Rushing to Wait While in Line for the Gaiman Signing, part 2

No, really. I'm not a geek.

So why was I at the 3rd-day of the Neil Gaiman signing at Gateway Mall in Cubao? And on a work-day, for crissakes?!?

Well, falseprophetess and I talked about giving it one more try. After all, what's so hard about coming in early Monday morning, get a slot, and then coming back afternoon for the signing, yes?

Yeah, right.

First of all, coming from my office in Manila, I came in around 10 a.m. to find out that, while I had been waiting for the mall to open, a long, long line had already started at the entrance nearest the Fully-Booked store where the signing was to be held. Crap. Fortunately, out of the 150 slots, I got the 141th slot.

As falseprophetess couldn't make it that morning, I was on my own as I waited for my slot confirmation. Unfortunately, the event handlers decided to give the confirmation around 12:30 lunchtime so I waited for more than two hours. And all that time, I was bored out of my mind thinking: I seriously hope this is worth it.

It was a mixed crowd there: people who had snuck out of work to grab a slot, students playing hooky, geeks with esoteric comic books (Gaiman wrote an issue of Friends of the Green Lantern Brigade? WTF?), giddy anorexic girls, budding photogs, etc. What was funny was this girl in front of me whose boss had made her come in early (6:30 a.m.) to the office only to send her to line up for him. Heh, priceless.

Finally, I got my slot confirmation-- instead of 141, I got 146 and almost got cut out in the process. Having a few hours to kill before 3 p.m. (the signing was around 4 p.m.), I decided to go back to office and do a little work--15 minutes worth, to be exact. Then it was back to Cubao for me.

When I got there, the Gateway 150 had already lined up as per their number. However, an eye-popping 300 and more had lined up behind us (a line stretching three levels down) in hopes that they would be also allowed to get an autograph. Wow. I didn't envy the Fully-Booked shop volunteers their job in trying to get the crowds to line up properly. Good thing some of them looked like bouncers. (Well, falseprophetess said they were.)

So. A whole lot more of waiting. Bored to tears as I was, I was almost glad whenever someone would ask me where the end of the line was. Maybe they approached me because I didn't look so weird? After the 3rd time, I was thinking of charging as an information desk:

"See that escalator? Go down and just follow the line. Nope, unfortunately the management gave a limited number of 150 slots for the signing this morning."

*ding-dong*

"This is a book-signing. For who? The author Neil Gaiman. Who is he? Er-- he's a writer from abroad."

*ding-dong*

"If you want two or more books signed, you need to have a book pass which they aren't giving out anymore. And you can only have one book signed if you don't have a pass."

Good thing also I managed to cadge a book pass from someone as I had a couple of items for signing: my Books of Magic together with falseprophetess' Sandman: A Game of You.

(No, that's not me. But at least I was close enough to use my camera phone.)

Finally, by 7 p.m., we reached The Man himself. The shop volunteers gave directions on what we were going to do, where to go, offered to take our cameras for taking pictures, yadda-yadda. Once I got to Gaiman, in true faerie style, I asked a request and offered a gift while he was signing my stuff.

Gaiman: "Er, what's your request?"

Me: "Well, I want to take a picture of you." (Brandishes my camera phone.)

Gaiman: (Smiles nicely) "Okay though you got to hurry up because they're a lot of people behind."

Me: (Fumbles badly at my phone and mutters in a panic) Shit, shit, shit...!

Finally, the deed was done.

Me: (Just as I was being hurried away) "And here's my gift."

Gaiman: (Smiles again upon seeing the offered small native wooden mask) "Oh, that's great. It's local."

I think he liked it anyway.

And that was my experience in meeting the Dream King. Now I'm off to do voodoo with The Man's picture. After all, I paid well for it with the mask.

*cue Twilight Zone music*

(For accounts of the Writer's Forum sponsored by the British Council that Monday afternoon, check out micketymoc and Jonas Diego. For a transcription of Gaiman's talk, check out charles tan's blog.)