Defeat On the Precipice of Awesomeness
Peter Tatara - December 17, 2007
To recap, Peter Tatara was hired by an omni-national megalo-corporation to launch an anime convention -- the New York Anime Festival. The 12 months of planning ended in a solid sprint, and anyone close to Peter can testify to the fact that he went the final 120 hours before the Anime Festival without sleep. By the millions of metrics used to judge the New York Anime Festival, it was a success. But Peter didn't care about ticket sales, blog chatter, or coverage in the international press. For Peter, personally, the New York Anime Festival would only be marked a success if he was quoted in The New York Times. So, what happened when Peter opened The New York Times on Friday, December 7? What happened when Peter stood on the precipice of awesomeness?
Defeat.
As Peter opened The New York Times on Friday, December 7, he found a glowing article about the event, and several quotes from his boss. Peter laughed, gave his boss a jovial punch to the arm, and congratulated him. His boss said it was no big deal and didn't mean much to him. Peter went on his way to make sure the New York Anime Festival went off without any (public) gaffs. He did a good job, too, and nothing burned down, but for all the New York Anime Festival's accomplishments, kudos, and praise, Peter was shattered inside.
A week has gone by since the New York Anime Festival ended, and I've spent the majority of it in a coma, and while sleeping for five days has cured my physical exhaustion, emotionally I'm still empty.
How do I get better? I'm going to immediately try another week of sleep, but -- long term -- I've already had some talks about the New York Anime Festival 2008. It's going to be bigger, better, and totally fucking awesome. And come December '08, when you open The New York Times, you'll see my name with "totally fucking awesome" next to it.
