August 22, 11:35 pm. I stand in line for the ATM behind two guys in their early twenties whose striped shirts and slip-on loafers announce which clique they belong to. Twelve-hour shooting schedules and dinner meetings leave little time to deal with other important things like getting to the bank while its open.
With school just around the corner the kids, mostly drunk, are everywhere. Back to school in Halifax. The preppies leave as the machine doles out my maximum withdrawal in twenties which I quickly place in each of my shoes. Making a beeline for the hotel a recurring image of a fight tugs at the back of my mind.
Fortunately this not quite diamonds/not a poor boy routine ends tomorrow. It's the last day of shooting the second Blackout 77 music video and the cast and crew get cashed out at days end. After that I can relax into a slightly saner post-production, send me the bill schedule.
Bank run done I head off to see the band play at the Seahorse Tavern. It's a good chance for me to block out some of tomorrow's shots and also provides the means to keep this sleep deprivation thing I have going.
The kids are still about on my way back, various groups and gaggles occupying street corners and parkettes along Spring Garden road. Halfway to the hotel across from the ATM I approach a confrontation in the making. A muscular sporto getting in the face of a well-dressed geek and his girlfriend. I hear the sound of his nose break before he even knows he's been hit.
The A.I.D.A. 2004 World Team Championships of Freediving, right here in Vancouver no less. Which would explain why I am looking out over the UBC Aquatics building and outdoor Olympic pool from the 16th floor of the East tower at UBC's Walter Gage Residence a.k.a. Athletes Village, soon to be a circus centre-ring of the world's breath-holding elite.
This is the first time a World Championships has made it to North America so we are pretty proud to be hosting the thing. I gotta say its shaping up to be a damn good event though we're going nuts getting ready. Ah but to have the experience makes it all worthwhile.
I must be delirious. It is almost three in the morning and though long for sleep I just can't seem to get horizontal. Amazing considering just last week I woke up at first light on a wooden bench in downtown Toronto (wallet intact). Then again I am usually up all night before most events, packing, wracking, drinking or all three as the case may be. Fortunately for me official events start Thursday so I have two days to catch up before I fall back again.
Truth is I am really impressed with both my peers, who have stepped up to make this happen, and the international Freediving community who, by attending, make it real. Its something special to be part of such a unique sport in its early years. The camaraderie and general goodwill extended to all. There is a certain feeling, a kind of undercurrent brewing that reminds me of my early years in both the skateboarding and snowboarding industries. You just know that the thing is going to go.
Perry