Captain's Log - 4:33pm Tuesday June 8th, 2010 - The Good Bye Party and a final trip wrap up

So, the trip home starts now. Frownie face! After having the battery charged at a local auto place, Angie and Rachel, dropped me at the bus stop to begin their own journey home. I was so sad to see them leave, to see everyone leave, but especially them.

Agent-S, was awesome. I found many of her stories amusing. She really was a wonderfully quirky woman and I am happy to count her among my new friends. She even brought me Jiffy Pop! NOTE: I do have a photo, but she likes her anonymity so much, I'll leave it to people to meet her to see who she is. It just seems the right way.

I managed to finally get a photo, where I seem like the tall one! Thanks, Jordan!

Serg, well Serg is still a mystery to me. I didn't see or talk to him very much this weekend. He seemed to spend a lot of time with his photography and running around to set stuff up with Ryan. When I did talk to him though, he was always super nice and offering a smile.

Chad was not what I was expecting. Most of the time, he was just chilling out, either emailing his wife, Twittering or working on something, but he still took the time for pictures and chats with everyone.

I didn't manage to snap another photo with Katrina, but she did come and find me to give me a big hug before she left for the day, she's such a sweetie. She was so happy about the Jos Louis, and the promise of Au Caramel at the next trip. She talked with me quite a bit and was always ready to offer a smile and hug if I was beginning to feel a little sleepy. Very sweet lady.

Father Bob was not at all what I expected. A part of me expected him to be a stoic type man, not the fun loving guy who appeared. He was always laughing and he always had a smile for people. He was a hip, hip man.

Heather, I didn't get to see much of at all. She fit in with people so well, that I could just never find her. lol. When I did see her, she would be gone. the only way I managed to spot her, was the green dye at the ends of her hair.

Josh, well I was very sad (as you can see) to be leaving him, that sounds so weird. He became one of my favourite people to talk to here. I loved talking the tech with him, and books and just about things in general. He had actually thought I had already been on a field trip because I looked familiar to him. When I told him no, we tried to come up with my I was so familiar and he recognized my screen name from the Forums, PITV and from Twitter. It was nice that he remembered me, and cool that I got a hug from him. He is totally awesome dude!

Michelle, where do I start? The woman is 6'4" but it's all heart. She talked with anyone and everyone who asked for a photo or asked a question. She was very open with everyone and when I talked to her, it seemed like she really understood who I am and why I am the way I am. She gave me so much information on writing and a bunch of really good ideas on publishing and stuff. She loves to hug, and hugs tightly, gets giggly and can laugh at herself too. My kind of Lady.

Ah, lastly Ryan (mostly to drive my Parapeeps nuts). He was what I expected, yet not at the same time. It seems like his mind is always working on something, but he was nice as pie. You could tell at times he was searching his mental Rolodex for your name, while trying not to be obvious and hurt your feelings. He was constantly busy, or being pulled away for photos. His sense of humor was quite fun. I kind of wonder if, deep down, he a little shy and quiet, like most of us. When he does relax though, he is so much fun. Next time, I really won't have issues talking to him at all.

PRS, as a whole, is fantastic. Just as their cases are about healing as much as documentation of phenomenon, the events are about fun as much as learning. They do their best to bring awesome things our way. There was an issue, and they apologized and said it would be taken care of The members who ran the event were so friendly and helpful. Now I see the reason PRS is so helpful, its because they care, about everything. I will always try to make it to their events now.

So myself, I grew from this experience. When I left Toronto, I was a shy girl, socially awkward and just beginning to convince myself that it's okay to not be who everyone wants me to be. I had only a few friends (that I really hung out with in my off time) and I basically spent all my time at home on the computer talking to "Internet friends". Now I know that it's okay to be me. I know that my perceptions of myself will influence how others see me. I know that I'm an interesting person because people see me that way and I know that my "Internet friends" are not just "Internet friends", they are real friends. Each of them are different and special in their own way. They are dear to me and each one of them played a part in helping me discover who I am today. May I be lucky enough to make someone else's path to discovery just as fun and easy.

Field Trip 9 anyone? I have more to discover.