My Social Media-less Life

This weekend my friend Rachel and I are in Chicago at FanExpo selling (or trying to sell) her books. The fun thing about this particular “company” of conventions is that if you are an “Exhibitor” you get a free pass to anywhere in the building, basically.

Erica has taken full advantage of that feeling of ownership… but this is actually a story about the few times today that “ownership” has gotten her nowhere.

Today was day three of this particular convention and although Rachel picked a good iced coffee brand to use so we didn’t have to buy coffee everyday, it’s not the kind that will give me the kick in the pants that I sometimes need.

So I went to Starbucks.

Long story short, I went in the afternoon because it wasn’t until then that I remembered and could get away without leaving the table unattended.

Since Starbucks is only in the convention center but not officially part of the con, my being an exhibitor (or exhibitor adjacent) was useless.

So I became a “normie” that stood in line like everyone else at Starbucks.

And it was a long line too. Thankfully, “Gamora” ended up in line right behind me and she was quite a loquacious Gamora. I wasn’t too upset; if you know anything about me, you know I love to talk.

And, as I realized while in line, sometimes talking with other people helps me get out of my own head and become involved in something/someone outside of myself.

As the line drew shorter and we got closer to the barista taking orders, there was a guy that was really staring Gamora down. I started to make regular eye contact with this guy since he was just being… a little more creepy than was necessary, and he finally got to the point where he stopped staring at her anytime I would look his way.

I’ve never done that for a person, but I definitely felt like Gamora needed some kind of “big sister” protection.

I gave her a heads up after he finally left and went back to his table and she said she had noticed him too, but didn’t know how to act.

Honestly, if he had come over, I don’t know that I would’ve known what to do, but I definitely would have done something to keep him from getting weird… his whole vibe was creepy.

After we both ordered, Gamora divulged her age and I realized this was more than just a random kinship; she is actually 12 years younger than me and I somehow instinctively knew that. Since she was dressed up as Gamora, I really couldn’t tell how old she was, so her admission took me by surprise.

After my name was called, I told her to have fun at the rest of the con and went on my way. The creepy man never looked my way again, nor did his table of compadres, and since I knew Gamora had a friend with her, I wasn’t concerned about how she would be once I departed.

Once I got back to the sales table I immediately needed to use the restroom, so I dropped my stuff at the table and found I had to stand in yet another line… this was the second line in one hour!

Normally, I would have gotten irritated, but after helping someone out in the first line, I actually took the time to enjoy the process of standing in line.

Or, enjoying the queue.

This time, I talked to a lady who has been to another convention that Rachel had been considering going to, but likes the one we’re currently attending better. This is their second time at this event, that’s how much her and her companions love it.

When I was finally able to duck into a stall, I thought about one other time I was in line today and was able to show off my new shoes that I bought from our “booth neighbor” who paints shoes and sells them. There was at least one other lady in line who knew who I was talking about and we were able to “sell” this guy’s booth.

While I was in the stall, the Lord reminded me that it’s fun to have the priority sometimes, but it’s better to enjoy the process.

Captain Jack Sparrow once said, “It’s not the destination, so much as the journey, they say.” And I’m sure others have said it, but his delivery of the line was my favorite, so he gets the credit for it. 😛

And he’s not wrong. Life isn’t about the destination. Not even as Christians is life about the destination. It is good to know the destination, but life is about the journey. The journey with Jesus, but also the journey with other Believers. And also just with other humans.

We were all put on this earth for a reason and the reason wasn’t just to die and get somewhere. It’s about learning and experiencing and growing. Life is about the connections with people and the encouragement that comes with having those connections.

Even if the connections are somewhat temporary, there will always be connections with people.

So the next time you get stuck in a line somewhere, look up and look around. Someone needs you just as much as you need them. Go be an encourager. 🙂