So how’d it go? Did TruePisces get a true and proper send off? Did katiekilldare find you? What kind of shirt did UncleBill wear? Inquiring minds want to know!
Ugh. I feel like an ashtray.
I’m home safely. I hope you kids had as nice a time as I did. So very good to meet you three.
I still feel tipsy.
G’night.
(Uncle Bill, how YOU doin?)
katie, glad you made it home safe… I still don’t think you had that many cigs, I think that the troll from under our table was filching them! 
I’m home safe myself, UncleBill has been delivered safely to his motel room… and I’m exhausted! But I had a great time with all of you!
I’ll post notes in the morning. Tonight I’m just too damn tired. I’ve been home for about an hour and a half, but had some talking to do with the step-mom. I promise, Verrain you’ll get all the juicy tid-bits. (But in quick answer to your questions, yes, I got a true and proper send off, katie found us without a problem and Bill was wearing a… a… Damn! What kind of shirt was Bill wearing? It was white… that’s all I remember. katie? Bill? O? somebody???
I’m going to bed now before I start making sense.
Well, I’m glad you all had fun. I’m getting close to being able to leave work. We cleared enough cable out from under the computer room floor to fill the back of a pickup truck. Looks like the guts of some big disgusting monster… Now we just gotta make sure all the machines come back up and I’ll go home and SNOOZE!
Uncle Bill’s t-shirt said “Crooked” something on it from Hong Kong.
Now that I’ve gotten a few hours sleep, I think I can sit at the computer long enough to let everyone that didn’t/couldn’t make it yesterday know what happened. Remember, this is a Pisces-view, so things might be a little skewed!
I met UncleBill at the Waffle House at around 2:30. I’d been waiting for a little while… not too long, but in the mean time, the employees inside were giving me funny looks. I thought it might be best to move my truck somewhere a little less tow-likely, and had Bill follow me to McDonalds. Then I locked up the truck and got on the bike with Bill and off we went.
It didn’t take us long to get to Bennigan’s and, when we arrived, we didn’t see anyone outside. So, we headed in and who do I see sitting at the bar? None other than Oicu812. We headed up to the bar, introductions were made, and drinks were ordered. A very short time later, we saw a beautiful young woman walk in and come around the bar. We all said “That must be katiekilldare” and sure enough, it was! She handed me a going away present (these really cool postcard/recipe cards – which she still hadn’t needed to get for me, but I appreciate none-the-less), ordered her drink, and introductions were again made. We decided sitting at the bar wasn’t quite as conducive to conversation, so we headed for a booth. We chatted about… well, a lot of everything… while we sat there, we drank a little more, ordered appitizers, I took pictures and then we decided to head for miniature golf.
We managed to find the place with little to no problem, and then the fun really began. A couple things that came to mind quickly: I really am not good at putt-putt golf, and UncleBill either is good, or just the luckiest man I know! Oh, and I still owe O one for knocking my ball totally out of whack in one of the caves. We managed to get lots of pics of us golfing (which I plan on getting developed and up on a web page soon.) I think everyone had a good time… I know I did!
After golf, we decided to head back to Bennigan’s to partake a little more of the good stuff. This time, we sat at a table in the bar to begin our rounds of drinks. O had to leave a little earlier than the rest of us… he had a prior engagement for the evening. But Bill, katie and I stayed until around 10:15, 10:30 and continued to eat, drink and talk. katie and I even managed to come away with a couple of cool bottles.
After we left Bennigan’s, Bill took me back to my truck, and I showed him the way to an inexpensive motel in the area so he could get some sleep before his long ride home today. We talked a little while longer before I headed home, and that, my friends, is where the DopeFest officially ended for me.
It was great to meet everyone there, and I had an awesome time. I was glad that at least a few people could help me say good-bye to Florida in style. The next time I’m down, I’d love to do something like this again.
Now, for my impressions section… I’ll go in order of appearance…
UncleBill - Much quieter than I expected, but an all around great and fun guy. The biggest sweetheart for stopping and picking me up on the way by, and allowing me a chance to ride again… it had been far too long. He’s not a bad golf player (at least, putt-putt), a great conversationalist and well worth the wait to meet him.
Oicu812 - A great, great guy! I wish he had been able to make it to Tampa last month, b/c he looks great in some of his SCA garb. A great flirt, a fellow SF freak (I think we managed to bore the other two a time or two with some of our conversations!) and someone I hope to continue to be great friends with.
katiekilldare - Wow! katie is just cool! She was a lot of fun to talk to, funny and a FarScape fan… what’s not to like??! 
I was really glad she was able to make it, and it really helped make the DopeFest even more fun for me.
Thanks again, all three of you. It was great, and I’m glad I had a chance to get to know you all better. Once I get moved and settled, if you’re ever in NY, please let me know!
[sub]Thanks, katie, for Bill’s shirt reminder… I still don’t remember anything more than the “Crooked” part, but I knew there was something that seemed fitting about it! ;)[/sub]
True Pisces, thanks for the super nice description. It was a pleasure to meet and hang out with you, and I must say I’m quite sad now that you’re leaving the state. And remember, as per Pezpunk, the only good-looking woman left in Florida will be Pez’s girlfriend now that you’re taking your leave.
For anyone who hasn’t met TP in person, you’re completely missing out. She’s open and sweet, and just as cute as a button. She also saw fit to kick my ass in putt-putt golf, which I thought was odd, as she seemed so generous and dear in all other aspects.
O is amazingly nice and well-read, as well as generous with his cigarettes. (FYI, I’ve given them up as my occasional complement to beer for all time, thanks to last night. I could barely make it up my stairs when I got home.) He also felt it appropriate to beat me in putt-putt golf. And did anyone else suspect that O might secretly be a ninja? The outfit gave it away, buddy.
And as for Uncle Bill, he’s just absolutely chock-full of charm and wit. Can’t wait to hang out with him again sometime. And yet despite these fine qualities, he also humbled me on the golf course. I also blame Uncle Bill for bewitching TP and I with an inexplicable desire to photograph his butt.
All in all, a very good day.
katie
TP - You are certainly a wonderful, attractive lady, and it was an absolute pleasure meeting you! Good luck, and I will see you in NYC in June!!! P.S. Lurker is one lucky man!
Katie - What can I say? An absolute knockout, and has a charming mind to back it up. You are quite the funny storyteller! I really enjoyed our conversation!
UncleBill - You are one of the most personable and nicest gentlemen that I have met in a long time! P.S. Ladies of the SDMB, don’t miss out on this one! Send in your order today!
All in all, that was twice as fun as I was expecting, and my expectations are rather high. We MUST do this more often!
O
Vidi Vici Veni!
Not a ninja, BTW… More like Honorable Hatchet Man…
O
katie, I thought we weren’t going to tell them about the butt pics! We were just going to surprise them with it!!! Oh well!
I’ll admit, though, there’s a part of me that’s sad I’m leaving too. It would have been cool to do this a lot more often. Thank you, both, for the kind descriptions. Though, katie, you’ve now convinced me that I’ll never get away from “cute”… but that’s ok! Cute is good! 
And I heartily endorse O’s comment about Bill… snatch him UP, ladies, 'cause he is more than worth it!!!
Oh, and katie, IIRC, I didn’t do that much better than you in golf!!!
TP! I didn’t realize it was a secret. Damn, I guess the bewitching effect has yet to wear off.
A great time was had by all, and all had a great time. I did my damndest on the last putt-putt hole to throw the match (shot my worst hole of 18 at 4 strokes), and finished the back nine at +6, the same as the worst two finishes of the front nine. I try to be a perfect gentleman, except on the field of battle! And I swear we were not drinking on the course! HONEST!
As for me, I was ever so slightly delayed by bridge construction on I-75 headed to meet TruePisces (25 freakin’ minutes!), and we hooked up with minutes to spare. She is a charming and lovely lady, and a good passenger, a rare combination indeed. The size of the bike compared to the length of her legs provided a challenge that she met and overcame with little difficulty. I gave a few good rev’s to thank her! We arrived at Bennigan’s at three minutes to three to find…
Oicu812, who is a great guy, a quick wit, and knows WAY too much about a former club called… what was that name again? I’ve never been into the SCA thing, don’t even know what it means, but I have a LOT of respect for a guy who puts on 60 pounds of steel and fights in it. Yikes! Fun guy to hang with. Must do it again. After we had a beer at Bennigan’s in walzed…
cutiekilldare, oops, I mean katiekilldare! Wow, what a lovely and hilarious lady! Her sound effects alone kept me transfixed on the conversations! But she is FUNNY!! Knows everything you ever wanted to know about the Split Enz, and some guy from New Zealand, along with a vast and deep knowledge of theatre and cinema. Did I mention she’s FUNNY? We MUST meet again!
Then came the appetizers , which I promptly wolfed down single-handedly, thankyouverymuch, and we took the ride to the putt-putt, where they had maybe 15 baby alligators just hanging out, waiting for someone to fall in the water. We played like true ladies and gentlemen, letting two or three folks play though, (has NOTHING to do with our abilities, mind you), and katie sacrificed her shot on numerous occasions to help a fellow doper’s ball along. Hear, hear, for katie!. The scorecard will be scanned and posted. You can’t stop me. Bwwwaaaahahahahaha!
Back to Bennigan’s where the bartender knew all our drinks (I still say she had the hots for me) from the previous visit. We drank some, talked a lot, ate a little, O left for a previous engagement, and I introduced katie and TruePisces to “K”, the best hard cider on the face of the earth. They stole the cool bottles.
Then the much cooler bike ride back south to Venice, the search for the No-Tell Motel 6, and a chat with TP until I could no longer keep my eyelids open. (I swear lnm, all we took off was our shoes) I awoke at about 9, headed out at 10:30 or so, had a very nice scenic ride through Ft Meyers, Ft Meyers Beach, Naples, across the Tamiami Trail, and into my brewpub for a beer! But I too, am home safely, and in desperate need of a shower.
As for notes from previous posts, TP I MUST be good, 'cause I SURE ain’t lucky! My shirt said “South China Brewing Company, CROOKED ISLAND, Craft-Brewed in Hong Kong” and I’ll have you know I had to drink FOUR nasty beers to get that shirt for free back when Hong Kong wasn’t ruled by the Commies. And to the whole, group, Muchas Gracias for the plugs (O, I wasn’t expecting such a RINGING endorsement, but what the hey?). And if I could bewitch two such lovely and sweet ladies to be obsessed with my butt, I may have to go into a new line of work!
A sincere thanks to all three of you for a great afternoon and evening. I had a blast.
TP, why would you ever want to escape “cute”?!
I know. And the strange thing is, SHE came after ME.
I’ll never know why.
I dunno about that… You ended your evening with two Doper ladies, didncha? How’s that not lucky??
Can I be your manager???!!!
'Cause I’d so much rather be sexy!
Actually, it’s been a long standing joke. When I went to get my Glamor Shots done at 20, the woman taking the picture dubbed me “terminally cute”… it’s something I’ve never been able to live down. She made it sound like a damned disease!!! So now I hear “cute” and I shudder… but I’m starting to accept that cute isn’t a bad thing. At least it’s better than some other things I could be called!!! :rolleyes:
That right there is one of the many reasons… I’m the luckier one, I think.
Good to see everyone had a great time and got home safely,if a little pie eyed
TP,m’dear I know I’ve clogged your mail box…sorry sweetie I had to send the one that said “hardygrrl,you ROCK!” hehehe