girl66 said:

How about me? Didn't look like a great hotel bathroom myself when my little one had two accidents and I was out of diapers?

i saw kitties!

i really super duper wanna thank everyone who posted on this thread for keeping the rest of us in the loop and making us feel like we were right there with ya. sitting at home last night and dragging through my job this morning, i was super excited just to hear what new craziness was going on in line. and it sounds like the whole experience was a total lovefest for everyone involved, and i cannot tell you how much i freaking LOVE THAT.

that's the cool thing about the org. when ben put "online fan COMMUNITY" in the logo, he wasn't just scrambling for words. i've always thought that the different fan sites had their major strength and that all the sites - the org, HQ, NPGMC, the underground, etc. - need to co-exist so we can enjoy what each has to offer. as far as i'm concerned, the org offers COMMUNITY above all else. and this thread in particular is proof of that strength. GOOD WORK.

on a more personal level, i wanna thank carrie and darin for sitting out in that line all night, sleep and creature comforts of home be damned, and being gracious enough to include me in the famulousness that is going to be 7/7/07! i love you kitties, and i am SO FREAKING EXCITED to be enjoying all the fun and surprises and beautiful chaos with you. and especially to darin, who's the best guy ever in the universe, and who texted me all night with updates and silly asides about his experiences, and really made me feel like i was right there with them (which i really wished i could have been).

so yeah, that's all. this was a blast...and it hasn't even started yet!

CarrieMpls said:

I hope that's the final copy of the story, cos yeah, my other comments were MUCH MUCH worse.

Anxiety said:

was that Hiin w/them?

I am so bummed about missing the show(s) but this is so much fun living vicariously through this thread

endorphin74 said:

What comments? I wanna hear. Did he report what you said?

i really super duper wanna thank everyone who posted on this thread for keeping the rest of us in the loop and making us feel like we were right there with ya. sitting at home last night and dragging through my job this morning, i was super excited just to hear what new craziness was going on in line. and it sounds like the whole experience was a total lovefest for everyone involved, and i cannot tell you how much i freaking LOVE THAT.

that's the cool thing about the org. when ben put "online fan COMMUNITY" in the logo, he wasn't just scrambling for words. i've always thought that the different fan sites had their major strength and that all the sites - the org, HQ, NPGMC, the underground, etc. - need to co-exist so we can enjoy what each has to offer. as far as i'm concerned, the org offers COMMUNITY above all else. and this thread in particular is proof of that strength. GOOD WORK.

on a more personal level, i wanna thank carrie and darin for sitting out in that line all night, sleep and creature comforts of home be damned, and being gracious enough to include me in the famulousness that is going to be 7/7/07! i love you kitties, and i am SO FREAKING EXCITED to be enjoying all the fun and surprises and beautiful chaos with you. and especially to darin, who's the best guy ever in the universe, and who texted me all night with updates and silly asides about his experiences, and really made me feel like i was right there with them (which i really wished i could have been).

so yeah, that's all. this was a blast...and it hasn't even started yet!

Anxiety said:

All that and then some!

I would have loved to keep up with all this madness much more than I have, but I've been busy planning a surprise party for my mom's 60th for days now.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled to be a part of this. Darin, Carrie and Rio are 3 of my oldest and best friends here. The Celebration is really where it all began. Anx and Ivy I've been close to for 3 years now and I love them to bits. And Derek is just a sweetheart. I've loved getting to know him. Now if only Shawna, Aaron and Ian could be there, it'd be a full on reunion.

A million thanks to Darin and Carrie for putting this together. I can't think of a better group of people to see this show with.

Cannot wait kitties!

since i obviously can't wear it, i guess i'll just have to send my babydoll tee to imago.

GangstaFam said:

I'm excited and relieved that you and Ivy are not dissapointed with the seats! But with trying to get 7 together, I honestly don't think we could have done any better.

And we're gonna have a ball. I'm excited to meet Derek and reconnect with the rest o' ya'll, especially Rio and Nathan with whom it's been far, FAR too long.





[Edited 6/2/07 10:33am]

Alright, I've napped, got some food in me and had a smoke, so I'll try to sum up the evening as best I can...

Since this was announced, Darin and I have been talking all week about how we were NOT going to spend the night on Nicollet Mall for this. But as the excitement came and the new ticket limit was announced (when I called first thing the morning this was announced, I was told a 4 ticket limit, we found out yesterday morning that had changed or been a mistake, as now they were saying 10) and we heard of people in line we decided to come down even earlier then planned last night to check out the line and see for ourselves. At 7pm (7!) we got in line to wait for our 7 (7!) tickets to the show on 7/7/07.

As we walked through Macy's to use the bathroom before we got in the line up and take a peek, they were just setting up some of the displays, one of the pics is noted above, others will follow. We started to feel a little fammy and while I was feeling sheepish about it, Darin started embracing the "fam" of it all right away. Here we were, so let's have a good time with it. We quickly ran into fellow Minnesotan Prince fans we knew and settled ourselves (including camping chairs, blankets and bags of goodies to keep us fueled and entertained) as 23rd in line. Within half an hour someone sat down behind us and we felt instantly relieved we were no longer last in line. Within the next hour or so, we began to be very much not last in line and the line kept growing little by little solidly throughout the night. Within a short time we realized we were best off getting in line when we did, if only cause if we'd stayed home we wouldn't have gotten sleep anyway, worrying about how long the line was getting and whether we should drive by AGAIN to see what it was like.

A Macy's Manager came out fairly early and before their closing time at 8pm and answered a few of our questions, ensured the security guard they'd hired for the evening was set and we were instantly impressed with how things were running so far.

As the line began to build we were struck by just how many passersby stopped to ask us what the heck we were lining up for. As a game, Darin and I began to tally each and every one. By the time we got inside Macy's we, or the people within earshot of us, had been asked 48 times (averaging 3.2 per hour ).

The 10 o'clock news had been there and as we were being filmed in the background a friend called to tell us she was watching us on tv. ("I can see you talking to me on the phone on tv!") And that was the first of the media frenzy we encountered.

We had many visitors, paricularly in the early part of the evening. PaislyPark4 was down early and I was pleased to get a hug and a hello as it's been ages since we saw him last. HiinEnkelte (am I spelling that right? David!) was freshly back from Italy the day before and was heading down to the Fine Line for the St Paul gig when he walked by on his phone and I ran out to greet him. We got to chat for a bit and catch up. I love that guy. Shortly after that Malbena showed up and introduced herself to me. She'd come down specifically to take pics for you guys for me since we hadn't been able to get the livejournal to work, but we quickly realized her phone wouldn't work either. We tried, you guys, we really did. DJ Lenka Paris stopped by next and I have to tell you, she is SO freaking adorable. Every time I see her. MinneG (MinneapolisGenius) showed up next, leaving the St Paul gig early as she and hubby were tired and they were leaving back for Holland the next day. Today . Malbena and Girl66 showed up somewhere in all this and for about an hour it felt like a big party on the sidewalk. Left and right there were new faces to talk to and we were having quite a good time!

Darin and I played a hand of Uno (he won by cheating!) and he tried to teach me cribbage, but that was quickly abandoned as the visitors kept coming. We started to get really, really tired around 12:30-1 and were surprised and re-awakened by another visit from Hiin on his way home from the St Paul gig. We chatted some more, and then things started to get very quiet for the night.

UNTIL THE BASTARD ACROSS THE STREET DECIDED TO POWER SPRAY-CLEAN THE SIDEWALKS.

It's officially his fault I got no more than an hour of sleep. It was honestly the loudest most annoying noise anyone could ever possibly have to hear at 2 in the morning EVER.

Somewhere between 3ish and 4ish I actually managed to fall asleep. By 4:20 Darin and I realized we just weren't going to get back to sleep again and accepted our fate.

At around 5:30 the media frenzy began anew, much more so this time. I think ya'll have seen enough of that stuff, so I won't say anymore.

At 6 sharp we headed down to Starbucks for much needed caffeine.

The rest of the morning is a bit of a blur, simply tired and bored, waiting, waiting, waiting...

This is the part where I simply gush and gush about Macy's. We all know how much of a headache these things can be, but this could not possibly have been run any better. And it bodes really, really well for the actual event on the 7th. They had people out early, letting us know how the line would go, they had us fill out disclaimer forms and were showing us what sections our seats would be in for the target center performance. At 9:50am (early even!) they opened the doors and as we got inside, I Would Die 4 U was playing. Darin and I were both instantly all smiles, and the hits all followed. They had a long, long line roped off through the store to the perfume counter which ensured we all made our way in an orderly fashion to where we needed to go. Much of the staff was wearing at least a bit of purple and we spied a few trays of purple cookies and rice cripsy treats. (We walked WAY past them and there were none at the front of the line. But hey, we got the best seats, so I suppose who needs a cookie? ) Still and all, nice touch.

They had 4 cashiers ringing in the sales and a table set up where we brought our receipt and a different person for each item gave us the goods. Wrist bands for the Macy's show, tix for the Target Center and the Macy's gift bag with 2 bottles of perfume and the Tee. We were out of line, had a picture snapped by another of the Prince displays and checked our watch. 10:20am. We were 23rd in line and got through in 30 minutes, so they were getting a person through every minute and a half (actually less!).

And that's the story, folks, long winded as it is. Darin will post his take, everything I'm forgetting (maybe some of the slap happy silliness from the wee hours of the morning) and pics galore when he's done napping, I'm sure.

Overall, I actually had a pretty fun night.

This thread makes me smile.


It also makes me really want to be at the 777 show.

Stax said:

Wish you could come.

This thread makes me smile.


It also makes me really want to be at the 777 show.

Anxiety said:

was that Hiin w/them?

I am so bummed about missing the show(s) but this is so much fun living vicariously through this thread

CarrieMpls said:

It was good to see you guys. I love your interviews too. The org is now famous.

I had a horrible time sleeping that night (like I usually do right before I'm going on a long flight) but then I thought of you and the others sleeping on the street. It was probably a lot worse for you than me I guess. I didn't have the street washer to contend with.

I did see David/Hiin in the crowd at the Truth/St. Paul show, but I got shy and didn't go up and say hi. I didn't think he'd remember me actually. Sorry about that David!

minneapolisgenius said:

hi valerie! i saw you too!
i didn't think you would remember me!.

or maybe i was just being a social misfit. all this online 'screened' interaction apparently can atrophies my live action socializing skillz.

good to see you though back in minnie.

it was cwazy the way i ran into carrie and darin. It was great to see you both and hang for a bit. i was on the phone getting briefed about tickets going on sale the next day, blah blah blah ( i was totally outta the loop), wandering downtown, on my way for some food and then the fine line, and then i crossed nicollet ave and was like, "whoah, wuss up with minneapolis, they really gotta take care of this homeless problem...wha...? oh wait! dat's carrie and that's da Macy's line for Prince!"

it was a trip.

HiinEnkelte said:

Hiin, I didn't know you were from Minneapolis! Would have loved to meet you.

"whoah, wuss up with minneapolis, they really gotta take care of this homeless problem...wha...? oh wait! dat's carrie and that's da Macy's line for Prince!"

girl66 said:

Yeah, we did see her Laura. She was wearing a green shirt and was talking to Carrie and Darrin. I took a picture of them three. She's gorgeous too. Look at Darrin's pictures and you'll remember.

HiinEnkelte said:

Hiin, I didn't know you were from Minneapolis! Would have loved to meet you.

minneapolisgenius said:

hi valerie! i saw you too!
i didn't think you would remember me!.

or maybe i was just being a social misfit. all this online 'screened' interaction apparently can atrophies my live action socializing skillz.

good to see you though back in minnie.

it was cwazy the way i ran into carrie and darin. It was great to see you both and hang for a bit. i was on the phone getting briefed about tickets going on sale the next day, blah blah blah ( i was totally outta the loop), wandering downtown, on my way for some food and then the fine line, and then i crossed nicollet ave and was like, "whoah, wuss up with minneapolis, they really gotta take care of this homeless problem...wha...? oh wait! dat's carrie and that's da Macy's line for Prince!"

it was a trip.