Criss Angel DVD signing @ Border's, 12/28/06
[mood| 
bouncy ]
[music| The Candy Spooky Theater - Devilish Kidnapper ]
Well, my mother and I got back from the signing a few hours ago, and now I'm finally sitting down to type up a recap of the overall awesome day.
We ended up leaving the apartment at around 9:30am-ish, and took the Q74 and then the E train to Penn Station. We were able to find the Border's right away since we'd been there a few days before, but were a bit shocked to see... NO ONE LINED UP AT 10:15AM? Very surprising, but we were like "Huh, okay" and basically just waltzed into the store like we owned it. After wandering around for a bit, we asked an employee if they finally knew how they'd be working the signing - come to find out, they're not having people line up in the front of the store, but in the back of the store. Lol, okay, we're smart. XD
So we walked all the way around to the back of the store, fully expecting to see 20,000 people lined up ahead of us. Actually, it was more like 20. XD So we ended up being there way ahead of the majority of the crowd (although I heard some people started trying to line up at 1am O_O), and it totally wasn't as cold as we had expected it to be, so although we knew we were in for a long wait outside the store, we were in good spirits and very happy.
After a few minutes, my mother and I started talking to this amazing guy who was also waiting in line. He's a magician himself, and he cites Criss Angel as his biggest inspiration. Hearing him speak about how watching Criss spurred him on to see just how far he could take his own craft, it made me realize just how far Criss has come. I mean, to go from being the magic community's ultimate black sheep to inspiring a whole future generation of magicians? That's amazing. It made me realize that Criss is now accomplishing the biggest goals he set for himself years ago. The man we spoke to has been a Loyal even longer than we have - he first discovered Criss when he did his first Body Suspension in Times Square - and now, his son loves Criss as well. We got to talking about how really, if Criss were just a magician, no one would care; it's because he's so much more, and integrates so many other art forms into his craft, and connects to people so powerfully, that he's as popular as he is today. And to talk as old-timers was kind of fun, I have to admit! If you're reading this - I am so sorry, we must never have asked your name - it was wonderful to meet you. Hope to see you at Criss's future appearances!
After a while, my mother stepped off the line to go inside the store and purchase the Season 1 DVD - we bought a copy for the last signing Criss did, but it's autographed to me and since she figures I'll steal it away when I leave for college, she thought it would be smart to get her very own copy, lol! Later on, we traded places and I went inside the Border's, upstairs to this little coffee shop/cafe thinger where I bought a much-needed coffee and a blueberry muffin. Meanwhile, the Border's staff began to set up metal barricades to keep the line contained. They also began to be really weird and anal. o_O For example, this one girl on line brought a small folding chair with her, set it up in her place on line, and tried to sit in it; the staff didn't allow it and made her get rid of her chair. Later on, people were trying to sit on the ground against the walls of the store and the staff was forcing them to get up! Why? Because, according to Border's, "it encourages hoboes." LAWLZ WTF XD
All along, Sheila was trying to call me, but every time she did my cell phone would basically die and I wouldn't be able to hear a word she was saying. Finally, my mother and I spotted her coming from inside the store, so before she got on line, we chatted for a bit. Later on, we finally spotted Stephanie and waited on line with her for the duration of the time left. (You know she met Lacuna Coil again? OMG JEALOUS JEALOUS JEALOUS XD)
Ah, now here's a funny little anecdote: After a few hours of waiting on line in not-so-warm weather... naturally I had to use the bathroom. My mother held my place in line while I did the logical thing: Go inside the Border's and upstairs to use the Border's bathroom. Makes sense, right? Well, let me tell you... that bathroom was crazy. Oh good God. First of all, let's discuss the line: I'm telling you, at that point in the day, the line for the women's restroom was almost as long as the line outside for Criss. o_O So okay, we're all standing around waiting and waiting... then word gets out that naturally, they're out of toilet paper. Because, you know, when you have a DVD signing in your store and are expecting a fairly large crowd, why would it occur to you to put extra toilet paper in the bathrooms? So we all start grabbing paper towels and tissues and passing them down the line, because sisters need to help each other in a time of crisis, you know. ;) Anyway, fine, so I finally get to use one of the damn toilets... and it just so happens that in the stall I was in, the toilet literally had no seat to it. Like, someone had ripped it off or something. O_O So ultimately, the bathroom experience? Not so pleasant, lol.
I was supposed to go find Michelle in line and talk to her a bit, but she called me just as I was heading into the Border's looking for the bathroom... and thanks to the line, it took me, like, half an hour to finally get out of there and back outside. Then Michelle called me back, so I set out to try to find her. Well... it was really difficult. I seriously felt like an asshole, because I'm on the phone with her, telling her to wave if she sees me, she's waving, and I'm just walking back and forth by the line, completely unable to find her. XD Naturally, after a while my phone decided to die again, so I returned to my place in line for a bit, then Stephanie and I both set about looking for the elusive Michelle, lol! And for a while, we weren't having much success - but ultimately we found her, yay! It was awesome to finally meet her, and she showed me the fan scrapbook she compiled for Criss. My God, was that thing HUGE. All I can say is, I'm glad she was carrying it and not me, because it would, like, kill me, lol. (It might even kill Criss. I just have this mental image of someone handing him the scrapbook really hard, him going "OOF!" and collapsing under its weight, with the scrapbook on top of him. Boy, that would be a sad way for Criss to go. XD)
Finally, Stephanie and I got back to our places and commenced the wait. Now, up until a few hours before 6pm, the line was pretty long, but nothing really out of the ordinary. However, more and more people started coming in, and by 4pm it was packed. My mother and I were very close to the back doors, through which you could see into the store, and as the hours passed by you could see the panic just mounting on the faces of every employee and staff member of Border's. I mean, sheer panic. I think they thought we were going to stampede and crush them. Seriously, I think they were totally unprepared for this. They had been expecting a large turnout, but nothing in the neighborhood of this. Silly Border's people - no one seems to know what they're getting into when they invite Criss to do appearances and signings, lol!
So yeah, by 4 to 4:30-ish, everyone started to get a little angsty and peevy. Stephanie was looking for Costa, my mother was looking for JD, everyone was looking for Criss... lol, I was there too, but you know, I try to keep cool, calm, and collected. XD So of course, what would a signing be without some line drama? It came in the form of a bunch of girls behind my mother and I getting pissed off at some adults in front of us in the line - the adults had in fact been there early in the day, but didn't want to be standing on line for twenty bazillion hours and so they had some people hold their places in line, which caused the bitchiness when they returned. I can't surely say who was right and who was wrong in this situation - but honestly, who cares? It's not like a concert where if you aren't first in line, you don't get good seats... all this means is okay, so you wait five extra minutes to see Criss. Big deal. You know you'll see him eventually. I just kept hearing the bitching and whining and thinking "Jesus, I'm too old for this drama," lol... I was also thinking "Lol, if Sheila was here, she'd be killing people by now" XD
Finally, they started letting as many people as they could fit into the store, including my mother and I. So the line was going inside the store, and at this point, it was past 6pm and people were getting super pissed off, lol. This was when the Border's staff went along the line laying down the rules, supposedly handed down by "Criss's people:" One autograph per person. One picture per person. No bringing other memorabilia along with your DVD for autographing. If you have a gift for Criss, you must hand it over to a Border's employee as opposed to giving it to him yourself. No calling other people with your cell phone to have them talk to Criss. Blah blah blah. Basically, everything that Criss stands against. You knew most of those rules were going to be broken within seconds - and indeed, they were. More power to you, Criss: You may not get invited back to Border's at Penn Plaza, but you win in the end, lol!
Then - ZOMG CRISS CRISS CRISS FINALLY GOT IN. Lol. I have to admit... the fangirling was excessive, and it did get a bit irritating. Like, I had this one random girl shrieking in my ear for Criss as he came in and pretty much deafening me. Oh left ear, you served me well in your time, I will never forget you. XD Then, a bunch of people practically crying. Why? Because Criss "touched their hands as he walked by." Because Criss "looked them dead in the eye for a few seconds." On the one hand, I'm glad they have such a powerful connection to him that even that little contact is enough to be life-affirming... but on the other hand, it was a little weird. Because if you know Criss at all, you know he takes the time to make every Loyal feel special. You know that if you see him somewhere, you're going to get way more than a touch or a look. You're going to get a "Hi, how are you?" and a big bear hug and a huge grin. That's just the kind of person Criss is, and if you don't know that from watching his shows and reading the thousands of other fan accounts out there... I kind of wonder how big a fan you are of him, really. That you know that little about him, and don't give him the credit he deserves. Ultimately, I think the last thing Criss wants is to be put on a pedestal and worshipped; he just wants to connect to people, have them enjoy what he does, and make them understand that without them, his fans, he'd be nowhere. (Also: Ahead of my mother and I in line, a bunch of girls started singing Criss Angel songs really loudly. It was cute, but all along I kept thinking "OH MY GOD if Sheila were here, she'd REALLY be killing people by now," lol!)
Anyway, so... the line started moving, but they were only letting five people at a time approach the area where Criss was signing to keep him from getting swamped. However, who should come wandering by the line as it moves along, but Costa!
Okay, here's the thing: I've been a fan of Criss for four years, right? This was my seventh (I think) time seeing Criss, and most of the time Criss is around, JD is around, and I always speak to him. However, Costa is around even more than JD is - and yet in four years, I never got a chance to speak to him. o_O I mean, he's definitely the most unassuming of the brothers and he doesn't seem to be after too much attention, but still... this was, like, inexcuseable. XD So after my last time seeing Criss and not getting a chance to speak to Costa, I made up my mind that next time, I would try really hard to say hi. So this time, I finally did! Lol, it was so funny, because I said to Costa "I'm here all the time but I never said hi to you before!" and he was all "Well, now you are!" Seriously, he's so nice. The whole family is nice, and Costa is no exception. :)
As it was getting closer and closer to my turn, I noticed that just like the last Border's DVD signing, Criss brought along... Dave Baram. Now, I saw Dave Baram last year, but I totally didn't say anything to him and then afterwards I felt bad for it. I made up my mind long ago that if I ever saw him with Criss again, I would definitely say something, because poor guy, he works so hard and no one ever notices him! I also saw that as usual, Criss came with his beautiful mother, Dimitra. One day, my mother and I really want to get the chance to talk to her. We keep hearing about other Loyals talking to her and having these amazing conversations, and we keep saying "Next time, next time we see her, we'll say hi"... but somehow, it never feels right. You know what I mean? Like, we almost feel strange about approaching her, because we don't want to come across as... well, "stalker-ish" is the only word I can come up with. XD So although we saw her, yet again we didn't get the chance to say anything to her... :( We really have to one day, though. We really do. Because this is the kind of woman that should garner everyone's respect. Why? Because the whole reason why Criss is the way he is today is because of how he was raised. Dimitra raised her three sons well, and now they're all beautiful adults, the most wonderful guys you could ever meet. That is something worthy of praise... and that's what we really want to tell her. Well... hopefully someday.
Then... finally, I got up to Criss, yay! He immediately recognized me and was all "Hi there!" I hugged him as usual (Criss gives the most awesome hugs, lol!), then asked him how his holiday and birthday were (they were "good" XD). I apologized for not going to his CD signing at FYE - wouldn't you know it, that was the exact same day I was seeing Dir en grey in Camden - and he was like "Awwww, that's okay, I know you're busy!" (Lol, unintentional guilt trip much? ARGH... he should have just come with me to FVT that day, I'm telling you it would have been perfect. He could have fanboyed over Korn, I would fangirl over Diru... perfect, I tell you! XD) Then he signed my Season 2 DVD box. I'm not sure if he heard, but at that point I mentioned how totally crazy it was that day, I mean, really, the crowd was pretty insane, lol. After that, I got my picture with him... and okay, as the Border's staff were taking the pic with my digital camera, Criss, like, squeezed the living daylights out of me. He's never hugged me that tightly before - I'm not sure if he realizes what a tiny person I am because he was just all *SQUEEZE!* and I was like "OKAYBEINGCRUSHED!" I couldn't stop laughing, lol, and as a result, I look slightly drunk/retarded in my pic with him. Oh well. XD
After we said our goodbyes that was the end of my interaction with Criss that day, but... there was still work to be done. XD Dave Baram was all in the corner looking busy, so I went up to him and he was all "...Hi!" Like, astonished that anyone would pay attention to him. I asked him if he was busy, but he was like "No!" so I told him that I felt bad for not saying anything to him at last year's DVD signing (his response was "Oh wow, you were at the last one?" Really surprised. Surprised that someone had been a fan since last year...? Maybe? I almost wanted to say "Yeah... I've been a fan of Criss since before last year, actually," but THAT WAS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT. THIS WAS DAVE BARAM TIME, lol) and asked if I could bother him for a pic or two. OMG was he shocked - why doesn't anyone pay attention to him? He's so nice, dammit! Okay, and then, as I was getting the pics, my mother comes by from getting her Season 2 DVD signed by Criss, and she proceeds to basically tell Dave Baram that I have, like, a maddening schoolgirl crush on him. WHICH IS TOTALLY NOT TRUE MMKAY. WAY TO SPREAD RUMORS ABOUT ME, MOM. My fangirling of Dave Baram is strictly platonic, I'll have you know, MMKAY. XD (My mother LIES. *shifty eyes*)
After that, I found Costa, like, hiding in the DVD section (awwwww, shy XD), said hi again, and got a pic with him. But... something was missing. That something was JD. My mother was all distraught at this point because she didn't see him, and it wasn't only her - literally everyone was wandering around saying to each other "Where's JD?" So commenced Operation: Find JD. I thought he might be outside, but on the off chance he was in the store somewhere, I told my mother to stay in the store while I walked around outside looking for him, and I said I'd call her immediately if I found him. (Okay, I just realized this makes us sound like stalkers, lol... WE ARE SO NOT. XD) I walked around for a while outside, but was unable to find him - I did keep passing Costa, and it did occur to me to ask if he knew where JD was, but I figured... ehhhhh, that's kind of rude, like "UHHHH who cares about you where's your brother?" so I opted not to. Finally, I came back inside and my mother and I kind of wandered around the store for a little bit looking very sad.
However... now we both kept passing Costa, so finally my mother said me "You know what, let's ask him about JD." Naturally, she made me approach Costa about it first... but awww, he was so nice and patient and understanding when we were asking. He was just like "Um, we haven't seen him in a while! We think he's outside, though..." So I headed back outside, this time with my mother, to look for the elusive JD. We came across Stephanie sitting outside near part of the line, and she said "JD's right here!"
So at long last, Operation: Find JD was a success. (Good thing, too, because if it wasn't, I'd never hear the end of it from my mother. XD) Honestly, I don't think the guy can get any nicer, he was standing around talking to everyone and taking pictures. He immediately recognized the both of us and hugged us, I apologized to him for not being at the FYE signing (GAH... next time I'm just dragging them all wherever I go, that's it, lol!), my mother fangirled to her heart's content, and various people took tons of pics of us. After a while JD had to go back inside, but before he did, he said to the Border's staff "Hold on, I just need to get a group picture with these people!" so... someone who was on that line has, on their camera, the lovely group picture of JD with my mother and I, Stephanie, et all. I'm hoping it surfaces one day, lol!
Neither of us had the heart to leave right after that, so we stuck around inside the store a bit talking with Sheila and Stephanie, trying to catch glimpses of Criss, and sticking around the area where JD and Costa were hanging out (my mother insisted on one last picture of her with JD, lol!). I also had the opportunity to chat with many of the Loyals I speak to on the CA message boards, which was awesome. And then, we finally left the store, stopping to pick up some food in Penn Station on the way home.
All in all, even with the drama and the little moments that weren't perfect, it was a wonderful experience. I must give shout-outs to Sheila, Stephanie, Michelle, Felicia (you are awesome for pulling the kissy trick on Criss, and everyone in line behind me was just jealous out of their little minds, lol!), Mayulie, KISSMindfreakxx, and probably tons of other Loyals who I'm forgetting at the moment. Love you guys! <3 And of course I must thank Criss, JD, Costa, and Dave Baram for just being awesome. Can't wait to see all these guys again!
Pictures will be coming soon, just have to get them uploaded. ;)
And Ryou... I'm so sorry things turned out the way they did and you couldn't make it. *hugs* You were never far from my thoughts, and I hope things start looking up for you soon. I'll let you know as soon as I find out when Criss is back in town, okay? There's a chance he may come back to NY as soon as April. You'll meet him and his family, and you'll love them. :)
bouncy ]
[music| The Candy Spooky Theater - Devilish Kidnapper ]
Well, my mother and I got back from the signing a few hours ago, and now I'm finally sitting down to type up a recap of the overall awesome day.
We ended up leaving the apartment at around 9:30am-ish, and took the Q74 and then the E train to Penn Station. We were able to find the Border's right away since we'd been there a few days before, but were a bit shocked to see... NO ONE LINED UP AT 10:15AM? Very surprising, but we were like "Huh, okay" and basically just waltzed into the store like we owned it. After wandering around for a bit, we asked an employee if they finally knew how they'd be working the signing - come to find out, they're not having people line up in the front of the store, but in the back of the store. Lol, okay, we're smart. XD
So we walked all the way around to the back of the store, fully expecting to see 20,000 people lined up ahead of us. Actually, it was more like 20. XD So we ended up being there way ahead of the majority of the crowd (although I heard some people started trying to line up at 1am O_O), and it totally wasn't as cold as we had expected it to be, so although we knew we were in for a long wait outside the store, we were in good spirits and very happy.
After a few minutes, my mother and I started talking to this amazing guy who was also waiting in line. He's a magician himself, and he cites Criss Angel as his biggest inspiration. Hearing him speak about how watching Criss spurred him on to see just how far he could take his own craft, it made me realize just how far Criss has come. I mean, to go from being the magic community's ultimate black sheep to inspiring a whole future generation of magicians? That's amazing. It made me realize that Criss is now accomplishing the biggest goals he set for himself years ago. The man we spoke to has been a Loyal even longer than we have - he first discovered Criss when he did his first Body Suspension in Times Square - and now, his son loves Criss as well. We got to talking about how really, if Criss were just a magician, no one would care; it's because he's so much more, and integrates so many other art forms into his craft, and connects to people so powerfully, that he's as popular as he is today. And to talk as old-timers was kind of fun, I have to admit! If you're reading this - I am so sorry, we must never have asked your name - it was wonderful to meet you. Hope to see you at Criss's future appearances!
After a while, my mother stepped off the line to go inside the store and purchase the Season 1 DVD - we bought a copy for the last signing Criss did, but it's autographed to me and since she figures I'll steal it away when I leave for college, she thought it would be smart to get her very own copy, lol! Later on, we traded places and I went inside the Border's, upstairs to this little coffee shop/cafe thinger where I bought a much-needed coffee and a blueberry muffin. Meanwhile, the Border's staff began to set up metal barricades to keep the line contained. They also began to be really weird and anal. o_O For example, this one girl on line brought a small folding chair with her, set it up in her place on line, and tried to sit in it; the staff didn't allow it and made her get rid of her chair. Later on, people were trying to sit on the ground against the walls of the store and the staff was forcing them to get up! Why? Because, according to Border's, "it encourages hoboes." LAWLZ WTF XD
All along, Sheila was trying to call me, but every time she did my cell phone would basically die and I wouldn't be able to hear a word she was saying. Finally, my mother and I spotted her coming from inside the store, so before she got on line, we chatted for a bit. Later on, we finally spotted Stephanie and waited on line with her for the duration of the time left. (You know she met Lacuna Coil again? OMG JEALOUS JEALOUS JEALOUS XD)
Ah, now here's a funny little anecdote: After a few hours of waiting on line in not-so-warm weather... naturally I had to use the bathroom. My mother held my place in line while I did the logical thing: Go inside the Border's and upstairs to use the Border's bathroom. Makes sense, right? Well, let me tell you... that bathroom was crazy. Oh good God. First of all, let's discuss the line: I'm telling you, at that point in the day, the line for the women's restroom was almost as long as the line outside for Criss. o_O So okay, we're all standing around waiting and waiting... then word gets out that naturally, they're out of toilet paper. Because, you know, when you have a DVD signing in your store and are expecting a fairly large crowd, why would it occur to you to put extra toilet paper in the bathrooms? So we all start grabbing paper towels and tissues and passing them down the line, because sisters need to help each other in a time of crisis, you know. ;) Anyway, fine, so I finally get to use one of the damn toilets... and it just so happens that in the stall I was in, the toilet literally had no seat to it. Like, someone had ripped it off or something. O_O So ultimately, the bathroom experience? Not so pleasant, lol.
I was supposed to go find Michelle in line and talk to her a bit, but she called me just as I was heading into the Border's looking for the bathroom... and thanks to the line, it took me, like, half an hour to finally get out of there and back outside. Then Michelle called me back, so I set out to try to find her. Well... it was really difficult. I seriously felt like an asshole, because I'm on the phone with her, telling her to wave if she sees me, she's waving, and I'm just walking back and forth by the line, completely unable to find her. XD Naturally, after a while my phone decided to die again, so I returned to my place in line for a bit, then Stephanie and I both set about looking for the elusive Michelle, lol! And for a while, we weren't having much success - but ultimately we found her, yay! It was awesome to finally meet her, and she showed me the fan scrapbook she compiled for Criss. My God, was that thing HUGE. All I can say is, I'm glad she was carrying it and not me, because it would, like, kill me, lol. (It might even kill Criss. I just have this mental image of someone handing him the scrapbook really hard, him going "OOF!" and collapsing under its weight, with the scrapbook on top of him. Boy, that would be a sad way for Criss to go. XD)
Finally, Stephanie and I got back to our places and commenced the wait. Now, up until a few hours before 6pm, the line was pretty long, but nothing really out of the ordinary. However, more and more people started coming in, and by 4pm it was packed. My mother and I were very close to the back doors, through which you could see into the store, and as the hours passed by you could see the panic just mounting on the faces of every employee and staff member of Border's. I mean, sheer panic. I think they thought we were going to stampede and crush them. Seriously, I think they were totally unprepared for this. They had been expecting a large turnout, but nothing in the neighborhood of this. Silly Border's people - no one seems to know what they're getting into when they invite Criss to do appearances and signings, lol!
So yeah, by 4 to 4:30-ish, everyone started to get a little angsty and peevy. Stephanie was looking for Costa, my mother was looking for JD, everyone was looking for Criss... lol, I was there too, but you know, I try to keep cool, calm, and collected. XD So of course, what would a signing be without some line drama? It came in the form of a bunch of girls behind my mother and I getting pissed off at some adults in front of us in the line - the adults had in fact been there early in the day, but didn't want to be standing on line for twenty bazillion hours and so they had some people hold their places in line, which caused the bitchiness when they returned. I can't surely say who was right and who was wrong in this situation - but honestly, who cares? It's not like a concert where if you aren't first in line, you don't get good seats... all this means is okay, so you wait five extra minutes to see Criss. Big deal. You know you'll see him eventually. I just kept hearing the bitching and whining and thinking "Jesus, I'm too old for this drama," lol... I was also thinking "Lol, if Sheila was here, she'd be killing people by now" XD
Finally, they started letting as many people as they could fit into the store, including my mother and I. So the line was going inside the store, and at this point, it was past 6pm and people were getting super pissed off, lol. This was when the Border's staff went along the line laying down the rules, supposedly handed down by "Criss's people:" One autograph per person. One picture per person. No bringing other memorabilia along with your DVD for autographing. If you have a gift for Criss, you must hand it over to a Border's employee as opposed to giving it to him yourself. No calling other people with your cell phone to have them talk to Criss. Blah blah blah. Basically, everything that Criss stands against. You knew most of those rules were going to be broken within seconds - and indeed, they were. More power to you, Criss: You may not get invited back to Border's at Penn Plaza, but you win in the end, lol!
Then - ZOMG CRISS CRISS CRISS FINALLY GOT IN. Lol. I have to admit... the fangirling was excessive, and it did get a bit irritating. Like, I had this one random girl shrieking in my ear for Criss as he came in and pretty much deafening me. Oh left ear, you served me well in your time, I will never forget you. XD Then, a bunch of people practically crying. Why? Because Criss "touched their hands as he walked by." Because Criss "looked them dead in the eye for a few seconds." On the one hand, I'm glad they have such a powerful connection to him that even that little contact is enough to be life-affirming... but on the other hand, it was a little weird. Because if you know Criss at all, you know he takes the time to make every Loyal feel special. You know that if you see him somewhere, you're going to get way more than a touch or a look. You're going to get a "Hi, how are you?" and a big bear hug and a huge grin. That's just the kind of person Criss is, and if you don't know that from watching his shows and reading the thousands of other fan accounts out there... I kind of wonder how big a fan you are of him, really. That you know that little about him, and don't give him the credit he deserves. Ultimately, I think the last thing Criss wants is to be put on a pedestal and worshipped; he just wants to connect to people, have them enjoy what he does, and make them understand that without them, his fans, he'd be nowhere. (Also: Ahead of my mother and I in line, a bunch of girls started singing Criss Angel songs really loudly. It was cute, but all along I kept thinking "OH MY GOD if Sheila were here, she'd REALLY be killing people by now," lol!)
Anyway, so... the line started moving, but they were only letting five people at a time approach the area where Criss was signing to keep him from getting swamped. However, who should come wandering by the line as it moves along, but Costa!
Okay, here's the thing: I've been a fan of Criss for four years, right? This was my seventh (I think) time seeing Criss, and most of the time Criss is around, JD is around, and I always speak to him. However, Costa is around even more than JD is - and yet in four years, I never got a chance to speak to him. o_O I mean, he's definitely the most unassuming of the brothers and he doesn't seem to be after too much attention, but still... this was, like, inexcuseable. XD So after my last time seeing Criss and not getting a chance to speak to Costa, I made up my mind that next time, I would try really hard to say hi. So this time, I finally did! Lol, it was so funny, because I said to Costa "I'm here all the time but I never said hi to you before!" and he was all "Well, now you are!" Seriously, he's so nice. The whole family is nice, and Costa is no exception. :)
As it was getting closer and closer to my turn, I noticed that just like the last Border's DVD signing, Criss brought along... Dave Baram. Now, I saw Dave Baram last year, but I totally didn't say anything to him and then afterwards I felt bad for it. I made up my mind long ago that if I ever saw him with Criss again, I would definitely say something, because poor guy, he works so hard and no one ever notices him! I also saw that as usual, Criss came with his beautiful mother, Dimitra. One day, my mother and I really want to get the chance to talk to her. We keep hearing about other Loyals talking to her and having these amazing conversations, and we keep saying "Next time, next time we see her, we'll say hi"... but somehow, it never feels right. You know what I mean? Like, we almost feel strange about approaching her, because we don't want to come across as... well, "stalker-ish" is the only word I can come up with. XD So although we saw her, yet again we didn't get the chance to say anything to her... :( We really have to one day, though. We really do. Because this is the kind of woman that should garner everyone's respect. Why? Because the whole reason why Criss is the way he is today is because of how he was raised. Dimitra raised her three sons well, and now they're all beautiful adults, the most wonderful guys you could ever meet. That is something worthy of praise... and that's what we really want to tell her. Well... hopefully someday.
Then... finally, I got up to Criss, yay! He immediately recognized me and was all "Hi there!" I hugged him as usual (Criss gives the most awesome hugs, lol!), then asked him how his holiday and birthday were (they were "good" XD). I apologized for not going to his CD signing at FYE - wouldn't you know it, that was the exact same day I was seeing Dir en grey in Camden - and he was like "Awwww, that's okay, I know you're busy!" (Lol, unintentional guilt trip much? ARGH... he should have just come with me to FVT that day, I'm telling you it would have been perfect. He could have fanboyed over Korn, I would fangirl over Diru... perfect, I tell you! XD) Then he signed my Season 2 DVD box. I'm not sure if he heard, but at that point I mentioned how totally crazy it was that day, I mean, really, the crowd was pretty insane, lol. After that, I got my picture with him... and okay, as the Border's staff were taking the pic with my digital camera, Criss, like, squeezed the living daylights out of me. He's never hugged me that tightly before - I'm not sure if he realizes what a tiny person I am because he was just all *SQUEEZE!* and I was like "OKAYBEINGCRUSHED!" I couldn't stop laughing, lol, and as a result, I look slightly drunk/retarded in my pic with him. Oh well. XD
After we said our goodbyes that was the end of my interaction with Criss that day, but... there was still work to be done. XD Dave Baram was all in the corner looking busy, so I went up to him and he was all "...Hi!" Like, astonished that anyone would pay attention to him. I asked him if he was busy, but he was like "No!" so I told him that I felt bad for not saying anything to him at last year's DVD signing (his response was "Oh wow, you were at the last one?" Really surprised. Surprised that someone had been a fan since last year...? Maybe? I almost wanted to say "Yeah... I've been a fan of Criss since before last year, actually," but THAT WAS NOT THE TIME FOR THAT. THIS WAS DAVE BARAM TIME, lol) and asked if I could bother him for a pic or two. OMG was he shocked - why doesn't anyone pay attention to him? He's so nice, dammit! Okay, and then, as I was getting the pics, my mother comes by from getting her Season 2 DVD signed by Criss, and she proceeds to basically tell Dave Baram that I have, like, a maddening schoolgirl crush on him. WHICH IS TOTALLY NOT TRUE MMKAY. WAY TO SPREAD RUMORS ABOUT ME, MOM. My fangirling of Dave Baram is strictly platonic, I'll have you know, MMKAY. XD (My mother LIES. *shifty eyes*)
After that, I found Costa, like, hiding in the DVD section (awwwww, shy XD), said hi again, and got a pic with him. But... something was missing. That something was JD. My mother was all distraught at this point because she didn't see him, and it wasn't only her - literally everyone was wandering around saying to each other "Where's JD?" So commenced Operation: Find JD. I thought he might be outside, but on the off chance he was in the store somewhere, I told my mother to stay in the store while I walked around outside looking for him, and I said I'd call her immediately if I found him. (Okay, I just realized this makes us sound like stalkers, lol... WE ARE SO NOT. XD) I walked around for a while outside, but was unable to find him - I did keep passing Costa, and it did occur to me to ask if he knew where JD was, but I figured... ehhhhh, that's kind of rude, like "UHHHH who cares about you where's your brother?" so I opted not to. Finally, I came back inside and my mother and I kind of wandered around the store for a little bit looking very sad.
However... now we both kept passing Costa, so finally my mother said me "You know what, let's ask him about JD." Naturally, she made me approach Costa about it first... but awww, he was so nice and patient and understanding when we were asking. He was just like "Um, we haven't seen him in a while! We think he's outside, though..." So I headed back outside, this time with my mother, to look for the elusive JD. We came across Stephanie sitting outside near part of the line, and she said "JD's right here!"
So at long last, Operation: Find JD was a success. (Good thing, too, because if it wasn't, I'd never hear the end of it from my mother. XD) Honestly, I don't think the guy can get any nicer, he was standing around talking to everyone and taking pictures. He immediately recognized the both of us and hugged us, I apologized to him for not being at the FYE signing (GAH... next time I'm just dragging them all wherever I go, that's it, lol!), my mother fangirled to her heart's content, and various people took tons of pics of us. After a while JD had to go back inside, but before he did, he said to the Border's staff "Hold on, I just need to get a group picture with these people!" so... someone who was on that line has, on their camera, the lovely group picture of JD with my mother and I, Stephanie, et all. I'm hoping it surfaces one day, lol!
Neither of us had the heart to leave right after that, so we stuck around inside the store a bit talking with Sheila and Stephanie, trying to catch glimpses of Criss, and sticking around the area where JD and Costa were hanging out (my mother insisted on one last picture of her with JD, lol!). I also had the opportunity to chat with many of the Loyals I speak to on the CA message boards, which was awesome. And then, we finally left the store, stopping to pick up some food in Penn Station on the way home.
All in all, even with the drama and the little moments that weren't perfect, it was a wonderful experience. I must give shout-outs to Sheila, Stephanie, Michelle, Felicia (you are awesome for pulling the kissy trick on Criss, and everyone in line behind me was just jealous out of their little minds, lol!), Mayulie, KISSMindfreakxx, and probably tons of other Loyals who I'm forgetting at the moment. Love you guys! <3 And of course I must thank Criss, JD, Costa, and Dave Baram for just being awesome. Can't wait to see all these guys again!
Pictures will be coming soon, just have to get them uploaded. ;)
And Ryou... I'm so sorry things turned out the way they did and you couldn't make it. *hugs* You were never far from my thoughts, and I hope things start looking up for you soon. I'll let you know as soon as I find out when Criss is back in town, okay? There's a chance he may come back to NY as soon as April. You'll meet him and his family, and you'll love them. :)