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04-01-2013, 02:34 PM
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My thoughts on the autograph session 29 March 2013
Skip down to the second paragraph for the actual event description…
It’s going to be hard for me to match the other members’ descriptions of the event. They’ve covered the logistics of it well, so I’ll skip that. For me, being there was really special. It’s just been 11 months since I discovered Alizée. The way I feel about myself has dramatically changed since then, and I attribute that to her, somehow. I can only guess how that happened, but I’ve stopped analyzing it. I see a really good person inside her, and to try to pay her back I try to support her career. Watching videos, En Concert, all the interviews and reading about old interviews and translations has created that image of her that have. I was having a bit of trouble fully believing that image because I know that what viewers see is only what you are shown, and sometimes that can be misleading. I suppose it’s been important to me to find out that she is ‘real.’ I got a slight confirmation of reality a few weeks ago when I got the Talents France Blue CD and posted a picture of it on Instagram. The next morning I was happily surprised to see that she ‘liked’ the posting. It was as if for just a moment, she had let me know she was real. I know, it sounds corny, but Scruffy and Jake can confirm that I am. I had been thinking about going to an autograph session since she announced the album on the ‘live’ Q&A video that came out last summer. At first we thought it would be in October, then it kept being delayed. I never wanted to go to Paris, or Europe, or anywhere. I was fortunate that right now I was able to take time off from work and afford the trip. I felt that if I missed this opportunity to ‘meet’ her that I would regret not going. So off I went. During my connecting flight from London to Paris, I kept thinking that I could not believe I was actually going to France. Scruffy met me at the train station and on the ride into town, I kept saying the same thing. Even though I was able to see many of the famous and significant sights of Paris, I was there for one reason. That came the next day at the FNAC Saint Lazare . So I wouldn’t be disappointed, I never thought we would get a private session with Alizée. I hoped we would so I would be able to get a lot of great pictures of her. But I knew I’d be happy just waiting in the regular line. Scruffy has already described the ups and down of the lead-up to the session. So it was off to the regular line for me. We were in the room already when she made her entrance and we caught a brief glimpse of her entrance, but were too far back to see her posing for the cameras. It was really exciting to know she was in the same room we were in. They had the ropes set up like a back and forth queue moving side to side through the room, so the front row was a 15 minute show just 10 feet from her. From the back though, we were all holding our cameras up to try to see her up front. Finally I gave up and just waited until we got closer to try for some camera shots. There was so much excitement among the fans. It was amazing once we got to the front row. Just watching her interacting with each fan as if they were the only two people in the world. Everything I had thought about her seemed to be true. I’m amazed that she did it for 3.5 hours. We started discussing who would take each others photos when the time came. Loose plans were made. Closer and closer to the front of the line. It almost seemed like my turn came too quickly. I wasn’t really ready. I had written my name on a slip of paper. I remember saying I had come from the USA to see her, and she pronounced my made perfectly. She may have said something else but I don’t remember. I had written a short note in a card, and I had found a Tinkerbell bookmark a few weeks ago that I included in an envelope which I gave her (It appeared in the photo she posted! Yay!) Then I handed my camera to the manager guy and went around right beside her for the photo. I hadn’t set the camera right and the photo didn’t come out too good. So for a moment in time, I was in the same place as she was. So she’s about as real to me now as this keyboard that I’m typing on. I threw her a ‘merci,’ grabbed my camera from the guy, and just sort of drifted away out the exit. When I got back into the store, I was in a daze. No one else came out for several minutes. I guess I could have stayed with the group but they had been forgotten. (Sorry guys!) Then it was back to waiting to see about getting the 80 CDs autographed. We thought there was a chance that would happen after the line was gone, but it did not. I got the impression that they would all be signed though later this week. Now, she’s real, and I feel like the impression I had of her was accurate enough. I spent some of the 8 hours on the plane yesterday thinking about it all. I realize that I still really know so little about her, but I’m as certain as I can be that she is a nice, thoughtful, and caring person. And that’s all I need to know. Her depth, her tattoos, her fashion choices, how she spends her free time… None of that matters to me. I just want to support her and her career by helping other fans learn about her and keeping her in people’s minds and hearts. She knows more about her industry and career and what she wants to make of it than any of us, and she does what she wants to do, no matter what we want. Not that there is anything wrong with us discussing how we feel about those things. We just have to realize that we aren’t going to influence her in what she does. It’s like she is driving the fan bus, and we can get on and off whenever we want. It goes where she takes it, take it or leave it. Last edited by Ray4AJ; 10-11-2014 at 12:19 AM.. 
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#12
03-29-2015, 03:34 PM
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Two years later...
Two years later today, and it still seems like it just happened. They say Videre est credere... seeing is believing and I guess that it was something that I needed to do to convince myself that she really was as kind and genuine as she seemed to be.
When I see photos and videos of her in interviews or performances, I always remember that day and that minute or two of her time that she gave me. It helps me to keep an open mind about the some of the things she does, and to give her the benefit of the doubt and to 'let' her live her life as she chooses.
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#13
04-02-2015, 01:57 AM
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Quote:
__________________
 Alizée, Balayent les maux de cœur
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#14
03-29-2018, 09:27 PM
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OMA! It's been FIVE years already!
Today it's been five years since the "5" autograph session at a Paris FNAC. It was amazing to have been able to attend and I still almost can't believe I was actually there. I don't really have anything to add to my account of the event.
Scruffy did his best to get 80 CDs autographed for forum members that day, and while she couldn't sign them then she did within a week or two and everyone that asked for one got one. You can read about that in this thread: http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7352 Speaking of Scruffy... in my time here at AAm and as a fan he has been the member who has been here for the forum and the members. I'm sure everyone knows that. I saw how much effort he put into getting those 80 CDs autographed, returning to the store several times and working through the language barrier and in the end it all worked out. He also spent his own vacation time showing me and another member around Paris when he could have been seeing the places he wanted to see. I appreciate all the time he spend with us and for the forum during that trip, and sharing his experiences of other Alizée events and performances that he attended. He and I clash on occasion... Mostly due to my poor communication skills... I respect and appreciate what he does for Alizée, the forum, and me.
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#15
03-29-2018, 10:26 PM
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Thanks Ray! We do see things differently at times and that's been true of other members over the years. It happens.
Things have gotten pretty thin here over the past year or two and Ray has really helped to keep our members interested in what's going on, especially in chat where I only make occasional visits . This forum could have easily have followed the same route that the Alizee forum did if it wasn't for him. He's also had the main responsibility of keeping things organized and that's almost an impossible job for him. We're often all over the place in some of our threads and the bad part of that, if you're looking for something that was said a few weeks ago, it's probably in an unrelated thread. Luckily we've had some good members of late, but it's his job to police this place and he's done a good job of it, knowing when something needs and doesn't need to be said. So thank you Ray for what you've done for the forum.
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#16
03-29-2018, 11:46 PM
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Omg scruffy!!! what you did was super sweet!! omg i'm super jealous! You're the real mvp!
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#17
03-30-2018, 09:05 AM
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Quote:
I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with disagreements, even "clashing", as long as there is a mutual respect. There are mainly just guys left here on this forum, and we justdon't communicate as well as our female counterparts. We tend to be more abrupt in our posts, and since we cannot see each other face to face, sometimes a post can be taken the wrong way. I tend to be very opinionated, which is not always good, especially when I am wrong (which is often). But we are all here for the same reason, so we just learn to live with each other Ray, I have read a ton of old threads since joining this site, but I always navigated back to the early ones. I haven't read this thread of yours until this morning, so I was not aware that you were at an autograph session. Your description of your experience was very good. I think I would be in a daze as well. Being that it has been five years and you still are amazed that you were there proves it was worth everything you put into it to experience it once.
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