Well, the Philly book talk on Oct. 3 marked the final event that I, in all liklihood, will see Andrew in person. It's been an amazing 18 months or so where I have had the opportunity to meet him four times and get books signed for several of you. It's been wonderful! I only wish some of you could have been there with me, but I assure you that the "Netters" hold a fond place in Andrew's heart. He named us after all.
The pre-event at the Rose Tattoo Cafe was not what I hoped it would be. The venue was not conducive to a meet and greet. The event was spread over several small and narrow rooms. At any given time, you didn't know what room you should be in to wait to meet Andrew. The entry roon was especially narrow and packed with people. My friends and I retreated to a less crowded side room pretty quickly. We ended up chatting merrily with other fans waiting for Andrew to come around. My one friend decided to be a social butterfly and bop around the place. After about a half hour, she came back to tell me that Andrew was in the more crowded room (that we retreated from) and was now greeting people upstairs. Great. Time was running short, and I needed to give him a gift that another fan sent me to give to him. So off we go upstairs.
At the top of the stairs, we find Andrew, but he's not greeting anyone. The poor guy is taking a quick breather from the reception. I get flustered when I realize that we're not where we're supposed to be. In typical Sandy fashion, I jump back, lose my balance, and end up crashing into the wood blind of the window behind me. Darn thing was so loud. Andrew looks up, his PR agent shows up from goodnes knows where along with a camera guy, and my friend is trying to find out if we're allowed up here (we weren't). Andrew pops up and says, "Well, I guess it's time to go back down." Andrew's PR rep then says, "Andrew, look who we have here. We have R (my friend) and Sassy Sandy." What compelled me to fill out my name tag like that I will never know, but I abhor name tags, so I usually write something stupid on them.
My friend has her pic taken with Andrew, I refuse because I still feel like a fool, and Andrew replies, "Yes, I know Sandy very well." In my mind I'm thinking, "Can I make a worse impression on this guy? I have tripped or fallen every time I've seen him!" The PR rep is still standing next to me, and I smile at her while ripping off my name tag. Andrew looks back and says, "How are you doing Sandy?" I smile and nod my head but don't answer. He wasn't satisfied with that answer so he asks me again. I told him something like OK and he told me he'd see me later. That was the only encounter I had with him at the reception.
The book talk itself was packed--easily 300+ people. You can listen to a podcast of the talk here.
The line was very long to get my books signed. Had I not gone into NYC the week before, I would never have pulled off getting all the books personalized. God was truly watching over me. All in all, the SOHO event was the best event because it ended up being the smallest and I literally had the most uninterrupted time with Andrew. Sad that I had to bolt in order to catch my train, but it was probably a good thing because I didn't give any appearance of lingering.
Finally my turn came, and I was able to give Andrew the gift that another fan gave to me to give to him. Whew. Mission accomplished. (I had given him a pen at the SOHO event as a thank you for personalizing so many books for us and for putting up with me...I can be quite the pest at times.) We chatted for a few minutes, had my picture taken, got a hug (several people were wondering how I pulled that one off) and oddly, he said, "See you again soon?" I got choked up. I said, "No, I don't think so." He said, "Oh, don't say that." Then I wished him luck with his future endeavors, gave him another hug and said goodbye.
But honestly, the last couple weeks tired me out so severely, until the doctors can find the cause of my autoimmune condition, I just cannot put myself out like I did for pleasure trips. I pretty much have to save that energy for doctor appointments, which will most likely take place in Philly proper. And that's a bit of a hike from my house. However, I have awesome memories and awesome people to share them with! Thanks to all of you for your encouragement over the months and years that I've posted and for your selflessness. I know many of you have wanted to meet Andrew for far longer than I have,, but you have always been positive and happy for me. You are so remarkable. Not everyone would be that charitable. That means the world to me...much more than you can possibly imagine.
That is so fab to read all of that, in more detail - thanks for sharing !!!!! So sweeeeeettt he is !! (and you for doing your darndest to make him aware of those who have wanted to meet him but haven't yet and for sharing the experiences with us and making us part of them).
If you get the chance, try to listen to the very last question asked on the book talk podcast. It was asked by my friend. AM's answer was hilarious. If you cannot make it out, I will help, but I don't want to give it away until you try to listen. Otherwise, I will translate because I remember what was said.
Thaks for sharing the story, Sandy. He really knows you and your effort paid off. I hope you didn't hurt yoursefl there. I assure that Andrew is a very nice person! And I hope I didn't give you too much pressure for my favor. Thanks for yourhelp, Sandy.
