erilyn | Sunday afternoon - Sydney airport (includes video and pictures)

Lex and I were damn tired when we got back to my place after the flight home from Brisbane. We checked that

not_nele was at

iibnf's place ok, then ate, put up our feet, and watched Veronica Mars. Once we were feeling a bit more refreshed, we looked at each other and said "I wonder if anyone knows what time the Boys are flying down?" A quick check of the interwebs later, and we had a supposed time (and there was only really one flight it could be). And there was plenty of time before that flight was due. Should we head out in case the info was true? Did we want to show up at the airport? Just then, my phone beeped, and there was a message from a fan we'd met and swapped numbers with in Brisbane, giving us the flight details. Fannish networking rocks, yo! Obviously, fate intended us to be there (is that nice justification or what? *g*) and a frantic rush around the house later, we zipped off to the airport, stopping only to grab

not_nele and petrol. Seriously, I don't think we moved as fast at any other time the whole holiday.

But in the end we got there about half an hour before the flight was due, and it was running late even when we'd looked online (and ended up being much later - Backstreet time in operation). When we got to the gate, there was already some fans scattered around. We were kind of relieved, we had no idea what we were gonna do if we were the only ones there, none of us had ever done something like this before *g*. Some girls came up to speak to us straight away, to say hi and to make sure we were gonna behave ourselves. I really liked this, fans trying to take responsibility for each other's behaviour, to make sure that things stayed in control and that some idiot didn't ruin it for everyone else. Had a really nice time sitting around and chatting, ended up showing people the videos from the Brisbane concert, because they were still on my camera. This turned out to be a stupidly generous move on my part, as my camera died shortly after the Boys arrived. D'oh! There was also an amusing conversation when some girls explained to a lady waiting at the gate to actually get a flight what we were all doing. She's assumed we were all heading off on holiday together, armed to the teeth with our cameras.

The flight was about 45 minutes late in the end, and the Boys were the first off the plane. There were a couple of youngish girls really working themselves up when the plane was coming in, and some other people were dispatched to get them under control. No screaming was the mantra of the day, and on the whole, everyone was pretty well-behaved. This was also our first experience with stealth fans. Just as the plane landed, there was suddenly twice or more the number of fans that there had appeared to be, taking it from maybe a dozen to somewhere near thirty. Apparently they were too good to socialise with the rest of us?

+ crappy video of Boys arriving at Sydney airport - 8 meg

Brian, Nick and AJ were the first to come out, Nick wearing The Ugliest Hat Ever. The Boys acknowledged the fans, but kept moving, understandably since we were just at a regular gate, there were other people getting off the plane and people waiting to board. For the next however long it was, I was on the brink of giggles the entire time, from the surreality of it all. Howie went into the bathroom just after hopping off the plane (and it turned out some of the others had too), and people gathered around outside it, waiting. We backed off, cause that was getting a bit too weird, and when I went to take a picture of the situation that's when my camera's batteries died, darn it. Hadn't realised I hadn't spotted Kevin yet, until as I was backing off, he almost walked straight into me. We know understand why he had the nickname TRAIN! back in the day, he just powers on through. As the Boys moved through the airport, they were trailed by this group of fans, and no one seemed quite sure what to do. One or two girls were striking up conversation with Nick, so I figured I had to do my duty - put my hand on Lex's back and pushed her towards him.

Have you ever seen footage of someone going bungee jumping and they change their mind just after they've jumped and they do that backwards windmilling with their arms? It was kind of like, as Lex fought off my pushing, with the added fun of her saying she was scared (while we were like less than 3 feet from him). I kind of understood her reasoning, he seemed very tired and not very chatty (understandably, this was the day after his birthday party), but it was fucking funny at the time.

AJ stopped to get cigarettes at the newsagent, while Howie and Marcus waited outside. No one followed AJ in, but rather this group of people just stood outside, and there was an awkward moment while Howie looked at all of us, and no one did anything. I'm allergic to awkward silences, and leapt in. I said something along the lines of "Howie, I just wanted to take the chance to thank you for the amazing concert last night, and how great it is to finally see you guys live." Then cause my mouth was running away from me, I added "I've got a friend visiting from Canada, and she said the show was even better here." Howie said thank you and that's nice etc., meanwhile, half a dozen fans start asking Lex what part of Canada's she from. So I guess I helped break the ice *and* take the pressure off Howie for a moment, heh. Other fans then started asking for pictures and autographs, and when AJ came back out, he said something about "You're a good man, Howard". And Howie really is the most accessible and generous when it comes to fans approaching him, I wonder if he gets sick of being the nice one? Also, he and AJ are even smaller in person than I thought they'd be.

So we continue to trail Howie and AJ through the airport. At one point, Marcus had dropped behind us (apparently, all I knew was that AJ had no bodyguard and was rather worried), and AJ was pulling his suitcase in one hand and holding a cigarette pack in the other, tearing the plastic open with his teeth. Me: do you want me to take your bag or something?

Sometime around here, a conversation took place between Lex and I about what we were doing. And yes, we were definitely in earshot of AJ at the time (especially given the volume).
Her: it's not stalking if it's in a public place.
Me: yes, it is
Her: it's more like skulking
Me: we're three feet from them in the open, we're not fucking skulking!

Also, at one point, we had to go down a level, to get to the ground floor (and the hire car office the Boys were heading for). Howie missed this, and kept walking with some people, and it took the combined efforts of Marcus and the fans yelling at him to get him turned around.

not_nele: "That must have been embarrassing" (which got a smile and nod from Howie).

When they reached the car place, we went outside and just hung around. Some girls did follow them into the area where they were loading the cars, and were taking pictures with no one stopping them, but this just seemed a bit much for us. Yes, we still have boundaries *g*. Lex was still getting confused by the different side we drive on here, and thought AJ was getting into the drivers seat, and said something like "AJ's not driving, is he?" To which she heard AJ say "hell no I'm not driving". Oops, people are in earshot more than you realise (see also my Sydney soundcheck report, when I actually write it). Nick had been ensconced in the back seat of one of the vans for a while, slumped right down and playing his PSP. He really wasn't in a sociable mood *g*. And at some point, I may have called out a slightly ironic "Welcome to Sydney".

They left, and we headed home. Giggling away, and disbelieving that we'd actually just done that. The way home went past their hotel (seriously, it wasn't a detour), and Lex had previously joked that the place to run into AJ was the Starbucks one block from the hotel. As we drove along the busy city street, who do we see outside Starbucks with Marcus and Q? AJ! Lex nearly died, and we weren't far behind. It was some point around here that we coined this.

Petrol - $15
Bridge Toll - $3
Parking - $18
Stalking AJ McLean through the Sydney airport - Priceless

I stole these pictures from Lex.