21-2-09 : The Fifteenth of February

I met Neil Gaimen. Oh my gosh how awesome! The writer of the Sandman comic book series, Coraline, Stardust, and Mirrormask, and I met him. How very cool for me. All I had to do was take the train down to the Capital where I would later take a trip by Laus with most awesome friend Tatske to ****** shopping centre’s cinema and...

I’ll spare you the details of how we got into a sold out screening of a certain movie but dudes...I met Neil Gaimen!! I just met him, I mean the chances of actually meeting him let alone getting a picture taken with him were kinda slim that night,
as the JDIFF interviewer pointed out , usually the ‘talent’ introduces the piece/film/etc then leaves but no, not Neil Gaimen, he actually stayed and watched the whole of Coraline then gave a little talk at the end...can you imagine, for the 15 short minutes and for the duration of the talk afterwards that I was in there, I was sharing a room with one of the most talented authors known to manki- okay known to me- but point is, I saw him, he was there.

That’s not all though, afterwards as he, Amanda Palmer, and Neil Jordan (hee-hee name-dropping) were being rushed out of the screen room me and my friend Tatske kinda ran after him and asked for a photo (well actually Tatske asked, I was a bit tongue tied all I managed to say was ‘Neil-, before he looked at me and my mouth just sorta froze) and he said “Alright just a quick one though, I’m really in a hurry,” and there it is, the picture we took.

Yeah I know really blurry an stuff, a bad angle too, and in hindsight I should have jumped in beside him seeing as Tatske was taking the picture, but I think I was just a little bit too starstruck to actually move. I mean Neil Gaimen-in the flesh- he even gave both of us hug! So I might be banned for life from a certain shopping centre’s cinema should they ever check their CCTV, but I met Neil Gaimen! For real!
He is actually quite down to earth for a guy whose living is to make up things.

Not to mention funny, sound...i.e. not a total sleazebag, interesting and quite pleasant really. Lame adjectives to describe a creative genius I know but I kinda screamed out all the words for Ode to Neil Gaimen on the streets of ****** and Sally Grove estate and cant quite remember them now.

I was totally in Awe.
I feel kind of silly now for scoffing at a girl in my history class who said she had received an email from Neil Gaimen, as my encounters with him in the Capital show, meeting with Neil Gaimen does not require the sacrifice of 10 young virgins or anything like that. Only a pair of feet, plenty of spare change, and an in depth knowledge of Neil Gaimens’ whereabouts.

Yours in all nerdiness,
Vincent

Du bist ein Idoit Vincent

When I woke up this morning my first thought was 'ahhh' , a contented ahhh you understand not one of pain or fear.
You see this morning i had no classes. Bieng in my last year of high school I have, at the end of the year, a very important test.To help students prepare for these tests, or maybe just to give them a kick up the arse that will get them studying, mock versions of this very important tests are held several months in advance. And so it is that i have no exams today until 13:10 which suits me just fine.
Of course being the geek I am i didn't reaally feel completely at ease with this break in habit.To calm myself down i decided to sort through my schoolbooks and guess what?

im such an idiot i went in because I had to return a book to one of my teachers so in I went and guess what? she wasn't in but two teachers including the vice-principal saw me which really ment according to my schools ridikulus rules, I would have to stay in the school and study there - but I cant do that. near exam time the panic that place instills in me is unglaublich( unbelievable)! So further idiot i was after runnig across the whole school, I dashed back to my locker to my stuff and went.

All the way back home i was kicking myself for my foolishness but then, just as my inner sadist was getting into a frenzy, i realised ; that its better these type of things to happen whilst your still young and foolish than when you're older and meant to know better.
i may get in trouble for today even though technically i had no reason to be in school and so by leaving again i wasn't ''playing hooky'' or ''mitching'' as they say here.
Still shit happens right?

yours in all nerdiness,
Vincent