June 01, 2008

That keeps us star gazing

We put on sparkly capes and marched down the main street of town, chanting. We ate dark chocolate and watched the Muppets. We hiked for hours, went skinny dipping in a spring-fed pond, and danced on the table at a local bar. We got kicked out of a karaoke bar for acting too wild, ran through a park at night barefoot, and performed a community service by reporting a rabid raccoon. We took naked photos — amazing, fantastic photos that we intended to sell to a tabloid — but then dropped the camera in the creek so that we have no record of the event.

Well, I might be exaggerating a little. Or maybe even making up stuff altogether.

After more than three years of online friendship, I finally met Phantom Scribbler, the famous and beloved blogger. (Yes, she's still on hiatus. No, she hasn't been hit by a bus. Yes, she's as smart and articulate and warm in real life as she is in writing.)

We planned the weekend in January, shortly after I had made the New Year's pledge that 2008 would finally be the year of our blogger meet-up. We exchanged many emails about what crazy things we might do together. But in reality, what we did: we talked.

We talked for eleven hours straight on Saturday. Sure, we'd pause for a moment to order food or nod to Flaky B&B Woman or look at a map. But otherwise, there were no lulls in the conversation. We talked and talked, ate food and talked, then ate more food and talked some more.

And then in the morning, we opened our eyes, began talking again. And suddenly, another seven hours had gone by, and it was time for us both to go home. We had been so busy talking that we hadn't got around to taking blogger meet-up photos. We hadn't had time to do the usual blogger meet-up ritual of discussing every blogger we'd ever met. We hadn't even watched the Muppets!

But there's always next time ....

Phantom Scribbler

Here's the one photo that survived the mostly fictional photo shoot.

15 comments:

BrightBoy said...

This is so cool! Do all of you other bloggers live in the same neighborhood or something? It seems like I alone represent the South, while everyone else hails from your state.

jo(e) said...

Blackened Boy: Oh, there are tons of bloggers in the south. I've met over forty bloggers, but the meet-ups almost always happen when I'm traveling. The meet-up this weekend, for instance, did not take place in Snowstorm City ....

Liz Miller said...

jealous. jealous. JEALOUS.

Of both of you.

DAMMIT! I WANT TO MEET YOU BOTH TOO!

Miranda said...

^What Liz said. I'm so glad you had fun together. It couldn't happen to nicer people.

lucy tartan said...

very, very jealous of you both....and glad to hear that PS is well.

It's posts like these that make me go searching for conferences in the USA. JASNA 2009? It's in Philadelphia....I can dream but dreaming's not enough!

Rev Dr Mom said...

omg, I couldn't be more jealous!!

And no nude pix...what is tradition FOR anyway? :)

Linda said...

Sounds like a great time! I'm jealous too!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Jealousy! jo(e) and Phantom!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

SOUNDS utterly wonderful! I miss yoU!

Phantom Scribbler said...

Laughing! Rev. Dr. Mom, traditions are made to be broken!

It was teh awesome. Thanks again, jo(e)!

Musey_Me said...

what all of them said... That had to be a fabulous time for both of you!!

Unknown said...

What fun! I love Internet meet ups. They rank as some of my best memories.

You certainly have fun wherever you are Joe!

Jenevieve said...

Man, I am a thousand kinds of jealous. Of *both* of you.

Glad it was awesome!

chichimama said...

Tres jealous! How fun sounding!

Julia said...

Having met Phantom, I fully believe the talking, and not so much the first paragraph... :)
Glad you had so much fun.