Photo courtesy of Jeremy Lim
I got up less than eventually this past Saturday.
You see, I took the trip across the pond (which eventually joins up with the Pacific Ocean) with risk-taker and “brandscape-maker” Jason Finnerty for Freelance Camp Vancouver. Hosted by The Network Hub and kept on a tighter-than-I’d-liked schedule by infamous blogger Raul Pacheco-Vega, I went along both for research purposes and to go see the Olympics. I managed only to accomplish the former.
My best research took place where most of it does: in a pub following the event. I waxed ecstatic (and poetic) with fellow attendees at an establishment established by Czech hockey legend Yaromir Yagger. The place was fittingly called Yagger’s.
There was a strange feeling I had during the event that I had yet to experience when it came to the unfamous Productivity War. People seemed to rally behind me with very little convincing. They said that I truly “got it” when it came to preaching the values of Eventualism, even as I stood there nodding and not understanding a word they were saying. Nonetheless, I felt important for much of the day and only urgent at times when I tried to find a bathroom.
The day was filled with great sessions, although none of them lasted eventually in terms of time thanks to Raul. I tried to explain to him that no one likes to run on time anymore…but he just took my Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola (oddly enough after staring at it with a look that resembled the name of the beverage) and ran off to go tell some people that “Freelancing Isn’t Free.” Session topics were chosen before our eventual arrival (thankfully I made a good impression with that move), given a time slot and were headed by people who I now consider luminaries. Some examples include:
- Kemp Edmonds did a talk on IP, which at first I thought was about to use a router, but only realized at the end it was about something called Intellectual Property. I’m homeless in that regard, but I was into it all the same.
- Corwin Hiebert of Red Wagon Management and co-organizer of CREATIVEMIX did a session on “Managing Creative Projects”, and while the names he was dropping I was able to drop back, I’m afraid I am unable to be or do any of the words the tile of his session was composed of.
- Ben Nadel of Emotus Operandi was great because when he said where he was from I was sure his session was going to spoken entirely in Latin. It was not (not even of the pig variety, or-fay ame-shay), but with his session discussing how to escape bad days reminded me of my least productive years in a church choir….where we sang in Latin. He also seems to want help people get things done in an effective, efficient and energetic manner – but I’ll have none of those “e” words sullying my main one. (It’s Eventualism!)
I could go on but this article would eventually end if I did. What I will say that the first documented photo of me with my iPad was taken here by Jeremy Lim, who does some great work despite his iPad envy. You’ll notice it accompanies this article. (Imagine how much greater that envy would be if my iPad had a camera…)
The journey home would have been eventual enough had we not shared a cab with some fellow Victorians back in time for the 7 o’clock boat. But it had an eventual effect on me over the long term as I chatted with Tessa from Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse. As a budding Eventualist, you know very well the importance of a good beverage to our way of life…and she told me about wonderful beverages that I’d only heard of in passing in Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine films. I’ll have to get thyself out to this thider place thoon.
From top to bottom, Freelance Camp in Vancouver was an event worth more than the price of admission. Connections were made, ideas shared and beers were drunk. And all were done with genuine flair, interest and grace.
Even the drinking part.
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