Ready for another perspective on the GH fan weekend? VBG The Pimp Queen is back and I’m ready to roll with a recap of the events that I attended during the annual gathering in L.A. But before I do that, let me just say that I adore my friends on SZ and if you EVER want to make any more late evening runs to Jerry’s Famous Deli I’m your girl!!! OK now, here we go…I’m going to separate these into sections so that I can easily recap each of the four events (Wally’s concert, the main luncheon, Real and JJ’s Gospel Hour, and the Becky Herbst soiree) that I went to.

SATURDAY NIGHT: Wally’s Concert

The plan for Saturday night was to meet up with Kim (KimAshton) at the Sportsmen’s around 6 P.M. because we knew that we had to check in for the Kurth & Taylor concert at 6:30 (we were staying at the Universal Hilton and had spent the day with family who live in the L.A. area). Well, naturally, we were running late because there was absolutely NO parking at the lodge (thank God for nearby neighborhoods with no parking restrictions after 6!), so we came rushing into the hotel and zoomed right past her (and Real, who was walking in for his event upstairs)! It was only after we tried unsuccessfully to find Kim’s room and returned to the lobby to determine our options that I heard my name being called and Kim and I finally hooked up! After that, we checked in for Wally’s event, ate dinner, and hung out until the concert started; Lisa B. (Yorkfan), Shari (rosy), Kris (cap), and Michelle (Michelle Q) were there too-in fact, we ended up sitting together at the show because Kim is a member of Wally’s fan club and she had priority seating (we got to move up a few rows though right before the concert started!). Anyway, the concert was really fun…Wally, Christian, and the rest of the band sang a bunch of songs from their latest album “Freedom”, “Simply Irresistible” (the song Ned performed at this year’s Nurses Ball), “The Seventh Son” (can you believe that was the first one Eddie Maine ever sang on GH?), and the last gasp of “Gimme Three Steps”. They also did a lot of joking around with the audience-one of my favorite moments was when Wally was talking about the GH concert in which Ned got locked in the basement and he couldn’t remember where that concert took place; we yelled “PCU” until he recognized it! But, I have to be honest, the best part of the whole show wasn’t even the music; it was watching the support that Wally received from Coltin, Jacob, and most especially Tava in their attendance at the concert. She was having such a good time dancing and cheering and singing along and her smile just radiated like there was no tomorrow-it made me forget about all the nasty things I’ve ever read people write about her (I’m not talking about Chloe here either-I mean the barbs against Tava herself) and it solidified my position as a TS fan for good. And then after the concert was over…I didn’t even get my K&T CDs signed by Wally or the band because I wanted to meet Tava more! We got our pictures taken with her (my husband Kevin is a HUGE TS lover) and talked to her for a little bit about needing to put on her “wedding smile” (you know, the smile that just freezes your face in place!) when she meets fans, but I didn’t bring anything for her to sign, so we promised her we’d stop by her table at the luncheon so we could get something signed (and I’m SO glad we did, because wait until you hear what happened with that, LOL!). Anyway, it was getting kind of late after we chatted with Tava (and my friends Heather and Jayne, who I hadn’t seen in FOREVER!), so we decided to leave…but…before we called it a night, I ran into JY by the pool and we took a picture together, because I couldn’t let an opportunity to be close to him slip by for anything. VBG He was SO gorgeous and soft-spoken-his hands are like silk, and he rubbed on my back before the picture! (OH BABY!) What a way to cap off an evening, huh? Jacob might be a younger man than me, but that doesn’t diminish one second from his deliciousness!!!

SUNDAY MORNING: GH Luncheon

All right, so the day didn’t start off that great…it was an EARLY day (the second in a row for us), and we didn’t even get in to the place where the luncheon was being held until 11 A.M. (not to mention that the food was AWFUL-thank God for creating inside jokes and sitting at the table with Lisa B., Kris, and Shari!), but once it was time for the actors to make their appearances things improved QUICKLY. Now, our group had made a pact beforehand that we were going to cheer as loudly as we could when we heard JJY’s name announced, and we kept our promise…but what Lisa and I hadn’t expected on was hearing an introduction that we just KNEW meant Kristina Wagner was there and seeing her come into the room! OMG, if there was ever a priceless moment to be had that weekend, that was DEFINITELY it-the look on our faces said it all! (ROCK ON, Mac and Felicia loyalists!) Actually, the entire entrance part was fun to watch (and listen to, because John Ingle was a terrific MC!)…we moved from our table in the WAY back to the side where the actors came in so we’d have a better view, and I’m so glad we did because Stephen Nichols stopped RIGHT in front of us and gave the fans this absolutely perfect Stefan look. I wish my camera hadn’t been screwing up with the battery at that exact moment because I would give just about anything for a picture of that! (maybe one of my wonderful SZ friends could help out …) Unfortunately, my heart was kicked down a few notches when it turned out that Sarah Brown wasn’t going to be there-how many times did I say last week how excited I was to finally meet one of my acting idols? But like everyone who’s already posted about the topic, I was certain she had a good reason why she couldn’t be there…and I’ve stuck to that belief ever since. And hey, the other half of my beloved Sonny and Carly WAS (and listening to Maurice speak provocatively in Spanish as though he were in character opposite Sarah’s Carly was worth a thousand moments, LOL!), so it wasn’t all sadness…not to mention the other fantastic people I had the opportunity to meet! After the actors got settled in their seats on the stage, it was time for the “awards ceremony”…can I tell you how happy I was with the results? MB and SB (according to Constance Towers, Sonny is next on Helena’s list of boy toys!), Jax and Alexis as Favorite Couple (poor Wally and Tava, LOL!), Billy’s reaction to his win for Outstanding Supporting Actor-“It’s been a long haul, I need a drink!”-and above all Lisa and JJY for the Best Online Fan Club. I swear, I think I whooped and hollered louder for her than I did for anything related to my favorite GH actors…and why not, because she deserves the accolades more than I could ever say! Put bluntly, Lisa rocks!!! Continuing on…the Q&A that followed the awards ceremony was great, especially JJY’s comments about the answers some of his colleagues were giving (on Maurice’s Spanish love talk, “I’m glad I have a podium in front of me!”…on Shell Kepler’s merchandising on the ValueVision network, “ValueVision isn’t related to ValuJet, is it?”), John Ingle’s answer to the question “When will Edward ease up on A.J.?”-NEVER!-and the banter between JJY and Kristina when she was asked if things were going to progress between Felicia and Luke when she and TG return from their respective vacations…(after Kristina has expressed that what Fluke have is about sex and she and John are discussing the issue), “Are you finished with me?”, to which John replied, “I’ll never be done with you, baby!” Now THAT’s the Mac and Felicia I want!!! In fact, seeing one of my absolute favorite couples together like that was one of the main reasons we went to JJY and Kristina’s table (they were with Robyn Richards-the Scorpio household lives, LOL!) first, and boy, am I glad we did because their line was LONG and we just happened to get there just before Kristina was leaving…not only did Kevin and I get our pic taken with John AND Kristina, we also got all three of them to sign the first volume of my three-part Mac and Felicia scrapbook! They were real sweethearts (Kristina’s smile can be seen from SO far away!) and Robyn spent a good few minutes looking through the book and admiring the pictures. After JJY, Kristina, and Robyn, we went over to Maurice and Scott Egan’s table, because I just had to meet Maurice, and he signed the picture of him and Sarah that was in the packets given out at check-in (we were one of the lucky ones to have it, LOL!); I told him how sorry I was that Sarah wasn’t able to make it to the luncheon and I could just tell from the look in his eyes that he was sorry too. Scott Egan…oh, my, I’m his for life, LOL-and besides, it’s the only picture I have until my CDs come back from the developer next week! He was gracious and funny and was definitely happy that so many people wanted to meet him, because they think Johnny is just the best (which he is!); we said that Johnny should go after Liz or Carly, to which he smiled and answered he’d love to be with either of them (when he started talking about Carly, Maurice looked over, scowled, and said in jest, “Johnny is gay!”-no stealing his woman, huh?) We also met Vanita Harbour when we were over in Scott and MB’s vicinity-LOVED her and I can’t wait to check out her album when it gets finished (between her, Coltin Scott, Michael Saucedo, and JY, it’s gonna be a GH release party for sure!). From that side of the room, we went to Ingo and Tava’s table…and OMG, what timing! I know you have heard about the little pen incident that had Ingo and Tava drawing on each other and running around the tables to get away from the other (not to mention Ingo losing his shoes!), but I had the distinct pleasure of being RIGHT in front when it all started…and providing a catalyst for the fight. You see, I had an SOU magazine with an article on Jax and Chloe in it, and I gave it to Ingo to sign-I wasn’t originally going to have him autograph anything because I already have stuff that I’ve gotten in the past, but I figured this was his last luncheon, so what the h**l! Anyway, he saw a picture of Tava alone in the article and decided to draw a moustache, then a beard on her…and she noticed that he was “defacing” the picture, so she went to mark him with her Sharpie pen, and WHAM! They were off and running…when they finally got back to the table, Ingo finished his drawing (complete with glasses!), and we took a pic together, as hard as it was to keep everyone from laughing so hard about what had just happened. When Tava got to the magazine, she wrote “Dork!” over Ingo’s picture, and he tried to start something with her again, but she got up out of her chair and moved to the other side of the table so he wouldn’t bother her anymore. It was definitely a highlight of the entire event-and now I have a one-of-a-kind item in my possession! After Ingo and Tava, it was getting close to the end (and the people at the Sportsmen’s were being VERY strict about the timing issue because they needed to get set up for a wedding), so we had to rush to meet as many people as we could…we went to the Q table with Leslie Charleson and John Ingle, talked to Marisa Ramirez (the new girl who will be involved with the teen storyline), stopped by Wally’s table just long enough to tell him how much we liked Saturday night’s concert and have our K&T CD signed, and got JY and Coltin to sign our “Fab 5” picture (same photo shoot as the one that appeared in the 7/11/00 SOD, with B&B’s Thorne, Brooke, and Macy on the cover); Amber had signed it earlier and we knew we’d be able to catch Becky and Michael at her event on Sunday evening, so we didn’t even go to where they were sitting. We also tried to get to Stephen Nichols, Connie Towers, and Landon Wine, but no luck-at least Kevin got to see Connie in the hallway before the event started and got his picture with her! And as far as the others went (Real, Shell Kepler, JZ, Denise Alexander, Rachel Ames, BW, Lisa Vultaggio-well, actually, we met her in the parking lot when we were leaving, and she was nice enough to stop as she was waiting for her car to sign our GH book-and Jon Lindstrom; did I forget anyone?), there just wasn’t time…I am most depressed about Billy and Jon, because I’ve been following them both for such a long time, but sometimes you just can’t have it all!

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: Real/JJ’s Gospel Hour

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay for the whole event, because we had to make sure we’d be on time for Becky’s evening soiree (h**l, we didn’t even know if we’d get into the show at all because they were supposed to cap it off at 90 people and we only arrived back at the Sportsmen’s with 15 minutes to spare!), but what we did listen to was very nice. I really liked Scarlet Road’s rendition of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (hearing Jonathan sing something other than “Elizabeth” was a nice change, LOL!) and Coltin just sent chills through me when he sang “One Night A Day” by Garth Brooks; not only do I love that song to begin with, but Coltin’s voice is fantastic and I am still left scratching my head as to why he’s never been given the opportunity to showcase that on the show! (oh, I forgot, who wants a singing price? LMAO!) Lisa (Vultaggio) was quite good too…and the words that Real spoke in between the songs were touching, even if the spirit that permeated the room didn’t motivate you. All in all, I’m glad we went, although I’m just sorry it was so close to the time of Becky’s event and thus we had to make an early exit, meaning we missed Vanita singing! (and we had just been telling her at the main luncheon that we wanted to see Dara out of the suits and back in the clubs singing like she used to…yet another reason to revitalize The Outback!)

SUNDAY NIGHT: Becky’s Event

All right, before I go ANY further, I must make this known…the Fab Five have won me over completely and I’m going to be a fan of Becky, Amber, Michael, Jacob, and Coltin FOR LIFE! I might not always like what their characters are doing, or whose business they’re interfering with, but after seeing the actors interacting with one another the way that they did on Sunday night, and recognizing the deep friendships they’ve established, there’s NO DOUBT that those five people (off-screen) are high on my list! Now that I’ve set the record straight, I can go on to the event itself…and what an event it was, let me tell you! (and to think that before Sunday morning we weren’t planning on attending anything after the Real/JJ gathering…) I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in the presence of a lot of people in quite some time, or enjoyed the innuendo more (you don’t think there’s always sexuality going on between the characters? Try watching the ACTORS together…total mind in the gutter, especially Michael…he was talking about how Maurice is his mentor and the rest of them were harassing him about WHAT MB has mentored him about, namely STAMINA!); in fact, with no qualms about it I say that it was my favorite few hours out of all the time I spent in the presence of the GH actors during the entire weekend. Between Amber and her performances as auctioneer extraordinare (when she started hyping up little extra things to get people to bid on the items-the $ all went to Becky’s favorite charity, The Jesse Cause Foundation, which supports testing for Group B strep on pregnant women -you just NEVER knew what she was going to do next…to give you an example of just one of the things she “volunteered” herself or one of her friends to do was the following: “I’ll do the Running Man and the Cabbage Patch at the same time and a little breakdancing move I can do on the floor here”-and she proceeded to do it too!), Michael’s mouth (“Beep, beep, beep!”, like a truck backing up; that was a response to Amber when she was auctioning something off and she kept forgetting what the last bid was that someone had given!), Coltin and Jacob’s sashaying down the aisle as “models” for the T-shirts being auctioned off (Coltin had it DOWN PAT-he had the whole thing going on! And for you girls who have been wanting for shirtless Lucky and/or Nik scenes, there was no wondering anymore after Sunday night-they both ended up with no shirts on for a bit! OH BABY is right!!!) , and Becky saying that she looks up to Sarah and Maurice and how any actor on the show would LOVE to work in the Sonny/Carly story (guess it’s not just the S&Cers who recognize the magnificence of this couple, LOL!), we didn’t have a dull moment (and that question about what the actors do first thing in the morning when they’re going to the studio, too funny! Michael about him and Coltin taking showers, starting the running joke of doing it together after Kevin said the thought out loud, and Amber and Becky with their “fruit cups”, which are really the Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits at Mickey D’s!) …oh, yeah, did I also happen to mention that JJ made a brief appearance and warmly embraced ALL of the Fab 5? The best part had to be Jacob and Jonathan, though-what everyone needed to see, I think! I swear the night could have gone on forever, because everyone was having such a great time (Jacob had to leave earlier than the rest of the gang-his goodbye with Becky was so adorable! It only proved to me why I would have loved to have the framed photos of the two of them that were on the auction block-they can look so cute together!), but with early calls for the Fab 5 on Monday (not to mention the length of day the actors had already had!) they had to cut it off…Amber, Michael, Coltin, and Becky DID stay behind to sign as many things as they could and take pictures with their fans. We got Michael’s and Becky’s signatures on our Fab 5 pic to complete the circle-it is now one of our most prized possessions, LOL, I took pictures with Amber and Michael, and Kevin got his picture with Becky because she is the end-all of end-alls for him on GH! Once we finished that, we “gathered” the troops (us, Heather, and Jayne), and walked out…that was it for Becky’s event!

OMG, did I really get through it?!? I hope that you could understand everything I wrote-I tried to explain things as clearly as I could, but there was so much going on during each event that I’m sure I left out some interesting details, which I may or may not be consciously aware of at the moment. But, if I were asked to sum up the weekend in one word, I’d DEFINITELY have to say “adventure”-it covers all of what happened perfectly!!! It’s just too d**n bad it takes so long for pictures to be developed on CD only…