Connie Onnie: Just Keeps Getting Better

Thursday I came home for lunch and happened to turn on the TV, something I never do. The news was on and I began to watch it, again something I never do. There they announced that Tempe had won an online contest to have the world premier of Wolverine to show in their home town. You can see the original announcement made by Hugh Jackman here. The news also reported that they were giving away 500 tickets to attended the premier. For those who keep up on my blog you might remember that I mentioned Wolverine as one of the movies I was looking forward to on my blog here. I also mentioned seeing Hugh Jackman and a clip from Wolverine in my post about Comic Con. After I received the news I got rather excited and had to call Mimi I started walk around my living room in circles trying to remember what I was looking for, oh yeah my cell phone.

Friday morning I went into work for a few hours then met up with my little brother Eric and together we headed down to Tempe Marketplace. We got there at 11 am, I went in and talked to a manager who told me they would not be letting lines form until 9pm and that they would have lots of security. He also would not tell me where they were going to have the line. But if we wanted to walk around the shops and stuff that would be fine, but to come back at nine. Like we were going to leave, come on. First Eric and I got lunch and sat by a table close to the theater so we could keep our eye on it. Next we moved over closer to the fire and waterfall from there I saw where I wanted to be. The Coffee Bean which is right next to the theater had a table right there close to the theater. It was perfect we could sit at a coffee shop all day and no one could say a thing to us. Once the people at the table got up to leave we slid in and began our very long wait. While waiting we thought we heard a manager telling the news cameras that the ally way about 5 paces from us is where the line would be. Thankfully my friend Kristen came by to visit with her son Ethan after having dinner with her husband Cory who works close by. We talked and talked like we always do when we get together and it made the time go by so much faster. Cory also told us that was where they always did their lines for their local premiers. When Kristen was leaving Brittney and Amber showed up, it was perfect they sat at the table with us and ate their dinner. Soon the crowd kept getting bigger and bigger, they kept pushing everyone back a few feet back from where we sat. I knew we were sitting pretty to be one of the first in line. The crowd kept creeping forward and a few snuck behind us. I saw the cops and security moving to the doors and I told Eric now he got up and moved for the door I grabbed my bag, Brittney grabbed onto me with crowd hard on our heals. We got in and boom people were shoving and screaming I thought Amber must be close behind us but as I watched people pushing through I could not see her. Soon we saw her and grabbed her, it was a little scary but she wasn't hurt. She did tell me that she left her purse I had to wait for the crowd to go down a little and I had to convince the security to let me out of line and back in but I got her purse and the chairs and blankets that got left in the mad dash. They started the lines early because the crowd was getting to out of control. Mimi and her mom had not gotten to us in time but thankfully they were able to move up the line and stand next to us. Did I mention we were number 10 in line? We were all so compact in the small space, it was a few hours before they were able to move the line up closer to the theater. Where we were able to set up our chairs and blankets. You can see our set up from this picture I stole from this site.

The first two women we adopted into our party, they became fast friends with Mimi's mom. Next to them you can see Eric talking on his cell phone. On the ground you can see my blanket set up for sleeping and just down from that you can see Amber & Britt laying down on their blankets. I think Mimi & I were out at her car getting some stuff and my cardboard cut out of James Dean. I had loaned James Dean to Mimi for a school project and she decided she would return him tonight and that he could watch over us while we slept.

Here is Amber enjoying James.

Of course there were news cameras and reports filming and every time we would look away and try to avoid getting in their shots. Little did Mimi know the attention James would bring, and some how she was gone when the reporter from The Arizona Republic showed up and must have taken like 50 shots of me, James and Eric. She took our names but I have no clue if she will or did use the pictures. It was so very awkward, I even decided just to try and sleep through it but the flash did not make that easy.

I was so glad we got to spread out and were not stuck in the walk way between the two buildings. Eric said he felt like we were VIP but also like we were in a fish bowl. Because everyone who walked out of the theater would stare at us and don't ask me why with 9 people in front of us and hundreds behind us everyone stopped and asked us why were camping out. And by us I mean mostly me, Mimi even gave me the portable DVD player so people would stop bugging me. But no that did not stop them some still bugged me with my headphones and all. During the night we took turns laying down or sitting in the chairs but we all slept doing both. I has such a great time, I am so glad it all worked out and I am super excited for Monday!!! If I had not had such little sleep in the last 72 hours I am sure my excitement would have me jumping through the roof!!! I am going to go ahead and post this massive post event though there are still some funny stories to tell, I am just to tired to type anymore.

Here I am after 22 hours of either sitting in the sun or trying to sleep under the stars...