Well, almost one week ago I was out of my mind with nervousness over winning a M&G to see Clay. It's taken awhile for me to post about it, but I know some people have asked me to - so here it is, my experience! I hope you guys enjoy hearing about it as much as I enjoyed it happening. Hope I didn't leave out any details!!
I arrived in Merrillville, IN, with the help of Thea (claydevotee), around 3:00 p.m. I was getting nervous, excited, nauseous, the whole nine yards. Thanks to Barb (wisconsinmaniac), Thea, Nancy (Barb's daughter), and Lexie (Barb's granddaughter), who graciously shared their hotel rooms with me, I had a place to get ready for my "date" - and 4 wonderful helpers in picking just the right outfit to wear. After deciding on the green shirt with the white capris, I hurriedly changed so we could be on our way to the pre-party. We arrived and were the first ones at Uno's, and were patiently awaiting everyone else to arrive. The other Maniacs started rolling in - and it was soooo great to see everyone!!
Everyone ordered their food, Pat (Pat4Clay) had wonderful roses for everyone, Angela (ILClaymate) made awesome Clay Cd's with a mini framed picture of Clay as favors, and Thea was a great organizer of the party! I of course did not order anything, because at this point I was not in any frame of mind to sit and eat a meal. So I had a nice cold glass of water! My time with everyone was very short, because I had to go back to the hotel room, make myself look presentable, and get back to venue in time to pick up my pass. So I said my good byes, and drove back to the hotel.
I was a wreck!! I quickly curled my hair, tried to make everything stay in place, put my nice smelling lotion on, wrote my little note to Clay along with my gift, made sure I had my camera - with media card
- and off to the venue I went. I got to the lobby, and ran into Lainey and another girl I had met at the Christmas concert in Chicago last year - Ann - and they told me how happy they were that I was getting to meet Clay, while I fished around for my license to pick up my pass. Then came the waiting. We waited by the box office for Nick and Clay's Bodyguard to come get us. I talked with the other people waiting to go in, and how we all just could not believe that we were actually there. Finally we got let into the venue, and got read our rights - One item signed, One picture with him, no kissing, hugging, pinching, talking, etc. of any sort would be allowed. So then we got taken to the back of the venue, outside again, for more waiting. We stood in a single file line against a brick wall, and the famed M&G table was at the beginning of the line - right in front of a door that lead backstage. We waited forever! (or at least it seemed that way, waiting for HIM to come out) People kept going in and out - I told everyone that the only reason they were all doing that was because they knew when they came out, it would get a rise out of us because it just might be Clay. And then, FINALLY, that little devil made his first appearance!!
He walked out, looked down the line, and said, "Well, I see they found a nice place for this to happen here today!" and laughed - clearly a nice brick wall and brown door was not the ideal background for a picture, not to mention outside on the loading deck of the theater with a semi right there. And he saw all of our cameras poised and ready - and all of us scared to snap any - and then he said something like, "Yeah, you can take your pictures!" And then they officially started.
There were about 14 people total, and I was towards the middle of the line. I wanted to try to be last, but they let the people who paid the $2000 for BAF the auction go last. So the line slowly started to move, and I was not even paying attention to what he was saying - let me tell you, no matter how many times you meet Clay, the nerves NEVER go away!!! I finally got to the front of the line. I handed my camera to the security guy, my gift to Mary, and she forgot to take my autograph item - so I had to hand it to Clay myself. He looked at it and said, "Now what's this?" I replied that it is supposed to be a CD, and that my mom had this bright idea. I said, "she's a teacher, you know how they are!" He laughed and said, "well that's good! So what's this idea? What are you going to do with it?" Now, here is where I could kick myself in the butt. Has Sarah ever been tongue tied in her life?? No. Was she afraid to talk to Clay in front of a stadium of thousands of fans? No. So, then, why in the world did I all of a sudden become tongue tied during my one on one moment with Clay?!?!?! Yep, that's right, at that question I sort of stuttered, then mumbled something about how I was going to get his autograph and the picture of him and I together framed. I guess I expected him to ask what the thing was, but I never expected him to ask what I was going to do with it! So then he says, "Okay, so do you want me to just sign it, or make it out to you?" And by some grace of God I finally found my voice, looked him in the eyes, and said, "You can write anything you want to on it!" He giggled, and then asked me my name, wrote it on there - asking if it was with an h or not, then wrote "use your voice", all the while still being a teacher and carefully centering the words on the CD, and then signed the very bottom.
He handed the autograph back to me, I said thank you, and he put his arm out for me to come around to get my picture taken. I thought, okay, this is it, just for Mary (Pauluka) - I have to smell him!!!! Seeing how there weren't any hugs allowed - and I wasn't going to get my picture taken with a wrinkled up nose - I tried to get a whiff when I first made my way around the table. And Mary, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there was no distinct smell. No cologne, no aftershave, nothing. So I wrapped my arm around his waste, he put his arm around my waste, and he leaned his head down to put against mine for our picture. (*almost died right there) We smiled for the camera, Nick snapped it, and my 15 seconds was done. Or so Mr. Bodyguard thought!!
I said thank you, and as I was walking away - I turned around and said "Clay, could you please come visit us in Wisconsin again??" He looked at me, laughed, and said, "I'll try, I'll try!!" I said Thanks! And walked down the line. That was it, and I'm happy to bring you guys this:
I am sooo happy with the picture. I don't know if it was because my eyes were glowing, or if Nick is just a good picture taker, but I swear that this is the first picture where I have not had to fix red eyes on me!! It was an awesome experience, and however short it was, it was absolutely amazing to get to look into those beautiful green eyes one more time. He was so sweet, smiley, funny - just Clay!!
Oh, and I almost forgot!! I was sooo stressed out that a few days before, I had gotten a zit on the right side of my chin. I don't ever wear make up, unless it is a special occasion. Now, this definitely was a special occasion, but I though nah, I want him to see how I am every single day. I was, however, going to remember to grab my foundation to at least cover up the zit. But of course, I forgot it. However, after seeing the picture I didn't feel so bad - if you look closely, Clay has a big zit on his chin too. Actually, my zit and his zit are like mirrored opposites of each other, mine on my right chin and his on his left chin. So I guess it was meant to be - we both had huge zits, that made the other person's zit look okay!!
And that, my dear friends, is my recap of my meet and greet with His Royal Hotness. It is definitely another memory that I will never forget, and I am so very glad that I am able to share it with all of you.