* ~ FESTIVAL CON DIOS ~ *
[02 Oct 2002 | 07:14pm]
mood: embarrassed but still hyper!

FCD was a *blast* -- and not just my ears! (Don't worry, I'd brought my own earplugs.) My "team" of classmates (security officers in training, from Job Corps) arrived by 1pm, and it was kinda raining off and on all day - mostly drizzle. We were waiting for the security volunteers' meeting with Ian, the production manager. (The meeting didn't happen until 2:30-ish.) I'd already been watching them set up the x-sports indoors, like the lasertag dome and bungee bull, which I took a picture of.

I went outside with a friend, Dale, for some fresh air, and I spotted Bob walking towards us! I'm still kicking myself for not taking a pic when I first saw him, but anyway...He got closer, so I asked how it's going. It looked just like Bob, but I was waiting for his answer, to know by his voice that it really was him. (I had told Dale, "If that's Bob, I'm gonna be hyper the rest of the night!") So Bob said something like, "Hey guys, how're ya doing?" I grinned and said, "Hi Bobby! I'm Susie." (To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only one to call him Bobby on the old MB, and it kind of popped out.) We gave eachother two big hugs before he continued to wherever he was going. Bob gives awesome hugs! (I'm big on giving hugs too.) The rest of the night is forever committed to memory; anyone reading this who's been to FCD or a concert with him knows what that's like.

So the x-sports were in one building and the stage in the other--on account of the rain, and the huge "lake" they had behind the stage when it was initally set up outside--with the merch booths lined up in between. My "crew" had been assigned the stage room (perfect for hanging out, listening to Bob and the bands!) and been stationed to the doors and stage. Our van driver (training instructor) and I took turns giving the rest of the kids their breaks, so I mostly wandered around and took several turns between the barrier and the stage, watching for mosh pits (we had to break them up) and crowd surfing (nobody did that yesterday). I was outside one of the doors, talking to the other female on our team, Megan, when Bob walked by - looking for a runner - and he stopped for a few minutes (more hugs and Megan took our pic for me). Later I was guarding the backstage access during TMAC (Toby Mac) when Bob and I talked for a couple minutes about him, how we'd never heard him perform solo until recently...It was cool the way TMac put part of "In The Light" into one of his songs, and I sang along for that.

Now...Between TMac and Audio A, Bob was tossing open water bottles that had been left on stage. I was by the stage and he handed a couple of them to me. I was like, "What, you want us to help throw them?" Bob: "Yeah." So I picked one up - the cap was ON - and chucked it way over their heads into the audience! OOOPS!!! (Well, you didn't say how high or how far I could / couldn't throw it!) That's why I can't be trusted with water bottles during concerts anymore, as far as Bob's concerned. *ROFL* Moral of the story is, make sure you take the cap off before chucking waterbottles into a crowd.