I actually split the drive up, going as far as Castaic on Friday, staying in a hotel, then driving the last 40 miles Saturday morning. I was obscenely early because of no traffic, but that turned out to be a good thing as I drove around for half an hour trying to figure out where to park. I let
oanimation and ghostgirl13 that I would have my bottom parked at Starbucks across the street until they showed. After getting my latte and breakfast, I sat in a corner table where I could see the street and door, and promptly saw vee_3. She is looking as absolutely beautiful as ever, all smiles and just such a sweet, gracious nature. I also got to meet the women she was sitting with, spikesfool and Jess (I don't know if you're on LJ, hon!). This is always one of my favorite parts of these things - getting to see the people I've been lucky enough to meet in the past and finding new faces to put with online names. The girls showed up, and I walked over to the club to wait to get in. I got to see even more good friends, some of whom I haven't seen since the QM -
vampgaia, violetspike, SaraAnne (who I know is on LJ now but I don't know your LJ name, hon!). Regardless of what else happened that day, it was already worth it. I've made some very dear friends through the fandom, and this is usually the one time I can count on seeing them. So thanks to James for that.The album launch was scheduled for 4 hours, though we had a late start. It was supposed to be photos, then autographs, then a Q&A, but honestly, we were getting so much face time with James in the photos and autos - several minutes for some people - that the fact that we ran out of time for the Q&A didn't bother me. James looked absolutely wonderful, though he had a broken finger from a clumsy accident in his hotel room on location recently. He seemed happy and content, which is always good. And the new pictures are yummy. I couldn't resist and bought all 3 of them. As well as a 2nd copy of the album. And an extra photo op. And an extra autograph. I don't usually indulge in extra photo ops, but this was so relaxed and informal that I wanted it. I was pretty lame when I was talking to James. We talked about my upcoming trip to the UK, what we were going to see in London and why. I took in the print of him as MacBeth that
evenstar_estel had given me a while back as the item to get personalized (since it's something I will never get rid of), and we spent time chatting about how brilliant we think she is. The second item I had autographed was my Intervention script, which Jane had signed for me in the UK. So then we talked about how brilliant Jane was, lol. I spent nearly the entire day hanging out with
_sharvie_, queueing up together, hanging out together at the concert. It was wonderful to get to chat about anything and everything, and to be able to relax completely for the concert. I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of James' latest work. And the fact that he had a broken finger meant he only played guitar for half the songs (and then mostly just power chords). Sharvie and I are pretty much of the same mind when it comes to his music, and we had a gorgeous view about halfway back from one of the raised platforms. Being short sucks at most concerts, but being slightly elevated and getting to sit for that entire time was great! The opening act was this truly bizarre performance artist, but the second was a gorgeous guy named Jay Nash. Just him and his guitar, and he was absolutely lovely. I bought all of his cds, lol. I did get to see more friends at the concert, though, including uisge_beatha who is looking absolutely wonderful. And there was a hot guy in a western costume wandering around who kept distracting me and Sharvie, lol.There was a charity auction after the concert and more photo ops, but I just hung around with the girls and chatted while we waited for those who bought the commemorative photo to get done. Then we went out to Mel's for a late supper with more people than I can remember, drove back to
oanimation's apartment to crash, and stayed up until nearly 4am talking. I was up at 7:15 because I wanted to leave early, which meant I didn't get to hang out more with the gang, but it was still fun. I do love our girly weekends. We don't do them often enough.Though I'm sick now, lol. So maybe it's an okay thing I don't do them more often.
Oh, and
_sharvie_, I haven't forgotten. I'm spending the day getting caught up, so I will e-mail you the stuff I promised tonight. And get that story up. :)So in summary...James healthy and happy, me not so healthy but still happy, lol.
