|
Viewing 1 - 2 out of 2 Blogs.
The irony of this whole thing is that it happened on Paul Kariya's birthday. It will be a day that will live in "famy" (?). LOL! -------------
We
kept trying to figure out who the lead singer was for "Rhythm Is Gonna
Get You." Tom and Drew/Samantha are impossible to hear in the studio,
and we didn't know that they were the singers from the band. L and I
went back and forth. "Is that Joss Stone?"
"No, she was on last year, and it doesn't really look like her."
"Well, it's clearly not Gloria, but it's Gloria's song-"
"Okay,
never mind. There's Maks." I wished they had pre-taped this segment
like they normally would have because they probably would've done it
twice, but it was great to see it at all after we had thought Maks
wouldn't be dancing. Their dance wasn't as touching and emotional as
last week's, but it wasn't meant to be, of course. Watching that man
move in three dimensions is awesome. The TV really doesn't do his
fabulous hips and footwork justice. He's so deliberate and precise with
his movements while maintaining fluidity and grace. And of course,
every curve of his manly body is highlighted so well by the costume.
However, he can pull off any outfit, really (double entendre fully
intended  ).
After
the devastation that was seeing Maks and Mel in the bottom two, L and I
watched him from the balcony. Usually, he makes the rounds through the
press line, and we admire from afar until they basically force us out
of the building. The ushers didn't have to do much because after
greeting a few people, he left fairly quickly.
A and I were very
fortunate enough to be brought to Maks shortly after we exited.
Excitement got the better of me and I grabbed her arm and squeezed. I
don't think she was expecting it, and I couldn't interpret her
expression in the darkness. So, I let go because I didn't want to weird
her out. lol! Plus, I had to pull myself together and act somewhat
normal, but it was so difficult not morphing into my giddy 14 year-old
self.
As we approached, he was talking to someone. He was
wearing his familiar black zippered sweathshirt with the number "2" on
it, and it took everything in me not to squeal. I said under my breath,
"OMG, he's right there." He greeted us with hugs and kisses on our
cheeks, and he was just as everyone has described. He spoke to us like
we were friends he hadn't seen in a while, and it really put me at
ease. He was so, so sweet.
He talked about his high pain
threshold, and when I finished his thought by commenting on his broken
leg incident, I had a mixed reaction in me. It felt nice knowing where
he was going with it, but I also felt a little strange. Though his
skiing accident isn't a secret, I felt like I shouldn't advertise that
I know quite a bit about his life story. He didn't look at me funny or
anything, so I just continued to try to focus on what he was saying.
I
don't want to give every detail just because even though we didn't talk
about ultra-personal things, I want him to feel comfortable talking to
other fans without having to fear that a transcript of the conversation
will be available shortly after the meeting.
I have post-concussive syndrome,
and though my last concussion was about 10 years ago, I still have
trouble finishing my thoughts and sentences at times, especially when
I'm nervous or meeting someone for the first time (in this case, a
total double whammy for me). The eloquence and expressiveness you see
from me here escape me when it comes to speaking, as I can't come up
with anything clever or witty in time for it to be meaningful to the
conversation. For instance, I actually have a great deal of medical
knowledge/training, and I really SHOULD have been ALL OVER IT when Maks
was talking about his ear infection. I would've made myself much more
memorable to him, I think.
Of course, in my brain afterward, everything went perfectly:
Maks: "It's an outer ear infection."
Me:
"Oh, otitis externa? That's also called 'swimmer's ear' and is very
common in the summer months. Otitis media, on the other hand, is much
more common in the winter months due to the higher incidence of upper
respiratory infections during that time..." Okay, I wouldn't have been
nearly as dorky and nerdy, but I may have held his interest for much
longer than I did.
A did such a good job gently encouraging me
because I was pretty frozen. She asked him if we could have our
pictures taken with him, and he said, "Sure." I was still kind of
standing there, and his music got handed to him at that point as well.
He exclaimed with surprise, "1:30?!?" I guess the song was longer than
usual. The woman just nodded, and I was still standing there like a
dope. A was like, "C'mon, you first, get in there."
He put his arm around me, and I found myself holding him pretty tight. He matched me by holding me just as tight ,
and when we were done chatting, he gave us each another hug and kiss.
I'm not a facial hair fan, but somehow, I didn't mind so much. 
He actually still had one arm on my shoulder as he hugged and kissed A.
I had my hand on his tricep/shoulder and was in bewildered awe at how
solid he was. He treated us so well, and I never felt like he was
rushing us or like he didn't want to be there talking to us. I was so
appreciative of that. As he was walking away, he said, "And don't even
worry about tonight. Don't worry about it." A said we got his back, and
he smiled as he walked back inside.
I can still smell his cologne and feel his stubble on my cheek...
L and I were lucky enough to get tickets to go
last night. My mom also came along with her friends and my aunt. It's
always nice to see the behind-the-scenes stuff with the dancers and
celebrities being themselves.
We got there early because we
thought that the Billy Ray and Miley fans would be lining up the night
before. In the morning, though, we reasoned that she mostly appeals to
the tweens and young teenagers, who not only are in school, but who are
also too young to even enter the taping. We realized this only after L
had gotten there at like 10, I think it was.
We decided that we
would sit in the balcony for its optimal view of the whole dance floor.
As more spectators were filing in, we were just people watching, and
again, I spotted him. I nudged L, and she commented on how well-tuned
my Maks radar was. It's so weird because I'm not actively looking for
him, as there's no guarantee that he'll even be out there that early.
Yet my eyes naturally seem to find him. However, he's one of those
people that you would very easily pick out in a crowd.
He was
wearing a white t-shirt, sweats, and sneakers. We also noted the elbow
brace on his right arm and the young woman on his other arm. They
passed in front of the judges' table and away from the stage. He had
her wait at the edge of the dance floor while he accosted one of the
crew people. He put his arm around the guy, and it was easy to see that
he was having him seat his friend.
She took her seat in the area
under our balcony, and Maks stood to the side of the seating which is
opposite the stage. At that point, Derek, Mark Ballas, and Tony walked
in from one of the side entrances, passing Maks. Tony was holding a
football, and they were all dressed, like Maks, in somewhat sporty gear
-- shorts, t-shirts, sneakers, etc. We thought they were in costume for
a pro dance that had not been revealed, and we sadly thought that it
meant Maks and Karina wouldn't be dancing.
It turned out that
they had all come in to watch Seal peform his new track, which was
taped first but broadcast second. Derek had his video camera, and Mark
Ballas had his digital camera and were taking pictures/footage. We
still thought they were supposed to be dancing at some point and were
waiting for their grand entrance. Obviously, that didn't happen. We
figured that they had been tossing the football around and didn't have
time to set it down somewhere before Seal's performance. We weren't
sure if Maks had been playing with them, but we hoped that it didn't
aggravate his arm.
The pros left, but Mark, Sabrina, and Mel
returned in time for the taping of "Kiss from a Rose." Maks left after
the first number and didn't return till his dance. It was so cool to
see the pros and celebrities lead each other by the hand to look for a
seat, rushing a little bit before Seal started singing. You could
really see how well they get along, and in a way, seeing them sing
along to Seal and watching him on stage brought them to a non-celebrity
level with us. I was reminded of the fact that even though this is a
competition, it is one where there is a great deal of support for and
admiration of one's competitors that is not readily seen in other
events.
I really enjoy watching all of them act naturally and
normally. It was cute when he would bump Mel with his hip or applaud by
clapping his left hand with her right. I also noticed that before his
dance with Karina, he gave his bottled water to an older man in the
front row to hold for him. The dancers don't dance throughout the whole
song, and Maks positioned his water in a strategic location so that he
could have a drink during one of the breaks in the dance.
While
they were cuing Billy Ray, Maks looked over at the man and sort of
mouthed, "You have my water?" The man held up the bottle, and Maks gave
him a thumbs up and a nod, as if to say, "Cool!" It was so cute! Right
after that, he looked over at Karina on the opposite corner of the
dance floor and made eye contact. He also jokingly crouched down like
an offensive lineman ready to sack the quarterback. With the stretching
and shaking his legs out to get loose, I was having a hard time
containing myself from the high level of cuteness.
I especially
love not only watching Maks' reactions, but also noticing what elicited
those reactions. For example, Corey, the MC, asked the crowd who they
were cheering for, and after a few people shouted a few names, Corey
asked, "Okay, who said, 'Sanjaya?'" I looked over at Maks, and he was
laughing with all of us. I really didn't think he knew who Sanjaya was,
and I was so tickled that he was up to date with the most recent
"American Idol" happenings.
After the Seal tapings, it was on to
Billy Ray and Miley and Maks and Karina, of course. When I saw him at
the corner of the stage, I was a little disappointed at the
loose-fitting top. I mostly like him in the body-hugging things, but it
served a few purposes, one of which was to hide the elbow brace that he
was wearing. As they ran toward each other, I began to appreciate the
loose top. It flowed like a sail just like her dress did and came
nicely to rest on his upper body. Even though his top wasn't tightly
fitting his body, it was very thin and almost see-through, and you
could still appreciate his musculature. I really felt like I was
watching a bedroom scene with her in a sexy, albeit very sequined,
lingerie and him in comfortable pajamas. It was dripping sensuality,
yet was not overtly sexual. From the way their bodies moved together to
the way he teasingly lifted his shirt as he moved his arms, they very
much captured our attention and tantalized us with every step. As I
watched the visually spectacular scene, I could feel my heart beating
faster, my mouth getting drier, and goosebumps raising on my flesh. It
was magnificent.
Unfortunately, one of my favorite parts of the
dance was not captured well on camera. At the end of the dance, Karina
runs her hand along Maks' face and into his hair. He was moving his
head and grinning with a look of sheer pleasure and ecstasy after the
climax of the dance. It capped the whole routine beautifully, and I
wish they had gotten it on tape.
Last night, Maks didn't reach
us on a personal level like he had before. We didn't get a personal
wave and smile like last time. However, he reached us on an emotional
level in a way that he has touched so many in his young lifetime:
through his dancing.
It was one of the best birthdays ever.
|
Favorites
Digg
Del.icio.us
Furl
Magnolia
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo MyWeb
