I'M TAKING REX HIS LUNCH!!

hellllooo blogstalkers.

been a while. very busy. but had to tell you about today. not the bit about going to the DMV for the second time in a week, either. the bit about meeting Neil Gaiman.

so when i started at the store there was a huge surprise- Neil Gaiman (my very very favorite writer ever) was going to be at our store. i was super psyched.

and then i forgot to ask for the day off. i was closing. so, i asked my manager if i could take my break at 6:00, at least attend the event, if not to get my book signed & everything. because honestly, an autograph? i don't know... not a GIANT deal to me... although i suppose my feelings are slightly conflicted as you shall see later.

anyway- Tom, one of the managers working tonight, came upstairs and asked one of the leads if he liked Neil Gaiman as he was looking for someone to work the event... I jump in and say I LOVE NEIL GAIMAN! I felt very much like Liv Tyler in EMPIRE RECORDS. Although at no point did I try to seduce Neil into taking my virginity & as far as I know, Renée Zellweger didn't fuck him on the photocopier. He's far too hot for me & Renée wasn't there, anyway. so i got post-it duty! yes, my job was to find out everyone's name, plant the post-it on the dedication page so that Neil could personalize each & every book (as long as it was a copy of ANANSI BOYS. until the rules changed like 3 times during the course of the night...) SO I go to my break early (5:15ish) and come back like 10 minutes early to get up there. A cute B&N event guy I haven't seen before gives me the run down, the place is PACKED- no seats left at all... And Neil comes in. He gives a talk, does a reading, answers some questions- and it's all what you would expect... he's just brilliant, funny, clever. And when he walked in... when i saw him walking towards the crowd, I was so excited! This is the man who has brought so much magic into my world... from Sandman to my favorite novel, Good Omens- there he was!

After the Q&A I became post it guy, walking down every aisle asking people for their names... sorta fun, although there were a couple of people who i'd like to put hexes on. This is at about 7:00. Fast forward to Midnight, because that's when it was finally winding down. The very awesome woman in charge of the event, whose name I don't think I even found out even though she's like my second favorite person from NYC so far (The fabulous L- being #1 in my book), told me that she was going to make sure I got up there to meet him & have him sign my book after the last customer. Which was so fantastic of her. And it was like 10 after midnight. And I got up there. And she told him that I was a big fan & that I'd been doing the post-its. He shook my hand & I said something lame like "i hope it was legible" and he thanked me and signed my book. And honestly? I think at that point he was over it and I was pretty over it, because that was it. Granted, my Don't Talk To Celebrities (Especially Ones You Adore) rule wouldn't have allowed for much conversation anyway, but everyone was just so exhausted. It was almost like, yep- you signed? awesome. sleep now. Plus, I was so tired of writing at that point, I can pretty much Imagine that he was just as done as I was. BUT... I met Neil Gaiman!!

I also talked to Parker Posey on the phone, but perhaps this is a story for another time.
love,
Rick
cd player: Dar Williams: My Better Self
dvd player: Simpsons Season Six ....STILL
bookbag: Nick Hornby/Long Way Down (loving it)
title: Empire Records, you ignoramus.