Top Five Fragments

I'm late to the table with this so I'll limit myself to just one fragment for each year I was in my old job.

1. The Sheraton Hotel, Essen.
The first time I went to the world's biggest games fair in Germany, I booked my flight and a colleague booked my hotel. Unfortunately, our dates didn't match and I had nowhere to stay that night. After saying the hotel was full for the fair about a dozen times, the desk clerk somehow found me a room. Upon entering, I noted the in-room bar, the fresh fruit, the conference table, the piano, the leather sofa, the mirrors and the big-screen television. The hotel channel was running an advertisement for their Presidential Suite, and it took a moment or two to recognize my surroundings on the screen. I flew to Essen four more times and even drove once, post 2001-09-11. The head receptionist is a great kisser too. In a sea of a hundred, this is one hotel that will be hard to forget.

2. The Lord Of The Rings advanced screenings.
When I was one of two people working for the company over in Europe, all licensees were invited to pow-wow with the U.K. marketing agent for New Line Cinema on a semi-regular basis. We were all in it together, and J.K. Rowling was the enemy! As nonchalant as I like to appear, it was a huge thrill to see The Fellowship Of The Ring and The Two Towers at their London press screenings, a week before the rest of the country. I still have my ticket from the second film, complete with authentic made-in-the-dark coffee art on the back.



3. Travelling the world.
On a single promotional tour in 2003 I visited Dublin, Glasgow, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Lisbon, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki and Gothenberg. Of course, the curse of the busman's holiday is that you only see train stations, airports, comic shops and hotels but (if you're lucky) you get some good restaurants too. I took the opportunity to collect translated Spider-Man comics on this trip, as souvenirs. The line of duty also took me to Bonn, Munich, Nuremberg, Paris, Brussells, Ghent, Amsterdam, Las Vegas, Orlando and Indianapolis - and back to my old alma mater - all on somebody else's dime!

4. Working conditions.
When I was first hired, the British office was shitty but the location let me catch up with a bunch of friends from university who were based nearby. Shortly, I got permission to work from home which allowed me to move to Brighton. Then Joeri joined the company. Our patience was tested, living and working together in the same building, but I've never known another human being so well... it's enhanced by the fact that we can never break up with each other! We were ultimately offered positions in the main U.S. office and I emigrated on 2004-04-30. It was cool to work face-to-face with (i) more than one person for the first time in years, and (ii) people I already knew via e-mail. Even on dark days towards the end, someone always had a joke to lift your spirits. Good times!

5. Celebrity encounters.
Because of other roles in various nerd-burgling productions, I met Howlin' Mad Murdoch from The A-Team and Mr. Bronson from Grange Hill. I saw Claudia Christian sign pictures of her full-frontal Playboy spread for her fans, and I stood next to former Doctor Who Peter Davison in an elevator in Atlanta last summer. It was a little uncomfortable because I'd clearly recognized him but (a) it was late and I didn't want to bother him, and (b) for the entire ride I couldn't think of a single conversation we could have that would do justice to what he meant to me when I was ten.

It's sad to leave the past behind, but these are just five ways in which the ride changed my life.