ldyjocelyn

If I were you (hint, hint), I'd add clayandr to your friends list at the OFC. You can do that by logging in to the OFC, and then pasting this link into your browser: http://clayonline.sparkart.com/view_profil...342&addfriend=1 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! It's really starting, isn't it? And isn't it a wonderful feeling? I'm so giddy! I love that Jaymes GETS Clay -- she's seen him in concert numerous times, and understands his joy that comes through that setting. I hope and pray that she managed to capture that. Honestly, I think she did! I also love Clay "A Thousand Different Ways." Hee. playbiller, you sneak...hope you had a great birthday! And bottlecap your threat of the kittie patrol must have worked! I'll remember that next time. Yeah, I think if I had gotten the phone call from him, I would have tried to convince him that at least my cats have forgiven him for that incident many years ago.

What? You mean don't believe that you're Mrs. Robinson? I actually really love that about Clay -- his chameleon quality, both in looks and temperment. You're right bottlecap -- he frequently looks as if he's 12. I find that he sometimes acts like it too (this teasing about the NANA game on the OFC is a perfect example to me). And then he'll do something (like doing a UNICEF trip) that makes him just so ADULT to me, and I swoon all over again for the MAN. And then he turns 12 again. It does cause whiplash, sure -- but it's fun watching it too.

Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. At least in my case, that's true...and it sounds like it might be in Clay's case as well. He's enjoying this contest WAY too much. The little tease.

Why yes, yes he did. He said he misses us, so that's the way he's making it up to us. Hey, I'm desperate, OK? Seriously, I love that he can snark at us, and how well he also knows us. The dissection of every single letter of any of his blogs has to make him a bit crazy...so he gently teases us about it. And his excitement about the "project" is palpable to me. He's happy about the album, and he wants us to share his joy in it. I'm there. playbiller, sorry to hear about your basement. That is my worst nightmare, for I have all kinds of stuff all over the floor in our basement too, not to mention our main living area is set up in the basement. Good luck with the cleanup, and sorry you had such a lousy fourth of July.

Happy birthday cameocat and the mostest with smuttiest, muskifest! :00003653: God, I love that man -- long sleeves to a concert at the beginning of July. He just looks so...so....GUY in those pictures. And so very, very cute too. I'm glad he was there with Ruben, and that everyone was cool with the attention for all parties. Clay seemed to enjoy it, Ruben seems to have accepted it (and I am happy that people were noticing him and asking for his autograph too), and that everyone had a rockin' good time. The Cluben lives! Happy Fourth of July everyone! And stay safe, no matter what you do.

I'm eye-deep in pictures at the moment. Once those are ready, I'll get my recap of Ireland up and running. Patience, right? And while I'm processing pictures, I've got a hockey game on. I'm so pathetic.

The way Taste of Chicago works is that you buy tickets -- I think a ticket is $1.00. Then, the food and drinks are "sold" to you via the tickets (most in the $5.00 range). Sizes of portions vary wildly, from barely a nibble to full entre size. When do you leave? Because the Chicago Tribune website usually has a good guide in what is a good value for your ticket, but it's not up on their site yet. Unfortunately, since I have friends in the suburbs, I've never had to rely on public transportation in Chicago. I think for getting to Greek Town, though, you almost need to take a taxi if you are staying downtown. I THINK people would be helpful in getting you on the correct El train though. Speaking of staying...The Hotel Burnham is where my husband and I stayed when we saw Clay at the JNT 2005. It's just down the street from the Chicago Theater -- my husband and I had a great view of the marquis! It's a great old hotel with a lot of nice new features -- and a complimentary wine tasting at 4:00 every evening. Another possible place is The Palmer House, which I've stayed at for conventions. Another grand old hotel. However, neither are cheap -- stay in the suburbs if you want cheap. Topic? Um, I think Clay likes Chicago. I think. I hope.

Easy question first: Taste of Chicago is their street food fair. It is HUGE, so if you don't like crowds, avoid the area. If you don't mind crowds, but can't afford to spend at least $25 for samples of Chicago area food, avoid the area. If you don't mind crowds and don't mind the cost, go for it. I did it one year with my best friend (who is from Chicago), and I had a blast. I personally like the The Art Institute of Chicago, The Adler Planitarium (got to see a really cool Star Trek exhibit there many years ago), The Shedd Aquarium, and The Field Museum for activities. For food, definitely have Chicago style deep dish pizza, IMO. I personally like Giordano's myself. If you can afford a taxi, go to Greek Town for food. I can't think of the restaurant I'd recommend there though. Finally, Ed Debevic's is a lot of fun, especially if you love giving the wait staff a hard time in a restaurant. They'll dish it right back to you. Food isn't too bad either. Geez, you'd think I live in Illinois or sumthin'.

Happy birthday Ansa! May you have a wonderful, wonderful day. Are the girls taking you out to dinner? And then you can go out and... :me0:

To my dearest couchie -- :00003653: Here's a gift for you: And here's dessert (chocolate, of course): :fest33: Here's praying that Clay will announce something this week, for both you and Ansa!

To answer your questions in order: 1) Sadly, most of our food was prearranged by the touring company, so we didn't have a LOT of choice. The thing my husband and I fell in love with for food was lunch -- cream of vegetable soup and brown bread. Now, since the word "vegetable" was there, I'm sure Clay didn't eat a lot of it. *g* I personally didn't see any food moving on my plate. The best dinner we had was one we had on our own -- Guinness casserole (basically a glorified beef stew, but it was SOOOOO good). Again, my guess is that with the "g" word there, Clay probably avoided it. Finally, we did not eat at that wonderful Scottish restaurant called McDonald's, but some of the students we were with did. No one complained. 2) Yes, it was incredibly green, and oh so very pretty. Loved that country side. Oh wait, were you talking about the food? 3) Pierce...yum. But no, no good looking men that were flexible enough to fit in my suitcase. Sowwy. No keys sent to Dubai, but I kept looking for that old man while we were running through Dublin Airport. I would have beat him up for Clay if I'd seen him. *g*

Hey gang! I'm back after spending nine days in Ireland! Don't worry, I'll be writing my travelog very soon...although I'm not sure if it will compare to KAndre's most worthy entry. Anyway... couchie, I'm sorry, but Clay's timing had NOTHING to do with your everyday blogging (which I read over night, great job). It had to do with the fact that he (and Quiana) waited for MEEEEEEEEEE to come back to the States. *g* Congratulations Quiana for her new little man. Such a great name too. playbiller, you're really on to something, especially with this: I think the key is what I have bolded. I get the feeling that there's going to be some new growing pains in the fandom, and how some will deal with them is going to be very interesting. Someone mentioned that the fandom is quite spoiled...and ITA with this. Even though it's not "personal" (at least to most of us), most have had a "connection" with Clay (IMO). That's going to change. All I know is that I want him to have the moon and the stars...but thinking he's going to win the World Cup and the Triple Crown, not to mention a Pulitzer Prize is stretching things. A bit. *g* Can I claim to be among the first fans, even if he didn't have me at "Take?" I was more there by the time he uttered "Why" (as in "do you build me up, buttercup"). Amen, sister. I'm once again proclaiming my minionship for this statement from you. I do think the haircut probably cost a pretty penny, but it looks very simple and straightforward. I also very much see it as "no muss, no fuss." And while I personally couldn't stand having my hair in my eyes like that, he looks to me as if he's OWNING that hairstyle. I like it. He looked incredibly happy at the game. Good for him.

I think his next blog will answer every and all questions mentioned above. Knowing Clay, he could easily combine the answer to his "favorite vegetable" question (and yes playbiller, it would satisfy ME if he blogged simply on that...because I'm easy) and the performance story about his AI experience. I mean, c'mon, remember "let's talk about something that REALLY happened?" He's a smart, snarky man. Plus -- maybe Quiana craved Clay's least favorite vegetable during her pregnancy. There. Problem solved. Hee.

First of all, I'll say this as a kinda-sorta Taylor fan (I'm enough of a fan to want to check out the CD when it hits, not enough to watch every single interview) -- some people thought Bill Clinton was hawt. OK? I don't find the picture skeevy. *shrug* playbiller is wise to ask these questions. I've been a fan, or in fandoms, for years...but Clay's is my first true foray into internet fandoms. So, unfortunately, I'm not sure what the answer will be. My guess is that there will a little bit of both -- some will have the fangirl-in-them return, others will find that the magic is gone. I also think bottlecap is wise with her "former smokers" analogy. Thing is, not all former smokers are like that. This country is built on freedom of choice (as much as some don't agree with that at all...*g*), and the people who think that Clay is now bad for them need to just grow up. I'm missing Clay a whole bunch right now. I'm hoping he blogs before I leave on my trip next week. Ireland calls! BTW, I don't care what Clay blogs ABOUT, I just want him to blog at this point.

I don't know why, exactly...but I'm incredibly Zen about this whole thing. I feel a little out of place with everyone on "their roller coasters." I guess I just never even bought the E-ticket. If he's there...great. If he sings...even better. I know there will be clack around. If he's not there...eh, I'll deal. It's not like this will make or break his career. I'm at the point with Clay that I feel NOTHING will keep him from singing, or being a singer as a career. Just call me Pollyanna. (Everyone else has...)

bottlecap, did I miss why exactly you are on this "hunger strike?" I've listened to all three pieces, and like the first duet best. Great balance between Clayton and the female. She also had a good voice. Second duet...not such a great female voice. The solo? Love deep voice Clay, so that was a plus. The song? Eh. It's OK, and again, Clay does a nice job on it. But it didn't grab me. Watching that 12 year old sing though was interesting, especially when he really is 19 at the time.

I've got my own little filing system for my Clay magazines. Most were put in alphabetical order, and then by date. However, a few subcategories emerged, and they ended up with their own boxes -- People magazine; Us Magazine and InTouch; and all the assorted teeny bopper magazines that he appeared in early on after AI. I also bought special boxes for the smaller TV Guide size, as well as the Rolling Stone/Billboard sizes. Yes, I'm obsessive. What of it? It was fun pulling out all these magazines and looking at them again. Such a huge reminder of where he was. And now, from watching concert clack, how far he has come. It's been such a fun journey, and one that I'm not willing to quit any time soon. Clay, miss you. Love you. Come back soon.

Heh...I just recently splurged on archival boxes for all my Clay magazines and newspapers. They are all now beautifully organized and sorted, and bought extras for room to grow later. They also sit much better in my closet. Topic: am I supposed to have a topic? OK, here's this -- Clay's cute. I like him. A lot. The end.

Where the heck is everyone? Isn't everyone EEEEEEEEEEEEing over the Clay sighting? (OK, it was from a few weeks ago, but still...it was new to us!) I don't have time to bring it over now...maybe later.... ...but I thought he looked pretty good. Longish hair -- eh? But the glasses? Swoon. Love that man in glasses. I'm also very glad he was able to do this for us cousin without the glare of fans. That's way cool in my book.

KAndre -- GASP! I :::heart::: you. That was a beautiful set of replies to the angsters of the OFC. The thing I keep coming back to is that Clay really will define his own popstar. If that means selling TONS of albums without a radio hit (but lots of TV and print media appearances), so be it. It can be done. All in all, I believe in Clay's talent. I also do not find it hard to be a Clay fan...because it's not rocket science. It's fun. When it becomes not fun, I take a break...and then I come back, refreshed and alert and ready to be a Clay fan again.

I loved the blog, and I'm happy with the information he gave us. I have no doubts in the man's talent, and am sure that he will get new fans out of this album. I really don't "covers" as a death knell. As he said, it will be new stuff to people his age and younger, and, if he does them well (which, again, I have no doubt), he can easily make the older fans forget the original version. I love him. I love him. I love him.

I've never seen Buble in concert, but I've seen his show that he did for PBS, and loved it. Could the context of the "incidents" cause some of the problems? I mean, I think I could understand the MJ put-downs, and if he was talking about MJ...well, that's what MJ was doing. (I seem to remember that from the PBS show, as a matter of fact...and thought it was hilarious.) His comment about Clay, if I remember correctly, was "yeah, I see you ladies screaming for me now. Tomorrow you'll be here screaming for Clay Aiken." I don't see a put down in that at all. As far as the "comparison" with Clay...again, some people had the dickens of a time with WDC and their children. And crotch grabbing? Wasn't that at the Valdosta JBT? To me, it's apples and oranges. But then, I'm not a parent either. However, I have to say that I'm rambling, and that everyone is going to react differently to different things.

Hey gang! It's been a rough week in the ldyjocelyn household...my Mom, who lives 3 hours away from me, feel and broke a bone near her hip over a week ago. My brother and his wife, who live in the same town as her, had tickets to visit their daughter in Florida last week, so I ended up spending the entire week with Mom. (My Easter dinner -- grilled chicken salad and fried ravioli's from Appleby's. It was about the only place open that wasn't packed to the gills. *g*) Mom is still in the hospital at this point, and she will be moving to a nursing home as soon as she is strong enough. I'm finally back at work today, and am in the midst of trying to catch up on all my emails *coughreadingtheboardscough*. My emotional state isn't particularly good though, especially with hearing of the death of laughingoutloud. *sob* News like this makes the tabloid crap and whining about no news from Clay pale in comparison. I do have to EEEEEEEEEE at the GMA thing though. Clay always looks so wonderful when he appears on that show. Clique? I'll renew. I don't care. It's Clay. Not just us story: I had my husband bring me a Clay shirt to wear over the weekend. (I was out of clothes!) So, I walk into the hospital, and one of the nurses practically lunged at me. "You've got a great singer there!" The next day, she cornered me again and wanted to know where my Clay shirt was! If I hadn't been so busy, I would have brought this nurse something! Back to work. Heh.

Yep, it was me who almost made it into a jury. It was my first time in 5 years for being called. Personally, I think it would be cool to be on a coroner's jury -- one day a month for a year, or something like that. It might be a sad jury to be on, but I think it could also be fascinating. playbiller, is your library THAT strict on computer usage? At my old public library, it was an hour limit, and if no one was waiting, you could continue on. I'm still loving that Clay recommended a book to us -- did my librarian heart good. I'm not sure if he'll recommend a movie or TV show to us, though...unless it's a rerun of Scrubs. *g* I miss Clay, I really do...and yet I want him to be happily working on whatever projects he has in the pipeline. If it doesn't involve me, so be it. I'm patient. I think. Maybe. Kinda. Sorta. Mommie...

After reading this travelog so far... ...I believe that KAndre and Clay would have made a great "Amazing Race" team. Can't wait for more, and I've been studying for the minion test as well.