100 hrs. this past Monday and will now be doing facials on friends starting tomorrow with Andrew! Before this was approved by my instructor, I had to do a "practical" (a facial on one of my classmates) for her. My classmate said that it was the best facial she had received since being at the school ~ others either gave too much pressure or too little; mine was "Just perfect!" So, here's to moving on and growing! :-)

And speaking of growing, I've also reached a point where I'm exploring my spirituality. No worries ~ I won't be shoving any discovered spirituality down anyone's throat ;-), but it's been preoccupying my life so much recently that my blog update wouldn't be complete without mentioning it. And by the time I find where my spiritual center or church is, I don't want it to seemingly "come out of the blue." (insert friends' thoughts: "When did Charlene become spiritual?") I grew up Catholic, and while it is the base of what I know about God and spirituality, I want and need to find a place or a core of spirituality that rings true to me. I know that I will still be keeping some Catholic faith in me; kinda hard to just throw it away when I used to go to mass every weekend, CCD once every week, then went to 4 years of Catholic school. The church is a place where I will find comfort and solitude from time to time because of its familiarity...but at the same time, it's not where I would like to go every week.

My latest at-home project has been a patio garden! I've never had much of a green thumb with indoor plants, but I was inspired to create a nice flower bed mounted on my patio wall. In my humble opinion, it's quite beautiful; I love having something to take care of, and I got a cute fairy angel statue to "watch over" my flowers. ;-)

16 Hours Down...584 to go!

Well, my first week of esthetician school is complete (minus one day)! I already feel like I've come a long way since Day 1, even if it hasn't been a lot of practical (hands-on) education. I was warned that my first day would be confusing and kind of a shock for me. There were people in my class at all different levels. Some had completed 200 hours, some had completed 500 hours (a total of 600 hours is needed to graduate). So, when I walked in, three girls were practicing for their state board exam, giving facials and doing make-up for fellow classmates. Everyone basically sat in silence. After our 30 minute break, the instructor did a demonstration on a chemical treatment using an electronic machine and an orange (the Vitamin C diminishes hyperpigmentation ;-)). A plethora of scientific terms were being thrown out, and I didn't know how much I was supposed to remember/learn/absorb. I was sure that I shouldn't worry about it too much, but at the same time, I didn't want to make assumptions...because you know about "assuming" and all. Same thoughts crossed my mind, when our instructor showed us a video on skin analysis..."should I be taking notes? How much do I need to be absorbing?" I came home overwhelmed and utterly baffled, wondering how it was going to get easier.

Between Wednesday and today, however, things have greatly changed. Wednesday was a super easy day, where I basically did nothing the first half of class (perhaps got rules and regulations - oh, and a tour of the school), and the second half, I received a facial. This gave me the chance to get to know a couple more people. Yesterday, another new student came in; she was a little shy, but very eager. We talked a bit, and it was nice to know that we were on the same page as far as our excitement towards the program (she didn't return tonight, so I hope she didn't change her mind). More conversations also happened towards the end of the night, where a few more classmates discovered my age ~ as always, shock and amazement followed. I was feeling good as I left, since I was starting to get comfortable with everyone. Then today, while I chatted with even more gals, I also had my first practical! Sanitation and disinfection. Aww yeah. My esthetician tools will be clean, ya'll (by state board regulations)! The night ended with a back facial...ahhhh... :-D

Having the opportunity to observe the other groups working on their practicals ~ whether it be on a mannequin head, classmates, or actual clients has really made me look forward to learning and practicing. I'm thinking more and more that it will be fun and satisfactory to work on clients, make 'em pretty with facials, waxing, and/or make-up. Make-up was my original route, but now I think, along with that, I'll be excited to offer other esthetician services, as well. :-)

Visiting My Past

Happy New Year!

A 2-week holiday vacation was just what I needed to release the stresses of work, acting classes, and being sick for 5 weeks.

It all started with a trip home to Richmond - and a ride home with my best gal pal, Sharon. As always, it was so wonderful to see her cheery face and catch up, but as I'm sure she would agree, what would've made the road trip 20 times better is if (a) there were a Cosi near BWI where we could've gabbed over a couple TBM Melts, (b) if we had the Legally Blonde CD to sing along to, and (c) if we had more time!

Being at home this year felt so much different than any other time I had been there. Previous times, I always felt as though I were hiding my true self from my parents. They had a sense of me, but I never completely kept myself open to them. Having that "wall" down made being at home so much more comfortable.

Two days after Christmas, Andrew drove down and we headed to Blacksburg to visit our alma mater. Neither of us had been to Virginia Tech in about 4 years. While the town is growing (with a 4-story building and parking garage...very strange), it was still very familiar and it was almost as though no time had passed at all. It poured down rain through our stay, so sadly, we couldn't enjoy a leisurely walk around campus and downtown Blacksburg as hoped. In the four years since we were last on campus, an Alumni Center & Inn were built. There was no question we had to pop by - seeing that every alumni magazine sent to us has either an artist's sketch or a photograph of the building. Inside, there were rooms like opened time capsules filled with the memorabilia of Va Tech's past.

Our short stays at my old home in Richmond and at Andrew's sister's new home in Maryland were cozy ~ the cherry on top for our Christmases. Then it was on a train to NYC for New Year's! We arrived on Dec. 31st, checked into our hotel, and started our NYC adventure with a late lunch/early dinner at - where else - a deli called Ess-a-bagel! Mmm...there's nothing like a New York bagel! We then got ready for the evening and met up with my friend, Leann, her hubby and friends at Sequoia in South Street Seaport. Despite it being ridiculously loud (which lead to all of us screaming "what?!?" anytime any of us talked), and some drunk dude trying to pick a fight with Andrew, it was a good time. A bit different than what I expected, but New Year's always ends up being one of those holidays where no one can expect too much with the possibility of being disappointed. Where I became disappointed was New Year's Day. We were stuck in the hotel (except for when we went out for lunch) all day because my hangover would NOT go away. Frickin' kamikazes! Tears literally came out of my eyes that evening because Andrew and I would not get to go ice skating on Rockefeller Center. And he wanted to do this 10% more than I did. One positive out of the day is at least our room at The W was cozy (or should I say, S'Wonderful?) with a satiny comforter and of course, down feathered pillows! mmm...I MUST get a satin comforter!!!

Day 2 in NYC ~ I was feeling so much better! I got up at 8:45am to start our day and solidified my lunch/coffee plans with Randy and Jamie. Andrew and I had a small breakfast of pumpkin loaf slices from Starbucks, then headed to Central Park for a carriage ride! Despite it being 18 degrees, we kept warm with the huge, thick blanket provided in the carriage, our big coats and head/ear warmers (I have no idea what they're actually called!). Serendipitously, we ended up across the street from the new Apple store. So, the Apple geeks that we are (him more than me ;-)), ran over there after we got off the carriage. Then it was time to head to Cosi for lunch/coffee. Along the way, though, we HAD to stop by the World of Disney store! It took every fiber of my being not to buy Christmas items that were on sale, and not to poke around in every crevice of the store. But we had to make it to our lunch on time, and we had about 10 blocks to walk.

I was so happy to be back in a Cosi and eating my TBM Melt...which I was able to influence onto both Randy and Andrew. ;-) Jamie came in later, thus avoiding the peer pressure. As always, it was great to see the two of them; and again, I wish there was more time. It's so sad to think of the time that I spent with each of my friends in the past. I used to live in the same town as all of them, and hanging out was a norm. Now, not so much, and I wish that I still had that time with all of them.

Jamie took us back to the old apt., and I was in shock at how much cleaner the place was! It had been like that only once while I was living there...when we were looking for a new roommate. ;-)

The evening began with dinner at Serendipity and naturally, their infamous frozen hot chocolate. Yum yum! Followed by making our way to the Theatre District for a performance of Legally Blonde at The Palace Theatre. The temperature had dropped!!! or at least, it certainly felt that way with the sun down and possibly the winds picking up. After snapping a few pics in Times Square, we were happy to get into the theatre and settle into our seats. To our surprise, the people sitting next to us were a father and daughter who sat next to us at Serendipity! The show is still fantastic, and afterwards, we headed to Rockefeller Center...but not before running into the stage door and finding the actors coming out to sign autographs...including Laura Bell Bundy, who plays Elle Woods (or Woods, Elle ;-)). My favorite among the actors to come out was Michael Rupert, who plays Prof. Callahan. Love him ~ he has such a classic stage presence! After paparazzi photos and autographs, onto Rockefeller Center it was...in the freezing cold night air. We saw the new tree, got our picture taken a couple of times (sadly, did not get the perfect shot), watched the ice skaters and wondered how they could do it in this weather. Then it was back to our S'Wonderful room (yes, that's what The W calls it).

Day 3 ~ ooh, even colder. 12 degrees. We found a place for breakfast and tried to avoid the random ice patches on the ground. We had hoped to make to The Village for some coffee and hanging out...but alas, it was just too cold. I don't know. I think I could've handled it. All it took was walk around just a little, find a cafe, chill (not literally), get some coffee, and people watch. We would've been inside a warm building. Ah well. We instead, hung out in The W lobby in front of the fire until we had to grab a cab to the airport.

Thus ends our holiday vacation.

Now I'm back home, back to acting classes, and waiting for work to come in. I'm slowly coming out of my vacation coma.

A Happy New Year to all...and to all a good night.