Monday, July 07, 2008

AI concert recap - part 1: meeting the Castros

There is so much to share. I didn't know where to start. This will probably be a little erratic, but that's too bad. Follow along. I know its almost a week late, but it has been an intense week.

I get to the arena and they haven't opened the doors yet. I stand around and watch the madness. I was in no hurry to get inside, because why? Assigned seats, so why bother. I casually get in line and go in. While I am walking to the stairs down to my section, I spot Jason's mom in line at the concession stand. At first I thought, "Wow. I should take her picture." I got out the camera and then I thought, "Why take a picture? I should just go talk to her." So, I did. I was wearing my Dreadhead shirt and as I walked up to her, she saw me and smiled. I told her that I just wanted to introduce myself. I told her what group I belong to and she asked my name. I told her and she laughed and smiled. Well, we are famous after all. We exchanged a few pleasantries and I gave her a hug. I told her to tell her son that we love him. I was freaking out that I had actually spoken to her. I started walking away, but I knew that I had seen Michael and Jackie (Jason's brother, 20 & sister, 12) waiting for their mom. I figured, hell, why not talk to them too. I just walked up to them and told them I just wanted to say hello. They were really nice and talked to me for a few minutes too. I really could not put thoughts together. So, I am not really sure what I said to them. I know I said something about the weather. After talking to them, I was flipping out. I called my friend Colleen, in San Diego and flipped out. So, what's the second best thing to meeting Jason? Meeting his family, I'd say. After calming myself down, I made it to my seat on the floor. It was really good. As I sat down, I saw that Castros sitting very close to me. Betsy saw me and waved. How cool is that? After frantically texting all my friends about what had just happened and talking to many of them on the phone too, I realized how dumb I was for not getting pictures with the family. Since the show still hadn't started, I made my way up the aisle and asked his mom if we could have a picture together. I told her, "My friends are gonna kill me if I don't get a picture with you." She was super nice and told me it was not a problem. At that moment, Jackie came to her seat and she offered to take the picture. How surreal! I was still floating and just went back to my seat. The show went on (my review will come soon!) and by intermission, I had received a million texts telling me that I had to get my picture with the siblings. So, I managed to make my way back to their seats. By this time, many many fans had discovered the family sitting there and were crowded all around. There were so many girls around Michael that I said to him, "Look at all these girls. We are gonna have to fight for you." He just smiled. He was loving every second of it. I managed to get my picture taken with Michael by some random girl. Then I asked Michael to take a picture with me and Jackie. It was so amazing. They were so nice. Thru the whole show, I would look over at the family to see their reactions. I made eye contact with Michael many times. I will say this... there are many people who are just as obsessed with him as they are with Jason. He is known as mcas. He's got his own group of fans. I was never really a fan. But I have to admit, in person he is a fine looking guy. I figured out one of the Castro boys secrets. They smile when they talk. You are drawn to the mouth, because they are smiling. And that is damn sexy. So, I am an mcas convert. Jason is still my idol, but his brother ain't bad to look at either.
Ok, so that is the story about meeting the Castros. The pictures are a few posts down.
Why is this a big deal, besides the obvious?
Well, going up and talking to strangers is not something I normally do. Taking their picture from a distance is more my personality. But just putting myself out there and talking to them is so not me. But you know what? I did it. And I was not scared or nervous. I just did it. I told myself I was being dumb for not doing it and I did it. A few months ago, I never would have. This is more and more proof of the evolution of Laura. It's proof that when you have friends and joy in your life, you can grow and become more confident in yourself. I am mad at myself for ever being the person who would not have talked to them. But I am now. Laura is coming out of her shell and she likes it. And yes, I am referring to myself in the third person...

More in a little bit...

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