A Date with Destiny

June 2006, I was settling down to watch another day of E3 coverage from the comfort of my living room when I got the call. “I got in!” he exclaimed. Marcos a good friend of mine, who is also an avid gamer happened to be in downtown Los Angeles. He took a chance and swung by the convention center where E3 was taking place. Just by happenstance he met some attendees who were jumping in a cab on their way to the airport. After some small talk he worked up the courage to ask them for their pass, and they agreed. After a few hours inside he stepped out to call me; he said: “It’s amazing, unbelievable, life changing even…” That’s when I knew, I had to get in.

When he returned from Los Angeles I met him outside of our local Kinkos. We made the best photocopy of the pass that money could buy. I fashioned a makeshift badge holder out of an old lanyard and made a date with destiny. Tomorrow I’m going in.

My alarm went off at 5:00am. We had to leave early if we wanted to beat the L.A. traffic. I grabbed my backpack, my bootleg pass and I was off, stopping only to pick up Marcos along the way. When we arrived in downtown Los Angeles, I parked my car and made my way through some shady side streets on foot. When I saw the convention center for the first time it glistened in the morning sun. Draped in gaming advertisements the south hall resembled a cathedral, with streams of gamers making their way to pay homage to the gaming gods. I followed them. “Act natural” Marcos said, so I did.

When I first walked inside and got a glimpse of the convention center I was awestruck, little did I know that the first room is a mere staging area, and the real show lied further within. The doors to the show were not open yet however, so Marcos and I made our way through the busy corridors of the convention center, stopping to take photos and talk about the plan. Marcos explained that at the entrance they have security personnel that check everyone’s badge before they can go in. The plan was to blend in with the crowd and rush pass the security guards before they can get a good look at my pass.  I was nervous. It felt as though everyone’s eyes were on me, and they all knew my badge was a fake. I feared that at any moment a security guard would spot my makeshift pass and escort me away, but that moment never came. When 10:00am rolled around the doors to the show floor were opened. Marcos and I blended in to the huge crowd of people rushing their way towards the doors. I just kept thinking “Act natural, act natural, act natural…” and suddenly I looked up, and I was in. So many emotions hit me at once, relief, joy, fear, anxiety; but I brushed them all aside, for today a lifelong dream was realized and the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment was all that mattered.