(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.
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
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.
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...
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...
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