+Part 1: Apolo in Baltimore - By Monica

May 9, 2003  

    Wow. What I wonderful and interesting Friday I had! My day started at 7:55 with my eyes flying wide open because I thought I had forgotten to set my  alarm! At 8:15 am, the time I was set to wake up, my alarm goes off, but I  was already in the shower, ho hum. My mind was racing a mile a minute  thinking about what I was going to ask/say to Apolo when I got see him.
 
Fast Forward.
      10:25 AM, I arrive at the Convention Center, put my canned foods donation into the container, get my Rite Aide Expo bag and start looking for Apolo! Haha! I found my way to the staging area and get in a line, I'm not sure if
 it's the line for Apolo, but I stand there for a while anyway. Then, out in  the sitting area, I spot Noelle! I get out of line and head over to the  sitting area and say hi to Noelle, Tiasha (a B-more girl), Butta ( Canada's
 finest!), Crash, Denise, Linda, and Dani. I take a sit in the front  row...so I can get a good view of the "Thigh Masta"
 
 The "interviewer" guy came on stage, did a little monologue...then  introduced Apolo!!!! Oh ladies, talk about GORGEOUS! I thought was going to  faint!!! The air got thin, my heart was racing, and I was soooo glad I
was  there! LOL! The interview guy was nice and asked Apolo how he liked  Baltimore...Apolo said he liked it...he has a friend (or two) who lives in  the area. Anyway, I was sitting in the front row, next to my new best friend Butta, and she and I pretty much just tripped out! Butta is a lot of  fun to sit next to...LOL! When the interviewer asked Apolo if he knew he  was a "sex symbol"...Apolo was shy about answering...and Butta and I
yelled  out "yes" and the guy said, "just say yes" and Apolo modestly said "yes"  with a sigh! I could tell he was a little bit uncomfortable about that
 question because he doesn't see himself as a sex symbol, but of course we  ladies know! We know, we know! LOL!! Oh, Apolo has a great sense of humor!
        When Crash asked him what his "rap name" would be he said he didn't know,  but he say that his nickname is Chunky, it was Chunky A (for a soup brand in Seattle) when he was younger ( a buddy in Seattle started the
nickname),  but now he's called Chunky or Chunks. He was funny!

 
 One of the things I noticed about this appearance, then the one in NY, was  that Apolo was more relaxed. NY's appearance went by so fast and it was  over in a blink, but this time it wasn't as hurried. There was a time
thing  here, but that's usual, but in NY it was just FAST, like Short Track, but  without the ice!
 
 When the Q&A ended, it was time for autographs and pictures...remember that  line I mentioned earlier? Well, that was the line for Apolo.....ugh! There  were already enough people in line, so when me, Butta, Crash, Noelle,
 Denise, etc, got in line. A guy working for the event walked up behind some  guy in line who was about 3 people in front of us...and "capped" the  line!!! I was like what the freak!? Why, why, why! When we asked "event  guy" what was going on, he said something about how long all the  celebrities are allow to sign autographs, blah, blah, blah! So with that,  my first chance to get a picture and autograph with Apolo was gone. But fear not fair ladies! There was a second appearance @ 1:10pm......
 

--->Part 2