Well, all I really have to say to describe my experience tonight is just one word: surreal.

Mom and Abby and I had a hard time driving to Tribeca because of all the traffic, and once we did finally get into Tribeca, we had to experience even MORE traffic because we missed the turn onto Warren street, the street where Barnes & Noble is. Anyway, Mom told me to take Abby`s phone, because I didn`t bring mine, and that she would drop me off in front of Barnes & Noble so I could head in, because it was nearly twenty-five of seven o`clock.
I hopped out of the car and made my way into the building and took the escalator up, and then I walked into the actual Barnes & Noble. I had to wander around a bit and I finally saw large black curtains, and I thought to myself, "Hmm, those curtains look important....they`re probably back behind there." So I made my way around the various displays of books and stopped at one bookcase, pretending to be interested in the myriad of art-related books that were on its shelves. I then took a deep breath and turned to my left, and a peppy, friendly young woman walked up to be and said, "Can I help you?"
"Uh, yeah, is this the Brian May thing?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, so what do I need to do?"
"Oh, you just need to buy a book from the cashier, who`s right up front," as she pointed in the direction. "You`ll get a bracelet and then you can go in!"
"Alright, thank you!" I smiled, and I walked away.
I called Mom from Abby`s cell phone, and when they picked up, they were still trying to find a parking space. I told them that I needed to buy a book first before I could get in, and then Mom said, "Well, I`m not buying books for all of us!! So I don`t know what you`re gonna do...." We decided, though, that she was just going to come into the store and pay for the book, then she and Abby would leave and just walk around Tribeca. I said that that was a perfect idea, and we did just that.
At the cashier, I asked for "A Village Lost and Found," and the guy behind the counter said, "That`ll be sixty-five thirty-two, please." Mom was severely taken aback by the big price, and she said, "Ooooh, Daddy`s not going to be happy...." as she handed the cashier her credit card. The guy also asked us if we could like a Barnes & Noble card so that the purchase would be 20% cheaper or whatever, but I said, "No, thank you."
After Mom paid for my book and I thanked her profusely, I asked if she`d like to see where the event was. She said "Sure!" and I led her and Abby to the back corner of the store. I went up to a big black guy who was a sort of bouncer, I guess, and I showed him my bracelet and my book, but since the book was in the plastic bag the cashier put it in, he asked to see it. I showed him the top of it and he said, "Yep, go ahead in!" I thanked him and I walked up to the peppy, friendly young lady, who then handed me a pair of cardboard 3D glasses for the viewing of the slideshow. I also thanked her and she told me that I could go in and sit down wherever on this side. Mom was trying to get my attention, and when she finally did, she yelled, "Uh, aren`t you forgetting something??" I honestly didn`t know what I could be forgetting. but then as I was walking over there, I said, "OHHHH, CAMERA!!"
Mom was talking to the peppy, friendly lady, saying something like, "She`s completely oblivious!!" And then she said, "She`s on Cloud Nine!!"
And then Mom said "Yessss!!" in response to my realization, and she handed me the camera. She then said, "Uh, wait, so what about us?", sounding all surprised and faking feeling left out. I told her to go and do what we talked about and to go have fun, to go have an adventure. She then said, "Okay!! Call me when you`re done." I said that I would, we exchanged "I love you"s, and I walked away.

I slid into a row and managed to get a really nice seat, and I ended up sitting behind a dude with curly, long, brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, and he was wearing a black t-shirt with the Queen crest in lime green on the back just below the headhole. After a while of sitting behind him, I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Nice shirt!" He smiled, chuckled, and said, "Thanks!", and then turned back around. Nice guy.

But before my interaction with the nice guy, a lady wearing a purple blazer and black dress pants with reddish hair stepped up to the podium and said, "Welcome, everyone! The showing should start in about five or six minutes, and thank you for coming out here! I would just like to remind everyone to please turn off any beepers, pagers, or cell phones, and that there will not be any flash photography during the presentation. Thank you. There will also be a booksigning afterwards.", or something along the lines of that.
I then took a picture of the nice guy`s shirt without him knowing it, and I`ll post that picture and all the others when I get them uploaded.
The lady in the purple blazer came up to the podium again and said basically the same thing as before so the people who had just came in could hear it, but she said that it would only be about two minutes until the show would start.

And then, it happened.
She came back up to the podium and said, "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the slideshow for "A Village Lost and Found"! -other intro stuff here- So, please give a warm welcome to Brian May and Elena Vidal!"
We all began to applaud, and then a few seconds later, my world came to a stop.
Out of the doors to the left of the stage, up popped a bit of white curls from behind the podium, and I let out a "WHOOOO!!!!" in the sheer excitement of it all. Brian then walked up the stairs onto the stage and came into full view.

I honestly could NOT believe what I was seeing before my very own eyes.
My idol, my role-model, basically my hero, was standing not thirty feet from me, smiling, laughing, bowing with Elena, welcoming us--welcoming ME--to this event!!!! It was, to say the VERY least, the best and most surreal moment of my life. My heart skipped four beats, at the minimum, but surprisingly, I wasn`t all sweaty, shaky, or nervous. I was just /SO/ happy. And excited. And just overall on Cloud Nine!!!! :D:D:D

Brian and Elena went to their separate podiums at the opposite sides of the stage. Brian`s was on the left, and Elena`s was on the right; that is, if you were looking at them from the audience`s perspective.
The first thing that Brian said was, "Ahhhh, I love how we get applause when we haven`t done anything yet!!" We all laughed a lot at that one. *lol*
Well, Brian and Elena were just delightful all throughout the presentation, and it was REALLY awesome to see the slideshow in 3D with the 3D glasses we were all given before.
Brian and Elena took turns talking and taking the audience through a "tour" of the places in the "Scenes in Our Village" series of stereo images.
In the first half, Brian did a general overview of the book, about T.R. Williams, about the stereoscope he designed and affectionately calls the "OWL", due to its resemblance to the bird, and other things about stereo images. He then handed over the reins to Elena, saying that she would now take you on a further tour of to "meet" the other people of the "Scenes in Our Village" series. On almost all(or maybe it WAS all....) of the stereos, she explained what the stereo was about, and then she let Brian read the little verse that almost every stereo card had on the back of it. It was really a cool thing to experience, learning about each scene and the people and things in it from Elena, looking at the 3D images of the various stereos, and having Brian May narrate the voice of T.R. William`s verses for each one. Haha, it was awesome.

Eventually, the slideshow came to the last "half-a-dozen" slides, as Elena had put it, and she said that they would then just be shown and then Brian would read the verses from the back of them, and then a moment of silence would be had for each one of them to contemplate. And THAT was really cool.

Then the end slide came up on the screen, and Brian said something like, "And that`s it! Thank you all for coming out!" We all applauded for a long time, but I`m surprised we didn`t give them a standing ovation. I think we should`ve. But, whatever.
Then Brian said that they would have a "Q & A," and that he thought that that was his favorite part, "hearing from you guys." A good amount of people had questions, and it was cool to hear what they were asking and Brian`s reaction and response to each one.

Then, when the "Q & A" was over, we applauded again and then the lady in the purple blazer came up to the podium again and announced that the book signing would be in a few minutes, but that they just needed to bring the table out onto the stage, so please be patient.
A young lady who was very nice then came to the front of the audience and announced that she would be taking down our names on sticky notes so that our "books could be personalized," or Brian could write "to -name-" and then sign it. When she got to our row and she asked me, I said, "Uhhhh, yeah, sure!" and spelled my name.
"Ariana," she said confirmingly and ripped off the Post-It. She then said, "This will go on the title page, which is....oh, sorry to have to make you lose your place there....here." She then stuck the Post-It onto the top of the title page so that when I closed the book, it would be sticking out. Awesome.
After we had been waiting a while, this REALLY nice man who was sitting a chair away to my left, David, who was Asian, asked me, "So how did you find out about this event?" I said, "Oh, well, I`ve been a Queen fan ever since I was nine, and I`m fourteen now, so." He nodded and smiled. "And I also read Brian`s website almost every day."
"Oh, okay," he said, smiling and nodding.
I then asked him how he found out about this event. "Oh, I also visit his site a lot."
"Ahhhh, cool!!" I said.
We then talked about various other things liked about how I wasn`t as nervous as I thought I`d be, and the he said, "Well wait until you get up there!!" and then we both laughed. I then said, "Yeah, when I get up there I`ll probably pass out or something."
Then I asked him if he could take a picture of me with Brian, and I told him that my mom was supposed to, but then she couldn`t come in because she didn`t want to pay another huge price for another copy of the book. He nodded and said again that he would, smiling at me, and then I thanked him a lot.
After a bit MORE of waiting, this time for the four rows in front of us to stand up, get in line, and get their books signed, it was finally our turn to get in line.

David said that it was probably best that I go in front of him so that he could take my picture, and I agreed and he let me slide ahead. Then, this other nice guy, Pete, who had been eyeing me from the corner from his eye when I slid next to him, asked me if I could email the pictures I had taken, because he was "cameraless," as he put it. I laughed and said that of course I would, and I would just need his address and he said that he`d give it to be after we had our moments with Brian. Thirty seconds or so after I had finished talking with Pete, I turned back to David and said, "Wait, what am I gonna say to him?!?!?", and he laughed and said, "Well, you better think quick, because this is like your only chance!!" I then laughed and went through what I was going to say, and he chuckled, smiling. I could tell he was getting more nervous as time went on.

And then, right after that, I caught sight of Mom and Abby standing by the curtains, and I waved and smiled at Mom, and she waved and smiled back. She then mouthed and made hand motions for, "Do you want me to take your picture?" and I nodded and whispered, "Yes!!". I then turned to David, who had seen me waving my arms around like an idiot, and explained to him that my mom was here, and he asked which person she was. I then said, "She`s the one in black, with my sister." "Ahhh," he said. I then told him that since she was here, he didn`t have to take my picture. "Unless you want to!" I laughed, and he said, "Oh, no, whatever`s best for you!/whatever you want to do!" We both laughed and I said, "Haha, okay," and went back to motioning fervently for Mom to come in closer, as she was frustrating me by just standing there, watching me, when I was merely FEET from meeting Bri!!
I then realized how unbelievably CLOSE I was to my idol, and as I looked at him, it was as if time had stopped for a split second.
His nose, his vibrant brown-green eyes, his awesome mop of curls, his shiny gold necklace, his lovely white shirt that had the neck buttons undone--in that moment, and all of the moments when he and I were conversing and interacting, it was if he was God.
White shirt, white HAIR, white sneakers.
Yep.
GOD.
I half-absentmindedly turned to smile for the picture that Mom was taking at that moment, and then I snapped back into reality.

And then, it was my turn.

"Can I take your book from you?" the lady in the purple blazer asked me.
"Oh, yeah, here ya` go!!" I said, smiling at her.

"Ariana?" he said, reading off my first name from the Post-It, in that soft, gentle, kind voice of his.
"Yeah!!" I responded, all entranced and ecstatic. We then shook hands, and I was surprised at how gentle his handshake was. Then he got to autographing my book, and all I could see was his Sharpie writing his big, loopy "B", and the rest of his first name, and I told him this: "I just want to let you know how awesome you are, and I really appreciate all that you do."
"Awwh, thanks!!" he said. "And thanks for coming out!"
"Haha, you`re welcome!" I replied, beaming at him.
He then handed me back my book and then I moved over to Elena, and she took the book from me and signed it, as well. I said, "Hi, Elena!!", as I could see she was frowning a bit, and then when she instantly brightened up and flashed me this big, genuine smile, and said, "Hi!!". I felt like everyone was focused on Brian, and that she felt left out, so I felt somewhat badly for her. I took a good amount of pictures of her, though, if that makes any difference! When she finished autographing my book, we shook hands, and a bone cracked in either my hand or her`s--I couldn`t tell. I thanked her afterwards and I`m pretty sure I said "Bye!!". Couldn`t be positive about that, though.

After I had my book signed by both Brian and Elena, I stepped away from the table and turned towards Mom, who had the camera ready, and I just stood there, beaming, hardly able to contain my sheer state of ecstasy.
I turned back to look at Brian and Elena again, and I saw David engrossed with talking to Brian, and I heard Brian say something like, "An interview?" and then he said, "I don`t think that`s on the agenda!!", laughing. I silently wished David the best of luck with the rest of his time with Brian, and then Mom and I began to walk away from the table. I thanked her many times for taking pictures of me, and when we were about to leave the area, I glanced back over my shoulder one last time at Brian and Elena, and I could see the back of Brian and Elena, but mostly Bri`s big mop of gray curls and Elena`s wavy black hair.

Ahhhh, what an image to leave with!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D 8DDDD

(Pics to come tomorrow!! )
(And I apologize for the painfully detailed description. I just wanted to get all of my memory down from this night so that one day in the future, I can look back and reminisce about one of, or possibly the, greatest day(s) of my life. )

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Awesome, Khashoggi. I know that had to be a major thrill for you. Congrats!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Very Cool!!! I look forward to seeing the pictures!

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Great story Khashoggi! You had a memorable time, photos and an autograph from a person who influences you positively, that is so wonderful, congratulations! Thanks for posting!

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Haha, thanks, you guys!!!! Yes, it was definitely the best day of my life so far, haha!!

Oh, and here are some pictures:




(This was the guy who I just happened to sit behind and told him, "Nice shirt!!" )


(Newly purchased copy of A Village Lost and Found and my pair of 3D glasses.)


(Elena Vidal and Brian May on the stage as they walked out from the door on the left with the red plaque on it.)


(Brian beginning the presentation. We couldn't use flash during the presentation, so, sorry for the darkness. )


(Elena looking at Brian as he talked.)




(Q & A after the slideshow was over. And the lights finally came on. )


(Brian was still talking to the dude in the grey in this picture, but he was signing my book. )



(Still talking to the dude in grey, so Mom got a quick picture. )


(Telling Brian "I just want to say that you're REALLY awesome, and I really appreciate all that you do." )


(YESSSS!! Mom got one of him actually looking at me. This was when he was thanking me for "coming out," and I was saying "You're welcome!!" )


(Either before or after Elena signed my book, and we shook hands. )


(Haha, the awesome last picture!! Oh, and that's David getting his moment with Brian there. )



Hope you guys enjoyed the pics!!
Oh, and if you can't see them, like me, I just needed to use a different browse, because I didn't see them in Firefox. It was great in IE, though.
Just letting you know.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

The look on your face in the last shot says it all. I'm glad you had fun.

_________________
I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

That was cool.

Haha, yes, I was really in a state of PURE happiness when that picture was taken. And thank you!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Haha, thanks!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

That is awesome!
I remember meeting my favorite band when I was a teenager and I was thrilled.
Nice pics

Haha, thank you very much!!

YES, haha, I was definitely thrilled, to say the very least!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Extremely cool experience. Thank You for sharing with us!!!

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Haha, indeed it was!! And it's my pleasure.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Glad you had a good time.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Awwwh, thank you!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury