Theo’s Table 2
Theo's listening table #2 Location: Robson Park, Vancouver Started at 4:00pm. Ended at 7:30pm. 3.5 hours
Father found his son overdosed on too many edibles at 4am today. His son is ok now. Tonight he will talk to his son to figure out why he's doing drugs and try to get him to talk to a counselor. The father is very scared of losing his son. His ex-wife was a drug addict and passed away. He doesnt want his son to meet the same fate.
Angie. 30 year old asian-canadian lady. First 3 minutes she asked many questions about who i am and what i do. I answered her enthusiastically, smiling. Slowly, she became comfortable in my presence. Unexpectedly, she started crying. I switched from smiling and lighthearted converstion style to being extremely attentive and careful. She is a Starbucks store manager, her job is to take care of her crew and customers. She often asks people how they are doing and helps them, but no one asks about her. She is very lonely and doesn't have many close people to support her. At her age, she feels like she should have everything figured out, but she hasn't. Her job is so time consuming that she feels like she's just existing to work, and not actually living. She has worked for starbucks for 8 years and doesnt want to leave because it is a stable job. Her parents don't understand her struggles and think she is privileged to have it easy. But it's different times and there's new struggles. She doesn't want kids because of the high costs, and her parents put pressure on her to have kids. She is a fast paced person that likes to progress in her life, but everything feels so slow and stagnant. She doesn't know what changes she needs to make in her life, but she deeply craves some change. She is not happy in Canada, but doesn't want to move out because of family.
Monica. Spanish lady. Tourist in canada. Just arrived yesterday and dealing with jetlag. She struggled to communicate in english, so I focused on being patient and understanding.
Julia. Lived in Alberta for 16 years then moved to Vancouver 3 months ago. Started a new job at an accounting firm 2 weeks ago. Very friendly and short conversation.
Curious elderly christian lady. Just asked about what i do. I could feel a sweet motherly energy from her.
Shady-looking guy came up to me proposing we do a business partnership and turn the listening table into a talk show. He was persistent and didnt take no for an answer until I firmly stood my ground. He said that if I'm not making any money out of it, then what i am doing is pointless. I felt hurt by his comment. But then I remembered the people that I have helped and the support that I have received. I concluded that his words meant nothing and told myself to not listen to this man.
Uber Eats guy on a bike. He has a 4-year bachelor degree in mechanics and used to be a mechanic back in Turkey. He did a 2-year diploma in something that i don't remember. Currently he's pursuing a 4-year bachelor in Robotics. In a year, he'll total up to 10 years of education. His main job is at a tech company doing a robotics project on fall-prevention for elderly people. I was confused on why a man with such expertise and a stable job was doing Uber Eats. He clarified that he wants to stay active to not get fat. Instead of biking aimlessly, he figured might as well bike and earn money at the same time. I couldn't help but praise his genius plan. From the outside, you would think that he was an average unremarkable man. But don't judge a book by its cover, he was an impressively smart individual. He told me that when he first came to Canada, he worked as a dishwasher at Cactus Club Cafe. In the interview for the job, the employer asked him why he wanted to work as a dishwasher. He answered, "I used to be a mechanic, so I like to analyze how machines work and how I can improve them. I want to observe your dishwashing system and come up with a more efficient design in the future." The employer hired him immediately, but they also thought he was joking. But he wasn't. He was dead serious. He's currently working on that project on his own time. I imagine he will invent a robot that will wash dishes with utmost precision. I sat there listening with full admiration for his passion toward innovation. I felt like I was in the presence of the next great inventor like Nikola Tesla.