You want to hear about an experience I had
recently that scared me? Well… here it is.
8am:
I woke up, brushed my teeth, spent a moment
staring at myself in the mirror and wondering how my hair manages to so aptly
defy the laws of physics with mad professor efficiency.
9am:
Got in my car, which runs on hope more than
petrol or functioning engine parts, and started driving to an open day. You may
think open days are just a school thing, but universities and businesses and
everything have them to. As it happens, I finish my degree at the end of the
year, and still have big giant pieces of work to do that are stressing me out
(OH MY GOD, SO MUCH WORK, WHY DO I KEEP SITTING AND PLAYING ‘OKAMI’!?!?!) and I
need to figure out what I’m doing next year. Work, or more studies, or take a
year off, who knows? The possibilities are endless, and they are all freaking
me out.
10am:
Parked, got out, ran into a really hot
friend from my UNI course who I thought was in the countryside, then wandered
around, admiring all the tv and film studio offices that were around, and then
arrived at the University. It’s not really so much of a university as a
training building for going into the industry with your specialisation.
10am-1pm:
Talked to people, tried to talk myself up
(which I suck at) tried to network a little bit, ran into some other people who
were hoping to go there, went to some talks and sessions, looked at films that
had been made in the past (a couple were great.) I wanted to stay longer, but I
had to go.
1pm:
At this point, my phone had been off charge
since 8 that morning, so for the last 5 hours, and usually it would be fine,
but I was using it as a GPS which tends to drain the battery.
2pm:
After getting a little loss, arguing with
my GPS/phone about which of us was worse about finding directions, and almost
crashing into another crew member, I finally arrived at our filming
destination. We were filming in a suburb I had been in once before, and that
was with several people who knew the area fairly well, so driving it alone
meant I was putting a lot of faith into my GPS. But finally, I arrived.
2pm-1am:
Filming. I love it. I love the people, I
love the place, I love the activities, I love the end product, and I love the
comradery. Everyone is so friendly and diligent and eager to do a great job, it
really is awesome. Plus, several cute girls there not from my course, that’s
always nice.
1am-2am:
And now comes the scary part. While I would
have plenty to say about me and my unstable relationship with similar aged
peoples of the opposite gender, that’s not what this is about. We packed up,
put the gear away, and everyone got in their cars and drove off. I put my phone
on, put on the GPS, got it to specify a route, and off I went. And then it
happened, a notice came up that read ‘4% Battery. Please connect to a charger
immediately.’ Soon enough, I was racing along the abandoned streets of a suburb
I didn’t know, in the middle of the night, and hoping to get to a highway I recognized
before my GPS died. Such was not the case. It died, and I was lost. I had no
map book, no internet, no phone to call anyone or direct me. I was in the
middle of nowhere, and without any clue how to get away.
And now the one page limit on these blogs
comes into effect, so:
To Be Continued
Daniel Lyons.
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