zena

I always miss something important while I'm trying to put together a post. An Album in May!!!!! ooooooh, Clay, this is for you! Now, let me see, Album in May, that means ( a little extrapolatin' here) TOUR in summer, Ack.........:Tour4: and he's playing the piano on Broadway..... zena may need to rob a bank drugstore in the near future .....

00lsee, I want to thank you so much for putting up those Spamalot clips. What a hilarious show. :laught31: Although I won't be seeing it myself, I can't help catching a bit of the euphoric angst that is going around here before this FRIDAY. I think know Clay will be awesome! And I'm wondering if Sir Robin's line near the end of the show will be prophetic for this Broadway run. You know the one where he comes on stage for the wedding all dressed in white, tails and all, claiming he's found HIS Grail in "musical theatre". And please,please, please, those of you who are going to opening night, have a BLAST and when you get home, use lots and lots of adjectives and adverbs in writing such long recaps that your posts will be at the top of the page AND the bottom of the page. (small voice) if that's not too much to ask, that is. :music-smiley-023:

jmh123, just look, the cutie's smiling at you!!!!! As far as I'm concerned Clay can look like anyone he wants to as long as he stays his indomitable unpredictable self. Night everyone!!!!1

Claygasm, you crack me up!!!!! Check out my "Mennonite" avatar!!!! DS#2 would be so dissapointed to think you don't seem to think a Mennonite singer can look "hot", especially since he considers his 22 year old charming self quite a catch!! As for me, I'm kinda into blonde these days.....

I've been reading and reading, and thinking and thinking, and don't be shocked now, I haven't been able to hold one fragment of an opinion of my own in my head long enough to add it to some very interesting discussions going on here. Maybe my brain is just too frazzled, these days with the parade of crises lining up at my own door and all to come up with even one coherent postable statement about Clay. You are all doing just fine without me anyway, and I'm learning and nodding and cheering to myself in the meantime.:3: Someone smarter than me has given the order to put my brain on bedrest for a bit, to stick to bread and water, and to take long walks outside at least as often as I sit down in front of this computer. Why is it that when one runs too far ahead of oneself that one gets even farther behind? Sigh. Here's to OPENING NIGHT and FCA, da best board EVER!!! :11: (this is water) *g* zena fades away into lurkdom UNdramatickally ..... softly whispering....someday my prince will come.... For now, drat it all, he's riding in the opposite direction. Can someone find me an emoticon horse that's coming my way.... puhleeez.......? :F_05BL17blowkiss: to Couchie Special thoughts and prayers to CG

Great pins, cindilu2!!!!! I'm following the crowd with A and D. I want to have them for posterity even though I'm not likely to be going to NY. They're darling and they'll make a much nicer remembrance than a playbill from a performance I didn't attend. And they are so FCA! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Well, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to try to be in bed by midnight, and seeing as it's one hour and 18 minutes into January 2cd, I guess that resolution is officially broke. Oh well. rcknrllmom, I will be thinking of you and your family in the days and weeks to come. I sat in the fourth and fifth rows of the Minneapolis concerts too, and I think we smiled at each other sortof. I am way too chicken to come say hi if I'm not sure of myself, and as Couchie will attest, being approached by a bunch of people just because you may have a few commonalities with someone else just gets old. I hope you'll accept my cyberhug now when you especially need it. And it's my special prayer that AIW will continue to be a comfort and a cherished memory of your mom for a long long time. PERUSING ONE!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!! ITS ME LENA , I mean ZENA!!!!! Did you get sick too? Someone said somewhere I had some company in food poisoning department. Maybe we could share digestive horror stories? Well, maybe not. Something crazy always happens to me when I go to Minneapolis. Last time I went there to see Clay I broke my nose. (Sorry, FCA, since I can't live in the future world of Spamalot, I gotta hang with my boring past) The funniest thing is though, I am going back to the scene of the crime in the end of January. My husband has a four day conference, and is booked into a very nice suite at the downtown Hilton. So while all you lucky so and so's are at THE DEBUT in NY, I'll be rattling around Hell's kitchen dredging up good memories of CITH 2007. I can live with that though. Good memories are worth their weight in gold. I feel so far away from all of you, and often very detached. I mean, I live in a world that don't know nuthin about black eyed peas, or half the things i read about here that are fried up in Crisco. I mean have you ever heard the word "cholesterol"? I'm worried about you. Nevertheless, somehow, when the enablers throw their dice and the stars align, Clay has managed to bring me to so many places I've never been before and each time I've been blessed with real life connections to real people. I'm hoping for more miracles in 2008; nothing's planned, not even promised, but I can wait.

Hey, liney23 and spikesmom, you sound chapter and verse like my son. heee....I love a good discussion. Are you free to come up to Canada for lunch anytime soon? My treat!!! Is that where my freaking lung went?!!! Brace yourself, Kareneh, I just sent a 15 pound email your way. And as for me, I am spending my first minutes of 2008 in one of my very favourite places. Yep, for now, that's right in front of my computer screen pecking away at the keyboard. Two thousand and seven has been possibly the best and hardest year for me in the last 15 years or so. There is so much more light in my personal darkness. Perhaps it may sound strange to say but to me this shiniest jewels in this fandom are the friends I have made and come to treasure. I will never stop being grateful to Clay for being the amazing catalyst that catapulted me over my own carefully constructed walls into a world of popmusic, computer and airports, etc.etc.. I'm perfectly okay with the fact I may never have the opportunity to personally thank him for that. I'm not really into scaling other people's private walls. But these widespread and far flung personalities and characters who have crossed my concert paths, who have shared themselves so generously without all the usual preliminaries of casual acquaintances, and most amazingly who reach out to me; first as a stranger and now in so many cases as friends, into my small world and managed to make me feel loved, now that's a pretty big miracle in my life. Thanks for being a special part of that this year FCA! You cannot begin to realize how much it means to me. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

:bier: I'll drink to that!!!!! My son and I just had a huge argument discussion over lunch about whether or not Harry Potter should be considered "literature". Big Big Hugs to Kareneh who will be getting an email or some sort of communication from me sometime soooooon this year or the next. I know you all realize she has been pretty sick but I became concerned about her "health" shortly after I received my birthday present from her in the mail. Keep it behind your masks girls, but I think we should pull out all the stops, hug emoticons, and positive thought waves we can. Sorry Karen, I do love you, I reeeeeeally do! New Years Eve? A church supper, and a quiet evening at home. My two sons, 25 and 22 just left after being home for a week, and I need to recover my territory. And seeing as gingerale is still my drink of choice after my Minneapolis fling, hubby will have to have his champagne alone. THANKS FOR A REALLY GREAT SIX MONTHS FCA!!!!!

I think practically all of Canada could be described as "rural"; with the exception of a few metropolitan centres, there is an awful lot of space between people up here. I grew up and still live about an hour away from the largest city in my province. I was labelled "country" in my elementary school days because I had to ride the bus to school. The town kids ( the town boasted a population of 1200 people) were "in" compared to us bus riders. I was never envious of their tiny yards, their nine to five job parents, or their noisy streets and perpetual street lights. I loved my rambling spaces, the multitude of trees to climb and read a book in, the silky silent darkness, and the fact that when someone drove on to our yard they came because they really wanted to. Until we had indoor plumbing one of my childhood fears was meeting a skunk during a nocturnal visit to the outhouse. We worked hard; possibly much harder than I do now, but active participation educated us in a very real way toward understanding what it took to make a living. Things were more precious then because we understood more clearly what they cost. I have lost much of that sense by now. Family and neighbours were an integral part of our daily lives. Our local rural church provided most of the social life I knew as a child and young teenager. Oh yes, there may have been some 'unchurchly' things that went on after choir practice but it was all part of the fabric of my childhood. I remember very well when my husband, the quintessential "nice young man" would take us all out to a local drive in for milkshakes and sundaes after choir practice. Unfortunately everyone would want to go, including my mother, the choir director. He and I (ten years his junior) were 'unofficially' and secretly together already way back then. He'd invite my mother to sit in the front seat of his very cool limited edition fire red GTO, and the rest of us, mostly girls would pile into the back seat. I would always end up directly behind him and we'd hold hands and have secret conversations around the headrest. Once you hit university around here the line between country and city becomes much more blurred. The thing that seems to be most important for survival, even with my own kids, is to have some roots and a good support group. In my son's circle of friends, having family that cares about you is considered a huge asset. There are so many kids out there alone; hurting and permanently distanced or absent from family or support groups like people from home or church etc. I think Clay is increasingly aware of the value of the support groups he has discovered throughout the course of his life, as well as the need for space and privacy in the fishbowl career he is in. It seems to me as well, that he has made some movement from his initial 'disgust' with the LA type life toward a more empathetic attitude. As he embraces the children he has met through Unicef, works at various political levels on behalf of people with disabilities, and rides the tides and swells of a frenetic fandom, Clay is finding his equilibrium not only within himself, but in the people he has surrounded himself with. Thank God he knows how to laugh: at himself, at us, with us.

Wishing you strength and love during your time with your mother in law. Here's a little just for you, merrieeee. I need a little help just now. Since K'Andre has done her classic play by play of the Vegas Skate Show, and I was far too scrambled to watch it at Christmas, can someone tell me where I can find it. I have this sudden need to see flaps and skanks. Pretty please?

This is zena dropping in :chair: to officially make her little mark in the sand on this thread. I have been judiously avoiding threads of this nature because there has simply been too much going on in my life to add the immense challenge of addressing my significant weight problem. But today somehow I found my way here and read the entire thread through without the usual feeling of impending doom. Maybe I am beginning to be in the right place to make small but positive changes. I joined a wonderful gym last April; the kind where there are more recovering cardiac clients than buff grunting twentysomething guys... hee; there are some of those, but not enough to intimidate slow completely overwhelmed rookies like me. It took a huge measure of confidence to join a gym when I had never set foot in one before. Add to this the complication that I live sixty minutes out of the city, and have to drive in to do my workouts. The staff has been great though; do a lot of individual counselling, and help keep me on track. My initial goals centered around strengthening the muscles around painful problem joints so that I could eventually increase my tolerance for activity. Trying to tackle the weight problem right off was something too big to handle right off, and something I was sure I would not succeed at. I've had lupus induced arthritis ( which behaves somewhat like rheumatoic arthritis) and fibromyalgia for 15+ years that together with unreasonable fatique have resulted a virtual metabolic stall. This, along with the million or so drugs and their nasty side effects I've taken along this path has left me feeling uncomfortable, unattractive, and unable to move. So, this tall skinny person who never ever understood what it was like not to eat anything and everything is now this tall XXXlarge person who can't lose a pound to save her life. (literally) For me, food; eating snacking etc is very much an emotional issue. As a former health professional (registered nurse) it isn't the intellectual understanding that is missing. Giving up what has become a major comfort item in the context of my tentative and still fairly new venture back toward a position of strength and holistic self confidence is a huge thing. It's something I know I need to be committed to for my own well being; not something some else has decided is good for me. I also need to find a way to do this that will be practical for me; otherwise there isn't a hope I will be able to maintain it. And if there is one thing I don't need is feeling like a failure once more and again. The gym is a good place for me; I've become comfortable there. I've had some small victories, and I'm learning to ask for help more and more. I just finished a 12 week yoga class which was mind blowingly wonderful for me. Is it crazy to feel happy about learning how to stand and sit up straight when you've spend your life trying to shrink into yourself? I don't think so. I can't get myself to exercise at home with any type of regularity and I don't have the excuse of having no time or space. And clayrazorback I have a whole pile of Christmas goodies to "clean up", and your method sounded ominously familiar. Yep, it's a daily battle, and I'm heading to the front lines again. It'd be nice to have some company. I talk alot so if you need me to shut up just tell me to stick a carrot (or broccoli, I reeeelly don't like lima beans) in it!!!

Hi, FCA, this girl is finally finished chasing Christmas around. Today is officially crash day. I spent the wee hours last night catching up 20+ pages I've missed. And these quotes were some of my "favorite things"..... I love live theater too, and my yearly theatre subscriptions to theatres here in Winnipeg surely do make the long winter pass more easily. But New York: Broadway is far beyond what I have experienced or even can imagine. The bolded part, oooooh, jumpingjacks, you said that so well. I just betcha "Sir Robin" is going to fit his Clayness like a second skin. And jumpingjacks , I'm really hoping the search for a kidney match works out. Hey, annabear, welcome to FCA from one of the wordiest! Negative, to me, is not in not liking something, but the negative is the endless complaining and not seeing the beauty, as if the ugly is more than the beauty. Like saying something nice would kill some people if they couldn't say some nasty more That is my point though, laljeterfan. Anyone, you me, any of us, posting on a message board is just as much an expert as any other. I never take what someone else says as fact, even if they tell me they are an expert with whatever it is they are talking about. I just don't. It is only their opinion. I think the difference between constructive criticism and bullying is in the number of times you say it and how many minds you think you can change.... I don't like to play games, and "saying it straight" is my kind of talking! And there is so much wisdom in these paragraphs, I think you all should send some of them into the "quotable quotes" section of Readers Digest. :thumbup: wandacleo, sans any personal agenda, it is enough; more than enough. So many of us in this needy demanding world have forgotten how to be content. Oh, Couchie, that warmed the very cockles (no smutting allowed) of my heart. I took my notes for my Minnesota CITH recap off the back burner today, and I promise it'll be done , well, that is, of course if I have enough harddrive space. This picture, Gah, first time i've for a blonde guy. Scarlett, is there a minion handbook? Lena wants to know. muskifest, when I read this at 2 am last night, I wanted to give you the kingdom and dub you Lady Muskifest. I applaud your smugness rationale, and raise you one more "very" on the very very terrific guy who understands perfectly well who Clayton Holmes Aiken is and where his heart and purpose is. Ta Da! eta: to my utmost relief, i have recovered well enough from my food poisoning to handle the eating and enjoyment of chocolate and the other finer foodstuffs of christmas.

Bye, :F_05BL17blowkiss: Christmas in the land.....I loved you............

arrrrrrgh!!!! Did somebody say food poisoning?????? After the Minneapolis concerts, my life went straight to the It was not such a good day for the Minneapolis airport security staff either. Poor poor zena. My sincere sympathy goes out to Scarlett and Perusingone who I understand were similarly afflicted. Just one thing though, my beloved FCA'ers, if you thought that little paragraph was a recap, you are deluding yourselves, hee...... I do looooooooooong as well as Clay does sooooooooooooon. And Lena has agreed to help, so there's no telling how it will turn out. When I get around to it, of course. I hope you all get home safe and sound for the holidays. Merry Christmas!!! Right now though, scuse me but my bestest friend the is calling..........

I am just back from the concert. I have hugged Couchie, Scarlett, Solo, Perusing One, K'Andre, From Claygary, Christelklein, and just about everyone who would let me a hundred times goodbye. I am hoping on the the lyrics Clay sang tonight about "coming all together again, if the fates allow" and hanging that hope on the highest bough of my Christmas tree this year. The concert was awesome. Today I allowed myself the luxury of binoculars from my fifth row seat; I didn't have the nerve yesterday cuz I was sitting right smack dab behind the Prince's mama, and I didn't want Clay glaring at me if he sang a verse or two to his mom. To my utmost delight, I had the most charming concert buddy tonight. I think you all know and love her. Yep, Couchie and me got to eeeeeee together, and she hugged me hard when I cried through Welcome to our World. Clay was especially gorgeous through my glasses, and just tore DSIAFCD up. The crowd loved him a lot. It was so hard to walk out of Orchestra Hall. I wanted to linger, talk to strangers; for any excuse at all not to leave just yet. I don't know what is ahead for me in the new year. There are no tickets bought, but still there is so much to look forward to to dwell on that. I am hopeful that the past miracles that have brought me to Clay performances and together with friends; new and old will surprise me again in 2008. So in the wonderful, warm, and encompassing spirit of Christmas I feel in my heart right now, and before my room mate catches me on her laptop again, I want you all to "have yourselves a merry little Christmas" where ever you are. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Oooops, I think Couchie is going to be after me too for stealing a minute on my roomie's laptop. :chair: I just got back to my room and called K'Andre to say I'd be "a little late" to dinner. Guess I should have logged in as "invisible": funny I never really saw the need for that feature until just now. Here, in balmy Minneapolis between the two slices of heaven I call Clay Aiken concerts, I find it really hard to let past, present, or future controversy touch me. During the concert last night I just closed my eyes, ( ya don't have to see Clay sense the beautiful ) and let the music wash over me. And then this "feeling" you know the one; the one that starts in the pit of your gut and swells up inside until your soul just bursts with ......elation, joy, etc. More later...... eta: the reason I'm running late was because I went on the trolley tour the Minnesota Clayfans arranged. Our tour guide was hilarious, and before she let us get off the trolley we had to each tell her one thing about Clay, without repeating ourselves, that would convince her to become a Clay fan. Well, there was no problem with repeating ourselves about our multitalented BF. But I did render her a little speechless with my answer. I said, " No one is completely satified with their life. They are always looking for that one thing that will complete them, that will bring them real joy. For me, that one thing is Clay Aiken. Heee.... I think she wanted to take us all straight to the pyschiatric ward...... Off to see the Posse..............

hee, hee, zena lena's bringing the concealed weapons to lunch. Shhhhhhhhhh....I'm trying to sneak up on the posse, and come to defend Couchie's innonsense, oops i mean innocense. :29: etcetera, etcetera.....

Okay, some random monster ate my post. I'm at the Hilton too, but I just missed From Claygary, . Everyone I know is heading to THE MALL. I'm no shopper so that many hours at the mall just skeers me. I'm saving my strength for tonight; you know soes I can shout "I love you, Clay" as many times as possible from the fifth row seat. I reeeeellly tried hard to find Couchie yesterday but she led me on a merry chase. Since I'm in Minnesota now, ( and I actually lived here at one point in my life so I'm practically a native) I have taken on yet another personna. Zena is now Lena, the Snowflake Princess, and she has hot gifts for chilly fca'ers that she does not want to go home with. So look me up girls, I've been practicing my Norwegian/Swedish accents to do the official presentation. You won't even know it's me; wait, you don't know me. Well, never mind,..... Since Clay didn't choose my story; poor misguided darling, I had to channel my bottled up creativity on some other poor victims. I should mail one of my little red packages tied up with string to you, playbiller, it sounds like you could use it. Get better quick, okay!!! {{{soulsista}}} Oh, and CouchTomato, that knocking at the door last night, that was just me trying to find you guys in my dreams..........

Zena is in Minneapolis!!!!!!! She is looking all over for FCa'ers. Please help her

I'm getting into the Minneapolis airport around 9:30 am way before the MinnClayfans start their taxi runs, so I will be taking the shuttle. It sound like the weather will be relatively mind. In spite of the fact that Clique did not get my memo that it was my birthday and a Meet and Greet would be nice , it has been an amazing day. For some unknown reason Clay Aiken started singing O Holy Night from my stereo at 2 am this morning at full volume. No one pushed any buttons, but some things are better left unexplained. The other bizarre event was that my husband and boys, whom I threatened with death by the sword scared me silly with a surprise birthday party. You won't believe where they had it! Yep, in the dining room of the senior's home where my in-laws live. I know the waiting list for these retirement homes is long, but I told my dh this was going a bit too far. What a laugh!!! There were around fifty of some very special people in my life there and I was overwhelmed. Chris, my tenor opera son had put together a group to sing for us, and finally he sang Clay's song Welcome to the World for me. The tears were flowing. I guess I can do without meeting Clay this time around! I feel very blessed. Good night all! eta: HURRAH for laughn!!!!!

Would you believe I just checked my email, and there was an email from Clayonline. They wanted to know if I wanted a fleecy blanket..... Ummmmmm....not nice, not good form at all Clique.

: Thank you so much for the lovely happy birthday wishes!!!!! So far I am having a great birthday. Right now my dh and I are relaxing in a king sized suite in a hotel in Winnipeg. Later on we are meeting the boys for dinner in a yet to be disclosed location. I'd just as soon have pizza in this lovely suite and soak in the jacuzzi. And this place has an in room computer and free internet. Fifty isn't too bad so far. :2: Too bad I have to be at the airport at 6 am tomorrow morning. But I'll do it for Clay! I'll be waiting with hot toddies.....hurry up! I'll be waiting with hot toddies.....hurry up! Permaswooned, I was hoping to see you again in Minneapolis but I'm hoping we'll have another opportunity to do that. In the meantime, mend well, and enjoy the holidays. All the best to you!!!! Bwah, 'ldyjocelyn' , I have met the eHP, and by their hand received my royal sword. I am their loyal liege though I live in an alien country and have sworn miniondom to them. I have been enabled by Kareneh, dubbed by K'Andre, toasted by merrieeee, and witnessed Scarlett's virgin busline. And yes, I do believe I have been "altered". I didn't have time to download Scarlett's OHN. I bow to the emoticon/gif queens on this board. I love them. No M & G emails for me either. See you in Minneapolis...... :xmaskick: :xmaskick: :xmaskick

Greetings from the tundra....hope you don't mind us sharing a little winter with you further south...*g* First of all, I have no business whatsoever being at my computer. I have packing to do; major packing, and before that, deciding what to pack; do you know how it is when one needs to have choices.... Don't think I'll be needing black... Or when one doesn't get out much, and you want to take all of your favorite clothes... hee. Nope, never was a light packer....Clay on the other hand; oh look how all this talk of folds has led my thoughts astray and made me lose my focus. My favorite thing about FCA is how it makes me laugh. I still don't know nuthin about stuff, but I was good with that before, and I'm good with it now. A Very Happy Belated Birthday to you wandacleo!!! Unfortunately it is now my turn to remember today makes me a year older. You may observe by my profile that I am now 13. I've been twelve for awhile now. So tomorrow I stay in a nice hotel in Winnipeg with my husband who will lovingly deposit me at the airport very early (5:30) the next morning. I told my family I was leaving the country for this decade birthday; no party please. An old woman should be able to do what she wants to at this stage in her life, and this one likes to hear Clay sing. It was really very obliging of him to come up north for my birthday. I mean, he doesn't even know me ; even Jerome doesn't know me. I have little tundra presents to keep all the southerners warm; so Scarlett, Couch Tomato, K'Andre and any other chilly fcaers, if you want to be where it's hot, you better look me up. You'll know me when you see me. My name is Zena and I'm almost sure I'll be the only fifty year old with a sword!! Waves to Kareneh!!!!!!

:F_05BL17blowkiss: to the FCA Guess what? Even in my small frozen corner of the world I heard a rumour that FCA was that board who thought they were better than everyone else and just spent all their time criticizing other larger boards. I laughed and laughed. It's tough trying to just have fun isn't it? spikesmom said it just perfectly, Regarding the present disgusting disaster Clay has to deal with, it makes me want to run fast and far in the opposite direction. Trouble is one doesn't always have the choice when things like this suck good friends into the muck. It's painful to leave them there when they refuse to open their eyes, and even more uncomfortable to walk away from them if it comes to that. Ironically these fans may just want to "know stuff" and what a powerful lure curiousity and so called priveleged knowledge can be. My respect goes to the people who can remain themselves; unchanged and uninfluences by the by the seemingly uncanny pull and push of the fandom. I am praying very hard for all of you in your travels and hoping that you will be safe and warm after the adventure of going to another Clay concert. It's always been worth it for me so far. Of course that's my opinion, not my husbands. hee Claygasm, my thoughts are especially with you and your father. We walked that excrutiating journey of pancreatic cancer with a dear family member. I pray that the course of your dad's illness will still allow for good quality time together.