Weird flight routes, flying first class, and the one time I saw Steve Aoki in a plane
Wow, that’s a lot of space. And the flight attendant just called me by my name? It was maybe my third time flying first class. Work took me to Denver for a company retreat, and after a full week of company stuff, I was looking forward to flying home.
I got on the plane and took my seat. The plane was a bit older than I expected, but still nice. I was one of the first ones to sit down and proceeded to people watch, as the crowd walked in. I should also mention, I was excited to fly first class, so excited, I booked a flight that went from Denver to Vegas (south of Denver!), then Calgary (back up north), then Saskatoon, because the fare was cheaper and I could fly first class within company policy. Pathetic, I know.
Within a few minutes of sitting down, a familiar face walked in. Where have I seen this person before? Asian man, bearded, long hair, wearing a super colourful Dragonball Z jacket. The flight was leaving from Vegas, was he famous? Yes. But from where? A click and I remembered.
The year is 2013, and in one of my many brief random acts of hyperfocus, I decide I am going to be a DJ—on the side obviously, play at friends’ parties, a chill casual side gig. It all started because I was really into mashups like these—remember when the internet was this easy?—a few years before. Ah, that’s where I knew him from!! Back to the plane, side gigs aside. It was him, Steve Aoki, cake-throwing, high-energy, DJ, producer, musician, EDM legend, and he was sitting two seats away from me.
He walked in, in a really calm demeanour and put his colourful jacket in the overhead bin. I pulled up my phone, texted my husband and sister immediately, and proceeded to watch other people’s reactions as they walked by.
Boomers had no clue who he was, including the guy who was sitting right next to him. But I could see millennials and gen z’s eyes go wide when they walked in. We departed, the flight was short and easy. We both ordered chicken for lunch.
When we landed in Calgary, I thought, that’s it. “Well, that was fun, remember the one time I saw Steve Aoki from afar in a plane?” That’s a lame story to tell. He left the plane, and so did I, and we both proceeded to the immigration line. “Nice to meet you, sir” I overheard an immigration officer say to him.
We passed immigration and I realized that was my chance—one long empty hall, me, and him. “Well, that was the easiest immigration line I’ve gone through”, when I realized, the words were already out of my mouth, floating in echoey hall. “Yeah, that wasn’t bad”, he replied, “Where are you from?”, “I am from Brazil”, “And why did you trade Brazil for this?”, the weather outside was miserable. “Well, [insert my classic explanation about how Brazil is great, but the quality of life is better here]”, “And you’re Steve Aoki”.
He told me he was playing the next day in Winnipeg, and asked where I was staying in Vegas. “That’s a weird flight route” he replied when I said I was coming from Denver. All I said was “Yeah, I know”, like the route had nothing to do with me gaming the system to fly first class. He asked if I knew the easiest way to the domestic departures area. We chatted and walked towards the D section, even though I knew my gate was over at C somewhere. At some point, I thought, “I have to ask for a photo. How else am I going to tell my husband and sister this happened?”, “Can I get a photo with you?”, he agreed politely. We took a photo and wished each other a safe flight.
It’s probably going to be another couple of years before I get to fly first class again. From now on, though, anytime time I sit in one of those roomy chairs, I’ll remember that one time I met Steve Aoki on a plane.
March Highlights
Just a girl turning 33: After too much debating on whether I should do it or not, I ended up throwing a small party to celebrate my birthday with a few close friends. I decided to go with a dinner party theme (although no dinner was provided), loosely inspired by “Saltburn”. I thrifted most of my decor items, and it ended up being a fun night of chatting, singing and celebrating. I am excited to do this again, maybe even with no specific reason to celebrate.
Seeing Denver for the first time: Denver was… average. It reminded me of Saskatoon, but bigger. Still fun to check out another city in the States though. Some of my highlights were solo dining, wearing office clothes for a change, attending an exhibition opening at the MCA (Denver’s Contemporary Art Museum), visiting a small women-run market, Meow Wolf and a Denver Nuggets game.
Other honourable mentions
Going to a Noah Kahan concert and using that as an excuse to make keychains with song lyrics.
Running my furthest run ever—7K in the books. I’ve been really into running lately (and way too deep into #runtok to admit). Look out for photos of me in a tight little running vest in May’s recap.
Finishing Bell Hooks’ Tudo Sobre o Amor, Novas Perspectivas (Everything about Love, New Perspectives). This was a gift from my little brother, which made this great book even more special. I would recommend this read to anyone ready and looking to explore ways to love themselves and others more.
That’s a wrap, thanks for reading. And thank you for all your kind and loving messages over on Instagram. I am glad I am doing this, and able to share it with you. See you again next month. 💌