Step By Step, Ooo Baby... (Originally Published 24 Sep 2008)

Current mood:ecstatic

My day started out fine.  I got up at a decent hour although I was a little hungover from the night before.  I wrote the previous entry and was able to do a few things around the penthouse.  I coordinated with Meredith as to when we were leaving for the concert and Miss Patti's beau rang me up and I met him at ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Brittany's Café for a little light lunch.  I got back home and began to get ready.  I decided to get in a little workout, I have been working out diligently as of late and I figured I had the time for a short session.  Once I got ready, I thought I could run to the Art of Flowers and post the previous entry before I left Atlantic City. I got there and, most unfortunately, Becky was in the middle of a meeting and I couldn't use the computer.  I left, disappointed, and looked at the time.  Meredith would be on her way by now and I didn't fancy going back home, the psychomate was getting ready for work and I didn't want to sit there waiting with him running about.  I text messaged her to meet me at the Hilton and I wandered down there and sat on a bench outside the hotel and waited. 

And waited.

And waited. 

Disappointment number two.  I text messaged her a few times more and left a voice mail. 

Nothing. 

I amused myself by watching the people around me.  There was one character in a green sweatshirt who kept wandering by, occasionally sitting on the bench next to me and then getting up and shambling off. Then there was the older black woman who shuffled by me, sat on the steps nearby and sorted through her belongings.  I think I was in her usual seat because she kept giving me a look.  Mere finally rang me and told me she was just leaving her home…again!  It was now nearly five and we were supposed to be on the road at four.  Evidently she left her mobile, the concert tickets and the map on her couch and had to go all the way back home to retrieve them. 

I went up to the boardwalk to waste a bit more time watching the joggers, then she finally arrived and we were off. 

Well, we were to meet up with her friend Taylor at her home near Fort Dix.  Mere grew up in this area and the fact that we got lost was yet another, albeit laughable, disappointment of my day.  We did make a turn around at a little café called, unbelievably, "The Hungry Piney". That made our day and when we finally got Taylor on the phone, she directed us to her home with no problem.  I met Taylor and her family, all very sweet, and after she changed, we were on our way to the IZODCenter next to the Meadowlands Arena up in very North Jersey.  We listened to their greatest hits album on the way and I sat in back as Mere and Tay gossiped and reminisced.  Once we got near the arena area, I could see Manhattan in the distance, the lights of the Empire StateBuilding gracing the skyline magnificently.  For a brief moment, I wanted to tell them to chuck it all and leave me off at the nearest train station so I could get lost in that concrete jungle!  I haven't been there since the eighties and I miss that beautiful city so much. 

I didn't, of course, and we spent yet more time trying to find our way through the maze of parking lots, stadiums and racetracks in an effort to get to the IZOD Center.  We finally just parked in a lot and wandered through this enormous tunnel which led us directly to our goal, the front door of the arena!  Surprise!  We got the usual frisking at the entrance, showed our tickets and entered the Center trying to find our seats. What luck, our seats were right near the entrance and I waited whilst they bought the insanely overpriced T-shirts and souvenirs.  We decided to get some insanely overpriced food items and as we were waiting in line, the concert started.  We rushed through and got to our seats just as the New Kids on the Block came rising up from under the stage.

The screaming never stopped!

We had a great vantage point and were right next to one of the jumbo screens so we got to see everything.  The first thing we noticed was Joey McIntyre's tight-as-hell pants!  Damn, they made his ass look fine! They went through all their hits, did a few numbers off the latest album and at one point they popped up on the other side of the arena on a small, revolving, circular stage where they were practically mobbed by their fans.  After a few songs and some cute moves, they were whisked through the crowd back to the main stage.  Jordan did a number on the top stage with a white shirt on and a fan blowing, which was a bit cheesy until he ripped open the shirt and…goddamn…showed his incredible pecs and abs!  He looked amazing!  I saw him shirtless on an Internet site a year ago and, believe me, he didn't look anything like that!

They finished the concert, doing encores of "The Right Stuff" and "Step By Step".  They even did the cute dance moves from the video. 

The ten-year-old girl in me screamed like a banshee! 

We filed out and forced our way through the parking lot, where Taylorsaid something that automatically made me smitten with her.  Some chick cut us off and she said she wanted to pull her out of the car and stab her, hoping her kids were in the back so they could watch.

LOVE! HER! FOREVER!

We stopped at a Wawa and a bad joke about Boston Cremes was made in front of the donut cabinet.  Think about it…NKOTB are from Boston.

We dropped Taylor off, said our good-byes and then Mere and I made our way back through the farm country of South Jersey (which is why we are known as the "garden state") and back home to our little corner of the world. 

Time for bed.  I know I'll have sweet dreams tonight!