extinguish portland
Thursday, March 4th, 2010yesterday ignite 8 was held at the bagdad theater here in portland. it’s an event unlike many others and i was very excited to attend. i did my research, familiarized myself with each of it’s components and paid special attention to the attendance protocol that was clearly stated on the event’s site. doors open at 5:30, the talks start at 7:00 and it’s free so get there early to get a good seat.
having eagerly anticipated the event for weeks, my friends and i suffered terrible disappointment when we arrived at 6:00 and couldn’t get in. we politely inquired if anything was being done to remedy the situation and commiserated with the large crowd of fellow dissapointees. expecting an opportunity would present itself to catch some of the talks we’d so anticipated, we patiently stuck around for hours.
no dice.
i approached the door staff at 8:30 after confirming a dozen exiting attendees were not returning. i suggested that seats were now available and was met with vitriolic resistance. The arithmetic confounded them and I was denied.
i understand that you didn’t expect so many people to show up, but the dumbfounded reaction? i found it absolutely bizarre that an event of “thinkers” couldn’t find a movie screen in a movie theater, perhaps? project the streaming talks to an appreciative flock of eager attendees? on a wall outside maybe? anything?
nope. fail.
i’ve been involved in dozens of events and there’s always logistical snafus. these “solution opportunities” are usually my favorite memories. i’ve always been able to come up with something no matter what the situation. failure is never an “option” but sometimes an undeniable result despite every effort. giving up entirely is unacceptable.
i don’t have to do everything myself? really? last night reminded me that’s not entirely false. more often than not, if i don’t do anything, nothing gets done.