Enter the Sandman

While the hype was concentrated on the IOC session in Singapore, a niche group in particular were jumping in joy themselves.
After a long wait, Neil Gaiman finally made his way to Singapore the past week.
And the fans came out in throngs and I suspect Neil Gaiman might have started an even bigger following in Singapore.

I queued up on Tuesday, at Kinokuniya. The decision was made at the spur of the moment to skip class and head for Orchard instead. It was going to be my only chance to meet him considering I had rehearsals on Wednesday. And so, I strolled into Kino at 245pm and was greeted with a pretty long queue that had stretched into the Japanese comics section. And I was stuck there with a middle aged man who kept muttering to me and the guy in front of me that it was not necessary to get Neil Gaiman to write our names down in his autograph. Richard only saved me an hour later.

Anyhow, partly a reason for queueing up was because Lokman had gone for the press conference on Monday on moviexclusive.com assignment and his Sandman book was still with me. Heh. So, I felt guilty and realised the only I could make it up to him was to get the book signed. And there I was, in line with ONLY his book.

Neil Gaiman soon arrived at around 4pm and as the queue went on, we only managed to reach the table at 6pm! By then, the Kino staff were telling us we couldn't take pictures with him. And somehow, while in the queue, after much persuasion from Richard, felt that my notebook was the best bet. So, I whipped it out and flipped it to my poetry page. And at that moment, I knew that my life would be changed forever. Wahaha...

And then, the next best thing happened. This guy, Ray, who was standing in front of the middle aged man, saw me with my notebook and was inspired to take out his own personalised item. Mind you, it was his turn soon. Alas, one notebook inspired another and he whipped out his iBook! We were in awe lah! And the result was absolutely cool!
And the best part, SquareBrain.Net belongs to him!
So, to see the laptop in its full glory, proceed to http://squarebrain.net

And soon after, the unthinkable happened. My turn.

I greeted him and he responded of course. I explained that I was getting the first book signed for my friend Lokman, about feeling guilty and all and he said I was a nice guy. Wahaha.
And then, my notebook, I said to him, "Mr. Gaiman, this page marks the starting page of the section where I write my poetry and it would be the utmost honour if you were to sign it"
He smiled and he did just that. And then, it all ended.
Not before asking him for a handshake and him saying, "But of course!"

And I became a fanboy that day.
Yes Mei, you still can't believe Richard and I stood in line for about 3 hours to get an autograph.

But Neil Gaiman is a very nice chap. He made the effort to sign as much as he could for everyone who came to queue on both days. And I'm currently reading "Neverwhere" and you should too.

And thanks to his visit, Neil Gaiman could consider customising laptop covers after he stops writing. Leong Wan got the idea to do so too and got her sister to do it and Neil Gaiman did just that.
To see HER laptop, please proceed to http://poledra.diaryland.com

Wow, that was mighty long.

Oh yeah, the following are some pictures taken during the session. Enjoy!


Richard and Neil Gaiman

Richard was a very happy boy! And he liked this pic so much! Neil Gaiman signing his copy of "Death" and inscribed "Richard, Don't Die". Hahakz.


Me and Neil Gaiman


Fanboy and his Idol


Neil Gaiman making MY DAY!

And this pic captures perfectly what made my day.
From a writer to another, he signs my notebook,
makes it out to Shaiful.
And he says, "Keep Dreaming" there.
We're both in black, we're both looking down and his name is there on the board. Nice moment. Nice.

And guess what, I'm inspired to continue writing already!

Thank you Mr. Gaiman for coming!! Woohoo!