ldyjocelyn

I think I kinda need to clarify something a bit. I may have twinges of sadness for Clay still...but in many ways, I guess, I feel more sadness for society. It makes me sad that there are so many people out there that will now not give Clay a chance, just simply because he has said he's gay. I think there are people who would have had no problem with him before he made his not-a-declaration (good one cindi!), but because he's now come out of the closet, he's suddenly cut off from their world. It does make me sad that society can't embrace it's differences. Heck, if the political campaign at the moment doesn't suggest that... Sorry for bringing up politics...but I think it makes my point... In the meantime...watching the AOL sessions again today has done me good.

I love this board. :F_05BL17blowkiss: Cotton, muski and liney! Cotton, this cracked me up: And I love that album too. LNM was a very powerful song for me to begin with, and with hindsight, it's even more so. OT: Trying to keep up good customer service is for the birds. Cranky people left and right at my workplace today. SUUUUUUUUUUCKS!

For some reason, I call Clay's first album Mo-am, but the rest of them, I just blurt out the full title. I think it's the combination of consonant-vowel-vowel-consonant that makes it work for me. Shrug. Cotton, I understand that feeling you describe as "twinges of sadness" for Clay -- I've been going through them myself from time to time. Nothing full blown, of course, but there are times when I feel very sad for the stuff he's had to go through in the past 5 years regarding this. And then, I also feel kind of sad that, IMO, he's going to continue to have similar kinds of things happen. What do I mean, exactly? Well, I sometimes feel that even with him being true to himself now, that he has opened another can of worms...because of continued homophobia that I see in this nation today. Just reading about these anti-homosexual propositions in California and Florida scares the crap out of me. Clay did a couple of quotes during the GMA interviews that really resonated with me: And this quote: from the ABC website And really, I'm glad he feels that way...because there are times that I don't share that hope. I'm working on it, though. OTOH...I guess I don't feel a NEED to see Clay at the moment. I have a burning WANT, but that's a different animal in my book. I am looking forward to seeing him in Spamalot, no question; and I look forward to what kind of concert Clay we'll get next. But -- for me only -- I enjoy just watching clack of him at the stage door; I enjoy listening to his voice on my iPod; and I enjoy knowing that, from what I can tell, he's living his life and doing it well. So, why do I have the faith in him, but not in society in general? Beats the heck out of me... To all those traveling to the Gala this weekend, please have fun and travel safe! I've already told my hubby that I'm out of commission for Saturday evening...LOL. BTW, the CH is doing a cellcert that night, if you are a subscriber.

KAndre, I hope everything goes well for you. I've heard that cat hair on clothes is the new "in" thing at the moment. boo7! Good to see you here! I think this hair might rival the "massage night" Open Arms from the NAT. Dude is still just so much...a guy.

Pop quiz: what were YOU doing five years ago today? Me? I was driving through the pouring rain, coming back from a trip to Chicago, having spent a good portion of the night before at a party. This was my companion for that trip: Happy birthday MOAM!

Topics at the moment: I personally think that Craig, the ticket guy at the Shubert, knows full well that if they close the show before Jan. 4, there would be hell to pay. So, I doubt seriously that the show will close before then. I also think that CG's theory might be a good one, that Clay MAY stay on a bit past his announced time, just to help close the show down with a bang. Another Princess Bride lover checking in. Matter of fact, I was at our zoo this past weekend, and we saw some animal that was supposedly the largest rodent out there. My first thought was the ROUS's (Rodents of Unusual Size). *g* But I also gotta agree with jamar; the movie is great, but the book is FANTASTIC! Welcome SueReu! And congrats merrieeee!!!! That montage from Chardonnay is soooooooooooooo good. Bravo. I don't remember who asked...but FCAM is "Finding Clay Aiken Media" which is hosted here! Finally, from MyBodyIsAiken4Clay at the CB... *dies*

Bah humbug! What she said. Hush. We had our Indian summer this past weekend, going to the zoo with grand niece and nephews. Today, though -- cloudy, gloomy. Bah humbug. OK, to make things brighter...shamelessly cribbing from the CH these recaps and pictures. Thank you MsMarm! Sue4AllYouDo at the CB wrote: hobbitkitty at CV wrote: butterflyshine at CV wrote:

aikim, put the # sign on the other side of the beginning quote mark, and you'll have it.

Here's your code, aikim: Misty Rose (PANTONE 15-1512) - #cda89f ETA: Misty Rose was already in the middle of the spread above since I took all the colors that people posted before... Thanks for doing that...but now what do I do now that I have the code? Kim jmh summarized this about two pages ago, and I think it bears repeating (frankly, I need it again myself!):

Well, since we all hang with each other so much, it would make sense that couchie, Ansa, and I would have similar colors... Thanks Scarlett, I figured out what I was doing wrong with the code! I still don't think I'm Autumn Leaf though.... YAY! for gbmifan!!!!!!! I'm so happy you'll get to go! CG, that picture is excessively CUTE!!!! ausdon, the color codes allow you to change the color of your font. That's why we're having so much fun with it...and for some reason, Clay was not! LOL!

Scarlett -- HELP!!!! The color code you provided for mine, Autumn Leaf, didn't seem to work! Oh well, I've never thought of myself as a brown person anyway... Personally -- I don't think that site is right for me at all! "A good executive?" "A hard worker?" Right now, that's the LAST thing I'd call myself. I also don't like to "challenge" things, which this site thinks I do. Clay, it's fun, but not for me. Sorry dude. Off to the zoo with my grand niece and nephews today! ETA: From the CH:

Autumn Leaf, checking in. LOL! He's so goofy...love him.

Did someone ask for goofy Clay?

Darn that dyslexia... ...someone pointed out to me that the glossary is on the RIGHT hand side of the screen. What can I say? I need a drink. It's Friday, right?

*hands KAndre a pair of glasses* The FCA glossary is on the left hand side of the screen, just below the banner. (Next to the link for your Private messages, which I frankly didn't know about until about 3 months ago! LOL) It does need some updating, I think...I need to work with claytonic on it! aikim, I hope you feel better soon! jmh, thank you for "your side of the story." I'm another one who was away from the boards at that time, and frankly, I was pretty glad.

I've had a crappy day. And long...just getting home right now. Therefore...I'm going to finish my leftover cheese soup... AND THEN GO OUT FOR ICE CREAM! Anyone want to come with me? More later...after ice cream. *g* Topic? I think I'm going to wear my sandals with socks as I go out tonight for my ice cream.

00lsee, I loved you post. Well, the one about Clay's butt was pretty awesome too...hee. I told someone yesterday that this is turning into a "look at yourself" exercise. 00lsee provided a good example with her "OK...and...?" And I do think that there are some out there that are doing just that. It can be a hard process to do, because for some, it's uncomfortable to do that. Honestly, I feel that many who are going through this process are simply not posting on the boards for a while; they are dealing with it quietly, in their time, and will either leave the fandom or come back. I respect those people. But...I feel the ones that are ranting and raving and ranting and raving some more, just don't have it in them to take a look at their emotional responses, and don't want to look inward. They NEED someone else to blame, and I just do not have patience for that. I finally had someone mention Clay to me last night -- actually a whole bunch of people, all at the same time. It was my bell choir at church, a bunch of really nice women. They know about my "obsession" with Clay, that I went to see him in New York in March, plus a bunch of other shows too. The first thing that was actually mentioned was Parker! So, I told the story of the 8-08-08 at 8:08 a.m. thing, and they laughed at that. Someone else mentioned the gay aspect, and I just told them Clay's quote about not wanting to raise a child to lie. They thought that was pretty cool, actually. Now, this is a bunch of highly Christian women, regular church goers...and they were fine with the whole thing. Gotta say that I love my church. bottlecap -- thank you! I knew that orange shirt had been paired with that sweater before! Is it sad to say that I almost bought two pairs of pastel striped socks yesterday?

I too am hoping that Clay is still doing pictures in December. I actually have an idea with this -- my husband is going to be there with me, and I'm thinking of making the sacrifice of NOT getting my picture taken with Clay. BUT -- taking a picture of "my two favorite men" and having DH pose with Clay. I think that would be all kinds of awesome! Is it Friday yet? Gosh, it's Parker's two month birthday. *sigh* I have to be honest...I keep staring at the cover picture from People magazine...but I find myself drawn to Parker as much as Clay. I personally think Parker is as adorable as his Dad. While I want Parker to have as much privacy as possible (especially knowing that Dad is in the public eye), I do hope that "we" get to see him grow up from time to time, via pictures. Who knows? Maybe Dad will upload home movies to YouTube. Hee.

Via the CH: Personally, I think he may be dressing like a new, overworked Dad. *g* KarenEh?!!!!! So glad you got to see the show last night!

muski, yes it really WAS 2 years ago with the Larry King interview. I know there are a few fans who can't bear to watch that interview, because Larry was really being an ass in so many ways that night. But, for me, I love that interview -- because of Clay. He said what he wanted to say, and he did it with class and grace. I think he looked incredibly hawt that night too. *g* Good luck with the dental work aikim. And I wanna be Jenna when I grow up.

For Cotton:

Just popping in briefly to add my {{{{hugs}}}} to Cotton. I found love "late in life" -- if you can call 33 "late in life." Considering that I'm from an area where you pretty much got married right out of high school, or barring that, college, that's pretty much how it was. And I found a guy who was about my age too, so it definitely can be done. Cotton, if your son really feels beat up over this, my suggestion is this: stop looking. It's seriously what I did. I was trying way too hard, and as soon as I gave that up, I met my husband. Ah yes, the helpful people. My friends were good about NOT doing this, but my family wasn't as much. But I dealth with it. LOL. Is it time to go home yet? Maybe it's time to plug in the iPod and take a walk....

UNICEF Fieldnotes Clay Aiken: Please Pledge Today The link to make a pledge is HERE.

*hugs clayzycoffin very tightly*

people.com Clay Aiken Says, "Nothing Has Changed"