My Great Adventure At The National Hardware Show In Las Vegas

Yesterday, I attended the National Hardware Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! I made several brief entries yesterday chronicling my adventure, but because of the nature of things, I had to keep things short. Here's the full and complete rundown!




A pleasant surprise!

Being a lifelong resident of Las Vegas, I was very excited to hear that Mike was going to be in my home town! When I arrived at the show, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I did know that Mike was going to be at the 3M booth sometime that day, so my husband and I immediately headed in that direction to scope out the scene. As I walked down the carpet to the large 3M display in the center of the convention space, I happened to notice a life size standee of Mike Holmes, arms folded and biceps bulging, from across the room. I hurried over to the standee in hopes of getting a picture with eerily lifelike cardboard cutout before the crowds filed in -- it was still rather early in the day, and relatively few people were walking the grounds. I stood in front of the standee, camera in hand, when suddenly I heard a familiar voice. I looked over my shoulder only to see Mike Holmes in the flesh meandering in front of the booth. He didn't notice me, but I sure noticed him! Something you should know, I'm rather shy. I don't like to bother people when they're working or busy, even Mike. Not really knowing what to do, I froze in my tracks and gawked, which caught the attention of one of his assistants. He looked at me and I smiled and pointed at Mike, not knowing what else to do or say. "I think someone wants to meet you," his assistant turned to him and said. Mike stopped what he was doing, turned around and walked towards me and my husband. He put out his hand and asked "What's your name?" I told him. "I came over here to take a picture with that," I said pointing to the cardboard cutout, "but then I saw you!" Mike smiled and said, "I left the overalls at home today." "That's ok," I answered, taking a moment to check out his outfit, which consisted of a dress shirt, jeans, and a sport coat. I wanted to tell him he looked very nice, but the words just wouldn't come. His assistant snapped a photo of all of us together using my iPhone, and we promised to be back for the main event at 1:30PM. He walked one way, and we took off in the opposite direction.




Take 2, Mike!

The convention was HUGE. So much stuff to look at, from electrical and plumbing, to gardening and pet supplies. It was really a massive event with thousands of exhibitors and tens of thousands of attendees. Since we had plenty of time to kill, we decided to walk the grounds and enjoy ourselves. We did eventually make it back to the Mike Holmes standee to sneak a photo. The standee was so lifelike that it was a little freaky to look at!

After a few hours of looking at the exhibitions, we made our way back to the 3M booth around 1PM, only to find that a line to meet Mike had already begun to form! We quickly found our place in line and sat tight. When Mike entered the room, everyone began to chatter and pick up their cell phones to snap a quick picture or two. It was really exciting to see how many people were there to meet Mike! When our turn came, he alluded to the fact that we had met earlier, and he asked me if I had gotten my photo with the standee. I told him I had, and my husband went up to take a photo with Mike. Apparently, I took a second too long for Mike's comfort, and he moved just as the camera went off. I yelled in a mock-scolding voice "You just totally biffed that picture, Mike!" He repositioned himself, and we took a better one. Then it was my turn. I started off by giving him a hug -- how could I resist? I then got in position for a photo with Mike, and somehow wound up with my head resting on his chest and shoulder. When I saw the picture later, I laughed because it looked so silly to me. I didn't do it on purpose, I was just trying to get a good photo!


Before we headed off to let the next person in line have his turn, I had one more thing to do. With me, I had a copy of the Make It Right 10th Anniversary Magazine, and I asked him to sign it for me. My husband also let him know that I was the person who made the "Mike Holmes Cartoon" for his birthday. At that point Mike, who was honestly looking a little tired (and understandably so), lit up. I told him that I was doing a sequel for his "big birthday" that was coming up ("My 25x2 birthday" he commented to me with a chuckle). I handed him an 8x10 photo of the teaser I made for the new cartoon I'm making and he smiled. After showing the photo to some of the people standing around him, he made sure to put it in a secure place on the table behind him, patting it with his hand as if to say, "I won't forget to take it with me when I leave!" He also gave me a very kind complement, saying that he was happy that he got to meet me. At that point, I was putty on the floor, so it was time to go and let the next person in line have his turn. I gathered my things and headed out, ready to leave for home. I came, I had a great time looking at all the exhibitions, I met Mike Holmes not once, but twice, and I was a happy girl wearing very uncomfortable shoes! Little did I know at that point, my day was far from over.



The picture I gave Mike

It was around 2PM as we were leaving. Being a girl, I had worn cute shoes that day, because I would never meet Mike Holmes wearing ugly shoes! Cute shoes are not always the most comfortable, and therefore, I wanted to have a sit before we made the long trek out to the car. Unfortunately, it was lunch time, and every seat in the conference center was occupied. My husband had an idea though. Coming in, he had seen a large concrete "curb" that ran the length of the walkway. We found the curb, and parked our behinds on it. As I sat down, my phone buzzed. Between Facebook, PM's, IM's, and this blog, people had a lot to say to me, and I had a lot to say to them! My husband and I took out our phones and began texting away. 45 minutes passed, and he asked me if I was ready to go home. "No, not yet," I said, dreading the mile hike to the parking lot. So we just sat there and talked, resting our feet. I pulled out my phone to answer a text message I had just received, when all of a sudden, a familiar face once again caught my eye. To my shock (and a little bit to my horror!) Mike Holmes was walking down the the isle, right in our direction. "Oh my gosh," I thought. "This guy is going to think I'm stalking him!"  I briefly contemplated ignoring him altogether, after all I'd already met him twice today, and I didn't want to be a nuisance. I was starting to feel like that song by The Police, and the last thing in the world I want to be is "that fan." That fan that always takes it a step too far. That fan who's on the watch list of people to look out for (and not in a good way!). That fan who doesn't quite know where to draw the line. I want to be as FAR AWAY from that fan as I can be! I looked back down at my phone, but it was too late, he saw me, and we made eye contact so I couldn't pretend I didn't see him. "Hello!" he said with a smile. I simply smiled and waved, a little embarrassed, but undeniably happy -- after all, Mike is my hero! He was on his way out, but seeing me must have jogged his memory. He stopped, mentioning something to his assistant about the picture I gave him, asking him if he had remembered to take it with him. After a moment of hesitation, his assistant answered in the affirmative. Even so, Mike took a few moments to look through his stuff just to make sure. I thought that was really nice of him to do.

After taking a few moments to Facebook about what had just happened, I asked my husband what he thought 3M was going to do with those life size standees that I had visited several times that day. An idea popped into my head, and because I was fairly sure that I was NOT going to see Mike Holmes again for the rest of the day, I went back to the 3M booth and found a guy wearing a 3M lanyard. I smiled and asked in a sweet little girl voice that usually gets me anything I want, "Whatcha gonna do with those? You're not going to throw them away are you?" The employee smiled back and said he didn't think they were going to throw them out, but if I wanted one I was going to have to come back the next day to ask a person who had already left for the evening. Darn it! Oh well, I thought to myself. Can't blame me for trying. Now it was time to go home, for real this time! I clutched all of my goodies I had accumulated that day and headed toward the nearest exit with my husband.




Mike's Interview

As we were walking, I spotted a man wearing a black tee that read "MYFIXITUPLIFE" in bold whiteletters. I stopped dead in my tracks, pointed at his shirt and yelled, "My Fit It Up Life!" The man was taken aback, and looked at me rather defensively. MyFixItUpLife, for all those who don't know, is a very popular home improvement radio show, hosted by a husband and wife team, Mark and Theresa, and the man I was talking to was none other than Mark! "Yeah, so?" he said, rather confused by my enthusiasm. "I love listening to that show!" His defensive posture instantly softened."Oh, yeah? We're here doing a show today," he said, "and we're interviewing Mike Holmes in about 20 minutes." My eyes lit up like Christmas. "Are you kidding me? I am a huge Mike Holmes fan! Can I come and watch?" "Sure you can!" he said, and he told us where they were going to be broadcasting. Now I was really worried that Mike was going to think I was stalking him, but there was no way in New Jersey I was going to pass up the opportunity to see Mike Holmes interviewed on my favorite radio talk show, not for anything in the world! So we made our way to the very back corner of the outdoor garden and barbecue section of the convention center. It was a beautifully mild day, sunny with a cool breeze, and I was losing my mind! I couldn't believe how lucky I was -- it was almost Divine how things just seemed to work out for me. Mike arrived shortly after they finished setting up, and my husband and I were excited to stand off to the side and watch. Mike gave a great interview, as usual. One of the questions that Mark and Theresa asked him was how he was able to handle being recognized by his fans everywhere he goes. I squinted my eyes a little bit, knowing the question was a loaded gun pointed right at my head, and Mike's finger was on the trigger. To paraphrase Mike, he stated that sometimes people are bold and come up to him to introduce themselves. He then looked dead at me and said (to paraphrase) "and sometimes people just stand in the background and stare at me, until I come over to them and ask them what their names are." To that, I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. What could I say, I was guilty as charged! Generally I'm pretty shy, and I don't feel comfortable bothering someone if they're busy or eating or working or even just having a relaxing stroll through the hardware convention. That's just my personality, and I'm happy that Mike is willing to accommodate that.



The infamous standee

After Mike's portion of the interview was over, he stood up, thanked the hosts and walked around the tiny space shaking hands, enjoying a Bud Light someone had brought him. I purposely excluded myself from the others going up to meet him because I had already had my moment with him, and I didn't want to monopolize his time. One of Mike's assistants, Seth [Atkins], who I later found out was one of the Holmes on Homes directors, approached me and asked me about the picture I had made for Mike, and we discussed my somewhat extensive background in cartooning. We also discussed Holmes Makes It Right, and he confirmed that indeed, it would be premiering in the USA on the DIY network this August. (Proud to say that the Holmes Spot was the FIRST to break that story!) In the middle of our conversation, Mike approached us. I looked at him and said, "I'm not trying to stalk you!" He laughed and said facetiously, "Oh, it's you again!" I continued, "I don't want to bother you, and I don't want to take up anymore of your time, so just pretend I'm not here!" Those were the last words I spoke to Mike that evening, and I hope he didn't think I was trying to be rude or curt. I was just trying to be respectful of his time and his personal space.

All in all, I had a great time at the Hardware Show. I got to meet my favorite person in the world, my hero, and the person who inspires me to want to be better everyday, Mike Holmes, and I got to do it in a rather unique sort of way. I sincerely hope that my love and admiration for this man was able to shine through the awkwardness. I'll definitely remember this day for the rest of my life and count it as a serendipitously one-of-a-kind experience!