Meeting Hayden @ My-Serendipity.net

For those who have browsed the site, you've seen some of my fanfic probably, but I'm attempting to turn that into a real career. I'm a member of the Romance Writers of America and was attending their annual conference in Reno, Nevada from July 27-30, 2005.

If that wasn't intense enough (these conferences are a no sleep, write your way to writers cramp, extravaganzas), the cosmos kicked it into an even higher gear for me. The day before I was to leave, I found out that Hayden was a Bull Run Racer and that the 100 'interesting people' driving in the race were due into, of all places, RENO on the 27th!!!

You're here, at my Hayden filled site, so it goes without saying that you realize that my obsession/admiration/fangirl tendencies for Hayden are intense. Not only is there the website, but the music videos, a trip to Indianapolis for Star Wars Celebration 3 and waiting in the pouring rain to get into the room JUST to hear him speak. Mind you...they're all worth it. Yes, he's handsome, but my gosh at the talent and future I see for him.

Still, the cosmos is kind to me and throws me an occasional bone. At C3 I got to ask him a question and got to hear him say "Hi Michelle" and "How are you doing?" which was completely worth the 8 hour wait (4 of which was in the pouring rain). But this bone...well, we're taking major archaeological find kind of big! I was going to be there with nothing going on at the conference Wednesday except for registration. So, off I went to go watch the racers come in.

Little did I know that it would be so easy to meet him - he was just THERE, cute tush hanging out of one hot yellow Lamborghini.

You could just walk right up to him, and I did. You could tell he was hot and tired, yet he took time for his fans...including me, and signed my GQ with him on the cover. The press caught it on film and I thank my online sisters for finding it for me. Being there next to him, watching him interact, it was like a dream.

He was kind to adults, but the kids really got special attention. Little boys in Star Wars shirts yelling "Anakin! Anakin!" caught his attention and he would smile and sign whatever they had, giving them a hug before moving on...his smile huge and grateful.

I would have been happy with just that encounter - I mean, who wouldn't! But it was my lucky day I guess because a short while later in the lobby of the hotel he came by again and my friend Melissa and I got another moment with him. Kudos to Melissa's hubby for catching the picture for me. I'm sure I'll be on my death bed, 50 or 60 years from now, and still remember what his hand felt like as he wrapped it around my waist and how his waist felt under mine...how perfect he looked and the kindness in his eyes when I babbled the only thing I could think of... "It is SO good to finally meet you."

Certainly I could have floated home after that...but the day wasn't over.

We were leaving later, having watched more racers come in...walking out the back of the hotel toward the parking garage, armed with our bull run tshirts, and who was back there...but Hayden. Holding a beer and talking to his friends. Melissa went up first, I was actually a bit hesitant - I mean, how much Hayden can I handle in one day without the earth stopping on its axis? Still, I did follow and he attempted to sign my tshirt.

I say attempted because Sharpies on Cotton isn't always easy and the pen kept catching on the material. Me, being me, joked about it and said to him in a total lapse of sanity "So...do they offer classes on how to sign tshirts?" Normally I would have been mortified, but I guess he caught on to my goofball sense of humor because he laughed - a big, beautiful, white teeth a blazin' laugh and threw in a wink to me before he left.

It was a fangirls dream.

Riding the Hayden High, I called absolutely everyone I knew, hugged one of my online sisters, Melissa, who had joined me in the quest and sat up all night chatting with the other ones reliving every single second...but the next day it was back to work - the conference would be underway and it was the reason I had gone to Reno, but again, the cosmos had other plans.

I have a friend going through a really tough time right now and he called to talk during one of the morning sessions. While careers, classes, and Reno bound Siths are nice - friends and family get you through and they rank tops for me. So, I went outside to my car, talked to him until his cell phone battery died and then looked at the clock - almost lunch. Rather than sit through the long conference lunch and speakers I really had no interest in, I decided to go watch the racers leave.

Thursday would be different - I vowed to keep my distance. I had had enough Hayden encounters the day before, I didn't want to take up anymore of his time - there were other fans that deserved their time as well. I had more than I could have ever imagined and was happy with that.

I ended up talking with another online fan (Hi Andi!) and we waited together for the racers to leave. We made friends with one of the decoy drivers who I dubbed 'Sith Roadie Guy' because he looked like a heavy metal band roadie - but gads he was fun. He was showing us his speeding tickets and talking about the race, letting us know when Hayden would be leaving and assuring us they wouldn't be moving the cars from where we were.

It was while sitting on the curb by the Lamborghini that I spotted Tove.

What a tall drink of cool water he is. As a Hayden fan, I must to confess to always being quite the admirer of the older Christensen. I love how he's always with Hayden, watching his back, and taking care of business. He and his co-driver were standing by their black 2005 Mustang and, in a moment of total boldness, we decided to go talk to them.

Let me just say that I always believed Tove was handsome, but watching him and speaking with him, he's as great a catch as his brother. While Hayden has press demands that guide his time, Tove is free of that and talked with us for at least 10 minutes. When we asked a question, he could have given us short answers, but he always elaborated and opened the door to more questions.

Andi asked how the race was going and what place they were in - they didn't know, so we told them we had heard 5th. I asked him if, as a decoy, he was 'taking tickets for the team.' He laughed and said he had gotten three tickets just the day before and that Hayden had been pulled over several times but never ticketed. I asked him if they were lady cops and he smiled again and said no, that all the police he had encountered had been jerks. He told us how the Lamborghini broke down the first day with a stuck accelerator in LA traffic and that Hayden was forced to pull over.

When we asked for a picture he looked like he didn't understand the fuss, but said 'Sure' and then stood there with his arm around me for 5 failed picture attempts...with me apologizing and him telling me not to worry. First of all, hes soooo tall, but his eyes behind those sunglasses were...whoa!

While Andi and his co-driver fiddled with cameras, Tove and I talked about Eco-Challenge and the possibility of them doing another one. He told me that Eco-Challenge, as a race, didn't exist anymore, but there was another one, a french version (which he rattled the name of off in very fluent, very drool worthy french) that they were looking into. I said "Does it have bugs?" and he laughed a pretty hearty laugh and said "Not anything like the bugs in Fiji."

I wonder what he thinks of the fuss surrounding his brother and if he realizes there are fans like me who also really want to follow his career and the routes he chooses for Forest Park Pictures.

He stood and talked with us for so long that I started to feel like a time hog. I told him we had taken up enough of his time, thanked him and excused ourselves. My gosh that was hard to do!

We sort of floated back to the curb by the Lamborghini and a short while later here comes Sith Roadie Guy - holding a Sith Happens Bull Run tshirt for each of us!! I just hugged him and thanked him - they were sooooo hard to get and you couldn't buy them. We took our pictures with him and in one corner of my little fangirl mind I wonder if Tove had anything to do with it. We had asked Sith Roadie Guy about them before and he said they threw them from the cars as they came into town...otherwise they were for crew.

But now we had one!

Not long after they moved the cars into starting position and Dennis Rodman showed up - I only know because he was talking to Tove and he was on my fangirl radar.

We waited by the car and very casually, up walks Hayden.

I had made myself a promise though, so I stayed back - happy to snap pictures and watch the other fans have their moment.

One of the other fans there had his camera jam just as Hayden came out and asked me if I would take a picture of them if he got the chance. I said sure and, again, Hayden was so gracious. I took the picture, told him thank you and I swear he looked at me like "you're that one from yesterday" and I felt really really good about not bothering him the second day.

We watched him leave and then yelled Good Luck to Tove as he drove past - he smiled and waved back.

It was difficult to believe it was all over as the final car rolled out. I headed back to the conference and threw myself into writing, lost in daydreams from time to time about the previous days events.

Besides the meeting and the picture and the autograph, what I'm most happy about is that I got to see a man that I believe is totally worth my admiration. He was kind to everyone...to fans of all ages and just a genuinely nice guy. What more can a girl ask for?