I've been seriously overdue for a vacation for the last two and a half years. I actually rolled 80 vacation hours from last year into this year because, one way or another, I can't seem to take a vacation. I'm actually beginning to believe The Matrix is real; They (whoever They are) must be watching me since every time I try to take vacation, projects that just demand my attention crash land on my desk. I'm a 3D renderer/animator for the marketing department at Herman Miller, and while the office furniture industry would go on in my absence, individual project managers do not seem to understand that.

So I've been seriously overdue for a vacation, and thought that maybe I should start planning one for later in the summer. Maybe I could pull it off without a work catastrophe occuring. I even knew where I wanted to go....Red Bank, NJ to visit Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. New Jersey is a happy medium between New York City and Washington D.c., so I figured I could hit all three in a week. It was July 9 and I was sitting at work with 20 free minutes on my hand (I had to talk to a contractor in Seattle and he wouldn't be in his office until 11 am our time) so I went to Viewaskewniverse.

And found out that Kevin Smith was going to be doing a Roadside Attraction at the Stash tomorrow. Holy Mooby, Batman!! This would be the ultimate trip to the Stash. I didn't even bother to call Seattle. I called my boyfriend and said, "Pack some stuff because we are leaving for Jersey this afternoon." Okay, so Mapquest said that Red Bank is a 13 hour drive from Michigan. So what? We spend the night in Pennsylvania and were in Red Bank by 2pm Thursday. In the Stash. Yeehah! I had to buy a Dogma shirt (although the smallest size I could find was a Large, so I'm wearing it as a nightie) and a Clerks lunch box to use as a purse. The boyfriend bought a Clerks shirt and the Chasing Dogma comic. For starters. We wanted to drop our stuff off at our hotel, and Mike helped us with directions and encouraged us to come back early. Kevin was supposed to be in at 6, so Mike recommended that we be back by 5, and we were welcome to hang out in the store.

They might deny it, but Mike and Walt are total sweethearts. Kevin was running late (he showed up some time after 8), and Mike and Walt made us feel comfortable just hanging around. (Around my area, you certainly can't hang around a comic book store for 3 hours reading stuff unless you plan on walking out with everything you touched). The boyfriend and I played the Jay and Silent Bob's video game and then borrowed chairs and sat around reading comic books. *hugs* to Mike and Walt for that. (Of course, that was probably a smart business decision on the part of Mike and Walt. I would up buying the Clerks comic book and the first episode of Spiderman and Black Cat. I couldn't get over how sharp the writing was on the Spiderman comic, and then I realized that Kevin did the writing. I should have guessed. *grin*)

Kevin finally arrived and the show was on. The boyfriend and I had hung out in the store with a few other people, so I didn't know that a whole group of people had gathered outside the store. Maybe they thought that Kevin was just going to walk in the front door or something. But he walked in through the back, right past us, before going out front. They filmed one segment out there, and then everyone packed into the store. There was at least 60 people, which in a long, narrow store like the Stash makes for a hot, intense crowd.

Kevin filmed six or seven segments, all of which were funny. The film crew asked us to be quiet, and everyone tried really hard not to make a sound. But some bits were so funny that people were grabbing their mouths, rolling their eyes and bending over trying to stay quiet. It didn't always work, but everyone behaved for the most part. Two of the bits, one with Kevin holding up Walt at the register and demanding all of the money and the other with him using a Silent Bob figure to simulate an act of, ahem, personal intimacy, were so funny that I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing.

After the taping, Kevin stood by the Buddy Christ and offered to sign autographs and take pictures, which was very nice of him. Thank you, Kevin! *hugs* to you for that. I was more interested in seeing Kevin than being the Tonight Show, so I wound up standing behind the film crew for the last few bits. But when they left, that left the boyfriend and I right in front, so we were some of the first to talk to Kevin. (I thought that everyone there was being really respectful, because there wasn't a lot of pushing or shoving or other ruckus).

The store was really warm and Kevin had put some effort into filming the bits, so he was really sweaty and hot looking. I felt kind of bad for him; here he is making our day when he was probably bored and sticky. So when I stepped up to get an autograph, I asked him if he was okay and did he need a drink. He told me I sweet, and something to the effect that I was the only one there who thought to ask him something like that. (The film crew bolted for the door pretty damn fast). I still can't believe it. Kevin Smith called me sweet!! (I was just trying to be a decent, kind person. I just knew that if I was him, I would have wanted a drink by that point).

He signed my copy of the Clerks comic book, and let the boyfriend take a picture of him and I together. The boyfriend then went to get his photo with Kevin and Kevin gave him a thumbs up for wearing his Clerks shirt. The boyfriend turned and pretended to kiss Kevin on the cheek for the shot, and Kevin told him that it was a good bit. *grin* We told him that we drove in all the way from Michigan for the opportunity to meet him, and he actually sounded impressed. He figured that we made the longest trip out of anyone there, which was probably true. Then he shook our hands and actually thanked us for making such a long trip. Which was really nice of him. He didn't just sign my comic at the speed of light and shuffle us off, but was just cool about the whole thing. Which of course made the trip that much nicer for us. So thank you again, to Kevin and the staff of the Stash.

The next morning (Friday), the boyfriend and I went by The Quick Stop and RTS (he had to buy Gatorade, of course, but I decided not to ask to use the bathroom. *grin*) We then rushed all the way back to Michigan, squeaking in right around midnight. We spent more time driving than we spend in Jersey, but it was worth it. (I had to test for my purple belt in Tae Kwon Do Saturday morning at 9, so we couldn't afford to stay in Jersey a second longer, unfortunately. And yes, I passed my test with flying colors. I was incredibly tired and really stiff from such a long car drive, but I was so tired that I was wired. I absolutely rocked through the whole testing, even the breaking. I had to do a double break (break two boards one right after another without stopping) and even that seemed effortless. I broke the first set (the set was 2 boards thick) with a spin back side kick and then spun again and broke the other (1 board thick) with a roundhouse).

Anyway, thanks again to Kevin and everyone at the Secret Stash for being so cool about stuff. I live in a small tourist town, so I understand what it's like having to put with large crowds and out of town people. You guys were great!