The past three days of the conference had been very hectic. When I thought I could wring some time alone while I'm here, I must have been out of my mind. The joke's on me because we could barely catch a break since the organizers always find a way to squeeze in meetings in between sessions. It's like they hate to see people unoccupied with anything.
But more than anyone else in our group, I think the joke fell terribly flat on my neighbor's face. He was the one who excitedly looked forward to roaming around the alleys of Taipei with his film camera. However, his plans were slaughtered and they're now in shambles.
It was Sunday night when we received the unfortunate news that one of the conference video directors was rushed to the hospital because of a medical emergency. Unfortunately, the doctor who checked his condition said that he's not allowed to be placed in a stressful situation, both physically and mentally. He was also required to rest for at least three days before he goes back to work.
Upon hearing the news, the conference team had to scour every place in Taipei where they could find someone who will be the interim CVD. When they heard that we have someone in the team who does exactly what their director does, they talked to Matt and asked him if Guian can give them a hand because they badly needed help. And there began the tale of my neighbor's sleepless nights and days.
On that same night, I heard that he had to leave our hotel where he was enjoying his then peaceful evening, only to go into the mess that is the last-minute preparations for the conference the following day. We saw him the morning after, restless and dealing with so many things on his plate. He didn't even meet our eyes because he was so busy. He was literally all over the place.
I can't help but think about how it's so unfair that he has to take on such a big responsibility when he was only asked to be on this trip to head the documentation. It's like he was ambushed and was given no choice. But despite all these unwarranted and unwelcomed devoirs, I haven't heard him complain. Not even once.
Since the conference began, we were only able to share the shuttle service with him once. And that was last night. The organizers provided us transportation service so we could easily transfer from W Taipei—where the event is being held—to our hotel, which is ten minutes away.
Guian chose the seat at the farmost side and after greeting us, he dozed off. He really just slept the entire ride. He was so exhausted and it shows.
Seeing him so darned enervated was painful. I couldn't stand it that I had to look away.
"Is Guian not joining us?" Matt asked when he realized that it's just the four of us standing outside the event hall.
For the first time in what felt like forever, today's sessions ended earlier than usual. Hence, we could have easily left the moment we were dismissed. However, Matt came up with a brilliant plan and wants all of us to have late lunch together. I don't even have the energy to get a cup of coffee no matter how tired I am. How does he expect me to socialize with people now? It's already the fourth day of the conference, for crying out loud. It wouldn't hurt to just . . . rest.
But then again, he's the boss, not me.
"Before we separated earlier, he told me he couldn't join our lunch because he wants to sleep instead. But he said he'll send you a message. Didn't you receive it?" Henric asked.
"Oh," Matt replied, fishing for his phone. After a few seconds of scrolling through it, he said, "Saw it. That's fine. He deserves the rest."
"The organizers were so thankful for Guian," Chris chimed in. "Only heaven knows what kind of miracles he had to do just to pull this event together."
