[fan account] Team Cloud: Experience in L.A. from…
… member Amber Rain.
June 3: It was unfortunate that none of us Clouds saw Rain arrive at LAX. While waiting, Michelle kept texting me to go to the baggage claim, and I told her that the baggage claim for Int’l flight was inside. I didn’t realize that there was a VIP exit right next to that door. I felt so sad for his fans that had been there since 8AM and didn’t want to leave even after we told them that he had [already] exited the VIP door. There were also other Clouds that had brought fruit baskets, balloons, etc. but left earlier because they got tired of waiting.
June 6: Again, I had the opportunity to see him at the Amphitheater if I went with the other Clouds… but I didn’t want to leave my other Cloud friends behind. [Very admirable of you, Amber. What a friend! — Stephe ^@@^]
June 7: Lastly, my flight back was Monday 6/7/10 @12:50 and lo and behold, Rain was leaving the same day. There were 8 of us that showed up. Some Rain fans said that he didn’t like getting his pics taken and that we should wait inside to give him his space and privacy. [Oh, really? Since when does mega-icon RAIN not like getting his picture taken?? R-i-g-h-t. — Stephe ^@@^] That’s exactly what we did. We waited from 9AM until around 11 or so when a black Land Rover pulled over at the curbside. I had goose bumps and I didn’t know why. Saw an Asian guy wearing an orange shirt that came out with another guy. No Rain though, so we watched them check in a lot of luggage. Didn’t notice that one of us went outside. I saw her looking at the car and I wanted to go out but didn’t because I thought she would have jumped up and down and called us if Rain was inside the car.
The car must have been parked outside for almost 20 mins or so. When our friend came back inside she said that Ji-Hoon was in the car. When she said that, I looked but the car was gone. We raced towards the other door but Rain was already at the security gate. The other Clouds said he walked so fast and nobody dared to call out his name. We only saw a glimpse of him. He was wearing a white shirt with sunglasses. He had that glow… like a halo…so adorable! Not sure if he even saw us. I hope he doesn’t think that he didn’t have anybody there to see him off.
I’m still having a hard time accepting this. I was there and didn’t have the guts to follow my instinct and not worry about what others would have said if I went up to see who was inside that Land Rover. If I had seen him inside, I would have asked if he could sign my B2TB album that I brought with me and also asked if we could take a pic of him. What if he had obliged? I would have also told him that he didn’t need to be scared of any other fans because we were it. All that time that his car was parked outside, what if he had talked to us after realizing that there are no other Clouds there? What if he had taken a pic with us? If he wasn’t in the mood to do any of these things, I would have understood but at least I would have tried.
Amber, you did just fine. End of story. No more couldas and wouldas and shouldas. When it’s your first time and you’re testing the waters, it’s always smartest to hang back when your instincts tell you to, rather than bulldozing ahead and possibly making a spectacle of yourself. You were also “flying blind” so to speak, what with the lack of information from J.Tune concerning Rain’s plans. So please stop second-guessing yourself. That goes for you and Kongsao and other Clouds who were there but didn’t make it outside. A few fans were able to get his autograph at the Amphitheater—very cool, good for Adette @rain-USA! And you got a good glimpse of him! If Rain didn’t know a group was there to see him at the airport, surely he knows that now and it makes him feel good.
Rain will be back on US soil—make no mistake. And when he is, you’ll be a lot more comfortable and prepared. We all will, and the experience will probably be epic! (If Terri is involved, you can believe there won’t be a hitch! Hahaha) For now, we must put this all behind, look ahead to the future and stay the course. We must stay true to ourselves, to Rain, and to the Cloud way. You did your best, and that is good enough for us. It is only when you don’t do your best, either by yourself or by other fans, that karma comes back around when you least expect it to bite you in the ass. If you know what I mean.
— Stephe ^@@^
@terri
hey dare how r u doing thank for posting this i fell that same think too we were together with our experince in LA & LAX that was my first time ever met amber too am glad i found somebody have such a good firendship and heart was amber nice i bet and thank for post this sent amber already did i did my on 6to5 tt
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Hey, Kongsao.
Actually, Stephe posted this, but you’re very welcome. I’m so glad you got to meet Amber. I hope we all get to meet up somewhere someday! And get to see Rain too!
Terri :-}
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Thank you Amber, for this report. It means a lot to us.
Terri :-}
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Thanks so much Stephe for putting this up. Thank you also for your comments. It does make me feel better. Besides, because of this trip, I got to meet some wonderful clouds like Kong, Adette, Joy, Cindy and Luz. I also got to see my old Marian (St. Mary’s College) schoolmates that I haven’t seen since elementary. I had a great time and got to see the Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Grauman’s Chinese Theater where they had the NA premiere. On top of this, we got to celebrate his winning moment outside the Amphitheater in Universal City. Altogether, I had a great time but it would have been a treat if I got to see him up close and personal… =)
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