In this last part of my large essay I’ll talk about that strange time in London…
RTX London 2018 & The Flu of Death™©.
I tried to process the things during my time in SF. And then, short time after that, some members of Kinda Funny were in talks to coming to RTX London. In the middle of September. In the months leading to the announcement of the date of Kinda Funny Prom, I was hesitant towards booking this big trip to SF. My decision process for the trip was a lot quicker when London came around.
But there was some small disturbance when I wanted to fly to the UK. A week before the trip, I was hit pretty hard with a flu. So hard that I had to call in sick just a couple of days before my flight. I was fearing that I would have thrown out my money for a trip I couldn’t make or cancel. So I tried to get better before the trip started. I packed my bags and went to work with my luggage as I would leave work and go to the airport later that day. Let’s just say the combination of anti-flu-medicine with eating nothing, lots of stress and lots of physical exertion… wasn’t good for the body… so I found myself in an ER just when I clocked in at work. I was released two hours later and felt immensely better. But it was a weird start for an interesting trip.
The next day I was mainly doing sightseeing, like watching London from above at the Shard (Fun fact: the viewing location is located at level 69) and walking towards Buckingham Palace. And after one day I already killed my subway train card by having it close to my iPhone. From then on, I always had to ask someone to open a gate for me. Late in the day, I went to the Meet & Greet at Nando’s organized by McFixer and that’s where I first met him and Vitz Patel. And Mark Freeman, Skzyp, Majed, Greedyears and Tom Hopkins. It’s felt like a Prom Reunion. Just like in SF, large groups were forming around Tim, Andy, Greg and Gen and I wanted to change that selfie situation. So I went to Greg’s group. Took quite some time until I got close and did a somewhat different selfie. Remember that gimble that I had for KF Prom? I had it with me here as well, so I wanted to do a Panorama selfie that does not only include Greg, but with lots of other Best Friends as well. It turned out to be a difficult thing, but after some last minute smartphone-recharging I was ready to go and we did a big selfie that included everyone nearby. Before that we were talking about what he had seen on Twitter with me being in a hospital. That’s when I remembered that Greg was a germophob… and I did the most stupid thing possible for someone with those anxieties. And me bringing chocolate and gummibears to this party was not a help either. Therefore, I did get a shoutout later on when he was back in the States, but I think I became something of a running joke if someone walks into office while being sick as hell. And I’m fine with that 🙂
I tried to get into the groups for Andy and Tim as well, but at that point of the evening it was already too late and we left the place. I went along and kinda felt like a stalker… but only because my hotel was basically located directly next to theirs. Nethertheless, we went into that subway line from the O2 towards Canary Wharf. And then one of the most surreal situations of all time happened. An entire photoshoot happened with Shirtless Spider-Man… and Tim was constantly shaking his head in disbelief. It was one of those situations you would have to see yourself to believe it. Then afterwards, everyone was leaving the secured area … except me, because my subway train card was still fried. Gen wanted to help me get out of my misery… until someone from the underground station was telling her that this would have been a huge mistake. For me, as I am getting more and more into Cyber Security stuff, I would remember it as the night, when me and Gen were nearly hacking the London subway system.
Saturdays was mainly walking around RTX and then doing some shopping. Reading comics at King’s cross station while listening to the Pet Shop Boys’ King’s Cross song from the album Actually was a… I don’t know how to describe it. Kinda Funny. Especially while watching several dozens of people from above that want to make a photo at Gate 9 3/4. I felt like being at Pop Culture’s Ground Zero.
Sunday was crammed with lots and lots of KF panels. RTX was full of pop culture geeks and fans from Rooster Teeth. Channels like Funhaus, Achievement Hunter or Screw Attack were the main draw for this expo. Most of their panels were packed and double stacked. Kinda Funny’s panel wasn’t as full as the others, but it felt like the most family-like panel. Lots of Best Friends, with some guys cosplaying as Shirtless Spider-Man, lots of shout-outs to JerriKoe and Mark Freeman and I really felt like among being together with hundreds of Best Friends. Afterwards I was sitting together with some of those Best Friends and had a beer. And after some time, I got Mark a free beer as promised for his help before KF Prom. Even though it was in London and not in SF.
Kinda Funny has been one of my foundations of sanity in the last couple of years. While everything has become more chaotic, stressful and uncomprehensible, the live stream chats during the Morning Show and Kinda Funny Games Daily have been one the constant highlights of a day. Especially after a long day at work, those two hour of content have been a main staple of my day for some time. Even though it’s more like a Kinda Funny Primetime Show for me in my timezone.
And that’s without counting the countless other hours of content for Gamescast, GOG, Party Mode or the Comic Book Club (which is one of my personal highlights). KF has changed my way of expressing myself in today’s online environment and made me realize to use my voice for more positivity everywhere. Something like… like…
Like being a mod in an online community and helping others.
Like engaging myself as a member for the worker’s council.
Like writing and producing uplifting YouTube videos.
Like taking part in a dialogue and not shout at each other.
Like making funny jokes in the chat.
Like applauding actors and directors on Twitter instead of trolling them.
Like making people happy and having a good time.
Schreibe einen Kommentar