If I ever come (fair warning - it is within the realm of possibility):
1) It'll be lunch at El Azteca
2) You have to promise that we will have a horrible time so that we can be the first Jatraqueros to ever report a failed meeting here on this site -- that means you probably shouldn't bring your lovely wife, who, I'm sure, brightens any social occassion (as does mine so I guess she's out too)
3) I expect you to wear a British-cut sports coat [you should know by now, the difference between the American, British and French/Italian style men's suit coat/sports coat]
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Oh yeah, and *whispers* I already know. It became quite clear after all of you (except for imogen and fiazko - props to them) ignored my brilliant and hilarious parody on the other side. I tried to be low key about it, but now it's time for shamelessness.
---
Also: that T_Smith punk can come too if he's not out serving the Lord. That dude needs a serious fashion paradigm shift beaten into him [yes, I'm talking about the infamous brown jacket].
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Toni and Katie are, in fact, more funny, cooler, and better looking than you think.
Well, you almost got this right. They were smarter, too.
quote:I may not have outputted as much as most people, but I paid attention had a great time.
Yeah! I kinda got the impression that we were a show for Nate all weekend long. Luckily, he was a great audience and laughed at everything. That really inflated our egos. We did have to ask him a few times to speak up and let us know he was alive in the backseat as we drove. I'm sorry I missed all the antics at the airport. Nate has a very interesting blue shirt though, and the tights/bottle episode was quite entertaining.
quote:Cecily and Toni are very outgoing, lovable people.
This is very true. They sooooo carried the entire outing. They were the organizers, the conversationalists, the perfect hosts and generally the glue that held us all together. Cecily(Narnia) was just as she is on the board - very outgoing and incredibly nice and sweet and cute. Toni(Ralphie) was just as she is on the board....only M A G N I F I E D. Imagine not waiting between posts for witty chatter, snappy comebacks and larger than life personality! It was almost overwhelming and more than comforting. I was instantly set at ease.
quote:Oh, and btw, Zotto! is like... Mr. Cool.
He is! He kinda hung back a little bit, but that was all part of the cool thing. And he wore lots of black clothing. And he knew random artists that hung out in coffee houses. And we were totally s'posed to pick him up on Sunday and take him to the Gorge with us, but we got up late and totally bailed on him (in some ways, we are very evil people - see Nate's frappe pic from Pac NW get together thread)!
quote:Not only is Jeni very cool (purple streaks folks... nuff said) but she has the happiest kids on the planet.
Very true. Cute kids - Rayne may have been in a body cast but she was an incredibly happy child. jeni's husband was really cool, and incredibly tolerant of all us Hatrackers. He was performing bicep curls with Rayne while we were all talking. About jeniwren's hair - apparently, some people thought she had blue/purple hair all over and so were confused by the signing pics. The purple/blue streaks were all at the ends, presumably because some time has passed since she dyed her hair. Anyway, she was really cool and interesting and Toni, jeni(uncapitalized so as not to be confused with the other Jeni), Nate and I all had Thai food and talked and hung out at the bookstore before we ate.
No quotes about Annie and Hobbes. They monopolize enough of the board's attention as it is.
Annie wrote:
quote:Portland was cool. Annie, however, is now sick.
If I don't die this afternoon, I'll tell you how much fun I had.
This is my fault. I was coughing all weekend long and shook your hand before you left the signing. I'm sure that means Hobbes has it as well. I'm sorry! Well, not in some ways because it makes up for some of the nausea caused by the Annie and Hobbes comments on the boards. I'm also waiting for the full casualty list from the spreading of my virus. It's not SARS or anything but I think it spreads quite well for a virus of its caliber. And it builds a much needed immune system for someone who lives in Montana and prolly doesn't get as much exposure to people. Annie does make splendid crepes and is a model of what you can accomplish if you don't watch TV. She was much quieter than on here. She may have the word "Shakira" in her AIM name and say she talks constantly but it's all lies and smokescreens!
Hobbes was much like he is on here. Very cheerful and optimistic. I found out he was featured prominently in the acknowledgements section of Crystal City and he is indeed a big DVD buff. He was very very very disappointed that I hadn't seen The Quiet Man and tried to get me to see it, but he scared me and I escaped!I probably will eventually see it, because I should prolly see at least one John Wayne movie where he doesn't shoot anybody.
Shigosei and Mr. Funny were very interesting and funny. Mr. Funny was less sardonic in RL. Not as eager to take over the world. Shigosei tried to be outgoing but was hindered by her cold and the awesome conversational gravity well powered by the Narnia/Ralphie factor. Definitely a LOTR fan (she threatened to cite lineages - we said we believed her and she backed off a little). Their parents were nice and didn't say a thing and were tolerant of the craziness that was our group. We certainly attracted looks from other patrons because of some of our comments.
MoonRabbit and his wife were there and took pictures. He had sushi and wasabi(Toni tried some wasabi, but none of us tried the sushi for some reason) and obviously was a photographer(he had a wide angle lens as one of his attachments to his camera - very professional from this ignoramus' point of view). They were both very nice.
We (Toni's posse - the other main faction was Cecily's) talked about Celia's voice, and Frisco's conspicuous absence and missed Shan and compared notes about events on the board and all in all it was very therapeutic and interesting and fun.
Oh, and everyone was smarter, funnier and better looking in Real Life. Except Deirdre(Katie) who I didn't meet. I'm sure she was completely different from everyone else.
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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2. Please. You'll be hanging out with me. Of course you'll have a horrible time.
3. Dude. Of course I know the difference.
4. Sometimes the best praise is no praise at all. Except when no praise means that it sucks. Unless it sucks so much that it is, in its own way, praiseworthy.
5. No foolin'. The "infamous brown leather jacket" has to go.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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celia: you mean that isn't you telling me to shine large flashlights into people's living rooms at night?
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Yeah, Nate filled us in. He had opinions We were information starved about RL interactions with any Hatrackers. And he taped all your conversations (*in deep voice* no, not really).
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
you weren't at that gathering, you weren't one of the two. now go buy fresh batteries, yours are running low.
i should give that nathan kid a call again some time...if only to hear him fight with his sister more. Posts: 3956 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Well, see, now that's the beauty of the Web. You can insult someone in a different language and they have to do the work of looking up the insult.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I hate it when I'm late for a thread like this!! You all saw my comments, so I will just add:
Jonny = YOWZA! You're hot dude. I was pleased that you chose to eat crepes in my house. And I'm sorry that it took me 15 minutes to figure out who you were. You could have been the Bellingham Strangler and I still would have thought you were hot. It was nice to figure out that you were someone I already knew.
Laura = 50% of my hostess charm folks. Couldn't have done it without her and she even came when she ISN'T addicted to hatrack and wouldn't get all our jokes. What a sweet and good sport! She also creamed us all in movie trivia and quotes.
Hobbes = left his mathbook at my house. Now I will try for world domination!! You've also never seen anything 'cuter' than Hobbes and Annie browsing the forum TOGETHER, one doing the browsing and the other leaning on and looking over a shoulder. Many giggles, many smooches. Yeah, it was all there.
T_Smith = hottie. Yes, yes you are. I thought you were so cute and funny and enjoyable to be around. I wanted to take you away from Ralphie. And I totally dig the brown jacket...and I was amused by how an innocent coke bottle became the bain of your existance...and we WILL find those tights before January. You can bet on it.
Zotto! = very closeby and easy to nab whenever I want a minion. Every time I type that exclamation point I think of calling your name and then smacking you to emphasize it. I am SO VERY PLEASED that we got to hang out, that you shared your first beautiful Portland fall with us, and that you live so close. I could never ask for a cuter, nicer, more fun minion than you. You were also a really good sport about being in the back seat with Annie and Hobbes the whole weekend. *snicker*
Annie = gorgeous dimples, gorgeous hair, gorgeous figure...yeah. It's all there and it's FANTASTIC!! She's sweeter in person and whips up apple cinnamon crepes in NOTHING FLAT folks. I'm telling you, she's amazing!!
Crystal = devoted fan from Alaska. We'll get a picture of her up real soon, she's a cutie and a sweetie to boot.
MoonRabbit = cool guy with the camera. He's the one that's always willing to take pictures of you and your friends and he gets all the good candid shots. He also has a lovely wife who was so accepting of our crazy little group.
Nato = one of the original Portlanders. I'm so glad you came because we had such a good time being silly at the signing while waiting for OSC to show up. Oh, and you're hot too.
Ralphie = goddess of the south west side. It's quite nice being on opposite sides of the city cause then we've got it all covered...we're also good drivers. (Zotto, keep quiet!!) Toni is a woman of hidden talents who can play the piano and pogostick. yep. Saw it with me own eyes!! Oh, and sorry about the smilies in this post. They're instinctive...
Dan = Ralphie's incredibly funny and endearing husband. He makes EVERYONE feel so comfy and he's really really nice.
Shigosei and Mr. Funny = cool, cute siblings with awesome parents who put up with us a LOT that day.
jeniwren = hip mom with great blue and purple hair. Sweet kids and a very very good sport of a husband. It was nice to meet jeni and really really nice to meet her whole family.
Ok, so that was a lot of comments. But, at the signing, I also met two other very awesome OSC fans. Dave (the guy that owns everything OSC in hardcover) and Jim (the enthusiastic fan who plans on signing onto the board soon.) They were both very awesome and made me glad that I stood in line for a bit.
And the Cards. Well. We all know that they rock. For this we write.
posted
Yes, a warning too late, he said to himself, as he quickly closed his browser at work, cursing Myrddin under his breath.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Well I guess I’m going to sum up the events on my timeline. And just to try and keep the sap out of the description I’ll just say Annie is perfect right now and try not to focus on it later.
I arrived in late (about 11:00pm local time) and Narnia et group came to pick me up after dinner with Ralphie’s group (I’m dividing groups by driver by the way). I got in a bit early and walked down to baggage claim. I thought I saw them come in to get me out of the corner of my eye but then they disappeared so I just waited for a while. After 15 or twenty minutes I got bored and walked back up to the area where we got off the plane (or as close as you can get without going through security) where Annie spotted me. I then attempted to explain how my trip went despite the fact that I had been up for about 20 hours and was sick. I’m surprised Narnia let me come in her house after that since I undoubtedly sounded stoned.
We then dropped Zotto(!) off and picked up materials for breakfast the next morning. Then due to the fact that we were all exhausted, went to bed. Or at least that’s all I remember doing.
The next morning we woke semi-early and had Annie make us crepes (which were fantastic). After a bit Ralphie, Nate, and Johnny(NotSoBrovo) came over to have some crepes themselves and watch Ralphie relive her childhood via the pogo stick.
After some more talking we headed off to a coffee shop to meet the rest of the group. Once everyone arrived we sat a round for a bit thinking Nate was checking Hatrack to make sure we were all there only to discover he was just reading new threads. Finally we went off to a big bookstore and wandered around. Then off to dinner where I got slightly ill from some really bad orange chicken. Yuck.
Then we walked over to Borders where the signing was and got some good seats. OSC and KACard arrived early and OSC started signing. Finally Ralphie introduced us all to Kristine and we talked for a while (amongst our selves and Kristine) and OSC eventually started talking. He answered a few questions (after a talk about a few basic questions he “pre-answered”) and then started in signing again. Most people had already gotten their books signed so they talked with Kristine for a while but Annie and I still had stuff to sign so we waited in line. Eventually we worked our way up to OSC who proved to be charming and cordial despite the fact that he’d already done another signing.
After some more (fun) talk we all headed are separate ways. Ralphie dropped Jeniwren (whose great by the way) and came back to meet up with the Narnia crew. We went to a crepes place and ended up sitting upstairs in a small, cozy room where we all got to talk about Hatrack for a while. Finally we headed home to get some sleep.
The next morning we woke up late and hung around Narnia’s house for a while (Annie and I went for a walk). In case anyone’s wondering, Narnia is an absolutely great choir director. Eventually Narnia, Laura, Annie, and I went to Church which for some reason meets at three. After coming back Annie and I stole some salad and then headed off to her old roommate’s house for dinner (which was cooked by Annie’s roommate’s boyfriend and was quite good). After some reminiscing between Annie and her old friend we went back to Narnia’s (with friend and friend’s boyfriend) to watch The Quiet Man and then went to bed.
The next morning we hooked up with Annie’s friend again for a while (just the three of us) for breakfast. Then we went to see the Portland Temple (which looks great by the way), I’ll upload a picture later if Annie doesn’t mind. After that it was time to drop me off at the airport and that ended our weekend.
In case anyone is wondering, my CD player broke and I did indeed end up spending 7.5 hours waiting for the Purdue shuttle at the airport (well 6.5 since the flight was late). Sigh, still, the weekend was very worth it, you guys all rock!
quote:Cecily has a very giggly sister with a good sense of humor.
Awww MAN! I came off as giggly? I've really been trying to cut down. And I just dropped off my film to be developed today so we'll have some pogo stick and bottle fondling pictures this weekend I hope. ( )
quote:Laura = 50% of my hostess charm folks. Couldn't have done it without her and she even came when she ISN'T addicted to hatrack and wouldn't get all our jokes. What a sweet and good sport! She also creamed us all in movie trivia and quotes.
I really did enjoy the signing. I have read all the Ender's Shadow series (that's out anyway) and Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Enchantment so I appreciated everything just the same. And I did get most of the jokes I think, the head squeazing one in particular. I really actually enjoyed the weekend
{edit} Annie, I just saw the tights site.....brilliant![/edit] *insert evil laughter here*
posted
One of my favorite parts of our outing was when a bunch of us crowded into the OSC section of the bookstore and read the Crystal City acknowledgements section out loud. It was so fun to hear the names of some of our favorite people and read about hatrack in a lovely book while we were all standing there together. Kind of surreal, but really fun.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Now that you mention it, I'm also not all that keen on that last bit, "more funny, cooler, and better looking than you think," which almost makes it sound as though Hatrackers didn't already think we are incredibly funny, cool, and good looking. "Even more funny...than you think" would have been vastly preferable.
But don't worry. No big deal, really. I'm sure you'll do better next time.
Posts: 1046 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Finally we went off to a big bookstore and wandered around. Then off to dinner where I got slightly ill from some really bad orange chicken. Yuck.![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
After coming back Annie and I stole some salad and then headed off to her old roommate’s house for dinner (which was cooked by Annie’s roommate’s boyfriend and was quite good). After some reminiscing between Annie and her old friend we went back to Narnia’s (with friend and friend’s boyfriend) to watch The Quiet Man and then went to bed.![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
