The first time I tried to meet a friend I made through blogging was in 2007 when I was writing from Iraq and befriended a doctor who was writing from the same location, shortly after he gave me a “shout out” following his getting a New York Times link to his blog, sending me several hundred new visitors. However, he flew home before we could coordinate our schedules, and it never happened.
The second time I tried to meet bloggers whom I knew online was when I flew to Wisconsin for work and hoped to meet Maggie Dammit and Sarah Pare. Maggie told me she lived in the “boonies” and couldn’t come to Madison, and Sarah failed to respond to my intoxicated twitters asking her and hers to come out to the Great Dane (oddly enough).
The third time I looked forward to meeting a blogger I liked was when Tanis was in Nashville, the city in which I grew up, for Blissdom. But, I had a trial that week and National Guard that weekend, so I recommended a good BBQ joint for her to visit in lieu of meeting.
The fourth time I tried to meet a blogging friend was when Pretty Bride had a booth at the Inman Park festival, and Kristen said she’d come by to say “hi.” She came to the festival but never quite made it by our booth, due to a meltdown by some or all of her three children.
So, I was a little pessimistic about my fifth attempt, in which I’d hoped to take advantage of what has so far been a horrendously dull and rainy military-sponsored conference in Orlando by meeting Avitable and Miss Britt.
Shame on me for my pessimism. Despite the El Yunque conditions tonight, they showed up, wet but cheerful at a cantina a few blocks from my hotel. And let me clear up a few misconceptions you may have if you only know these people from their blogs:
1-Adam is not a dick. He’s like Hagrid, but without the adoring little wizards. Sardonic wit, yes, but never mean or belittling. He insisted on picking up the tab and even drove me back, so I wouldn’t have to stand in the rain hailing a cab again.
2-Britt is full of shit. She writes with self-deprecating humor about being overweight, under-educated, inadequate, etc. She’s not. She’s small; she’s thin; she’s witty; she’s smart.
In any event, thanks for sparing me from another evening alone at a bar this week, you two! I hope to hang out again at the infamous Avitable Halloween party in a few months.
It was great to meet you, too, and I think that having your blogger meetup cherry popped by me and Britt is about as gentle an experience as one can have.
You forgot to mention that Britt was hot. Oh, and she loves it when people say that she has great tits.
Avitable’s last blog post..What should you do this summer?
You were conscious when Avitable dropped you off at your hotel right? I remember reading something about him and fondling drunk people at his party.
SciFi Dad’s last blog post..Hard
Wait a minute. I don’t think I EVER said “uneducated”!!!
*searching frantically though archives….*
ANYway – it was SO good to meet you. I raved about you to my husband all the way home. Seriously. Anyone who ever has a chance to meet you should. HUGELY impressed by you.
Also developing unhealthy crush on guys in glasses now I think….
Miss Britt’s last blog post..When Happiness Means Not Blogging. Or Using Periods.
But did Adam bring bacon?
always home and uncool’s last blog post..Memo to Thing 2, Age 7 — The Video
I’m still 78% positive that Adam and Britt don’t actually exist and they are actually just one person purporting to be two people.
Think about it. You never see them in the same room together, and they’re never on video together. All these supposed “blog meetups” are cleverly orchestrated propaganda meant to increase their (his/her) ad revenue. And come on – the radio show? It’s pre-recorded and overdubbed, with one person doing both voices, and conjoining the audio splices with Audacity. Google it – it’s a real audio program!
Do you ever notice they “happen” to tweet almost at the same time? Even their blog comments (like above) were within minutes of each other, and probably from the same block of IP addresses.
whall’s last blog post..My thanks, Part V
Thank YOU….both of them have such misconceptions about them and you summed it up nicely. I always say that Avitable is the “teddy bear” of mean and that Britt is totally tiny!
Hilly’s last blog post..Persephone’s Song…
Dammit.
You got to meet my friends before I did.
Totally jealous.
And now craving bbq with that jealousy.
Double damn you.
Redneck Mommy’s last blog post..Custom Delivery
You survived!
You should get a tee shirt. Totally. 🙂
(Kidding, of course. They both rock!)
Sybil Law’s last blog post..Birthday!
How totally cool to meet someone you blog with! Glad the fifth time was a go!
SurprisedMom’s last blog post..Monday Mumblings 5
My special thanks to those two for helping you maintain some semblance of sanity in the midst of mind-numbing bureaucratic training. Wish I coulda shared that pitcher!
Miserable Muskrat misses meeting Major, Maggie, meltdown Mom, more. Manages moist muster. Man o man, misconceptions. Man-crush? Maybe.
Avitable, You know, I was going to say both of those things but was afraid you’d get all protective and stuff and come back to my hotel with a club or something. Next time I meet with y’all, I’ll give my real impressions.
SciFiDad, No, I figured waking up with a toothbrush in my ass was “what you do” in Florida and thought nothing of it.
Britt, Unhealthy? Thanks! I thought a long time ago you wrote something about not finishing school or something. Maybe that was another blogger. I’m a whore and read more than one blog, you know.
AlwaysHome, He didn’t, which was a great disappointment. In lieu of same, however, he brought lube.
Whall, I used to think the same thing, and now that I’ve been with both of them at the same time, I’m certain you’re right.
Hilly, Glad you agreed. Next time, you should come play, too!
RedneckMommy Ha! That’s what you get for living in Siberia.
SybilLaw, I had hoped for a t-shirt, but instead Adam gave me a cockring. Score!
SurprisedMom, It was cool! Until I saw these comments and realized some of the aftermath is not cool at all.
PB, I agree. But any sanity I had has now been lost again.
Avatgardener, *chuckle* I don’t know about mancrush.
Oh no, you’re right. I didn’t finish college.
I guess to you lawyer types that is the same as “uneducated”. he he he he he he he
Miss Britt’s last blog post..My pilates instructor has a bigger ass than me.
Britt, he said “under-educated”, not “uneducated”. Big difference!
Avitable’s last blog post..Carbs can be good for you
Britt, Now you’re trying to make me feel like a dick. Avitable’s right–the prefix changes the adjective! Incidentally, aren’t you supposed to be writing or working right now?
You’d think she’s supposed to be working. But no! She just mocks me with her non-workingness.
Avitable’s last blog post..Carbs can be good for you
I am yet to meet a blogging friend. Just the other day I heard a blogging friend being interviewed on the radio and realized I had never heard his voice before and it was quite interesting to put a voice to a, well, voice.
blues’s last blog post..Has it really come to me moaning about the good ole days?
I’m jealous – knowing my luck, if I ever tried to meet someone I knew only from the internet, it would be an awkward disaster. Scary to even think about. But great fun that you guys all liked each other!
I’ve met one other blogger in my time and that worked pretty well. So I’m hosting a blogger BBQ this weekend, we’ll see how take two goes. Hopefully as well as yours did.
Next time I’m in Georgia, maybe we can be Take 6. Though, by that time it will be like Take 218.
A Free Man’s last blog post..I’m just pulling on a line and sometimes it pulls on me
Well, if you’re ever in South Africa, you can come nad meet me…
Michelle’s last blog post..If it’s not hunger, what is it?
Adam as Hagrid.
Brilliant.
Adam and Britt are good people, that’s for sure. Glad you had a good time.
That sounds like a fun night. Glad all worked out. Even happier that I got to pay for it, lol.
WeaselMomma’s last blog post..ZZZzzzzzzz
Britt and Adam are awesome and it’s great that you finally got to meet them!
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter’s last blog post..Dialog, Part 24
Dude! Am I a complete idiot? Honestly, when I got your email, I didn’t realize you wanted to meet — you said you were gonna be in town for one afternoon and wanted advice on the best places to go. (Okay, as I type that now it’s more clear, ugh…) but at the time I really didn’t get it! I honestly thought you were asking me where you should go with other, more fabulous people and I said the boonies thing to explain why I didn’t know where the cool places were. But I TOTALLY, FOR THE RECORD, WOULD HAVE LOVED AND WOULD STILL LOVE TO MEET YOU. I’m a 45 minute drive from downtown Madison. Even a socially awkward borderline-agoraphobic like me would have made that trek for you. I swear.
Forgive me?
maggie, dammit’s last blog post..Saying it the only way I know how (war and confusion and love and thanks)
dude! you’re coming to BlogHer, right?? right?
*sniffle*
at least I’ll see Adam and Britt there. 😉
perhaps this means I should give up my pessimism about whether or not we’ll actually make it to BlogHer? we, as of yet, are still without a vehicle to call our own.. but we have tickets! I suppose we can always rent or something..
churchpunkmom’s last blog post..Poetry Thursday
Well, I tried again and now one or all of your kids had a meltdown, so I’m going to guess that you don’t exist and you’ve got one of your kids writing your blog.
Motherhood Uncensored’s last blog post..So what are you doing for Valentine’s Day next year?
Thanks for sharing informative content.