happy

It’s Midnight. Honesty Hour.

I say it all the time but balance, my goodness, if I didn’t believe in it I don’t think I’d stay sane. I’m happily overwhelmed by new responsibilities and challenges as the NBA season kicks off and the last two weeks have been a true test of that word. Engulfed in a world that comes at you with a knife some weeks, dodging criticism and judgement posted on the interweb, you need to learn how to shake the shitty stuff. And function on four hours of sleep. So balance is my happy place because I fill those moments with incredible people and sometimes all we talk about is that funny clip on youtube or leaving on a jet plane or that one time where we danced like crazy in the livingroom to Calvin Harris at 2am. And that is more than enough. “So what do you do?”. That question shuts me down sometimes and not because I’m not happy and blessed to be where I am. It’s just so refreshing to just be plain old you for a minute. Jobless and homeless and raw. I just dropped the line “Everybody’s got their somethin'” to the boy and he asked what my somethin’ was. I’m going to sleep on this. But Nikka Costa says it’s supposed to make you smile like an itty bitty child and that there’s a time for every star to shine. So by balance I mean staying out a little too late with the people that make you glow after kicking off your show shoes even though you have a 9am shoot. Or closing the laptop on a seven hour work-a-thon Saturday even though you’re not near complete for laughs and warmth at a dive bar in the west end. Or going to a concert with your crew after a full day of basketball even though you passed your pillow on the way out and thought, damn, I’m neglecting you my friend. That was my weekend. A perfect balance. -k

WDYDWYD.

Do you remember that moment that probably fell somewhere between walking out the doors of the place that sucked up your soul for three or four years with textbooks and sleepless nights and the daily search for a critically acclaimed perfection… and walking into your place exhausted after a month or two or a year now immersed in the reality of your diploma? That moment where a loud question flies high above your head dragged by a plane. Destination: Your future. Question: Why do you do what you do?

I sat in a planning meeting yesterday, brainstorming ideas for the new basketball season which in reality will be here in no time. I was both stoked and inspired to bring fans that much closer to their team. And previous to the meeting I was in the studio shooting links for a TV feature reminiscing on the team community highlights from last season. Remembering the moments that answered the above question. Why do you do what you do?

The following is a ramble I wrote sometime last fall and it reminded me of my answer…

I am so tired it hurts. I missed out on the average 20 somethings friday and saturday night out because I had a late night work date with my laptop. It’s 7:30 pm after a 10 hour day and I’m in bed with a headache and a beer…doing more work…

And it doesn’t bother me one bit because…

Making people even an ounce happier voids all the assumed negatives. And this is why I’m more than thankful to do this daily in my ‘job’. I don’t like the term job. Living your passion is something I wish everyone would chase. Because it’s possible.

Yesterday morning when I was up before the average 20 something on a weekend, sipping my endless coffee and cursing the speed of my internet, a friend messaged me saying that he ran into a couple and their son in the city. They spent ten minutes thanking us for making their son happy by bringing him closer to the sport and team he loves through what we do. 

Today a grown man the size of the average hockey player hugged me at center ice and cried. It was his sons fifth birthday and he had been raising him for 4.5 years alone. I had just taken him to meet one of the players and he signed the jersey off of his back for the birthday boy. And I’ll never forget it.

I’m unsure and unsettled about a lot of things in life; the direction my career is going, the instability of my bank account and where my heart lies. But for years one thing I have known is that when you’re happy, I’m happy. And that’s what keeps me ticking. -k

I googled “WDYDWYD” and these photos came up. They’re dope…
WDYDWYD