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The day proceeded as these things normally do: business receptions, talks, happy hours, and VIP meet and greets. Celebrate his special day with lovely and colorful animated images featuring birthday cakes, muffins with lit candles, heartfelt wishes, festive fireworks, bouquets of flowers adorned with glitter effects, amusing characters, and vibrant balloons. Finally, I made progress: by the end of the night she took some pity on me and pulled me aside into a quiet corner and explained that there wouldn't be any group meetings. We exchanged a few words - I don't even remember what was said - took some photos, and he was whisked off into his car and away from the venue.
Just as I made my move, something distracted him and he turned away to wave at some other fans that had followed him. But just then, as Richard was halfway out the door, he turned just slightly and with his body shielding the movement, gave me a wink and a subtle 'come here' wave of the finger. And PS - Richard, if you're reading this, thanks for stopping to take a photo with a young guy in a parking lot in LA. It's like the universe conspired to make your business journey as thrilling as a Hollywood blockbuster.
I especially took note that there were really only two exits to the venue, and only one of them would be the logical choice to leave from for any VIP departures. So in the week or so leading up to the event I quickly invited some start up founders to the events that I knew would be happening around the big launch and bought myself a last minute flight to LA and booked a quick airbnb for the night and arrived at LAX 8am the morning of the event with nothing more than a change of underwear and a toothbrush. While everyone else in the crowd was bunched up against the door to the green room, she would shortly be leading him through the crowd at high speed to get him out of the building. While I wasn't going to be able to afford a ticket to Necker Island any time soon, I knew that he usually comes out for these type of events and maybe I could engineer a meeting.
But if I stood at the end of this long hallway where no one else was, next to the exit door, she would make sure he was lined up to see me while hurrying down that hallway. Congratulations on finding Sing Me Happy Birthday Richard; the most wonderful album of birthday songs ever released. But every 30 minutes or so I made sure to check in with the PR woman and pitched the idea of doing a group photo with the UK government staff and Richard. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. At the time, I was working for the UK Consulate in San Francisco covering the entire West Coast region.Somewhat ashamed, all I could think to say was to thank him for all he's done and inspired, and to ask for a photo with him.
Just as Richard slipped out the door with security blocking anyone else from following, she just yelled 'GO! Whether it’s for you, your Nan, your sports coach or your kitty… we have a rendition of happy birthday for one and all. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.To our esteemed colleague, Richard, may your birthday be the start of a year that brings you closer to your dreams. Read our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to get more information and learn how to set up your preferences.
Sure enough, a few minutes later her and a few other PR reps came barreling through the crowd at high speed and down the exit hallway. While I completely blew my shot to talk to my hero, that tenacity and persistence to win I felt is something that I've always remembered and carried with me through the rest of my professional life. Explore a collection of vibrant and original Happy Birthday GIFs for Richard, available for free download. In this section, you can choose to view and download your favorite pictures Birthday congratulations with name Richard. As might be expected, the PR woman didn't think that was as great of an idea as I did and she naturally blew me off.
It turned out that she was Richard's appointed handler for that evening and she was just about to pull him out and send him back to his hotel for the night. I still can't believe that I made it happen - and it goes to show how much is possible when you put determination and effort into making something happen. You can dance the night away with the Jive Blues, Jazz or Reggae birthday songs, or get sweaty with screaching Metal and fingers-up Punk. I figured it was such a long shot to even get a group photo with him, I hadn't ever planned out what I would say if I actually got the chance to meet him.
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