Sunday, 16 October 2011
by TsuKata
0 comments
Last night, B* and I attended a benefit dinner for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. I had gotten an invitation as a result of a donation I made back when I ran the Cheetah 5K (my first 5K after starting my half-marathon training plan). It was held downtown, in a very nice law office that overlooks the river, and one of the things we got to do while there is meet a cheetah, pictured above. We also met Dr. Marker, who is the founder and director of the CCF. She works in Namibia to help educate farmers on ways that they can protect their livestock without having to hunt or kill the cheetah population.
It was very nice, and B* and I enjoyed the experience immensely. We listened to the cheetah purring contentedly as he was adored by all of us. He was a bit restless during the photo session, but this particular cheetah is in training to become an ambassador cheetah, meaning one that will do educational programs and do media appearances. We were like a beta test. 
After we finished at the benefit (where, really, I felt very adored…it was nice), B* and I decided to see if there was a show we could go see. We initially were thinking ComedySportz, but we Googled and found a Super Mario themed burlesque show that intrigued us. The same theatre also had a similar offering themed on Star Wars that was showing a bit earlier, so we decided to give that a try. After a bit of a drive, we parked not far from the theatre entrance, at which point B* had to pay the meter. The meter was still operating for another 40 minutes, and each 15 minute period was a quarter. Neither of us had change, but the paybox took credit. B* used his card, with some grumbling about having to pay for five minutes, and we joked about the credit card having to be authorized for 65 cents. But then, with near perfect timing, the paybox declined the card. It was just a glitch, but it cracked us up thoroughly.
While B* put the pay ticket in the windshield, I went to the box office to get our tickets. We were an hour early, and they had a show in progress already. They had signs up to keep quiet, so as I walked in, I closed the door carefully, and I whispered, “I’d like–”
“SHHHHH! Show in progress!”
I almost laughed. I was already whispering. I couldn’t go any lower. (B* later suggested that I should have said my next lowest level is “vibrate” and started buzzing at the guy.) So I walked over to the counter and tried to be even quieter. “Could I please get tickets to–”
The hipster in charge interrupted with a loud whisper, “Could you speak up?”
I can’t please these people! After all of that, I learned that both shows were already sold out. D’oh! And after B* paid 65 cents for parking! So, we bailed and went back to our original plan of ComedySportz, which was funny as usual. I got home way later than I should have, especially since I had to wake up this morning to do the Corn Maze 5K (which went well, despite ominous weather). B* and I will definitely be doing that burlesque show at some point in the future. They seem to do a geeky series of them, so we imagine we’ll be able to do it in good time.
