This month’s blog will be a shorter post, and I hope to go into more detail about my Celebration experience next month.
I’m exhausted. This is easily in the top 3 exhaustion levels I’ve ever experienced. Celebration was literally everything I hoped it would be. I got to spend time with virtual friends in the real world! Without fail, every single one of them was exactly the person I thought they would be (all for the best!). I managed to procure the 2 Star Tots I absolutely HAD to have (Bossk and Bespin Han), saw an amazing staged reading of selections from Ian Doescher’s Shakespearean Star Wars adaptations, I got to be on the very first podcast ever on the podcast stage (thanks Dan and Cory!), and, most amazingly, I got to stand within sniffing distance of one of my heroes, Weird Al Yankovic (also thanks Dan)!!!!!!
It was truly one of the best experiences of my life, and most of that is due to all the people I got to spend time with, including my fellow CWK bloggers. I wish we could do this once a month instead of every couple of years. You all made me feel welcome, and the camaraderie that we have online translated perfectly into real-world connections. I will cherish each and every memory for the rest of my life.
The toughest part about coming home from a trip like that is coming back to reality, and my reality came back sooner than I wanted it to. Sunday afternoon I got a message from my brother telling me that Marvin wasn’t feeling well. For those who didn’t know Marvin’s story, he was a sickly little dog that came to live with me in 2008. In 2011 he became anemic, so I’ve spent the last 4 years doing a balancing act to keep him healthy, and he’s done his part by keeping me sane and taking AMAZING care of me during some of the roughest patches of my life.
I made it home Monday, and Marvin was definitely not himself. I took him to the vet on Tuesday, and it became apparent that he wasn’t strong enough to come back from this bout of illness, even though the vet said he was the toughest little dog he’s ever seen. I had to make the call that every pet parent dreads, but it was the only decision that made sense, given that every bit of Marvin’s energy was being used to simply breathe. He didn’t want to leave me until I was ready to let him go. And, truth be told, I wasn’t ready, but I love him, and I didn’t want him to suffer any longer. He held out til I got home so he could say “see you later” in person.
I recorded a podcast memorial to Marvin with my friend Taylor, and I’ll link to it below. If anyone wants to hear more about my buddy, please take an hour and listen while you do other things. He was an amazing little guy, truly one of a kind, and he touched more lives than I realized. The outpouring of support and love and concern that I’ve received has been beyond anything I could have imagined, and I thank each of you who has reached out.
I’ll be back next month with a more appropriate (and hopefully livelier) blog entry. Thank you for indulging me this time.
And thank you, Marvin. You were truly a Jedi Knight in puppy form, and the Force got stronger when you became one with it. I love you, buddy.
Click here to listen to the Marvin Memorial Podcast.
Jeff can be heard weekly on Assembly of Geeks (www.assemblyofgeeks.com) and on his own podcast network, MarvinDog Media (www.MarvinDogMedia.com) where he hosts The Pilot Episode, Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff, and Bantha Banter: A Star Wars Chat Show.
Follow him on twitter: @jeffmcgeeactor and @marvindogmedia
Email Jeff at jeffm@coffeewithkenobi.com
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