FromClaygary

Attending list updated to here.

Unfortunately, because of all the activity around the downtown area the morning of our Post-breakfast, we have had to change the time to 9:30 AM

Tirnanog has asked that we do this, and they've been so good to us I hate to say no! This will greatly facilitate the rest of their day, and they're opening early to do this and facilitate our breakfast.

Hope this doesn't cause a problem for anyone; if you need me to take you off the representin' list HERE just let me know (in the thread, please, is preferable).

For those that didn't yet see it, we are having a post breakfast Saturday morning. Please come join us!

Added to attending list to here.

ETA FromClaygary, the breakfast arrangements sound great! Not sure about anyone else with disabilities, but I'll manage...with a little help from my friends;) It couldn't be any worse than that day a few galas ago when we wandered around looking for a place to eat before finally discovering Tirnanog. At least this time, even if we have to walk , we can take a more...ummmmm...direct route. After I survived NYC in a wheelchair...this is a piece of cake.

gmb We will definitely manage!

Signup list for the post-MMD Breakfast, Saturday March 13th at 9:30 AM (Please note change to time)

ATTENDANCE IS NOW CLOSED....as I am on my way to Raleigh and will have no further internet access. See you all in Raleigh!!

Our breakfast will once again take place at Tirnanog Irish Pub, the same restaurant we used for the Gala Breakfast in 2009.

Tir na nog is offering a Traditional Irish Breakfast Buffet for $11.95 per person.

Breakfast starts at 9:30 AM

Restaurant location, maps and food information can be accessed from the link above; you will pay at the restaurant that morning.

Important Information for this date:

Raleigh's annual St. Paddy's Day parade is this day. This will mean most vehicular access to the downtown area will be closed off by 9 AM that morning. Parking in the area of the restaurant will be extremely limited or non-existent. The best solution is to walk over from the Sheraton or the Marriott (approximately a 5-block walk).

Sure hope you can join us! We really enjoyed this restaurant and its staff following the Gala.

If you need further information, please post in the thread or PM me.

Attending:

FromClaygary

Evelyn+3

Lotus

Justanotherclayfan

2old4Clay

Toldforthis

claylove

georgiesmybaby

Sammie

aiken4aikeninnc

Michelle S.

FearofH20+2

cindilu2+Karen

HeatherCorbett + Dad

MaryJoanne123

Nekia

LauraQ

Banshee

jmh123+1

ncgurrl

Permaswooned

Nancela + Dianne

goldarngirl

ncsredclayrocks

luckiest1

crimsonice

claymatron

iammesmerized

AnnaG

clayitagain

Marie-Anne

cameocat

Smartypantsuz and NDD

iwannahear+DH

ncgran4clay

lindylo

CrazyaboutClay

booksmart

goodlife5 + DH

sugrbugr

cindydoe

ncclayfan

allclaylong

justforclay

canfly172

txfan

auntdementia

clayann

Alicia

rcknrllmom+2

champion124

desertrose

Karma + MrKarma

shineinnc

nicegurrl

mblovesclay+5

PoisonIvy

Claysangel

Poshpenny

smileaday24

plac8

scarlett

kimiye

solo

kandre

perusingone

Total 86 to here

Okey-dokie!!

I talked to the GM at Tirnanog Irish Pub, who is just a fountain of information.

We have arranged for a morning-after breakfast Saturday March 13 at 10:30 AM. Although they don't usually do the buffet on Saturdays, they will do one for us that morning.

Cost is $11.95 per person, and you will be billed that morning at your table.

Here is the (minor, I think) glitch:

March 13th is the annual St. Paddy's Day parade in downtown Raleigh. Streets (esp Fayetteville) will be blocked off from around 9 AM that morning until around 1 PM when the parade finishes just outside Tirnanog's door! So....access for anyone with a disability will be greatly limited

Annie suggested, for those staying at the Sheraton and the Marriott, that there are shuttles which they run that could bring you over (ask at the Sheraton desk) so that may be an option.

Otherwise, we will need to be downtown early with our vehicles to be sure to access the restaurant; there will be extremely limited to no parking in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant.

Thread for the "attending" list is HERE

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!

Well, I tried for tickets today in the regular sale.....nada!

Went through about 10-12 "no tickets available" before receiving an offer...and then the only tickets I was offered were in the backs of the balconies and mezzanines.

Thank goodness we have tickets already....we are "in da house"!

Looks like it may be near sellout...which is awesome! You can get the odd ticket to show up in out of the way corners as singles, but doing 2 tickets gets you laughter, basically.

I'm LOVING the new board....as it knows me again!!

BTW that new TM screen sucks rocks. The page is too long to appear on one screen, so on my monitor you have to scroll down to hit the "search"...and about 3 times out of ten it changes the search parameters from "best available" when you scroll...so you're searching for something you don't want. Another improvement to benefit the ticket brokers, I assume.

I'm off tomorrow, so I'll give Tir na nog a call and see what I can find out. Wow, this woke me up this morning!

This will give us a chance to get the emoticons sorted out too, won't it?

I love his reply about the clothing....you can wear your Clay undies! Woohoo!!!

He makes me laugh so much. Love him.

Hmmm, but you know what? I think it says something about Faye (and by extension, perhaps Clay) that she is apparently not completely cynical and untrusting after Clay's being in the business for 7 years (though cynical seriously works for me!). Faye and Clay both are about a billion times nicer than I could ever dream of being...

I don't blame Faye. She made the mistake of saying too much; something I think we all have done one time or another. But I do not understand the need to hound her & others instead of letting Clay tell us when it was ok to do so. We are all excited & I hate that his was dampered. I just hope this didn't cause him any problems w/ Decca or the people doing the PBS special.

Yes to every word!!

That second picture in the group? The girl at his back, in the dark hair? That's the look that's on my face when he's around too.....

Cracked me right up.

Adore the "new" hair and colour and the man himself and can hardly wait to see it in Florida. Someone on another board mentioned that he resembles Robert Redford in some of these pictures....I agree! He done growed up good in many, many respects.

Word of advice to anyone who is waiting to book flights for the March 12th thing....stop waiting. goldarngirl and I each had the same flights up on the screen this morning (we were using Expedia). She clicked ok. I waited to find out her seat numbers, then I clicked ok. Hers were through but mine failed, with the message that the price of my flight had changed. OMFG. Suffice to say that after multiple phone calls, I got nowhere and had to pay the increased rates. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :23:

Oh nooooooo!!! :-(

You already know I agree with the bolded....but I fear that those who are waiting to have "a ticket" in hand will be very disappointed.

Call me a crazy Clayfan....but I'm :04:

And not one bit worried I don't have a ticket.

According to the CBC's website, donations to Haiti Relief are upwards of $9 million so far. I could swear that number was much, much lower at the beginning of the telethon last night. I watched both the hour long Canadian telethon, and some of the US telethon as well. I admit to channel hopping during performances that weren't to my taste, tho. It was really quite overwhelming and so, so sad to see all the devastation. I am glad that the telethon was a resounding success, because the conditions that those survivors are living in right now is abysmal. I can't even imagine. Please donate if you can! For Canadians, the government is matching donations dollar for dollar right now. Not sure how long that offer is going to last.

Which makes me laugh, really, because then we're donating.....and donating again when our "government" matches it, right?

(not that it isn't OK by me....it is...I just think it's funny)

Definite yes....and make that a definite yes for luckiest1 and crimsonice too, willya?

And maybe goldarngirl won't mind my speaking on her behalf as well?

4 of us

Just a guess but was it Tyr na nog? (I only know that from one of my guilty pleasure Van Morrison songs.)

Yes, it's Tyr na nog!

I can post the link when I get home from work muuuuuuuuuch later!

Posting and running to work without being caught up, sorry!!

Sheraton 50% off

Link to a very good rate for the Sheraton hotel in downtown Raleigh, which is very nice (we've stayed there for two years running for the Gala). Buy one night get the second (or third, I think) 50% off.

FromClaygary... I'm sorry about your eyes. I have the bare beginnings of Macular Degeneration, but it's so far in the future that I think with vitamins and early treatment, my eyes will be fine as long as I need them to be. I have an aunt with MD and she got some kind of a series of shots that improved her eyesight a lot. They are making strides in vision care all the time. It's amazing what they can do nowdays.

The shots....yes, called Lucent technology; I'm going to be asking about that when I go next time. Likely not applicable to my situation, but I'm asking.

Regarding the strides in vision care~yes, that's my hope too.

Actually what he said was 'You will want to be checking here EVERY day for the next several days or so.' (Caps belong to Clay) To me that implies there would've/could've been news yesterday and today (and tomorrow). I've long come to accept Clay's rather liberal sense of time though. He's always worth waiting for!

I suspect what's happened is that Clay has asked Sparkfart to post something to the website....and we all know how asking them to do something goes! *rolleyeballs*

I don't think he knows any better than any of us how long it's going to take...within a certain timeframe.

Talking of bad eyes. I have a tiny bit of vision on the edge my one eye. The eye is essentially useless. I have adjusted to it as it has been 30 years since I went blind in that eye overnight. My new car has a system where it tells you if anyone is in your blind spot and since on my left side everything is in my blind spot, this works great to help me drive. A little orange light appears in the side mirror to warn me a car is there. I love it and would not want to drive a car without it now.

Hmmm....one of my big stressors has been the thought of losing my license, and therefore my independence. You mean you DIDN'T?????

Personally, I'm uncomfortable when I see fans singled out like this by name (or as good as) for criticism. On the other hand, I've come close myself on issues that bug me, and I even crossed the line back in the Fake Clay/RCA hate days, so I'm not without a beam in my eye. I'm just saying that it makes me uncomfortable because this is a public board, and I think it's the kind of thing that ought in most circumstances be discussed directly with that person, rather than behind her back (so to speak) and yet in her face (should she choose to read it). But it may be that I'd feel differently if my personal hot button had been pushed, so I'll give others the benefit of the doubt. Likewise I'll give it to her.

Exactly.

And I can't imagine how much MORE of a chance encounter it could have been....it's not like she followed them there!

So, so, SO far behind, so I apologize for the non-timeliness of these quotes:

Everyone, please send good vibes my way tomorrow. I have lost sight in my left eye and am going to the eye dr tomorrow afternoon. I'm thinking it might be a detached retina. Even with having to undergo surgery if it is, I just want to see well enough to drive and work. My right eye is fine, but making a left turn or moving into a left lane is really scary right now. Thanks!!!

Glad to hear after this that the good vibes worked....I was thinking when I read it that you and I were going to have to tie ourselves together for the rest of our lives; I have a not-too-bad yet left eye!

Both of my eyes, though, are going; my news was NOT as good as yours. I will lose sight in both in the (?) future.

Interesting. I have terrible floaters, and have had for years. I will be sure to mention it at my next appointment.

Take my word....DO NOT wait until your next appointment! Mine might have been saved if caught earlier.

If you ever saw a camel get up, you know what I mean. Looks like an explosion in a knee factory, with lots of grunting.

OMG that was my laugh of the WEEK!!! :cryingwlaughter:

WOW! Well now I know what to do when I win the lottery! That site has a sweet 16 party listed as an example of a private event. And to think I was over the moon for a boom box with a cassette player when I turned 16???

...and me for the transistor radio I didn't get!

I just hope I get whatever station airs it in this part of the world.

Me tooooooooo!! Has anyone up this way managed to find it?? (this is regarding PBS by the way)

My afterthought: Damn, he looks great in that outfit.

My afterthought: Damn, it would look even better wet!!

OAN:

International Media (the producer of the PBS special) has just posted their youtube site on FB. As it's a given Clay will be on there when his special happens.....Intl Media Youtube

LOVING!!! all the action over the last few days....hope something happens today before I have to leave for work at 4 PM!

Gorgeous banner and calendar page, cindilu!

Caro, I think you already have this information, but just in case it might help someone else....

To "hide" Farmville and other apps on Facebook....hover over the right side of one of the incoming messages; you will see "Hide" appear in the right hand column. Click on "Hide" and you will see choices to hide (the person) or (the application, e.g. Farmville). Click on the application name, and it will hide all posts from that application. If you "oops" it and hide someone you don't want to, you can undo it in the Edit Options at the bottom right of your wall page.

I GOT MY FLASHDRIVE FROM THE PROJECT!!! :04:

I'm so thrilled! I didn't think anyone but the WFI leaders were getting them, from reports on CV ( Fear) It's on a very, very nice drive with the Project logo on it.

The Post Office did their darndest....there literally is a tire track across the envelope...but it IS in one piece.

and OMG when did they start charging $20 to check a bag. I had no idea until I went to do the early pre-check in for my mom.

((Couchie))....about a year ago. Amount varies airline by airline.

I though perhaps a little decoration was in order....

What are some of those "best left to the experts" items for my fellow FCAers?

Anything that doesn't involve a microwave oven??

Lotus, any of the Pavlovas I've ever had (and they were delicious) were the type you describe.

HAPPY UPCOMING NEW DECADE TO EVERYONE!

Lotus

Pavlova!!....yummmmm! Haven't had Pavlova in years. My cousin used to make an awesome one. She lived in Aus for many years, in Sidney...she sure didn't pick it up from our French moms!

Off to work shortly....gotta love that Boxing Day!

I have some sad news. A friend of mine, who mainly lurked here, sassafras, passed away on November 10. I received an email today from her son. He included a link to a wonderful montage he created of his mom, from her early years right up to the present. Those in Raleigh may remember Cynthia from parties and get togethers. She was a good friend and loved Clay very much. She opened her home to me, my family and friends over the years and I will miss her very much. I am so glad that we had the chance to spend some time with her in October, when we were in town for the gala.

Tribute to Cynthia

So shocked and sorry to hear about sassafras! She looked great at the Gala!

...and sorry to hear your company is "keeping you in suspense"; I had to laugh the other day...I was looking at some credit card options (I'm getting rid of one of mine and looking at changing providers), and one of the options was provided by your company. Small world!