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Monday, July 15th, 2002, Day 5:
Everyone was gone but Emily, Troy and myself. Raj and Josh Dunn (who live in Ottawa) had gone home. Byron and Traci had both left yesterday. I got a wake up call for 4:50 am so that I could meet Emily down in the lobby at 5:30 am to tell her good-bye.
You know, you really never realize how scary a wake up call is until you experience one while having a semi-nightmare, while it's still dark out. Picture being in complete darkness, sound asleep...you hear the ring of the phone, which at this hour, is about 30 times louder than normal, and you scramble to pick it up, and when you finally find it, you hear loud symphony music blaring at you. Well, it freaked me out.
After getting dressed, but leaving my hair a mess, I went downstairs to meet Emily. She wasn't there yet, so I plopped down in a chair and watched a guy straighten newspapers he had just laid down and straightened. He offered me one, but I declined. 15 minutes later, I heard someone stomping down the stairs with a slight bump after each step. It was Emily, dragging her luggage behind her, decked out in a SlimeCon shirt and YCDTOTV cast/crew jacket. So, she walked over, called me crazy again for coming down that early, and proceeded to check out. I hung out and waited, until Emily asked me to go up to her room and get the box of bottles of green slime we had bottled the night before. Emily's room was #181, the last room at the end of the long hall on the 2nd floor. At 5:45 am, this is not something you want to take on. But, I did. I returned with the bottles of slime, and her gaffer's tape. She told me to take her gaffer's tape, but I asked her what the heck I would do with it, so she took it. She told the guy who was straightening newspapers to ship the box to her, and to call her a cab.
Soon thereafter, I thanked Emily for everything; for letting me be a part of SlimeCon in general and then she got me to carry her bag outside. I don't know whether or not I was awake...I was just walking. Even the trunk of the cab looked comfortable. After Emily set off, I came back in, and basically had to drag myself back up the stairs. I had planned to catch Troy as well as he came down, so I went back to my room. On the way there though, I left Troy a note next to one Emily left him infront of his door, just incase I wasn't able to catch him. I ate some peanuts I had, and drank some water as I waited. Next thing I knew, it was 11 am and my scary wake up call had returned. Good thing I left Troy a note.
After ordering some horrible spaghetti from Cheese Lovers Pizza, I went down to the lobby, and then down the flight of stairs I had previously gone down the day before with my yogurt I bought from Bozo, on my way to set up for the one man panel with Geoffrey Darby. As I rounded the corner from the stairs and proceeded to walk into the room, I couldn't help but think about how I was doing the same thing, around the same time, the previous day, but with everyone else. Now I was alone...the last man standing in Ottawa from SlimeCon, other than the locals. As I opened the door and turned on the light to the room we were in, I could still see everyone in there. I could still see Geoffrey Darby answering questions from the loyal fans who had traveled so far to get here. In reality though, nothing had changed since the day before. The pitchers of water and glasses were still on the back table. The chairs were still arranged as they were. The phone was still unplugged from when Emily unplugged it so that it wouldn't interrupt. The chair Geoffrey Darby sat in was still in the front of the room. I sat down for a moment, in the chair I had sat in the day before and looked around for a few seconds. I thought about how the room hadn't physically changed an inch...but all the magic was gone. I then got up and went back to my room. I grabbed my bags and said good-bye to my room. I went down stairs, bought a couple gifts at the gift shop, called for a cab, and was on my way. Good-bye Travelodge.
I arrived at the airport around 1 pm. My flight was to leave at 3:38 pm. After checking my baggage, going through customs, and checking my carryon bag, I was in the terminal, ready to rock. 30 minutes into waiting, a faint voice came on the intercom and said something about my flight number. I soon learned that my flight had been canceled.
With everyone in a frenzy, I wound up on the next flight to Chicago, at 5:38 pm. The flight from there to Houston left in the early 8:00 pm hour, which would put me in Houston around 11:15, which would mean I'd be getting home around 2 am. So, I got my new boarding passes and I waited...and waited...and waited. Finally, it was time to board. According to my itinerary, I wasn't going to be on a Fokker 100 jet again. I walked in to instantly recognize the horrible little plane. It was a Fokker. But, I was on my way home. I'd tough it out.
Well, we made it to Chicago ahead of schedule which gave me time to get something to eat at McDonalds. So, I waited in my terminal, while eating my McDonalds, and holding small talk with a middle aged guy next to me who constantly asked me questions about Texas. Finally, it was time to board. I held my breath that I wouldn't get frisked this time. I did. Again. Thanks Chicago O'Hare. It was over soon, and I was on my way back home. A feeling of sadness crept over me as I looked out the window, thinking of the place so far away I had only left hours ago, and about the people I spent the majority of my time with. I began thinking about the first day I arrived there in Ottawa, meeting everyone for the first time. So much had to be done, in so little time. I thought about how we never got to rehearse the game show...about how excited Jim was to find the firing squad post...about how none of us could keep a straight face during the last day when Josh was de-clothing the dummies...about how I wished the plane I was on was headed to Ottawa and that the adventure was just starting, not ending. I didn't hesitate to call the experience "life changing" in my own mind.
We were ahead of schedule again, and arrived in the Houston airport around 10:45 pm. I still wished we were landing in Ottawa for the first time. I wound up making it home (home being in Beaumont) around 2 am, and made it to bed around 4 am. It sunk in hard when I stepped in my house for the first time in almost a week that SlimeCon was finally over. The first thing I did, was do some mad searching for the three Trooper songs performed in the Whatever Turns You On pilot to listen to while I wrote this journal.
If you've made it this far, thank you. If you haven't, I guess you aren't reading this. I could be talking all kinds of trash on you on here and you'd never know. I'd like to end with one final word though, for Rodney Helal, the only cast member to stick with us all 3 days of the convention...K-BEKKKHHH!
Thoughts for the day:
Emily is demanding early in the morning
Chicago is a frisky city
I'd like to be in Ottawa
Thank goodness for SlimeCon 2004