Well, taking a nap turned out to be a flop. LOL I tried so hard to sleep, but suddenly, I was getting excited again. Seeing Gaelic Storm does that to me!! I ended up getting out of bed at 5:45 (instead of the 6 I had planned) and started getting ready. I left the house, drove through Wendy’s (why does this sound familiar? LOL), and headed downtown. Finding a parking spot was easy—I parked in nearly the exact same place I had when I’d been to the Canal Street Tavern last September. Finally, ticket in hand, I went to join the line that had taken up a third of the block already.
Over two weeks before, I had bought two tickets to this show—one for me, and one for my boss, Marilyn. She was going to meet me there, so I was keeping an eye out for her. Also, Sarah was going to be there with a few friends she had decided to drag along. LOL As I peered over the crowd in front of me, I suddenly spotted Mike! He saw me and I went down and around some cars to hug him. He said that Sarah and Angie were up ahead, and that he was on his way to expend some energy. LOL He ran off, and I went up to join Sarah. Within a minute, I spotted some of the girls I’d met at the Celtic Festival walking towards us. We let them join us and ended up all chatting.
The doors were to open at 7, first to ticket-holders. Most of our group headed inside and we were able to grab the first two rows on the right side of the stage. We were basically 3 rows up from where Bethany and I had sat before. Between all of us, I made sure to save a seat for Marilyn. My view was uninhibited this time—last time there was a post right in my line of sight for BOB!!!
Sarah had so many friends coming, and some of them didn’t have pre-bought tickets, so she went back and forth from our seats to the doors several times to check on their progress. Since they weren’t letting anyone who didn’t have a ticket in yet, they were waiting in line—but they WERE first. Marilyn had her ticket, so I knew she should be able to get in fairly easy. I kept an eye out for her, hoping she knew she could come in without waiting in line. Finally, she appeared and I stood and waved to her. She always has the cutest concert outfits and her little purses...but dang if I can’t remember what she wore that night. LOL
When I spotted Stevie mingling, I told Marilyn I was going to talk to him. If I had been more awake, perhaps I would have offered to introduce them. Geeze, I’m bad about that. LOL I did like I always do, I stand slightly away (so as not to be intrusive to the conversation he was already involved in), and make sure he sees me. Then I wait for him to finish so he can talk to me. This time, I touched his shoulder to make sure he noticed me.
To my delight and surprise, he turned, grinned sweetly and said, in an almost sing-song voice, "Hi Helen!" I suppose I had a stunned look on my face, and barely squeaked out a greeting. LOL But then he continued, "Remind me about your didge lesson after the show. We’ll take care of those upset elephants!" I blinked and found my normal teasing self within, replying, "No, dear, I do believe you said horny elephants!" He put on this great shocked face and said to the girls he had been speaking to, "Nooo, I wouldn't say such a thing!" I laughed and tsk’ed him, saying that he really shouldn't lie like that. LOL
Before he let me walk away, he asked how I was doing. I guess he could see how tired I was!! LOL So I told him that I hadn’t slept since we got up the day before. His eyes went wide, especially when I said that I was upset that I couldn’t even have a Bailey’s because if I had one drop of alcohol, I would drop. He laughed and nodded sagely, saying, "Ah, yes, well sleep deprivation is Gaelic Storm’s preferred method of altering consciousness..." LOL
Knowing I had inadvertently interrupted his conversation, I excused myself and went back to Marilyn. I have to mention that there was not an opening band this time!! I was so glad, though they did blare other Celtic band’s CDs over the sound system. Marilyn said she’d buy me a drink (it was a 2 drink minimum), and I got a bottle of water.
Before the show, I’m not sure if Marilyn was there yet or not, but I saw Patrick on the stage. I stood and leaned onto the speaker and asked him how his back was doing. This was perhaps the most sincere I have ever seen Patrick look at me, as he replied, "Good, very good. Thanks so much for asking, sweetheart!" I kinda smiled at him and sat down again, reveling in the way his accent makes the word "sweetheart" sound like a real compliment...
Now, prepare to be amazed at the funny stories I remember, despite my lack of sleep! In no particular order, since I’m lucky to have remembered this much. LOL
Since technically, I was alone now—despite Sarah and friends, and the Forum gals—I kinda wandered a bit. I ended up going in a circle, saying hello to Ryan, and Tom. I ended up back with the Forum gals, talking to Stevie. One of the girls played his didgeridoo—far too well, of course, and prompted Stevie to demand if she was after his job!! Then he wiped it off and passed it over to me. I tried it again, remembering what he’d told me last time...he gave me a few more tips, but it is SO hard to tell if I’m even MAKING any noises when the thing is so long, and it’s so noisy around me. That’s my excuse, anyway. LOL He told me I was making progress (he’s just being nice LOL) and recommended that I buy a length of PVC pipe from a hardware store (easy enough, Mom works at Sears Hardware LOL) to practice on.
In my wanderings, with and without the Forum gals, I ran into Sarah and friends. They said they needed to get going, and headed out the side door. I saw Twigger and said hello and he asked how I was—my reply was, of course, "I haven’t slept since I got up yesterday!!!" LOL He shook my hand as I said this, and I looked down at our hands. "Wait a minute, I go without sleep and travel home from Chicago where I saw you and all I get is a handshake?!" He laughed and hugged me. As he moved to greet and hug one of the other girls, I moved away too slow and his hand bumped into my...um, CHEST area. I then turned to another girl and announced, "I have just been molested by Twigger...and I think I didn’t mind!" LOL Take that Nollie! *wink*
Oh, and I got to meet Netra! She and I met on Bob’s page, and I had seen a picture of her, so when I saw her in the crowd, we made our way closer. I think we hugged, and she introduced me to her husband. They had seats waaaaay in the back (okay, the bar isn’t THAT big LOL), but she said she was okay, since she has a big fat zoom lens. LOL She seemed like a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see her again this summer—when I’m more awake! LOL
Under better circumstances (ie, if I had slept recently LOL), I would have been glad to join the guys at the bar for a while. Unfortunately, I was losing ground fast, so I started making the rounds to say goodbye to the guys. I don’t remember what order I saw them, but at one point, I walked on the stage!! LOL I guess that was when I was going to Tom. I stopped and told him that Misti had missed seeing them the night before. He nodded and smiled at me, and I’m sure I said something more, but it’s lost in the fog...I do remember hopping down from the stage. LOL
Somewhere in here, I also spoke to Ryan. Remember when I said I got my revenge on him for making me blush the night before? Well, here's how...I mentioned to the Forum gals that the first time I had seen Ryan, my friend (Sarah) and I had made a list of hot guys...and he was on it. AND that was before we knew who he was!!! He turned bright pink. MUWAHAHA!! LOL
The last person I saw was Patrick. Of course. LOL I went up and he was telling a group of girls about his stitches, and even showed them by lifting his shirt. (Anything for sympathy, especially female! LOL) He mentioned that a local doctor friend would be removing the stitches for him later that night. One of the girls asked him what happened. I waited to see what he would say. "I had a mole removed, but I wish I had some great story! Of course, I would come up with something stupid like I fell on a bedspring..." As they laughed, I had to pipe up, "You told ME that you had been stabbed!" He laughed harder, and so I added, "I WAS going to say that I forgot to trim my fingernails..." and waited for them to get my meaning. Patrick began to stroke his chin in a thoughtful manner, as if he was really considering it! LOL
The other girls all were laughing and I got a final (careful) hug from Patrick. Before I could get beyond driving ability, I decided to head out. As I walked from the building, I realized that two of the girls who had just been talking to Patrick were a few feet ahead. I struck up a conversation, joking around with them and talking about how sexy Patrick was, and how much fun the night had been. When we reached the parking lot (we had all parked in! LOL), they said goodbye and drove away. I also spoke to Netra and her husband in that parking lot, rambling in my tiredness, and giving her a hard time for asking if I worked for CVS. LOL
The drive home was interesting. I was fine enough, especially since I know the route, but I ended up behind some bus as it pulled away from a bar—and it was crammed full of college kids. As soon as I could, I passed it and hoped it wasn’t heading my way. The next thing I knew, I pulled into the driveway at home. My bed was clear of clutter—since I had attempted that nap—so once I washed up, I collapsed into bed. For once, I had no trouble falling asleep after a Gaelic Storm show...
