DC Dopefest/St. Pat's Party

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Another fun DopeFest. I enjoyed seeing all my old pals again, and meeting a few new ones. Many, many thanks to Jeff and Angie for the hospitality.

Kevin has finally stopped twitching after his first exposure to Dopers en masse… No, he really had a good time. On the way home I thanked him for coming with me, and he replied, “I had fun. They were a very interesting group. And, even if they hadn’t been, I really enjoyed seeing you have such a good time.” Sweet, huh?

Of course, I later heard him tell the kids, “Imagine a group of people just like your mom.”
Kids: “Wow, Dad, weren’t you scared?” :slight_smile:

Andygirl, your girl is lovely – I hope she stood us as well as Kevin seemed to!

Cajun Man, you must come to my May Hot-Tub Dope-a-thon. I’d love to see you again!

Geobabe, isn’t there an old Navy saying that says the willing can’t be taken hostage? Hope you and the un-named Doper had fun!

I repeat – it was a swell DopeFest. Now we’ve nothing to do but wait for the next one!

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when I get the pics back, maybe I should just send 'em over to Falcon? Would be nice to have all our pics in one spot.

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Another thanks to Jeff and Angie for doing such a great job of hosting the Dopefest in the park for us. Jeff seemed a little busy transporting Dopers to and from the restroom, so I wasn’t able to talk to him as much as I would’ve liked. There were a lot of Dopers there who I had wanted to meet for a long time. It was great to talk to Falcon; she’s as sweet and friendly as I thought she would be. When I first started posting, back in April, 1999, I thought I’d never want to meet Phil; he seemed like such a cantankerous bastard. :smiley: My attitude toward him eventually changed and I was pleased to finally meet him and Leigh-Anne. (Psst, everyone, Phil’s really nice in real life. Don’t tell him I told you.) Everyone there, in fact, was friendly and outgoing (Well, the Dopers anyway; the tagalongs seemed kind of frightened and confused). RTF was one of the first people I got to chat with at the party–he was quick to introduce himself and get to know me–and I appreciate him helping me find a parking space by XandO’s, even though he ended up having to walk another two blocks. I’ve read a few posts where iampunha mentions how high his voice is and thought, it can’t be that high; cut yourself some slack. Let me tell you, people, his voice is that high–not that it’s a bad thing (I wish I had a higher voice), but it kind of caught me by surprise. I didn’t get to talk to everyone as much as I would’ve liked, particularly the later arrivals. I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t get to meet SqrlCub (you need to do something about that Everquest addiction), but it was good to meet dcnewsman in person. It was interesting to find out that QuickSilver and I almost ended working at the same company in Phoenix, although IIRC he would’ve been a subcontractor. andygirl and quietgirl were cute. Quietgirl was umm…quiet…in a deer-in-the-headlights kind of way.

The party broke up when it started to get really cold and windy. I invited everyone to come over to my house, where it would be warmer and dryer, but no one accepted. Instead, we went to XandO’s, a coffee shop/restaurant/bar place. It was warmer there, and I was able to get to know some more Dopers better, like Wendell Wagner, ExTank, and Jess (ooh boy, especially Jess). I really liked that XandO’s place; I need to see if there’s a one-stop shopping type restaurant like that around here. Man, I could really go for a mint mocha right now.

Oh, and it was good to meet Geobabe too. She’s a nice girl.

I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures (I have a really bad habit of bringing my camera along, then having too much fun to think about taking pictures), but I’ll send the ones I did take to Falcon to be posted at her web site.

[sub]I see toothless people.[/sub]

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Well . . . how to explain. No, folks, I don’t talk as though I were wearing clothes fit for someone half my size. When I get overly excited or anxious or I have to talk over the wind and other people my voice tends to get higher than it normally is. Falc and weirddave and pldennison can tell you that when I get calmer my voice can even approach slightly normal tones:) Hell, so can Nocturne, purplebear and ssskuggiii. And Medea’s Child and Brunetter and John Corrado and . . . well, you get the point. One-on-one when there’s no wind to battle I’m usually fine.

My singing voice, though . . . that’s what’s high. However, part of this is that I can control falsetto decently enough to use it.

As for going to your place . . . I was tired when I got there and I doubt I’d have had the mental faculties to get back home had I spent another hour or so in Old Town or nearby areas.

You’re right about Geobabe, too. Manhattan was right on with her;)

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That was one genuinely great time!

Thanks again, Jeff and Angie, for hosting, and for introducing me to your ferret! Wilbur (one of the three Firecats) checked me out thoroughly when I came home, as if to say, “what the Sam Hill is this smell??”

Jess - ROFL!!!
Glad Kevin survived us with his psyche intact. It was great to see you again.

ExTank - I had a great time talking with you. Hope you’re in the area long enough to make another gathering or two!

Geobabe - sorry we didn’t get around to putting the Firesign on the boombox - maybe next time!

Strainger - don’t be!

dc - glad pld’s your new bitch; after all, Sqrl’s too hooked on EverCrack to be of much use these days. But where does that leave Peta - alone with the cats?? :frowning:

Lucretia and Bluesman - was fun talking with you guys again, and it was fun to see your daughters having a good time out there.

Falc, I’m glad the natural order of things has reasserted itself - Dopefests without you are just wrong, y’know?

QuickSilver, goboy, CajunMan, DrMatrix, quietgirl - hopefully there will be a ‘next time’ when I actually get to talk with you!

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:o

Y’all shouldn’t talk too nice about me; you’ll ruin my hard-earned reputation as a cranky gun-nut (but thank you Falcon, the pleasure was all mine. :slight_smile: )

The pics are .jpeg, so anyone who want’s 'em, just ask and I’ll e-mail 'em.

Impressions of a DC Dopefest: :eek:

Thanks to Jeff and Angie for hosting, Watergate Cake (YUM-MY!), and for cluing me in to Pistachio additives to food items.

Phil needs to quit his day job and go into the Guacamole business. And never y’all mind about the “secret ingredient”. (Banana! Banana!)

That Maryland State Trooper told me “Boy, you ain’t right.”

Peta: I’m going to study up on Monkee trivia; up for round 2?

Having met RTFirefly in person, and shared some clothing (get yer minds outta the gutter, dammit!) I’ll never approach another “AYL” thread exactly the same way again. Thanks for bringing the music box and some cool jams.

CajunMan and Dr. Matrix: I’m going to be in Connecticut through mid-April; maybe a NYC Dopefest? I haven’t had Cajun in a while, though I’m skeptical about the quality of Cajun food from :gasp: NEW YORK CITY!?

Jess: can I come sit in your hot tub, too? I promise not to burn anything down with flaming Italian liqueurs. I might even get it right next time (gosh darned chilled Sambuca!). Tell Kevin I think he’s a great sport for sitting still next to a complete stranger playing with alcohol and matches.

GeoBabe, Strainger: next time I’m going to sit next to y’all and bug ya’s. I couldn’t hear a thing coming from your end of the table, what with the sound system in that cafe, and all.

Everyone Else: sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk much, what with the high turnout and all. I look forward to seeing all of you again, and hopefully getting to know you better.

Thanks to everyone for a thoroughly enjoyable day, I hope we can do it again sometime soon.

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ExTank, I am shocked and amazed that you weren’t able to hear me…you really need to get your hearing checked. I am nothing if not loud. Where in Connecticut are you going to be? I go to school in western Mass, and I am always up for Dopefests! Maybe we can actually set something on fire this time…

Jess, I am so pleased to hear Kevin survived the experience relatively intact. And I didn’t say I was being held hostage, just incommunicado. And FTR, I did have fun, and as far as I could tell, the unnamed one did as well. I discovered after we had left that I still had your bracelet on, so remind me to get that back to you–perhaps at the hot-tub-a-thon…

iampunha, I will likely hit you next time I see you, so you may consider this your official warning.

andygirl, your girl is of course a doll. I hope to actually speak with her one day.

Lucretia and Bluesman, it was such a great pleasure to see you again! I don’t get to see you two nearly often enough.

And Strainger, you’re kinda nice yourself.

Everyone else I haven’t mentioned, it was fabulous either seeing you again or meeting you, as the case may be.

I want to say that the highlight of the day for me was standing around with a bunch of gay men talking about dicks. Priceless!

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Somehow I don’t think this is going to make it into the Mastercard commercials.

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I resemble that remark! :wink:

“You really are an old queen.” - andygirl

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The DC Dopefest (my very first) was enjoyable, although I didn’t get a chance to talk to many people.

I thoroughly enjoyed drinking Guinness with Dr. Matrix and Cajun Man at my place before we went over to the Dopefest.

Thanks to Jeff Olsen for hosting.

I wish I had been able to talk to folks, but maybe next time.

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GeoBabe: I am rather hard of hearing, especially if there is a high ambient noise level. My drill sergeants did say something about tanks and hearing protection, but I wasn’t paying attention.

My current itenerary is:

Ft. Picket, VA (Petersburg) 03/26-04/06
Camp Hartell, CN 04/09-04/20 (I have no idea where this is)
Gatesville, TX 04/23-05/04 (tentative)
Westfield, Mass 05/07-05/18
Trenton, NJ 05/21-05/25
Ft. Picket, VA 05/28-07/20
Aberdeen, MD 07/23-08/10

But these are really subject to change, especially if my bastard employers think I have plans to engage in social activities or enjoy myself on any given date or location.

I’m looking to change that situation as soon as the economy settles down a bit; no amount of money is worth their BS, or this insane schedule.

Welcome to the world of “The Lowest Bidder”. :rolleyes:

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Well then I’ll hit you back;)

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Always good to catch up with the DC area usuals sans the seriously and sadly (no joke) RPG-addicted SqrlCub.

Jeff & Angie: Add my thanks for the hospitality and planning.

Geo, Jess & Falcon: I couldn’t betray his trust so I compromised (see sig).

Bluesman & Lucretia: Always a joy–even if Bluesman can’t seem to hear a word I’m saying. Your daughters were adorable!

Andygirl: A delight and stimulating conversation (even the slightly unusual part which neither of us could understand–must admit, it was wierd hearing that out loud after so many years; hope it helps). And Quietgirl was just the sweet companion we’d expected her to be (Phil and I simultaneous stated, “She’s just as I expected” and meant that in a good way). Hope we didn’t scare her.

Jess: I really enjoyed our conversations…polite, but opinionated (or should that be “and opinionated”) redheads have to stick together. And Kevin seemed to relax after a while…he’ll soon be one of us, he’ll soon be one of us…

PLD: Glad we got to spend a few minutes together. You’re a cutie and much sweeter than your posts sometimes indicate. I think we probably have a lot in common. Maybe we could be incommunicado (or spend a little time changing) sometime soon.

Wendall: You just continue to blow me away with all you know and have studied. Love the Siberia story. Glad you could make it to the coffeehouse too.

Cajun Man: Glad to meet you (and wave to Dr. Matrix) even if we didn’t have a chance to talk. You seem like a living doll. Hey, anyone’s who’s first words are “Love your hair,” can’t be bad!

ExTank: A true pleasure to meet and get to know you a bit. You bet I’m up for any Monkees trivia rematch (do a search on the user name, and you’ll see I’m hard to beat; even Polycarp has bowed to my supreme knowledge of Monkeedom…<not bragging…much>). Next time we’ll have them warm up your liquer for you…and expect a lovely portrait of a puppy waiting for you on your next trip (end of May, is it?); wonder if she takes Visa? :wink:

Strainger: It was good to meet you though we didn’t talk all that much. Everytime I looked you were grinning ear-to-ear so you must be a pretty good guy (or you know, gettin’ some).

Finally, to end–once and for all–any speculation about whether or not I’m a natural redhead, I offer <gulp> definitivephotographic proof…

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Peta Tsunami

Sshh!! I’ve heard they frown on that sort of thing at dining establishments. (I was a little worried about whether I should click on your link while at work. I’m glad to see it was G-rated.)

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And I am what? Chopped liver? Jimminy Christmas!

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Well…(1) you don’t normally attend the Doper gatherings WITH DCNewsman who is one of the regulars that attended, (2) I thought you were Hamsterdam or something like that, and (3) I’m trying to make Sqrl feel guilty (or anything REAL) for not showing up because of a stupid game.

And for Peter’s Sake, what’s with the step-ladder sig line?