a color story: cardano community

We were running late for an event. We lost track of time from the fun dinner conversation or maybe we didn’t want to stand up from all the food. Not the amount of All-You-Can-Eat difficult where it hurts to straighten our your legs, the notion of getting up from our seats was a drag to think about. The after-dinner plans could wait for now or I should stop drinking the bottomless water. My brother called an Uber once some Shopify members stood up. 

The Uber ride along the way was quite conversational. We discussed food. The driver made me reconsider what Tim Hortons meant in Canada as she mentioned the brand with excitement while she made visits to Toronto. The thought of Tim Hortons as a coffee place went way over my head. Or maybe I entered too deep into the world of coffee. I suggested that it was a good starter for the coffee culture in Canada. The “double double” — two sugars and two creams — was more of a treat than a beverage but if it was your thing, then it was your thing. I forgot that I started off with Hot Chocolates at Tim Hortons.

The driver also shared that she enjoyed celebrating and participating in the Caribana Festival that was held every summer in Toronto. It was new to me that people would travel to Toronto to participate for an event. Maybe Toronto was more international than it perceived. Maybe Toronto was more than just Drake and the Weeknd. It was nice to exchange our stories as she figured that we were here at Austin for the Blockchain Conference — a whole different paradigm of culture-based technology. Huh. I never took in the aspect of technology itself could drive a culture.

Why didn’t I reciprocate with the things I liked about Austin? To be fair, one day was hardly enough to make a judgment and I was still getting use to the Austin weather. Or did my In N Out Burger compliment seem too generic? My genuine excitement about that franchise through the lens of Anthony Bourdain has been long in anticipation. Oh. It wasn’t a genuine Austin compliment but rather a nationwide thing. So, her Tim Horton’s comment did make sense.

She was conversing while I was stuck on Tim Horton’s coffee.

We got to our destination. But, the security wouldn’t let us in — the event was wrapping up. With another attempt, the security stood her ground and gave us the same answer. My mind already thought about the next event but my brother sent a message and found another way in. The long Uber will not go to waste. We will make something worthwhile at this event.

At the other entrance looping around the building, we found Vicc and Rob welcoming us with warm regards. Let me tell you that these two personalities were the event for me. It could be the passionate storytelling at the Suerte dinner or their personalities but I felt inclined to listen. Vicc started off with a big swing with an insult tagged with self-deprecating humor. “Oh. We got two chunky Asians here.” He could have flattered me in other ways. I haven’t heard chunky to describe another person in quite some time. Neither have I witnessed this social tactic. Even my brother’s guard was caught off.

Seeing the human element behind the avatars on Twitter was perplexing. I vaguely met Vicc at South Beach. Then, we shared a discord video call which lasted three hours, mostly just talking about music. The concept of “Colors of Cardano”, a rip-off of “Humans of New York” wasn’t going to be a thing. It just didn’t work or maybe I didn’t push it hard enough.

Accepting this truth, we carried on the event. Vicc and Rob seemed to have a lot of energy still even after a long day for them. Rob commented on the very present Korean community in his hometown. When I mentioned H-Mart, his eyes lit up with meaning. But he seemed puzzled when I said, Galleria. I guess that was a Canadian chain of Korean groceries. Regardless, it was nice to break the with H-Mart.

As the night went on, we gradually collided with other Cardano community members, Emanuel and Alex. We walked to their van and brought the audio equipment. The van situation would have felt weird if it wasn’t for that previous discord chat. The back seat of the van was having a weird tantrum- the automating movement feature was glitching. Maybe the seats were excited to have us on board. Eventually, we all sat down with the air-conditioning at full throttle. Another event, huh?

At this point, going to an after-after party, I felt like I was back in college. Without an idea where the night will take us, we all just took our leap of faith. Being in a group without a plan was the best plan. One was certain about the uncertainty.

On the drive, it was pretty casual. For some reason, we were past the small talk. To keep the topic refreshing, we avoided cryptocurrency and the blockchain in general. Although we gathered for it, no one in the right mind would just talk about that into the edges of the night.

Our conversation eventually led to our disgust in the latest episode in the Obi-Won Kenobi TV show — number three where Princess Leila turned into a babysitting liability rather than whatever she was supposed to be. Furthermore, the team behind the show underdelivered on Darth Vader. I wished the team behind Rogue One shot Darth Vader’s scene — there was a presence, not this wishy-washy mess. Regardless, Ewan McGregor hardly aged and his portrayal was enough for us to stick along. The trilogy 1,2,3, was our Star Wars, after all.

To everybody’s surprise, I shared an interesting casting choice. The Asian token of the show was Han from Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. It got the van shaking with distraught. My brother assumed Benedict Wong — Dr. Strange’s sidekick- playing the inquisitor role. But, it was Han who got a little chubby with Geisha makeup on. As people in the van googled my statement, a lot was on the line. It would be distasteful to tarnish Han’s brand because everyone knows that Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift was the best one. The van screamed louder as they discovered poor Han.

Quite shocking to see him in a suited black outfit as a villain in a Star Wars show. It was the anti-Han. Maybe he didn’t want to be pigeon-holed as that guy eating snacks leaning on his decked-out drifting car with his trademark long hair. Let me assure you, his new involvement in Hollywood got him out of that pigeonhole. I felt like he sold his soul to one of the executives or his agent told him to pick up Benedict Wong’s leftover roles. Regardless, I wished the actor just retired from the business — he was just too cool as Han.

It was at this point I realized I shouted and expressed a serious amount of emotion. I just met these guys. The Cardano community may actually be driven by people. It may actually be a reason for connecting with others. How could I be so blinded as I wrote towards the virtual abyss?

The nightclub’s entrance faced the backside of the building and I made a rookie mistake. The ID’s were back at home along with my navy-leather wallet. I walked back to the hotel because at this point, there was no way of getting the boys out of the club. They entered a portal into a world where they might get lucky.

Gosh. I let these guys down but I won’t be the one ruining their night. This was an unwritten rule. Don’t drag the group down — the night must go on.