So queue me

stalking gaiman, day 2

before i go on, i must clarify something. i didn't go to neil gaiman's singapore appearances two days in a row because i'm an obsessive fangirl stalker. it's just really easy to tail him here. the population, and therefore the fan base, is really small compared to manila, so less people to contend with. the efficient transport system combined with great weather, no traffic and practically everything being just ten minutes from everything else makes zipping about the city very easy.

besides, i figured i had nothing better to do. i didn't have any of my books with me, so i toted everything marlon had in my giant orange woven bag. on to books kinokuniya at ngee ann city. the signing was slated to start at 4pm, so i decided to be 'early' and go right after lunch with marlon. early. yeah right. i got sidetracked by a certain department store by the name of takashimaya, where i window-shopped for about an hour.

upon arriving in kino, i prowled about and saw a small table behind velvet ropes, large signs proclaiming the name of our hero, and ... NO CROWD! so i decided to browse for another hour or so. boba.

this area happens to be conveniently located at a corner. upon returning an hour later and actually rounding said corner, i found a line -- excuse me, a queue -- winding not just all the way around kino, but between and among rows and rows of shelves. que horror. (kino is maybe twice the size of fully booked in rockwell.)

i trod forlornly to the end of the queue, all the way in the japanese language section where i couldn't even browse through books to while away the time. apparently smart people who had peeked around the goddamn corner had been queueing up since 11am. god!

and apparently, a voice from the heavens announced, "due to overwhelming response", neil gaiman would be returning for a second signing session at 830pm. this session would start at 430 and end promptly at 630.

and the waiting began.

i made two very nice friends in the queue: may-ann, dressed entirely in black with a little silver ankh at her throat. she was furiously jotting down something in a notebook, which she later tore out and presented to neil (close?!). she must have noticed me eyeing her bubble-wrapped (!) copy of death: the high cost of living, because she generously offered to lend it to me while we were in line. i accepted gratefully, as i was dying to read it.

then there was joyce, who took the train all the way from kuala lumpur to have her books signed. this is how we met: a girl darted in front of us wearing a black coat. i thought nothing of it until i caught the tails of her coat stirring a breeze as she passed. then joyce said, somewhat in shock, "uh... was that girl dressed as desire?" and so we began talking. joyce later presented a cute little black voodoo doll keychain to neil. she said it seemed to go with the stuff he wrote.

later, the three of us would see four endless walking by: desire, death, destiny and dream (whom, may-ann remarked, looked nothing like death as he was rather pimply, brown and short). i figured nobody wanted to come as despair (some singaporean anti-nudity law? or is it just really hard to find an obese singaporean?), but i was disappointed that delirium wasn't around. she should have been pretty easy.

may-ann said, "i guess this is the only place they can walk around and everyone will know why they're dressed that way." i added, "yeah, as soon as they step out of kino everyone will just think they're freaking weird."

neil stopped signing at about ten people away from us. that was a bummer.

i THINK that brown half-mop is the top of his head. at any rate, i was this close when he started to pack up and go away. dammit.

a couple of people decided not to stay, bringing us right up to the front of the queue. i didn't know if i wanted to wait two hours more to get marlon's books signed. my newfound friends wouldn't budge, though. one of them came from another country just for this. the other individually bubble-wrapped her gaiman comics, for crying out loud. so i guess they inspired me to park my ass and wait. they even smuggled fries in for me and lent me their books while they went for dinner (a very good selection, between the two of them. i read stardust, illustrated by charles vess, and black orchid). plus may-ann lent me her phone so i could call marlon.

so finally, after the arrival of my boyfriend, a bag of soggy fries and famous amos nibblers, and FIVE AND A HALF HOURS OF WAITING (are you reading this, domokun)? we got to meet neil gaiman (again) and have marlon's books signed. (one is dedicated to marlon and deepa. hehe)

jeline, i got to ask him your questions (except the concept album one). he wrote his autograph and the answer to your elvis costello question on a piece of paper, which is now officially yours. and yes, he does write song lyrics. he named three bands who have recorded his songs, and for the life of me i can't remember any of them. i think one was called flash girls.

moral of the story: prepare for the worst, and do not underestimate the crowd. i've been through quite a few crappy celebrity experiences so this one was not a problem for me. the main problem here i think is that nobody thought the fan base would be so big. mas lalo pa siguro sa 'pinas.

but, it must be said that kino is supposedly much more experienced at holding book signings, so things went fairly smoothly. (how many book signings has fully booked organized? i'm not dissing them. just something to consider when you are deciding what time to line up.) plus, the natives are docile and organized by nature. nobody, and i mean nobody, tried to cut in line. not even the may-kakilala-ako-tara-lapitan-natin style bulok that we pinoys do so well.

for anansi girl: more pics from the monday session. i was seated at the rear, so this was the best i could do.