My Recap of Star Search Finale:

This day and evening was so much more than I even imagined. I was excited (mild understatement) beforehand but the whole event was just so much more than I ever hoped for. The show was scheduled to start at 8pm so, obviously at 3pm I had to get going since it was a 15 minute drive from my home and there was no traffic. I knew, however, that April Joy, Codmag and others were there in the hotel lobby and I knew that Mr. Clay Aiken was there in the hotel. My home was not the place to be. I went straight to the hotel lobby, saw some lovely women seated there and promptly went up to them and said "AJ??" They looked at me like I was weird but then the one I thought was AJ said something to the effect that she might be. From that moment on, the fun began! Hugs, introductions, anecdotes, Kristie and Durham sightings recalled - just so much fun.

More fans kept arriving, Kristie and Durham made another brief appearance and then we were awarded with a visit from Mom Faye and Jaymes Foster. I was immediately drawn in by their warmth and friendliness. I can't remember what we spoke about but they were gracious, friendly, signed autographs, answered questions and really got the party rolling. Pictures don't do Jaymes justice - she is absolutely adorable - I told her how excited we all were for the 19th and that I was ready to buy my "8 copies" including crossing the border to get all the special goodies from the different retailors - she laughed and said that they were very excited too.

They and we proceeded into the restaurant where many fans were gathered for an early dinner and they stayed for about half an hour. It was great fun - questions asked and answered, Primetime ABC filming everything, laughter and oooooooohing and ahhhhhhing when Jaymes brought out Clay's own copy of ATDW. How exciting! I chose not to eat because I was having too much fun mingling and moving from table to table meeting so many good 'friends' from CH, OFC and of course, CV - I was in Heaven and I hadn't even seen the object of our affection yet.

Calling Caper was great fun! I had so many fun things I wanted to share and it was so easy to connect and EEEEEEE together - apologies to Caper for not letting her get a word in edgewise - I tend to talk a lot when I'm excited - or when I'm not!!!

Time to meet my non-internet friends - They were arriving at 7pm - silly women - but when I met them, they were excited and we proceeded to the theatre around 7:45 - I actually introduced them to quite a few of my new and old Clay friends and lots of smiles and greetings ensued.

The Show:

There have been many recaps of what Clay did and said - we have Clack!!! Yeay!!! - so I'd rather concentrate on me - the most burning issue about Clay for me over the past few months was wanting to know "how he is". Well, last night told me what I wanted to know. He's happy. His smiles, giggles, tete-a-tetes with DF, interactions with Jaymes and the other judges was just so openly fun and warm. I couldn't get the grin off of my face! My boyfriend's back and he is sensational!! He was a fantastic "judge" as were all the others - wonderful, insightful critiques - these kids were nervous but this was big stuff - maybe not as big as Americal Idol but big for kids and adults looking for a chance and everyone involved took it seriously and made the competion meaningful. I was so proud of how Clay perfomed in this capacity and I felt that he was the one most "in charge" - it became apparent from the comments he made that he had spent the past day or two working with the contestants and he was totally engaged, taking notes, paying attention - I don't know why but I felt he was the "boss" in there, even though all the judges were great!

I barely took my eyes off of Clay - others have talked about his restlessness and he was but not distractinly so - he just can't do a single thing without all of us noticing every single nuance. HE WAS SO DAMNED FUNNY!! He has such a quick wit and it was on display in spades! When the woman spoke of "packing wood" and the MC said "he did that too" or words to that effect, I thought Clay was going to fall out of his chair - banging his head on the desk and everyone else cracking up - it was a great moment! His "claymates protecting his back" comment was so awesome - He knew how many of us were there and I think he wanted to acknowledge us but it wasn't his show and this was the perfect way to let us "show him the love" and we did!!

Hair - more cute than sexy last night - I want it longer but it was great!

Suit - Blue/Grey pinstripe - grey shirt - grey tie - yummy!

Shoes - Black Huge!

Socks - Couldn't see them but it is assumed they were striped!

Smile - Killer!

What I needed to know??? He's happy. Thank God!

Edited to add: As per my previous blog: I am sooooo outed!!!