Pictures from the Today Show…

here are some pics from the Today Show a few weeks ago. We had a blast!

 

missing my spices

not sure why i’m so emotional today.
we had a cookout at bro’s and had a lot of fun. we were telling stories and somehow got to a point when tracy and i were talking about how we all met.
Perhaps that struck a chord. Every time i think of it i’m just so very thankful for how God brought these four girls into my life.

I just miss you guys so much…and i pray for you often. Found a pic of when we first met – i think the name of that dorm we were in is called hickory or something like that right?

 

has it been been 4 months?

where has all the time gone?

i’ve been so busy the last four months…so here’s a very very brief recap..

got to meet nkotb again in hershey, pa this time. Made more blockhead friends. That’s the term for new kids fans for those who don’t know.

I’m going to the Today Show in NEW YORK!!! to see them perform this coming Friday, May 8th. i’m so excited! We’ll be camping out on the streets of new york – watch out for me at 6am EST! I’ve never been to NYC so this will be my first time. I’ll be staying for two extra nights and plan to explore the streets of New York by myself! I love it! Can’t wait!

I’ve been enjoying some photography…had a great visit with Michelle and her kids when they came.

I’ll post some photos here if i remember. Send me a message and tell me you stopped by

 

my birthday

i’m no longer a prime number age.

on jan 2nd i celebrated my birthday. it was awesome – i got to spend time with some of my favorite people and also had a very nice dinner date with Will.

Here are some photos from that day.

 

i think i’m finally willing to admit my problem.

stillpool.com has been stale and yet the reality is that i have been taking photos.

i want to get stillpool updated with some of my latest shots but i’m also a web designer wannabe and i’m learning CSS and i want to get my website right!

so when i think of the tasks of redesigning a website as well as posting my photography i get overwhelmed and i am paralyzed. i hate how this often happens to me. i’m laid back for the most part but when it comes to some things i beome a perfectionist who is impossible to please.

Ah! i hate that about myself! I need to get stillpool.com updated I really do.

 

the Meet and Greet photos. Enjoy.

NKOTB 5* VIP Meet and Greet photo!

 

(NKOTB) If dreams came true…

it would be just like this.

By now you would know that i was a huge New Kids on The Block fan when i was 11. When they announced their reunion – it sparked some excitement and emotions i forgot i had. I felt like i was 11 all over again. When looking for tickets i realized they sold Meet and Greet passes. They were pretty expensive so my friend Stephanie and i decided we’d have a yard sale and raise the money to go see the guys. Well – we raised it all short of about $60 so we went ahead and got our VIP passes for the concert in Philly, Nov 5, 2008.

The wait for Nov 5th didn’t come soon enough. We waited and anticipated five months and the day finally arrived. I would get to meet NKOTB, especially Jordan Knight, my favorite guy in the band.

So 4:30pm, Nov 5th came and we got in line to enter the VIP area. It was raining outside and really windy in about 50 degree weather. It was about 45 minutes before we were allowed in. There were probably 150 people doing VIP. The way the meet and greet worked is groups of ten would go in and meet the guys and have a photo taken by the management company. We were not allowed our cell phones, cameras or autographs. Well in order to make sure we got enough time with our favorite guys we’d form our own groups – i found a group where there was only one other Jordan girl, Jenn. We discussed how we would share the time.  By the way, we only get about 5 minutes of time with the guys total and it was in a curtained off area so if it’s not your time yet you don’t get to see them.

So we waited our turn and finally it was our time – we stood behind the curtain and they lifted it and there they were – the New Kids on The Block! All five, Jordan, Joey, Jon, Donnie and Danny! I’ve never met these guys but i feel like i’ve known them for years. So since we had only give 5 minutes total, i made a bee line for Jordan Knight. At first i didn’t see him – his back was against me – but then i looked a little harder and there he was! I mean this is the guy whose posters i had up on every inch of my wall! I walked over quickly to him and called out his name. He turned around and faced me and i just stopped and stared! I mean i froze, staring at him!  He laughed and said ” well, am i going to get a hug?” and the minute he said that i just gave him a big hug. The moments right after that are a blur to me but before i knew it he went off walking with Jenn. (i had thought of a millions things to say to him but lost all words and thought when i saw him). I then turned and saw Joey with arms open ready for a hug and i went in for it! Of course i was dumbfounded again and couldn’t get any words out of my mouth. I wanted to tell him how proud i am of him for bringing his wife and baby on tour with him. After Joey i saw Danny standing there alone and i went over for the Danny hug. He is a little smaller in person – shorter i guess. Actually they all were more skinny and shorter than i imagined them to be. However they were more gorgeous in person also. Crazy!

So then it was picture time and i made sure i was next to Jordan and we got that group shot. (it should be ready in about two weeks if you want to see it. i’ll be sure to post it). Jordan then joked around with me for a minute and we were told it was time to go. I didn’t want to go before getting hugs from Donnie and Jon so i went back and quickly got hugs from them as well. I told Donnie how much i loved him as Lipton in Band of Brothers. He was thankful. Then i got a hug from Jon, whose hug i thought was the most personal one. It felt like a hug from an old friend. So then we were told again we had to leave so i left the curtained off area.

The New Kids came across as very very nice guys. They didn’t have the air that they were better than everyone else. They were very sweet and down to earth and very grateful for their fans. That’s probably a big reason why they’ve made it so far and their reunion has been such a success.

Meeting Jordan Knight and the rest of the New Kids was a dream come true for me. I never thought that reality and fantasy could ever collide, and for those 5 special minutes it did. The experience was incredible and nothing i would ever want to trade for in the world. I would do it all over again if i could, several times.

We also got amazing concert tickets. 5th row from the front in the center of the stage. You’ll see my pictures of how close they were to me. They put an amazing performance. Very entertaining, funny and they made it a point to interact with us fans. I’ve never been a concert like that – where the artists made personal contact with their fans and made people feel special.

People say i’m crazy and obsessive but the New Kids on the Block is not just a band to me. My love for them started in 1988 when i was eleven and now it feels like old friends are back and i’ve just really missed them. The feeling of seeing old friends – hearing their voices – it’s been such an amazing experience. I honestly never thought that twenty years later i’d feel this way for a music group but i do – it’s weird. You’d think i would grow out of it at 31 but to a certain extent the intensity almost seems stronger.

So there you are an account of how my dream came true, my 5* VIP experience with the New Kids on the Block on Nov 5, 2008.

JORDAN KNIGHT, if you are reading this – my invitation is certainly open and i hope you take me up on the double date invite. I have so much to say to you but i lost my words when i saw you face to face. You are an amazing vocalist and dancer and i hope husband and father to your family.

It was the greatest pleasure getting to meet you in person. Thank you for the experience. You will always be my #1 New Kid.

Here are some pictures and videos. Enjoy!

 

i’m meeting Jordan Joe Jon Donnie and Danny in 5 days

i’m seriously not trying to do a count down on this blog but the reality of it is that this is what i’ve been consumed with the last few months and it is all culminating in 5 days! – November 5th will be a date that will go down in my personal history.

As i discussed the upcoming meeting with Stephanie (who’s going with me to meet them) we realised that this is not just a crazy thing we can’t wait to happen. This is something we dreamt of as 9 and 11 yr old girls. We never thought in a million years it would happen – i mean it was so far out of reality that all we could do was fantasize (in an innocent 9 yr old kinda way). So in 5 short days fantasy and reality will collide and we will be in the presence of the five guys whose posters were plastered on our walls for years.

As Joe Mcintyre likes to say…

Let’s Get This!

oh m gosh! how am i supposed to contain the excitement???

 

as promised…NKTOB DC show 10/2/08

stephanie and i (in the back of Tracy’s car) on the way to see NKOTB for the first time in 18 years!

(above) the blockheads got together before the show. we made some new friends
(below) L-R: janelle, me, tracy, stephanie

PS: sorry if the quality isn’t all that. this is the first time i’m using this video widget – i’ll make sure it looks better for the philly concert.

Enjoy!

 

i miss pa pa

one of my favorite things to do growing up was to go out to eat and to the mall with pa pa. He would take me to my favorite store, Espirit, and usually me pick out one thing i could get. He liked to buy me purses too, mostly leather. He was the one who introduced me to the best food all over Singapore.

Well the other day i was at the mall and waiting in line for the fitting room. There was an older man (probably in his fifties) and he was sitting outside the fitting room waiting for someone who was trying on clothes. This teenage girl came out and asked him, “dad, how does this look?” and when i heard that immediately memories flooded my mind of how it was when i’d go shopping with my dad. For those of you who don’t know my dad had passed away in 2002. Well…i almost cried right there thinking of how much i missed pa pa and the times i had with him. I wish he was still alive and i could share my life now with him.

I miss him.