I returned from my whirlwind trip to LA on Sunday, and I'm still worn out! In fact, I think I'm getting sick, but it was all worth it. I can't believe we managed to plan a fun-filled trip in only 3 days! My last trip to CA took 2 months to plan. I guess I work best under pressure. Sorry this is such a long read! Brevity is not my strong point.

My sister Shanna and I arrived at LAX on Friday at noon. Our trip started on a sour note when my suitcase didn't make it down the baggage claim. Yeah. I thought I was going to cry. My sister was about ready to punch someone in the face (and she would have too!) when someone finally went looking for my bag, and they found it. Lucky for them!

Things got much better when we reached our beautiful hotel, and got all dressed up. Then, it happened...I finally met SUPA! I'm sure you've seen his scandalous pic of us already, but here is the one good photo from my camera. He got all the best ones.



It was so great to meet him, and to hear his voice. What I loved best about him was that he was the same person on the boards as he is in real life. I felt like I had known him for ages, because he has always been so honest with me. I really appreciate that about him.

After lunch, Shanna and I headed to the Mika concert at the Avalon nightclub. We took a cab, which cost about as much as renting a car for the entire weekend. Ouch. The concert was awesome! If you are not familiar with Mika, check out some of his performances on YouTube, because he is quite the showman. His voice was heavenly, and his band was tight. We were right up at the front of the stage, so I got a few decent photos. This was my favorite one.



Now, I had never been to a Mika concert before, but based on the concert videos I’ve seen, it seemed like Mika really turned on the sex appeal during this show. He teased the audience with swiveling hips, and most memorably, he removed his shirt! Or should I say, he slowly and seductively unbuttoned his shirt, then tore it from his shoulders before ripping into a violent percussion solo on a garbage can. Yes, that’s more like it. He also had no problem exposing his bright green underwear, which served as a nice splash of color above his tight black tux pants. (I've got pics if you wanna see!) The show ended with Mika dressed as the world’s tallest, most curly haired chicken.


Then, the circus was over. I hoped I could just stick around after the show to get an autograph, but security told everyone without a backstage pass to leave. I was pretty disappointed, but then I ran into T.R. Knight from Grey's Anatomy in the lobby! He was hanging out with several handsome guys, and they pulled my sister and me into their little group.



Let me tell you, these gorgeous men treated us like royalty! The showered us with hugs, kisses, and yes, one kissed my boob! Well, not directly on my boob, but he kissed the homemade Mika button I had pinned right over my heart. It was sexy. I told T.R. that I had traveled from Seattle for the show, and that I did not want to leave without getting to say hello to Mika. He pulled some strings with the club security, and smuggled my sister and me into the after party upstairs! (Now why couldn't this have happened at the Prince concert! Why!!? ) My sis and I had fun dancing, but we were very nervous because one of the security guys was dead set on throwing us out. He didn't succeed though, and I got to meet Mika's cute guitarist, Martin, and his gorgeous little drummer lady, Cherisse (who happens to be a huge Prince fan). I'm smiling a bit too much for my own good in this photo!



Well, the party raged on, and there was no sign of Mika. I asked his mother and one of his guest dancers where he was, and apparently he was too tired to come to the party. In fact, a few minutes later, he walked right past me and left. Now, I was pretty crushed. I had waited all night, and even risked getting kicked out of the club to meet him, and now he was gone. I followed one of my friends out another door, and walked outside. Just then, I heard someone say, “Look, Mika’s coming out the front door!” Now, I don’t know how I got to the end of the block so quickly, but I must have booked it! I got there just in time to see Mika walk through a crowd of fans, and climb into his black SUV. Drat! My plan was foiled again! The SUV began to drive off, when they realized they had left his sister Yasmine standing on the sidewalk. They pulled over to pick her up, and when the door opened, I got brave and took my chance...

I stepped up to vehicle, and called out to Mika to get his attention. I asked him if he liked the presents I gave him (which I sent backstage before the show) and he said he did, and thanked me for them. I didn’t know what to say after that, but these few words came out of my mouth by themselves, “Mika, I think you are fantastic. You really are.” He leaned his head back against the seat, still smiling and said, “Thank you. I love you.” The car door began to close, so I shouted that I loved him too, and then he drove away. Oh yes. I was on Cloud 9 afterwards. It took being smuggled into a private party and chasing down an SUV to meet him, but it was worth it! I was reliving my fanatical teen years all over again, and you know, it felt kinda good. What impressed me most was that Mika was so kind to me, despite the fact that he was completely exhausted. What a guy. Not to mention I owe a huge thank you to TR Knight, who made it possible!

After such a full and exciting Friday, I wasn't sure if I'd have anough energy for Disneyland on Saturday. Well, I didn't have much of a choice! We took a shuttle to Disneyland, and spent the entire day doing typical Disneyland things. We waited in lines that were too long, ate food that was too expensive, rode rides that were too short, and bought souvenirs that were too gaudy to be appreciated outside of the park. You know the drill. We did get a neat surprise when Kobe Bryant walked by, pushing a stroller, heading towards the Country Bears. A crowd of screaming kids followed behind him, which made me a little sad. He couldn't even take his family to Disneyland without getting mobbed.

My favorite part of Disneyland was the revamped Pirates of the Carribean ride. They added Captain Jack Sparrow, which was delightful! Any excuse to see Johnny Depp (or his robotic likeness) is all good in my book. I even bought a Captain Jack wig, which I planned to give to my boyfriend, but it looks good on me. Maybe I'll just give Jonathan a postcard. I am one grouchy, tired pirate in this photo.



Sunday was our last day, and we decided to take it easy. We went shopping at the Beverly Center, where we made sure to hit H&M. (Ah, the wonders of H&M! Love it!) Shanna got some cute stuff, and I got a crazy looking dress that I can't wait to wear (complete with huge purple plastic earrings. Mmm hmm.) We were a little stressed out about making it to the airport on time, but everything worked out. We got there with plenty of time, and had a safe flight home. I felt my heart beat faster when I saw the lights of Seattle outside the airplane window. Home sweet home!

So, my second trip to CA in 3 weeks was a huge success. I think it will be a while before I travel again. I really should be saving my money, rather than chasing rockstars around the country, but it's so much fun! Maybe the Mango will come to a city near you.

Nice!!

isn't Mika gay?

abierman said:

I don't care! He loves me!

UCantHavaDaMango said:

was just checking.....

Wow! I applaud your bravery. I'd get shy and clam up.

Cool story. My claws would've come out upon spotting Kobe. I would've shouted all kinds of obscenities at his ass. I know....how awful

ThreadCula said:

Girl, you have no idea how hard it was for me to do that! I get so shy around people I admire, but this time, I had had spent too much time and too much money to let this opportunity pass me by. I wasn't leaving without talking to the man, dammit!

wow this sounds exciting! and it was written so well! like something you'd read in a magazine! your writing skills are amazing lol!



such a fun trip. sounds great! glad you had fun!

SaraWright10 said:

Thanks hun!

ThreadCula said:

You.....shy?! Never!

Awwww honey!!!!! You are too SWEET!

I wish I had known you were going to run into my boyfriend TR cuz I would have had you slip him my #!

The one thing I love most about you is that you embrace the excitement and fun of being young. I LOVE that Getting older, and going through some major shit in life, can leave one jaded. I try and hold on to the strength of my youth but you are living it and I think that is fantastic. I'm so glad I got to meet you and can't wait to see you again! It cannot be soon enough. It just can't I'm glad you got to meet my boyfriend and that you got to give Mika his gifts and tell him how you felt. That is so special



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[Edited 6/13/07 18:17pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Supa! I wanna cry right now, I miss you so much! We will see eachother soon, and hopefully your boyfriend TR can come too.

UCantHavaDaMango said:

Seriously, had I known you would meet him I would totally have paid you to give him my number! I think he is so hot

AnckSuNamun said:

Ok, now I'm definitely not brave enough to do that!

abierman said:

This thread could be retitled Spot the straight one.
It's harder than finding Waldo

great story!!!

Wow how excitng is that!!! TR Knight looks gorgeous never really noticed how good looking he is

oh my god I love Mika...he seems so sweet...what a luck girl...

I Love Mika.

And your beautiful.

Glad you had such a great time! Sounds like an amazing weekend.

UCantHavaDaMango said:

OK, back to your youth When we were at the hotel and you were talking about giving gifts and meeting Mika, the adult in me immediately thought that you were chasing a dream. It's really not a practical or realistic expectation but I wasn't about to stop you from dreaming or discourage you so I said nothing and just revelled in your sweetness and innocence. But then look what happened, you chased your dream and you made it happen! Always, always hold onto the strength of your youth. Many of us turn from it and make it our enemy. I am doing my damndest not to fall into that category. It is the key to living a wonderfully fun and rewarding life. Just remember that

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[Edited 6/14/07 12:36pm]

Yay! I found a couple pics of the other guys in TR's group'o'friends. The guy on the right is Anthony. He's the one who kissed my chest! What's even weirder, is that he works for Access Hollywood!



From AccessHollywood.com:


The dark haired cutie on the left with the black shirt is Chad. Sorry the pic is so small, I could only find a thumbnail. (If anyone has a wireimage account, let me know, because I'd love a larger version of this) My sis and I agreed that he was one of the most gorgeous men we'd ever seen!

UCantHavaDaMango said:

OMG!!!! Remember how I got hit on when we walked outside!!!!!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Thank you honey! I knew it seemed like an out of this world goal, to actually meet him and give him my presents, but I didn't want to give up. I had hope because Mika adores his fans, and almost every fan I've spoken to has had the opportunity to meet him at his shows. I guess I felt that it was all part of the experience, so I was royally pissed when the security guards told me otherwise. Oh well, I just worked around them!

UCantHavaDaMango said:

Go Mango Go Mango Go Mango

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Eek! Yes! That was crazy! Wait, not that hitting on you is crazy...oh, never mind. You know what I mean!

UCantHavaDaMango said:

well yeah it is Mango. You've seen my threads! Men usually run from me

Hey Rani! Looks like you had a great time! I'm glad you had fun.

I had forgotten you were from Seattle. I am going to be there for a couple of days soon. What's cool to do in Seattle?

Militant said:

Yay! What are you coming to Seattle for? There are all kinds of things to do, especially if the weather is nice. I'll orgnote you later today.