Sunday, March 13, 2005
Confessions Of A Twenty Year Lep Fan - Psycho #2
I first started communicating with this one (I'll call her Justine) toward the end of 2002. She had made a post on the OSF about going to the Cedar Rapids, IA concert and wanting to meet up with people. I was planning on going so I figured what the hell. To make a long story short, we planned to meet up but when I woke up in the morning to get ready to go, I felt really ill. I wasn't about to let anything keep me from seeing the concert, however, Ant and I didn't get to the hotel in CR until late afternoon/early evening. Ant was hungry so we had to find him something to eat and by the time we did, there was only enough time left to get ready and make it downstairs to the venue so the meet didn't happen. After I got home, I sent her an email explaining what happened and that I was sorry it didn't work out. She replied and that was pretty much the last I heard from her until the spring of 2003.
In the meantime, I had discovered all the Yahoo groups on the net centered around DL and ended up joining one. I mostly lurked and would participate in the online chats every now and then. It was those chats which first made me leery of some of the online fans as they came off as being sorta "cliquey". I'm not the kind of person who buys into that kind of BS so I was pretty much put off by the experience. There were a few I met though who I thought were nice. I met up with four of them at the Madison concert the first part of April and if nothing else, it was certainly an eye opening experience when it came to some of the fans of the band you can find on the internet. The ones I met up with were wonderful people. They had all been friends for awhile and I had only just met them so I felt a little out of place but that didn't last too long. They told me a little about their impression of the owner of the group we had met on and I was a little shocked. They had met up with her at an earlier concert and pretty much said that it was just short of a catastrophe and that the woman was nothing like what you might think talking to her online. I guess online she tends to come off as very sweet and charming but in person, she can turn on you faster than anything. It seems that she is also good at leaking information that she shouldn't whether it be out of ignorance or on purpose I don't know. Even after hearing all of this, I still decided to give her the benefit of the doubt since I know how people tend to bend facts to make things sound worse or better than they are depending on the situation and I had never actually met the chic.
When I returned home, I found out DL was going to be playing at the steamboat Days in Burlington, IA. I didn't know if they were actually going to make it to Des Moines so I bought tickets because I knew I wanted to see them again. Not too long afterward, "Justine" had posted a message at the Yahoo group I was a member of saying she would really like to be able to go because she couldn't attend one elsewhere that she had been thinking about going to. I had an extra ticket so I responded. I figured someone might as well use it so I could make the money back. She emailed me and we worked out the details. She didn't remember talking to me before until I made mention of it which was a little odd and gave me sort of a strange feeling about her but I just chalked it up to just being too busy with other things. We decided to meet up for dinner beforehand just to kind of get to know each other before we roadtripped together. I thought it went well and I was really looking forward to the trip.
Not too long before the concert, I found out about the Raven Drum auction which was going to be held for the Burlington gig (two tickets with VIP passes plus two backstage passes to meet Rick Allen). I thought given the venue being in a relatively small town where people were not overly likely to travel to and it being one of the first auctions, "Justine" and I might actually have a chance at winning. I emailed her and asked if she wanted to go in on it. She did and said that she could put $100 towards it. I knew that I could put in $400 in and given the price didn't seem to be rising very quickly, we would have a better than good chance. I placed the bid right before time ran out and received an email later that day saying we won - ticket price was something like $360 after all the fees. Cool! I knew I was going to be responsible for more than half but I didn't care. I knew I took that chance to begin with and it was going to a good cause.
As the day of the concert drew closer, I received an email from "Angela" (this was before I knew what a snake she was) asking if I was going to hit the Rockford, IL show the day after Burlington. I hadn't planned on it but mentioned it to "Justine" anyway. She said she was up for it so we ended up buying tickets for that one too and booking rooms in Rockford. I caught flack for my choice of hotel because it was an all suites place. "Justine" thought I had this thing for suites for some warped reason that I'm still not sure of. In reality, I have a thing for wanting a decent room for my money suite or not so I went with a chain that I thought would be ok and was in the price range "Justine" had named. Rockford isn't a huge place and it wasn't like there was a big selection of places to stay.
The Burlington event went ok for the most part. The concert was great and we were able to squeeze into the front row right in front of Sav. At one point he was so into playing to the crowd, he wasn't watching his step and nearly fell off the stage. We had some trouble getting back to meet Rick because no one decided to let the security people know there was a meet and greet but with a little persistence and a really nice guy, we got through. Rick was really kind and it was nice to be able to not feel rushed getting autographs and photos. Phil and Vivian came out too so we were able to meet up with them in that same nonrushed atmosphere. We also met up with three others "Justine" knew from her Yahoo group (two of them ended up being the other auction winners) and there was this other woman there that I guess "Justine" had been talking to that ended up finding us. She was pretty strange and from what "Justine" told me, she was supposedly "stalking" her. After all that has happened, I'm not so sure that was the real story particularly because "Justine" kept answering her phone when "the stalker" would call.
The trip to Rockford left me puzzled to say the least. I had never been there before especially not by way of Burlington (I had never even been there before the concert either). "Justine" had printed out Yahoo driving directions and if you know anything about those, they aren't always the most accurate. I guess some of the road signs were different from what Yahoo spit out because we couldn't find the ones listed in the directions and ended up taking a wrong turn and having to back track a little. It was sort of annoying but it didn't end up being that far out of the way, however, this is when I felt the claws come out. "Justine" didn't outright yell but I could detect a change in her attitude. I figured that she was probably just tired because we had stayed up until 4am but there were things that happened later on that left me wondering if that is really what it was.
The Rockford show was alright but not the most fun I have ever had at a concert. We did end up sitting by one of the other Yahoo group owners and talking with her for a little while which was cool. Other than that though, there really wasn't anything too special or particularly unique about the show. "Justine" made sure to make it known that she wasn't happy with her room. There was also something about the way she said it that came off sounding like she was blaming me for it because I was the one that picked the place to stay too which left me with a strange feeling. She complained that the toilet was stopped up and the shower had no water pressure (as in the water was barely trickling out). There was a girls softball team there and they were pretty noisy and made for a legit complaint but I'm not sure about the water issues she was having. Generally if the water pressure is shitty in one room of a hotel, it's going to be like that in all the rooms - mine wasn't. It didn't occur to me at the time but I have to wonder if she only complained because she didn't want to have to pay the full bill for her room.
The next morning after the concert was a lot like the morning before - "Justine" coming off as kind of grouchy. What really was sort of irritating was is how much time she would spend on her phone. Maybe it is just me but usually when you are out somewhere with someone you say is your friend, you don't spend the majority of the time talking on the phone to someone else especially someone you say is stalking you and that you don't like very well - telling that person lies and then bragging about those lies to one of your buddies you call up afterward. This was the next thing that came up that gave me kind of a weird feeling about her. Her telling me about an affair she had early on in her marriage on the way home didn't settle too well with me either. It's not like that sort of thing would keep me from being friends with someone but I couldn't figure out why on Earth she would be telling me about it considering the fact that we hadn't even really known each other that long. What made this trip most bizarre was how her behavior from the first part of the day changed completely when she dropped me off at my house - she was her chummy little self again.
We talked online a couple of times after that but that was about it until it got closer to the Vegas show. I thought it would be nice to attend this show but I hadn't made any plans to go so I really didn't give it much more thought that is until I heard from "Justine" again. I was sort of leery of her intentions after the Burlington/Rockford trip but figured I would give her a second chance. We made plans to go on a shopping trip the day after my birthday to look for Vegas clothes. It was on this trip that I grew even more suspicious of "Justine". A couple of months earlier, she was talking about having a party for the 30th birthday but it never happened and she didn't even say happy birthday to me. I thought it was really strange for someone to do that to anyone they considered a friend. What was worse was that after the non-refundable/non-transferable tickets were purchased and paid for, I found out what I believe to be the real reason she asked me to go with her. First, "Justine" told her husband that it was my idea to go to Vegas not hers so that he would be more likely to let her go (this I was sorta perturbed about). Second, I have good reason to think that she wanted me along not only because I had been there before and knew my way around but because she was meeting up with someone else she met on the net and didn't want to be alone if the woman turned out to be a total psycho. I also think me not drinking may have played some part in it too because she knew that she could get sloppy drunk and there would be someone there to play babysitter. I really couldn't find any part of it that said I was being asked to go because I was a friend and she wanted me there because of that fact. What happened later after we arrived only solidified my thoughts. Oh if only she would have opened her big mouth sooner. I could have saved myself a TON of grief.
"Justine" and I arrived at the airport after a three hour delay the day before the show. Obviously she was bitchy because she smokes and hadn't had her fix in over six hours, but the attitude she gave me after we got our baggage and headed out to get a shuttle to the hotel was just totally uncalled for. I told her that we needed to call the hotel and let them know that we needed a ride then where to wait but she didn't want to listen to me even though I had been there before on business and knew what the routine was. Instead, she goes and asks woman sitting at a bus stop about getting a bus and then acts as though I didn't know what the hell I was talking about leaving me to feel like a complete fool.
The night before the concert, we had been out until something like 5am and then got up in time to get in line at the doors by 8am. I waited all day in the 90 degree sun with her, Steph, and some other people in order to get a front row spot. When they started letting people in, the security guard at the front of the line made sure that we got to go in before the VIP crowd because we had waited so long. "Justine" and Steph got down to the front before I did and they were standing center stage. The crowd was coming in quick behind me so when I got down there where they were, I said something about letting me squeeze in. That's when "Justine" said, "Go stand over there by the others." This was off to the left side of the stage in front of Vivan with people I hardly even knew. What irked me was that "Justine's" little friend that she was meeting up with out there was actually behind me and when she got down to the front along with a couple of others in our group, "Justine" was more than willing to make space to let them in. That no doubt told me exactly where I ranked with her. Oddly enough, one of the people she "let in" turned out to be one of the ones that she purposely tried to ditch after the show because she didn't like her for some superficial reason or another. There were actually at least a couple of people there that she had problems with because of things like bucked teeth or being a little more excited about being there than she thought they should be. It was shortly after that when we saw the owner of the group where we had first met along with her "gang" that, according to the email she had sent me, "Justine" was so sure to rip up one side and down the other with some "inside info" but she never did. Of course I think "Justine" is more talk than anything and I'm not even sure she had any info to begin with.
Later in the evening (or I guess I should say morning as it was after midnight) when a bunch of us went back to the hotel, I found out one of the people I considered a friend (one of the ones I met in Madison and was really looking forward to seeing again) was staying on my same floor. We got off the elevator together and she said there was talk about meeting up for breakfast. I told her I was up for it and to just let me know when and where. That morning came and went and no one ever did contact me about breakfast leaving me to think that no one got together which was a shame because I was really looking forward to talking with a couple of my Madison friends again. I later found out from Steph that they did get together. She wasn't even staying in the same hotel and she knew the details. Steph didn't go but from what she told me, it would seem that "Justine" never had any intention of letting me know what was going on and it wouldn't surprise me if she told the others that I had said I wasn't coming so they wouldn't question where I was or try to contact me. It was at that point I wanted nothing more than to just come back home but I couldn't because there was only one flight out on the airline we used and it had already left. The rest of the day, "Justine", her little buddy, a woman I was standing by at the concert, and I walked down the Strip but not even halfway, "Justine" and her friend decided to stop there and told the two of us to go on. Personally, I think "Justine" just wanted to get rid of us. Little does "Justine" know but the night before we left when she, and another fan, and I had come back from an evening of gambling, I could hear the two of them cackling and talking about me when the elevator doors closed after I got off. I still felt like I was getting the snub until we were on the way back to my house. That's when "Justine" turned all chummy again. Once I got out of the car and made my way to my front door, I had made my final decision that I would NEVER have anything to do with her again. I was willing to chalk one time of treatment like that up to the "having a bad day" excuse, but not twice. Friends just don't do shit like that to friends. It also became obvious to me that I must have pissed her off in some way although I'm doubfounded as to how because she never spoke to me again and when I did make a couple of posts on one of the message boards, she came back with what I would call a snotty reply.
It was only a couple of months later when I was talking with Steph, that I found out the kind of lies "Justine" had been telling about me. I guess she had told her that I made a point of telling "Justine" that I didn't want her smoking in the car when we went on that first roadtrip and that I bitched about taking cabs in Vegas because of the expense. I couldn't believe what a pack of crap she was trying to sell. I don't smoke (never have, never will) but I'm not going to tell someone they can't do it in their own car - that's their business. Hell the woman actually did smoke in the car on the way back from Rockford but I never said a word about it. Steph of course knew this wasn't true. She smokes too. When we get together, she usually drives so she can have her fix and I don't say a word. Actually, I have quite a few friends that smoke but it's not like I have a problem with them doing it in their own domain and I'm certainly not going to break up a good friendship over it. I also never said I didn't want to take a cab in Vegas because of the expense. Money wasn't an issue. I stated that if she (meaning "Justine") wanted to really see the strip, the best way to do it is to walk and take the available trams between the casinos. The one that really had me rolling on the floor was "Justine" saying that she thinks that I'm not really married because she had never seen my husband or a picture of him. I thought WTF? So I don't carry a photo of my husband around with me and stuff. I don't carry photos with me period. Big deal. After hearing all of the comments she was making about people's appearance and stuff in Vegas, I'm glad I never showed her anything that had to do with Ant because I know she would have shot her mouth off to someone about him and it wouldn't have been in a good way. Supposedly she also didn't believe he was British either assuming he did actually exist. It's one thing if you are going to say something about me but don't bring my family into it. That's just wrong!
I guess there were a lot of other little lies "Justine" tried to feed Steph about me too so who knows what she has told many of you (yes, lots of you probably know her). It doesn't matter though. If she needs to spread lies like that to make herself feel better, look better, etc., then let her. Anyone who really knows me will understand that she is full of crap. For those who choose to believe what she says, it's too bad they do but it's their decision to make and their loss.
Well, that brings us up to present day. After Vegas, I decided to pretty much just stay away from the online community. I've made a few "appearances" on the OSF since but that is about it because I was just tired of the bad experiences. After reading some of the blogs out there with a group of fans picking on others, I know I made the right decision by "getting out". I have enough stress in my life and don't want anymore caused by people who have nothing better to do than talk trash about each other. Steph is basically the only person I have met and actually stayed in touch with and I am thankful I have her friendship. We've had some great roadtrips together (one I have already written about - NYC) and some great memories together. When I get a chance, I will write about the Lep adventure to Sioux City, IA I had with her. Oh that was a great time! Just what I needed after the ordeal with the bitch named "Angel".
Whew....I think I have "typer's cramp". LOL Time for me to be scurrying my little butt along kiddies.
Til next time.....
Knocked Off By The Fashion Diva
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