#48: He is...therefore I fan.

[justclay12]

ducky wins! :bier:

If you know where I can find a dragon for hire, let me know, mmmk bottle? Thx!

Dang...and I really liked the idea of more Clay waltzes...

*glides away humming, 'it's that time of year when the world falls in love...' ya ta ta ya ta ta*

Hey, if ya gonna dance, better take ya ta ta's.

What.

00lsee, you crack me up.

[Scarlett]

ducky wins! :bier:

If you know where I can find a dragon for hire, let me know, mmmk bottle? Thx!

{{{Hugs to you}}} Annabear, in case you feel like driving here for the weekend, the ehP is like a Weyr of dragons and there could be lots to drink since as KF pointed out only 2 of us are regulars (I'm an occasional).

Oooh, clayzy brought Yoda-speak. :Heart: it I do!

ETA: And btw, anna, the temperature's 72 degrees. Don't mind the 30% predicted rain (our weather people just say that to cover themselves). They've been calling rain for 3 days and I haven't seen any.

ETAA: {{{merryclay & family}}}

[jmh123]

This country need jobs. I'm very worried. My DD's husband was laid off from Dupont and another 120 that same day. They said there were grown men that had been there for 10 years or more standing outside weeping. It's very sad.

So sorry to hear that.

[Scarlett]

I just want to say I :heart: this place. Thanks! That's all.

[annabear]

{{{{merryclay & family}}}} The amount of unemployment is very sad. I hope your DD's hubby finds something.

Thanks, Scarlett! If I had any vacation time left, I'd be tempted to hop in the car & head to Houston this weekend to party with the eHP.

Waltzing with Clay, 00lsee? :dan1: Sounds mucho-good to me!

ETA: I know I professed my undying love for this banner when it first appeared, but I have to do so again - just seeing that CUTE man up there, smiling and being happy makes me happy!

[jamar1700]

ETA: I know I professed my undying love for this banner when it first appeared, but I have to do so again - just seeing that CUTE man up there, smiling and being happy makes me happy!

Me too.

Can we keep it?

---

eta...move along...move along...nothing to see here...

etaa...gee that was quick...

[merrieeee]

Well I have this fun new phone that has TV and music and all sorts of cool stuff but it will not play my call back tone! I am not happy! I've tried everything and I can't get Right Here Waiting For You to play . Scarlett will be sooo disappointed!

[Scarlett]

I was going to write about my weekend quilting group but ended up thinking about something else. It was just reminded me too much of long ago... I went to this place knowing just one person, and not very well at that. It was just for the weekend and we were sharing 4 to a room. Just a bunch of strangers all doing the same thing.

I was late, as always, and was literally blown in because the the wind was so strong it pushed me right in the door. I probably looked like the messiest mess they ever saw. There was just one spot open, so I sat down there. We were 4 to a "table group". Turns out that I sat with a rather unique bunch. As we were working, people swung by to greet the person diagonally opposite me, teasing her about buying yet another sewing machine that afternoon. Apparently she liked multiples. And gadgets! She had a portable die-cutter! If you needed 4.5" squares and the matching small squares and triangles, she was your gal!

Those who swung by also said hi to me and when they found out I was a newbie, suddenly there were no strangers in the place. I got lots of tips and advice on what to do. I was literally starting out -- no project, no equipment, no nothing. So the next day, they took me to a quilt store that was going out of business, (Norma, the gal with the multiple sewing machines had a gps -- nothing like damien but I wasn't complaining). They got me all stocked up -- new cutting mat, new rulers, template plastic, lots of cloth for my first oh, 5-10 projects, etc. The things we couldn't find in the store, random people handed me that evening. I got a 1/4" presser foot (invaluable, apparently), a pair of very sharp scissors, pins, extra cutting mats, extra blades for my new cutter, various notions, some of which just appeared at my table with a note saying "from someone who cares".

The next day, even more people came by to ooh and aah because apparently, you're not supposed to do pinwheel patterns on the night you bring home your first sewing machine. So they were all very encouraging. And they were amazed that I stayed up all of Saturday night just doing and re-doing my project until I got it right.

ETA: merrieeee, nooooo!!!

By the time we had to leave (check-out was 3pm) I was so shmoopie, I didn't know what to do. It was so like another season past, with another group of people. I miss 2004 so much! And I love newbies -- can we adopt a whole gang of them? Bringing in new people is how we grow.

*hugs couchie right back!* :thbighug-1:

[Couch Tomato]

Scarlett :thbighug-1: I love the love. For those that don't know FCA (the message board) has only been in existence since July 2005 well into this whole Clay thing. And it even took me a full year to say this is home. hee I looked through the first thread a bit tonight and it gave me warm fuzzies to see who kept us going in the beginning cuz this board was not my idea, it was Ansa's. I didn't even want it. But am so glad I listened to her. I love how the board has evolved since those first days.. and I've loved every phase and I think the board has been exactly what we wanted when we started it. Don't know what I'd do without ya'll.

So.. Cindilu is busy with exams but she did tell me she'd help us out with this when they are over. I like the idea of perhaps making it also a part of our fundraiser.

MerryClay - hugs to you and your family and everybody suffering job losses.

[Scarlett]

So, I just want to ask everyone... how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

[whatavoice]

As a "newbie", I'm so glad that this board exists too! It was interesting to find out that it has only been in existance since 2005. This is the only board where people are positive and respectful, even when they disagree. And, down right hilarious too - I don't know when I've laughed so hard at some comments and innuendoes! Oh well, I'm done being "schmoopie".

[Scarlett]

I'm going to post about how I met PerusingOne at a street corner close to midnight after she took a look at my shirt, liked it and then waved me over...

And how I ended up going on a roadtrip with KAndre and Solo just minutes after meeting them...

But first, I forgot to post pics for liney and FromClaygary,

Stash beginnings:

First project: (they liked how my pinwheel angles all came together -- aren't they supposed to?)

BTW, to the angel who recommended the Hand Applique book -- I love it!

[calurker]

Anyone see this:

List of Celebrities to be at Disney’s American Idol Experience Grand Opening

Here’s the official list of American Idol celebrities that you can see during the motorcade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on February 12 at 4:30pm:

Paula Abdul

David Archuleta

Fantasia Barrino

Bo Bice

Jason Castro

David Cook

Bucky Covington

Diana DeGarmo

Melinda Doolittle

Simon Fuller (Idol Creator)

Josh Gracin

Justin Guarini

Taylor Hicks

Michael Johns

LaKisha Jones

Kimberley Locke

Sanjaya Malakar

Mandisa

Syesha Mercado

Ryan Seacrest

Chris Sligh

Carly Smithson

Jordin Sparks

Phil Stacey

Ruben Studdard

Carrie Underwood

Brooke White

Ace Young

No Clay !!!! Interesting (I do a lot of drinking on this board....hic)

[wandacleo]

This country need jobs. I'm very worried. My DD's husband was laid off from Dupont and another 120 that same day. They said there were grown men that had been there for 10 years or more standing outside weeping. It's very sad.

I know what you mean. My DD's company is going through hard times and she's scared to death she will be laid off. Every day when I read the paper I read about thousands of more people being laid off. It's so scary. My heart aches for people who are having such a hard time now.

[merrieeee]

how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

Oo i'll go first:

I went to a Pizza Hut parking lot and jumped in this total stranger's car and the rest is history! Best thing I ever did!

That stranger was 00lsee and we hit it off from the first word! We were heading to a dinner with Clay fans in Houston. It was so exciting that I had found others who loved him as much as I did and didn't laugh at me! That night the others turned out to be Kandre, Scarlett, Karen Eh!, Solo and a few others. I knew it was really special when, as I was leaving, I was desperately trying to figure out how I could go on a trip with them to see Clay! I decided that night I would go to Atlanta with these girls come hell or high water.

I never had proms. dances or a sorority growing up in England and this opened up a whole new world for me. I had never had a slumber party and staying in a hotel with them is one long giggly party!

I sincerely love them all and everyday I thank "whoever" that I found them. Clay can honestly have no idea how he has made a difference to our lives, especially mine.

Another time i'll have to tell you about my first trip with Kandre!

[wandacleo]

So, I just want to ask everyone... how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

I didn't really find the message boards until AI was over. I was looking around and happened to find videos of the AI performances and I about peed myself with joy. Then, I started looking more and found a board with a link to Emmanuel, and I had to join the board to get it, so I did. I couldn't figure out how to manuever about a message board for quite awhile, but finally started posting. I was so excited to find other people who loved Clay--I didn't even know about Claymates. Then, I discovered RHT and cellcerts. Jesus--I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Then, along came boobgate and I LOVED that picture, but there were huge battles over that and then over KG, and I just about left the boards (not Clay) because I thought that there were too many frigging lunatics in the fandom. I wandered around for quite awhile looking for a perfect board to just celebrate Clay without having to put up with his being picked apart relentlessly.

This is about as close to perfection as Claymates can get, I think. At least, if someone is attacking Clay, we don't have to suffer in silence.

Now, THAT's special.

ETA: Oh yes, does it count that I charged hundreds (well, thousands) of dollars on airline tickets, concert tickets, hotels, etc for New Zealand Claymates I'd never met, trusting that if they loved Clay they were good people?

[aikim]

Nat Tour - Rockford, Illinois...I was fairly new to the boards and didn't really know anyone to go to concerts with and I wanted to go to this one so bad..I was on RHT at the time and mentioned during chat that I wanted to go to the concert but didn't have a way to get there ( I don't do expressways) and promptly got a PM offering me a ride. I was speechless that this total stranger was offering me a ride to a concert...took me about 2 seconds to accept the offer...I went online and bought a ticket and the rest is history.

My kids thought I was totally nuts getting in a car with a total stranger...got the whole "dangers of meeting people online" speech thrown back in my face. My response...She's a Clay fan...nuff said.

I think that has been the most fun, just meeting all the fans; matching a screenname to a face...nothing like meeting someone for the first time; telling them your screenname and they immediately give you a big hug and hello because they know you even though they never met you and vice versa.

Last year at Sterling Heights I met a couple of ladies and the first thing one of them said to me when I introduced myself was "I've wanted to meet you for so long"...that is what is special about the fandom.

I had only been here for a couple of months and met Couchie, Luckiest1, Cindilu, Ldyj and FromClaygary at Merrillville in 2007 and it was just like meeting old friends.

I consider myself to be a pretty shy person in real life, but get around Clay fans and that shyness seems to disappear...it is just so comfortable.

Kim

[Scarlett]

how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

Oo i'll go first:

I went to a Pizza Hut parking lot and jumped in this total stranger's car and the rest is history! Best thing I ever did!

That stranger was 00lsee and we hit it off from the first word! We were heading to a dinner with Clay fans in Houston. It was so exciting that I had found others who loved him as much as I did and didn't laugh at me! That night the others turned out to be Kandre, Scarlett, Karen Eh!, Solo and a few others. I knew it was really special when, as I was leaving, I was desperately trying to figure out how I could go on a trip with them to see Clay! I decided that night I would go to Atlanta with these girls come hell or high water.

I never had proms. dances or a sorority growing up in England and this opened up a whole new world for me. I had never had a slumber party and staying in a hotel with them is one long giggly party!

I sincerely love them all and everyday I thank "whoever" that I found them. Clay can honestly have no idea how he has made a difference to our lives, especially mine.

Another time i'll have to tell you about my first trip with Kandre!

Lol, merrieeee! That was the party to welcome Kareneh!(tm:cute bway chat guy) to Houston and to say hello to kimiye who was visiting her sister in Sugarland. That night, I felt that I hit it off so well with Kareneh that when she PM'ed me a few days after to ask if I wanted to go to the Iowa and Kansas City JNT05's with her, I instantly said yes, brushing away the memory of those Paul McCartney tickets I was holding. Later on, when I related this story to keepingfaith she kept wishing that she'd already met us by then -- because she would have picked up the tickets to see Paul while Kareneh and I went off to see the cute guy!

Wanda, so it was Emmanuel that got you to the boards? LOL! And the original one too!

[FromClaygary]

Scarlett, look at you go! That's awesome! ....and yes, the points are supposed to meet but that doesn't necessarily mean they always DO Congratulations on yours!

I'm so glad to hear you had a good time, and experienced the "quiltmates" . A lot like Clay FANS, are they not??

Are you ready to kill us now for suggesting you go to the IQF in Houston? Or hug us?

Telling my fandom-initiation tale will have to wait until tomorrow night, by which point the conversation will probably have passed on...but I'm enjoying the ones so far! Carry on! Catch ya all on the flip side!

[annabear]

So, I just want to ask everyone... how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

I'm not sure I posted on any boards in 2003, although I was online searching for more info about Mr. Aiken. Honestly, at first, the boards scared me! :o I found a nice little board and a few of us just hit it off. I drove to Columbus, met one of them - *waves* to lurker dediclaytion - hopped in her car & we drove to Cleveland to meet the other two. Then we all stayed at her place after we went to the Columbus IT, which was my first Clay concert.

After that first concert was when I realized it was special, he was special. Very special.

I've since hopped into other virtual stranger's cars, had virtual strangers hop into my car to travel half-way across the country, flown half-way across the country to room with virtual strangers - *waves* to couchie, cindilu & luckiest - made plans to meet up with virtual strangers in alleys in big cities - *waves* to ausdon!

I've met some wonderful people via TBAF - *waves* to georgiesmybaby, who traveled half-way across the country to help me with a fund raiser. I've been blessed to work with How We Make A Difference and see, first-hand, the joy that a group of strangers donating tickets can bring to families that might not otherwise have been able to attend a big concert.

Found this board around Christmas 2007. I was looking for someplace to have fun again.

I've had opportunities to spend time with my mom, make new friends, travel & see new places. And of course see and hear Clay's talent. I don't and won't regret a minute or dollar spent. Ever.

ETA: Ooooooh! Very pretty pinwheels, Scarlett! Some of those fabrics look awfully familiar - I'm sure I have a few of those prints in my stash!

[ldyjocelyn]

I really didn't get into the internet fandom until after AI was over. I tried a few Yahoo groups, but one day, discovered that Television Without Pity had message boards connected with them. Hence, my introduction to the People's Republic of Clay, which eventually turned (for me) into the CH.

My first real connection with the fandom ended up being at the AI Tour stop in St. Louis, and the preparty that was at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time to be able to squee over Clay in a group that understood what I was feeling. Then, in December that year, I attended the Indianapolis show of those radio tours, and basically spent 24 hours awake -- up at 4:00 a.m. to stand in below zero temperatures to see Clay through a radio station glass window to 4:00 a.m. the next morning in a hotel room with about 20 other Clay fans.

Sadly, I don't keep in touch with most of those fans anymore, mostly due to just differences in how we viewed Clay and our respective fandoms. However, I distinctly remember posting one time about my thinking about attending a few JBT shows on the east coast, and couchie PMing me almost immediately to say "let's go!" And a beautiful friendship was born. (Plus, it also gives me a chance to needle her about putting "lotion" on her face that night....hee.) I was one of the first members on this board, but it wasn't really my "home" board until I couldn't take what I saw as the angst over ATDW one minute more, and I found refuge here. We were small but mighty, and I've loved watching this board become a true "board."

As much as there has been some really uncomfortable moments in this fandom (IMO), I've learned so much from it, and therefore, I can truly say that I've loved every minute of it as well. And -- IMO -- I've got Clay to thank for expanding my world....

[Scarlett]

I'll tell Solo's and PerusingOne's story first since neither of them wants to increase their post count beyond bodyguard... (and we'll need PerusingOne during the next hurricane).... heh! This way I get to tell the story MY way!!!... Solo and PerusingOne didn't know each other but both wanted to go to the Greensboro/Greenville/Charleston NAT so they posted on the boards that they were looking for roommates. They PM'ed a couple of times and then agreed to meet at Greensboro. PerusingOne arrived first, checked in, left all of her belongings in the room, nd then left a key to the room at the front desk for Solo, whom she'd never seen or even talked to on the phone.

A few minutes after this, PerusingOne thought over what she did and pictured in her mind some big German guy (if any of you know Solo's real name, or have seen the Ft. Myers clack -- eep! --- you'll understand why). Not surprisingly, this vision alarmed PerusingOne and so she called me to see what I thought. Meanwhile, I was about 1 hour south of Greenville, standing in line at the Borg Assimilator at Carowinds. When PerusingOne called me and told me her worries, I thought, "Oh, no! I'll have to give up my place in line!" but resigned myself to it since I didn't want to see her murdered in her sleep. Luckily, we figured out whom she was talking about and since I'd met Solo a couple of months before that, I reassured PerusingOne that she wasn't an axe murderer and that I could go back to my rollercoaster, and meet up with them later.

To save ourselves this type of trouble, we tried to travel together as much as possible thereafter. It didn't keep us from getting into trouble but at least we were all together in the same place when troubles came, or rather, when we brought trouble with us!

ETA: Thanks so much for the kind words, FromClaygary and annabear!!! I already received invitations to the next quilt retreat in April. I gave a tentative ok (because if there's a show at that time, sorry about quilting but ... You understand, don't you? LOL!)

Oh, and btw:

[whatavoice]

So, I just want to ask everyone... how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

I loved Clay on AI2, and was so disappointed that he didn't win. But, I was computor illiterate, and lost track of Clay - plus work kept me too busy to know about or catch him on TV. Then, I retired in 2006, just when ATDW came out. When I listened to the album, I thought, wow, he still sounds great(actually, even better), and he looks so different(and hawt). Well, I caught up with his career online, and discovered that he was more than just a singer. He went through so much, and he was still such a caring, compassionate guy - he was someone special! I joined his fan club, and eventually found this board. Yeah! Ok, done with long, boring story.

[aikim]

I sense a theme here!

Starts humming "Strangers in the Night..."

Kim

[aikim]

So, I just want to ask everyone... how did you become a part of the fandom and when did you realize it was special?

I loved Clay on AI2, and was so disappointed that he didn't win. But, I was computor illiterate, and lost track of Clay - plus work kept me too busy to know about or catch him on TV. Then, I retired in 2006, just when ATDW came out. When I listened to the album, I thought, wow, he still sounds great(actually, even better), and he looks so different(and hawt). Well, I caught up with his career online, and discovered that he was more than just a singer. He went through so much, and he was still such a caring, compassionate guy - he was someone special! I joined his fan club, and eventually found this board. Yeah! Ok, done with long, boring story.

Not boring at all, glad to have you here. I think the most interesting stories are from those who discovered Clay after AI.

(not that any of the above stories were boring, LOL.)

Kim