(Submitted by Stephenson Price)

By Stephenson Price, citizen contributor

There are perks to being a journalist: sure you might get the chance to meet famous people and go to glamorous events, but overall it's the experience of the whole ordeal that really makes it worthwhile - in particular, the highlights of unusual treatment and encounters throughout the "hurry up and wait" chaos.

Today I randomly got to meet Vik Sahay (Lester from NBC's Chuck) in a casual exchange at an exclusive and very secretive press party put on by the First Weekend Club in a hidden suite at the Fairmont Royal York. There weren't any secret handshakes involved, but it was definitely on the down-low.

The FWC seeks to promote Canadian films by either pairing with film premieres or hosting separate events to promote several films at once - operating out of most of the major cities in Canada.  And hey, if their plan involves wining me, massaging me, providing me with a makeover (optional) and giving me a bag filled with festival swag, I'm totally on board with this process.

Imagine: I'm standing there with my glass of wine in hand, with a friend in tow, and Sahay casually saunters into the room. We have a hilarious and boisterous exchange about TIFF and the goings-on in Toronto for about 5-10 minutes ("that's what she said" jokes are prominent). And then, without anyone even making note of who he is, he says his goodbyes and presumably heads off to the next public appearance. Not before I shake his hand and tell him I'm a big fan, mind you. (At the time, the small child inside of me wishing I owned a Jeffster T-shirt.... the Chuck fans reading this right now are cheering .... yes I'm a nerd).

Aside from this moment of geekdom, the First Weekend Club gave me the opportunity to see a reel of trailers and promotional material for many of TIFF's prominent Canadian films, including: Fubar 2, Incendies, David Suzuki's Force of Nature, and Barney's Version (based on Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler's novel), while simultaneously getting a glimpse of the star treatment - I hadn't had a massage in years, and the ladies from Spa in the City delivered in spades.

Maybe that's one of the great unknown variables about TIFF though - it's finding these little niche events like this that really stand out. Sure, it's unlikely that you'll run into Megan Fox at one of these things, but if you stick around long enough, or show up at just the right time, who knows what'll happen.

You can follow Stephenson throughout #TIFF10 on Twitter at @pricemeister