Being away from the computer all day is no fun! *stamps foot*
rohdy, the book donations were amazing. The generosity of this fandom is unmatched. I'm an elementary school teacher, so your efforts are so totally close to my heart, and I just loved it. Awesome.
To respond to the question about how my part in the fandom has evolved reminded me of something I did in the early days, when I was at the peak of my Clay Aiken frenzy. I hope you get a kick out of this... Clay was trying to sell his car. I don't remember how I found this out, but I'm sure it had something to do with a result number greater than 25,000 on google. (In reality I think it was a message board I was active on, where a friend of Clay's family posted a call for interested buyers). I decided I was going to buy it. Where I was going to get the money was irrelevant, but I HAD TO HAVE CLAY AIKEN'S CAR. This is not a logical mind at work, I know. But I rationalized this ridiculous idea by thinking...I would drive the thing across the country to raise money for the YMCA in Raleigh.
I am not kidding.
Oh, wait. It gets worse.
The car's color was listed as "raisin." So I thought, "OH. I will call this cross-country-fundraiser-in-a-car-belonging-to-an-American-Idol-contestant-which-I-really-do-not-have-the-money-to-buy 'RAISIN' money for the Y." Or something like that. And I was totally ready to make my friend Wendy drive with me down to Raleigh to pick this thing up.
Um. Yeah. (You may proceed to mock me now.)
Fortunately, someone who actually needed a car beat me to the purchase. Instead, I spent the rest of the summer swooping down on eBay for overpriced Idols concert tickets, making signs, and recreating the red leather jacket outfit from Grease to wear to said concerts. If it weren't for all the amazing friends and people I met, and the unbelievable stories I accumulated along the way to tell my grandchildren one day, I would so totally be hanging my head in shame.
Oh, and the best thing about my evolution in the fandom is that I met my soulmate (I know, totally schmoopie and cliche, but he is!) on a message board, moved five hundred miles, and we now have an incredibly happy life together. For that I will always be grateful to Clay Aiken (even if I am mad at him for capping his beautiful teeth).