Let's Partay Like it's ..um...2003!

On the night of January 28th 2003 I was sitting in Algebra class... No, seriously, I was! And though not your "typical" college student, I was still savvy enough to know that 24 x 2 equalled... well, MY AGE.

So I wasn't too heart broken when, the next day at work, everyone was talking about this young geeky kid who had auditioned on American Idol the night before.



So no, unlike most of you, I was not one of those who was immediately and unconditionally "taken" at "Take." In fact for the first 2 months I was only able to watch "Elimination Night" and remembering back would really have been OK with any number of them winning. Except that the "Elimination Night" also beheld some of the finest video footage of that 24 year old "Cutie Patootie" that I have still ever seen to date.
**Such memories of seeing him mouth the words "Thank you very much!" time after time... sideways glances towards the judges... forehead hitting thighs... sparking eyes... dazzling smile. Stuff like that.



I think the first actual competition song I watched him sing was "Grease" which I have to admit took me back a bit since I wasn't completely hooked at that point. But then a co-worker brought in a video tape from the night he sang "Solitaire" and even though she was a "Ruben" and hadn't made it back to her VCR in time to record the first few seconds of the "Cutie Patootie's" song... it was still enough to push me over the edge. So I guess in remembering back I'd have to say "Clay... You had me at 'Man'..." And never let there be any doubt about it... you still have me there.

Here are a couple of great blogs celebrating the anniversary of most "everyone elses" new existence...

Carolina On My Mind
ClaySpots
The ConCLAYve
There Was A Man
FOUR YEARS???...

Ya know I REALLY should have had my degree by now... and I WOULD have too... if it hadn't been for... well, nevermind.

And you know what? It's OK! Because I have been educated in so many other ways since then that I never would have believed I was capable of being educated about. (And NO, not in just those ways!) And you'll be glad to know that I am now continuing my education, and in a field much closer to my heart than the one I started out with 4 years ago. So not only did I find HIM... but I think, in a way, I found myself in the process.

Clack Party Celebrating This Momentous Occassion on the Timeline...

OK... so I have to admit that last Friday night I don't think we all realized that we were celebrating a momentous occassion, but we celebrated it 'cluelessly' nontheless. And it was SO MUCH FUN irregardless...

I, for one, celebrate the fact that I have been driving the Thornapple River Drive for four years now... alone... with my CD blasting... never realizing that providance would one day place me RIGHT THERE on a Friday night amongst such great friends. I swear, I have met some of the sweetest and dearest people in my life because of him.

We had Pizza and Pineapple Salad... watched 5 hours of Clack which didn't even skim the surface of our agenda... and then took a quiz coordinated by our hostess, which I thought I'd include it here, just because it was so much fun!... So in case anyone wants to test their knowledge...

Clay Aiken Trivia Quiz

Oh, and BTW... I won this beauoooootiful prize bag! Even DESPITE the fact that he didn't have me on "Take"...



Isn't it purty?


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Clay Aiken,
American Idol, Anniversary, Always and Forever