Meet and Greet Pictures...

Pics of Meet & Greet from Mohegan:
This displays some of my lovefest with Donnie. Our group consisted of a lot of 5* virgins so they really had no idea what to expect. We lined up and they all asked who we all wanted and it lined up perfectly - there were only 2 Donnie girls! As soon as I got him, I wasn't letting go...and I notice I always go to his right side. He kept whispering things so it made the time so much fun!

Meet & Greet Pics from Mansfield:
I had a very fiesty group who the majority were Donnie girls so I know my chance was limited. I figured that as long as I got my hug/kiss, and he signed my tag then I could share him. And if I can't have Donnie, I'd like Joe please. I chatted with Joe about the bookdrive and how I brought a lot of books tonight. He was so excited and appreciative!

Stacey was extremely happy with Mansfield because being on the end with Jon makes it feel as if it's just the two of them. Plus, it makes for a nicer cropped/zoomed picture of the two of them! Normally, we have to wait almost two weeks to have these pictures posted. But for some blessed reason, each group was posted the night of the show! Talk about being blessed!

DDub Soldier...

Donnie has been asking his loyal fans (who he nicknamed soldiers) to show they're true soldiers when they see him. I tried to think of something clever and came up with a dog tag inspired theme but similar to a M&G laminate.

He was so touched by it at the Mohegan show that he held it and kept saying thank you. I was so excited for the lovefest that I forgot to ask him to sign it. So I knew that at the Mansfield M&G I had a very small window for operation autograph!

As soon as my group walked in, I made a beeline to him. We had a small chat, he said it was nice to see me again and I asked if he could sign my tag since I now had one for both Mohegan & Mansfield. He said sure and signed it. And just as he finished security walked over and asked what I was doing.

I played stupid and headed over to Joe...what? what autograph??

That's right - Operation Autograph Complete!

Color Me Shocked...

I just found out that ILAA (company hosting the VIP Meet & Greets) has already uploaded the 5* pictures from last night's show in Greenville. LAST NIGHT! AMAZING!

When we went to our 5*, we had to wait almost 2 weeks in some cases. Looks like ILAA has gotten their act together...round of applause.

However, I will say that the quality still isn't the best.

Here are a couple pictures from last night's 5*...I don't know any of the girls, but I just wanted to post them because I thought Joe's outfit was cute & appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

Plus, Donnie looks hot...no surprise there.

Official Group Photos for Mohegan Sun 11/08...

After almost 2 weeks of 'patiently' waiting, the group photos are up at ILAA's website. Per the other Meet & Greet photos, the quality sucks. And not only that...I'm at the end no where near Donnie, or Joe for that matter.

Stacey looks extremely excited to be cuddly with Jon and Alyson & Joe look damn cute with their hats. But can I just ask...why the hell am I holding my own arse? Shouldn't someone else be doing that for me? All I'm saying that it's kharma that the girl in the blue bubble dress, who pushed me out of the way of my Donnie spot, looks like she has a HUGE ARSE!

And...the pic of Joe & I on the ground was not on the site, as I expected. It was taken by the group's photographer. I've contacted them to see if it's at all possible to get a copy of the picture...obviously you'll know if I did in fact get a copy of the picture!

Recap: Mohegan Sun/CT Show 11/8/08...

I'm sad. My Fall 2008 NKOTB mini-tour is over. I went to 5 shows for 5 guys from the Beantown land... But what a way to go out...5* at Mohegan!

M&G was cool, a different vibe from the first 5* Mohegan, more amped up I think. It was in a different location than before - this time the ballroom as opposed to the Cabaret Theatre. The line was crazy long but it was fun to watch people look for their different groups and then say "oh you look nothing like your picture". It seemed to take a long time to check people in than it has in other M&Gs. The nice woman from ILAA was getting really annoyed with people coming up saying we have 7 in our group/8 in our group because we were making the process longer for her. She even made a comment to us so we promised to make it very easy and not argue with her as some girls in front of us were. We got in (I was with my sister, Stacey & Kelley) and we met 2 girls from NY. (Who later got caught taking video of the show)

We were group J (For Joe/Jon/Jordan). Once in the ballroom they had curtains set up in the back to partion off a secluded section for the group photos which helped make it more private. Good thing was that it was better for your specific group shot to keep it personal but you don't get to catch glimpses of them throughout the time there. We sat at the table and waited for our turn. Robo came in, gave the speech about sitting, cameras, phones etc. People were still using phones but cameras remainded hidden. Then the screaming began as the guys came into the room and poked their heads thru the curtains. Donnie came in, stood on a chair and 'asked' for the screams. He said a few things in the bullhorn but couldn't really hear him. Then they did the photos.

When it was our turn, we got in line and got ready. And for some reason I had huge butterflies in my stomach. I was wearing a "Dot Rat" shirt in the hopes to have a good Donnie conversation. And afterall, I am a true, original Dot Rat. I walked in the curtain and was first in my group. Danny yelled out "DOT RAT" and he held his arms out for a hug. So I hugged him, then hugged Jordan as I wanted to get to Donnie who was next. I went over to Donnie and he gave me a huge hug. He asked how I was doing and said good I see. He winked at me and said that he appreciated the shirt. I told him that back at the Boston CD Signing I told him that from one Dot Rat to another I was proud of him and he said I know (which got me confused) and then he said, because of you I got my own Dot Rat shirt, did you see? I said yes which is why I have mine. He kept saying I got it because of you and that you told me that. I wore it to the show, did you see? At this point I was so confused because I couldn't really believe that he got & wore the shirt because I told him that a fellow Dot Rat was proud. So I hugged him again and he grabbed my hand so hard and tried to put me next to him but I was twarted by another girl! DAMMIT!

SO I went to hug Joe & Jon and then I heard Robo say picture time. I, again, was not standing next to a guy. I panicked. I went to look for Joe because I saw Donnie had two girl clinging on to either side. Then I saw Stacey standing next to Jon who had no one else with him, so I jumped at the end next to Jon. Who by the way smells very clean and his sweater was very cozy to hug.

The picture was over and I saw Stacey telling Jon about the twix gift she left for them and he said "oh thank you so much". Then Joe goofily collapsed on the floor. I asked Jon if he was going to make it to the show and he said "yeah, he's just being a goof". Then you heard Jordan on the bullhorn "And ladies if you look to your left you will see Joe McIntyre passed out on the floor". So I went over to Joe to help him up. I gave him my hand and said I'd help him up, but he pulled me down on the floor next to him. WELL HELL YEAH! I wasn't going to pass this up. I laid down next to him and put my head on his shoulder a bit and said 'well this is comfy'. And he said "I never laid down with a Dot Rat before". And then the ILAA photographer came over and took our picture from up above. It was quite fun & cute!

Then all the groups when through and Joe & Donnie poked through the curtain and thanked everyone. They used the bullhorn and thanked us as they know a lot of us have come to multiple shows/M&Gs and that they appreciate it. Then Joe said it was time for them to 'blow our asses up'.

And that was it- no mingling, individual pics, etc. They were running really late so we figured that there wouldn't be any of that. And that was the M&G...fun, entertaining, confusing, quick

The show was of course fantastic...We had 7th row and despite being behind a jerk-off and a hoochie-mama it was so much fun! However, the security in the arena really is pretty bad. They gave me a hard time for having the bottow piece of my ticket missing that says 'no cameras' and almost wouldn't let me to my seat but then they'll let EVERYONE and their Mother's down to front row and just stand in the aisles and try to get in your seat.

I've decided that I've already recapped the show and know just how great it is that I'm not going to recap to discuss the annoyances of the night. No need to ruin such a perfectly good memory/evening with them! Plus, I got to hang out with friends during the night and also meet up with new friends, Megan & Mel! You can't beat a night out with friends who all enjoy the men from The Block just as much as you do... It was a great night!

I took a lot of pics so I'll post those when I get them up. Summer '09 can't come fast enough...

Recap: Mohegan Sun/CT Show 9/30/08...

Alyson & I got to Mohegan Sun around 4:30pm and had to figure out exactly where to go once in Mohegan Sun. We walked through the crowded Casino and eventually found the Caberet Theatre. At one point, we saw Rodney (Interscope Rep) escort girls into the venue for the soundcheck and I was so tempted to go in, but I didn't want to miss the M&G opportunity. We get in line and I thought we were pretty far back, but in reality we weren't that far.

Two girls got in line behind us and somehow we started talking. We met two new friends, Melissa & Megan, who are extremely sweet and we hung out with them the whole night. Megan & Mel sat with us and we asked ILAA if we could all be in the same photo group. It was nice to have normal people to hang out with. Plus, we helped guide them through and helped let them know what to expect. And now we have two new friends that we get to hang out with and hopefully get together with in the future! We already know that we'll all be going to the November 8th show so we're going to plan to meet up before the show!

M&G was in the Caberet Theatre which was kind of cool to do it that way - it's a very small venue where you sit at tables and look at a stage. They had the photos taken on stage. There were groups up to Group O/P. We got checked in and got our passes (we were in Group H) and then headed to a table. We got drinks and some food and then waited a bit, but not too long. The ILAA girl explained the set up and then Robo came out and explained the rules. He wasn't in nearly as good of a mood that he was Sunday night in Boston but I do have to say the mood between Boston's M&G room and Tuesday night was completely different. Tuesday was a lot more calmer & subdued...it almost made you think that girls would actually listen and not rush them after. We got into our groups and got on stage to take our pictures. Danny didn't seem that into it, he was texting frequently in between shots. Jordan, for the most part, was friendly but reserved. Joe was Joe and was mingling about, talking to people, giving hugs. Jon was also friendly and giving hugs even though he felt like crap. He was great about asking people what their names were.

Donnie was Donnie! Donnie is the man. Donnie hugged, kissed, and genuinely took his time with everyone. He walked through the entire room and went to every table to make sure everyone got their time. Jordan did a small corner of the room and then left. Joe walked around and signed stuff and took pictures. Danny didn't walk around at first but then he did and got his way into a corner. Jon stayed by the stage for a while but eventually got into the room and took pictures and signed stuff. He had a stack of napkins with him for his nose. Did I mention he sounded like crap?? Joe took off soon after Jordan but he did well with his amount of time there. Danny left next. Jon stayed almost to the end which was surprising but he was very nice. Donnie stayed there until the very end and the Event Staff was getting annoyed because they needed him to go get ready and leave the venue as they had to set it up for something else. But no one rushed him.

When it was time for our picture, we lined up first in our group. I walked up and told Danny that his breakdance intro from Joey got one of the loudest screams from me in Boston because Joey mentioned "Fields Corner Dorchester" where we're from and he was 'oh ok'. Didn't really seem that interested. Then I made a beeline to Donnie because I noticed another girl starting to stand next to him. I asked him how he was feeling and he said like *&*#$. I asked if the doctor helped and he told me not really. He said I was very thougtful for asking. He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I tried to stand next to him for the picture but these two older women came over and really did a number of overtaking him. Plus the fact that they had huge womanly assets and used them to push me out of the way didn't help either...I realized I was going to be standing by myself and I panicked. Then Joey stood in front and said "I want a piece of someone, I have no one to hold me" so I jumped out and said "I will hold you!" So he grabbed my hand and we knelt down in front together and I wrapped myself around him and he told me to hold tighter. Okay!!

After our picture, I stood up and gave Joey a hug and told him he rocked it at home and he said "but of course we did, it was home!" Then I found Jon and gave him a hug and told him to feel better. I made my way to Jordan who was quietly standing there so I said "hi, nice to see you again" and gave him a hug. Then I had to go back to Donnie...I just had to. I walked back over and said "thank you" and gave him another hug. I know, I even felt selfish at this point. I told him that I've been in love with him for years and he just smiled that Donnie grin at me. I showed him my hardware bracelet and that I've had it for 17 years because of him. He held my hand, kissed the back of my hand and then he gave me a kiss on the cheek, hugged me and picked me up! He said I was the sweetest little thing. And with that I winked and walked off the stage...

During the mingling part, I was able to get my picture with him and he signed my "DOT" sticker. He was incredibly gracious & sweet. I was also able to get my picture with Jon & Danny and Joe signed a picture of he & I from 1999. He looked at me and then the picture and said "what was this 10 years ago? My goodness..." It was so so so good! I can't wait to go back and do it all over again in November!

We had great seats - 7th row dead center so I certainly can't complain as I've been quite lucky. We originally thought we had 14th row (last row in the first section) but it turns out the numbers start off differently in the middle section!

A great show - they guys seemed into it which I was worried since Donnie & Jon were still pretty sick. Jon sounded HORRIBLE in person during the M&G. Donnie said he felt like utter *&@.
The sound during 'Single' was really bad - the mic levels were quiet versus the band. I didn't take as many pictures at this show than I did the previous two and that's probably because I had a very annoying girl in front of me who kept holding up a HUGE-ARSE sign or her hand or her pink phone. I took several pictures of just her arm or hand that I had to delete. She became an annoyance early on.

Show Glitches:

• Donnie screwed up when singing Right Stuff and almost went into his solo part rather than the group and started laughing and couldn't stop. Everytime he looked at Danny, he would chuckle at himself.
• The wind machine wasn't working during BIBIY and Jordan didn't open his shirt until the very end and then he even seemed shy about having it open and kept covering himself.
• During the B Stage songs, Jordan almost fell off the stage when dancing during Tonight, as he lost his balance. Thankfully he got himself but then started to laugh.
• The door didn't open during Twisted and Joe, Donnie & Jordan had to start singing from underneath.
• Jon messed up dance moves during Right Stuff and Favorite Girl and at one point just stood until he could figure out his place.

Overall it was a really good show and the guys seemed into it, however the crowd itself didn't seem that loud but that could be me. Plus, we made two great new friends that I hope we'll continue to stay in touch with and remain friends for a long time.

Mohegan Sun/CT 5* Meet and Greet Pics...

Here are some pictures from the 5* VIP Meet & Greet at Mohegan Sun, CT

Recap: Boston Show 9/28/08...

It's hard to describe the overall day because it could very well be one of the most amazing nights of my life! That's certainly not to take away from any other wonderful night - but this definitely ranks up there as top 3! The whole day/night/show was fan-freakin'-tastic! Since it was a Sunday, Dan was all set to watch Alexander for the day. I decided to go in early and met up with Stacey to see if we could catch them &/or the buses. I originally wanted to be in there for 2pm because that's what seems to be a theme for them arriving at venues. However, due to the rain, I didn't get in there until 2:45ish.

Oh did I mention that it was raining YET AGAIN?

Stacey & I hung out on the side. A few buses drove in but parked in the back and girls tried to get back there but a security dude wouldn't let them in. Although girls were asking staff if they were here already, I had a gut feeling that they were as it was a very busy day for them. So I took it as if something happens - great. If not, I'm not going to worry as I do have 5* VIP tonight!

Then as it became time for me to meet up with Alyson and get in line for 5*, what seemed like the entire city of Boston's fire department pulled up. If the firemen didn't get off the trucks and start to set up hoses, I would have thought the boys were going to get off the trucks. For a second I was worried that there was a fire and that the show would be cancelled... thankfully I was wrong but also no boys on the trucks. No such luck... so I met up with Alyson and we got in line for 5* VIP.

As opposed to Friday night, the line was out the door rather than people standing in the hallway. I panicked at first thinking we were so far back but it ended up not being an issue. We got in line and go up to check-in. The Meet & Greet was being held in Legends Restaurant inside so you had to go upstairs, and then go up another flight of stairs and then wait. There was one girl who was quite overweight and at first I felt bad for her because she had to go up the stairs and it was obviously a problem for her but then when Garden security pointed out an escalator and she said no and continued to bitch about walking up stairs and how she was going to have a heart attack, I lost sympathy for her. Before the check-in table is the merchandise table which was causing some confusion for those who didn't want to buy anything. Finally, we get up to the check-in table for our turn.

We get up to the table and I keep saying in my head "please be Section B, that's all I ask, Section B". We sign in, get our tickets, laminates, and goodies and I step to the side and immediately check my tickets. OH MY! I start to freak out a bit and Alyson just looks at me as if I'm lying. She gets a bit worried at first but then she knows exactly what I'm holding. Crazy! YUP - that's right, we are now the proud owners of FRONT ROW CENTER seats. How we got so lucky is still a mystery but one I'll gladly accept! We kept looking at our tickets as if they were going to change back to what they really were. But nope - front row. We would look at each other and just laugh. And then while sitting there we would just say "Front Row - we have Front Row".

Then it's time for the actual Meet & Greet (M&G). Robo (their bodyguard from even back in the day) comes out and gives the rules (no rushing the guys, no taking pictures from your own camera when up for the group photo, no blocking them as they walk around, etc) and he seems to be in a really good mood. He explains that people should stay in their seat. Did they?? NOOOOO! Why won't these women realize they need to act their age?

The guys come into the room and although Donnie is sick, he comes running in. With no hat - nice! They're all in good moods and seem really happy to be back home!

They line up the groups and take the photos. It's our turn and and we're standing first in our group ('N'). I realized that being first has a huge advantage as you can say Hi, take your time and then just stay put with where you want to stand for the picture. I say Hi to Danny and give him a hug - he was very sweet and thanked me for coming. Next was Donnie. I walked right up to him, gave him a hug and we gave each other a kiss on the check. I told him I was just going to stand here right next to him and for him not to let go and he said "but of course". Then I told him when he mingles if he could come over to the side and he said he couldn't promise because he has a doctor coming after the photos. I apologized to him for not feeling well and he said it's "okay baby, I feel good now that you're here." I could have melted. He started to hug other girls but kept one arm around me. Some girl gave me a very, very dirty look. She knocked the bottle of water out of his hand, so I reached down to get it and Donnie kept his hand on my lower back the whole time. sigh. Then it was time to take the picture and Danny was trying to pull me closer to him and said you gotta let the girls in. I said "Sorry Danny but I can't leave Donnie" so he said "sure thing they can crouch down" and he put his arm around me too! Not a bad combo if you ask me! I got on my tiptoes to make sure I was in the picture and then they took the picture. I gave Donnie another hug and told him to feel better. Then Joe was standing directly in front of me (it made me wonder if he was actually in the picture). He said "hey how are ya doing". I said good and told him that he looked good and I loved his scarf. He said "why thank ya". Then I told him we were in front row so I expected him to rock it. And I got a thumbs up. Before we were going to get pushed out, I made my way over to Jordan and gave him a hug and said Hi, thanks. He said Hi and that was about it. Last hug was Jon. He was too busy checking out this girl and her shirt (she was very pretty), then he turned around and said "thanks for coming" and we hugged, I said Thanks and I went back to my seat. I was very happy!

As for the mingling, I knew Donnie wouldn't be around so I just sat back and relaxed. Jordan walked by quickly but no one really knew what he was doing so he didn't get hounded. He plays the confusion card well. He did a circle around the place and then he left by the side exit. Jon left pretty much immediately but did sign a few autographs on his way out. Joe definitely stayed the longest. He walked around the whole room and he signed stuff as he walked. He was very nice & friendly. Danny started to go around but signed stuff and then left by the side entrance. Overall, even though Donnie didn't walk around, it was definitely still worth it.

Then we got to our seats and the whole night started to sink in. While Natasha was on a SLEW of kids came up and stood in front of us against the barrier. One of the girls was very sweet and told me that they were only staying during Natasha as they weren't allowed to be there during New Kids. She told me they were Joe's nieces and nephews. There was a ton of them! But she was quite sweet. Then after they left 3 women snuck in and stood at our place on the barricade. I heard her say "there's no way in hell i'm leaving here". It was going to get ugly. They were friends of the family so I know they shouldn't be there as they were already backstage. She was saying how she got her picture taken with Jordan. Thankfully security went down the row and asked everyone for a ticket and since they didn't have one they were told and then forced to leave. Okay, security checked for tickets because I asked them too...hahaha!

One interesting point to note. The person who sat next to me... yeah, the very large, overweight girl who complained earlier in the night. She was so large, she took up her seat, 1/2 of mine and 1/2 of the other seat. Before the guys came on, I was sitting down next to her and she stood up and I literally was bounced out of my seat! Alyson & I had to look away from laughing outloud. It was so funny yet sad all at the same time.

Another thing I don't understand is why girls would get SO drunk. The majority of girls attending are girls who are DYING to see them perform again and you're so drunk that you can't remember your own name, you fall down, or you vomit on yourself. How is that a fun evening if you can't even remember the show!? Yeah, that's why I'm not a fan of drinking...We had a couple drunkards and one of them just stood at my seat and wouldn't leave. A couple people tried to get her to move but she was so gone she couldn't even understand what people were saying to her. Charlie Brown anyone? WAHH WAHH WAHH WAHH.

Enough of that craziness...The actual show was amazing. I have to say I was so much calmer and more relaxed once the show started than I was Friday night when I was further back on the floor. I just kept taking a step back and taking it all in and actually WATCHING them perform instead of jumping to see what they were doing or watching the screen. What amazes me is that even though I actually WATCHED the show I still managed to get over 350+ pictures. And this is all while watching the show...

There were so many points in the show where Donnie was on the extended stage RIGHT in FRONT of me and would look down. It was a dream come true to be that close as he performs. Several times during the night, I'd put my hand up in the hopes he'd (or anyone) would slap it but nothing until the very end during Hangin' Tough! Then I got my Donnie-hand-slap!

At one point at the end of the show, (I think during Summertime) Joe was dancing in front of us and he was smiling & winking at some one. I thought to myself "whoa - that's cool if you can get that connection with Joe". And then it hit me - Joe's smiling at ALYSON. I look over at her and she's smiling back and says to me "oh yeah, it was with me". Too funny.

The guys were incredible, the show was incredible, our seats were incredible, the night was incredible!

A few little bloopers that were quite entertaining:

• Jon forgot some dance steps and Joe saying "come on buddy" and they were chuckling
• Jordan missing a few words during GITY
• Joe & Donnie bumped into each other and Joe couldn't stop laughing

I never would have picked up on these little things if I was not so blessed to be in the Front Row. Believe you me - I understand just how fortunate & lucky I am for what happened and I'm so thankful. The whole show was amazing even without an appearance from Paul Pierce. To top it all off, VH1 was there broadcasting the first 3 songs LIVE and when I got home I turned on my DVR and watched it all over again! And the coolest part is that you can see Alyson & I!

Alyson & I are going on Tuesday to CT (5* again) so hopefully Donnie's feeling better so I can get a picture and then be in my blissful state...

Boston 5* Meet and Greet Pictures...

These are the pictures I snapped from our Boston 5* VIP Meet & Greet at the Boston Garden. We had Front Row Center for this show - it was unbelievable! Such an incredible day & show!
Donnie didn't walk around & mingle because he was going to see a doctor (he was really sick). Jon also didn't mingle because he was probably the one who gave Donnie his flu/cold. Jordan literally did one lap around the room - I didn't see him stop to take a picture or give autographs. Joe was great and walked around, gave autographs and probably posed for pictures. Danny didn't walk around but he did sign stuff and pose for pictures in the little group up front.

The Boston Garden letters were on the original building - they just put them in the Legends Restaurant inside the new Garden. Cool...

Boston 5* Meet and Greet...

Here are the "official group pictures" of Alyson & my's group shot in Boston on September 28th. At least I'm next to Donnie and my head is not cut off like I anticipated it would be.

So while I'm not at all happy with the quality of these pictures, I am happy to have them. And I'll crop, tweak, and edit them to see what I can do with them to make them my own.

But at least I got my Donnie love & facetime...despite his cold.















The girl in the white shirt & gray hat was PISSED that I was standing next to Donnie and not moving. She was the one who knocked the bottle out of his hand.

Here is a picture that the ILAA host took of Alyson & I, it's actually a cute picture.

And then here is a pretty goofy picture of me after I won my fancy 6" button. That's right - I got me a big ole button.

Stress of Tickets...

I knew from the moment they announced the reunion that I would be attending a show. Knowing me, I also knew that it would most likely be more than just one show. Afterall I can't have my boys be in the "area" and not go. It was the same mentality as when I knew they were home back in the day, how could I not go check them out?
A reunion tour would be no different.

When they announced tour dates & ticket sales I was very excited & anxious. I felt like that 17 year girl all over again who would have to have multiple people trying to call ticketmaster on a Saturday morning to try to get tickets. There was even one show (Nov 25th, 1989) where we physically camped out at the Garden to try to get better seats (which we got 3rd row right on the side of the stage so we didn't do that bad). I panicked thinking there is a chance we won't get tickets and I'd be devastated!

And to complicate matters further, I discovered that no only were tickets going on sale but there was a VIP package you could purchase which guaranteed you a seat in the first 10 rows, a Meet & Greet with photo op, a laminate & gift. I thought to myself this is crazy ... I shouldn't be spending the money on this now that I'm an adult raising a child. I decided to ask people their opinions to see if they thought I was crazy...and I was under the impression that once too many people told me it was stupid that I would just go for normal seats.

HOWEVER - every person I asked told me that it was a fantastic opportunity and I'd be stupid if I didn't do it! Well that summed that up. I decided that I would get the 5* VIP package for the Boston show. Alyson was also IN for the VIP ticket package and seemed almost as excited as I was...if that was possible. I knew Alyson, Moira & Chris wanted to go to the Boston show ... so the plan was to try to get 2 for VIP and 2 regular seats and if the VIP sold out - I'd get 4 regular.

Tickets went on sale on May 5th @ 10am. I had a meeting in work but told them I would be late due to a previous meeting. I had my websites ready to go for VIP as well as normal seats. It was 9:20 in the morning and I was freaking out. I called my mother at work because I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't sit still, I couldn't focus and I certainly couldn't do work. I just kept hitting the refresh button on the web page. I was praying that no one would come to my office to ask me an important question!! My mom chuckled at me more just because she thought it was cute than it was ridiculous. But I seriously couldn't breath at one point.

Then all of a sudden at 9:35am I refreshed the page and the VIP packages said "NOW AVAILABLE"!

what?

but it's not 10:00am yet!

I freaked out!

I hit the Click to purchase and selected 2. I got into the next screen and it was asking for a show password!

PANIC!

I didn't know the show password. I knew the password to the VIP tickets was 'nkotb' but that didn't seem to be the same thing. Then I didn't know if AMEX had their own passwords as this was for AMEX pre-sale cardholders. I filled out info but then after 3 minutes (I checked the clock), it booted me from the page saying time alloted expired. I wanted to cry! I kept refreshing and trying again and I would get "SOLD OUT" or "NOT AVAILABLE". I truly wanted to crawl under my desk and cry.

I tried for the next 20 minutes with no luck.

nothing.

Finally at 10am, I went to ticketmaster and bought 4 regular seats for the Boston show. If I couldn't get VIP then I was going to be there somehow and I wasn't going to let that pass me by. I was pretty bummed the entire day.

The entire week - actually.

I tried to convince Alyson to go to NY or NJ with me for the 5* VIP and she was okay but hesitant with the idea. Then she told me not to get them and that we would figure something out. Part of me was thinking that she already ordered them and maybe it was going to be a Mother's day present. Then Mother's day came and nothing. I tried not to be bummed.

I would tell myself that at least I'm going to see them and we have decent floor seats. Then on Friday night, I was driving home and Joe called into Kiss108 with an announcement. He said because tickets went so quickly for their Boston hometown show, they've added a second date!

I don't think I could have driven home fast enough! I got home, flew in the house, blew by my family, and turned my computer on.

I opened the website.

5* VIP - Boston show on 9/28 - AVAILABLE

I clicked purchase and selected 2.

I filled out the info and found out I didn't need the password to continue.

I clicked 'confirm order'.

CONFIRMATION!

*SIGH*

Huge relief that I had my VIP tickets. And not only that, we were going to be going to both hometown shows in Boston at the Garden! It couldn't get better than that!

Well it did actually.

We also decided to buy tickets for the Mohegan Sun show on Sept 30th in CT. And since we were going to go to CT, we might as well go big and get the 5* VIP treatment. Afterall, we are superstahhs.

Then the RI show was announced. This time I couldn't justify doing a 3rd VIP so we got 'regular' seats. And then I made a comment/joke that as long as they performed in New England that I would go.

And wouldn't you know it ... the posted a 2nd show in Mohegan Sun.

Can't go out without a bang, right?

Yup - we got 5* VIP to that one too.

5 shows for 5 guys ... I mean how could you do it any other way? Oh by sprinkling in VIP throughout our Fall 2008 mini-Tour!

Let's Get This!