Sometimes it's as if there's real life (ie. 9 to 5 job, friends who don't put films before food and sleep) and then TIFF life (the black hole that we seemingly fall into for 3 weeks around Aug/Sep according to anyone who doesn't attend the festival)
Even though I have met many friends through TIFF, we largely do normal stuff when it's not festival time... complain about our jobs, go for dinners, drinks, groceries, etc. But when we switch into TIFF mode, the things we talk about, the films we discuss, become like a foreign language to others.
Then there are even more friends that I only see in and around TIFF venues or during festival times. So encapsulated in that world are they... that it completely throws you when they suddenly appear 'in real life'!
8 years ago I worked in a miserable insurance job. I was plodding away at some boring report on day, when HR came around to introduce their new hire and I looked up to find Ruth, a volunteer from recruitment sessions and the Elgin standing before me. We definitely had a "what the heck are you doing here??" moment, it's like the other could not possibly exist outside the TIFF universe.
Flash forward to this year... I'm not working at a completely different company in a completely different job, when one day I get an email from Rebecca. Not entirely shocking since she probably has my personal email, plus we are connected on Facebook after several years of seeing each other in the overnight line, and during TIFF Kids... Oh wait, except she's emailing my work?? How is that happening? Turns out she had just started a contract at my company and so suddenly I had a new potential lunch buddy and someone to line up for Rogers swag/staff giveaways with.
Both chance meetings in the workplace were amazing don't get me wrong, but there is something so jarring about seeing TIFF-exclusive people outside the TIFF realm.
(I apologize for the hastily written blog... and I will supplement a photo of Rebecca and I from a couple festivals ago soon. But I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone, that I'm writing this while at the overnight line, and my attention is often elsewhere as I try to cobble this tale together before midnight... my sincerely apologies to the lovely Ruth and Rebecca that I couldn't do our stories more justice)
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