Maple Ridge's own Chris Lee is one of the five finalists for the Live@YVR contest, which will give its winner $15,000 to live in Vancouver International Airport for 80 days and film their experience.
There were originally 96 entries in the contest, with each applicant making his or her own video about a community event, which they produced, shot, and conducted interviews for. Lee's video (entitled "Chris Lee at the Tool Library!") saw him head to Vancouver and interview people with nothing more than his camcorder and a hammer instead of a mic.
Today is the final day to vote, and Lee is currently in fourth place, trailing leader Jaeger Mah by just over 3,000 votes. Despite that large discrepancy, he says he's still astounded by his place in the top five.
"Now, I'm in the final five, it's crazy, I can't even describe how far I've come and how little I thought I was going to progress in this contest," he said. "It's nuts."
Lee entered a final plea to voters, hoping they'll take to the website (LiveatYVR.ca) in droves and help him find a new residence.
"Please, please vote for me to live here," he said. "I need to get out of my house."
Lee is a comedian and actor from Maple Ridge who says he would use the $15,000 in prize money to finish his Bachelor of Arts degree. He's currently working for the Maple Ridge News as a multimedia correspondent and he's also spending much of his time developing a comedic web series with other comedians in Vancouver, a project he's very excited about.
Of course, right now, his eye is on YVR.
"I think what interests me most about YVR is all the questions that I have about the place," he said, pointing at a large line-up of people waiting to check in at the domestic terminal. "Like, what possesses a thousand people to line-up like that and wait for hours without going absolutely insane.
"They have so many great foods, they have so many great things you can buy," he said. "I love shopping for stuff, useful things, knick knacks... just talking to people who are interested in stuff like that, as well, would be the greatest experience in the world, just to share my joy of weird things with other people that I've never met before."
What are his favourite things about YVR?
"Planes," he said. "I love watching planes take-off."
And, of course, there's A&W.
"Absolutely, the Teen Burger," he said. "I like to hold on to that nostalgic feeling of my youth. It was the only meal I ate through high school. It's the greatest burger in the world, as far as I'm concerned."