Meeting Ozzy Osbourne @ Barnes & Noble (1.30.2010)
Jan 30, 2016 17:45:40 GMT
Cheryl, delclayman, and 1 more like this
Post by Emily Wilson on Jan 30, 2016 17:45:40 GMT
6 years ago from today, I met the rock 'n' roll hero who got me to listen to classic hard rock/heavy metal music and made a huge impact in my life.
Before I dive into the details of how the day went, here's some history. In spring of 2008, my older brother for a while let me borrow his Guitar Hero games, and I just immediately got addicted to the games. XD I loved not only the gameplay and characters, but I especially loved the music. Then one day after rewatching an episode of Hannah Montana, (Bear with me, I'm sure you guys heard of the show in the past and thought it was stupid and silly, but this was what was airing during my childhood. XD) where they poked fun of Ozzy a 2nd time, I remembered finding Bark at the Moon in the first Guitar Hero game and possibly thought he had been in Black Sabbath too, so I asked my dad about who Ozzy was. The next day, on Independence Day, he brought his CD copy of Diary of a Madman for us to listen to in the car while we drove to watch the fireworks, and I just became an instant fan, and since that day fully became a hard rock/heavy metal listener.
Then after listening to that album, I told my dad, "Wouldn't it be cool to meet Ozzy?" And this is how it lead to this day... 
My parents asked me if we should go stay at a hotel just to get out of town, so they booked a room at the Double Tree hotel in Skokie. Then the night before the 30th, we got the hotel, despite at one point getting lost for a bit. During the car ride though, my dad kept asking me, "There's a bookstore that's not very far from the hotel, wanna go there?" I just kept telling him no, because I wasn't into reading literature around that time. Then after checking in, to what I can remember, the lady at desk gave us the parlor suite, which I'm assuming meant that we got an upgrade, which was pretty sweet. I only have one photo of the hotel room, but the rest includes a fancy table, a bedroom separating the living room/kitchen, a fancy dining table, and I think even a kitchen, because my mom made sausage for us in the morning. :3 When me and my dad decided to go swimming, he asked me, "Do you know why I keep asking you about the bookstore?"
"No."
"Well, if a celebrity was going to be there, who'd you think it would be?"
"Ozzy Osbourne?"
"Wow, good guess, because Ozzy's gonna there tomorrow for a book signing at Barnes & Noble."
"WHAT!?"
"Now do you wanna go?"
"YEEEES!"
My parents purposely wanted to surprise me, and I just stunned that this was going to become a reality.
We all got up at around a bit earlier than 6 AM, had breakfast, got cleaned up, and headed out the door and in the line at almost 7. It was freezing cold outside, but I was tolerating it, because I knew I was gonna have to wait for hours like my parents did when they met Black Sabbath back in 1998. We sometimes took turns and went over to this restaurant that I can't remember who was nice enough to let people in to warm up for a bit while saving each other's spots. Here's a pic my dad took of my mom and me (with my face covered) waiting in line.
At around 9 AM, we checked in with a table that outside, to check if we had our copies of I Am Ozzy and told us to get in line D (which was actually line 2, but I don't what ever happened to A and B, oh well. XD), and the line started to move faster, and the it wasn't as chilly then. At around almost noon, we got into the store, but when we almost got in, my mom got pissed off at a mom for some reason, so I had to calm them down so we wouldn't get kicked out of line. After getting in, we had to go downstairs and meet a guy who told us which line to go to, but we got bummed out after they said we couldn't record video or takes photos upon being in a very close distance.
After getting into our assigned line, it felt nice to sit down and chill out for a bit. I jumped to different pages of the book while I was waiting, and looked through the photos. Speaking of the book, I highly recommend giving this one a chance for those who haven't read it. There are many hilarious, sad, and heartwarming moments in Ozzy's autobiography and the text feels so refreshing and authentic.
Here's me when I was inside, waiting for Ozzy to arrive.
A funny moment that happened: A little girl who was in line was marching around back in forth like a commander like she was making sure the whole Ozzy event was all set. It was so adorable and funny. XD
Originally, from what I have heard, Ozzy was supposed to show up at 1:42, but it had taken an extra hour to see him, but I wasn't really bothered by the delay. Even when my dad asked me if I wanted to go home, I told him that I wasn't ready to leave until I had met Ozzy. Eventually, Ozzy did though at about 2:42, and when I heard the announcer say Ozzy was hear, I immediately moved up to the railing to see Ozzy, who was downstairs. Although I can't remember at all what he said before he went to his table, I did remember the people including me who were chanting, "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!"
Once line C was finished, our line made was guided downstairs. Once we seriously got into the area where Ozzy was signing the books, my dad started taking pictures, despite what the guy had said. XD Here's one my dad took of Ozzy. It's pretty dark, but the quality is solid.
When we really close though, my legs just started to shake, I was so nervous and excited at the same time. XD I handed one of the ladies my book, who gave it to Ozzy and signed. Some guy ahead of me nearly took it away, mistakening it for his copy, and I was just standing still with my head slightly tilted down out of shyness. The lady though was nice enough to let me speak to Ozzy, and I was extremely starstrucked and I even got to shake his hand when we greeted.
Me: *in a shaky voice* H-Hi!
Ozzy: Hi honey.
Me: ...*after a very small pause* I-I love your music!
Ozzy: Thank you!
And there you have it: Free event, no $1000 VIP package, just an event that luckily happened. If I were to meet Ozzy again, I would wanna have another open experience experience instead of having to pay a VIP package that's ridiculously priced. Despite the cash-in trend that happens at concerts though, that doesn't change how I see Ozzy.
Ozzy showed himself as having such a gracious aura that day, and I was amazed that my first rock 'n' roll hero was such a cool guy with his fans. I've seen the quote floating around before about people should never meet their heroes, but I don't regret meeting them at all, especially Ozzy. Every time I've met a musician, I pretty much focus on the bright side, and I've never had a bad experience with one.
And guess what? My dad took a photo of me with Ozzy at the right time!
While I'm not as huge of an Ozzy fan as I used to be after a >2-year absence and meeting some "certain" musicians during that time, my appreciation for him will definitely not go away. ^_^
Before I dive into the details of how the day went, here's some history. In spring of 2008, my older brother for a while let me borrow his Guitar Hero games, and I just immediately got addicted to the games. XD I loved not only the gameplay and characters, but I especially loved the music. Then one day after rewatching an episode of Hannah Montana, (Bear with me, I'm sure you guys heard of the show in the past and thought it was stupid and silly, but this was what was airing during my childhood. XD) where they poked fun of Ozzy a 2nd time, I remembered finding Bark at the Moon in the first Guitar Hero game and possibly thought he had been in Black Sabbath too, so I asked my dad about who Ozzy was. The next day, on Independence Day, he brought his CD copy of Diary of a Madman for us to listen to in the car while we drove to watch the fireworks, and I just became an instant fan, and since that day fully became a hard rock/heavy metal listener.
Then after listening to that album, I told my dad, "Wouldn't it be cool to meet Ozzy?" And this is how it lead to this day... 
My parents asked me if we should go stay at a hotel just to get out of town, so they booked a room at the Double Tree hotel in Skokie. Then the night before the 30th, we got the hotel, despite at one point getting lost for a bit. During the car ride though, my dad kept asking me, "There's a bookstore that's not very far from the hotel, wanna go there?" I just kept telling him no, because I wasn't into reading literature around that time. Then after checking in, to what I can remember, the lady at desk gave us the parlor suite, which I'm assuming meant that we got an upgrade, which was pretty sweet.
I only have one photo of the hotel room, but the rest includes a fancy table, a bedroom separating the living room/kitchen, a fancy dining table, and I think even a kitchen, because my mom made sausage for us in the morning. :3 When me and my dad decided to go swimming, he asked me, "Do you know why I keep asking you about the bookstore?""No."
"Well, if a celebrity was going to be there, who'd you think it would be?"
"Ozzy Osbourne?"
"Wow, good guess, because Ozzy's gonna there tomorrow for a book signing at Barnes & Noble."
"WHAT!?"
"Now do you wanna go?"
"YEEEES!"
My parents purposely wanted to surprise me, and I just stunned that this was going to become a reality.
We all got up at around a bit earlier than 6 AM, had breakfast, got cleaned up, and headed out the door and in the line at almost 7. It was freezing cold outside, but I was tolerating it, because I knew I was gonna have to wait for hours like my parents did when they met Black Sabbath back in 1998. We sometimes took turns and went over to this restaurant that I can't remember who was nice enough to let people in to warm up for a bit while saving each other's spots. Here's a pic my dad took of my mom and me (with my face covered) waiting in line.
At around 9 AM, we checked in with a table that outside, to check if we had our copies of I Am Ozzy and told us to get in line D (which was actually line 2, but I don't what ever happened to A and B, oh well. XD), and the line started to move faster, and the it wasn't as chilly then. At around almost noon, we got into the store, but when we almost got in, my mom got pissed off at a mom for some reason, so I had to calm them down so we wouldn't get kicked out of line. After getting in, we had to go downstairs and meet a guy who told us which line to go to, but we got bummed out after they said we couldn't record video or takes photos upon being in a very close distance.
After getting into our assigned line, it felt nice to sit down and chill out for a bit. I jumped to different pages of the book while I was waiting, and looked through the photos. Speaking of the book, I highly recommend giving this one a chance for those who haven't read it. There are many hilarious, sad, and heartwarming moments in Ozzy's autobiography and the text feels so refreshing and authentic.
Here's me when I was inside, waiting for Ozzy to arrive.
A funny moment that happened: A little girl who was in line was marching around back in forth like a commander like she was making sure the whole Ozzy event was all set. It was so adorable and funny. XD
Originally, from what I have heard, Ozzy was supposed to show up at 1:42, but it had taken an extra hour to see him, but I wasn't really bothered by the delay. Even when my dad asked me if I wanted to go home, I told him that I wasn't ready to leave until I had met Ozzy. Eventually, Ozzy did though at about 2:42, and when I heard the announcer say Ozzy was hear, I immediately moved up to the railing to see Ozzy, who was downstairs. Although I can't remember at all what he said before he went to his table, I did remember the people including me who were chanting, "Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy! Ozzy!"
Once line C was finished, our line made was guided downstairs. Once we seriously got into the area where Ozzy was signing the books, my dad started taking pictures, despite what the guy had said. XD Here's one my dad took of Ozzy. It's pretty dark, but the quality is solid.
When we really close though, my legs just started to shake, I was so nervous and excited at the same time. XD I handed one of the ladies my book, who gave it to Ozzy and signed. Some guy ahead of me nearly took it away, mistakening it for his copy, and I was just standing still with my head slightly tilted down out of shyness. The lady though was nice enough to let me speak to Ozzy, and I was extremely starstrucked and I even got to shake his hand when we greeted.
Me: *in a shaky voice* H-Hi!
Ozzy: Hi honey.
Me: ...*after a very small pause* I-I love your music!
Ozzy: Thank you!
And there you have it: Free event, no $1000 VIP package, just an event that luckily happened. If I were to meet Ozzy again, I would wanna have another open experience experience instead of having to pay a VIP package that's ridiculously priced. Despite the cash-in trend that happens at concerts though, that doesn't change how I see Ozzy.
Ozzy showed himself as having such a gracious aura that day, and I was amazed that my first rock 'n' roll hero was such a cool guy with his fans. I've seen the quote floating around before about people should never meet their heroes, but I don't regret meeting them at all, especially Ozzy. Every time I've met a musician, I pretty much focus on the bright side, and I've never had a bad experience with one.
And guess what? My dad took a photo of me with Ozzy at the right time!
While I'm not as huge of an Ozzy fan as I used to be after a >2-year absence and meeting some "certain" musicians during that time, my appreciation for him will definitely not go away. ^_^