What did you do on 08.08.08?

I know, I know... it was a week ago... what do I care what you did. Well my intention was to get this up a lot closer to 08.08.08 but it didn't happen. I suck... get over it. I also know that not all the images are included... I've got to get to my scanner... which requires me to have time... which I've been lacking for a bit. They will come soon... I hope...

So now... with that out of the way... let me start my post.
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I know you can just guess what I did... and yes, it's true... but let me back up a bit....

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I headed out Wednesday night to meet up with a few fellow blockheads who arrived from out of state at the mall to meet them, have a little dinner and see if we could find out any information from them or anyone who would talk to us. We were watching for glimpses of the guys... but it didn't happen.

Thursday, August 7, 2008
I headed to work like any other day... with the exception of that I was cutting out a little early. That magic hour of 4pm clicked and I was off... come to find out none of my co-workers knew why. So I had a brief moment with them explaining just why I was leaving early and that they should watch the news tonight or tomorrow because they should see me on it... either for getting arrested or for being in the front row... little did I know...

So I hopped on the light rail and rode over to the Mall of America to meet up with Tiff at Best Buy.

INSERT PICTURE OF LIGHTRAIL STUB

She had been at the mall a bit and was shopping for some flats... silly Tiff... don't wear heals when we are trying to power walk! I ran over to meet her at Nordstrom's Rack when boom... I run into the girls that I met up with on Wednesday. They were running drills... yes drills. Seeing if it was quicker to take the elevator or the escalator. I said hey and headed over to meet Tiff and let her know the news.

So... we started... 4:30pm Thursday night. Tiff started talking to security guards after security guard, best buy employees, and everyone in between. She got some good information... but not quite what we wanted. We headed down to look at the stage to see if it was set up yet and Tiff managed to talk to the guy who was setting the stage and was able to see the layout map of it. Sweet... we had 1/2 a second saved for knowing where the entrance was to the rotunda maze!

We were happy with our findings and decided to head up to the food court to grab some dinner. I called Trish to find out where she was as she was coming from Wisconsin all by herself and chat. It was so loud it was hard to hear her... but she was doing fine.

Tiff and I headed to my house after dinner around 7pm so that she could program her Garmin and find her way back to my house some time around 9-9:30. I jumped out of her car and ran in the house. I had so much to do... find a bag, pack a bag, grab some snacks, find an outfit for the show, find an outfit for being in all damn day and get my camera and charges... Holy crap. Well it ends up that I didn't wash what I thought I did... off to Wal-Mart I go... and I picked up some snacks while I was there. I returned home only to have Trish and Tiff pull up right behind me basically. Sweet!

Tiff did a quick fashion show for us since she picked up a shirt at the mall today... Jerome even helped her to decide. What a guy. We made a pot of coffee and were off like a prom dress. I kissed Jerome goodnight and told him I would call him if I knew we weren't coming back... since I was pretty sure we were going to be kicked off of mall property right away.

We headed to the mall in Tiff's car and parked in the West parking ramp in Arizona. The Best Buy store is right inside of the skyway in the middle of the ramp... this is where we were going to be in line. We took Trisha in and gave her the tour as to where we would be and when we would be moving... and our idea of how we were going to get there. We walked to the other side of the mall and they were still setting up parts of the stage. We hung around... listening trying to hear anything that we could. Tiff freaked out a little so we left back up to Best Buy.

We sat out in the hallway... minding our own business. When Security Guard Coleman approached us. Oh oh.... actually... it was a good thing. You see... Coleman was the head of security. She had the answers... and I was taking notes. She told us we could stay in the mall until 2:30am... and at that time we would need to leave the premises so that security could do a sweep of the mall and parking ramps. Fine by us... at least we aren't outside. She said we would be able to line back up at 4am. Fine and good.

Trish and Tiff went to move Tiff's car at this point because Coleman informed us that it had the possibility to be towed after 12 midnight. They went to the car and packed up our stuff to bring in to me. I was going to stay and "hold down the fort". I waited for them to return and when they came in with the backpacks the Events personnel came up to us telling us we had to leave. WTF. We just talked to Coleman. We kinda made a deal and just went outside to the skyway... still numbers 1, 2, and 3. Trish and Tiff then went to move the car.

They thought they would take Coleman's advice to move it to the North lot, next to IKEA... but it said that it could be towed. Ughhhh. So off to Ihop they went. They got their cardio in for the night I think. I was telling the few fans that came up to me that the line starts behind me... but there are two people before them. They were cool with that. And the line started. I got to texting Lisa from TC Blockheads to let her know to bring in the troops since she had been asking for updates almost every hour or half hour!

Tiff and Trish arrived back to the skyway with a story to tell... about the sign and heading over to Ihop instead. There was a casual meet and greet between the two of them and the others who had joined our madness. Game on... or off. Security guy Johnson came out to tell us that he had been informed we were starting the line by the Events folks (who were the ones to kick us out of the mall). He stated that we could not start now and that we had to be off of mall property until 4am. Ughhh.

I stated that we had talked to security guard Campbell (yeah... wrong name but I have my reasons why I said it in my own brain!). That she said we could be here until 2:30 am... it was only around midnight. He stated that she (Coleman not Campbell) was his superior and that he would go and talk to her... that we could stay until he returned.

He knew that we weren't trying to cause problems... that we just were given too many different stories. He also let us know that the security guard was Coleman... not Campbell. Once he returned he let us know that yes, we did have to leave at this point in time... and to return at 4am. We asked how he liked his coffee... Large and Black he said... (note in all of our heads!).

So, we packed up our stuff and were on our way to Ihop to get Tiff's car since Johnson let us know that it would not be towed tonight. Sweet... off we went. When we got there the girls that were #'s 4 and 5 were right behind us... yet they parked at the entrance of the lot instead of the closest available spot... yeah... they were going to drive up instead of walk up. Up to them!

The rest of the TC Blockheads started to arrive... of course... calling us to find out exactly where we were... it was kinda funny... talking on the phone directing them since we could see them but they couldn't see us. We had Peggy, Lisa, Nicole and her son Q, and Katie show up within a matter of seconds of each other. Guess that phone tree works even if we didn't start the way we had planned.

I called my Lisa to let her know we were starting the line outside basically... she rolled over and went back to bed I'm sure... LOL. Melissa showed up and we were all accounted for those that said they were ready to camp for the night. Once our group was there (minus those who weren't showing up till later) there was a run for Security Guard Johnson's coffee... Yep... we actually did it. I tried to catch some z's knowing this would be about the only time that I could... but no such luck.

As Tiff, Lisa, Trish and Q headed over to the ramp to give Johnson his coffee I stayed behind. When all of the sudden Trisha was coming back. Oh oh... I thought there was some drama... I wasn't sure but it didn't look good. Lo and behold, Trisha spotted Vicky from the Today Show (first in line there) waiting patiently with Kristi sitting at the edge of the lot and came back to tell me. I've been chatting it up with her for the last few months and decided to walk over and introduce my "person" to her instead of my screen name.

I only said two words to get her attention.... INTERNET SUPERSTAR. She whipped her head around so fast... LOL. She knew exactly who it was PamperedKIM :) We chatted it up for a bit then the girls and Q came back from the coffee run and chatted along too... The other group of gals that I had left back towards the entrance came down for a bit too.


Then I spotted it.. a dark blue mini van. It was SL and crew who I had met up with the previous night. The barricades were up to prevent people from going up the ramp... but apparently not her... she drove around it and was promptly told I think to come back down. She drove over to us and cranked up NKOTB music. Most of my crew headed back to our cars except for Trish and me. We were still chatting it up with Kristi.

I got a call from one of the girls saying we were going to breakfast to get over to the cars. I pulled Trish up and off we headed to Ihop. I got the low down in the car as to what was going on... apparently Johnson gave our Coffee Girls a little insider information. Yes, we were going to Ihop... to grab a quick bathroom break and park our cars. But then we were walking over to the mall and lining up early! He told our girls that we could start at 3:30am but had been telling everyone else 4am. Woooot woooo. What a guy! I guess coffee does work!

I texted Kristi to let her know the plan with my slow ass texting skills that I just acquired I passed my phone off to Lisa to wrap it up. We headed over to the mall after getting some to go boxes for our breakfast. We walked over to the mall in our speed walk mode... and then a run. Crazy. We stopped just short of the stairwell that was away from the skyway.

Once everyone got to the same location we started looking for which way we were going to go up. I decided to go over to the stairwell that we were closest to to see if anyone was in there. I heard the tip toes of feet behind me. It was a stealth move. Up we went... Von Trap family style... climb every mountain... as I peeked over each and every level until we got to level three.

Once we were on three it was on. We saw the stantions with the rope maze... We were a pack... it was crazy. I felt like Michael Jackson in the bad video.

It was silly. So there we were... going thru the maze like little mice. Oh snap... a security guard on a bike... everybody duck. Ummm he saw us... but went on with going down to I assume the first level to remove the barricade.

We were in.

The Events staff noticed us right away and told us we were early. They wanted us gone so bad.Ughhhh... we of course named dropped Johnson and Coleman and stated we walked here and got here earlier than we had planned that we were sorry. Out came Johnson and we claimed our spot... woooot wooooooooo!



We stayed there from 3:15 am until 5:00 am. People were chatting it up enjoying one another. It was nice. People were happy to be in line. Around 4:40am people started standing up. I wasn't sure of the time and asked around... yeah... a security guard even came and asked me to move so he could unlock the door that we were at. How silly.

5:00 am the doors opened and we went into the 2nd weave of the day in front of the new Bust Buy store. We walked thru some people were high fiving each other... kinda fun :) Here we sit like bumps on a log until 10 am.

Yeah, we were only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom or get something to eat/drink. What fun... not so much... I managed to cop about 30 minuets of shut eye... which was interrupted when "Mr. Best Buy" came over to our group and everyone was talking to him. I figured everyone could handle it... but I was up... so I took his picture. Tiff had actually talked to him the day before around 4:30pm. Wonder if he recognized her?

Lisa M showed up around 7am, bring in a nummy coffee for me and donuts for the whole group... man that was nice of her... and well... she was going to go and head to the back of the line... I told her nah... you can come in by me... there is no way you're going to sit out in the sky way by yourself... and I wasn't leaving!

Around 9am or so Magic Johnson was in the new Best Buy store. They give a pep talk each morning and he gave one that day. He was actually part of the ribbon cutting ceremony and was giving a speech to a bunch of kids in the rotunda after it. We tried to take pictures of him in Best Buy but it was reflecting off of the glass for most of us... perhaps someone else got a picture?

10am came quickly after that... and you know what that means... time to purchase our cds. Yes, waiting in line to preorder The Block to get a wrist band that gives us access to the rotunda floor. If you were in the first 500 you received a lanyard that the New Kids would sign during the autograph session. We had planned to purchase more than one cd on a transaction to save time and get us to the rotunda quicker. I was in charge of buying mine, Lisa's and Elizabeth's. I was only suppose to get two lanyards because there was only two of us present... but... being the first one there... the messed up. I got three cds, three wristbands and three lanyards! Woot wooo... Elizabeth was in for the autograph portion.

Lisa and I headed to the rotunda to stake claim on our seats. We had checked out, and walked... quickly but not running by any means to the rotunda. I remember to check my cell phone to see the time... 10:09 AM. The Best Buy folks seemed happy to know we were here and ready to get the party started, but Magic was doing his speech for the kids in the rotunda so we laid low.

Eventually the crew showed up and we were allowed to go thru the rope maze again... we were the first group... wooot! We remained calm and listened to Magic wrap up. When he was finished the workers cleared out the chairs and set up the final rope maze.

While we were waiting on the stations to be put in place we chatted it up with some cutie patootie girls who were right behind us... they were all around 11 or 12. They were going ga ga over these five little boys who had been upstairs earlier. Come to find out they are Maurice Starr's new group the Heartbeat Boys.

Well... they were standing next to the stage and walking our way. I finally asked Maurice for his autograph... I figure since I didn't get Dick Scott's while he was alive that I would be getting his. He came over and was a little flabbergasted by my request. I said to him, "It's been awhile since you've had to do this, huh?". He replied with "Yeah... I can't believe all this!". He was really nice and even had the Heartbeat Boys come over and chat it up with the little girls. They were freaking out hardcore... and it made us laugh... knowing we were that age going that crazy for NKOTB who were in the same exact age range as the Heartbeat Boys. It was surreal.

insert pictures of Maurice, autograph and the Heartbeat Boys

Then, it happened. They were finished setting up the stantions. We were in the last rope maze for the day. We had complained to the Best Buy staff that we did not expect to have to go all the way to the end of the front row rope line since we had been here the longest. They stated that we could allow others to go in front of us if we chose to let them go. Oh man... seriously...

Well, thankfully the girl who was leading us thru the maze stopped just short of the edge of the stage. WHEW! She said she would work something out that we deserved our spot. Yeah... well... we were there. Front row. All of our work had paid off. We made it... some of us... well... I'll let the picture speak for itself...

We took a seat... it was around 11am... and then it started...



Ughhhh... I was so sick of Summertime by the 45,645,795,161,050,612 time it was played before the show that I could have puked. I hoped and prayed that the guys would not be performing this song because I didn't want to have to boo them! Then it stopped... only to have Dave Ryan come on the stage to tell us that they guys were running late... start up the music again :(

By this time I was completely agitated. That song, the heat, no sleep and a few crackers and a sub without lettuce or cheese for lunch wasn't cutting it. Yeah... I was pissy. I decide I needed to get out of my funk... so... what do I do.. a freakin interview!



Being first inline gets you these things... and my group had been doing some earlier in the night and even some when we were waiting inline at Best Buy that I chose not to participate in because I was all the above. I'm sorry to all those who were around me during my crabby pants streak. Really... I'm sorry!

Then... it started. Holy crap. The guys came up from Under Water World to the Rotunda. I stood on the metal gate that was holding us back from the stage to get a shot of the guys walking (or at least I tried). Then... they did the unthinkable... they performed Summertime. But, it was like the 7... yes s-e-v-e-n hours of listening to the same song never happened. I was so excited to see them... and they were right there. My mom was no where around telling me to come up to the balcony to be safe. They were right in front of me... and my crew.

Here are my videos:



Just before Tonight started Trisha's camera died. She pulled me over since I was the other videographer for our group. During Tonight, Danny Wood came over to us and the two of us both reached up to touch his hand. It's at 1:44 if you care to look for us!





In between each song the guys talked to the crowd and practiced (you can check out all the videos on YouTube under 2008Blockhead, yeah, that's me!) We had a great time during the show!

But then, it was over... just like that. Three songs and the guys were off the stage. I know I was ready to pack up my stuff and leave. And then, they came back out! Oh yeahhhhhhh, we have an autograph session now! How could we forget?

So we kept trying to talk to Best Buy folks to remind them that we were first in line... that we should be the first ones in the autograph line... didn't happen :( I was kinda pissed and kinda cool with it at the same point.

The guys first went to chat and autograph in the handicapped section. It was so neat to see them interact right in front of us with people. And, well for some reason I bolted over to the edge when I saw Donnie giving someone a hug from "our side" of the fence. I got up in his face with the story from the paper that the entire front row was in. I told him something like it's all about you and your fans... and the entire front row from today's show. He took the paper and headed for the stage.

I returned to my crew and almost died. The girls said my face was priceless... I bet it was. Donnie was on the stage with my paper... swinging it around... using it as a weapon as each of the guys came up on stage. Wow. But where was Jon? JON JON JON JON!



He was still down in the pit talking with folks... was a sweetie!

As we walked around the last portion of the rope maze we ran into Security Guard Johnson. He had the biggest smile on his face for us. He thanked us for being the first people there and for not causing issues. He said we were very respectful and also had the most helpful questions. Trisha gave him a big ol hug. Little did she know, that wasn't going to be her last hug of the night!

We approached the stage and I started climbing the stage... my legs got a little weak. I grasped the railing and noticed that I was "white knuckling" the bar. Nervous much? We had put everything into our bags that was shot around the stage in baskets... kinda like an airport security check point. We couldn't take our cameras, just our trusty lanyards. I was first. Holy crap.

There was a group of people huddled in front of the table. I wanna say some photographers and a video guy... and then a really tall body guard (you can see him in this backstage video). Why when he put out his hand did I shake it instead of handing him my lanyard? Crack pot.

Jordan was first... he signed it and passed it on... no chatter came from him, especially since I was kinda held up by the body guard. Next was Joe... those eyes...oh my god. I saw them for the first time and it brought me back to why I loved him first. I said something to him like, "Joe... can you get that paper that Donnie had earlier that's behind your chair?". He asked me what it was and I told him... the entire front row is a group of girls that gets together here in the cities. We made the front page because we get together and talk about you guys.

At this point Jon chirped in saying that was really interesting and that he wanted to read the article. Joe slipped the paper under Jon's chair (now if they picked it up when they left, I don't know!). Joe flashed me a smile and thanked me for coming as did Jon. Then, Donnie was next. He saw me and said, "Are you okay, are you really okay?". I must have looked like hell... I was hot and bothered... and I'm sure my cheeks were flushed. He took my hand in both of his and tried to calm me. I was good I kept telling him. He signed my lanyard and I was onto Danny. Wow... he's much better looking in person :) He shook my hand and thanked me for being at the show today.

Then I started to walk off the stage. It was done... that's all that I came here to do... over 24 hours prior. I stepped down the first step and looked around - seeing exactly what they saw, took the second step and looked up to the other floors. I was amazed with how many people were there. Then I was done... walked over to pick up my backpack and was ready to leave.

Oh... not so fast! I turned around when there was some hooting and hollering... Trisha was HUGGING DONNIE! What the heck?!?!? Where's my camera... scramble scramble scramble... shoot. I missed the hug... but I got her and the rest of the crew while they went thru the autograph line.

We gathered just outside of the Rotunda to freak out together and state that we needed a drink... off to Friday's a group of us went for a drink and some real food. After dinner, Trisha, Lisa, Tiff and I headed back to my house... I went straight to the computer to load the videos and photos... Tiff and Lisa headed home after seeing the first viewing and Trisha headed to bed. I stayed on that stupid computer until 1:30am... when I finally went to bed and crashed so hard. So hard in fact that I didn't notice my hubby come home and crawl into bed... or even out of bed.

I awoke at 6am on Saturday and freaked out... I had no clue that Jerome had even come home. I immediately called his cell phone only to find him outside with our pup. Awwww what a guy! I grabbed the laptop and started telling him everything that happened.

I wanna give a quick shot out to all the great people we met... Security Guard Coleman and Johnson, Vicky and Kristi from Toronto, Alexis and Kim from ProjectNKOTB, and all those other crazy NKOTB fans... well... and hell... I thank the guys too... even though they were late, and even though they played Summertime I had a great time with a group of girls (Trish, Lisa M, Tiff, Elizabeth, Peggy, Lisa D, Nicole, Melissa, Katie) I'm glad to have met... girls... thanks for bringing me along for the ride!

Of course... there are tons of pictures... eventually I load up a fantastic slider for here of the best ones... but as it is this took me a week to post!