2011 in Review

I can't believe 2011 is over. It was most definitely the year of the Backstreet Boys for me. Though I did manage to have a lot of other fun outside of BSB. I'm a tad late on this entry, but I thought I'd reflect back over the year over some of the highlights.

January

• I must've still been recuperating from the first BSB cruise because I sadly can't remember much anything exciting that happened this month.
  

February

• Another boring month for me as I tend to hibernate in the winter. Sorry for the slow start, it gets better though.

March

• Backstreet Cruise 2011 officially announce. Let the excitement begin.
• Got promoted to Sr. Marketing Specialist at my company. Good timing too because I needed the extra money to fund the cruise.

April

• I took a trip up to New York City. Not to see famous art, not to enjoy great good, nor see famous landmarks. But to see celebrities! We went to see a live taping of Regis and Kelly as well as The View. Between both of those shows and running into a few celebs near Broadway I saw John Krasinski, Orlando Bloom, Tim McGraw, and Chris Rock. I'm such a celeb whore.
  

  

  Me and Regis Philbin. I didn't want to post this picture because I look awful, but reluctantly posted it anyway.

• Also managed to go south to Atlanta to visit my old college roommate. Is it sad that the entire time I was on constantly on high Brian alert? Sadly a small part of me really thought I'd actually run into him.
• Got swept up in the hype of the Royal Wedding. My friends and I did our own Royal Wedding Brunch. We got dressed up, made mimosas, and even had a wedding cake. I wish I could do this more often.
  
  

May

• First NKOTBSB show in Baltimore. Such a great thrill seeing that show for the first time.
• Celebrated my 5 year anniversary with the boyfriend. <3Time has flown by.

June

• NKOTBSB show #2 in DC. Highlight being when Nick and Brian came down my aisle for SOMH and shook my hand.
  
  
  Nick and Brian at the DC show
• NKOTBSB show #3 in Philadelphia. This was probably the turning point of when I actually started to paying attention to the New Kids and didn't view them as "in the way" of our Backstreet Boys. Good show. I also remember AJ playing on his segue outside before the concert started.
• NKOTBSB show #4 in Nashville. First trip to Tennessee. Saw an old friend from high school, met up with awesome friends I met on the cruise, went to my first Wylee party, randomly saw Donnie walking down the street. And just when you didn't think it could get any better, I met AJ and Howie in the middle of the concert. Lots of highlights in Nashville.
  
  

  

  Me and AJ

July

• Took a trip to see Niagara Falls and Toronto with my best friend of 20 years. And surprisingly it wasn't to see BSB. I was able to cross another thing off the ole bucket list though.
  

  

  At Niagara Falls

• NKOTBSB show #5 in Atlantic City with my bro. By the 5th show, I got a lot of my excitement out of watching my brother see the show for the first time. Also met up with a bunch of friends I hadn't seen since the cruise, which was delightful. Then we headed to Harrah's for Nick and Howie's after party. Not the best of experiences, but I did get some chap stick from Howie.
• Final NKOTBSB show in Hershey. Finished it off with a bang by doing Platinum VIP and had Nick as my tour guide. Believe it or not, this was my first sound check party ever and I got to ask the boys a question, which was fabulous. They actually had their attention on ME for all of 3 seconds. The concert was just as amazing as the previous 5 shows. It was an outdoor venue, which was different. My only complaint was that I was hoping it would rain so we could see some wet Backstreet Boys. No such luck.
  

  

  Me and Nick

August

• Traveled up north to visit my backstreet girls at the shore, as the New Jersians refer to it. We had a classic Backstreet weekend watching old VHS tapes and had a ball.
  

  

  I hadn't played this in sooo long. Remember the little planes?

September

• Went out to the west coast to San Francisco, all the while on my company's dime. That really is the best way to travel. Even though I was there for a work, I got to explore the city. I saw everything except the Full House house, which was really the only thing I wanted to see. Oh, I also somehow found myself front row at a Metallica concert. Talk about random. I don't even know any Metallica songs. That was the furthest thing from a Backstreet concert as you could get.
  

  

  At a Metallica concert. How come I cant luck into these kind of seats for BSB?

October

• Back up north to Boston (for work). The highlight of my trip was eating grilled cheese from a famous food truck featured on The Great Food Truck Race. My life is sad.

November

• I got to meet Jordan Knight. He was at a local mall doing an autograph signing/meet and greet. Met some fun people in line, including other Backstreet fan converts such as myself. To be honest, he was kind of cranky when I met him. I was next up when he leaned over to a staff member and said "How many more of these?" Not exactly what you want to hear. But I didn't take it personally, it seemed like he was having an off day. So glad BSB hasn't had an off day when I've met them.

  

  Me and Jordan Knight

December

• Orlando adventure to Disney World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Disney makes me almost as happy as BSB....almost. It was great to feel like a little kid again.

  

  Me (clad in BSB shirt) and Anne Marie at Animal Kingdom

• BSB cruise- Duh! Not sure if I have to elaborate on this or otherwise you wouldn't be reading this blog, would you? Let me see if I can sum it up in 20 words. IYWITBGG, coconut smoochie, Howie's pillow, "ladieeees", sphynkter, wiggle wiggle, ninja turtle, "Oh Christmas tree", stripper pole, truth or dare, Kevin.

I want to be back on that ship so bad.

What a year! I can't believe I was able to have so many encounters with BSB, do as much traveling as I did, and meet so many wonderful new friends. It's going to be a tough year to top but hopefully next year at this time I'll have an even better year in review.