Man, I had no idea how much it could suck being unemployed and having this kind of hobby (autograph collecting). I’d say I missed about half of the show’s attendees because of that, I just couldn’t get as much stuff.

One of the first Playmates I went to was India Allen. Hadn’t seen her in a while and she’s one of my favorites. I almost walked right past her because of her red hair. In my ignorance I thought it was a bad dye job but she said the blond/darker look in her Playboy pictorials *was* the dye job, her hair is naturally that light red color. She had sold the last one of her pictures that showed how much hair she lost from always dying it. Playboy’s decision, not hers. Apparently it’s more damaging for redheads to dye their hair like that. She looked good but aging (PMOY in ‘88, not a shock) but she’s still fantastic. And tall!

The theme seemed to be $20 for anything this time. I went to see Cheryl Bachman, another favorite. I wanted to get a few things but $20 for each signature, I could only get the Playmate Book signed. She looked fantastic, incredible legs and butt, her husband/boyfriend with her seemed very supportive and cool vs. creepy. I asked why she never really did much modeling after Playboy and she said she had owned/run a club in Miami for 12 years. She’s 40? I almost couldn’t tell.

Next was Stacy Arthur. $20 and no pics! Ok, this was getting weird. She looked good but obviously leaving modeling behind. She said she decided to do GC because she signed stuff for O’Neill in the past and he kept encouraging her to attend. I would encourage O’Neill to not bring models who will charge so much *and* refuse candid photos. Stacy had a very good reason for never doing autograph shows in the past, though. Her husband was killed by a stalker, I told her I was surprised she showed up at all after that, even this long after the tragedy. She was very sweet, she may do other GCs. I hope with a more fan-friendly attitude.

Maybe the most disappointing moment in my poor state was Karen Velez. She was one of my all-time faves. Therefore she was also charging $20 for each thing (that’s how my luck functions). I had 4 that I wanted signed but I couldn’t justify that, ended up with just the Playmate Book again. And, again, no pics. She said she’d been spending the years raising a family. Which included her stunning daughter Nikki. Wow, I thought she was really pretty in the CyberClub pics but she looked even better in person. Wish I could show somebody, but *she* refused pictures taken of her as well. What. The. Fuck.

I couldn’t take it anymore, ignored Sandra Theodore altogether. I went to the Main Squeeze Boas area. Aaaaaaah, that was more like it. Playmates who were *not* attempting to drive away all their business. Playmates laughing! And that’s *with* Doug hanging around wearing all black and looking stoic. Who knew.

Kara Monaco was sporting a short haircut and she look spectacular. Hair that short only really works on women who are legitimately pretty because there’s not enough hair to hide anything weird going on with the sides of the face or the jaw. She said she’s been doing a lot of modeling, not really Playboy/nude but stuff like she just did something for Sketchers, it should probably appear in magazines and probably in Sketchers stores, too. She also talked about the red wig she wore in the video game commercial with Hefner and all the Playmates (and his girlfriends)

. They didn’t let her keep the wig. I didn’t know she had extensions in her centerfold pic (to make her fine hair more full). I like her hair as is.

Tiffany Selby was next to her and also had similar short blonde hair, it’s been that way for around a year now. They looked like sisters. Really hot sisters. Anyway, she said she also has been doing a lot of modeling (no acting) but she is also doing makeup for models now.

I didn’t really get to talk to Deanna Brooks (she was very popular and busy both days) but she looked *amazing*! She is a prime example of someone who is legitimately pretty. She posed in ‘98 but looks like it was last year. Very slim but still curvy, great smile, friendly with fans. She should run a clinic for Playmates who attend autograph shows.

I didn’t get to talk to Grace Kim much, either. It seems that many of the fans who went to her were like me, wanting to see her when she was feeling better. Last time she was a trooper for showing up but was really under the weather, this time she looked great, cute dress on.

It was Heather Rene Smith’s turn to be sick. Good of her to show up as listed but I think she would have done herself a big favor by staying in bed. She (and Grace) had some great photos that they took with one of the Main Squeeze Boas snakes. I hope they do some more photoshoots like that, the pics were unique and well done.

Penelope Jimenez was back, she looked really good. She said she is still doing daycare (5-year-olds), going on three years now. It looks like she really enjoys it, has something like 30 kids now and like 4 people working for her. That would be a nice way ruin a kid’s expectations, haahaaha. Aren’t *all* my teachers supposed to be beautiful?

Vanessa Gleason had on a cute short dress and had her hair in pigtails which made her look very much like an indian squaw. She had some great new 8×10s of her wearing some sort of plaid underwear set, she said they were from her pictorial era. I love how she sometimes looks hispanic, sometimes white, sometimes… something else. She’s like another Brandi Brandt.

Christine Smith (Sun. only) is one of my favorites but that $20 pic thing stopped me from buying anything this time. She had her hair done in long curls, looked amazing. She was going around getting various Playmates to give her autographed pics for an auction she was participating in, a celeb auction to raise money for an orphanage in India. I hope she raises a lot of money.

Kimberly Phillips showed up on Sunday as well apparently because of Christine. And charged the same. I got her issue signed. In person she doesn’t look quite as much like AJ Alexander’s sister as she did in her pictorial. Still beautiful, though. She said she’s looking forward to doing more work with Playboy, she was a pre-school teacher but probably is done with that, want’s finish school. Can you imagine having Penelope followed by Kimberly as your teachers? Not fair. She wants to try acting, was very nice.

Kelley Thompson was the surprise of the show for me. I thought she looked really good in her pictorial, roundish features, but damn, in person she is unbelievable! She’s so pretty (wore a hot pencil skirt outfit) and nice. She wants to do more modeling and try acting. I told her she should definitely try acting, she has a look that work work well as a French or Eastern European character.

Speaking of French (Canadian), Sylvie Garant (Gauraan’) stunned me. I remember her being (to me) middle of the road for her year but in person she was so wonderful I found myself talking to her for like 15 minutes. She said she’d modeled before Playboy and started up again about a year after her pictorial, never dealt with the stigma that many Playmates deal with (she did work for Sears catalog, nobody cared she’d posed nude), did modeling for Buick, quit at 30. Such a beautiful face, wonderful smile, a true beauty. We talked about how many young, beautiful women wear too much makeup and end up looking less stunning than if they ramped it back. I hope she does another GC.

Patti McGuire was a joy as well. Of course the $25 dollar deal hurt but she was great to talk to. She said she spent most of the years raising a family (her daughter was there, pretty in a Tiffany way) and, for the last 4 years, been doing ballroom dancing, including competitions. At the behest of her instructor. She has yet to talk to Barbara Moore to compare notes, though. We talked about the ridiculousness of the judging on “Dancing With The Stars”. Crappy dancers should lose, plain and simple.

Ida Ljungquist was only there Saturday, she was wearing a tight knit blue dress that made her curves stand out like a Show magazine pictorial. Wow! She said she’s living in L.A. now.

Juliette Frette’ looked fantastic both days. She said her book is still pending, who knows with the publishing industry when it will be done and published. She likes her job as one of the Women’s Issues Examiner at www.examiner.com and most of her readers seem to be men. Haahaha, you don’t say. I think she’s a great writer for that site.

Ava Fabian was next to her looking stunning. She was telling me about her family’s background (Italian/Greek) and her grandfather getting to this country. She says that now she is one of the people who coordinates events at the Mansion.

Tiffany Taylor may now be my favorite Playmate of all time. Tied, at least. Not only is she perfectly beautiful but she’s so nice! I mentioned her neck (whiplash) and hoped it was better and we got to talking about my roommate who has the same problem (neck pain, migraines, fatigue, thyroid, etc.) and Tiffany gave me a bunch of advice to give her, including phone numbers for two doctors she’s used. She didn’t have to do that, I can’t thank her enough. If she’d wanted Hairball dipped in molten bronze to use as the base for a floor lamp he would have never made it out of that room, laws be damned.

There were a few models there who really stood out. Nikita Esco http://www.modelmayhem.com/20216 said she’s half Chinese, half French, she had the most amazing eyes, like she could be Kristin Kreuk’s sister. Been modeling for 5 years, mostly the tuner car scene, wants to branch out. There was some modeling show on a stage at the back that included Charlie Kristine and Alexah Adams, two stunning blondes and all the models were wearing some really sexy outfits by Hoss International. He’ll make anything you want and his creations will make any girl look out of this world.

Missed a lot of Playmates due to time and money. Brande Roderick looked stunning as always, Christi Shake looks like she lost about 15 pounds, looked fantastic and had her hair dyed more of a wine color (vs. last GC being more red), Kathy Shower is another woman like Deanna who just stays beautiful, Angel Boris looked as good as she ever has, Michelle McLaughlin had subtle but hot look, I wish I’d had a third day there. I think Hiromi was the only real no-show and she was sick so that was understandable.

This was, minus the repeated shocks from a few Playmate’s rates, a great show. Lots of new (to me) Playmates, some that I hadn’t seen in a while, almost all the non-Playmate models were attractive, too. It was great talking to/seeing the PMLers (Dan, Hairball, Peggy, Doug, Eric, etc.), I learned a lot about photography that I didn’t expect to hear, I’m glad I live in this city, that’s for sure.

Alfred.