#45: He Owns Us...

[FearofH2O]

So this accountant probably shouldn't admit that she saved Reed's bathtub Facebook picture and hid it in a sock folder, should she?

So now there's a bathtub picture? Yikes!! He must be really proud of his physique.

[justclay12]

Ok, where's the bathtub pic? Unfortunately, I don't think we'll ever see a bathtub pic of Clay unless he was fully dressed and there was no water in the tub. Such a pity.

And over at the CH, they are reporting that the E! show wasn't too bad and there was praise for the voice. I doubt I'll be watching it on re-runs, but I may download it from the vaults. They are still idiots though. Does no one do any research anymore? For most people who aren't invested, they aren't going to care if there are a bunch of wrong details, but for people like me who is not only a Claymate but very literal, it drives me crazy. I want facts dammit.

[bottlecap]

I've been trying to re-organize my photobucket account since it's getting too large and unwieldy.

Clay looked verra verra good during the JNT 2006.

[Thankful4Clay]

Muski, they will show you what is available. They are numbered.

Here's what I posted at OFC and CV:

I am way too old stand for two hours. I am beat but I'm so pumped because I saw the gorgeous man up close and personal.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

STAGE DOOR

I got an autograph and a picture. Toni, he is FUCKING GORGEOUS. I mean really, really gorgeous. He had beautiful jeans that hugged his buns. He grabbed my Playbill and signed it without looking. I commented that I was getting a blind Playbill. Clay said that sometimes those are the best ones.

I'm so glad I came.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

It was definitely a NJU crowd. No reaction when Clay came out in the tower or when he sang the idol line. Since I was in SRO, I didn't woop from way back there.

I hadn't seen the show since last March. He has really changed things up. His dancing is much better. He seems more confident and fluid. Maybe someone is giving him some pointers.

When he kissed the dice girl, it was a good kiss. Much better than the one he gave Tyra. He puckered up and so did she. I wasn't sure if they were each going to lean in, but they did.

Clay seemed to be more featured this time. I thought he was more front and center during the Camelot scene. He looks so happy up there. He is changing the way he says some of the lines and uses different voices. His slo-mo scene really seemed to be in slow motion tonight. Maybe it's because I was so far back.

YWSOB was awesome. No whoops when he gave us a great butt shot. Really great tunic flip.

He sang the AMEN. It was gorgeous and it got a great crowd reaction. The other knights had to wait to try to copy it.

He came out with his top hat flat and then popped it on his head.

We got a hip thrust. I didn't see a salute but he was a dancing fool.

When he came out to stage door, he looked so tiny next to Jerome. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie. No jacket. I think it was the Carolina jersey. I'm in the Aiken fog right now.

My camera was acting up. I recognized Meg Leisey of the OFC so I went to stand by her. She is a lovely girl and it's her 21st birthday. I asked her if she would take my picture with Clay and then I took her picture with Clay. I'll have to wait for Meg to get home to New Jersey. She said she'll post it tonight.

I want to EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE with someone and I'm all alone. Just like King Arthur.

[ldyjocelyn]

Great recap Thankful! Congratulations on getting so close to the man!

*counts the moments until luckiest1 checks in*

[justclay12]

Congratulations Thankful. It is so amazing to get anywhere close to him. Hope to see you there tomorrow and any other board members who will be there. I'm going to be somewhere in row g orchestra.

Now I have to go to bed so I can drive up to New York in the morning.

[Desertrose]

LdJ,

My friend and I decided to try Jean Georges where Tyra brags about going to dinner and lunch with Clay. It was an experience. We went to lunch like Tyra suggested because dinner is too expensive. Everything we had was full of flavor and beautifully presented. The service was impeccable. It is very classy, but not snooty. We were worried that we would feel out of place, but they made us feel at home. Everyone was very welcoming and gracious. We loved it!

The menu is different, but our server, a very cute young man, encouraged us to ask questions. It is a French restaurant. For lunch you are required to order two items for $28 for both. You can add another item for an additional $12. Believe me, the two items are more than enough. The menu starts with the lighter items on the top and the heavier items towards the bottom. If one is smart, one orders one item from the top and one from the bottom, as it is very rich and tasty food. I decided to ignore that and got the pecan crusted red fish and the glazed beef short rib. After I ate the red fish, which comes in a delicious broth, I was afraid that I was not going to be able to eat my rib. Wrong, the rib was so delicious, it melted in your mouth. I ate it all! My friend did it the right way (boring). Before they bring your meal, they bring each of you what we considered a small appetizer, courtesy of the house.

We had ice tea, delicious also, and dessert. We did not have any wine or mixed drinks. After eating all this rich food, I asked for sweet and low, but the server suggested I have their syrup for the tea which was just warm water and sugar. While we were eating our desert, they brought us three different trays, one with four dark chocolate squares with different fillings, one with flavored fluffy marshmallows, and one with some other sweets that we really did not know what they were. They were crispy. This was also complimentary from the house.

When we got these our first thought was that we did not need to order dessert. Everybody gets these complimentary items. Lunch for the two of us including tea and desert was $88, and they did not mind splitting the check to put on two separate credit cards. I know that this seems expensive, but Junior's is not cheap for sandwiches, and we went to Ellen's Stardust Cafe, and a grilled cheese sandwich was $12.95.

This was our most expensive meal, but well worth it. Like I said before, we were intimidated to go there, but had a great time and found out that the couple at the table next to us also did not know what the heck to order, when they started to ask us for advice as to what we had ordered. We felt like pros then. We will definitely go back there again. It is in the Trump International Tower on Central Park West on Columbus Circle. We walked there from the Edison Hotel which is near the Schubert

There is a deli next to the Edison Hotel where the food is good and inexpensive. We ate there alot. This deli is real close to the Schubert. Someone recommended The Chart House which is across the river in New Jersey. They said that it is on the water and has beautiful view of NY. We wanted to eat at Carmine's, but the portions are too big for only two people. They serve family style.

Writing this "menu" has made me hungry. No, we did not see Tyra or Clay. The place was full, and if there were any celebrities, we would not have noticed because we were too involved with our food.

[FearofH2O]

justclay, safe driving and have a wonderful time at Spam.

[jmh123]

(and do you know how much I love that I can actually say that here without getting edited all over the place...big smooch to all the mods!)

Oh god don't give them any ideas*g*

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou, Thankful4Clay for that detailed and glowing recap. I enjoyed every second of it. Wish I were there to squee with you!

Justclay and luckiest, yay that you are there or soon will be. I love that you all are there. Keep pumping out the good vibes and great posts. Is DS enjoying himself, luckiest??

Desertrose, that description makes me want to go back just to eat there.

I think I have just written an emoticon-free post. OMG.

[ldyjocelyn]

Via the CH:

Two from gerswhip (tonight's show?):

And from Nov. 1, by clayheaven:

Have fun, justclay!

Thank you CG and Desertrose for the restaurant suggestions!

ETA: JEANS!!!

[Thankful4Clay]

I think I saw Luckiest at the stage door. I was going to go over and say hi, but by the time I finished speaking with Meg, Luckiest was gone. I hope to see her tomorrow.

[annabear]

I want to EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE with someone and I'm all alone. Just like King Arthur.

We'll EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE with you, virtually! Glad you're having a good time!

I think I have just written an emoticon-free post. OMG.

Isn't that against the rules??

Via the CH:

Mmmmm.... profile....

ETA: JEANS!!!

[jmh123]

I've been trying to re-organize my photobucket account since it's getting too large and unwieldy.

Clay looked verra verra good during the JNT 2006.

This....

and

And from Nov. 1, by clayheaven:

This.... The eyes, looking right at you. They look like friendly eyes to me.

Is this new??

[Claygasm]

Via the CH:

Mmmmm.... profile....

And a big pimple on his nose!

Paulette, so glad you had a great time and an up close and personal with Clay!

[smittenwithclay]

I cant get enough of that picture where he is smiling crooked and staring straight ahead..he is stunning...takes my breath away.

[Claygasm]

THIS from E True Hollywood story. (From GCA)

the final comment in the show:

"He literally now is one of the most high profile celebrities in the United States, and so his voice as a performer, as a parent, as an individual is an important one."

Wow! I LOVE that line!!!! Did pigs just fly????

[merrieeee]

He looks so young and the cheekbones are back!! eeeeeeeeeeee

Are we sure he is 30?

[jmh123]

I think I have just written an emoticon-free post. OMG.

Isn't that against the rules??

[Thankful4Clay]

Meg posted her pics at OFC. They are blurry, but you can tell it's Clay.

Gerwhisp got a pic of me and Clay:

[wandacleo]

Well, I watched the E Clay special and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't even find JP too obnoxious (he gave no salacious details)--but of course I think it's no big deal if gay guys get together for sex (especially since heterosexual guys get together with women for sex all the time.) Fair's fair. I think non-Claymates would find it overwhelmingly positive and would totally miss the irony of that bitch Jeannie Holleman saying that some Claymates are crazy. YOU THINK??? The show mostly just rehashed his life and the stuff he said in his book (getting some details a little bass-ackward). I think that it might make some younger people (E types) take a second look at him.

All publicity is good publicity.

[Scarlett]

Love the gorgeous pictures!!! Looking forward to seeing at least 7 FCA'ers at tomorrow's shows!

I've been wandering around the boards tonight and it's been fascinating to watch people finding their own clay aiken comfort levels. As I recall, there have been hardly any reminders around the boards about first checking for a sound basis before shipping Clay with Hannah or Jaymes or Tyra or Jamie, etc. I was almost tempted to post drawings of cute guys in bathtubs or links to similar youtube AMVs set to Clay Aiken songs just to jiggle things a bit. It think it's all good if this leads to better understanding or even just tolerance to begin with; if people remember that those who are instantly ok with today's news may be the ones struggling tomorrow.

[muskifest]

Oh my.

I just got some new earphones for my iPod--from craigslist. Brand new. Still in wrapper from store. Guy decided to get bigger and better ones, so I got these half price.

And...well, I just listened to All Is Well for the very first time this season.

How is it that Clay's voice still brings tears to my eyes, even though I've heard it for untold hours?

Oh shit.

Now it's Oh, Come Oh Come, Emmanuel...

That's not going to stop the waterworks.

[smittenwithclay]

after saying I wouldnt over and over again, I watched the show haha after reading the thread at CV and seeing the reaction to it, I wanted to see it for myself, and it wasnt bad...JP is a moron and a fool, and KG is annoying, but I already knew that so that wasnt news they really played up the Clay is a huuuuuge star angle with a little drama thrown in, much better then I expected.

[luckiest1]

My sister is a real Bo Bice fan. She has seen him more than I have seen Clay and had a meet and greet. The picture is in a big collage when you go down her basement. He husband teases her alot and tells me her photo albums of Bo are done to perfection and her albums of her three children are not finished. They are 21,18 and 12.

Heh, sadly this sounds like me. My Clay scrapbooks are up to date! My children's photo albums? Stopped about.......oh.......5 years ago. BWAH! But I do have my digital family photos quite organized..........

So this accountant probably shouldn't admit that she saved Reed's bathtub Facebook picture and hid it in a sock folder, should she?

BWAH, you have a sock folder?

Sorry I didn't check in last night, but I literally came through the door and dropped into bed, I was so tired. It was a long day! We started out about 11 am, becoss the sun was trying to shine through and I figured we'd better take advantage of it. The forecast showed that it was going to be about 5 C, and only 0 C Saturday, so we opted for the Central Park zoo first. The weather really cooperated, and when I get to my pictures a bit later you will see the sun just beating down (I will post them in members only). My son absolutely loved the animals, so it was a big hit. I had a hard time convincing him that we should finally leave and do other stuff. He had to spend some time saying goodbye to the sea lions, who he named George and Fred.

We grabbed a hot dog on our way out of Central Park, and then stopped for a few minutes to watch some guys do a street performance. Then we hit the Apple store for a while. Pretty cool! Started wandering down 5th Ave after that, and the sun disappeared and it got pretty cool & windy. We ducked into the big Disney Store for a while to browse and get out of the wind. Had a bite to eat at a TGIFs (so much for my brilliant strategizing on economic places to eat) and then decided to get ourselves over to Times Square. My son was not really into the windows. The ones at Saks were quite crowded and he doesn't do well with crowds. Anyways, by this time we just wanted to sit down and relax for a bit, so we went to a movie in Times Square. Afterwards, we wandered around, looked at some souvenirs, until it was time to line up in the Shubert's lobby.

We had seats dead centre in row G, which was cool. Nice to see the show from that angle! The show was great, and we were so fortunate to have the full cast again for the 2nd time in a row. I thought for sure one of the guys would probably be out (my usual luck) but happily, my son got to see Tom & Rick & David, who are his favourites. Heh, wonder who my favourite is? Anyways, the place was packed (at least as far as I could see) and it was a very NJU crowd, just to judge from the spots where the laughs came. Lots of Monty Python fans for sure. Lots of kids, too.

Let's see, some things that stood out to me.....Clay does his yodelling much faster than he did in the spring. Amazing how he hits those high notes so quickly. The Camelot scene was great, I love watching Clay dance, and I caught when he and the girl were puckering up, but there was someone in my way to see the actual kiss. Hee, good to read about it though! Did I mention I love to watch him dance?

See, I should have written this before I went to bed last night, becoss my mind is already a fog. I know there was lots of stuff that was different! Maybe it'll come back to me, ugh. I remember one of the girls jumping on his back to get a piggy back right at the end of a scene. I remember the part where they climb the mountain and again how hilarious he acted as he crossed the stage, right before the slo mo stuff. He is pumping his fist, really into it, then he goes right into the deep knee bends and the tongue, while Rick is spitting (he really spits!) and then exaggeratedly wipes it off his face. The whole thing is hilarious. Ok, this is going to sound weird, since I don't usually notice these things, but the slit of Clay's tunic really seems higher this time around, because lots of times you could see his crotch. Seriously!

Let's see, second half..........the audience roared with his Brave Sir Robin faces........he does this funny, weird little thing with his feet during his solo, he used to just do a little dance, but now he stands front and centre and does this thing that cracks me up, have no idea how to describe it, then he heads for the piano, and as was reported, we got a great tunic flip with no screaming at all. The dance itself was perfection, and the OYs were great. I just love the whole scene, and I thought the King's "gosh" was better this time. Hee I am such a King critic!

It's funny how long Clay goes on tapping the King on the shoulder before he finally tells him that they are using rude gestures. I mean, the King is looking at him, waiting for it, but Clay is too mermerized watching the gestures to notice. Hee! During the guard scene, although it really does seem quite rushed to me, Clay managed to start braiding his ribbons. Yay!

The Knights of Ni scene, Rick again used the "psssst, want to buy a senate seat" line, and I saw Clay mouth "What's a senate?" Rick said something else after that that CMSU but damned if I can remember it. Heh, when Clay said the "nibble your bum" line he mimed his own hand nibbling his own bum. Ha ha. The C101 sign was up again, and this time when the King asked what it meant, Rick said "coy" instead of "koi" and then said something like "wouldnt' you like to know?" as an explanation. It was cute. The peasant was a well dressed lady, she seemed quite comfortable up there, not nervous at all. Clay waved at her and shook her hand too.

I loved that he popped his top hat in the finale scene, I'd never seen that. And then when he was over with the other two guys, he did a little kick line dance all by himself, with two big thrusts at the end. Wheeeeeeee! During the curtain call, like last night (although I don't think I remembered to include it in my recap) he knelt down quickly at the front of the stage and waved his hand into the orchestra pit. He clapped and sang along during the ALOTBSOL song, and I swear he was looking right at us part of the time. The confetti is cool in the centre when it shoots out, we were covered in it! And Clay managed to grab quite a bit to blow through his fist.

So we eventually headed out to the stage door, where there was already a group, but I managed to get kind of in between two people, so I was technically in the second row back. Jerome came out to spec out the crowd first, and then Clay came out with Jerome a few minutes later, wearing a blue Carolina hoodie. I had decided not to bother with another autograph (got those in the spring) but to ask for a picture instead. This was the first time I actually managed to speak a full, intelligent sentence to the man....usually I manage something like "Hi Clay, I love you" or something equally conversational. Heh. Anyways, when he was signing an autograph for the boy beside me, I asked if I could have a picture, and his response, while not looking at me, was "turn around". Okay, I turned around, my son had the camera, I kind of leaned back to get in the picture, and then Jerome told me to stop pushing on the barrier. Ooops, so I straightened up and smiled but my son was having problems with the camera. Clay was already signing the next autograph. Clay looked up and asked "did you get it?" to my son. Then Clay said "I wasn't even looking" but by that point he was already moving away. The whole thing was so rushed, there are so many people wanting something all at once, I don't know how he does it. Anyways, my son got two pictures, the first is me talking to Clay, but unfortunately in the second I look like I am posing with no one, and Clay is signing someone else's autograph. Ah well, maybe next time. I don't want to bug him again this afternoon if it's crowded again. Glad to hear others had better luck, though! I will post what we managed to get in the members only forum.

Sorry if I missed saying hello to some FCAers, but my son was cold and tired and just wanted to get to the subway as quickly as possible. So we headed out once Clay & Jerome went back through the door. The subways are so confusing! Do you think we could find the right entrance to the 49th street station, where we needed to catch the R train? There are four entrances, and if you aren't on the right corner, the train doesn't go the right direction. After I think trying every one of the four, we finally got lucky and headed back to Queens. Like I already said, we fell right into bed, we were so exhausted.

So today? Probably going to hang around here for a while, and hopefully meet up with some FCAers for lunch either before or after the matinee. We have first row mezzanine seats this time, which are great because there are no heads in the way and you can see the whole stage. My son quite liked them in the spring. He told me he found it quite distracting trying to concentrate on the whole play from the closer seats the other night. Heh, all the scantily clad girls were what were distracting him, apparently.

Later this afternoon, we are going to go and see Rockefeller Centre, with all the lights lit. We are not going to the show this evening.......no money to buy more tickets, and we really need an early night anyways. Tomorrow we will be hanging around the new T5 terminal at JFK awaiting our flight home.

So, the E! thing wasn't so bad? Cool.

[aikim]

Good Morning Everyone,

WFI this morning...looking forward to it and catching up with another Clay fan I haven't seen in a while.

22 Days until The Closing Night of Spamalot!

44 Days until Golfing For Inclusion!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim