Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Motion Graphics
Ok, so I've known this for a while. But since moving back to the city my desire and decision have been galvanized.
I want more school.
When I was in Graphic Design I was sure my next step was Industrial Design. But lately my itch has changed. I don't find myself designing toasters and salad spoons in my spare time as much anymore. I don't dream up ideas for a better toothbrush, or flashlight as much anymore.
No, lately, it's Motion Graphics and Interactive Multimedia that's tickling my fancy!
Ever since Nigel showed us that video that someone had made, where the type moves around to express a quote from Pulp Fiction. Lemme see if I can find it.
That video snapped something inside me when I first saw it.
It's brilliant!
I'm also loving the new Reese peanut butter cups commercial that's on right now that uses the same effect. It's gorgeous!
I can't believe I found that on YouTube! We live in the future!
Anyway, this stuff is amazing, and I really love it. So I keep thinking about it all the time. Even when I'm doing static designs I'm THINKING of them in dynamic terms.
But I don't think the solution to sate my hunger lies in just making dynamic type videos. I think it needs to evolved a step further. I think it needs to be interactive stuff.
I'm obsessed with how man interfaces with his machines in ever increasingly intimate and intuitive ways.
I REALLY want to design machine/human interfaces.
That's what I want to do to school for.
I want more school.
When I was in Graphic Design I was sure my next step was Industrial Design. But lately my itch has changed. I don't find myself designing toasters and salad spoons in my spare time as much anymore. I don't dream up ideas for a better toothbrush, or flashlight as much anymore.
No, lately, it's Motion Graphics and Interactive Multimedia that's tickling my fancy!
Ever since Nigel showed us that video that someone had made, where the type moves around to express a quote from Pulp Fiction. Lemme see if I can find it.
That video snapped something inside me when I first saw it.
It's brilliant!
I'm also loving the new Reese peanut butter cups commercial that's on right now that uses the same effect. It's gorgeous!
I can't believe I found that on YouTube! We live in the future!
Anyway, this stuff is amazing, and I really love it. So I keep thinking about it all the time. Even when I'm doing static designs I'm THINKING of them in dynamic terms.
But I don't think the solution to sate my hunger lies in just making dynamic type videos. I think it needs to evolved a step further. I think it needs to be interactive stuff.
I'm obsessed with how man interfaces with his machines in ever increasingly intimate and intuitive ways.
I REALLY want to design machine/human interfaces.
That's what I want to do to school for.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Coffee Cup Preachers?
So Ivan (my roommate) works for a big shot marketing company. Today he had a scheduling conflict that resulted in him not getting some StarFucks coffees delivered to a client that he was going to meet with. Long story short, roommie to the rescue and I made the delivery. I got a free Venti Double Shot Soy Carmel Maciato out of the deal, so it was well worth it.
Well, I have to admit, that I really enjoy Starbucks. I know I know. It's the devil. But dammit, it's pretty! Their design department churns out nothing but WIN all day long. I could just go sit in a Starbucks for hours soaking in all the gorgeous warm muted colours, and interesting contemporary applications of typography. For someone who hasn't been surrounded by it's all encompassing homogeneous douche-baggery his whole life, it's still very fresh and new.
So anyway. There are these silly preachy quotes on the sides of the coffee cups right now, and the one I got eerily echos the sentiments that came frothing and whipping out of me yesterday.
"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life" - Anne Morriss, Starbucks Customer
Now how do you like that for synchronicity?!
I must admit that Anne has a much better grasp of brevity then I. And no, I did not embellish. That is the actual quote on the cup (inner critic? She read my post!) and her name is actually Anne with an 'e'!
! SYNCHRONICITY !
Well, I have to admit, that I really enjoy Starbucks. I know I know. It's the devil. But dammit, it's pretty! Their design department churns out nothing but WIN all day long. I could just go sit in a Starbucks for hours soaking in all the gorgeous warm muted colours, and interesting contemporary applications of typography. For someone who hasn't been surrounded by it's all encompassing homogeneous douche-baggery his whole life, it's still very fresh and new.
So anyway. There are these silly preachy quotes on the sides of the coffee cups right now, and the one I got eerily echos the sentiments that came frothing and whipping out of me yesterday.
"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life" - Anne Morriss, Starbucks Customer
Now how do you like that for synchronicity?!
I must admit that Anne has a much better grasp of brevity then I. And no, I did not embellish. That is the actual quote on the cup (inner critic? She read my post!) and her name is actually Anne with an 'e'!
! SYNCHRONICITY !
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
He makes me look white, I know.
In PEI I always felt a little bit darker skinned then I really am. My Grandfather once said to me "Don't worry Boy, the Lebanese blood cells have killed off all those French ones!" and I believed him at my young age. I was always Lebanese. Truth be told, there's probably more French in me then anything. Along with a slew of other races. (Anglo, Germanian, Abodiginy, Francais, Acadian, Irelandish, Skirt-Wearing Tough Guys [Scottsman] etc etc etc.)
But mostly I'm white.
I now have a photo, that without question, finally puts to rest any ideas I had of myself being anything but white:
But enough long winded jokes about my lack of visibly identifiable race. And more about why I'm fortunate enough to have the spectacular photo above.
Anyone who's been reading my Blog on the regular (both of you!) know that I've been following LeVar Burton's meteoric rise to Internet notoriety for some weeks now. And a couple days ago, I may have even had contact with him online. After this brief contact I'd then written a spastic blog entry about how cool it would be to one day meet him.
Then, like the spiral of cream in the all revealing cup of coffee, things came full circle. Seemingly at random, LB announced he was arriving in Toronto within' a couple hours, and asked what would be a good bar to hold a Tweetup at.
Well, I pride myself in being very conscious of synchronicity. I take hunches that I have very seriously, and I listen to my instincts and piece together seemingly unrelated life events in an effort to un-scramble the deeper code I believe is embedded in everyday life. There are no coincidences. Only signals, signs, and markers. Instructions or suggestions on when and where to act can be found in everyday mundane occurrences. Like street signs and maps, but for Life. I've recently purchased one of those dash mounted GPS units that actually speaks instructions to you! (metaphorically speaking) That's how clear and loud my inner voice is getting as I age.
So I took this as a very serious sign from the Universe (LeVar coming to Toronto). I was being told that I was moving in the right direction, and needed to keep doing what I was doing.
See, for LeVar, yesterdays Tweetup was just a little simple experiment that someone who's also new to this wonderful world of instant communication decided to carry out. He was in Toronto filming an episode of "The Hour" with Strombo, and decided to take an hour out of his day to try something fresh!
So at around 4:45 he announced, on Twitter, that he would be at Hemmingways (the famous Australian pub where Russel Crowe beat on someone) in Yorkville. Yorkville is the trendy expensive place where Celebs hang out. It USED to be the artsy hippie spot where Joni Mitchell and the like would hang-10 back in the day. Before money got a hold of it. Now it's a celeb hot spot.
But I digress.
4:45 we get the call out. And he says the "Tweetup" is to happen at 5:15!
So I live in Mississauga. It's taken me more then two hours to get downtown all three times I've attempted to go in the month I've been back here. So I panicked. I called my boy Robb (Astroboy) and asked him his opinion. He's a Twitter Guru so I trusted him to know the rules of engagement a bit more then me. He encouraged me to Carpe Diem, and go!
This is where life's lesson was being broadcast at full volume.
TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOUR GIVEN, AND RUN WITH IT!
(Side Note: The Price is Right just came on. This is going to make this entry hard to write! LOL)
Ok, she didn't win the car. And it's a commercial, I can keep writing. I'm not interested in getting a free diabeetus tester anyway.
OK, so where was I.
Yes! I was out in Mississauga. Impossibly far away from downtown!
But I wasn't about to let that defeat me. I mean, I had JUST posted about how cool it would be to meet the Reading Rainbow guy days before, and here was an open invitation to go have a beer with him! THIS IS THE KINDS OF OPPORTUNITY ONE CAN NOT IGNORE.
So I quickly pulled myself together (read: put on pants) and started to think of how I could make this happen. I called around to a couple more people trying to see if anyone had any good ideas about how I could get downtown.
Suddenly, all of the fear and apprehension I had about my Van melted away. I hadn't driven it since going to Alcina street downtown, and getting the hundred dollar ticket. (and also getting spotted by the paparazzo! Amy B. whutup!) I'd had a shitty experience getting the Van out of downtown that day. It wouldn't start, and once I got it going, I had problems with the gas pedal and almost got it stuck on some streetcar tracks on St Clair street. Enough drama that I was scared into leaving it parked downstairs in the underground lot for the last 3 weeks or so. I was waiting until I had money to put into fixing her before driving her again.
But suddenly, with time a factor, and a once in a lifetime opportunity available, my apprehension melted away and revealed a nice looking chunk of bravery.
When I walked into the underground and saw the Van, I felt a pride I hadn't felt since I had first started driving it in PEI. My vehicle and I have a very deep connection, in that I think of it as much more then transportation. It's an extension of my character. And will only become more of one as my trip progresses. It seemed that the adventure of getting downtown to Toronto to meet LeVar Burton, was going to have positive ramifications that evolved far beyond the simple experience that meeting him actually was.
I consider myself blessed to be able to find these lessons hidden beneath the mundane and routine. So I find LOTS of them in situations as unique as this one was yesterday.
So I climb into the Van, and am immediately taken back to the 5 days I spent in it getting myself here. And it felt good. I MacGuyvered the pedal back together (wads of paper towel stuffed under the carpet to hold it in place) and fired her up! She started without much of a fuss, and I was off!
So, here I was, following some insane whim, dropping what I was doing at no notice, and tearing around in my VW Van. It felt really good. And it served as a very tangible and graphic reminder of why I was even here in the first place! I'm here building up my portfolio and skillset, so that I can continue on my journey across the country once the weather gets nicer. I had almost forgotten that! Almost. :^)
So I was on the horn with friends, Robb, and Rob, and Ivan, trying to find out where I should be driving, and what the fastest way downtown was! At this point it was only about 5pm. Shit happened fast! You can't seize the day in slow motion! So we figured out that driving to the end of the subway line in Toronto, parking, and taking the train in was the absolute fastest way to get me to Hemmingways. I was happy with that. Enough of a drive to make sure the battery was recharged after starting her, but not too far that I'm going to be risking getting into too much trouble. (no trying to find parking downtown was the biggest sales point on this plan!)
Now this is where things start to get frighteningly synchronous. It just so happens that when I called Ivan, I was on a street that would take me nearly directly to the station! Burnhamthorpe meets up with Kipling, and Kipling is where the station is! One turn only! So solid! (Peej, your on the right street, just take that straight to Kipling!) So this street Burnhamthorpe was familiar for some reason, and it wasn't long before I figured it out. Within minutes I saw a sign saying "Welcome to Toronto" and the neighborhood looked oddly familiar. I came up over a hill and saw the Canada Bread Building. Also known as the Lavalife building!
So the route, unplanned as it was, just so happened to turn into the EXACT ROUTE I TOOK TO AND FROM WORK FOR TWO YEARS WHEN I WORKED AT LAVALIFE!
So on my way to discover and experience something completely out of the ordinary and new, life decided to remind me of exactly how far I've come! I passed it all. The building I worked in. The bus stop I used to wait at after work. The station I used to ride to. The Loblaws I used to have to RUN to get to in order to buy some lunch in my inhumane 1/2 hour lunchbreak. It was insane! I barely had time to take it all in as I rushed to get to the Subway.
But the lesson was not lost on me.
Look how far you've come? More then 6 years! You went from Working at a club in Toronto in 2001, to working at a Subway as a sandwich artist in Stratford PEI. Then back here to work in a shitty call center for two years in 2002, only to leave that shiteous job in lieu of going back to PEI for school! 4 years in PEI, and here I am, DRIVING the route I used to Bus, in MY VERY OWN bus! With my camera, and my education behind me. The world at my fingertips!
It was a fucking deep head trip for sure. I soaked it in and let it pour over the firey heat of my excitement. It balanced me out and a calm washed over me as I navigated the busy city streets on my way to the Subway station.
This was about a lot more then getting downtown to meet some celebrity that I'd adored since childhood. (Reading Rainbow was fucking BOMB people. You all know it!)
This was about me trusting that no matter how silly they may seem when I look at them under the auspices of the judgment of others, my instincts are generally fucking BANG ON. And that no matter how insane or innate my whims may seem on the outset, they are all gifts from the divine that I must take with a thankful and humble appreciation. I can't ignore any of my feelings, no matter how silly or nonsensical they first seem.
I wrote that entry last week KNOWING there was more to it then even I could forsee. It's just that at the time these things happen, they seem silly. I was ranting and raving like a lunatic about LeVar fucking Burton. LeVar Burton? How random? What possible chance could I have foreseen last week when I had imagined meeting him? How the fuck could I have known, that by imagining sitting and having a beer with this person, and then committing the idea to words, that I was actually manifesting it as my destiny?
I won't apologize for this belief anymore. I've been around the sun 28 times now, and I'm starting to be able to see the patterns as, and even sometimes before, they happen.
Fate? No, not really. I don't think it's fate in the sense that most people think of the word. Fate seems like a cop out to me. Things don't just HAPPEN to me. I MAKE things happen to me. Every decision matters. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Anything you can imagine, you can create. And your life is a mass product of the sum of each of your daily decisions. Nothing more, nothing less.
So I make it to Kipling station by about 5:25, and hop on the train. The train ride lasts forever, but I had some good music.
I come out of the Subway with the worlds biggest goofiest smile on, and walked proudly through Yorkville. I didn't know where Hemmingways was along the 2-3 streets that make up the Yorkville area, but I just walked. I trusted my instincts, and voila, there it was at the end of the street I picked!
In I walked, and the place was dead. About 15 people scattered around the various booths, and a lonely two at each end of the bar.
Seeing my puzzled and slightly panicked look, and my camera bag, the hot blond server said "Looking for someone?"
Yes I am!
"They're just upstairs"
There's an upstairs! Great! I'm not too late then!
I got to the staircase and looked up and immediately knew I'd made it. A swarm of nerds surrounded what I knew must have been him, despite not being able to see him through the crowd yet. I got to the top of the stairs, and what I had envisioned the week before, was now galvanized into tangible palpable reality.
I SAW IT HAPPEN IN MY MIND LAST WEEK. AND THERE I WAS, LIVING THE ACTUAL SCENE I'D IMAGINED! FROM DREAM TO REALITY! JUST LIKE THAT!
I could never have KNOWN when I wrote that last week that it would really happen. But it FELT right when I wrote it. Does that make sense? Last week it was just a hunch. A feeling. A tingle in the back of my mind that I couldn't ignore. Again, you fly around the sun enough times, and you start to be able to see the patterns. And sometimes, you can even foresee some things before they hit.
I believe I foresaw this.
So I calmly, and with big smiles, pulled my Canon out of my bag, and snapped a couple candid shots of LeVar interacting with the other Tweeters.
This is where another big lesson was learned.
LeVar had originally informed us he would be in Toronto yesterday morning. His first post mentioning a possible Tweetup had been at 10am. I had PLENTY of notice to get ready. But the fear, kept me from admitting to myself that this was real. That what I had imagined could really come to fruition so quickly. We're trained to think this stuff can't really happen this easily. That the world goes by with or without our input, and that we're just passengers on spaceship earth, barely in control of our own pre-determined destinies. This is bullshit. But it's the status quo, and the generally accepted reality. So even for me, sometimes the obvious signals get ignored. Because it's a scary concept, to be in complete control of your destiny. It's so much easier to take a back seat, and leave all responsibility up to "fate" or "luck".
I think that's a cop out. Luck. Pffft.
So anyway, I ignored my instinct, out of fear and disbelief, and made up an excuse why I shouldn't get myself ready and get myself downtown camera in hand. I told myself "I don't have an iPhone or a Blackberry, so if I get downtown, I won't be able to check my Twitter, and won't be able to find out exactly when and where he will be!"
IDIOT! He said Yorkville, it's not that fucking big! Bring your laptop and steal some fucking WiFi! Don't have an iPhone? What a terrible excuse not to seize an opportunity!
Anyway, so I spent the whole day doubting that this was real, and didn't get ready.
Lesson being this: I snapped a couple candid portraits, only to realize, that I had no memory card in my SLR.
Yeah.
Foreal.
He told us he was coming in the morning, and instead of getting my camera charged, loaded, and ready to work hard, I left it up to chance, and waited for LeVar to give out the REAL order to come meet up. PFFT! I sat around at home all day, working on design stuff, and waiting to see if he was really going to be downtown, or if I was really meant to meet him. A temporary lapse in confidence, and a moment of self conscious doubt, and as a result, I'm not able to maximize the potential of this event!
Instead of TRUSTING that my instinct had been correct the first time, and properly preparing for what had been generously laid out before me, I doubted the reality, and doubted my control over my reality. And I think I even expected him to extend a personal invitation for me to come take his picture or something. Like I didn't deserve to control the situation myself and just GO TAKE THE DAMN PICTURE! GO! BE THERE WAITING IN YORKVILLE! BE THE FIRST ONE TO MEET HIM! DO IT!
But no, I sat around and waited to make sure it was really going to happen.
This little bit of self doubt, resulted in me having to rush out of the apartment in a furry of insanity, and not realizing my memory cards were both out of my bag, and sitting on my desk next to my computer. Thus, not getting any REAL photos of this event.
It could have been more then it was! And I will take this as an invaluable lesson. I will let it eat away at me until I'm so bothered by this mistake, that I don't make it ever again!
So there I sat, with my useless camera in hand, and a dumb, slightly defeated smile on my face. I wasn't angry, or upset, because I knew this was part of the plan and that a bigger lesson was being taught to me here. I had to learn this ugly lesson the hard way.
"The next time life presents you with a blindingly wonderful opportunity, don't spend 4 hours questioning it's reality, waiting for a further sign. Take the FIRST sign, and run with it! Believe in yourself, and in your power to manifest your dreams, no matter how "silly" they may seem on the cosmic scale."
So I didn't let it bother me for too long. I knew I didn't have my memory card, and that I wasn't going to get the pic. A nice looking girl who was also crammed into the doorway at the top of the stairs says to me "Oh, are you a professional photographer?" in a delicious twist of irony. The Universe has an AWESOME dry sense of humor. LOL
I said "Not very professional today! I left my memory cards at home!"
The crowd parted and I didn't have time to properly put away my camera, so I stood there with it in my hand, as I was suddenly face to face with LB. He extended his hand, and a piercing stare, and we introduced ourselves.
I think handshakes are VERY important. If done correctly, they can totally make or break up the effectiveness of a meeting. The handshake and introduction for me, are paramount to success. If a person masters a proper handshake and introduction, then they can do anything or get anywhere in this life.
LeVar Burton's handshake game is top notch.
He's rolling up there with the best of the best as far as I'm concerned.
The shake was firm, but never hurt my hand. (I was wearing my fancy pinky ring that my sister gave me. The one with the the piece obsidian and the awesome swirly bits on it. I usually hurt my finger a LOT when I shake peoples hands while wearing this one. So it's miraculous that he didn't kill my finger!) He locked in SOLID eye contact and didn't break it until I'd said my full intro. Then, and this floored me, he held the handshake for the entire denouement after the initial intro. It wasn't awkward, or weird at all. It was a right fucking proper handshake. I mean, here's this famous actor, who has every reason to act like a superior douche by all societies pre-determined standards, and yet, he's so good with people, that he's making me believe that I'm just as important as he is! He's paying me the same respect and attention that he would want anyone to pay him at this very moment. I was elated.
I'm VERY proud of how I handled it from this point.
I didn't mention Star Trek. (despite having seen EVER episode and being a huge fan)
I didn't tell him I loved Reading Rainbow. (despite the fact that I REALLY did)
I didn't tell him he was my favorite anything, or the best something something ever.
I just thanked him for inviting us, and told him that he was the reason I had a twitter account.
I had no intentions of telling him ANYTHING other then hello, and thank you. But the man was genuinely (or at least professionally good at making me feel that he was) interested in who I was and what had brought me out to see him.
"LeVar it's great to meet you, Sir, I'm PJ".
There's something magical about when two people both know the value of a good handshake. It's the same feeling as when two people who work in a call center talk business to each other on the phone. A kind of perfect flow and mutual understanding and respect. Or when someone who works as a server, or bartender, goes out and gets served by someone else. It's this understanding and a respect for the other person that enhances the interaction, and gives it a very satisfying smoothness.
Shaking hands with LeVar Burton felt just like this.
So he got much more of my story out of me then I ever expected he be interested in.
Still holding on to my hand, and again, not in an awkward way whatsoever, he repeated my name to me.
"PJ"
ThePeej I said.
"ThePeej" he said slowly, while searching his mind for the thing that would make him remember who I was. This was the first time his eyes strayed away from mine, as he riffled through his brain looking for the connection. I knew he didn't know who I was yet, and didn't expect him too, but this was part of my presentation...
I'm the guy who told you about someone wearing a Reading Rainbow teeshirt on the Price is Right.
His eyes LIT UP!
"OOOOOOoooooh!! YES! PJ!!!! WOW!"
He squeezed my hand a little bit harder before letting go so that he could move around and become more physically animated over having made a tangible connection to who I was.
"PJ, that was such an amazing moment! You were the FIRST PERSON to tell me about that! The first one! That was so incredible!"
He said it with the same passion for discovery that used to enthrall me on Reading Rainbow. How he'd really connect with the person he was talking to or intervieing. And seemed genuinly excited about what they had to show him.
At THIS point I had to step back and just smile. In a way I felt like I had to get the fuck out of there because it was going TOO well.
We were surrounded by about 30 Twitter nerds, all going apeshit on their iPhones, snapping pics and updating their Twitter feeds.
I was torn, because he was holding a beer, and I wasn't, yet I had his undivided attention. My vision was of me having a beer WITH him. Also, fearing I might start to ramble a bit, I told him I was going to grab a beer, so we could have a cheers and another chat to which he smiled and agreed. I moved to the bar, leaving him free to touch more people with his kindness and enlightening approachability.
I went up to the bartender (another smokin' hot blond of course) and told her I'd like to have a pint of whatever beer LeVar is drinking.
"Who's LeVar?"
My inner Nerd died for a second, and I realized how really OLD and NERDY I am. What was she, 21, 22 tops? Despite my nice clothes, trendy haircut, and well kempt facial hair, I was really just another GEEK freaking out over the sight of a famous person. LOL
I told her never mind, and ordered an Amsterdam Blond.
MMmmmm.
Amsterdam Blond! Funny, I like blond beer, and brunette girls.
Anyway...
Fighting my way back over to LeVar was tough. I took my time. I wanted to make sure I was engaging and personable, but without fawning and geeking, and being obtrusive and rehearsed.
So I saddled back up near him after he'd had his picture taken with a few more people. There was a TV camera, and a seemingly never ending slew of Tweeters coming up the stairs to introduce themselves.
One was even heard to say "You were my favorite visually impaired character on Star Trek!"
No, you did not just say that to LeVar Burton. Oh my god. Brilliant. LOL
At this point I was standing right behind him, and he was energizing the crowd. He dropped a couple "Make sure to tip the bartender" followed by cheers from the Massive. It was awesome. I was loving it. And he was clearly enjoying himself too, which was great. Everyone was smiling so much and really enjoying the spontaneity and seemingly random surrealism of the moment.
My inner douche saw an opportunity during the conversation and I ran with it! Someone made the snafu of asking him where he was staying. To which he smoothly replied "that I'm not telling you" which was then met by nervous awkward laughs. Someone else asked how long he was in town, and he said only until tomorrow.
Again, the inner douche saw an opening, and had to take it.
"What, you don't want to stick around for this gorgeous weather were having? It's just getting nice out!"
The lowest of the low. Weather jokes.
Oh god.
IT WORKED! The crowd all guffawed, and he turned around! HAHA!!
"No no, I think I'm ok going back to the Sun in L.A.!"
Beer in hand, and triumphant, I struck up another convo:
"So I have to ask, the deal you inked to distribute more Reading Rainbow shirts, was that something you had rolling before the episode of Price aired?"
"Yeah yeah! I've been working on that for a while. So it was totally crazy and synchronous that you mentioned that to me on that day. I had literally just finished inking the distribution deal. So what's your thing? Your a photographer?"
Yes well...
And I explained as briefly as possible that I'm on a photographic journey across the country. And that I had planned for some time to make Twitter a big part of the promotion of my trip. I told him that seeing him command the crowd at the Diggnation party was what prompted me to finally set up my account so I could follow him. But that it had evolved into what it was in just the right timing and setting. I thanked him for being so tangible, and for inspiring such amazing things as this Tweetup. He seemed genuinely as excited about the possibilities as I was. Someone else who I believe was with him, agent or something, offered to take my picture with him. I told them I'd forgotten my memory card in my haste to get downtown on time, but that I had my backup camera with me. I handed the guy my little point and shoot, and LB eagerly put his arm around me and smiled in anticipation of the flash.
Again, this is something I found really moving. This famous person, who has every right to be stand-off-ish, was making himself completely and 100% available and transparent. He was a real person. An honest to god, reach out and touch him, man. Not some silly quasi-royal figurehead that held himself up above the people.
Now I know he's not Britney Spears, or any of those MEGA stars. But he's still a star. And he's made a conscious decision to remain grounded in reality. He's on the cusp where he could, if he decided, be a famous asshole. But he, in full control of his fate, has DECIDED to be tangible and real.
I was moved by this, and let him know.
The crowd moved around some more, and I backed off to give a chance for other people to talk to and meet him. I sensed the beer he was holding would be his last, as he'd already been there entertaining the masses for over an hour.
As he was starting to wind things down, and get ready to leave I handed him a couple of my cards, and thanked him for his time again. "Thank you. And know that your seemingly small action has inspired some great movement! here, this is my card, it might give you a chance to remember me"
He looked at the card, and repeated my name several times. Pointed to the card and said "PJ, photographer, crossing the country, taking pictures. Driving across country and taking pictures. Thanks for coming, PJ, great to meet you!"
I pulled my Houdini act and slipped away unnoticed. I bounced down the street and back to the subway on cloud 9. The whole thing had taken less then 15 minutes from the time I walked in to Hemmingways, and to the time I was out and walking back to the Subway to go home. I had arrive JUST in time. Perfect.
How could I have ever known that something like this would happen? I couldn't have. But I believe in it as a possibility. I think that was the big difference, and the big lesson I took away from this experience. ANYTHING is possible, if you believe it.
I was rewarded in spades for my blind belief through how awesome and invigorating the actual meeting was. And also punished for my moments of self doubt. If I'd just believed in myself 100% then I'd have a roll of AMAZING and candid professional photos of this historic and epic event to show for it. But instead, I spent the day noooot quite believing that it was going to actually happen for me, and as a result, wasn't properly prepared for what life had to offer.
So lesson learned, be ready for ANYTHING. Because ANYTHING TRULY IS POSSIBLE.
Even as I write this, my inner doubt is pointing and laughing at me.
"how could anyone be so ridiculous as to pull such deep meaning and inspiration out of something so silly and geeky? Erase this stupid rant and do something more productive and realistic with your time. Stop being such a flighty looser"
That's what the inner critic says.
Fuck the critic.
My inner Dreamer sings a sweeter song, speaks in rhyme form, and is a hellova lot funner at parties! So Go Fuck Yourself inner Critic! You're the reason I don't have a roll of awesome candid shots of the LeVar Burton Toronto Tweetup!
See if I listen to your stupid doubtful ass again!
No, I'm posting this entry. And I'm making no apologies for it!
I'm a long winded, flighty, unrealistic dreamer, with a penchant for epic blog entries. And there's no amount of self doubt that's gonna rid me of that anytime soon!
Meeting LeVar Burton was an awesome, heartwarming, and inspiring blip, along the great journey I've been fortunate enough to hurl myself into.
It reminded me that everything is possible, and that dreams, no matter how seemingly silly, are all valid, and all tangible!
But you don't have to take my word for it!
:^)
But mostly I'm white.
I now have a photo, that without question, finally puts to rest any ideas I had of myself being anything but white:
But enough long winded jokes about my lack of visibly identifiable race. And more about why I'm fortunate enough to have the spectacular photo above.
Anyone who's been reading my Blog on the regular (both of you!) know that I've been following LeVar Burton's meteoric rise to Internet notoriety for some weeks now. And a couple days ago, I may have even had contact with him online. After this brief contact I'd then written a spastic blog entry about how cool it would be to one day meet him.
Then, like the spiral of cream in the all revealing cup of coffee, things came full circle. Seemingly at random, LB announced he was arriving in Toronto within' a couple hours, and asked what would be a good bar to hold a Tweetup at.
Well, I pride myself in being very conscious of synchronicity. I take hunches that I have very seriously, and I listen to my instincts and piece together seemingly unrelated life events in an effort to un-scramble the deeper code I believe is embedded in everyday life. There are no coincidences. Only signals, signs, and markers. Instructions or suggestions on when and where to act can be found in everyday mundane occurrences. Like street signs and maps, but for Life. I've recently purchased one of those dash mounted GPS units that actually speaks instructions to you! (metaphorically speaking) That's how clear and loud my inner voice is getting as I age.
So I took this as a very serious sign from the Universe (LeVar coming to Toronto). I was being told that I was moving in the right direction, and needed to keep doing what I was doing.
See, for LeVar, yesterdays Tweetup was just a little simple experiment that someone who's also new to this wonderful world of instant communication decided to carry out. He was in Toronto filming an episode of "The Hour" with Strombo, and decided to take an hour out of his day to try something fresh!
So at around 4:45 he announced, on Twitter, that he would be at Hemmingways (the famous Australian pub where Russel Crowe beat on someone) in Yorkville. Yorkville is the trendy expensive place where Celebs hang out. It USED to be the artsy hippie spot where Joni Mitchell and the like would hang-10 back in the day. Before money got a hold of it. Now it's a celeb hot spot.
But I digress.
4:45 we get the call out. And he says the "Tweetup" is to happen at 5:15!
So I live in Mississauga. It's taken me more then two hours to get downtown all three times I've attempted to go in the month I've been back here. So I panicked. I called my boy Robb (Astroboy) and asked him his opinion. He's a Twitter Guru so I trusted him to know the rules of engagement a bit more then me. He encouraged me to Carpe Diem, and go!
This is where life's lesson was being broadcast at full volume.
TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOUR GIVEN, AND RUN WITH IT!
(Side Note: The Price is Right just came on. This is going to make this entry hard to write! LOL)
Ok, she didn't win the car. And it's a commercial, I can keep writing. I'm not interested in getting a free diabeetus tester anyway.
OK, so where was I.
Yes! I was out in Mississauga. Impossibly far away from downtown!
But I wasn't about to let that defeat me. I mean, I had JUST posted about how cool it would be to meet the Reading Rainbow guy days before, and here was an open invitation to go have a beer with him! THIS IS THE KINDS OF OPPORTUNITY ONE CAN NOT IGNORE.
So I quickly pulled myself together (read: put on pants) and started to think of how I could make this happen. I called around to a couple more people trying to see if anyone had any good ideas about how I could get downtown.
Suddenly, all of the fear and apprehension I had about my Van melted away. I hadn't driven it since going to Alcina street downtown, and getting the hundred dollar ticket. (and also getting spotted by the paparazzo! Amy B. whutup!) I'd had a shitty experience getting the Van out of downtown that day. It wouldn't start, and once I got it going, I had problems with the gas pedal and almost got it stuck on some streetcar tracks on St Clair street. Enough drama that I was scared into leaving it parked downstairs in the underground lot for the last 3 weeks or so. I was waiting until I had money to put into fixing her before driving her again.
But suddenly, with time a factor, and a once in a lifetime opportunity available, my apprehension melted away and revealed a nice looking chunk of bravery.
When I walked into the underground and saw the Van, I felt a pride I hadn't felt since I had first started driving it in PEI. My vehicle and I have a very deep connection, in that I think of it as much more then transportation. It's an extension of my character. And will only become more of one as my trip progresses. It seemed that the adventure of getting downtown to Toronto to meet LeVar Burton, was going to have positive ramifications that evolved far beyond the simple experience that meeting him actually was.
I consider myself blessed to be able to find these lessons hidden beneath the mundane and routine. So I find LOTS of them in situations as unique as this one was yesterday.
So I climb into the Van, and am immediately taken back to the 5 days I spent in it getting myself here. And it felt good. I MacGuyvered the pedal back together (wads of paper towel stuffed under the carpet to hold it in place) and fired her up! She started without much of a fuss, and I was off!
So, here I was, following some insane whim, dropping what I was doing at no notice, and tearing around in my VW Van. It felt really good. And it served as a very tangible and graphic reminder of why I was even here in the first place! I'm here building up my portfolio and skillset, so that I can continue on my journey across the country once the weather gets nicer. I had almost forgotten that! Almost. :^)
So I was on the horn with friends, Robb, and Rob, and Ivan, trying to find out where I should be driving, and what the fastest way downtown was! At this point it was only about 5pm. Shit happened fast! You can't seize the day in slow motion! So we figured out that driving to the end of the subway line in Toronto, parking, and taking the train in was the absolute fastest way to get me to Hemmingways. I was happy with that. Enough of a drive to make sure the battery was recharged after starting her, but not too far that I'm going to be risking getting into too much trouble. (no trying to find parking downtown was the biggest sales point on this plan!)
Now this is where things start to get frighteningly synchronous. It just so happens that when I called Ivan, I was on a street that would take me nearly directly to the station! Burnhamthorpe meets up with Kipling, and Kipling is where the station is! One turn only! So solid! (Peej, your on the right street, just take that straight to Kipling!) So this street Burnhamthorpe was familiar for some reason, and it wasn't long before I figured it out. Within minutes I saw a sign saying "Welcome to Toronto" and the neighborhood looked oddly familiar. I came up over a hill and saw the Canada Bread Building. Also known as the Lavalife building!
So the route, unplanned as it was, just so happened to turn into the EXACT ROUTE I TOOK TO AND FROM WORK FOR TWO YEARS WHEN I WORKED AT LAVALIFE!
So on my way to discover and experience something completely out of the ordinary and new, life decided to remind me of exactly how far I've come! I passed it all. The building I worked in. The bus stop I used to wait at after work. The station I used to ride to. The Loblaws I used to have to RUN to get to in order to buy some lunch in my inhumane 1/2 hour lunchbreak. It was insane! I barely had time to take it all in as I rushed to get to the Subway.
But the lesson was not lost on me.
Look how far you've come? More then 6 years! You went from Working at a club in Toronto in 2001, to working at a Subway as a sandwich artist in Stratford PEI. Then back here to work in a shitty call center for two years in 2002, only to leave that shiteous job in lieu of going back to PEI for school! 4 years in PEI, and here I am, DRIVING the route I used to Bus, in MY VERY OWN bus! With my camera, and my education behind me. The world at my fingertips!
It was a fucking deep head trip for sure. I soaked it in and let it pour over the firey heat of my excitement. It balanced me out and a calm washed over me as I navigated the busy city streets on my way to the Subway station.
This was about a lot more then getting downtown to meet some celebrity that I'd adored since childhood. (Reading Rainbow was fucking BOMB people. You all know it!)
This was about me trusting that no matter how silly they may seem when I look at them under the auspices of the judgment of others, my instincts are generally fucking BANG ON. And that no matter how insane or innate my whims may seem on the outset, they are all gifts from the divine that I must take with a thankful and humble appreciation. I can't ignore any of my feelings, no matter how silly or nonsensical they first seem.
I wrote that entry last week KNOWING there was more to it then even I could forsee. It's just that at the time these things happen, they seem silly. I was ranting and raving like a lunatic about LeVar fucking Burton. LeVar Burton? How random? What possible chance could I have foreseen last week when I had imagined meeting him? How the fuck could I have known, that by imagining sitting and having a beer with this person, and then committing the idea to words, that I was actually manifesting it as my destiny?
I won't apologize for this belief anymore. I've been around the sun 28 times now, and I'm starting to be able to see the patterns as, and even sometimes before, they happen.
Fate? No, not really. I don't think it's fate in the sense that most people think of the word. Fate seems like a cop out to me. Things don't just HAPPEN to me. I MAKE things happen to me. Every decision matters. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Anything you can imagine, you can create. And your life is a mass product of the sum of each of your daily decisions. Nothing more, nothing less.
So I make it to Kipling station by about 5:25, and hop on the train. The train ride lasts forever, but I had some good music.
I come out of the Subway with the worlds biggest goofiest smile on, and walked proudly through Yorkville. I didn't know where Hemmingways was along the 2-3 streets that make up the Yorkville area, but I just walked. I trusted my instincts, and voila, there it was at the end of the street I picked!
In I walked, and the place was dead. About 15 people scattered around the various booths, and a lonely two at each end of the bar.
Seeing my puzzled and slightly panicked look, and my camera bag, the hot blond server said "Looking for someone?"
Yes I am!
"They're just upstairs"
There's an upstairs! Great! I'm not too late then!
I got to the staircase and looked up and immediately knew I'd made it. A swarm of nerds surrounded what I knew must have been him, despite not being able to see him through the crowd yet. I got to the top of the stairs, and what I had envisioned the week before, was now galvanized into tangible palpable reality.
I SAW IT HAPPEN IN MY MIND LAST WEEK. AND THERE I WAS, LIVING THE ACTUAL SCENE I'D IMAGINED! FROM DREAM TO REALITY! JUST LIKE THAT!
I could never have KNOWN when I wrote that last week that it would really happen. But it FELT right when I wrote it. Does that make sense? Last week it was just a hunch. A feeling. A tingle in the back of my mind that I couldn't ignore. Again, you fly around the sun enough times, and you start to be able to see the patterns. And sometimes, you can even foresee some things before they hit.
I believe I foresaw this.
So I calmly, and with big smiles, pulled my Canon out of my bag, and snapped a couple candid shots of LeVar interacting with the other Tweeters.
This is where another big lesson was learned.
LeVar had originally informed us he would be in Toronto yesterday morning. His first post mentioning a possible Tweetup had been at 10am. I had PLENTY of notice to get ready. But the fear, kept me from admitting to myself that this was real. That what I had imagined could really come to fruition so quickly. We're trained to think this stuff can't really happen this easily. That the world goes by with or without our input, and that we're just passengers on spaceship earth, barely in control of our own pre-determined destinies. This is bullshit. But it's the status quo, and the generally accepted reality. So even for me, sometimes the obvious signals get ignored. Because it's a scary concept, to be in complete control of your destiny. It's so much easier to take a back seat, and leave all responsibility up to "fate" or "luck".
I think that's a cop out. Luck. Pffft.
So anyway, I ignored my instinct, out of fear and disbelief, and made up an excuse why I shouldn't get myself ready and get myself downtown camera in hand. I told myself "I don't have an iPhone or a Blackberry, so if I get downtown, I won't be able to check my Twitter, and won't be able to find out exactly when and where he will be!"
IDIOT! He said Yorkville, it's not that fucking big! Bring your laptop and steal some fucking WiFi! Don't have an iPhone? What a terrible excuse not to seize an opportunity!
Anyway, so I spent the whole day doubting that this was real, and didn't get ready.
Lesson being this: I snapped a couple candid portraits, only to realize, that I had no memory card in my SLR.
Yeah.
Foreal.
He told us he was coming in the morning, and instead of getting my camera charged, loaded, and ready to work hard, I left it up to chance, and waited for LeVar to give out the REAL order to come meet up. PFFT! I sat around at home all day, working on design stuff, and waiting to see if he was really going to be downtown, or if I was really meant to meet him. A temporary lapse in confidence, and a moment of self conscious doubt, and as a result, I'm not able to maximize the potential of this event!
Instead of TRUSTING that my instinct had been correct the first time, and properly preparing for what had been generously laid out before me, I doubted the reality, and doubted my control over my reality. And I think I even expected him to extend a personal invitation for me to come take his picture or something. Like I didn't deserve to control the situation myself and just GO TAKE THE DAMN PICTURE! GO! BE THERE WAITING IN YORKVILLE! BE THE FIRST ONE TO MEET HIM! DO IT!
But no, I sat around and waited to make sure it was really going to happen.
This little bit of self doubt, resulted in me having to rush out of the apartment in a furry of insanity, and not realizing my memory cards were both out of my bag, and sitting on my desk next to my computer. Thus, not getting any REAL photos of this event.
It could have been more then it was! And I will take this as an invaluable lesson. I will let it eat away at me until I'm so bothered by this mistake, that I don't make it ever again!
So there I sat, with my useless camera in hand, and a dumb, slightly defeated smile on my face. I wasn't angry, or upset, because I knew this was part of the plan and that a bigger lesson was being taught to me here. I had to learn this ugly lesson the hard way.
"The next time life presents you with a blindingly wonderful opportunity, don't spend 4 hours questioning it's reality, waiting for a further sign. Take the FIRST sign, and run with it! Believe in yourself, and in your power to manifest your dreams, no matter how "silly" they may seem on the cosmic scale."
So I didn't let it bother me for too long. I knew I didn't have my memory card, and that I wasn't going to get the pic. A nice looking girl who was also crammed into the doorway at the top of the stairs says to me "Oh, are you a professional photographer?" in a delicious twist of irony. The Universe has an AWESOME dry sense of humor. LOL
I said "Not very professional today! I left my memory cards at home!"
The crowd parted and I didn't have time to properly put away my camera, so I stood there with it in my hand, as I was suddenly face to face with LB. He extended his hand, and a piercing stare, and we introduced ourselves.
I think handshakes are VERY important. If done correctly, they can totally make or break up the effectiveness of a meeting. The handshake and introduction for me, are paramount to success. If a person masters a proper handshake and introduction, then they can do anything or get anywhere in this life.
LeVar Burton's handshake game is top notch.
He's rolling up there with the best of the best as far as I'm concerned.
The shake was firm, but never hurt my hand. (I was wearing my fancy pinky ring that my sister gave me. The one with the the piece obsidian and the awesome swirly bits on it. I usually hurt my finger a LOT when I shake peoples hands while wearing this one. So it's miraculous that he didn't kill my finger!) He locked in SOLID eye contact and didn't break it until I'd said my full intro. Then, and this floored me, he held the handshake for the entire denouement after the initial intro. It wasn't awkward, or weird at all. It was a right fucking proper handshake. I mean, here's this famous actor, who has every reason to act like a superior douche by all societies pre-determined standards, and yet, he's so good with people, that he's making me believe that I'm just as important as he is! He's paying me the same respect and attention that he would want anyone to pay him at this very moment. I was elated.
I'm VERY proud of how I handled it from this point.
I didn't mention Star Trek. (despite having seen EVER episode and being a huge fan)
I didn't tell him I loved Reading Rainbow. (despite the fact that I REALLY did)
I didn't tell him he was my favorite anything, or the best something something ever.
I just thanked him for inviting us, and told him that he was the reason I had a twitter account.
I had no intentions of telling him ANYTHING other then hello, and thank you. But the man was genuinely (or at least professionally good at making me feel that he was) interested in who I was and what had brought me out to see him.
"LeVar it's great to meet you, Sir, I'm PJ".
There's something magical about when two people both know the value of a good handshake. It's the same feeling as when two people who work in a call center talk business to each other on the phone. A kind of perfect flow and mutual understanding and respect. Or when someone who works as a server, or bartender, goes out and gets served by someone else. It's this understanding and a respect for the other person that enhances the interaction, and gives it a very satisfying smoothness.
Shaking hands with LeVar Burton felt just like this.
So he got much more of my story out of me then I ever expected he be interested in.
Still holding on to my hand, and again, not in an awkward way whatsoever, he repeated my name to me.
"PJ"
ThePeej I said.
"ThePeej" he said slowly, while searching his mind for the thing that would make him remember who I was. This was the first time his eyes strayed away from mine, as he riffled through his brain looking for the connection. I knew he didn't know who I was yet, and didn't expect him too, but this was part of my presentation...
I'm the guy who told you about someone wearing a Reading Rainbow teeshirt on the Price is Right.
His eyes LIT UP!
"OOOOOOoooooh!! YES! PJ!!!! WOW!"
He squeezed my hand a little bit harder before letting go so that he could move around and become more physically animated over having made a tangible connection to who I was.
"PJ, that was such an amazing moment! You were the FIRST PERSON to tell me about that! The first one! That was so incredible!"
He said it with the same passion for discovery that used to enthrall me on Reading Rainbow. How he'd really connect with the person he was talking to or intervieing. And seemed genuinly excited about what they had to show him.
At THIS point I had to step back and just smile. In a way I felt like I had to get the fuck out of there because it was going TOO well.
We were surrounded by about 30 Twitter nerds, all going apeshit on their iPhones, snapping pics and updating their Twitter feeds.
I was torn, because he was holding a beer, and I wasn't, yet I had his undivided attention. My vision was of me having a beer WITH him. Also, fearing I might start to ramble a bit, I told him I was going to grab a beer, so we could have a cheers and another chat to which he smiled and agreed. I moved to the bar, leaving him free to touch more people with his kindness and enlightening approachability.
I went up to the bartender (another smokin' hot blond of course) and told her I'd like to have a pint of whatever beer LeVar is drinking.
"Who's LeVar?"
My inner Nerd died for a second, and I realized how really OLD and NERDY I am. What was she, 21, 22 tops? Despite my nice clothes, trendy haircut, and well kempt facial hair, I was really just another GEEK freaking out over the sight of a famous person. LOL
I told her never mind, and ordered an Amsterdam Blond.
MMmmmm.
Amsterdam Blond! Funny, I like blond beer, and brunette girls.
Anyway...
Fighting my way back over to LeVar was tough. I took my time. I wanted to make sure I was engaging and personable, but without fawning and geeking, and being obtrusive and rehearsed.
So I saddled back up near him after he'd had his picture taken with a few more people. There was a TV camera, and a seemingly never ending slew of Tweeters coming up the stairs to introduce themselves.
One was even heard to say "You were my favorite visually impaired character on Star Trek!"
No, you did not just say that to LeVar Burton. Oh my god. Brilliant. LOL
At this point I was standing right behind him, and he was energizing the crowd. He dropped a couple "Make sure to tip the bartender" followed by cheers from the Massive. It was awesome. I was loving it. And he was clearly enjoying himself too, which was great. Everyone was smiling so much and really enjoying the spontaneity and seemingly random surrealism of the moment.
My inner douche saw an opportunity during the conversation and I ran with it! Someone made the snafu of asking him where he was staying. To which he smoothly replied "that I'm not telling you" which was then met by nervous awkward laughs. Someone else asked how long he was in town, and he said only until tomorrow.
Again, the inner douche saw an opening, and had to take it.
"What, you don't want to stick around for this gorgeous weather were having? It's just getting nice out!"
The lowest of the low. Weather jokes.
Oh god.
IT WORKED! The crowd all guffawed, and he turned around! HAHA!!
"No no, I think I'm ok going back to the Sun in L.A.!"
Beer in hand, and triumphant, I struck up another convo:
"So I have to ask, the deal you inked to distribute more Reading Rainbow shirts, was that something you had rolling before the episode of Price aired?"
"Yeah yeah! I've been working on that for a while. So it was totally crazy and synchronous that you mentioned that to me on that day. I had literally just finished inking the distribution deal. So what's your thing? Your a photographer?"
Yes well...
And I explained as briefly as possible that I'm on a photographic journey across the country. And that I had planned for some time to make Twitter a big part of the promotion of my trip. I told him that seeing him command the crowd at the Diggnation party was what prompted me to finally set up my account so I could follow him. But that it had evolved into what it was in just the right timing and setting. I thanked him for being so tangible, and for inspiring such amazing things as this Tweetup. He seemed genuinely as excited about the possibilities as I was. Someone else who I believe was with him, agent or something, offered to take my picture with him. I told them I'd forgotten my memory card in my haste to get downtown on time, but that I had my backup camera with me. I handed the guy my little point and shoot, and LB eagerly put his arm around me and smiled in anticipation of the flash.
Again, this is something I found really moving. This famous person, who has every right to be stand-off-ish, was making himself completely and 100% available and transparent. He was a real person. An honest to god, reach out and touch him, man. Not some silly quasi-royal figurehead that held himself up above the people.
Now I know he's not Britney Spears, or any of those MEGA stars. But he's still a star. And he's made a conscious decision to remain grounded in reality. He's on the cusp where he could, if he decided, be a famous asshole. But he, in full control of his fate, has DECIDED to be tangible and real.
I was moved by this, and let him know.
The crowd moved around some more, and I backed off to give a chance for other people to talk to and meet him. I sensed the beer he was holding would be his last, as he'd already been there entertaining the masses for over an hour.
As he was starting to wind things down, and get ready to leave I handed him a couple of my cards, and thanked him for his time again. "Thank you. And know that your seemingly small action has inspired some great movement! here, this is my card, it might give you a chance to remember me"
He looked at the card, and repeated my name several times. Pointed to the card and said "PJ, photographer, crossing the country, taking pictures. Driving across country and taking pictures. Thanks for coming, PJ, great to meet you!"
I pulled my Houdini act and slipped away unnoticed. I bounced down the street and back to the subway on cloud 9. The whole thing had taken less then 15 minutes from the time I walked in to Hemmingways, and to the time I was out and walking back to the Subway to go home. I had arrive JUST in time. Perfect.
How could I have ever known that something like this would happen? I couldn't have. But I believe in it as a possibility. I think that was the big difference, and the big lesson I took away from this experience. ANYTHING is possible, if you believe it.
I was rewarded in spades for my blind belief through how awesome and invigorating the actual meeting was. And also punished for my moments of self doubt. If I'd just believed in myself 100% then I'd have a roll of AMAZING and candid professional photos of this historic and epic event to show for it. But instead, I spent the day noooot quite believing that it was going to actually happen for me, and as a result, wasn't properly prepared for what life had to offer.
So lesson learned, be ready for ANYTHING. Because ANYTHING TRULY IS POSSIBLE.
Even as I write this, my inner doubt is pointing and laughing at me.
"how could anyone be so ridiculous as to pull such deep meaning and inspiration out of something so silly and geeky? Erase this stupid rant and do something more productive and realistic with your time. Stop being such a flighty looser"
That's what the inner critic says.
Fuck the critic.
My inner Dreamer sings a sweeter song, speaks in rhyme form, and is a hellova lot funner at parties! So Go Fuck Yourself inner Critic! You're the reason I don't have a roll of awesome candid shots of the LeVar Burton Toronto Tweetup!
See if I listen to your stupid doubtful ass again!
No, I'm posting this entry. And I'm making no apologies for it!
I'm a long winded, flighty, unrealistic dreamer, with a penchant for epic blog entries. And there's no amount of self doubt that's gonna rid me of that anytime soon!
Meeting LeVar Burton was an awesome, heartwarming, and inspiring blip, along the great journey I've been fortunate enough to hurl myself into.
It reminded me that everything is possible, and that dreams, no matter how seemingly silly, are all valid, and all tangible!
But you don't have to take my word for it!
:^)
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