Fingers crossed for a date near me!

[Mik4clay]

So many tour stops in Illinois, none in Mn 😭

ldyj, going to Marion? Make sure you get dropped for the show in a bulldozer.. trust me, it would be funny 😁 

[beanerknits]

8 minutes ago, Mik4clay said:

So many tour stops in Illinois, none in Mn 😭

ldyj, going to Marion? Make sure you get dropped for the show in a bulldozer.. trust me, it would be funny 😁 

Mik4clay, Idyj,

Committed to  StLouis  (st.charles) & Omaha. Do I need to add Marion to list???🤔 need car pool from St Louis to make budget work.

[ldyjocelyn]

3 hours ago, Mik4clay said:

So many tour stops in Illinois, none in Mn 😭

ldyj, going to Marion? Make sure you get dropped for the show in a bulldozer.. trust me, it would be funny 😁 

No — Marion is actually further for me than the St. Charles show (Illinois is a LONG state), plus the Marion show is on a school night.  

I don’t get the rest of your comment — is that because I haven’t listened to the whole interview yet?  

I did start the interview in the middle (when I stopped scanning, Clay was talking about him being on Idol in a year when it was still so new).  I’m hoping to listen to the entire interview over the rest of the weekend.

Loved the camaraderie between the three of them, and how Jeremy Miller was fanboying out, along with his mentioning the National Inclusion Project.  I do wonder how Clay got involved with these two — seems rather random, but hey, it worked, and we learned some new stuff about Clay in the process. 

Mik — girl, you need to learn how to TRAVEL.  So many of us got to know each other by just going “what the hell, I’m going to fly to North Carolina” or “what the hell, I’m going to drive 5-6 hours to see our boyfriend.”  Yes, we all had commitments in our lives, and many of us (thankfully) had supportive husbands/significant others.  But it was that “what the hell” aspect of it that helped us along the way.  (I do think that spirit has lessed somewhat for more than a few of us though — we’re getting ANCIENT!  😂)

[Mik4clay]

I know.. I do travel a lot, just don’t fly by the seat of my pants too well. I went out on a limb in 2007 and met up with Claymates in New Hampshire- that was huge for me! That was back when I was crazy 🤪 and maybe even a little more crazy in love w Clay Aiken.  😛

I also kept thinking that this trio was super weird. I didn’t realize that this guy was the kid from Growing Pains until Clay said it, lol.. I love that his mom is/was a Claymate and so he knew all about the Aiken.

I started listening late thinking this couldn’t take too long. I looked at my phone when it ended, 1:18 (a.m.) yeah,  I’m dragging a bit today.

ldyj, yes.. there is a running joke on the podcast about Marion.. don’t stay up too late listenin’ now

[jmh123]

I was once taken to work in a bulldozer. Does that count? 

 

I worked as a waitress at a hotel restaurant near Crabtree Valley. Back then, Crabtree Creek used to flood the mall and everything around it on a regular basis. People staying at the hotel were watching their cars float away. They were mad and sad and frustrated. They needed food. The restaurant manager literally swam in, and my father drove me as far as he could, and then I was taken in the bucket of the bulldozer the rest of the way. Fortunately the front of the house wasn't flooded. All we could give them was sandwiches, but they were much appreciated.

[ldyjocelyn]

I finally finished the podcast over the weekend, and the Marion jokes make sense now!  I really enjoyed the entire podcast -- but you know me, I just like hearing him talk.

This is cute.  

 

[jmh123]

That is too cute! 🥰

[ldyjocelyn]

According to my records, there's two new shows added to rubenandclay.com

• Tuesday, October 24, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, Springfield, MO
• Monday, November 6, Portland'5 Centers for the Arts, Portland, OR

[ldyjocelyn]

Jmh is our “behind the scenes” guru at the board, and she says that changing colors on the board isn’t quite as feasible as it used to be.  Having said that, this isn’t a bad combo.  I’ll have to talk with her about this more though, as I may have to limit myself to certain colors for banners.

For those wanting information on the National Inclusion Project, it’s here.  Would love to try to go, as I haven’t been to a Gala in several years.  However, my husband and I are still trying to dig ourselves out of some debt when he didn’t have a job. (Yeah, so I did buy a couple of M&G’s during the tour.  Sue me.)

[gbmifan]

I will be going but will be at the $300 level.  Have my airfare and will be getting in on Thurs.  Last year we just did our own thing.  Staying so far in two different rooms.  If my second roomies decide to come in on Thurs instead of Fri I may not have to change. They usually get the higher price ticket.  I can not justify it even though I would love it.

[Twilight926]

I’m excited to Finally have the details for the 20th  anniversary celebration! It sounds fun the bus tour sounds cool! Planning on trying to register for the higher ticket level. 

[jmh123]

Not much of a guru, sadly. All I do is change colors. Way back in the beginning I could modify the layout, and it was pretty simple, but gradually Invision kept denying more and more access to the back end of the board structure as their system became more and more complex. They said they limited access because messing around back there could break the board next time there's an upgrade. I have broken the board all by myself more than once, but luckily kept notes as I went so I could undo whatever I had done that broke it.

For some time I haven't been able to change the color of the quote box, for example, where it says, On 6/10/2023 at 1:29 PM, Mik4clay said:        That box is now black, and will be forever black; probably left over from Valentine's Day or Christmas one year when there was a red theme. Another thing I cannot change that drives me nuts is the layout up top. The banner can only be that location and size, and the line next to it, where you log in and get notifications, will forever be there and the text will be white. It used to be that line went over the banner image itself, and the banner went all the way across the page, but that changed, and I couldn't modify any of it. That's why it looks kind of lop-sided. The banner size and location stuck-ness happened early on, but the white color is newer. I used to able to switch from dark to light text for that. 

There is a place now to enter custom css (styling) but it isn't working for me, or I'm not doing it right.

All of this is related to the view on a computer screen. There are places where colors are different if you're on a mobile device, or at least some areas are designated for mobile, but I've ignored those. Now that I think about it, I think the banner size became tiny on mobile, and ldyj asked me to fix that, years ago, but I couldn't.

If anyone understands wft I'm talking about, raise your hand. We might recruit you.

 

Oops, forgot where I was going with all that. This time I found I can no longer change the color of the area where one's post appears, which is fine, or the part to the left of it where one's board name and profile are. 

 

 

[FearofH2O]

Like the colors jmh. 

I'll probably go to the Gala again, but wont be staying over so I guess I won't go on the bus tour. Clay's voice was amazing at the Gala last year just as it was in his concerts this year. I can get to Raleigh in under 2 hours so it is doable for me.

 

[ldyjocelyn]

Clay was out and about last night, emceeing an event.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10226822799894991&set=pcb.10226823046261150

[ldyjocelyn]

About the event: Equality PAC Pride Gala, Washington, DC.  

This Instagram Post has some short videos of Clay.

Love the purple suit.

[Mik4clay]

Mmm, I love me some political Clay.

How about the hair? Absolutely love it 😍 all platinumy and stuff 

[ldyjocelyn]

The Washington Blade has a photo album from the Gala.

One good picture of Clay.

[Mik4clay]

Anyone else getting a Hugh Hefner vibe from that jacket 😝?

[ldyjocelyn]

1 hour ago, Mik4clay said:

Anyone else getting a Hugh Hefner vibe from that jacket 😝?

Well, we are Claymates…

[merrieeee]

Hi there!  I’m still around. Just have little interest in anything right now. The celebration was beautiful and we think we had about 200 people show up and got 160 books! I had a high school friend of hers fly in from Nebraska!  I lost my voice talking to all her students. They loved her. A Mexican tradition is called day of the dead when you honour family who has passed. One of her students asked permission to add her to their list of honored.family. It is the greatest thing any one could have asked.  I was taken aback.   
 

[ldyjocelyn]

7 hours ago, merrieeee said:

Hi there!  I’m still around. Just have little interest in anything right now. The celebration was beautiful and we think we had about 200 people show up and got 160 books! I had a high school friend of hers fly in from Nebraska!  I lost my voice talking to all her students. They loved her. A Mexican tradition is called day of the dead when you honour family who has passed. One of her students asked permission to add her to their list of honored.family. It is the greatest thing any one could have asked.  I was taken aback.   
 

Merrieeee, I am glad you checked in.  That is so awesome regarding the celebration of Emily’s life.  It is gratifying knowing that she touched so many people.  Know that you’re still in my thoughts, and give it time.  Grieve in your own way.  We will be here for you.

[ldyjocelyn]

Peoria, Illinois today. It was BAD. Pulled out masks today. 

[Mik4clay]

I’m up on the Canadian border this week and it is also really bad .. coughing a lot  and watery eyes 🥺

[gbmifan]

Been out riding our bike with friends a few times this week.  We went further north and it was hot, humid, and very hazy.  We did only 37 miles on Wednesday(and I go very overheated and took awhile to cool down), did not ride on Thurs because it rained most of the day, and then rode 38 miles Friday.  We had to be out of campground by 3pm so I am glad we did not to more. Today DH and I went out and rode 25 miles before it go hot. 

My friend surprised me on the 27th.  My Gala buddy was going to buy my tickets for the concert at Macomb Center for January 13th when they went onsale on July 17.  I was going to be away on a camping trip and also my concert buddy was going to be in Pennsylvania that day. Another friend was a member and called her to say she bought her ticket when she purchased hers.  My friend than told her she was going to buy ours when she bought hers.  So her friend called the center since she had already left and ordered ours.  I was so grateful and surprised. Seats are great.  I know the person who bought the tickets but I usually do not purchase with her.  Clay fans are awesome.

[ldyjocelyn]

That's awesome gbmifan!  Clay friends are the best!

DH and I are leaving tomorrow for a trip to Minnesota for the week.  We will spending July 3-5 in Duluth, hoping that the weather is decent for us to see the beauty in Lake Superior.  Then, we are visiting family in the Twin Cities.  Today has been a DRAG, though.  You know, when you go on vacation, you have to do a thorough cleaning of the house, right?  So that's what we've been doing.  I'm grateful that my husband doesn't mind vacuuming!  Plus there's laundry and of course packing.  Right now, I'm chilling on the couch with a cup of decaf coffee and watching one of my guilty pleasure shows, Dr. Pimple Popper!

I should be able to check in here just in case Clay does something...