This whirl wind of a weekend proved to me that good things really do happen to good people.

Lucky for us, we all got a hotel room right across the street from the venue and spent all Sunday night laughing, making totally perverse comments and just bonding as a "newbie" Andrea, who was there with her little sister, joined our group.

Rhonda and I found it totally ironic that we brought basically the same outfit to wear to the concert, except her shoes were better.

"They are Tommy shoes! I got them on Rodeo Drive, as in Beverly Hills...90210."

Monday was incredibly hectic as one of the group, again, had fallen by the wayside and dissed us all.

But, we sucked it up, and made it our goal to make Operation East Lansing the most memorable and successful mission of them all.

Nobody really had good seats, but we were just happy to be going at all.

We decided to get ready early and take the chance that the box office might release some tickets just before the show.
So, we all got ready, Rhonda and I had already started to "consume" our alcohol.

We went downstairs to walk over to the Breslin Center, only to find that it was raining.

After all of our hard work of getting ready, being totally decked out "diva style", nobody wanted to walk in the rain. So, Linzi, Charity, Lisa, Rhonda and I drove over to the box office.

We let Linzi and Charity out to go and check on the tickets while we waited in the car.

Just as they got out, Lisa, Rhonda and I all noticed what appeared to be the Boys bus pulling in. Needless to say, we all freaked out, the excitement was already building!

After a phone call from Linzi stating that they weren't releasing any tickets yet, we parked the car and went inside.

I went up to the window to ask again if there were any tickets, since they told us that nobody was going to come out and tell us.

The second time I went up there, the lady was really rude!
She snapped at me! All I asked was "Have any more tickets been released yet?" and she looked at me sternly and said "No." and I said "Are there going to be any more released later?" and she rolled her eyes and shouted at me "No!"

I felt so bad. She was NOT NICE TO ME!

We still decided to wait out in the lobby for awhile longer just in case, heck, what was the harm in just waiting?

Lisa stood outside, eagerly trying to get through to the broker to find out about any more seats, to no avail.

I decided that we should send someone else in to check again.
But, I didn't want it to be me since the lady was so mean to me before.

So, Linzi offered to go in.
She stood in line for a few minutes, and just as she reached the front of the line, someone came out to say "If you are looking to buy Backstreet Boys tickets, some more have just been released."

Lisa, Rhonda and I rushed up, avoiding the line behind Linzi and stood behind her.

Linzi and Charity walked up to the first window and asked for "2 seats as close as possible."

The other 3 of us stood there nervously waiting for another ticket window to open.

I heard Linzi and Charity scream "Front Row!"

My hopes were all but dashed as we walked up to the window next to them to get our chance at tickets.

"Either 2, or 4 as close to the stage as possible." I said, hoping for the best.

The lady searched the computer, she pulled out the map, and we all held our breath.

"I have section 102, row one of the bleachers. Is that OK?" she said. Then she pointed to the section on the map.

She was showing us first row, on the floor, right against the stage.

Rhonda, Lisa and I all screamed. "FIRST ROW! YES! WE WANT THEM!"

The girl smiled and gave us our total, we franitcally searched for cash. We didn't want to lose these tickets.

I knew that I only had $30 in cash with me, and Lisa couldn't find her money, so she started throwing things at me.

"Hold This! Hold This! Can You Help Me Find My Money?!?!?" she yelled.

Luckily, Rhonda was packing extra cash, and we just started throwing money through the window at the girl.

Finally Lisa found her money and we had the tickets in our hands.

We went outside and found out that Linzi and Charity's tickets we right next to ours. We all screamed and hugged for about 10 minutes. We put on an impromptu concert of our own for the people outside as we sang and danced to random BSB songs.

One lady even said "I don't need to see the show now, we already have seen you!" and she laughed.

After calming down a bit, we all went back to the hotel, where our final member, Jill had arrived, and that is when the real partying started.

We all got ready again, now it was really time to glam it up! Front row! Nothin' wrong with that!

I was assigned to "Diva-tize" the junior diva's that had joined us, with full make-overs and glitter, while Linzi, Charity and Rhonda headed downstairs to the bar, and the rest of the gals got ready.

I had started drinking again in the room, so when they finally came back up from the bar, we were all pretty intoxicated.
I sat on the ground, waiting for us to leave. I was so nervous, yet so excited.

This concert would be so bitter sweet, it was the last of our missions for the "Into The Millennium Tour" as well as most likely the last mission of the year.
It seemed like there was always another show, always another trip to take, always one more chance, but this was it, and we knew it.

We all walked to the Breslin Center, we sang, and danced, we asked strangers to take pictures of us.

Some us of remember it all, some of us don't even remember that we walked over to the venue! (RHONDA! LOL! "Where's the car?") Unfortunatley, the Breslin Center had a no camera policy.
But, did we let that stop us? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!
We were no rookies at this!

Cameras in our pants, in our cleavage, where ever we could hide them, we snuck them in!

It still all didn't seem real!
We walked to our section and down all the stairs! Rhonda and I held on to each other tightly, as there were no railings and the stairs seemed to be moving around alot, or maybe it was just the vodka and Fruitopia!

Finally at the bottom of the stairs, we stood in front of our seat, mere inches from the barricade that separated us from the stage.

I stood there, still not quite believing that it was all real.

That we were in the front row. We were all together, and we were REALLY ready to party!

We played with the security guards that were designated to our section. One of them even pulled Rhonda and I aside and said "You guys can't flash."

We both kinda looked at him like WHAT?!?? Flash?!?!? US?!?!?

He said "There are Michigan State Cops here and if you expose yourselves, you will get arrested."

Rhonda and I laughed at the thought that they would even think that we would bare it all for the Boys! (Well, OK a few more drinks and we might have, but...LOL!)

Carlos (Kevin's body guard) came out and stood by us, immediately recognizing Lisa. "Hey! It's you! What's Up?"

We laughed hysterically at the Jungle Brothers, and waited for "Willa" to take the stage.

We were all quite curious to see what she was all about.

Lisa, who had seen her already twice before, had mentioned that she wasn't all that bad.
But there was still a lot of tension.

As she took the stage, she glared down at us to "Get Up!"
Beligerantly, we sat there, quiet, legs crossed, arms folded in protest. HER HAIR WAS HORRIBLE!

Rhonda decided that she couldn't hold back her feelings anymore. When Willa came back to our side of the stage Rhonda screamed "You Suck!" "I Hate You!"
And all this time, I thought Rhonda was really quiet, sweet and mellow! WRONG!

The Boys were almost a half hour late taking the stage, for reasons we joked to be, Brotha' needing to shag before the show.

Suddenly, the lights went down, and I could feel my skin go cold.

This was the beginning, yet this was the end, the was the last time I would feel this electricity for a long time.
Most of us stood there, holding each others hands for support as we began to scream.

We patiently waited for the Boys to walk slowly (yet so damn sexily) to our side.

I waited to get my first glimpse of AJ.
My eyes focused onto Kevin.

His eyes immediately met Lisa's.

His eyes widened suddenly in recognition. He remembered her.

As much as she doesn't want to admit it, he knows her face, she will forever be recognized, and he does know just how much she loves him!

As Kevin passed in front of Lisa, she shouted "You are the best!" at a loss for any other words.

He smiled at her in appreciation.

I looked up to AJ, and I clutched Rhonda next to me. "Look at Mine!" I screamed at her.

"Look at mine!" she screamed back as she eyed Nick. My eyes stayed glued to AJ.

Suddenly, he looked right at me.

Our eyes locked.
My heart felt as if it had exploded in my chest, I found it hard to breathe, still, I kept calm as I stood there giving him a "cat that ate the canary grin".

I could feel it, I was going to be evil tonight.

And I had high hopes of getting just a bit of interaction with AJ.
We all danced like crazy people. We sang, we laughed, we held onto each other for support at times.

Some memories are beginning to fade, but there are some that I will never forget as long as I live.

I remember how hard I tried to get AJ's attention in Atlanta, and quite a few times I succeeded. A wave, or a smile was all I wanted from him, just some kind of acknowlegement that night and I tried hard everytime he was near, to get it.

This time it was different.

I didn't have to try for it.

It just happened. And it kept happening. Not that I wanted it to...but...LOL! JK!

My first memory was of him walking up to the edge of the stage, (Unfortunately, I don't remember what song it was, but it was a fast one, I know Jill will help me out with it when she gets all of her stuff in order).

He right in front of me, looked down at me again, I thought he may have recognized me from the Atlanta show just a couple of weeks ago, but I am still not sure.

I kept calm as his eyes stayed on me, I took a small step forward, he was singing right to me, and I was singing right back at him.
I started my little (as Lisa so eloquently puts it) 'porn star' dance, all hot and sexy.

Which he started to do too.
We hammed it up with each other for at least a minute and a half, dancing with each other, singing at each other.

It was great! It was euphoric. Best natural high I had ever had!

I wasn't nervous anymore, it was natural, it was fun, and he was giving me his full attention and I was loving every second of it.

SIDE NOTE: Today, I got my pictures back, and saw the pic I took, just as he was walking away from me after that hot little episode. Ummmm....Wow, ummmm....how do I censor this? That boy can really fill out those black leather pants nicely! He appeared to be happy to see me....GULP! LOL! If I would have seen that while he was standing there in front of me, I would have probably fallen on the ground!

I stepped back, totally content.
I had my interaction with him. The most intimate interaction I had ever had, definatly the most fun, I laughed hysterically at what had just happened and I was satisfied.

I watched as the other gals interacted with the Boys also.

That was one of the best parts of the show, watching the other girls react to their interaction.
I am surprised that nobody spent 20 minutes in the bathroom after the show!

Lisa, Linzi and Charity with Kevin.
Linzi with Howie.

Rhonda as she screamed 'Brotha'! and Howie turned around, looked at her and waved!

Nick came up to the end of the stage, right in front of Rhonda.
She started the same little dance for Nick as I did for AJ. She looked up at him, and said "Nick, I want you to be my bad boy!"
He glared down at her with the sexiest eyes I had ever seen! And gave her a sexy little smirk and a nod.

He was all over Rhonda! And she reveled in every second of it.

I looked over at Lisa, walked over to her (Linzi and Charity were between us) and said "He sang to me again."

She was so excited for me and she said "I Know!!! I saw it all!"

I returned to "my dance space" and Rhonda and I continued to party, dancing, singing, the whole 9 yards.

AJ came back over again just a minute later, and we made eye contact again. I wasn't even trying to get his attention or anything.

As soon as he left, Rhonda said "He is so hot for you tonight! He was all over you!"

I couldn't believe it. It was great.

I don't think a song went by that he didn't come over to me and do something wild with or to me or at least make some kind of eye contact with me.

"It's Gotta Be You." started.

He again, came over, I was confident that he would stand there for a minute, or do something funny.

But he walked right by!

He took two or three steps past me, and I must have looked away for a second because when I looked at him again he had stopped, he did a little half spin, stopped, looked over his shoulder, pointed right at me and sang "It's gotta be you..."
and I must have turned a thousand shades of red, he smiled at me, I smiled back and he went on his merry way.

By now, I was just on a HUGE ego trip. And I knew that I wasn't just imagining it all, because, Rhonda would grab me, and shake me everytime he did something to/for me.

And I would return the favor when Nick came by her.

He was all over Rhonda, he eyed he cleavage on more than one occasion and gave her so many sexy little smirks.

I was SO excited for her.
I watched her face glow at every little smile, point or wave he gave her.

I don't remember in what order this was, but Howie was all excited to see all of us doing the "I'll Be The One" dance.
They were right in front of us, and we kept up with them, move for move. I think they were impressed! (Or at least Brotha' was anyways! LOL!)

Finally, the moment I had dreaded since we walked in.

The lights went out, the piano came up, and I heard the beginning of "Back To Your Heart".

I had promised myself that I wouldn't cry, that I would remain calm and enjoy every second of it. I felt like such a fool after I cried in Atlanta, but AJ did sing to me and that made it all worth while.

But this time was different, I was having fun with him, we were playing around and being silly.

I REALLY didn't want to let him see me cry, and I knew, since he was directly in front of me, he would see it if even just one tear fell.

As I heard AJ sing "It's not that I can't live without you..." my chest tightened up.

I couldn't breathe again, I felt tears starting to form.

I fought it as hard as I could, I took deep breaths, I bit my lip, I held my hands, clasped together in front my my mouth.

I tapped the edge of my eyes to avoid any of the tears that were welling up in my eyes from falling down my cheeks.

I watched at him as he finished his verse, our eyes met, yet again, and tears just started to fall.

I couldn't control it anymore.
He cocked his head to the side in a "What's wrong?" type way.
Then, I totally lost it, I had to sit down.

I shielded my face with my hands so he wouldn't see me weeping. (Thank God for water proof make up!)

Every emotion poured out of me for about 5 to 10 seconds, all of the built up anticipation, the realization that this was the last show, EVERYTHING.

I sobbed.

I felt people shaking me.

I heard someone yelling at me "Yours is looking at you. He wants to know if you are OK! He is concerned about you."

I felt almost embarrassed that this song could bring me to such an outpouring of emotional tears.

And I really didn't want him to look at me in the state I was.
I sat there another second before I heard someone else say "You are scaring Brian! GET UP!"

Then I panicked.
That was it! Brian looking at me, all concerned.
I felt so bad! I felt terrible.
I had to compose myself quick.

I took a long deep breath. Rose back up to my feet and wiped my tears.
Immediately AJ looked at me and mouthed the words "Are you OK?" and I nodded "yes" and said "thank you".
Then he ran his finger from his eye down his cheek, and said "Don't cry."

I smiled at him totally intoxicated by his gaze.
At the very same moment, both he and I put up our hands with the "I love you" sign.
My entire body got warm and I felt like nothing in the world could ever go wrong again, as long as I lived.

I actually look back now and feel almost bad about that.
That is one thing I have prided myself on, when I met him, I didn't say "I love you" because that is just too weird, just too serious an emotion for a total stranger, and I said if I ever got the chance to meet him again, I wouldn't do it.

But at that moment, it felt totally right, totally natural, and it was totally reciprocated.
Quickly, I snapped my gaze over to Brian.
He was looking at me too.
I kinda grinned at him.
He too took his finger, ran it down his cheek and said "It's OK, don't cry".

I mustered up a forced smile and mouthed "I'm OK." and he smiled a relieved smile back at me.
For some strange reason, I turned 'oriental' I again, clasped my hands in front of me prayer style, told Brian "thank you" and I bowed.

I FREAKING BOWED AT BRIAN!

He probably thought I was on crack! I have a tendency of doing really stupid stuff in front of Brian.

First when I was stuck on the elevator with him in the hotel in Detroit, then I bow at him, oriental style (or 'flava' style).

I am a DORK! I could kick myself for that!!

While they went under the stage to get ready to to the "Everybody" medley, the girls all started yelling at me.

"They were so concerned for you."

Lisa was crying.

That is the sign of a true friend, one that is so happy for you when something like that happens, that they cry for you.

Rhonda kept saying "You guys are so connected. He loves you tonight."

I blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed and responded "God, I love them!"

Finally, my favorite part! They come out in the hot white outfits.

We danced like maniacs again.
I felt so much better.

Brian came right over to me and stood there lookings down at me, I continued to dance and smile as I looked up at him.

He gave me this HUGE smile, kinda like he was glad to see that I could go right back to having fun again.

He was standing so close, and I just had so much emotional feeling toward him at that moment, I wanted it captured on film.
I brought my camera out of my pocket just as he was about to walk away.

He noticed, he immediately stopped, walked back toward me, stood at the end of the stage, pointed at me and waited for me to take the picture.

How nice is he? Ugh! He is so great!
AJ came over, YES AGAIN, and made sure that I was looking at him.

During "All I Have To Give" they did their dance right in front of us, but I felt so disconnected with Lisa this time, that I had to give Kevin some time, and scream at Lisa "Yours is so hot tonight!", then I was all about Nick as I watched Rhonda play with Nick. They were so cute.

Finally, I took a second to look at AJ right in front of me.
He was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, like he was waiting for me to look at him, wondering why he wasn't my center of attention for that moment.

I felt bad that I had deserted him, so, I turned right to him and clapped at/to/for him, he looked at me and smiled.

I thought "What a baby! Gotta always be the center of attention." But is was still funny.

Finally, It was time for the end of the show, and 'I Want It That Way.'

Big surprise, AJ stood right in front of Rhonda and I with his bottle of water, he took a sip, and I knew what came next, he gave this evil look, Rhonda and I just tipped back our heads, closed our eyes and stretched out our arms, and he drenched us.

When the water was all gone, I expected him to throw the bottle out into the crowd that was going crazy for him, rather that little ol' me who was just standing there all smiles just absorbing it all, letting it all sink in.

But he didn't, he looked at me as if to say "here, get ready", and gently tossed it right down into my hands, making sure that I was the one to catch it.

Once he saw that it was in my hands, he walked away and Rhonda and I stared going nuts again.

The camera guy started to film the audience, he slowly panned the front row, Rhonda and I put our arms around each other, swayed back and forth, and sang to the top of our lungs.

The camera stayed on us for the rest of the song.
We were sad as they all said their goodbyes, we all tried to prolong the last few precious seconds as the stage slowly lowered.

It was the most agonizing feeling I had ever felt.

I was so happy at what had happened, yet so sad that now it was all going to just be a memory, it was over, the Diva's had completed their final mission.
Tears streamed down all of our faces as the lights finally came back up.

I called for a group hug.

I it was what all of us really needed.

And we all definately deserved it.
We braved it all, the blood sweat and tears, 8 months of agony and ecstasy, all amounting to this, one final concert, one final hurrah, one final moment.

We all stood there in a circle in front of the stage, arms around each other, heads hung low, tears flowing, just feeling the moment.

I thanked them all from the bottom of my heart for being a part of this special experience with me, for sharing so much of themselves with me and for making the experience that much better just by being there to share it with me.

These girls were more than just my partners in crime, more than just my party buddies, the word friends doesn't seem to quite cover it.

They are so much more, more than words can ever, EVER begin to describe.

These girls are my heart and soul, my sanity and my strength, they are my life, they are my world, they are my family and I could never have, and would never have wanted to share this with anyone other than these 5 other girls.

Although distance may part some of us, they have all taken a piece of my heart, and they leave a void that can never ever be filled by anyone but them.

Lisa and our shared compulsiveness for planning, our total disregard for money, and willingness to share her whole life with me, her willingness to rehash the juicy details over and over again with me, keeping that fire inside me glowing, for calling me immediately that day to tell me that AJ was coming back to Detroit in April, for letting me just sit and stare at her as she glowed after the hug that she had been waiting for forever, for sharing her mother with me, and for always supporting me, whether right, wrong or indifferent.

Jill and her determination to be there through the thick and thin to capture it all, to be the voice of reason in the chaos, to have the kindness in her heart to forgive the inconsiderate actions of others and put it all behind her to just party her ass off.

Charity and her ability to read my mind and know just what to do to make me happy, for being there to hug a million times and for introducing me to the glitter factor.

Linzi and the way she knows just what to say to make me smile, who will go out of her way to take you mind off the bad and crack you up in the process. I have her to thank for the complimentary stomach exercizes the gives everytime we get together and laugh non stop for hours and hours.

Rhonda for being there to notice and get excited for every little thing that AJ did for/with/to me, and to recite it all back to me when I was unable to keep my compsure. For the ego boosting words of encouragement "He is SO hot for you." "He is all over you." "He won't leave you alone tonight!" "He loves you." "You guys have such a connection." We will one day show Nick your shoes, I think he was to focused on your 'cleav' to notice! But, HE LOVED YOU!!!

I guess after all that is said and done, all I can say once again is, thank you.

Thanks for the memories and I look forward to doing it all again next year.

P.S.
Rhonda, don't forget to sign up for those "Winnebago driving lessons."
"We will be like 'Road Rules' on crack!"