waking up on the 40th floor

I’m on the 40th floor of a hotel that’s way too fancy for me. My room is bigger than my first apartment. A box next to the bed controls everything from the lights to the curtains to the music that seems to just appear out of thin air at the touch of a button.

Last night, I ate dinner in a restaurant that was way too fancy for me, and had the fanciest sidecar I’ve ever had. It had jalapeño in it.

I got to New York in one of the fanciest seats in the sky I’ve ever sat in. It could turn into a bed if I wanted, and it came with a TV.

In about an hour, someone is coming to my fancy hotel room to make me look fancier than I am, so I can go talk to the press about a new show — my new show — that the network is so excited about promoting, they put me in this fancy place to talk about it. If all this press works out, and enough people watch it, I may even get to do it for more than 12 episodes.

Tomorrow, I’ll go be fancy again, for pretty much all the press in the world, and then I get to go home to my wife and pets on Friday. I’ll spend the weekend with my family, in my house that I love, and I won’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do.

My new show, that I’ve been working on for over a year, premieres in less than two weeks, and even though we’ve been working on it for so long, it only began to feel real two days ago.

How did I even get this life? I will take none of this for granted. I will appreciate every good thing in my life, and keep working hard to earn those things. I am and will be grateful for everything in my life, even these things that feel too fancy and weird for me.

I keep expecting to wake up from all of this, which is probably why I can’t seem to sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time.

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84 thoughts on “waking up on the 40th floor”

  2. Can’t wait for the premiere. I’ll be watching while simultaneously playing some kind of tabletop game with my roommate. Have a great weekend 🙂

  4. Robert Morley was once attacked on a chat show for both being a lifelong socialist and enjoying the finer things in life and his response was something along the lines of, “My dear boy, the point of socialism is not to deny one’s self a better quality of life but to ensure it is available for all.”

  7. New York can be big and fancy, but I hope you take it by storm! Breath slowly, breath deeply, take it all in! Remember that there are sooooooo many people who have your back and are lifting you up!

  8. You’ve worked hard for these moments. You deserve each and every one of them. Enjoy every second (especially in the very fancy airplane seat and hotel room!).

    1. I bet that fancy hotel room has a fancy bathroom. I hope he describes all of the wonders it contains.

  9. Saw previews for the show (and I rarely watch TV) and became excited. My husband said, “Who’s Will Wheaton?” I swear. I am trying to help him keep up with my nerd-dom but I conceded it’s easier said than done.

  10. Yes, exactly what John Scalzi said, enjoy it. You deserve this after all the hard work you have done and continue to do. Looking forward to the show. Keep up the good work.

  12. You’re awesome, and it’s so amazing that you’re so down to earth. You earned this Will. ((hugs))

  15. Wil, you deserve this!! Have fun in the now and enjoy for everyone out there that has been rooting for you all along!

  16. Hei Wil, just keep working as you do, I always think that great actors make you hate characters, like Joffrey in GoT that kid is amazing. You made me “hate” your character in Eureka ;). I’m far from being an actor (work as developer) but I believe that is easy to act on a nice character, but takes skills to act in an annoying/bad character. Hope you get my ++ message 🙂

  17. You’ve definitely earned this! I can’t wait to see the new show, next season of Tabletop and the new RPG show. 🙂

  19. You’ve worked hard, you’ve worked through a lot, you deserve a little weird and fancy from time to time. Enjoy it…just don’t get cocky ;0)

  20. I found your original web blog many years ago and I really didn’t understand some of the stuff you posted about but then you started your memories series and I enjoyed it tremendously. I follow you on Twitter and even thought I do not understand all the brewing stuff and gaming references I still wait for those moments where you show the real human side of yourself..that celebrity highs or lows have not changed you. You show people that just being yourself has its own rewards. You earned all this and should enjoy it for as long as you can. I am a 56 yr old ICU nurse and you have taught me a lot.

  23. You know that career you wanted when you quit TNG? This is it. It took a while but you worked hard and now you can enjoy it, as John Scalzi says.

    I hope your network can be persuaded to make WWP (is that the hashtag yet?) available outside the US, ideally in the same week as it’s topical. SyFy UK were kind enough to show BSG only a few days after the US so that would work with your show, too.

    Have fun and much success!

  24. Congratulations, Wil! Here’s hoping that room is fancy enough to show the Kings beat the Ducks tonight (and you get to see it!) So then you can watch your Kings advance on Friday in the comfort of home (and horse mask).
    PS we’re waiting for you in Chicago!

  25. Dude, it’s nice to see one of the good guys win… Yeah, man, enjoy it!!! My wife and I will be loyal viewers!… Cheers, mate!

  26. Congrats! I’ve been a long time fan. I’m a cable hater. Do you know if the show will be available to buy online, like on Amazon or Itunes?

  27. Could not have happened to a better or more genuine person. Congrats, and enjoy!

  28. You’ve put in your time. You’ve stayed true to yourself and your family. YOU’VE EARNED THIS. Enjoy it. It couldn’t happen to a finer, more deserving person.

  30. Just watched Stand By Me again for the xth time. It occurs to me you actually grew up to be the Writer. Congrats.

  31. On a much smaller scale, I just finished my last shift at work for nine days. I’m going on vacation. A big one. Didn’t feel real until this morning. Felt much more stressed about it than excited about it. So, I get you right now. *grin*

    Happy for you, Wil, and I’ll be tuning in for sure when you grace the airwaves this summer.

  33. The best part is the appreciation you have for going home to what really matters:)

  35. Wil,
    A lot of people here have echoed that you’ve worked hard and earned this, and I agree with them, but I wanted to share part of why.

    I’ve been a Star Trek fan for a long time, but my buddy, who’s recently been diagnosed with Diabetes and is losing his vision and his feet, didn’t really know who you were. A few years ago, at the first PAX East, his spirit were down, but I dragged him to your keynote speech because I knew the kind of person you’d grown up to be and thought it would be good for him.

    He expected, in his words, a “corporate shill” of Star Trek and whatever business you were into. I knew better, of course, but he was down already so I didn’t argue with him.

    The speech you gave changed him somewhat profoundly, and now, years later, when he starts to get down, we can talk about that speech, about what you said about our gaming culture and community, and it helps pep him up.

    You have earned it. You’ve transitioned from a television star to a community leader, and you deserve whatever good comes your way.

  36. Dear Wil,
    If you are really only getting less than an hour of sleep at a time, there may be a real reason that has nothing to do with your mental state. I am sure that you realize that buildings that are that tall (at least 40 floors) sway. As you are from California I would assume that you are sensitive to buildings swaying (that pesky earthquake thing). If this persists I would suggest you get a room lower than the 15 floor and get better sleep. (A humidifier will also help with getting better sleep, I am sure that the front desk has one, just ask)

    Congratulations in any case for attention that is well earned.

    We will miss you at Denver Comic Con this year. You were inspiring last year and made me cry with pride for my tribe.

  40. I know dealing with that kind of press/publicity must be a pain, but at least you’re putting it in context and hoping it will lead to more viewers/shows. Here’s hoping. Best to you on this!

  41. I was so excited to see a promo for your show last night. I was watching Big Bang reruns on TBS, and there you were! I’m so excited for you and I can’t wait for the show. Enjoy the fancy! 🙂

  42. You’re a humble man who has worked hard for every kernel of success. You deserve it! Enjoy and be well.

  43. Less than 2 weeks? I can finally program my DVR for it! So, so very happy for you.

  46. I’m so old. I’m reading this and I hear Toad the Wet Sproket “I Will Not Take These Things For Granted” lol. Happy touring. Safe travels home.

  47. Congrats. Maybe it says something about me, but the fancy side car is what stood out in my reading. Enjoy the ride.

  49. As someone who was there for the live show and the test show, let me tell you that you’ve made a wonderful, hilarious show that celebrates nerds without using them as the butt of cruel jokes. Your stance about not mentioning bigots on your show in any capacity means a lot to me (as an GLBT person) and you are a genuinely great guy. I’m not surprised you get to be fancy because you deserve it, sir. You deserve all the fancy and the recognition.

  50. Wil, I’d like to add another congratulation. Looking forward to the show. Just watched the trailer on that channel’s website. Did anyone else notice that they flipped the video there in the middle left-to-right? As an amateur video editor, I’m curious why.

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