There's a letter that I wrote you just on the back of your top shelf, in case you think the things I've told you, you will hear from someone else. It talks about the things I feel when it's just us inside the dark, about the things I like to think while you lay so close to my heart.
And I can't seem to find the words I mean, so I try to hold my tongue while I lay wide awake and restless, you should read it...
30. [IMAGE] Show up at Second Beach in Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada on November 4th at noon with 500 popsicle sticks, a spool of sewing thread and quick-drying glue.
Aka The Story of How I Vaguely Met Misha Collins
I attend school in Washington, so when I realized that I was the closest member of my GISHWHES team to Canada, I knew it was my duty to skip math class, buy 500 popsicle sticks, and head the heck up North!
Everything about this situation so far feels like an episode of Supernatural. The cab driver told me to avoid Hastings, the "bad neighborhood." A lone college student in Vancouver where Spn is filmed, walking the lone streets. A poster for a missing person hangs in the train station. Our main character chews her snap peas in an apprehensive manner.
This trip is a scary thing for me, by the way, because my anxiety problems make traveling solo, especially over international borders, scary ass shit. When I told my close friends I was actually going to do this they were very proud (or slightly weirded out, but ya know, they usually are).
Our main character casually attempts to check the bags of the few people near her for popsicle sticks. A sign explaining train procedure is headed "Carry On" in loud orange.
After riding a badass double decker bus, I explained to the customs dude in Canada that I was spending one night for a scavenger hunt. "So you're going to walk around Vancouver looking for random stuff?" he asked. "No, I'm just going to Second Beach in Stanley Park with 500 popsicle sticks." "To do what?" "I don't know!" Great expressions on these peoples' faces, I tell ya!
Thanks to Google maps I walked for an hour to Stanley park (I got weird looks 'cause I printed them out. Me no got smartphone). A man that sounded like a Canadian accent and an Australian accent had had a baby in his mouth told me to walk in a gigantic circle to get to Second Beach and I was one hour early.
I had no idea what part of the long beach was the place intended for meetingations, so I walked after this chick wearing one of those Doctor Who scarves until I could see through the plastic bag she was carrying. I greeted her with, "I'm surprised you're the first person I've seen with popsicle sticks!"
After wandering, we found a nice group of ladies sitting on logs trying to recite poetry to crows. Their purpose was obvious. I joined them, eating pork and making friends like a Mature Adult. Eventually we wandered over to this concessiony area and found more people (the Creatures of Tumblr are easy to spot) and had a very long conversation as more and more people wearing sock hats gathered.
Highlights of this long ass nerd fest, Pre-Misha, included arguing about where he was (Was he even going to come at all? Would he just send an impersonator? Was he hiding in the trees? with a telescope?) what we would do with the popsicle sticks (Would he simply check off that we had them and make us leave? Make us build weapons out of them and fight to the death for his honor?).
Also, I met these three male dudes that were hilarious. They seemed very confused. It turns out that one of them had a British friend that insisted he go without telling him any details. Another dude had responded to an FB status saying, "Can anybody in Vancouver go to this park with 500 popsicle sticks please?" without knowing anything about the show either. He had dragged the third dude along out of fear. None of these dudes were prepared for the large crowd of mostly girls standing on benches looking for Misha in the corners of their vision hopping up and down for the TV news cameras. When I told them Supernatural was a television series about gay guys fighting ghosts, they said funny, that was exactly what the group of girls over there said.
Oh yeah but then Misha arrived with his broken bullhorn and he stood far away from me and said adorable joking stuff with his face and junk. He informed us that we were going to build the tallest structures possible in groups of 20, the winning team would get double the 90 points, and he needed someone to hold an umbrella for a musician that was going to serenade us.
I gathered with a chill group that included this lady that like… understood engineering somehow!? She had Ideas. Glue did not dry or stick. Then it started raining like a drunk cow on a Saturday night! Every object in existence was soaking wet. Misha scared the crap out of our group, (for once using the bullhorn successfully, right behind us) asking how we were doing. He told us that judging by what he had seen so far, our group, Team Bluetarp, was going to win. We were proud for five minutes before realizing that he had probably said this to every other group. But hey, later we heard the group that simply spelled out "Nope" in the sand with sticks and went to get pizza were told by Misha that they were fucked.
So to sum it up, it was gluey sandy wet as all heck. A smart girl in our group suggested to Misha he take pictures with each group, and I am considering printing ours and taping it all over my campus to prove how awesome I am. Afterwards, Misha announced winners with "Jean Louis's PA" and gave us pizza and smiles. I had the most delicious handful of warm pineapple I have ever eaten. I managed to be in a small group that started getting Misha hugs.. but there was someone in front of me.. and I was like, fuck it, I am getting this hug, so I hugged him through her.. just as Misha turned around… soooo I got to touch his shoulder (awww yeah).
I found a likely trio of Canadians to follow to a bus stop. They all told me that my hostel was in the "bad neighborhood" that my cab driver had warned me about. I managed to find it after a very nice team member gave me 2.50 in fancy shiny Pretty Canada Moneys.
I walked back to my apartment with no food in my stomach, completely dehydrated, with no sleep, in wet overalls that were bleeding pink dye all over me and everything in my pockets… oh yeah and I smelled like barf. Best visit to Canada ever!!!!
