Every mediocre show has one: an episode where two TV shows produced by the same people collide in an attempt to reignite tepid storylines and weak characters. Some examples include NCIS and NCIS: LA (I make no apologies, those shows are fairly dreadful, and let’s not forget when they tried to add a bit of JAG into the mix early on), and of course all those CSI super episodes.
Just like TV shows, blogs too can suffer from recycled material and overused plot devices. Fortunately, I was recently given the perfect opportunity to vent the stale air that’s been building around my cyberspace fortress through my very own crossover. Did you just get goosebumps? You can almost taste the high quality production values, can’t you?
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| "Production Value!" |
My old supervisor, referred to henceforth as Filet (myself and another co-worker were affectionately known as her minions) from the Company Which Shall Not Be Named was in Suva doing a bit of scoping for some future development projects, and I was fortunate enough to catch up with her over the course of a weekend. It was pretty exciting having my very first visitor come to Suva almost within a month of me moving here. This was further compounded by the fact that because Filet was here for work, she had an allowance (and a generous spirit), which allowed me to eat like a king for a couple of days at no personal expense. And what food! Eggs Benedict for breakfast (reunited at last!), a mouthwatering burger with one of the most delicious ground beef patties I’ve ever consumed, and let’s not forget the cubes of deep fried cheddar cheese.
It wasn’t all take though. I gave my time, my energy, and my knowledge of Suva, and bundled it into quite an entertaining and refreshingly humourous package. And come on, I even went to Pure Fiji, some factory that makes soap and all manner of smelly stuff. If that’s not a sacrifice, I don’t know what is. But now that I’ve brought you up to speed with what’s going on this week on Steveinfeej, we can move on now to the Western edge of the Pacific, where a second blog exists and will shortly intrude upon life here in Fiji.
Introducing www.frogsfordarcy.blogspot.com. The blog was created by Filet with the truly admirable goal of entertaining a very ill kid living in Sydney. Darcy is the son of my and Filet’s old boss from the Company Which Shall Not Be Named, and has been seriously sick for well over a year now. He’s been in and out of hospital frequently during that time (more in than out in recent months), and there isn’t much for him to do other than be poked at and prodded by doctors. Filet, ever the philanthropist, began the above blog to entertain Darcy during his quarantined hospital stays, and attempts to post pictures and stories of origami frogs, one of Darcy’s favourite things, as frequently as possible.
Like NCIS and NCIS: LA, you can probably guess where this is going. Also like NCIS, you’re probably disappointed that this isn’t shaping up to be as exciting as the ads made it out to be.
That’s right, Filet brought an origami frog with her, and what followed was a very exciting weekend for said frog. It’s a little sad to think that thanks to Filet, that frog is almost as well-travelled as I am. However, in a shocking plot twist, that was not the only companion Filet brought with her to the Feej. Our old team’s mascot, known affectionately as Wooden Rob despite the fact she is very clearly a woman (with a tattoo no less, shocking), also joined our adventures. Given the fact that she has only one leg (one of many unforeseen consequences of the Company Which Shall Not Be Named downsizing my section), Wooden Rob’s visit was very timely, considering my current work in the disability sector.
As with all crossovers, the episode must end and the two blogs will go their separate ways. Viewers will have learnt something new about the characters, but not so much that that they won’t tune in next week to learn some more, and hopefully see one or two well-timed explosions used solely to keep the stale plot interesting. Unlike NCIS, this crossover episode does have a message. Several, actually. One: my old supervisor is a little crazy. Two: I apparently enjoy posing with wooden dolls. And Three: there is a very brave boy living in Sydney who, despite experiencing a heck of a lot of pain over the last year, is able to remain positive and hopeful thanks to a wonderful support network of family and friends. Darcy, it’s not often that young people inspire old fogeys like me, but your bravery and stoicism in light of what you’re going through is nothing short of amazing. You have many people thinking of you, and now some of those people live in Fiji. We're sending sunshine and well wishes your way!
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