luckiest1

Oh, I hate kitchen renovations! I mean, I love the results, but it's hell going through it. Yesterday, I had to deal with my furnace. I had no idea how to replace the filter! We finally figured it out (took 3 of us) and I had heat before I went to bed. Good thing as it went down to 2 C. There are flurries in the forecast this week.

Hee, I am the opposite of Laura Ingalls currently, I guess. I'm loving technology, because with it I can use my iPhone to video chat with my daughter in England whenever I want. I'm also quite addicted to my PVR, because I rarely watch TV in real time. I keep odd hours, so my TV time is generally between 6 and 9 in the evening, and then sometimes between 5 and 7 in the morning. Currently, I'm catching up on the CBC coverage of Skate America (but I really should be getting ready for work).

Home safe and sound from Detroit. We took the people mover yesterday, and had lunch at the casino in Greektown. We found everyone in Detroit extremely friendly and helpful. We were pleasantly surprised, given that so many people warned us about the area. We walked the Riverfront a couple of times. Our biggest disappointment was no hot tea in the arena! LOL Seriously, how do people live without tea? My condolences to muski and family. So sorry to read that.

Couchie, that sucks. I'm sorry you will probably have to move. I'm in between sessions at the rink right now. I am only reading here, and appreciate the relative calm. I just spent a half hour in my car, resting my eyes, and put the iPod on for a distraction. What should come on but the AIW ep. Omg that voice. So so glad those songs got recorded! Just made me feel so peaceful.

I'll just say this. I think you had to be there. It wasn't drama, he sang every word from the heart, and at the time, we actually wondered if he'd written the lyrics. It was the words he spoke leading up to the song, the references to us being there if he wasn't, the talk about career change, and especially (for me) the line about the silence. Anyways, I have listened to it a few times, but I am not sure I'll watch it. Still too raw. As for the clack from previous events being released, haven't downloaded any yet but I'm glad. I hate when things are floating around back channels for some but not for all. If we have it, share it, is my motto. All that said, I'm not in the "he's leaving entertainment" camp, but if he did, I'd be ok. Sad but ok, I have many other interests to keep me busy. I'd miss him though, but wish him well in whatever he does in life. The skating competition is great, but very different being in the USA rather than Canada. The US men were so great last night, I was very impressed. So nice to see depth in US men for the future. My Daisuke didn't have a great night, but Tatsuki Machida sure did! I think he could be the future of Japanese skating (along with Yuzuru Hanyu). I am also very interested to keep my eye on young Han Yan of China. Now if only Canada had some up and comers.......I am 95% sure that Patrick Chan will retire after Olympics. We walked along the river front yesterday and had dinner at a very exclusive seafood restaurant. They had rules like "no tennis shoes" and "no cell phones" which we broke, but were still allowed in. I had the most amazing soup and sushi. Sadly, the Starbucks there was closed. I'm going to have withdrawal soon LOL. Looking forward to another full day of skating!

Thanks for the heads up! jmh, Dai has a bit of a tango piece in his free program, set to Come Together. I hope you can see him on NBC on Sunday. I guess it will depend on how he places. The other two Japanese guys here are also very strong. And then you have Max Aaron, Jason Brown and Adam Rippon from the USA as well to contend with. Even with the withdrawals, it's quite the men's field.

I've been following Daisuke since he was a teen too. I first met him when he came to Ontario to train at Mariposa one summer, around the time he won Junior Worlds. I was so happy to see the "Go! Daisuke" banner in the arena today. I remember having it unrolled in my living room way back when! I saw him practice his new free program to a medley of Beatles songs today and I was very impressed, even without most of the jumps.

Hello from inside the joe Louis arena in Detroit. A kind person shared the media wifi password with me. I assume nothing exciting has happened in clay land since yesterday? Lol

Until the furor dies down, I'm going to be backing away from the boards a bit. I find myself getting sucked into it, and it's not healthy for me. I only have today to work, and tonight I am giving blood for the first time in my life, and then taking my daughter's friend out for a birthday dinner. Tomorrow morning, I head to Detroit to attend Skate America (international figure skating competition) all weekend. Even though my favourite skater, Canadian Patrick Chan, is not included this time around, I am really looking forward to it. I love Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, and he is competing, so I will be rooting for him. It's a shame that USA's Evan Lysacek & France's Brian Joubert had to withdraw, but what can you do? I also love US dancers Meryl Davis & Charlie White. I am just excited that the skating season is beginning! It is always a most welcome distraction when the weather turns cold and Clay things get put on the back burner (unless there is a Christmas tour LOL). For anyone interested, NBC is showing two hours of coverage on Sunday at 4 p.m. EST. For the Canadians, CBC is also showing coverage, two hours on Saturday and another two hours on Sunday. ETA: Hugs back atcha couchie! Thanks to everyone who has posted kind words. I'm loving the new audio, it's to die for.

Anyone watching Biggest Loser? Ruben is doing well so far. It's so good to see him, he is very likable on this show. I can't even imagine baring all for the world to see. I am so glad he got Dolvett and not Jillian (can't stand her).

For the amount of $$$ I've donated to the project over the last 10 years, I'm a bit worked up. I hope something is done to fix this (or fix it as much as it can be fixed at this point).

On the one hand I've got this lovely Canadian Thanksgiving e-card from Tonya telling me how thankful they are to have me, and on the other I've got Jerry spouting his view of "just fans". I really hope NIP gets it together or they are going to lose a lot of support, and that makes me sad for Clay.

I'm sorry, but just because there has been concern about the way the gala vs VIP event was changed, and I'm sure Jerry has heard about it from someone, does not mean that the fans are only about Clay! As far as I'm concerned, they were not upfront this year in explaining that the format would be different and many of the usual things that were included in previous years would be removed from the main gala and pushed to the VIP event. In future, I have no problem with them doing it that way if they tell us in advance. I will just choose not to go to all the trouble and expense of travelling there, but will instead make an online donation. I do believe in the project and what it stands for. I also am a fan. They are not mutually exclusive!

I'm back at work for a couple of days, but at least I had the foresight to load the NIP Gala & VIP songs on my iPhone this morning!

I got the thing that CV has, and I believe CH has it too. Run, don't walk! Totally gorgeous.

Has clack been posted? What nastiness? I feel like I am in an alternate universe. I hope no one thinks I was being nasty. I am calm, I am home, thanks Fear. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians. I have dug out some left over frozen turkey, and I'm making a chili for dinner with it. We had our big turkey day before Lindsay left for England.

Thanks couchie. I am still glad I went, but I don't think I can afford to do it again. I would actually be very surprised if they don't just roll it all into a one night event going forward. I think it would make more sense to just sell VIP tickets to those who can afford them. No point selling "cheap" seats to fans who are obviously there for the Clay content, as well as the mission of the charity. That said, clay did a great job as MC, host, auctioneer, and entertainer, all rolled into one. Keala was also wonderful as his sidekick. And most of the honourees were very inspiring, as always.

Still on the road home (left at 7:00 a.m.). I am not driving currently lol. I'm sorry if my feelings are upsetting anyone, but I can only tell you what I felt in the moment. I do not know what clays intentions were. I am still optimistic that 2014 will be wonderful. But as for the gala, for the non-VIPs, it was kind of bare bones, very little of the fun parts we used to get. The jukebox auction took maybe 2 minutes. I loved the duet, I think that was my favourite part. As lovely as the final song was, I had a hard time enjoying it knowing it was the end of the gala. And it just felt like a goodbye to something. When you hear it maybe you will understand. Or maybe it's going to be one of those things where you just had to be there.

Our balcony seats were good, on the right side of the stage, second row, but there was a speaker hanging down from the ceiling that obstructed my view of the screen. They showed the fans giving their "happy birthday" messages to the NIP prior to 8 p.m., and our group was briefly shown (we taped it at Drowsy Chaperone). I really enjoyed the duet with Kaela, it was a lot of fun. The honourees were great and inspiring as usual. Prior to the auction of the jukebox, Clay was chewing gum. LOL. He was well spoken and funny and charming, as always. After the auction, Clay killed some time talking and thanking people while they were tallying up how many kids we sent to camp. It started sounding like he was wrapping things up, but I tried to believe he was still going to sing for us. He made some reference to career path earlier and then something about changing paths and then he was telling us he had one song to sing for us before the end, and it went dark with just a spotlight on him. I remember words like "you are the song, and I just sing along" or something like that, and then one line about "you are beautiful, even in the silence" that made me kind of realize that maybe this could be goodbye. And then he backed out of the spotlight and disappeared while some people applauded and others were sitting in shock or crying. There were different reactions. I was kind of in between shock and applause I think. We all left and wandered away and found different bars. I had a drink. I never drink. Maybe I"ll feel better about it in the morning but this wasn't the gala I was hoping it would be. It started out great. It didn't finish great. I don't know what the song means. I'm not saying it means he's quitting entertainment. But it felt like a goodbye to something to me.

http://www.allmusic.com/song/you-are-the-song-mt0047447877 This is it. I don't really know what to say. I think I'm not in denial anymore.

No that's not it.

Ok, we are getting dressed and ready to head over. Doors open at 7:30, and we are in the balcony. It should be a party up there! I didn't win anything in the silent auction but I did bid on a few small items. Of course, I bought a raffle ticket in hopes of winning a pair of VIP passes to next year's event. There were some very, very nice items that I would have loved to own....a mosaic of BOTW from AI2, a gorgeous b&w Kevin Hees picture (autographed), a quilt, so many wonderful Clay items. Congrats to whoever went home with them! We went back to Vapiano's for dinner, and we figure we'll head back there again for dessert or drinks after the gala (whatever seems more appropriate LOL).

Where is everyone? Surely not here? This morning we went across the street to Hazelnut Creperie for breakfast. So awesome. Then eventually we found our way to a Super Walmart to stock up on some stuff that we either can't get or pay too much for a home. Now we're back at the hotel, hanging around and surfing until 2 p.m. and time to check out the silent auction items. Then I think we're going to back to Vapiano's for an early dinner/late lunch. The mood here is so conflicted. I'm sharing a room with 3 others. I still say everything's going to be ok and he's going to do Broadway, but sometimes I wonder if I'm just in denial. Oh well, if I am I am in my happy place anyways so it's all good. Even if he sings Touch this evening as his only solo song (because apparently that's all we're getting), I'm not going to read anything into it except that he's being a little shit and he enjoys winding us all up. I will, however, have to think long and hard about coming back for gala next year. It's a lot of money, travel, and vacation time for just one solo song. I hope Clay realizes that it would really alienate a lot of people in the fandom who can't or can hardly afford the "cheap" $250 ticket. Of course, this is all just hearsay and who knows, we may get 3 or 4 solo songs.

Fear and ldyj, thank you for all the reports. Don't worry about miscommunication. Those of us who weren't there appreciate all you are doing. No one's perfect!

We are refreshing for reports from the "bargain" Marriott a couple of blocks over from the official one. We arrived in Charlotte about 5 p.m. So basically 24 hours after leaving home, but of course we spent the night in Ohio. It was the weirdest border crossing ever - the guy didn't ask us one question, in fact he didn't even speak to us. He just checked our passports and said "have a nice day" as he sent us on our way. We kept looking in the rear view mirror for flashing lights! We walked around the area, visited the official hotel for a few minutes, saw Fear and Karen Eh in the lobby, and had a great dinner at Vapianos. Seriously amazing food, so fresh, so inexpensive, and a neat atmosphere. Met up with lots of other fans. Seems so weird to be here but to not be at the Clay event tonight, especially when he's singing. Sounds like he is doing MOAM for the 10 year anniversary. I wonder if he'll sing Touch tomorrow. Ha ha ha, wouldn't surprise me at this point. So glad that perhaps some fears were alleviated tonight. I didn't really have any but I know many others did.