So today was about as rad as a day on the road can get!
I am in Winnipeg, Manitoba as part of the Friends for Life Speaker Series organized and sponsored by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI). I must say Winnipeg is a pretty kickass city! And it’s not all that cold outside either.
From the time my plane landed, I have had some seriously good vibes. I also felt welcomed and confident that I was in good hands by chauffer de jour (though I am driving) so I guess passenger-roadie-de-jour. Ryan from MPI was waiting for me at the aiport to ensure I landed well and got my rental car - which I did and FINALLYwith no hand control screw up this time. He also led me to my hotel, a beauty place in the Forks area of Winnipeg, and got my bags to my room. How’s that for hospitality? Prairie people… I tell ya it’s not a myth. They truly are a fine breed of people.
I slept well, ate breaky in my room and listened to Winnipeg’s own punk band Propagandhi this morning to get me jacked for the day ahead. My first presentation this morning and first presentation ever in Manitoba was at Shaftesbury High School.
Now, I have been travelling around Canada, and the USA more recently, for years. It is rare that I find myself feeling a little nervous, but today there I was thinking ‘I hope these fine young people are down with me and what I’m about to say.’
Well, it didn’t take long to get the couple hundred or so students at Shaftesbury’s attention. They seemed totally game to hear me out from the get go. I was glad they laughed at my jokes too. I felt good vibes from start to finish at Shaftesbury- my finale arriving a couple minutes after the bell with nobody moving or seeming to mind. I left Shaftsbury stoked, smiling and happy with the start of the tour.
With Ryan in shotgun, our next stop was Subway for a quick bite. As I waited in the knarly lunch line awaiting a little piece of the reason why Jared’s trunks shrunk I was well aware of the time… RIP Jared apparently. I had a radio interview fast approaching. By the time I sat down (insert wheelchair joke here) I had 2minutes to devour my sub. I power chomped lunch, raced out the door and made the call to the radio station. The radio interview went pretty decent, and no sooner did I hang up than we were off again to another school and a larger media event.
Next stop: Oak Park High… Home of the Raiders and a massive media launch promoting the Friends for Life Campaign. I met many of the fine people from MPI who have made it possible for me to be here in Winnipeg, and faced an awesome media blitz. It was pretty intense having more cameras than I’ve ever had pointing at me at one time before. I felt like JB’s bro Rollie Bieber with all that attention. The media launch went well, but really it was just the warm up before the real reason I was at Oak Park.
I wrapped one final TV interview with CTV (watch here) before bolting for the washroom ala bladder relief before starting my talk. It was a packed room with a vibe more formal than that of my average talk. I did my best to ignore all the cameras and focus on the audience. With so many VIP people in attendance and the multiple news cameras rolling the pressure was on. But all I could do was try and stick to my game and deliver to the students. But it was more the audiences’ focus on me that really got me going. They really seemed to take to our story from the start. I could see and feel the connections being made with relation to the story I was sharing.
As the presentation progressed I knew I was running short on time. I tried to condense and talk fast without missing any important info all-the-while hoping I would have time to play my video at the end. The bell was about to ring and I figure I’d throw it out there to the crowd… I asked the students if they wanted to see my video. The general consensus was positive.
So I gave the go ahead to my man on the lights and the AV brah running my laptop and ahead went the vid. It was pretty remarkable that when the final bell rang only a small group of students left the room. Many of these students made a detour in my direction to thank me, as they headed on their way for the bus they had to catch or elsewhere. I’d love to think that most of those who left had a bus to catch, but I can’t say for sure. What I can say for sure was hundreds of students staying five minutes after the final school bell made my day! I cannot and will not let such respect go unrecognized. I hope many of those who stuck it out to see the end of my talk today read these words THANK YOU!!! … and that goes for Shaftesbury too… THANK YOU!!!
I left Oak Park absolutely stoked! And as an added bonus I learned from some rad students at the school that Streetlight Manifesto, one of my fav ska bands, is playing Winnipeg this weekend.
Back at my hotel my smile had not faded. I was right pumped with the way my first day in Winnipeg went. I did one more radio interview, preceded by a lengthy pre-interview and then set off for a quiet dinner with my diehard road team… Me, myself and I…
The majority of these words you are reading were written between bites of scallops, delicious delicacy breads & spreads and an entre of elk and succulent starches and greens. I figured after such an amazing day, I should treat myself. So I did. I also bought a pair of Streetlight Manifesto tickets, so the show is a go!!
Before I shut this down, I just want to say many thanks to everyone I met today from MPI, TADD, Shaftesbury and Oak Park. I haven’t written a blog like this in months… These words were fully inspired by my appreciation of all of you.
Loving Winnipeg and looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures…
GoodNITE
-:)
Kevin