it's safe to say that october 3rd and 4th were handsdown the best two days
of my entire existence.  and this is why...

oct 3- melanie c arrives in toronto, and i have a hunch she's staying at
the 4 seasons in yorkville.  i needed to pick up a few gifts for some
people at ice (think posh "it store"), which happens to be across the way
from the hotel.  i look at my watch and think "hmm, she might still be
there".  so i stop shopping and go to the main entrance of the hotel.  lo
and behold her van (a very un-pop-star burgandy ford windstar with private
license plates and tinted windows) was waiting at the door for...MELANIE
C.  so i get to talking with her driver and ask whether i can get a pic
with melanie when she comes out (i was the only one there...there was one
other guy who had a restraining order, but let's not go there).  he says
he has no idea, and i should ask her when she comes out.  dear god, i
thought.  i could not believe this was happening.  i felt a little
nauseous, so i squatted down for a sec to regain my composure.  a couple
of minutes later there's some sort of fuss approachi! ng the door, and
there she is.  melanie live and in person.  so i ask "hi melanie, can i
get a picture of us, please?"  she says "sure, just quick so i'm not
late".  so, we put our heads together and click!  picture one.  after that
she got in her van and i felt like throwing up (again.  please keep in
mind that i still get bouts of nausea just thinking about it).  i didn't
yawn in technicolour though, and instead started running thru yorkville. 
just like in forrest gump ("and one day, i just started runnin'...").  i
screamed out "holy sh*t" and i think i jumped and clicked my heels.  i
walked around yorkville shaking and on the verge of vommiting for the next
hour to calm down.  then i went home.

the next day, october 4, 1999. concert day.
i had called a radio station called 104.5 chum fm the previous wednesday
to ask if melanie was scheduled to appear there.  as luck would have it,
she was.  so i woke up at 6am and headed down to chum to wait for melanie.
 i got there around 8 and it was FREEEEEEEZING.  i hung out by the back
parking lot by myself for half an hour and decided to make my presence
known to the receptionist.  so as of 8:30am they knew i was there.  it was
too cold to stay outside for long periods of time, so i developped the
rather odd talent of scoping out places to loiter for 15 minutes at a
time.  inside for 15, outside for 15.  at like 9am i went into chum to ask
to use the washrooms.  god bless them, they let me in.  u know that thing
about a nice hot pee being the nicest thing on a cold day...?  after that,
i went back outside where it was raining (fantastic.)  again, i did the
15/15 thing until 11:45am.  i went back inside to ask to use the
facilities again.  this time, the receptionist, a lovely lady named Di,
had someone with her.  He asked me my name and how long i'd been out
there.  so i told him...edith, since 8 this morning.  then, he's like "ok,
edith.  when she gets here, u'll be the first to meet her, no matter what.
now go to the eaton center and warm up or something. do u have bus money?
oh, u don't HAVE to go, but since u'r gonna meet her anyway, might as
well be nice and warm, eh?"  cool, i thought.  he told me what time to
come back (2:30 cos her schedule had been changed. she was to be there at
3pm now, not 1 as was planned.) and where to be. so for the next few hours
i explore the booming region of yonge and st. clair.  if ever boredom
resided in a specific part of town...

i get back to the station at 2:15 (i got REALLY bored walking aimlessly
within the hussle and bussle :o| ) and Di says i can stay in the lobby. 
at about 2:30 melanie's promo manager comes in to make sure everything's
hunky dory for melanie's arrival.  she also starts saying that she's got
her band with her, and that they'll be playing live on the radio.  i
figured i had nothing to lose so i asked if i could sit in on that.  she
said "sorry, no".  that was fine..i was only expecting to get a pic or
autograph and then go line up at the concert.  so i ended up talking to
the promo lady, and it turns out this chick's got a amazing job! it's a
pretty wicked job, but she's gotta put up with a lot of star attitude, and
taht she's on call 24/7.  i asked how melanie was, and she said that she's
one of the better clients she's worked with.  cool.  ok, so her band
arrives at about 2:45ish.  THEY ARE SOOOOO COOL!!!  especially the
guitarist and lead back-up vocalist, claire.  she's just wicked!  the
band goes in and gets all set up.  then the station manager (who i'd
spoken to the past wednesday asking about melanie..) says "edith?" and i'm
like "yes?" "we're gonna let you stay in the studio with melanie and her
band and listen to the broadcast. is that ok?" "HOLY F*CKING SH*T!!!!" is
what i thought.  "yeah, that'd be great, thanks" is what i said.  so he
leads me into the studio and introduces me to the band and (gasp!) lets me
sit in roger ashbey's chair.  i listen to them do all sorts of sound
checks and tuning.  claire then starts singing, and i think my jaw dropped
open.  sometimes the biggest of stars are hiding in the smallest of
places.  she has an absolutely beautiful voice.  about 7 minutes later,
melanie walks in.  cool, i thought.  then they introduce her to me. 
"melanie, this is edith. she's been here a while"  "when did u get here,
edith?" she says  "since 8 this morning, i think"  "wow, it's freezing out
there. thanks for coming"  "no problem. thank you" i said.  then she did a
run thru of goin down.  her voice was really soft and it never really
registered that she was "melanie c". she was just someone that could sing
really well and was wearing a  tank top when it was far too cold outside.
then they went on air, ! she did a wicked version of goin down, the dj
asked her some dumb questions (the answers to which I EVEN KNEW before
he'd finished his sentences). once it was done, she turns to me and is
like "that ok?"  "yep. it was great" i said really cooly and casually.  it
was f*cking brilliant! after that she signed a couple of things, including
the lyrics to my favourite song of hers, can't stay tonight.  she prob
hadn't seen them for a while and said "wow. where'd you get these?" "from
the internet. it's my favourite song, actually.  is it on the album?" "na,
but the album's much better. trust me"  "oh, ok" i said.  then she signed
it "to edith, love melanie c  x". after that she went to do some I.D.'s
for CHUM FM,and when she came out we got our picture taken together again.
this time i looked all composed and cool.  so it was done and we headed
out.  we walked out pretty much shoulder to shoulder, tho i was like half
an inch ahead of her.  then i'd stopped for a sec, so she got just ahead
of me, but still shoulder to shoulder.  we turned the corner and there
were like 10 or 15 kids in the lobby.  "oh my god" is what i said. then
she's like "it's ok". so we get to the lobby and they ENGULF us.  they
were screaming things, shoving things into melanie's face, grabbing her
for a hug or kiss...i kinda wasn't diggin it, so i said "bye" and ducked
out of the way.  i let her do her job and sign stuff for ppl.  it was
incredible the effect this woman has on kids.  they were (as was i the
first time i met her) shaking, laughing and crying hysterically.  just by
seeing her ( a totally normal, regular, down to earth woman with a
kick-ass job), they reached nirvana.  pretty cool, huh. so i got my stuff
together and headed down to the guvernment.  

i got there the same times her vans pulled in. they went inside and had
dinner and then did soundcheck.  little did i know when i got there that i
was going to the FRONT of the line, not the back.  that explained the
cussing and dirty looks, i suppose.  but the girl in the front of the
line, ruby, was so cool about it. she's like "you can stay here, but can i
go in first?" so ofcourse i say "course u go in first, i'll go to the
back"  "na, u can stay, don't worry about it."  and cos she was so cool
about it, i gave her an 8*10 glossy of melanie i got at the radio station.
i also appeased the ppl behind me by giving them a man u scarf that i'd
got as a present.  so i was in the front of the line.

a couple of freezing hours go by, and we're finally let into the venue.
i'm not gonna go into the details of the concert cos there's three reviews
already.  all i can say is that i was in the front row, just to melanie's
right.  the concert was AMAZING!!!  a bit short, but it's ok.  she spat
water on me...now, i don't care who you are, spittin on me ain't cool. but
i'll live. tho i feel kinda gross having been spat on with gargle water. 
claire was amazing, and i also said hi to melanie's tour co-ordinator who
i'd met earlier at chum.  all in all, it was a fantastic fantastic two days.  

i have to say that sometimes when i think about it, i get all nervous and
nauseous.  i have met my idol/inspiration/whatever.  but when i think
about it RATIONALLY, the person i met is not the person who's picture i've
got on my wall.   she's just a human being, and melanie and "MELANIE C!"
are, to me, totally separate people.  i met the person behind the face. 
when i see the images of her on tv or in the paper, it's hard for me to
connect the person i've met and the person i'm reading about.  i know it
sounds odd, but that's just the way i feel.  i am also more than relieved
to know that she's a wonderful person, and not some stuck up pop star. 
all those times we've heard that she's the friendliest,most down to earth
and most talented?  she most definately is...and then some!