Those of you who follow my Facebook page might have caught wind of a little adventure I had out at San Diego ComicCon this year.
Specifically, you might have read this post I made on Saturday night.
* * *
Okay. Everybody, I need your help.
I’m at ComicCon. I met a lovely Swedish fan who said that she’d flown out to the con mostly to see me.
I said, Wow. Really?
She said, Yes Really.
So I got her phone number, and told her that when I had a spare couple hours I’d call her so we could grab coffee or something. My thought is, you come from Sweden to see me, I can spare time for coffee.
But when I called her an hour ago, someone else answered the phone. She’d left her phone on a bus, and a stranger had found it.
So I tracked that person down and got the phone.
So here’s the deal. Swedish fan. I have your phone. I was an idiot, and I didn’t write down your name, so I can’t find you on facebook.
You should call your phone, and we’ll arrange to get it back to you. Plus maybe grab coffee.
Or you should message me here on facebook, and we’ll get in contact that way.
Everyone else, could you Like this and share this around so she has a decent chance of seeing it?
Or, if you know who this is, can you send her a message to let her know what’s up?
Thanks everyone,
pat
* * *
I felt really bad for her, how much must it suck to be in a foreign country and lose your phone?
This was all I could think to do. Not much of a master plan, but it’s the only thing I could think to do.
I would have looked though her phone for a number or some information I could use to contact her. But it locked itself down and required a password. At least, I *think* that’s what it was asking for. It was in Swedish, after all.
On top of that, I felt jerky that I couldn’t remember her name. True, I’d signed about a hundred books before we swapped numbers, but I still felt jerky about it. That at least would have given me a place to start trying to track her down.
Thankfully, my lovely readers backed my play on facebook, liking and sharing my message-in-a-bottle post to a ridiculous degree. Thousands of folk helped out. This provides further proof for my “People are inherently good” theory.
And you know what? It worked. When I got back to my hotel room late that night, I had a message:
Hi Pat, this is your Swedish fan with the lost phone!
Have to admit its a bit surreal though, first meeting you, my absolute favorite author and getting your phone number plus possibility of a having a coffee at my first ever stay in America. That was really more than my little fan heart could take. Then the feeling of hitting rock bottom when I lost the phone with said number a day later. Now finding your message on the fb, it goes way beyond surreal and into the realms of things that just don’t happen in real life!
Her name, it turned out, was Jenny. I remember it now.
We messaged back and forth, set up a time and place, and the next day I got together with Jenny and her traveling companions.
We got our coffee and had a lovely conversation about many things, including how we Americans have serious problems with women, sex, and women’s sexuality. This is a favorite topic of mine, and it was nice to discuss it with folks who aren’t part of American culture. It was a good time.
Jenny also gave me a picture she’d drawn of Kvothe. I’d post it up here, but I don’t have access to it on this computer. I’ll scan it in and post it up later.
So there you go. Those of you who were curious have the end of the story. And it’s a happy ending to boot.
We all need a happy ending every now and then….
pat
63 Comments
ahhh gawd you’re !@#$ing great. thanks for following up with this, it restores my faith in humanity
You, sir, are a truly great person.
There’s so much awesome wrapped up in this, I don’t know where to begin.
I think I know where to end though, so I’ll just say this.
Your fandom is your crew. Keep flyin’
Ah! Glad it turned out well. I was really wondering how she would check facebook if she lost her phone (not everyone travels with a laptop, and not everyone pays for hotel internet access).
I can imagine losing my cellphone in a foreign country, I would cry! Well a potentially bad thing, turned out to be a good one. Yay! *still a sucker for happy endings*
Wow what a crazy happy experience for her! People putting effort into giving a lost phone back to you make you feel warm inside for days. But Patrick Rothfuss doing this….that´s just crazy.
(I want Jenny to return too Sweden with this experience in her mind and make our country feel a bit more Rothfuss-blessed. Actually I now want to accidentielly see Jenny on a bus or something and that would make me a bit starstruck!)
Wow, that was classy of you Pat. The world would be a better place if everyone acted so decently and awesomely all the time. Plus for your fans it’s great knowing you’re that way. You hear so many stories of fans meeting their heroes, and them turning out to be jerks. That’s not something any of your fans will have to worry about though!
That’s a fantastic story, I think my heart melted.
Awesome! Makes me want to “lose” my phone in your pocket or something if I ever get the privilege of meeting you.
Normally Happy Endings cost extra!! :)
LOL. Glad to see I’m not the only one with a dirty sense of humor.
I´d love if you post the conversation about “how Americans have serious problems with women, sex, and women’s sexuality. it would be very interesting.
I would also love to see you post some of your opinions on the issue. It’s one of those things where I know the issue is present, but I have a limited view of it because there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities to discuss it when you’re right in the thick of the problem.
Yes – I agree. I mean, we’re fairly open in California especially where I am from (Near Chico State) but it’d definitely be interesting to read your opinions on the matter, especially given your gender. I find it’s pretty rare to get a man’s point of view on women’s sexuality – at least a serious one.
I feel like some sort of….I don’t know what, but this made me tear up with joy this morning. I am seriously sitting here wiping my eyes thinking how wonderful it is that FB worked so well, that the person who found her phone gave it to you Pat so that you could maybe give it back to Jenny, and that the world really isn’t as bad as it feels when I step out my door.
It is the little awesomenesses and broad empathy. Good job for night losing sight of them, Pat.
And by ‘night’ I of course mean I’m too bloody tired to distinguish that word from ‘not.’ *sigh*
I do this all the time lol, I’m sure I’m typing something in my head and then look up and its a different word
This is just a fantastic story, truly wonderful.
Totally just shared this all over Facebook
Glad we could help. Makes me happy to see what people can do.
After reading this post, i feel the strong urge to fly to the US from Germany(as far away from the US as Sweden at least, if not farther away :-P ), bumping into you at a Con and accidently lose my phone in front of you just to experience the same story ;-)
Cheers and best regards
I think you have to fly to Alaska to be able to argue that Sweden is closer to the US than Germany, (considering Germany is Southwest of Sweden and so is the US). Should be worth it though! :)
I’m in tears. And not only due to my eyes feeling incredibly dried out. Okay, maybe that is why. It’s still a moving story. You’re the Bamf of the Day!
If you go to deviantART, you’ll find some really amazing fan artwork for your books as well.
This is really awesome. Glad that you got to not only make a fan’s day by meeting up with them, but you did a good deed by getting her phone back to her as well. Also, y’all are totally adorable in that photo.
Wait, her name is Jenny? I met that girl and she introduced herself as Jinnah…
Ha!
What? When I met her she called herself Jennice. I´m glad Pat managed to find her though, she always seems to be disappear. And then turn up at wierd places when you don´t suspect it.
Well, that made my day, it seems i too am a sucker for happy endings, and i also feel happy for my fellow swede:)
I loved this when it was on Facebook and mostly shared it just to show people how legit you are. LOL.
Glad it came to a happy ending and Jenny got her wish! How exciting.
I hope I can make it to the Con next year and at least bump into you since you dont make it to CA all that often, but on a side note – next time you should make a run to NorCal, it’s much greener and open than the South. (But they do have Disneyland, so it all works out, right?)
You’re pretty much the coolest guy I know – especially for your fans.
Thanks again for being awesome.
Pat, it’s stories like this that make me miss my college days in the Midwest, in Appleton, WI at Lawrence U. Being a good human being, living the “tiny village” mentality, was fairly common for most of my classmates, but for me reaching that state of being was like trying to climb Olympus. Alas, I wish I’d had a friend like you back then because maybe I’d have understood what it was like to be a true human being and would have been able to achieve that noble attainment, instead of being the cheap imitation I am today.
This is such a great story. Also, if you weren’t already my favorite author, you would be now. :D
Was her number 867-5309?
Awesome.
This is so awesome. Always nice to hear those stories, it makes you feel warm and happy and makes the world look a better place. And it confirms again that you are such a great person. I am a huge fan of your books but I’m also a huge fan of you as a person :)
That guy’s Buffy shirt is so crescent fresh.
I’m the guy in the shirt. Which, as a matter of fact, is new. I bought it at the convention. Not really sure why this would be a problem; being a Buffy fan since quite a number of years back I bought and wore it to show my enthusiasm for the series. I’m somewhat fuzzy as to why wearing a used shirt would have expressed this clearer…
Anyways, got a little off target there. I really just stopped by to say thanks to Pat for the highly enjoyable conversation, and for finding my friend’s phone. Cheers!
Anyways, just thought I’d stop by and say thanks for the t
Tee hee – Crescent Fresh is supposed to be a compliment :)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=crescent+fresh
…Whoops. Serves me right for not looking up unfamiliar slang. Some guy on Facebook was critizising the shirt for being “not even vintage”, so I sort of assumed that “crescent fresh” meant something along the same lines (“fresh” being akin to “not used”).
So, uh, scratch my earlier reply. Thanks :P
LOL – I dont think it’s very commonly used slang.
That person was probably just jealous they couldnt buy a new shirt. Who buys an old used shirt when you can buy a new one? It’s not like shirts last that long. (Not for me anyway…) Plus – the thought of another persons armpits touching my shirt freaks me out….
Just makes no sense. Stupid trolls. Elitest who think you need to have vintage shit to be a fan of something are really annoying. New fans and investing in endorsement products for your favorite series’ is what keeps them alive….duh. Being a fan of something is not a competition – I think the shirt looks nice, hope it holds it’s color.
Thank you, IvoryDoom!
I would have felt like a total jerk if he had gone on thinking I was bashing on his awesome shirt.
To be as clear as possible: Love Buffy. Love your shirt.
Also I apologize for my outdated lexicon.
When they guy said he found the lost phone, I envision you turning to look at an otherwise unnoticed camera, whipping off a pair of sunglasses dramatically and saying “to the Interweb!”. The Batman scene transition sound effect would then play in the background.
You done good son.
Very nice, knew there reason you my favorite author, amazing you actualy took the time and reached out for help to get the phone back.
well done my good sir.
Also keep up the amazing work with your books
This little incident gives you a good reason to visit Sweden! It’s nice here, come visit!!
867-5309?
Dang. Soltar beat me to it…
Classy!
Glad it worked out; glad you had a good time doing it. It’s great when life works out that way, and helping someone else is also an enjoyable thing to do!
The world needs more people like you.
Awww. You’re a good egg, Mr. Rothfuss.
Awww. You really are the most awesome of awesome dudes, Pat.
The best thing about this is, you told me the beginning of this story. In person. At ComicCon. Where I still can’t believe I actually went and actually plucked up the nerve to actually talk to you. And you didn’t even laugh at me for shaking like a 14-year-old. KUDOS, sir, and again: thanks soooo much. :)
Also: You give the BEST hugs.
I’m glad that you found her and got to have coffee with her.
When your own life is being rather sucky, it’s nice to hear that sometimes there are happy endings.
Dude, you covered everything but the good stuff. Let’s hear this woman’s views on Americans and sex, women, etc. She probably thinks we’re all puritanical misogynists, right? Did you tell her that was only the Mormons?
What I would have given to be a fly on the wall at that conversation. It would make an interesting blog, to say the least.
That’s great, Glad to see it has a happy ending
I’ll second the notion that you should come visit Sweden, Pat. My two excuses not to go to any comc-or-other-con in the US have been: 1) So far to go for such a small reason, and 2) So little money, so little time. Now it seems this Jenny person has erased reason number one. I’m trying to figure out whether that’s good or bad, but I’m leaning toward the former.
Also, ‘password’ in Swedish is “lösenord”. In case you find another Swedish fan’s phone and need to know what it’s asking for. Not that it’ll help, though. =)
there is and probably never will be a word in existence that can even come close to describing your awesomeness. ^^
rothfuss…
Pat – Beautiful story. Glad you got the coffee, the Swedish girl, and the drawing of Kvothe all in one go. Damn, that’s a nice day’s work.
I find a few things interesting about this story. I want to preface this by saying I really think Mr. Rothfuss is a great guy. I applaud his charity work and I think he has a good soul.
Pat, why would you and your Swedish friend lump all Americans together? Surely America isn’t perfect, but to make a blanket statement that we all have problems with women, sex and women’s sexuality is obsurd. Question; how many times has this young lady been to America and interacted with Americans to form that opinion?
While you were discussing our problems with feminine culture, did you also discuss the brutality and suffering some Muslim countries bestow on women? Little girls were poisoned by the Taliban for attempting to go to school. Women are stoned to death for adultry. A women had her nose cut off because she refused to marry a man who had raped her? Again, America surely has its problems, but if you want to discuss “problems” countries have with women, you might want to start where it’s the worst.
While I think Pat is awesome, it always irks me how much glee he takes in shit talking America. He lives in America. Probably sells a good portion of his books to Americans, but is a member of “Team World”?
Thank Goodness it worked… I was really worried about the poor girl… ^^
I know I said this before when we met for coffe but I dont really think I can say this enough, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Offering to have coffe with your fan as well as tracking my phone down after hearing it is lost and trying to find me with absolutly nothing to go on, now that makes you no less but an extraordinary person in my eyes. Losing my phone an ocean away from my home was an horrible experience but you turned it into a memory for life. You can bet this is a story that my (somewhere in the far, far, far away future) grandchildren will hear (as well as most of my friends, associates and so on) . So thank you again for being a real life hero.
Also to those that liked and shared Pats message on fb, THANK YOU. Without you I would never have seen the message in time for me to get my phone back at Comic Con nor have a coffe with Patrick Rothfuss himself! (Which was a totally AWESOME experience)
And to Pat: if you actually decide to come to Sweden, give a call ( you have my phone number after all ^^) Then it is my turn to buy you coffe!
In for a kindle Edition and posted on FB, Great Idea!
OOps Wrong post :(