BB8 Josh Stein

Both of Eric's brothers, and Friend (grey shirt)

LA's been fun - i'm exhausted and really need to sleep a little before tonight's wrap party. Oddly, I have taken no pictures yet - I just feel bad bothering people when they're being bombarded by fans or imposing when in more personal settings - tonight I'll step my game up on that front.

morning all -
just saying hi before i have to wake everyone else and get this room packed up so we can head back to nyc this afternoon - i've slept a total about 10 hours over 3 days but it was worth it - this was quite a surreal experience - fun, interesting, strange, cool, etc.

and yes, thanks to poppacollar we have pictures but they're still on his camera & he's asleep so i don't think i'll be able to post any until tomorrow (plus someone still have to tell me how to post photos in a thread)

the accounts I've read so far of both the finale/post-party green room and hotel bar experience and the wrap party are pretty accurate - sure everyone's reports are a little off or colored by their intereactions or speculation - but i haven't read anything in that thread that seemed like total bs, and some of the people i know i definitely spoke to (and was told some of the stories pretty much as they happened)

a few odds and ends:

-slop is every bit as repulsive as advertised - i had one small spoonful and the texture was horrid and the taste just lingered

-they had lots of props - the topiary elk, the true/false HOH booth, the cat from the POV eric won, the face wheel from the F4 decoder POV, giant mushrooms, and others that escape me now

-the gag reel went over great - i love that they based an entire segment on the Donatos photochop

-the friends and family of the HGs were amazing - it was like we all had something to bond over that immediately created a connection - add plenty of alcohol - and we all had a lot of fun together w/ no one harboring any sort of ill-will from the season -- sure there were a few apologies on behalf of our respective HGs at times but everyone was just very friendly and understanding w/ eachother and it was all good -- i know we've both said it about eachother the other night -- but let me say again what a great guy Vince is and how great it was to get to hang out --

-over the three days i spoke with every BB8 HG other than dani (who i saw so little of that there was only time for a quick hi) - the conversations ranged from quick and awkward to hysterical, under a minute to hours on end, all about the game to all about personal stuff the HGs knew about me -- there was only one uncomfortable situation for me and slydog and it was from the least likely of people - carol - who went on for 15 minutes to slydog about how much she hated eric on tuesday night ang then totally flipped out at me for the same reason when dustin's brother (who's awesome) asked me to take a picture of them (she didn't want someone evil snapping her picture for dustin's bro) -- amazing how a person who lasted under two weeks and was the topic of post-eviction teasing by every HG could be so angry and somehow only blame one person for the behavior of almost all - honestly, whatever, no great loss - it was just "AWKward."

-for the most part i was surprised (though i probably shouldn't have been) by how much these people were exactly like you saw them on the feeds - but just toned down and a little more multi-dimensional -- same w/ the former HGs (though they were much more relaxed in the face of endless fans than the newbies).

-for me the coolness and strangeness of the night was most apparent when i got onto the shuttle to head back to the hotel and found myself surrounded by janelle, dick, amber, jameka, jess, eric, howie, chicken george, mike, and sarah (plus vince, slydog, poppacollar, and a few other friends/family) - as we headed back and everyone was laughing joking around snapping pictures - i just couldn't help but shake my head, smile, and think to myself how bizarre and great this whole trip was

-by late night there was an interesting "end of camp" sort of vibe by late last night which makes sense

Back home and totally in a daze. What a few days - so much going on, so many things to juggle (especially being a fan vs. being a brother), so little time. Parts of the experience were exactly as I expected, other parts were a bit different. All in all I was thrilled to be part of the festivities. I'm also happy to have Eric home -- provided we all don't sleep away the entire day we'll likely start watching the cbs show with Eric tomorrow. (So far we've shown him a few major events - our segments, the FF episode, jess's first hoh win/his celebration with dustin, his first kiss, his first "meet the cast" video, a few tributes, the boot icons (he liked the sock puppet), etc.)

SenorX's report for Day One (finale night):

Wow do I feel out of it - I thought sleeping most of the flight home + 9 hours would do the trick - instead i now feel like I'm drunk and underwater - I guess that's what happens when a 31 year old chooses to sleep between 2 and 4 hours for 4 straight days. This may take a while to recover from. Between sleep deprivation and the amount of alcohol I consumed let's see what i can remember. (BTW, poppacollar will take care of posting the pix - I've seen them and they're fun.)

Okay, slydog and I arrived in LA Tuesday morning, met up with Poppacollar - dropped off a bag of extra clothes and mr. wrinkles for eric at the front desk - and then just hung around the city until we could check into the hotel. (We had to wait for the HGs to leave). When we eventually got to the room we found woobie, mr. wrinkles, and Eric's POV-winning rat greeting us on the couch. It was at that moment that I immediately realized how cool I was going to find this entire experience.

Slydog and I eventually made our way down to the lobby to take the shuttle over to the finale (sadly, we couldn't get JP a ticket). There we met (and sorry if i botch names/spelling here) Carol's mom, Zach's parents, Kail's husband and children, Amber's sister (who apologized to us, we told her we appreciated it, it was all good, and not to let it ruin her weekend), Dean and Tucker, Jameka's best friend Keisha, Jen's best friend Cara , Joe's best friend Moey, Nick's sister Kayleen, Dustin's brother Darrick, and the person we assume won Mike's auction. Across the board the friends and families were amazing. Before getting on the van we talked to Carol's mom the most (ironic given later events) and she was just wonderful. On the van we talked with Moey and Kayleen and Zach's parents (to whom I expressed how impressed I was with their son's end game and my regrets that E/Z couldn't have gotten on the same page down the stretch).

Once we arrived on the lot we were sent to the green room to relax before the show. There we met Dani's best friend Lindsay who is also a sweetheart (and has the cutest little boy). Next, I caught up with James Meehan, the produce who first came to NYC to "kidnap" Eric, and then spoke with a bunch of other behind the camera folks who all knew me from my tapes and wanted to express their love of eric and appreciation for our cooperation over the season. Let me say - and this goes for people from every level of the show from camera people to grodner and was evident in every exchange we had over the trip - the BB behind the camera folks are great - they love what they do, they loved eric, and they were great to us. I eventually met back up with Slydog and the other HG friends/family of our age and we drank. It was then that Vince found us and we finally met, laughing about our shared experience at sucks and having the first of many greatly enjoyable conversations. Just a super nice guy. Down in the green room at that point I noticed, Erika, CG, Howie, Marvin, and Adam from Survivor.

Then it was finally time to head to the set. When we got on the line I also saw Janelle, Marcellus, and Kennedy. I also finally got to meet my producer contact from the entire season - Cynthia - and we gave eachother big hugs - she rocks. Initially we were seated in the front row of the bleachers furthest from where the HGs would be w/ Darrick, Moey, and Kayleen. We were having a great time laughing and joking around with some of the fans behind us, when a producer came to me and Slydog and told us we had to move - they had special seats for us. So we got up (and then i also saw sarah and beau) and waited for our new seats -- they pointed them out and Slydog and I shook our heads in bemusement - right in front of janelle - AWKWARD!!!

I just read someone's recap of Janelle's account of what came next, "Janelle had good seats. They sat Eric's brothers right in front of her. She said one of them was aggressive and said "I think we should call a truce." Janelle was a little taken aback they thought she would cause trouble at the finale."

Here's my take and it's not all that different - rather than have lots of whispering and strangeness - being the shameless guy i am, I turned right around and after introducing myself, in a friendly but direct manner I said something like, "can we call a truce? i know you don't like eric and that's totally cool b/c he said some crappy stuff about you, but i was always a big fan, and i'd just like to think that you two can just allow eachother to have a good time with no one starting any drama - it's the finale let's just let everyone have fun - that cool?" As Janelle noted in her own chat she was taken aback by my bluntness and - with more people watching that i had intended (the perils of such talks after a few beers - i never realized anyone else was listening) - she said of course and it's all good. (Sadly, Eric and I both later heard stories from several other HGs and family that she did indeed trash Eric and possibly me the next night - but then also laughed and admitted that 5 months from now they'd probably all be friends (which i could believe b/c she's super close w/ beau now, which i'd never have guessed at the S6 finale).) Did I need to do say anything? No. Slydog wouldn't have. Neither would have Eric (indeed, he had no idea that i did it, and almost certainly would have told me not to do it). But i am who i am, and if i have something to say i say it to your face b/c i prefer openness to behind the back stuff - so i got it off my chest and was pleased to be able to do so. I meant it only in the nicest of ways - looking out for my bro and just making sure everyone had a good time. (Eric jokingly blew kisses to her when he made his way to his seat.)

Then we had the finale. You've all seen this so no need to get into too much - Slydog and I were of course nervous about the reveal - but we think it went as well as possible. They gave it enough time for people to get a sense of what AP was, and used tasks that really drove home the impact it had on the game. As the segment aired - Eric was instantly whispering with Jess and then Amber and Dustin. I found it interesting that they made no mention of the money - leaving that for Eric to reveal himself in private. (Re that point, I know Eric told Jess, Jameka, Amber, Dustin, Dick, Dani, and Zach. In terms of reactions - I know that Jess jokingly asked for a nice present; Jameka felt it was fair given how it screwed with his game (Amber was in this camp too), and Dustin was playfully annoyed that he had the 4th highest earnings not 3rd - I don't know how D/D/Z reacted, but i think those conversations were much briefer). When Dick turned to us Janelle said hi and after someone made a sports comment he asked about the Jets and I sadly told him the bad news - he groaned. As soon as the show ended Slydog and I fought our way to Eric and gave him a big hug - before we could speak we were interrupted by Grodner who had been very concerned for Eric's state of mind heading into tonight and wanted to make sure he was okay. When they were done we pulled Eric aside and told him in brief about Amber's comments, confirmed with him that Jess was good to him throughout the game, and noted some of his trash-talking had made some waves. Before we could finish the HGs were taken to the BY for interviews and we were sent to the green room.

This next stretch of 90 minutes or so was one of my favorites of the trip. All of the friends/family of our age sat around two tables getting to know eachother and drinking up a storm. Lots of laughter, picture taking, and good-natured teasing. Everyone was able to laugh at their respective HG's quirks/issues and there was a definite strong sense of "if any HGs have issues they're their issues - not ours - we are bonded by having lived the same experience this summer."

Eventually, the HGs made their way downstairs. Over the next hour or so I began to introduce myself to various HGs. When I saw Dustin I told him I had some bad news for him and then told him that he owes eric a "gentlemen's 5K" b/c the average length of an erect male penis is 5.5-6.5 inches, not 4. He looked at me for a second, then his eyes widened, and then he started hysterically laughing saying "i cannot believe you saw that -- you must have watched everything." He also said he felt a little bad for being somewhat cold to Eric in sequester after now knowing that he was forced to evict him and wanted to save dustin. I told him that Eric and Jess fans made a big push to save Dustin but it was one of the two AP tasks we lost on despite a big push - he was appreciative. When we met Jameka she leapt up to hug me and immediately asked about my unborn baby - Jameka is amazing - I love her to death - just so nice and funny and charming. She knows she got a bs edit on the cbs show but i assured her that AD left everyone see the funny/sassy jameka too. When I met Jen she told me that rumor had it she might want to punch my brother - and I admitted that could be the case, but that i had been a big fans and wished she could have been in a F3 alliance with Eric and Jess and she said "me too" - before we could talk more they started airing parts of the finale and Jen stopped dead in her tracks to watch (I don't blame her - they were all fascinated every time any footage aired). I had brief hellos with Kail, Zach, Nick, Mike (who actually remembered me from a brief myspace e-mail exchange we had soon after he was evicted). My first meeting with Jess was cool but super brief b/c her mom called just as we started to talk (but i suspected i'd see her a ton the rest of the weekend so i wasn't worried). Eric, Dick, and Dani were the last three to get downstairs and they were all surrounded by a constant stream of people. When I eventually got to Dick I introduced myself and he gave me a big hug while laughing - Vince came over and we told him that Vince and I had been e-mailing and posting at Sucks throughout the season and he went "a-ha, the sucksters, that's what you meant - cool" - sadly before we could talk more Dick had to be taken away by the producers.

As the green room wound down, we found our way back to Eric and headed to the final shuttle back to the hotel - after talking briefly with erika and adam we boarded. At this point i was hammered. While i think other people were there, the only people I remember on the shuttle are me/Eric/Slydog and Joe and his friend Moey (who is a riot). Joe is great and him and Eric really get along. Joe totally got the AP twist and how hard it made Eric's game (and told us how he voted for the tasks and loved voting to eliminate dustin) - it made me wish eric/joe could have been on the same page b/c they were funny as hell together on the van.

We got back to the hotel and reconnected with JP in our room. For the next 90 minutes the four of us just caught up - talked about the big ticket items we felt he needed to be aware of in his real life, in the BB world, and society at large.

We then made our way to the hotel bar and as we walked into the elevator there was Jess (who had just taken Dean back to her room to pass out) - so we immediately started chatting (she's a sweetheart as well, friendly, bubbly, and adorable). Once at the bar we reconnected with Dustin/Darrick, Jen/Cara, Zach/his parents and SWEETS, Mike, Sarah and her sister (both of whom are gorgeous and incredibly friendly), Kail and her husband, Carol, Howie (another super nice and funny guy - he's howie), and a bunch of people from production. Eventually Vince, Lindsay, and Nick came down to join us (Dick and Dani were told they had to stay upstairs). The rest of the time in the bar is a bit blurry - i know i talked a lot with Vince/Lindsay, remember Eric/Jess trying to talk alone but constantly having people come up to them, meeting SWEETS, and Alex ending up at a table with Jen/Cara, Kail, and Carol (who spent 15 minutes ripping Eric apart to him as he tried to eat a slice of pizza). Sadly, they eventually kicked us all out of the bar to shut it down. Why on earth it shut at 2 am I don't get.

Our crew + Dustin/Derreck + Jess then went to Dustin's room where we kept drinking, showed them some BB stuff online, and just laughed a ton. Finally, at a little after 4 am Dustin decided to go out and meet some production people Eric/Jess went to the lobby to talk about AP, and the rest of us went to bed.

DAY TWO (btw, i am also shocked with how much i managed to remember):

This one is pretty easy to summarize briefly -

After sleeping no more than 3 hours, we got ready for the day - we met up with Jess/Dean/Tucker and decided to go to Universal studios since it was on the grounds of the hotel. As we entered the lobby we ran into Dick, Dani, and Nick. Dani turns and sees us and I blurt out "Hey" before realizing that she doesn't have a clue who I am - I felt like such a lame fan. (That was the extent of my interactions with Dani the entire weekend - I didn't see much of her and when i did she was usually with Nick and i wanted to respect their privacy.) We spoke to Nick for a little bit - talking about his moving to LA and possible plans for the evening. Then Eric took us over to Dick to introduce us (even though i had met Dick the night before) - we talked for about 5 minutes and he was friendly happy dick but he hadn't really slept and was wiped (i think they were just getting back from the early show). Brief ideas about evening plans were thrown around and that was that.

At Universal, we had a great time riding the rides, and just getting to hang out with eachother. Jess and Eric got stopped a ton to take pictures which was a bit odd, but they were very good sports. At one point we ended up on a line that snaked in a way that our group ended up directly next to Kail and her family. We all said hello to eachother and then Kail left her family to check out a nearby stand. Another awkward moment.

After leaving Universal when it closed our crew hung out in the hotel room and showed Eric the cbs popularity polls, the HOH blogs, the boot icons on sucks (i already mentioned he laughed about the sock - he also loved blobfish), etc. He started devouring everything but we had to break him away to get read for dinner.

Picked up Jess' crew and then headed to the lobby where we ran into Jen in the elevator on her way to dinner. Jen mentioned that she was rounding up people to go try to hit Les Deux (thanks to Boogie) and invited us to come along. However, with two underage people in the group we agreed that wasn't the right move for us. We went to universal city walk and had pretty solid tex-mex (well eric had dried chicken that resembled cat food, the rest of our food was solid) and drank up a storm. Then we debated out plan - some of us wanted to hit up the piano bar that was right above where we ate but others wanted to be somewhere a little quieter where we could hear eachother. (That bummed me out b/c i love drunken singing - and bummed me out even more the next day when i read another report which had Dick/Dani/Nick spending their night at that very bar.) Therefore we decided to buy alcohol, go back to the hotel, and all drink there. And drink we did until very early the next morning.

And that's that for Wednesday.