I've been Ray-ed 8b! Failure is NOT an option!
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, LIZ!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUDITH!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARISA!
I hope you all got/get plenty of cake, ice cream, and presents all around! Any birthday wishes? If so, please post here ;)! Liz/syrusb, something should be coming your way via Amazon within 4-6 weeks o~O?! I hope it will get to you sooner than that though --;. Judith/honeyedbiscuit, I sent part of your gift earlier this week via priority mail, so it should be left on your doorstop soon ^^;. Since I'm clueless this year, would you please tell me which book I left off giving you for the St. Johns' Bible series O~O?! I forgot X(! Marisa/queenrelena, PLEASE post something 8}!
For the last 2-3 days, I've been Rachael Ray-ed out and catching up because of it 8(! Things did NOT go as I planned Monday for her signing at the Megamall. I underestimated just how big the signing would be and the limit imposed by the Megamall because of it. I had planned on spending the morning at work before going off to the Megamall around noon-ish to get a wristband for the signing. Just as I was about to leave work, one of my colleagues from our WI branch calls to do some computer backup work with me over the phone. I ended up spending 2-3 HOURS doing this, so I didn't get to leave the office until 3:00 p.m., 3 HOURS after the wristband giveaway started X(!
When I reached the Megamall around 3:30 p.m., I was too late! The coordinators told me all 300 wristbands were GONE by 12:20 p.m., and there were no more left. I was crushed 8(! I had failed Stephen/ssobotkajr and my friend Tom from Gaia. This was the first time I've EVER failed getting a place in line for a signing, so I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. I tried asking the coordinators if I had any options available, but alas, the rules were pretty strict.
Ray did have another signing Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the downtown Minneapolis Borders though, but I had already arranged to take half of Monday off for her signing --;. I wasn't sure if I could make Ray's Tuesday signing since I never told the boss/Dad about that. I also had a 9:30 a.m. doctor's appointment Tuesday morning as well, so that already restricted my schedule. I thought the best thing I could do was give Stephen's book, Two of a Kind, to one of the coordinators to give to Ray because I would be unable to even meet Ray Monday evening --;. I begged them to please make sure Ray would get the book, but they couldn't guarantee anything. They did have a bag of presents for Ray, so they just added Stephen's book to that pile to give to Ray or her personal assistant. That was the best they could do, and I thought that was the best I could do at the time. I texted messaged Tom about my failure Monday at the Megamall and begged for his forgiveness. Tom understood and forgave me, but I couldn't forgive myself for failing his grandma whom he wanted to give Ray's book to as a present and Stephen ;(!
I went home dejected. Along the long drive home, I kept thinking how I could rectify my failure and if I could actually make it to Ray's Tuesday signing while making my doctor's appointment as well. After much thinking again when I got home about what I needed to do, I finally decided and figured I COULD actually pull it off! I then begged Dad if I could take Tuesday morning off to go to Ray's signing, and surprisingly, he allowed me to do so o-O! After wasting my Monday time off, I figured for sure he wouldn't allow me to go again, but compounded with my doctor's appointment, he gave me the okay. I was more determined than ever to at least meet Ray and ask her if she got Stephen's book okay as well as getting an autograph for Tom's grandma! I WILL NOT FAIL AGAIN!
I did learn one thing from my failure at the Megamall. I needed to treat Ray's signing similar to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's signing, which meant I needed to stake out a place in line VERY early in the morning. I got up at 5:00 a.m. Tuesday and headed out to Minneapolis at 5:30 a.m.. I had called Borders the night before, and they said they would be handing out wristbands for the signing at 9:00 a.m. sharp! I was determined to be one of the first people in line that morning, so I could quickly get my wristband and go to my doctor's appointment at 9:30 a.m.. Supposedly, the color of my wristband would determine my place in line, so I didn't need to line up and wait until around 11:30 a.m. according to Borders.
I arrived at the E-Street block where Borders is around 6:00 a.m.. It was about 15° F and the street was somewhat damp, which meant I couldn't sit on the street. There was already a group of people there huddled in blankets with cups of coffee and fold-up chairs. RATS, I should have brought my fold-up chair at least X(! I learned that from the Donny.com-ers. After standing there a couple of minutes debating, I decided to quickly drive back home; pick up my fold-up chair, a camera, and some manga; and drive back to E-Street o-o! I hadn't thought of bringing a camera, again, since I had already given Stephen's book away, but I changed my mind. Yeah, I'm nuts ;b! Luckily, I didn't stay too long for me to have to pay for parking in E-Street's ramp for 10 minutes ^^;. The roundtrip took about 30 minutes, and when I got back, only 1 person had joined the line huddle since I had left! What luck! My stupidity didn't cost me much! Later, that one person left the line to get some coffee and didn't want her spot, so I actually reclaimed my position from 6:00 a.m.!
I took out the fold-chair, sat down, and started reading the manga I brought for my now 2 hour wait before opening. I read through 2.5 manga, Sergeant Frog and Flame of Recca, with gloves, before the cold finally started getting to me o~o! My fingers became too frozen to continue reading, so I put away the manga and clutched my barehands into fists to put into my pocket to keep warm. My hands felt a lot better, but my feet and toes started turning into blocks of ice. I tried tapping my feet and wiggling my toes to keep them active, but it didn't help much. I could feel my feet getting harder and stiffer. I had no choice though, so I stayed put.
I didn't want to get any coffee for fear my bladder would want to go places with it O~O! As the minutes slowly ticked by, we got the usual gawkers who called us all crazy for being there. None of us minded much. I overheard from several people in line that many of them were also turned away by the Megamall's signing and were quite angry about it. I was used to it though having been through many Megamall events and seeing people show up too late to get a place in line. I guess many of them were angry because they had heard there wouldn't be a limit to the number of wristbands given out. One person even said the Megamall had to turn down a girl who had dressed up just to meet Ray because there were no more wristbands left. It seemed heartless, but that's the way these events work =/.
Around 8:00 a.m., employees inside of Borders were busy cleaning up and strategizing about the event in their nice warm cozy bookstore despite all the freezing people outside. Yeah, I know there are rules to follow, and there was nothing we could do about it except stand or sit there freezing until 9:00 a.m.. By now, my feet were frozen solid, but I could still wiggle my toes which I did constantly. Those of us who were sitting started standing up around 8:45 a.m.. I don't think my feet felt any different though. They still felt like stiff shoeboxes.
At 9:00 a.m. SHARP, Borders opened their doors, and everyone rushed inside. Since I was near the beginning of the line, I got to squeeze inside first as well. The heat was LOVELY! It was like a blanket was being wrapped around my frozen body! I had a difficult and longer-than-average time paying for my books because my fingers were still frozen. It was hard for me to get my credit card, Borders' reward card, and Borders' gift card with $0.15 left on it out for the cashier X(! I fumbled for 3-5 minutes just to get all those things out, but I still managed to get into the first group of wristbands. There wre about 30-40 people in each group of colored wristbands which would determine one's place in line. The first group, mine, was blue. The group after us was yellow. I could now go wandering off and be guaranteed a spot in the first group of 30-40 people!
After I paid for my books, I rushed back to my car, dumped my fold-up chair and manga, and drove off to my appointment at Riverside which was about 15 minutes away. I cranked up the heat to 74° F inside, but I still felt cold. I don't think my feet actually thawed out until 10:00 a.m.-ish. I arrived just in time for my appointment, but my doctor was running 30 minutes late X(! The patient before me arrived late, so it threw off my doctor's entire schedule. I didn't get to see him until 10:00 a.m., 30 minutes AFTER my scheduled appointment, so I didn't leave the hospital until 10:30 a.m..
When I had left E-Street, the parking ramp there was FULL according to all the signs inside, so I figured I wouldn't be able to park there again when I returned. I parked across the street at City Center's parking lot which was a LOT bigger than E-Street's and walked to E-Street and Borders via skyway. At least I didn't have to go outside, again, woohoo ^^;! When I returned to Borders, everyone who was there like me in the wee hours of the morning were already lined up sitting along Borders' CD section! After getting a gingerbread latté, I joined in at the end of the blue wristbands in Borders' classical music section and waited there for another 2 hours. I should have brought my manga with me again, but I didn't want my books getting mixed up with Borders' books. I basically sat there quietly for the next 2 hours listening other people in line talking or browsing through Borders' classical CD section via their preview listening station.
As 1:00 p.m. approached, everyone started getting antsy and wondered how Ray would arrive at the store. Around 12:45 p.m., Ray literally walked in front of my section of the line toward a Borders' office area in the back. The person who happened to be nearest to where Ray walked by was stunned she was just inches away from Ray and never noticed her walk by o-O! Ray was very tiny and sandwiched in between several large people guarding her, so she was easy to miss unless you knew it was her. While the line talked about just missing her, Ray would spend the next 15 minutes entertaining VIPs or something in Borders' private office before coming out at 1:00 p.m. exactly. She took another route to walk to the signing table, so we couldn't see her again until our turn.
Her table was surrounded by cameras and even one TV camera. After a short announcement which I couldn't hear and several photos, Ray finally started signing. Short me could barely see over the CD stacks to see Ray at her table meeting and signing patrons. I tried to take a few photos when I was a bit closer, but I have no idea how they turned out since they're still stuck in the camera with the rest of the UNDEVELOPED FILM ;P! As per the request of the Borders' staff, I took my pictures without my flash too. I arranged my 2 books for signing so that Stephen's would be on top and Tom's grandma's on the bottom. I figured that would allow me time to tell Ray about Stephen's book which I left for her at the Megamall while she was signing Tom's grandma's book.
When I finally reached her, she sounded hoarser than usual. I guess 2 days of signings and talking really took it out on her vocal chords. I immediately asked whether she had gotten the book I left for her at the Megamall. I told her I couldn't get a place in line there and wasn't sure if I could make Borders' signing. Otherwise, I would have kept the book and given it to her in person there. Ray said all the presents she got at the Megamall were put into a box and shipped back to her office by her assistant, so she never even got a chance to see what she had gotten. I told her to please look for a book called Two of a Kind by Stephen, the person she had signed my first book to. I told her he was a big fan of her show and wanted her to read his book. She acknowledged that she would look for the book BY STEPHEN when she got back to NYC! I really hope the book made it into her box of presents to her office o~O!
I'm sorry, Stephen, but that was the best I could do 8(! Maybe I should have bought 2 copies of your book instead as a backup, but I didn't know I would goof up on the Megamall's signing! PLEASE FORGIVE ME ;_;!
After I thanked Ray for her time, I left the line and took a few more non-flash photos of Ray from the front. We were not allowed to take any pictures with Ray at the signing table itself. I texted Tom the word SUCCESS after I went upstairs to get the books wrapped by Borders for free. Unfortunately, the wrappers weren't that professional. I could have wrapped everything a whole lot better than they could, but at least they got wrapped in nice cute gingerbread wrapping paper ^^;. I sent everything out Wednesday via priority mail after getting some padded envelopes from home. Hopefully, everything should arrive in time!
That's where I've been over the last 2 days. Tomorrow is our office Christmas party in Chippewa Falls, WI. It's a 2 hour drive from the Twin Cities o-O! Wish me luck!