Thursday, March 03, 2005
Confessions Of A Twenty Year Lep Fan - Psycho #1
Miles Run: 0 - Tonight was my night off
(have to rest those muscles)
Push Ups: 50
Crunches: 200+ (You didn't expect me to
completely take the day off did you? LOL)
If I remember correctly, my first face to face interaction with a Def Leppard fan I met online all started sometime between April and June of 2003. There were two women on the OS forum who were planning a big get together for fans. I was one of the many who was interested and I was asked to be on a committee. I figured why not? Well, at some point, one of the women dropped out of site never to be heard from again. It was then that one woman left (I'll call her Angela) asked me if I would take over as co-planner. Against my better judgment, I agreed. For awhile, things were going well and we thought we might be able to pull things off despite all the negative comments suggesting we weren't doing this and that right made by a certain organizer of an event called LepCon which I understand was a total flop. About a month or so before our party was to take place, we booked the venue - a "niceish" hotel along the river in Sioux City, IA. The hotel would only allow us to secure the room with a credit card and because I was the only one of the two of us which had available credit, I was elected for that - lucky me. I was hesitant and I felt a little suspicious of her but it was only going to be $300 so it wasn't like it would be a hardship if I was out the money and "Angela" said she would pay me back when she got the money together so I ponied up the card.
During the time all this was going on, there was a concert date scheduled for mid June in Des Moines. I had come up with the idea that those of us planning to attend should get together before the show to go to dinner and get to know each other. There was a good response and about 13 who committed to being there so I went about putting it all together and making a reservation.
Like a lot of events, these two turned out nothing like what they were supposed to. "Angela" flew in a day early for the Des Moines concert and because I had a half day off from work, we decided to get together. I got off work at noon on Friday and drove downtown to the hotel where she was staying. It was one of the nicer places in town so she thought the band might stay there. I told her it was possible but not very likely because it was farther from the venue and most of the acts that perform in Des Moines stay at another hotel that was closer. When I arrived at the hotel, I went up to her room and waited for her to finish getting ready. When she was done, we drove a few blocks or so to a parking ramp that was connected to the skywalk. We walked all around including up to the venue and around the hotel where I told her I thought the band would be staying. Sure enough, the buses were there and the minute she saw them, she started going ape shit and wanting to hang around the place. Oh great. Here I am stuck with one of those psychotic over zealous fans. We went down to the bar for a little while and walked around the building outside but didn't see anyone - thank God! The last thing I wanted was to be with her should one of the band members show up. When I dropped her off at the hotel, she said to me, "We (meaning her and this other woman she was going to be sharing a room with) might be a little late to dinner, but we WILL be there." It was at that moment I was 99% sure that they wouldn't be there at all. I don't know why I felt that way exactly. I think it was just the way she emphasized the word "will" and the fact that I have a very low bullshit tolerance.
Concert day came and it seemed to be going as planned. My friend from Knoxville met me at my house so we could drive downtown together because she wasn't that familiar with the city and didn't handle night driving very well. Shortly after she arrived, we left to go to the restaurant. When we arrived, we were seated and the hostess confirmed how many would be in the group. Not too long after we sat down, a friend of mine from the southside of Des Moines showed up. We sat around and talked for a little while before ordering to give the others time to show up. 20 minutes came and went but no one else arrived. I thought that was odd especially since no one called to say they weren't coming. Later on, when the three of us (Ant went to dinner but not the concert) got to the venue, we were standing in the lobby waiting for a couple of other people to show up. After standing there for awhile, "Angela" and her friend that she was rooming with approached me. She tries to make a little small talk and attempts to blame not showing up for dinner on her friend leaving late because of a sick dog. I just said something like "oh well" and left it at that because I knew if I didn't, I might end up giving her a piece of my mind. She handed me the money to reimburse me for the charge that was going to be put on my credit card for the party venue (at least she kept her word about that), walked off, and that was pretty much the last I saw of her. It wasn't until the days following the concert that I found out just what a couple of bitches "Angela" and her friend really were. Steph had been emailing with one of the people who was supposed to be there and got the dirt from her. In her email, she stated that they had a legitimate reason for not being there which I do believe, however, they would have been had it not be for getting some misinformation. I guess "Angela" and her friend decided to tell everyone that I had called them and told them that the dinner was cancelled. The email also stated that "Angela's" friend who supposedly didn't show up until a half hour before showtime according to "Angela" was really there the night before and they both hung out with Vivian at that time. Reading all this just made my blood boil! I had taken the time and made the effort to organize this meet and these two assholes decide to sabotage it. Lord knows what the hell I did to have them do that. I had decided the night of the concert that I would be cutting ties with "Angela" when it came to that party and after I got the information from Steph, I knew I had made the correct choice.
When I emailed "Angela" the day after the concert to tell her I was out as far as the party was concerned, I asked her for her mailing address so I could send her money back to her. She shoots me an email back making it sound like she was shocked about what happened with the dinner thing - yah right whatever. What really pissed me off is that she takes a total of a week to get back to me with her address and then has the unmitigated gall to ask me to overnight it to her because she wants it for her next Lep trek that she will be leaving for in a couple of days. To top it off, for the next three days she keeps emailing me pestering me about the money. Jesus Christ, give a person some time to answer. I was on summer hours that week which meant I had to put in an extra hour everyday so I could have Friday afternoon off and I'm not allowed to check my email at work. I told her I wasn't able to overnight it and sent it out regular mail. The hell if I am going to waste $10 to overnight something to someone when it would probably arrive in two days by normal mail. Besides, why the hell should I pull a favor for someone who stabbed me in the back?
After that, I never heard from "Angela" again. In fact, I don't think anyone did. Like the second woman who had first started the party, she completely disappeared. Go figure!
The fun doesn't stop here kiddies. The real "irritator" is yet to come. Stay tuned!
Time to go. Ant just woke up from his nap and realized he missed the chow wagon so I'm going to go fix him something to eat.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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