Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Bucket List #42 stroked!

Many years ago my husband discovered this awesome group of guys from Victoria, Canada that had a website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Buried_Life.  They were really funny guys who created a list of 100 things they wanted to do before they died. 

Lennie and I both sat down and started to create our own "bucket lists" and as I was creating mine, I started to feel depressed.  Holy smokes did I have a lot of dreams, stuff to do and felt that overwhelming doom feeling.  So, I decided to make a 2 column chart. One column of all the stuff I wanted to do before I died and a second column of all the cool stuff I had already accomplished.  I promised myself that for every thing I added to column A, I needed to balance out the other side.  And so the list was created.  I make sure I revisit my list from time to time to update, change and check it out.

My favourite entry was the "run a marathon" one because after I completed the Chicago marathon last October I opened up my list to add it to the completed side not even realizing that I actually had set it as a goal in Column A.  I thought at the time of the list creation that I would NEVER be able to accomplish something like that and there it was, in column A - now in column B :)

Last weekend, after 18 years of listening to their music and following their careers, I got to stroke #42 off my list - "Meet the Backstreet Boys".  I had seen them in concert many times and but my real love of them started Christmas 2001 when my husband bought me their CD and had taped tickets to their Toronto concert to the back of the package.  I screamed like a 12 year old girl, called my teaching friend Sue (another 30 year old lover of BSB) and told her Lennie got me 2 tickets and I wanted to take her.  We went and ever since then, I have loved loved love them and followed their every move. 

In order to get my bucket list item to come true I needed to somehow get up close and personal with them.  This summer they were on tour with New Kids on the Block and were touring all over North America.  The closest city to us was Toronto so Lindsay, Lish and I got tickets to see them in June and we had a great night.  But, Lindsay texted me to say they added some dates and London was on the list as their last concert date.  Man, seeing them twice in one year sweet but it was sold out and I missed the ticket sales - Lindsay's dad surprised her and her sister with a pair so I needed Lennie to once again come through and he did.  He called some of his buds and got me a GREAT ticket.  I was so excited. 

Then, Lindsay shared with me that they have this cool thing called VIP passes where you get to go behind the scenes, have a sound check party and get a picture with the band.  Fantastic!!!! BUT!!!  It is really expensive and there was no way I could spend that amount of money to meet BSB, I would be the laughing stock of everyone. 

I thought and thought about it and a couple of days before the show in London, I decided that since we didn't do any big trips this summer that this would be my treat to myself .  Lindsay and I purchased tickets to the VIP event they were holding here in London before their final concert of the NKOTBSB tour.
For years, I had worshipped these guys and had survived years of mocking from my friends and colleagues (I have their poster up in my office at work and past concert tickets, pins and articles).  There was no way I was going to miss out to meet them and get a picture taken.  Even though I had crappy hair right now and am looking a tad run down from some of the summer's treatment stuff, I bit the bullet and went to the event. 

What a riot! It was a dream come true.  I had no idea what to expect from this kind of thing and Lindsay and I seemed to be the only ones who had never attended this kind of event before.  I thought I was a mega fan but these other 75 people were crazy!

As we entered the JLC they had 5 rows of chair set up and Lindsay and I with our gold VIP passes were placed in the 3rd row with the mic stands right in front of us - could it be that they would be 6 feet in front of us?  Lindsay and I had attended their last tour in London too with 10th row tickets but this was SO close. 

All of a sudden the Backstreet Boys came out one a time and I seriously was freaked out.  They were right there and were normal.  They sang, talked to us, laughed, told us about the final show and answered questions from the crowd.  Then, we lined up and had the opportunity to meet them, shake their hands and get a photo.  Again, they were so normal.  It is weird to meet people you have only seen from afar or through your TV for years and realize they are just people, with families and working like us.  I got a great photo and Lindsay and I were one cloud nine for the rest of the night. 

  

I came home from the concert and VIP day and immediately stroked this item off my bucket list.  Of all the stuff I have done, including the marathon, this was really the funnest one.  Thrilled to have done it with a mega fan like Lindsay and to have the photo posted up at work to really be mocked now makes me VERY VERY proud to be a lifelong BSB fan.  (it is also now my computer screen saver at work and home :)

I am just thrilled to be able to say to my former students who I told I would meet the Backstreet Boys one day that I did and if they work hard enough and dream big enough that they too will have their bucket list items stroked off.  But, it starts with making one.  What is on your list?