Rockapella Concert/Meet and Greet - Florence Gould Hall, New York, NY - January 12, 2002

Yet again, two shows in one night that I almost didn’t make. My dear friend Barb and her family was supposed to pick me up at my aunt’s house in Jersey City, but I hadn’t given them specific directions, and I made the mistake not to give them my cell phone number, so they couldn’t contact me to let me know that they couldn’t find my aunt’s place in Jersey City and that they were going to head over to FGH without me, and hoping that I would make my way to the city somehow. I finally convinced my cousin and his friend to drive me to the city and see the show with me, so we made it just in time for the 2nd show to start. When I got there, I saw Barb and she explained to me what had happened and I realized what a stupid dork I was for not giving her specific directions and my cell phone number! Anyway, she was glad that I made it safe and we all headed inside for the next show. We sat way in the back of the theatre, about 5 rows in from the back. They were good enough seats. I turned around and saw Rene Ruiz of Toxic Audio sitting on the row behind us. My friend Cheryl was also there sitting right behind me. She and I had a good time. At one point, during Jeff’s solo, I yelled “you go Jeff!” which reverberated throughout the whole auditorium. Later on, one of the diehards, Amy, would tell me that she and the rest of the diehards immediately knew that I made it to the show because they recognized my voice. LOL The time for picking the Pretty Woman came and I got very excited because Kevin made it all the way to the back and was actually standing right in front me, I really thought he was going to pick me as PW!!! I knew he saw me because we made eye-contact, but then he just smiled at me and walked back down to pick another girl for PW (It turned out that it was a set-up, the girl’s boyfriend was going to propose to her that night, so the PW was already pre-selected). I’m still a little disappointed though. LOL Throughout the whole night, Cheryl and I were just having a grand ol’ time. Some of the girls who were sitting in front of us asked us if we knew Rockapella. Well, technically yes. Not personally (I wish! LOL). They thought that was cool. After the show, we waited for the guys to come outside since there wasn’t going to be a meet-n-greet inside the lobby (boo on FGH!). I met up with Barb and family outside, and we just hung around and chatted. One by one the guys came outside. I went up to Jeff first, and he was surprised to see me there. He gave me a hug and said that it was good to see me. Barb took a picture and then he and I were done. We said our goodbyes and he continued talking to other fans waiting for him outside. I went around and saw Kevin. I didn’t talk to him much, I just told him that I wanted to say “hello” and he gave me a hug. I looked for El and found him with Louise and Sue and he just looked so cute with his brown beanie hat with what seemed to be either dog ears or bunny ears, not quite sure which. All I know was that it was too cute! I told him that I loved his shaved head and that he was a "hottie", he chuckled and blushed a little, and I proceeded to rub his head. I don’t think he minded at all because he even leaned over so that I could get a good rub. LOL I went back to where Barb and family were and found them talking to Scott. So, I joined in on the conversation. During the conversation, Barb pointed out that there was someone behind me that I might want to say “hi” to. I turned around and it was Shelly (a.k.a. Sparky)! It was too cool to see her. I gave her a hug and took a picture with her. We got to chat a bit and then she left. I got back into the conversation with Scott, Barb and family, and Scott told me that he was just surprised to see me on the East coast. He said that he really appreciated that and he was glad I came. I told him that I didn’t mind traveling at all to see them. I suggested to him that Rockapella Centre should have a frequent-flyer program for Rockapella fans who travel far-and-wide to see the shows. And that if we rack up enough mileage, we should get either free tickets to shows or a private meet-n-greet with the Guys. He thought that was a good idea. LOL After taking a picture with him, I said my goodbyes to him and to Barb and her family. I didn’t realize that this was going to be the last time I would see Barb alive. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time with her that night. It was one of my more sentimental meet-n-greets. She was a good friend.