BEDA April 8

**** This blog is ridiculously long and includes a play-by-play of pretty much everything that happened when I saw John Green and David Levithan. Don't feel obligated to read/comment, because it's really just for me, getting all the details down on "paper" so I don't forget.

WOW, so ha I guess I won't get the satisfaction of saying I completed BEDA this year. Oh well.

These last few days have been crazy with downs and ups, although last night was the ultimate UP so that's what I'm going to talk about.

As I think you all know, I MET FREAKING JOHN GREEN. My mom is officially the best mom in the world because she agreed to drive my friends and I all the way to Chicago (2.5 hours...) yesterday so I could meet him. And it was everything I thought it would be plus more.

We were about 15 minutes early when we walked into The Theater Building, I wasn't really expecting to see John right away. But as we filed in, he was RIGHT THERE, sitting next to his laptop, and it was so surreal. It's like, you watch someone online for almost 2 years, and follow their tweets and everything and all the evidence suggests that, yeah, they're a real person and you THINK you understand that, but...I guess somewhere deep down I didn't really believe it until I saw it.

Anyways so yeah, there he was just sitting there 5 feet away from me being real, and I was totally thrown off. And then I realized I was staring and, being real, he had eyes, and could see me staring. I panicked, and to cover, I made the nerdfighter gang sign to him, which he returned, and then I ran for my seat while thinking "ZOMG John Green can see me, he just made the nerdfighter sign at me, that proves it!!!" Which is totally true.

And then I realized, oh my god, not only am I going to meet John Green tonight, John Green is going to meet ME tonight. o.O Which wasn't a great thought, because I (rightly) knew I was going to FREAK out and he was just going to think I was weird. Also totally true.

So then I was just nervous like nothing else, so much so that I was kind of wishing I was just safe at home watching the livestream like Ashley and Lo. Then of course I get the text from Ashley that she is watching the livestream, and I am there watching IRL and that was also kind of a surreal-awesomy feeling. So then I start shouting things trying to get Ashley and Lo to hear me on the livestream, which worked, but came with the price of almost every sinlge person there turning around to look at me whenever I screamed "HI ASHLEY!" or "HI LO!". But they were nerdfighters, so they were nice about it.

Meanwhile John and David were just kind of wandering in and out of the room eating doriotos, and THEN Wheezy Waiter shows up, and John's all "Look everyone, it's Wheezy Waiter!" and I embarass myself by actually gasping, because not going to lie, I really think Wheezy Waiter is the funniest person on youtube (which I later told him), and probably my 2nd favorite youtuber. I knew he lived in Chicago, but I wasn't really expecting to see him so that just made my night, as if it wasn't already made enough.

The actual event finally began with this pretty cheesy lady asking us about good things that came in two's (a simple introduction of John and David would have been more appropriate I think) but I shouted "Ron and Hermione!" which got a good laugh from the nerdfighters and that made me feel special =].

Then John and David came out and talked about Will Grayson, Will Grayson for a bit, I was surprised to learn they wrote most of their chapters without consulting each other, I always just assumed they had been in the same room when they wrote it.

They went on to do some readers theater from the book with Liz from sistersalad which was highly entertaining, and I plan on posting on youtube within the next few days. After that they did Q&A and I asked the first question which made me feel EXTREMELY special. Not so special that I babbled and complicated a fairly simple question (Was it harder to write a book with someone than by yourself?) but oh well.


There were LOTS more questions after that, and some very entertaining stories and moments from John and David, including the fireman story, John's willingness to steal stories, and also David gloating that his book has been a movie. David, btw, was really hilarious as well, and so far I've only read one book of his (The realm of possibility) but I definitely plan to read them all now.

My favorite question was Craig's (wheezy's) "What's the address of Frenchy's?" (porn shop). Lmao XD. oh wheezy. Which then prompted a story of how David and John went to Frenchy's to take pictures and be nerdy =]

I didn't film the whole Q&A because I was running low on memory, and I needed some for John to say hi to thesquirrelrebellion =]

So then we finally got to the book signing part, my friends who were way over this went to wait outside, and since I was number 37 and they had you go up 10 at a time, I took the oppurtunity to say hi to Wheezy Waiter. Well, bumble like a moron to him is more like it. I told him he was the funniest person on youtube and that I watch his videos everyday. He didn't really say anything back, I think I embarrassed him and/or he thought I was mentally challenged. But he was nice enough to let me take a picture with him!



After that my mom and I went to sit down while I waited for it to be my turn to go up, and during this time a brilliant nerdfighter gave John a book by the OTHER John Green, about Sasquatch, which John loved so much he announced it to the room and I found myself wishing I had something cool to give John.




Somehow (I have no idea how) my mom and I missed the calling of my number, so they were like in the 40s by the time I went up, but no big deal, cus, hello, I MET JOHN GREEN. I told John he and Hank had changed my life (so true) and he said that was very nice of me to say (I think he also thought I was challenged)and David pointed out that I hadn't said whether they'd changed it for the better or not. And then he and John signed my copy of Will Grayson, Will Grayson for me, and I got John to say hi to the squirrel rebellion. THEN I asked if I could take a picture, and they said they couldn't stop do any formal poses but you could just...take pictures. So I went behind them and my mom took this nice creeper pic of me behind David and John.

And then, since I was back there already, I tried to wave hi to Lo and Ashley on the livestream, but I wasn't sure if it worked or not, but apparently it did so Ashley has some footage of me being confused that I can't wait to see =].

Then I thought the night was so full of awesome and it couldn't get any awesomer, but I was wrong because Ashley called me and we had a very brief phone conversation, which I cut short because my friends were glaring at me and we had to start the 2.5 hours drive back (it was already 10:30pm our time). But it was awesome to talk all the same.

WOW this is a really long blog, I swear you guys don't have to comment, it's really for myself. I tried to include every detail so I won't forget, because it was probably the best night ever. I also got some pretty sweet things while shopping in Chicago, but uh, I think this is long enough =] Plus I need to go read Will Grayson, Will Grayson now.

Anna out, bitches.

Books read:22