Faded Boxers

…by practically not being there.

Here’s my story:

I passed by the Rockwell tent around 9:30 a.m. By then, they were already handing out numbered stubs for the book signing which was taking place at 4 p.m. that day. Since I had some pressing matters to attend to, I had no time to park my car and get me an early number. I figured I could probably still make it when I come back in an hour or two. Little did I know how wrong I was.

I returned to the Rockwell tent a couple of hours later with Rach in tow. When we saw that the crowd waiting in front of the tent has thinned somewhat, we grew optimistic. So I had Rach get us some numbers while I parked the car. When I hooked up with Rach a few minutes later, she handed me a stub that said 665. A little part of me died inside.

I would later find out that when I was at the venue earlier that morning, they were already giving out stubs that were in the mid-200’s.

Although Neil was promised that 500 stubs would be given out, 700 people were given slots. Bad news for Neil, good news for us since we barely managed to squeeze in.

To be fair to the Fully Booked staff and volunteers, more than 3,000 people showed up that day, so giving out a few extra stubs was not only a logical decision, it was the only thing they could have done to minimize the chances of a riot.

With three hours to kill, Rach and I found a place in the nearest Starbucks, and proceeded to watch a few Arrested Development episodes on my mom’s laptop (I came prepared).

Since every other blogger has undoubtedly published a detailed account of what happened, I’ll just skim through what happened next:

3:00-ish P.M.: A band plays to warm up the crowd, which only served to make them appear more hateful then they may actually are. I pity opening acts.

4:00-ish P.M.: Neil finally comes out and is treated like a rock star. Here he is wearing the jacket he was talking about here. Given the weather in this country, and the density of people crammed in the tent, that jacket didn’t stay on for long—much to the pleasure of some of the female members of the crowd.

He said a few words and made everybody’s day by saying a few more words that for the life of me, I can’t remember. He screened a preview of MirrorMask, and read an exerpt from Anansi Boys.

After that, the book signing finally began. Rach and I knew that since they were giving each person 45 seconds to meet the Dream King, it would be at least 8 hours before it became our turn. So we decided to watch Fantastic Four to kill some time.

The movie was four parts stupid by the way. Don’t believe anybody who says that it’s good. If you know somebody who says the movie is good, I suggest you stop hanging out with that person in case bad taste is contagious.

Anyway, we went back to the tent around 7:30 p.m. and found out that Neil is still on number 180 which meant that they were an hour behind schedule. At this rate, we figured that it’ll take forever before he gets to us.

So we decided to have dinner in the hopes that killing more time. By the time we got back to the tent, they were already calling out stub number 270. It was then around 10:00 p.m. and both of us were getting sleepy. So I decided that since I got to see Neil in person, and take a few pics, I guess I could live without having my book signed.

By way of comforting myself, I headed to where the stage was to get a few more pics of Neil. Somebody tapped me from behind and reminded me to disable the flash of my camera. I turned around and saw that it was my friend Princess who was already getting ready to leave because she already had her book signed.

When I told her my story, she said that since she’s planning on going back for Days 2 & 3 of the book signing, I could leave my two stubs with her and she can get my book signed. Apparently, people with numbered stubs from the first day who choose not to use them up immediately, are given priority slots in the following days. So I gave her our two stubs, and my copy of American Gods. She can use the other stub to have another book of hers signed, so it was a win-win situation.

We agreed to meet at the Gateway Mall for the third signing so she can give me back my book.

Princess, psycho fan that she is, was able to get in line and be one of the first 20 people to have their books (my book) signed. So by the time I got there after work, she was already done.

With my book already signed, I had no more right to get in line just to get a picture of Neil. Luckily, Jaime Daez the owner of Fully Booked, was getting digital cameras and phones from the crowd so he can take close up pics of Neil for those who couldn’t get inside the store.

Photo of Neil Gaiman taken by Jaime Daez

I Believe!

So there you have it; I got the picture, and the autograph to prove that I met Neil Gaiman while never actually being anywhere near him.
—

Oh and here’s a pic that contains a crazy bitch that was hovering outside the store during the Day 3 signing. I purposely didn’t mark her to protect her privacy. But she is definitely crazy, and here’s why:

Crazy Bitch: Who’s inside? Is he an author? What books did he write?

Me: Those books (I pointed to a shelf containing Gaiman’s books on display outside the store.)

Crazy Bitch: Alam mo pala, hindi mo sinasabi! (Loosely translated to: You knew all along, and you’re only telling me now!)

At this point, I knew I should have stopped talking to her, but it was only due to morbid curiosity that I didn’t.

Crazy Bitch: What’s so special of[sic] this author?

Me: He’s one of the best.

Crazy Bitch: Really? From where?

Me: London.

Crazy Bitch: Wow, a foreigner! Is he gorgeous?

Me: (Hesitating) I–I wouldn’t know.

Crazy Bitch: How come I’ve never heard of him?

At this point, I did stop talking to her and politely excused myself. A little while later she positioned herself at the back of the crowd and started shouting:

Crazy Bitch: Wag kayo maniwala diyan! Puro kayo social climbers! (Rough Translation: Don’t believe the hype! These people are all social climbers!)

Yikes.