Part 2:Talk about a trip of a lifetime....I just had one

Mar 14, 2005 01:04

Well, where did I leave off...oh yeah, the Sony pary. So me, Greg, and Justin decided to leave the Sony party around 4 a.m. When we got to Market street, Greg went of on his own way to his hotel a couple blocks south, and me and Justin headed north toward each of our hotels. Well, after a minute or so, both me and Justin notice a group of guys behind us. The looked kinda iffy, and by that, I mean they looked they were looking for someone to mug. So me and Justin kinda picked up our pace and we notice that the guys behind us do the same. So we're thinking "Oh Shit, what do we do now?". Well as we're walking faster amd faster, Justin notices a cop car at the stop light, which is about 500 ft away. We're thinking, "We're safe now as long as we get to the cop car". Well the light changes right as we spot the cop car and the car starts to turn right. So me and Justin just go into a full sprint down the sidewalk. Two of the guys behind us start running after us and that only makes me run harder. So we're coming up towards the cop car as its turning and Justin leaps like 10 ft onto the hood of the cop car, which scares the crap out of the cops. Oh course they get out and pull out their guns which are redirected at me as I'm running up towards them. I shout at the cops to get the guys behind us but when I turn my head aroud, the guys are gone. No trace of them. After explaining what happened to the cops, they drive us to our hotels and that ended one crazy night that I won't soon forget.

So by Thursday's morning meeting, I'm completely out of it. I'm going on hardly any sleep, quite a bit of a hangover, and not looking forward to working today. After tons of coffee and energy drinks, I get myself going for the day. I was determined to meet with Rita from Sony Santa Monica today, since I couldn't seem to catch her yesterday. So I stop by the Sony booth like 5 times that day, yet I still couldn't get ahold of her. One of the Sony guys was really cool about it, and gave me her cell phone number. So when she finally answered her phone, we set up to meet Friday morning. So the rest of the day, I worked some and just wandered around the Expo floor. I also did lunch with Michelle down at the Fisherman's Warf, at a Blue's lounge. They had some really good music going, so it was fun. Michelle is just an incredible girl. We just seamed to click on everything, plus it's great to find a girl who's in the same industry I am. It gives us a lot to talk about. I haven't met anyone quite like her, she just seams so fascinating everytime I see her. It doesn't hurt that she's drop dead gorgeous.

Anyways, she joined me, Greg, Austin, Laura, and Justin for the second night of the Sony party. This time they weren't quite as strict on getting in, which meant a lot more people were there. It was alright though, especially since it was essentially the same party we had been to the previous night, just more regular people and less industry important people. So we decided to leave and try and find the ultra-secretive Microsoft party. After calling up some higher-up people, we found where the party was, but the hardest part would be actually getting in. Unfortunately, the Microsoft people were even stricter than Sony on who they let in, and our CA story wasn't working. So we were standing in front of the entrance, when a couple of guys started to make a commotion after they weren't allowed in. So we saw this as our chance, seeing how both boucers and the person checking the list were held up with these obnoxious guys. So we waited until the bouncers turned their backs and took off into the entrance. All I heard was a "Hey! You!" and I was gone. Me, Michelle, Justin, and Laura made it, but sadly Greg and Austin weren't so lucky. Anyways, the Microsoft party was a blast. Again, it was open bar and free food, so we made the most of it. On the dance stage they had black lights going with glowing loop necklaces and such everywhere. I'm not much of a dancer, but when I have a few drinks in me, and a beautiful lady grabbing my hand and pulling me onto the dancefloor, I can work it. I'm not saying I'm good, but then again I really don't care. So we partied for what seamed like forever at the Microsoft party. They had so many things to do, whether it be dancing, live shows, pool, or poker, there was just plenty to do. I guess you could say we lost track of time, because when I looked down at my watch, it was 4 a.m. So we decided to head out and Laura and Justin took off to their hotels, and since my hotel was kinda far, Michelle asked me to stay in her hotel room, and I just couldn't say know. She gave me one of those sad faces with the pouty lips and sad eyes, and I was just turned into butter. I'm not gonna go into detail about what happened next, but I'm pretty sure you can tell.

Needless to say, we were late to our morning CA meeting. When we got there, the entire CA staff was in panick. I guess a lot of the sessions got cancelled or moved around, and everyone was confused, included us. I really couldn't worry about it, I just wanted to finish working my morning session, and then I had interviews with Epic, Microsoft, Activision, and at last, I would finally be meeting with Rita from Sony Santa Monica Studios. Well, I get the Epic, Microsoft, and Activision interviews done, but I still hadn't heard anything from Rita, so I try and give her a call. Well, she tells me she's stuck in a conference and won't be able to meet me today. So by now I'm just depressed because I didn't think I'd get to meet her at all. See, out of all of the interviews I had at GDC, the real reason I came was to talk with Sony and get my internship set up. Luckily though, she lets me know she's going to be staying in San Francisco until tomorrow, and to give her a call in the morning, so there was some hope. Anyways, at 8 pm, all us CA's met back at the convention center for our post-GDC party. They were giving away tons of stuff, but I didn't get shit. Oh well, I wasn't expecting anything anyways. So by the end of the party, we're all starting to say our goodbeyes to each other. I'm gonna miss Justin, Greg, Laura, Austin, and so many others. I was surprised how close I got to these people and how well we all got to know each other. I wasn't too sad though, we all knew we'd keep in contact and eventually see each other in a year at the 2006 GDC. Michelle wasn't leaving until Sat morning, so we decided to go to a Jazz and RocknRock lounge by the convention center. I'm really gonna miss Michelle. I have never met anyone like her, but we're gonna keep in touch and occasionally see each other. We both know that this was a short-term thing, but clicked so much that there's definitely something more there. The awesome thing is that she is also talking with Sony about possible internship and with other gaming studios around LA and San Diego, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other during the summer.

So, it's now Saturday. My plane leaves in like 6 hours and I still haven't accomplished the one thing I came to GDC for. I was determined to get this interview, so I called Rita up first thing in the morning, and what do ya know, she was open to meet. The one problem is that I have to walk about a mile to get where she's at and if you know San Francisco and it's hills, you know that's no easy feat. So by the time I get to where she's at, I'm completely out of breath but it's worth it. We talked about internships, possible full time positions, what to expect, and so much more. I really couldn't have asked for a better interview. Rita was cool as hell. She even filled my in on some of the specs of the PS3(which I cannot talk about since I signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement), and what Sony Santa Monica has planned for the PS3. So by the time my interview was over, I literally had to run down the streets of San Fran to get back to my hotel to catch a shuttle to the airport.

And that's my trip. It really was a trip of a lifetime for me. I had a interview of a lifetime, meet an amazing girl, made so many contacts with professional developers and artists, and met an amazing group of friends. While I don't miss San Francisco all that much, I already miss GDC. I miss the people I met there and the overall atmosphere of the place. Let's just say I'm already looking forward to next year. So now that GDC is over, what comes next? That's something even I would like to know. I'm going to be sending an updated version of my demo reel to about 8 gaming studios that are interested including Sony in about 2-3 weeks, so we'll have to see what goes from there. It's really an uncharted road for me, and I'll admit I'm nervous as hell about taking it, but I'm excited at the same time. I guess it's the thrill of not knowing what's lying ahead of you. But that's for another entry later on, this one has gone on long enough. To all my GDC friends, I miss ya, and to all my friends back at home, I'm glad to be back. Later ya'll.
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