Giddy Like a School Girl

Gather round children, for oh what a tale i have to tell. I have been in Ottawa, a truly glamorous and star struck city, for little more than a month and a half now, and i have experienced my first minor canadian celebrity encounter.

Let me set the scene. I had just come from a wonderfully cultured evening at the Ottawa Animation Festival where i enjoyed An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt ( whose work can be experienced in all its mindnumbing glory here ) and 7 Reasons to Love Animation, which was so terrible, between 3 of us we could only remember 4 of them.

My companions and i were strolling along Sussex Drive when two men in tuxedos appeared down the street in front of us. The sharply dressed men were a strange sight upon the drug addled, homeless-person-strewn streets of ottawa, so we watched them as they clip-clopped past in their shiny leather shoes. I turned my head to watch them as they passed, and after they had retreated from sight i turned my head forward again, as is done to watch were one is going when one is walking, and as i turned i first saw that there were more tuxedo clad men, then i noticed that one of them was fairly short, and he had curly black hair, and then i realized that i was standing not 1 meter from Rick Mercer.

I'll let that sink in..........









Now then. I have nothing but respect for the man, but when he looked at me and my school chum, and he did make direct eye contact with each of us, i promise, he seemed to have a disgruntled look of disgust on his face. I really hope it was just because he was wearing a tux, and people in tuxes just naturally look pompous, or that he had just smelt something unpleasant, but his brow was furrowed and his nosed was raised just enough to deepen the lines that ran from his nostrils to the corners of his mouth. Im sure he knew we knew who he was, and he almost seemed disappointed that he had been recognized, as if he were some plagued and tormented celebrity who had gone through a whole night out in the world without being noticed before we came along.

I think everyone near or dear to us was notified via twitter or text before he was out of sight. The next 10 minutes was spent reminiscing about that time we walked past Rick Mercer, and trying to justify the strange look he gave us.

And thus, was the most adrenaline filled 30 seconds of my week.