Josh Gets LOST: Part Six

Monday, March 15th 2010

Approximately 1:46AM, while I was using Lostpedia's Super detailed timeline to plot out a non-canon LOST character based on myself (I know right...SUPER DORK), I was also on facebook and noticed something cuh-ray-zay. Damon Lindelof was online. Within a few nano-seconds I sent him an IM just saying "HEY BUDDY!" - And...nothing. So - I said a little prayer to Jacob asking for Mr. L to chat with me. Because - JUST BECAUSE! (Plus I posted a little comment on his wall saying he'd be making a little boy's dream come true)...Then.


And then my life was complete. I had successfully had a conversation with Damon Lindelof, via the internet, and it was super-epic. Of course, I'm one of those super optimistic human beings who believes that after I'm accepted into NYU and graduate, my pilot will find it's way into the hands of Mr. Damon Lindelof, to which he'll be like "I want to meet the kid who wrote this" and thus a collaborative team much like that of Darlton, will be born, and we'll be BFFL. So this facebook chat didn't come a HUGE surprise to me. I just expected that he would be super cool and do it, and it was awesome that he proved me right. It was a cool reminder of the ridiculousness that took place on the Red Carpet...FLASHBACK!!!

Saturday, January 30th 2010

The premiere was set to start in just 45 minutes and Heidi and myself were itching to do something. Anything. That red carpet was looking pretty inviting, but we already had the BEST spot on the beach to watch the premiere and we didn't want to be greedy and steal the best spot at the carpet too. We were already pretty grateful. This is when Tour Guide Matt spoke some sense into us...It went something like this.

"You guys are going to regret it for the rest of your life if you don't go over there. And if you don't I'll punch you in the face" - Or something to that effect. So Heidi and I instantly traversed the sand and found ourselves RIGHT UP against the railing at the red carpet, amongst hundreds of other fans hopeful to get some of the stars attention. Things were getting super intense.


It was apparent that we weren't going to be getting any high-fives or photo-ops with the cast/crew, but we were still in super close shouting distance, and I would soon learn that being the loudest most obnoxious fan possible would get their attention. So - we waited, backs to the sun, getting cooked alive, surviving a LONG day just to get to this moment. It was FINALLY here. A few cool people began to show up.


JO! - Now. I don't know anything about Jo's work history or life history or history history, but someway somehow she's able to get behind the scenes access to so much cool stuff. It could be because she's just THAT cool, or she slaved in the sweat shops of internet blogging, rising to the top. Regardless, its super sweet, and I wish I started blogging sooner. Like when I was 10. I have a gut feeling that when my shows get picked up, we'll be BFF and her site will get first dibs on anything. Ready JO?!


Heidi snapped this amazing picture of Oceanic 815, before it broke in half over Waikiki Beach. Not really, but that would of made for an excellent premiere. Matt was telling us during our tour that many LOST fans who toured with him didn't know about the Sunset on the Beach premiere and changed their flights so they could stay ONE more day, but for many fans it wasn't an option. I couldn't imagine it. Flying home and looking out the window to see this SUPER EPIC party going down on the beach and NOT being a part of it. I'd lose my mind. I felt super bad for all of them and wished the could experience what we were experiencing.


I made a few last minute Tweets and Texts as the media team was setting up, knowing I wasn't going to be able to for much longer. I had like 8% left on my phone battery. All the beautiful reporters, journalists, and photographers were set up and ready. The premiere was about to begin. BUT WAIT?! WHO IS THAT? WAY OVER THERE?!?!?


ZACK AND EMMA?! THE CHILDREN TAKEN BY THE OTHERS?! Did that mean we were FINALLY going to get their story? Probably not, but it was still super cool to see them there. Suddenly there were people screaming. Far. Far. Away. On the other side of the press tent near the street where fancy cars were pulling up. It was happening. Someone was here. The screams continued for at least 20 minutes and we were all DYING to know what was going on, and who exactly was here. It wasn't much longer, until a WAVE of screams traveled up our side of the beach and-


Ken Leung appeared on the red carpet with his wife (I assume...), and the fans were going nuts. It had begun! The most ridiculous hour of my life. Ken/Miles continued down the carpet, posing for pictures, waving to us fans, and getting interviewed. Finally he was in optimal shouting distance and I knew I only had one chance to say something that would cause him to turn around. So - With a split second left. I screamed...

"KEN! TELL MY SISTER I LOVE HER!" And instantly, Ken turned around with a "Wow......Did you really just say that?" kind of expression on his face. And waved. And it was super cool. So cool that I almost didn't notice Michael Emerson join us on the red carpet.


I heard everyone comment on his super cool shirt. The only words that I could come up with to describe it were "Razzle Dazzle". If it appears on Ebay I'll buy it. In a heartbeat. That's right. Anyway - It was epic to have Benry Gale/Dr. Linus only 15 feet away from us. After a few interviews he turned around and properly greeted the fans. A few girls screamed out that he was super hot and sexy, but Michael found that to be inappropriate since his wife was with him. Carrie Preston is awesome as well. I've only ever seen a handful of True Blood episodes, and of course, the scene from LOST where she gives birth to her husband. (That should sound creepy, but it doesn't...)


Before Michael returned the hundreds of reporters on the carpet I managed to scream out "I TATTOO'D MYSELF!!!" - Brandishing screaming Shannon at our favorite villain. He looked. And laughed. And shrugged. Maybe next time I'll wave around a tattoo of Michael himself, and then the reactions will vary. Who knows. I have video footage of this somewhere on my computer, but I'm writing this from my parents computer, since mine is dead. Hopefully I'll be able to retrieve it and show everyone. Next up though...


Daniel Dae Kim! (aka...Jin) !!! All the girls around me (the ones who flew in from Italy), were all saying adorable he looked. All I could think of was "UDDERS!!! UDDERS!!!!" He was a pretty fly. But nothing else really happened with our D.D.K encounter. So - On to...

But what lies in the shadow of her wardrobe?

Zuleikha Robinson! Now, I couldn't get a very good picture of what she was wearing, but it was a basketball jersey/dress, and a lot of us just didn't understand this. I mean, she looks awesome regardless, but it was just a bit strange to see on the red carpet. Some people had some rude comments, but they can just suck it up, or Illana will tie them to a tree and make them dig their own graves.

There has been some discussion of her character so far into this season, and many people think she is just a new more pissed off Ana Lucia, but I like her. Unlike a few people I know, I LOVE IT, when new characters are brought into LOST. Our LOSTIES now don't have all the answers they need (apart from Richard maybe.........) and the show needs to bring in new roles to help answer some of these endgame questions we've been dying to know for the past six years. So. Illana is cool in my book.


Mr. Jeff Fahey, after recuperating from JO's party last night, appeared on the carpet looking all chill. He might of been wearing the same clothes from the night before, but whatever. He was rather super-fly and seemed like that cool Uncle you get to see at family reunions and he'd take you fishing and such. I hope Frank Lapidus gets more screen time this season. And I hope he doesn't bite it. And if he does, I hope it's super crazy epic.


DUDE!!! Jorge came down next to a friggin wall of screaming fanatics. With Sidekick 22 (his fellow lady friend and podcaster from Geronimo Jack's Beard). Seeing Hurley right in front of us was something else. I guess because Jorge seems to be so much like his character that we just subconsciously believe they are the same person. He gave a few shout out to the fans and was a trooper. I want to hang out with Jorge and Beth. Just chill. Maybe go to Disney or something. I'll add that to the list.

FLASH-SIDEWAYS!!!

I hadn't kept in touch with a lot of the people I met at JO's party the night before, simply because my phone was about to die. So apart from Heidi and I at the red carpet, I was hoping that they were having an equally fun time as we were. What I wouldn't find out until much much later after returning to Florida, is that they had a much different experience. And DARE I say (because I'm super grateful for what took place that Saturday), a BETTER time. For a few of my friends I had met there had decided they were going to one-up-us and park themselves right where the cast/crew's cars were dropping them off. And the good thing about that was there was only ONE set of barricades, where as the red carpet had two/three rows of barricades keeping us from bum-rushing the actors. That being said, they got some very EPIC photo ops...

The following pictures are of my new BFFL "@Roobadoo87".

(This next picture ruins me...Oh Nestor)

(JACK FENDER-BENDER!)

1/2 of the DARLTON Equation. 1/2 of our Deity.

A part of me wants to be super jealous and crybabyish over this, but since that would be a douchey thing to do I won't, thus I'm still crazy happy about absolutely everything that did/didn't go down on my Hawaii voyage. And with that, FLASHBACK TO THE CARPET!


The most beautiful LOST cast-member appeared on the carpet next in his glorious guyliner-ness. I feel my insatiable man-crush on Nestor Carbonell is self-justified and needs not an explanation. It is what it is. He made his way down the carpet, waving to fans, getting interviewed, and everyone of us was still DYING to know what the hell was up with Mr. Alpert. Luckily, Ab Aeterno just aired and it was everything I hoped it would be. And more. After the cast left the carpet I heard RIDICULOUS screaming and looked just in time to see Nestor JUMPING THE FRIGGIN POLICE BARRICADE to greet fans. That was pretty much the coolest thing anyone has ever done and I give him major kudos for it. He exchanged hugs, posed for pictures, and even gave a girl the pretty flower thing around his neck. I think she turned into water after that. She just evaporated. I know I would. I mean. Just look at him.


And that's when I heard it..."WAAAAAAALLLLTTT!!!" - the fans began to chant.


I managed to get a good glimpse of Harold Perrineau's head. I tried not to get a bit upset, because Michael is my least favorite LOST character of all time. 1) He shot Ana Lucia and Libby, two characters I thought were on the bottom of the "Deserve To Die" list. 2)He never managed to shave, like Jack and the rest of them did. 3) He said "Walt" too much. But I managed to put my feelings aside and accept Harold for who he was. That dude from the Matrix sequels. Aight?

I had a few things in mind that I wanted to scream, but there were many asian people around me and I would of felt horrible screaming "KOREAN PEOPLE DON'T LIKE BLACK PEOPLE!!!!", said Michael many years ago in House of Rising Sun. Thus I just screamed at the top of my lungs "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!"

THE MOMENT I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF...SORT OF.

Back home it was no question what item of fandom I was bringing to Hawaii with me to hopefully get signed/touched by a personal hero of mine. And that was my "Write Environment" DVD featuring Damon Lindelof. One of the creators/masterminds behind the ENTIRE reason I was even in Hawaii that weekend. And above, is a picture of me whipping out this item of great important because just down the carpet was...


The Equation. Carlton Cuse + Damon Lindelof = Darlton. Plus Jack Bender who bring the things they write to life. It was pure magic seeing these guys marching up the red carpet. I think I peed a little. I wish they could do commentary on absolutely every episode ever, because I get intensely disappointed when those things are over. I'm one of those people who gets ridiculously upset when DVD's don't include commentary, especially if it's a movie I LOVE. When it comes to LOST, they usually don't leave me sitting in the fetal position.

I think Damon and I are going to be BFF's. He's the kind of creative genius I strive to be and I eat up anything he has to say, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'm not a kiss-ass, I just think its been a long time since there's been a creative influence in TV-land that actually gives two-shits about the AUDIENCE. Knows how to make a good story and also, DELIVER that great story. Sure, the plot of ABC's "V" is pretty tight, but the delivery of said plot isn't exactly the best.

I completely appreciate how LOST's writers have managed to create such an enigmatic story, and gave us enough credit to follow the story organically, rather than require it being super linear, hoping we wouldn't change the channel at the first hint of confusion. And if I could work for Mr. Lindelof on future projects and see how this all comes together. I'll be a very happy LOSTie. (You see me in the red hat?!?!)

I show my appreciate for Mr. Damon Lindelof in the following video approximately 6 seconds in.

You wouldn't believe how incredibly stoked I was to find this video online. Like - I was having a super lame day at Starbucks and was super bummed how I'd sunken back into the daily routines of Non-Hawaii life, when I discovered this video on E-Online. I was at a friend's house too and she was super stoked for me as well. It was beyond epic. I got a few upsets from Christian Friends claiming I was being blasphemous and indulging in "Idol Worship", but all I had to say to them was. "Geez. At least my messiah is tangible...". Not to hate on anyone's God or anything, but I got to see my hero with my own two eyes, get over it.

Alas, I waved and waved and waved that poor Write Environment DVD, screaming at the top of my lungs hoping Damon would pull a Nestor Carbonell and leap the barrier to high five me and sign it. But...It didn't happen. Him, Carlton, and the rest of the creators/writers were leaving the carpet and attending to other super-epic premiere duties. So I tried one more time.

"DAMON LINDELOF!" - I screamed. And...He turned. Looked right at me. And waved. I was waving too, brandishing the Shannon Tattoo he re-tweeted to the entire twiverse in December. And I managed to snap this photograph mid-wave, thus the out-of-focus-awesomeness. It's been my desktop background since then and I marvel over it everyday. Damon Lindelof. Waving at me.

TO BE CONTINUED...SOON.

Josh Gets LOST: Part Five

Saturday, January 30th 2010

(aka...The Best Day Of My Entire Life...So Far)

My alarm went off at 4:00AM and instantly I threw some expensive ABC Store raman into the microwave. I needed all the energy I could get and clearly a bowl of raman would make up for 4 hours of sleep. I was full of nerves. What if I get mugged on the beach? What if there is already 48,151,623,42 people there? What if getting up this early is a HUGE mistake? But it wasn't something I was willing to risk. I made it all the way to Hawaii with the help of some amazing people and I was going to make sure everything happened that needed to happen, and if that meant sleeping on the beach for 13 hours then so be it. With that - I rolled my Dharma Jumpsuit into my backpack, stoked my Season 6 Premiere Meet Up Tote Bag (Thanks JO!!!!!!!!!) with bottled water and set off for the Waikiki Beach.

Of course it was raining outside, but that just added to the excitement. I caught a few interesting looks from the island indigenous population on my way to the beach, but I didn't blame them. I was a teenager with a Canada t-shirt on, wearing Hawaiian themed shorts, sandals, with an AVATAR backpack and a tote bag. I was the definition of LOSTie. And it felt GLORIOUS. I crossed the deserted street and began trekking through the cold, rain-saturated beach sand. Now, for anyone who knows me. I HATE THE BEACH. I live in Florida and I hate the beach. I probably go to the beach once or twice a year with friends who force me to do it. That being said - My beach phobias weren't allowed in Waikiki and thus, I buried them Nikki and Paolo style as soon I set foot in that sand.

And the reason I had pushed them to the back of my mind was the fact that I appeared to be the ONLY person on the beach. There was an umbrella about 100 feet away, perched next to the Anti-Fan-Barricades set up for the actor's protection. I was a little nervous. Was it a LOSTie? Was it an other? Was it Damon Lindelof?!?!?! Or maybe it could of been a predator, aiming to scoop up an innocent little Lostie like me. But alas....It was.............(building Giacchino music)...

TOUR GUIDE MATT!

Yes! That's right folks! My super cool LOST acolyte was chillin' and saving a spot for me (duh...), front and center. I was super relieved to see him and glad I wouldn't need to sit 30 feet away from this stranger until some friendly faces showed up. And also, being the first 2 people there. We had chairs. Oh yes. Chairs. Matt, Shannon, and I were super ready for Sunset on the Beach.

Matt left for fifteen minutes to get some emergency back up umbrellas, both for the stupid rain and for the stupid sun that would be beating us senseless in 10 hours. I was alone on the beach. And that is when "she" arrived. I don't quite know how to explain her. Mid 40's, early 50's. Dressed in all black. I didn't know it yet, but Matt and I would soon refer to her as "The Monster"...

She was one of those people who likes to talk. Not that it's a bad thing, exactly, because certainly...LOST fans LOVE to talk about LOST. But this woman just complained, and spewed crazy negativity all over Waikiki Beach. I realized that this was the cost of getting out here at 5AM. Putting up with "The Monster". It went a little like this...

"I went to a local print shop and made some really amazing glossy photographs of EVERY actor on the show and if ALL of them aren't signed by the end of this day, then I'm going to be so pissed, because they should have the decency to sign everything since I'm such a huge fan and came all the way out here to see them and I won't be pleased if they don't sign anything, I mean, they shouldn't even have barricades here because then its possible I won't get my stuff signed, and when I went to Paley Fest I only got a few signed and that wasn't good enough, and I can't believe they aren't even going to show us the entire episode, I mean, I flew all the way out here to see it and they can't even show me the entire thing, I mean, what the heck-"

Come to think of it, if Illana really wanted to kill Ben, she could of just tied him to a tree next to this woman and sooner or late he would of just buried HIMSELF alive. She went on to say she was trying to book a hummer tour around the island, which freaked Matt out, but rest assured, the day she spoke of was his day off. Thank Jacob.

"Oh, but I don't know why I'm worrying about not meeting the entire cast and crew of LOST ,because I have a friend who is a VIP and is going to get me in there with a press pass, so I don't even know why I came out here this early. hahahahahaahahhahhah what a waste of time, but oh well, like seriously!" - said the MONSTER.

By this time she got a tip-off that there was a "prime" cast viewing location on the OTHER end of the beach and she got up and moved her crap down to the other end of the barricades, far, far, far, far away from us. And the balance was restored to the beach. Also, by this time, our premiere "Survivor's Camp" was being established.

As the hours dragged on I slowly realized "Wow...We have a long way to go", but it was still going great. For some reason I'm unable to take power-naps like Matt can (PUNK!), and I remained awake, conserving cell-phone tweeting capabilities and checking up on my LOSTie friends to see when they were going to arrive. As figured - A whole lot of waiting took place in our little camp.

TIMEFLASH!!!!!!

As the sun began to rise over Waikiki, more survivors began to surface and I knew it was time to begin to ration our supplies. The sunblock, water, and the ABC Store roast beef croissant sandwich I purchased the night before. A few more hours passed and around 10AM-ish, Erika and Jo arrived and set up camp a few feet behind us. To pass the time I intended on bringing my notebook to create some sort of LOST fan-fiction, assigning roles to my fellow fan-camp survivors. Like who would pull a "Joanna" and go drown themselves on accident, and who would be the first person to go save them. Or who would get dragged into the jungle by Ethan first. I couldn't decide whether or not Tour Guide Matt would be our Jack, for lending memorabilia-less Italian girls his spare LOST t-shirts and being the hero, or if he'd be our Locke since he knew more about the island than any of us. And because of this picture...

(I mean. Seriously? Come on. How cool is that?)

Heidi showed up not too long later and we negotiated with the Island, allowing her to sneak up front and camp out under our pink umbrella even though she wasn't there at 5AM (for shame, Heidi!) and we hung out, talked about everything and anything. Neil showed up too in his Dr. Grant Jurassic Park hat which I thought was pretty epic. The hot dog vender was taking FOR-EVER to set up, which sucked so much since we were all starving and unwilling to leave the beach to hunt boar.


I was expecting a majority of the LOSTies to be overweight and dorky like me, but they was a vast diversity of people. We met a group of girls who came all the way from Italy for the premiere. They were also in Hawaii to study, but I'm not going to mention it since it's cooler to say they came JUST for LOST. I met another lady who was pretty much our camp "Mom", and she had a LOST tattoo just like me, but maybe a little more subtle. Things began to get really busy. Crew members quickly putting together the giant school that we'd be watching the first episode of the final season on in just a few hours.


FINALLY - The Giver of the Hotdogs was open for business. Heidi and I enjoyed some delicious "Shave Ice"...I referred to it as "Shaved Ice" and Tour Guide Matt corrected me. I felt like a tourist. The sun out and cooking my feet. My main concern was Shannon. Tattoos hate the sun, and unlike the Shannon of LOST, my tattoo would NOT be sun-tanning on this particular beach day. We also discovered the youngest LOST fan, decked out in Dharma Overalls.


This little girl put me in the mood to do something I had been waiting to do since my plane took off from Orlando, FL, two days earlier. And that thing was waiting for me inside my backpack. It was my Dharma Jumpsuit. I ran back to the umbrella, asked my friends not to judge me, and suited up. It was like putting on my armor before battle. Or putting on a tuxedo for a wedding. It was a glorious moment, 6 years in the making, dating back to September 22, 2004.



I went for a small walk around the beach and was met with laughs, applause, points, pictures, and a whole lot of more LOSTie support. I ignored the fact that it was stupid hot outside (and inside...) and marches my way through the crowd, feeling like the Messiah. Heidi and I made our way to the entrance to the VIP area, which wasn't blocked off yet. I was hoping to see name placements on the seats, so I could worship Damon Lindelof's chair, but alas, nothing. So I picked a good one, took a seat, and basked in the glory of this entire trip.

In the next entry...The Red Carpet.

Josh Gets LOST: Part Four

(I saw this van on my KOS Tour and had to snap a photo. I want one so bad...)

Friday, March 12th 2010

I just woke up from a pretty ridiculous LOST dream. Yes. I have those. All the time. Don't judge me. In this most recent dream I was riding on an airplane. A number of Oceanic's were on board. Out of the ones I could see, Doctor McJack, Charlie, and my dear Shannon. For some reason Shannon and I were texting back and forth and Jack was teaching some little kid about intercostal spaces. I mean, come on Jack, we know you're a doctor, but now you're just showing off. Not much happened in the dream, but I think towards the end it got pretty action packed. Don't you hate it when you have super cool dreams and the MOMENT you wake up you forget everything.

Alas. I woke up and immediately checked my twitter for iphone, because that is a major priority in my mornings, and I read some pretty foreshadowing-of-awesomeness Tweets from Jo of El Jopinionated. For some reason this put me in a stellar mood and instead of rolling over and going back to sleep like I do everyday, I got up and jumped on blogger. So - I will not try and complete my trip story, without rushing or leaving out any significant details.

(insert crescendo leading into flashback = wwwwwwhhhhooooooOOOOOOSSSSHH!!!)

Friday, January 29th 2010

After my tour I sat around in my hotel room for an hour or so charging my phone, microwaving some ramen, switching camera batteries, checking in with my mommy, and texting a few LOSTies I met online with plans to rendezvous at JO's party. But her fan meet-up was two hours away and I was itching to do SOMETHING and refused to sit around in my hotel when beautiful Waikiki was just outside. Thus. I went for a walk.

I packed my fanny pack and headed out for Diamond Head Cove Health Bar. Tour Guide Matt introduced it to us on the tour because it's owner also owned Pono, aka Vincent the Dog, and he could be regularly seen at the bar. I had sort of already come to terms with the notion that I wasn't going to shake hands with any of the LOST cast/crew, but maybe...the dog? The walk to Diamond Head was about 30 minutes from my hotel and the sun was still out. I passed by the Honolulu Zoo, which was cool, hearing monkeys and such from the street.

On the way I also came across this sign. A chill ran up my spine and I wanted to sprint to a random stranger and scream in their face. Then I thought "Maybe I should skip Jo's party and just camp out on the beach immediately". I couldn't believe that thought actually crossed my mind, but it did. (Sorry Jo!) I kind of regret not stealing that sign, come to think of it. I probably couldn't sneak a road barricade into my carry on bag anyway.

I finally made it to the Health Bar. It was a tiny joint, full of pictures and decorations. It would be super easy to pack this place out on a busy day, which is awesome. Busy restaurants are the best. I ordered this cuh-ray-zay Strawberry Banana Smoothie made with SOY MILK!!! Now - The reason for the exclamation points. Soy Milk is my least favorite ingredient we use at Starbucks. Why? For some reason it slows the entire drink making process down, and also, for some reason, the people who order Soy Milk, 9 times out of 10 are the rudest people to walk this Earth. So I drank my soy milk strawberry banana smoothie with pride, knowing I wasn't one of those people. I sat around, checking twitter updates on the premiere, and texting with LOSTies who were already on their way to the party. No sign of Vincent anywhere. Pretty soon it was 8:05 and Jo's party just started. I finally got the nerve to ask one of the girls working there about Pono/Vincent and she laughed at me, for walking all the way out there to see the dog. She said she would be right back, called the owner and asked if he was going to bring him in. Nope. She asked when I was leaving Oahu and perhaps I could come back again. After a high-five, I departed Diamond Head Cove Health Bar. This is where my journey got really intense (at least for me...). When I arrived at the bar, the sun was just going down, but I must of hung out there for close to an hour waiting to see that friggin dog, and it was now full blown night time. The lack of streetlights made that walk back to my hotel downright shady. Not only was it creepy and dark, but Matt had shared with us numerous stories of how the tour van had been broken into and how some people get mugged at a few of the locations. That didn't make those 30 minutes go by any faster. Where was Mr. Eko when I needed him?

At last, I made it back to my hotel, changed into my LOSTie clothes. I was SO tempted to throw on my jumpsuit, but it was an 8 block walk to the Rumfire and I had already been made fun of on the street for where a CANADA t-shirt. I could only imagine what would of happened if I stepped outside in my Hydra Jumpsuit. I plugged the location into my phone, set the GPS to GO, and we were off. If I wanted to count all the street performers I passed on the way there I probably would of LOST count. And it started raining. Which was okay. Sadness is impossible during LOST weekend in Waikiki. And if you are sad, its only because Juliet is dead. (And Shannon.....). And if it's for any other reason. Get Over It.

And speaking of LOST. My GPS lied and I was completely lost. It said I was at my destination and it was NO WHERE IN SIGHT. A little annoyed, standing in the rain, I decided to cross the street and I thank Jacob I did because that is when I saw it. A girl. A little bit older than me, sporting a Dharma T-shirt. Shortly after. Another. And Another. So - I followed them. A few minutes later I was at the Rumfire, in the exact opposite location where my phone said it was. Thanks Apple! I was greeted by Jo, who, for some STUPID reason, I didn't get a picture with.

The party was fun. Shannon was a huge hit. I'm referring to my tattoo, if you didn't already know. I was interviewed by Maria from LA Times and a few days later once I was back in depressing Florida, I found out I was in her article on the LA Times website. I met up with my friend Blythe, who I met via Twitter, who is rather awesome and who religiously follows Darlton, much like I do. I also met the fantastic Erika Olson of LongLiveLong.com. It was cool to chitchit with her in person, since we'd been doing it for a few months on the internet, and since I'm a huge fan of her in depth analysis on each episode of the show. She's KATE DAMMIT RUN's biggest fan. KDR is my LOST tribute band, which isn't necessarily a real band yet, since it's damn-near-impossible to find musicians who 1) Are willing to make music about LOST, and 2) Have seen at least five episodes of the show. So for now it's just me doing everything until I can bribe my friends into recording some tunes with me. But that's another entry in its self.


Tour Guide Matt and the Brilliant Heidi were also at the party. I was super glad to see them both again. Matt introduced me to Ed, the guy who founded KOS Hummer Tours, and he was introduced to Shannon. He told me that I needed to try and get on the Jimmy Kimmel program, someway and somehow. I thought to myself that it didn't seem like a bad idea. I'll be writing a letter very soon, since I WILL be getting another LOST character tattoo'd on me before the finale of the show. I'll definitely blog that journey too.

There was at least a hundred people at the party. I think I was the youngest person there, but not by much. An even balance of ladies and gentlemen, from all over the world, all ages, all nationalities. It was super cool that we all came together for a television show. That once a week we all set aside an hour or two to marvel over this brilliant experience that is LOST.

JO started her super-awesome trivia giveaway, with seasons of the show as prizes. I already owned all the seasons so I just sat back and watched the noobz answer some pretty intense questions. Now, this is where the evening got REALLLLLLLLY interesting. I heard Erika semi-shout/whisper to JO saying "JO! JEFF FAHEY IS HERE!" and before I could even turn around there was an explosion of fandom and...Jeff Fahey aka FRANK LAPIDUS was standing right behind us at the entrance to Rumfire. It was like Pandora's box had just been opened. In the 10 minutes Jeff mingled with fans and posed for pictures, I must of gotten within 15 feet of him before he was gone. The entire party was pretty shell-shocked from the awesomeness of Jeff Fahey actually strolling in to say "Hey" to all the LOSTies. It was super rad of him.


After hanging out a little bit longer, and being offered the custom cocktail "Juliet on the Beach" (which I turned down because I wasn't going to risk going to jail on the weekend of the LOST premiere), I deliberated with Tour Guide Matt on whether or not I should go camp out on the beach NOW (just incase), or head back to my hotel for at least a FEW hours of sleep. When we found out the beach was closed until 5AM, that pretty much answered my question and I decided to head back to my hotel. I said bye to everyone, still, not knowing that I'd be spending my entire premiere on the beach with them, and walked back to my hotel in the POURING rain. I stopped at an ABC Store (cool little shops with no doors that are open forever) and bought bottled water, ramen, chips, and other fanatic LOST creep beach supplies.


In approximately four and a half hours I'd be back on my feet, heading to the beach for the greatest day in my entire freaking life. Josh Gets LOST: Part Five, coming soon...