RECAP - ADAMSTORM in CANADA: SAINTE AGATHE'S EN FEUX FESTIVAL 7/29/11I'VE ADDED PICS/VIDS!!Note: Thanks so much, SUGAREE, for posting it in this thread, as many couldn't open the doc I originally attached to my post!DISCLAIMER/SCROLL ALERT:
Yes, my recap is twelve days late, and I'm fairly certain everything that could be said about the Canada concert has been said. Still, it was such a joyous trip that I feel the urge to add my personal perspective to the mix, irrelevant and late as it is. (Plus, I promised Stampsgal I'd write one!) I've divided it into sections to make scrolling easier (
CONCERT is in RED, pp.5-8), because you all should know by now how I just love to write a long-ass recap! And I apologize for all the !!!! to come! No, really, I don't. I was EXCITED!!!!
Note: I am going to add details about/thanks to all the Crazy/Lovely ladies I met on this trip in the Post-Concert section and at the end. Y'all are almost too good to be true. Just like Adam!
PRE-CONCERT: ANTICIPATION! (FOREPLAY!)
7/27: After an overnight flight from Sacramento, during which I slept all of two hours,
robininny picked me up at JFK. We stopped at a REAL! NY! DINER! for breakfast, then went to her place in Manhattan to pack the car for our Canada trip. Left NY that afternoon to drive to her best friend S's home in Albany to spend the night and make the drive to the venue shorter the next day. While there, we learned about the glambert-effect…all the calls/questions to the festival organizers leading to the announcement about getting numbers to get in line before the concert. (The organizers really tried, lol.) We were ready! We had a defined mission! I slept like a baby! (An excited baby.)
7/28: …on the road to Canada! Oh, Canada! No problems at all crossing border—just three normal tourists visiting the great north to attend a festival—no crazy-ass Adamstans in this car, sir! (HA! They should've seen us the next night at/after the concert!) After some tricky directions around Montreal—TY Robininny for deluxe driving skills—we got directions to the venue and arrived there at 3 to get our all-important NUMBERS! They started at #640, and we got #'s 787,88,89 stapled to our tickets. We would be let through with the second group of 100! YAY!
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There weren't too many peeps there, but I stayed to visit with unknown glamberts as more and more gradually showed up to get their numbers. I can't remember all the names of the fans I talked to (GlitteryGlamBug from CA, VampGirl from Prague, JamieGlambert were a few), but they were all friendly and fun! Many others were from Montreal, on summer away-from-the-city vacations. The weather was sunny and great!
Then R and S came back, and after R took some vid of the venue, we ran into Sandysva and JustKaren! We decided to walk to the "tourist-y" shopping/dining street a few blocks away. Yes, folks, street—not area, not district—street.
Ste. Agathe is a small village. It's quaint and picaresque and beautiful. It sits by a large lake (Lac des Sables—"of sand") at the base of Mont-Tremblant. The people spoke French, with some English, and were without exception friendly/ helpful.
So, the five of us walked to the shopping/eating street, where we spotted Supardu, Rjacks, and Shutterbug. We talked with them for a bit and then mosied (or moseyed—take your pick—yep, I had to look it up) along to find a restaurant.
Couple of pics of Ste. Agathe:
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We had a nice meal on an outdoor deck (R had chocolate/coffee-flavored beer! Boreal Noire. Must try that some time!), and then we walked back to the venue. R and S returned to the motel, while I used R's camera to go to the 9:00 show to scope out the inside of the venue with Sandysva and JustKaren. No words needed. Just check out the vid below if you want to see what the inside of the venue looked like! Sandysva kindly drove me "home", where I took a desperately-needed bubble bath and slept. (Like an excited baby—again.)
Checking out the venue the night before: This is my FIRST video upload EVER! YAY! Thanks, R! (I have much more that I will upload later…)
7/29:
Up early, and I went to the venue around 1:00. Many fans were there to try to catch soundcheck. And we did! FYE, Strut, SW, metallic/NEW acoustic instrumentals by Monte—I SUSPECTED THEY'D DO A NEW SONG WHEN I HEARD THAT MUSIC!! It was SO PRETTY! (Turned out to be OOL!) This is when I met
Ileanne—totally by accident! We talked a lot, long before I thought to ask her if she posted online anywhere. Then, YAY—I had discovered another Atopper. I SO enjoyed visiting with her and meeting her travel buddy!
By this time, I needed ~facilities, so Sandysva, JustKaren, Momtomany (she had arrived!), and I walked several blocks to the street with shops and restaurants. Momtomany just had to try some poutine for her birthday. LOL to the comments she made re: the effects of her meal on her stomach while inside the venue awaiting the show! But it sure didn't stop her from partying and dancing like it was her birthday or something!?!
While she and Sandysva had lunch, I decided to walk back to the venue. I was afraid my left leg was going to become useless to me and wanted to be close enough to the venue that if that were to happen, someone could carry me (or I could CRAWL) to my up-close spot! Ha! Joke was on me! I got a ~little lost trying to take a shortcut back to the venue. Ended up meandering back along the shore of the lake on a sort of back road—took fucking forever…BUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! I met local dog-walkers and fishermen and sat and rested while smelling the
water and watching the fish jump and listening to the little lapping wavelets. And I still thought I was going to eventually end up right where we'd started. NOT. The road ended at the OPPOSITE side of the venue at an iron gate. THANK THE FUCKING UNIVERSE FOR THE YOUNG FRENCH FESTIVAL WORKER WHO COULDN'T UNDERSTAND ONE WORD I SAID—BUT WHO SAW MY SWEATY FACE AND PRONOUNCED LIMP, TOOK PITY ON ME, AND OPENED THE GATE TO ESCORT ME ACROSS THE VENUE TO MY ORIGINAL SPOT. Whew.
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Robininny and S were there by now, and the crowd had grown as the fans with numbered tickets started to line up. Adam was soundchecking again and the crowd sang along to WWFM. Beautiful. See/hear for yourself!
Next, the event workers started to try to shove the crowd to the side where they were going to funnel in the ticket holders w/numbers, 100 at a time. It was not working. (That, btw, is an understatement.) Even with a truck slowly advancing on the crowd and workers shouting "BACK UP!" through bullhorns, it was kind of a mess. The fans were very well-behaved, given the impossibility of herding hundreds of people through a five-foot-wide chute that lead to the ticket-number/bag-checking tent. But, bless their little Quebecois hearts, they tried to get us organized!! FINALLY at about 6:15, they let 100 of us at a time run—I mean walk quickly—to our spots in front of the stage!
The group I ended up in the middle of (inside the venue) consisted of Robininny, S, Sandysva, JustKaren, Momtomany, and Q3. So cool! Robininny spread her plastic on the ground about ten rows back from the stage right against the middle fence. We could've chosen a closer spot, but the stage was so high we would've had to look up to see Adam. Then, we proceeded to wait patiently (HAHAHA!!!!!) for three hours for the show to begin. We danced, sang along to the tunes, had ~beverages, and checked out the porta-potties (the cleanest johns I've ever seen!) We visited with the people around us. True fact: a rather handsome man standing behind JustKaren had DRIVEN all the way to Ste. Agathe from Sacramento! Small world!
5The crowd—per usual—was diverse. Young to old, LOTS of men, NOT all Glamberts, many natives just checking out the festival music, but everyone was happy! And it was the least crowded GA experience I've ever had. I actually had room to move a bit/lean on the fence/wend in and out of the crowd without losing my spot. That was a VERY good thing, as my leg was stiff and my bladder seems to shrink in direct proportion to my level of excitement! All in all, a most excellent venue and crowd.
Rain had been predicted, so we had umbrellas, etc., but it was just cloudy enough to make the temperature perfect. So, even the weather cooperated. UNTIL LATER—WHEN THE ADAMSTORM STARTED! THEN IT WAS EVEN MORE PERFECT!
So, as twilight commenced and photographers started filling up the fenced aisle down the center to the stage, we knew the show was about to begin, and the chanting and screaming began. Then someone shouted "SAULI!" He passed right by us as he walked quickly with head down from the stage to the sound booth! Vids or it didn't happen?? Well, the amazing R got the back of him on video! He's so tiny and beautiful and his platinum hair is awesome! Check it out!
CONCERT: ECSTASY! (EAR-/OR-GASMS! MULTIPLE!!!)
When Adam came out to sing the first song (FYE), I was just floored by his beauty (again!) HIS FUCKING HEAD WAS ON FIRE PEOPLE! AND IT WAS SUBTLE! BUT OH, SO LOVELY! The blond highlights were so shiny and bright and reflecting the lights in such a way that it literally looked like flames! So appropriate for the Festival en Feux (of Fire)!
The simple look—the !Outfit!—of black tank, black leather vest (bare arms, YAY!), black zipper pants (too baggy for GB action, but who cares?!), the new zippered medges, the simple jewelry (McQueen feather necklace), the tail (a-blowin' in the wind all night)—and the best accoutrement EVAH, his glorious SMILE…well, he was breathtaking. That's all. (P.S. Did ya see the 8/10 Atop banner?? THAT'S the smile I'm talkin' about!)
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The whole band looked great. Monte looked so much slimmer to me (and I love his glittery guitar), Tommy wore a cute shiny new jacket, and impish Isaac was sporting facial hair—they all looked and sounded fantastic. Monte was particularly on fire, although I didn't even know he'd played guitar with his teeth during WLL until I got home and watched vids—that's how freaking hard it is for me to pay attention to anyone but Adam!
And Adam's voice—the most important instrument on that stage—sounded INCREDIBLY good! The sound system was great, and as anyone knows who's seen/heard him live, the vids—as good as some may be—never do justice to the voice LIVE. Sometimes it was almost impossible to hear him over the screams of the crowd! {Note to 12-year-old self: Not only will you be able to better hear him sing, but you may also be able to talk after concerts—if you could just learn RESTRAINT. Note to ~mature self: Umm, nope, not going to happen. EVER.}
I also have to say that another thing none of the vids I've seen really captured well was the light show/backgrounds. They were AWESOME. Each song had different lighting/background images projected, all appropriate to each song. Water/waves for Aftermath is one I remember in particular. Whoever put the light show together (any ninjas know who that was?) did a FANTASTIC job. Of course, I like to think it was all Adam, but probably not…
*Correction: THIS GUY'S vids DO show the backgrounds beautifully! (Thx, R!) Choose Aftermath for YOU, Glttergma!
jungpeter1958gmail
Now for some other little details/observations:
*The Set List—totally unpredictable. I loved it. Thought he was not going to do Fever—but of course he did, with new Tommy interaction—have a feeling the "kissing" days are over!
*Banter—not scripted at all—he was so relaxed! The impromptu joke about the "fairy" that flew by his face, the teasing about fan fiction after he introduced Tommy, dusting his seat with his tail/whole intro to OOL—all of it just seemed natural and easy. Asking the crowd to do a sing-a-long at the end of SFW was so much fun—and funny!—as no one could hit that last fucking note he sang out!
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*Dancing—excellent and natural and sexy as hell—as always. Loved the added attraction of his tail flying in the breeze, too!
Re: Banter/Dancing, robininny commented that without dancers onstage to interact with, Adam interacted with the audience instead, which she liked and said was similar to his banter with the audience at Rock My Town. We all know how Adam likes people to share in the fun with him, but ITA with R's thought. Def on Team AdamCanDoWhateverTheFuckHeWants. (Did I get that right, NoAngel?) But R makes a valid point IMO.
*THE MUSIC—every song was great. Sorry, but it's true. And you've all seen the vids—how many times, lol? So I'm only going to comment specifically on two songs—OOL and WLL.
Outlaws of Love…is a beautiful song. I told Momtomany he would do something new for her birthday (or at least different—hedging my bet—Carnac the Magnificent, I'm not)—and after hearing Monte's lovely acoustic guitar piece during soundcheck, I suspected we'd hear a new song. I think Adam was actually embarrassed by all the noise we made for him during the intro. The crowd was screaming after practically every phrase. IT WAS SO FREAKING EXCITING WHEN WE REALIZED HE WAS SINGING A NEW SONG!
I'm always a bit disappointed when fans scream DURING a ballad, especially a NEW song. But sometimes my screams are truly involuntary, so who am I to judge? However, screams aside, he sounded and looked wonderful and emoted like a mofo. I cried. I'm sappy like that—and these lines!! 
Everywhere we go, we're lookin' for the sun
Nowhere to grow old and always on the run
Scars make us who we are, hearts and homes are broken, broken.
Far, we could go so far, with our minds wide open, open.
Well, I know I wasn't the only person emotionally affected by this song. (I know this because I stole a few glimpses of the jumbotron—there were definitely tears being shed.) I absolutely loved his tweet later about how the song was "lamenting inequality." The song IS the very definition of a lament.
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Whole Lotta Love…was absolutely thrilling. I'm not saying it's the best version of that song he's ever done, but I will say the circumstances made his performance exceptional that night. I really think he saw the storm coming—we sure didn't, as all eyes were on him—but the timing of the rainstorm was uncanny. RIGHT WHEN HE SAID "YOU NEED COOLIN" IT STARTED POURING AND NO ONE WAS GOING ANYWHERE!
It was just too cool for words. Because of the heavy rain and the fact that WLL is usually an end-of-show song, I fully expected it to be the last song. NO! We got WWFM…and Purple Haze, too, for an encore! He really seemed to feel the love and was in no hurry to quit, rain be damned!
(Vids by robininny)
This is one of the LOUSY pics I took AT the concert (disposable camera, so whattaya expect! :
And this is why I never post my pics!
I absolutely LOVED being literally surrounded by people I'd met (all for the first time!) from PF and Atop. It was like exponential love. I was a pea in a pod of love, surrounded by other pods of love, growing in a garden of love, tended by the hand of a loving gardener. Yes, that would be Adam.
He was so happy he was glowing. He was so attuned to the crowd, so relaxed and comfortable, so funny and friendly and talkative! And during WLL, from his first words "You need coolin"—ordering the sky to open up on us, showering us with rain and love—he made me grow near to bursting. "The rain gods are telling us the show is over. We won't go. We won't go." WE GOT TO TAKE A SHOWER WITH ADAM LAMBERT! (I love that tweet!) I was as ecstatic as a pea could ever be!
Hyperbolic, you say? Nope, that's exactly what I felt—transcendental love. I think "the best concert EVAH" is a subjective phrase. However, I have to say that I am so grateful I was there. Adam, the crowd, and the elements combined to create a perfect trifecta of energy, love, and ecstacy.* *Ecstacy is...
1. An overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement.
2. An emotional or religious frenzy or trancelike state, originally one involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence.
3. Seeing and hearing Adam Fucking Lambert perform live.9
POST-CONCERT: PARTY TIME! (POST-COITAL BLISS!)
Fireworks – Right over the lake as we were walking in the rain back to the motel. We stopped on the sidewalk and watched them for a while. They were gorgeous. I remember thinking "What a perfect end to a perfect day."
Bar – After some shed their soaked clothes in Sandy and Karen's room, ten of us met in the motel bar to share birthday drinks with Momtomany to and squee and laugh together! The birthday girl shared a bottle of Sortilege Liqueur (Canadian whiskey and maple syrup—just ask Q3 how tasty it was, lol! Srsly, I loved it!) and we shared a toast to our ecstatic experience and to all Atoppers, who were with us in spirit. The wine flowed, as did the conversation, Shutterbug's book of Adam photos was passed around (beautiful!), and as the laughter grew louder and it got later—we were kicked out! No problem…on to ->->->->
Momtomany's Suite—all ten of us partying and being silly all night long! The birthday girl was hostess with the mostest. More wine or water or coffee. Mingling and squeeing and flailing and fun. And a little serious conversation, too. (Very little!)
Momtomany, it was such a treat to finally meet you in person!
(Can't wait to see you again!)Robininny (designated driver) and
S* had an intelligent discussion with
Shutterbug about photography and videography.
Sandysva: IIRC, you were part of the great X-rated bf'ing debate with birthday girl!
(I know we'll meet again, too, and I look forward to it.)
JustKaren: Me: "You're a REPUBLICAN? But I really like you?!"
(…very glad we'll see each other again soon, neighbor!)Rjacks: "FUCK, KAREN. JUST SAY THE WORD. FUCK!! OWN IT!!" LMAO
(Ha! A mouth as foul as my own…a woman after my heart! How's that job, girl? )Supardu: Stories of China and great conversation!
(You have led a fascinating life!)Q3: Tipsily posting comments from all and postponing her flight home for a day!
(I am thrilled to have fianlly met you—but—but—you're so TALL!)*Must clarify S's joke: "It wasn't a dragonfly, it was a fly in drag!" (An important part of the joke was lost in translation, lol.)I JUST HAVE TO TELL ALL OF YOU HOW VERY MUCH I ENJOYED MEETING AND GETTING TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE. YOU ARE ALL SUCH INTELLIGENT, FUNNY, FASCINATING WOMEN, WITH HEARTS TO MATCH YOUR WIT(S). SO MUCH FUN! Just like all the other 'Topians I met last summer, y'all are the BEST!10
After the concert and HOURS of conversation, my voice was gone. And I was falling asleep mid-sentence. We (robininny, that is) drove to our motel at sunrise. No shit. We partied all night. I slept. Like a log. Like Adam after the Idol Finale. Like "stick a fork in me, I'm done."
7/30: The Day After. We got it together, had breakfast (I craved pancakes after drinking maple syrup the night before!) and headed back to Albany, where we spent a pleasant night relaxing and watching a few vids. We ate the best chicken soup I've ever had. Comfort food—to hydrate AND to allay the anticlimactic realization that we won't hear Adam sing live every night for the rest of our lives.
7/31: NEW YORK! …OR AS A T-SHIRT I LIKED SAID: NEW FUCKIN' YORK!
Robininny gave me the best tour of Manhattan we could squeeze into 6 hours—and played tour photographer/videographer, too! The weather continued to cooperate, as it was beautifully cool We stopped frequently to just sit and soak up the "vibes" and I just couldn't have loved the place more!
Her wonderful (and handsome!) hubby dropped us off by Central Park West. I saw the Dakota (where John Lennon lived and died.) Then we entered the park right at Strawberry Fields, and I started crying almost immediately. Hard to explain, but I did/do SO love John Lennon. Imagine is one of my all-time favorite songs, and when we stood at that Imagine mosaic, I just couldn't believe I was there.
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We meandered through the park—the architecture, the beautiful free music (I kept thinking of Joni's Playing Real Good for Free), Summer Stage, the Mall, the lakes, the horse-drawn carriages, the statues, the TREES—OMG, if I lived there I don't think I could ever tire of CP.
We exited right by CBS Early Show Plaza, where R had first met/spoken with Adam. We sat for a while listening to a talented saxophone player and just thoroughly enjoyed remembering Adam's appearance there, right after the ABC cancelation. Wasn't he amazing? Had a birds' eye view of the Plaza Hotel, too.
Next, we walked all the way down 5th Ave. Too many fascinating things to even list. I was amazed by the buildings/architecture, the stores, by the window displays, by everything! I was SO tempted by the meat-on-a-stick vendors, R had to almost physically restrain me from buying a skewer of street-meat! (She insisted on a restaurant, FFS!)
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We'd walked a long time, and I knew we were headed to Times Square and I kept saying "Where's the SQUARE?" Well, by the time we turned the corner to see TS, it was dark—and the sight left me breathless! The crowds! The colors! The theatres! That's where the NYE ball drops! Where Adam may perform some New Year's Eve! It was so much fun. After reading about NY and seeing all these places in my head or in movies, etc., it was just so cool to actually be there.
We had dinner, walked back the way we'd come, and R's hubby picked us up and drove home a different way so I could see more of NY at night. I loved NY. It was clean and green and friendlier than I'd ever imagined! I JUST HAVE TO GO BACK TO SPEND MORE TIME ONE OF THESE YEARS!
8/1: LONG ISLAND! Home of The Great Gatsby! and Sugaree!
After a wonderful lazy morning of bubble bath and breakfast, I got my stuff together and we drove to my next stop. SUGAREE'S!! Long Island! As soon as we pulled up, it started raining. We were visiting in the back yard, when the temperature felt like it dropped about 20 degrees and the rain changed to hail! Well, whattaya know--Adam was in NYC!
ALL HAIL BREAKS LOOSE WHEN ADAM IS IN TOWN! 13
The three of us had a nice long visit while waiting for the hail to stop, and then Robininny said goodbye and returned to Manhattan. Sugaree and her kind, tolerant (four days the guy listened to our yakking!) and handsome husband and I then went to a terrific pizza place (Grimaldi's—the best pizza in NY according to Zagat's guide) where we had personalized pizzas with wine—and dessert (cannoli and tiramisu—yum!) And then, of course, I passed out.
8/2:
Lazy morning. We thriftstore-shopped for hours. We decided to wait to purchase our goodies until the next day (50% off on Wednesdays!) We then spent the afternoon catching rays in their beautiful back yard, played with Shadow (Sugaree's cutie-pie dog), grilled kabobs, listened to music, and talked till we dropped. Crawled to bed.
8/3:
We were going to take a long all-day drive along the North Shore to the end of the island, BUT realized we'd miss the thriftstore closing time if we did that. Priorities, people. So instead, we drove to a lovely little beach 30 minutes north called Sands Point. I loved every second of it! Walked barefoot in the sand, collecting shells and rocks, built a shrine to Adam, saw a huge beached horseshoe crab and just generally got our groove on with the ocean (or the Sound…it looked an ocean to me!) Then we had a fantastic lunch at Ayhan's in Port Washington and headed home to shop.
Hoopla and Sugaree--beachcombers!
ADAM SHRINE
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Back to the thrift store...THE DEALS I GOT!! You'd weep! OMG, I bought a handmade red cheongsam (traditional Chinese dress) that FITS ME for $1—one dollar! I also found a great little candle holder with a dragonfly perched above it (reminder of concert!) Such great finds for so little money. I do love thrift stores!
Note: When I got home and showed my friend the dress, she said "It's gorgeous. Where the FUCK are you going to wear that?!" I told her I was going to wear it the next time I'm getting in a hot tub with a hot guy. (Sugaree's suggestion.) Sheri just rolled her eyes. SHE DOESN'T "GET" ADAM! AND SHE HAS NO FAITH IN CREATIVE VISUALIZATION! BUT I LOVE HER ANYWAY!
Anyway, we ended the day with Thai food. First time in my life I tasted duck that I actually liked. (My mom cooked one my dad shot when I was about ten, and let's just say I wasn't in a hurry to eat duck again.) AND I fell in love with peanut sauce (?) Yet another fine dining experience, with a long visit to round out the night. Stumbled to bed.
8/4, 5:
Well, my trip had finally come to an end. Time to pack and get ready for the airport. Felt a little sad. Putzed around all day, listened to music, took a nap—oh, I almost forgot! Got a FANTASTIC haircut from Sugaree's personal stylist (thank Susan for me again, please—I love my hair now!) Finally trekked to JFK only to discover I had no seat! (Standby is standby.)
It was fine, though, as we had yet a FINAL dining delight—sushi and White Castle! I kid you not. I hadn't had "sliders" since 10 years ago in St. Louis—and I'd NEVER tried sushi. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed both! I then waddled to bed. Guess what? I gained weight on this trip! Friday—I was TIRED! TOO MUCH FUN!! I wrote a bit of this recap—which will be in local bookstores soon—and spent lots of time outdoors watching Shadow chase the squirrel that Sugaree has eating walnuts out of her hand. And listening to music. (Outdoor speakers—love 'em!) And napping. And saying goodbye.
I got the rock stah walk through the terminal for the second night in a row (thanks to Sugaree's connected hubby!) This time there WAS a seat available. Had a great flight. Got in my door at 12:30am Sat. Unpacked. Slept all day Saturday. Started typing this Sunday. Interrupted by finding-work duties M/T…and HERE WE ARE!
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All that's left is to say
THANK YOU TO ALL THE BEAUTIFUL ATOPPERS WHO HELPED ME CROSS MULTIPLE ITEMS OFF MY BUCKET LIST!ROBININNY: You are just as cute as your avi, damn you. Thanks for saying to me MONTHS ago when I was in the pit of depression "You need to come to New York this summer." I never thought it would happen. After the trip DID materialize, TY for suggesting last-minute that we include the Ste. Agathe concert! I.LOVED.IT.
Thanks, too, for opening your home to me. Kiwi is not only a beautiful and smart girl, she is a lucky one! And your handsome and accommodating husband—JFC, do all Atoppers have beautiful, wonderful husbands? (I'm looking at you, Sugaree!) Where do I get me one of those? Not at thrift stores, that's for sure!
Also, TY for driving me all over the earth, for being my official Manhattan tour guide/photographer/videographer, and for providing some much-needed in-person, shared stanning pleasure!
S: R's "extended family"—what awesome people S and spouse are! I so enjoyed their hospitality—the friendly, intelligent conversations, the comfy/beautiful home (YAY for dream kitchens!), the gaze-worthy berm…S you're an awesome travel companion. And tell your R to send me a bill for the therapy!
SUGAREE: You beautiful little munchkin (and you know I mean that as a compliment—you're about as big as a NY minute!) But your heart is as big as…as... as MY ASS IS, NOW THAT I ATE ALL THAT GOOD FOOD!
Thanks for the beach. It was a beautiful day. (My crab shell does NOT stink, btw!) Thanks for the red-dress hot tub fantasy. HUGE thanks for the intro to the e-cig. I may finally lose my last bad habit. Lastly, TY for the conversation and friendship.
Truly, the trip to NY was just a dream until the buddy pass became a reality. So, thanks to you and your awesome husband for making a dream come true. And thank J for making a double trip to the airport to get me on a plane!
STAMPSGAL: Thanks FOREVER for your unused ticket. I'm so sorry you couldn't go. Look at what my going has led to: MY FIRST NON-FICTION BOOK!! Index to follow in a couple of weeks! No good deed goes unpunished, lol!
SANDYSVA: Thanks for the motel hook-up! That was the last piece in the Canada puzzle. And thank you for the walk and talks and the ride home after sussing out the venue!
JUSTKAREN: Thanks for the purple glowsticks! It was fun to have something to wave around during the concert—you can see them in almost every vid! And I'm thrilled that we will have the chance to get to know each other better in RL!
MOMTOMANY: Thank you so much for hosting the after-party! It was such a great way to extend that feeling of transcendental love. It was a beautiful thing. I'm only sorry I didn't think to get a !CUPCAKE! with a candle on top, so you'd have something to blow out and make a wish on! BUT—what more could you wish for besides an unforgettable concert experience with friends who love you?
Also, I apologize if your right arm was bruised. It was so much fun to have a fellow stan to physically latch onto in my excitement!Q3: Last, but certainly not least (tm AFL), thanks to you for giving all of us stranded PFr's (and many new Adamstans) Atop. Without the friends I've made here, I would never have had such FUN! (P.S. You can party like a Rock Stah, baby!)
SAN FRANCISCO PASSPORT OFFICE: Thanks for the most efficient government office I've ever set foot in. If any of you ever need to know about getting a last-minute passport without spending a fortune, pm me. I know ALL about it now!
RAKASTAN!
THE END. FINALLY. 5,189 words. Congratulations!
You deserve a cookie if you actually read every word!
Hell, have a dozen--more is more, after all! ;D
