Follow-up to KimKatt's Toronto invasion

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Just returned from our little get together as arranged here. It was a small gathering:[ul][li]KimKatt[/li][li]Globe-trotter[/li][li]Kwyjibo[/li][li]Sunspace[/li][li]theotherangel[/li][li]your truly[/ul]Fighting past history, Sunspace was only a little late, exactly as planned[sup]1[/sup]. The rest of us met at about 6:00PM at the bar, and finally moved to our reserved table about 25 minutes later. We enjoyed some wonderful Crabshack Bread (lotsa butter and garlic… MMMMMMMMMMM) as an appetizer while we dithered over our entree choices. Although I forgot to solicit opinions, I believe everyone enjoyed their meals (except for Kwyjibo, who had eaten before he arrived, and just oinked out on the remains of the loaf of Crabshack Bread). Several beverages later, we were rudely hustled out of the restaurant by our waiter, who was anxious to seat the next group of people. Poor Globe-trotter was forced to abandon a wounded soldier (i.e. unfinished pint of beer).[/li]
Miffed (well, I was, 'cause I’d given a pretty decent tip before we got booted), we decided to seek a better place to drink. Since we were in my neck of the woods, the decision was left to me. Unable to resist the images of fruity drinks invoked by Kwyjibo’s mere presence, I settled on Tortilla Flats, a rather homey Tex-Mex bar on Queen Street West (the heart of the hippest part of town). Nestled around a counter/table in the bar, we swapped various tales and SDMB stories, while some of us braved the strawberry margaritas. Globe-trotter revealed some of the SDMB’s most secret riddles, but was disappointed by our heroic restraint. Okay, Globe, I admit it: :eek:… I never would have guessed, but it does explain some things.

Eventually, KimKatt made some lame excuse about getting back to her brother’s house before he went to bed (on a Friday night?). So, she made her good-byes and scampered. Not long after that, the rest of us went our seperate ways as well.

Unfortunately, none of us were very good about taking pictures, despite an apparent plethora of cameras present. I managed to get a couple of photos, and I think KimKatt was successful once as well.

All in all, a short-but-sweet mini-Dopefest. It was great to meet the three folks I didn’t know, and pretty cool to meet up with Sunspace again. Hopefully, y’all be able to return next summer for the Great Toronto Dopefest[sup]tm[/sup] (details to be revealed over the next few months).

[sup]1[/sup]Yes, Sun, we know. You had an appointment last time. :smiley:

2

First of all, thank you to Cerowyn for a) picking up the tab at Alice Fazooli’s and b) starting this thread. I’m rather embarrassed that I forgot to thank you for dinner. :o I apologize for that. Must have been the beer (such a convenient excuse, is it not?). :smiley:

KimKatt was already there when I showed up and I managed to get a few strange looks from the waitresses for not knowing what the people I was meeting looked like. There was no way in hell I was going to tell them I’d met them over the Internet. Then Kwijibo showed up, followed by Cerowyn and theotherangel. Sunspace showed up not too long after we had been shown to our table.

I had jambalaya and it was divine, as was the bread. Mmmmmmm. The waiter was an ass and I didn’t see any groups waiting to go in when we left. Pfftt. My poor pint. R.I.P.

Kim had been shopping all day but unfortunately we weren’t able to sneap a peek at her purchases, as she cleverly left everything in her car. Next time, perhaps. :wink:

Some of the topics covered: Dopefests, classic threads, world domination, work, Poofy (!). I had a really great time meeting you folks and I hope we can do it again. Let’s face it, Dopers are a funny breed all right. Count me in if there is a Big Bad Toronto Dopefest or hell, even Smallish Badass Toronto Dopefests. You people are nuts (and I mean that in the nicest way possible). :smiley:

3

Oinked out…fruity drinks…

I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the bartender gave me a hard time for ordering the first drink. :smiley:

(Hey, you all hesitated when he asked. Never hesitate when ordering drinks around a Scot. :wink: )

4

Aw, shucks. :slight_smile:

And let us not forget the first toast of the evening, as required at all Toronto Fests, to Wally.

I guess it must be because I’m only half Scottish, and moved away when I was a mere eight years old. I’d hate to think what would have happened if some poor Doper had stepped between you and your glass.

:: shudder ::

5

Oh great! Paint me the as the “Alky”.
:wink:

6

Woo hoo! My new Sympatico account is up days earlier than expected*!!! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:
I can now get back on the net and regale the SDMB with tales of what really went down at Alice Fazooli’s! :smiley:

[sup]The Net is not an addiction. I can stop anytime I want. Honest.[/sup]

Anyway, I got to Alice Fazooli’s at a little after 6.30 after a long journey from work. A steady stream of people was entering the restaurant. I squeezed in, went to the front desk, and asked for the group of seven “with reservation by Anne”. I really didn’t want to try to explain to people exactly what the SDMB was… (“You’re going downtown to meet a bunch of people you met on the internet???”). The receptionist directed me to the table.

I went over and sat down. It was great to meet everyone, both for the first time, and again. Many thanks for Cerowyn’s hospitality. DopeFests are now preferred events on my travel itinerary.

The food at Alice Fazooli’s was quite good (especially the leeky mashed potatoes), as were the Italian lessons in the washroom. (“Cxu vi sciigas min pri kiel atingi la necesejon*?* Can you tell me how to get to the washroom?” But if you can hear the lesson, you’ve already reached the washroom…) But they booted us out before Globe-trotter finished her beer.

We went on up to Queen Street, basking in tales of the underbelly of the Straight Dope: what various Dopers are really like and what really went on at various events. But those details are for the tale-tellers to recount. [sub]Besides, I can’t quite remember any of them.[/sub]

We settled in at Tortilla Flats to trade more tales… I overcame a little nervousness at going in, since I do not drink alcohol, but soon relaxed and had a great time. Thanks, all. :slight_smile:

Next Toronto-Dopefest? I’m in.

The difference between Kimkatt and Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet? Helen doesn’t have to contend with Detroit. :smiley:

Globe-trotter, I’m really going to have to ask about some of those EuroDoper gatherings… it’s time for me to go back to Europe, and any excuse will do. :smiley:

*I called Sympatico today to set up an account; the rep on the phone set up the account and gave me all the details, and instructed me to fill out a pre-authorized-payment form at a Bell World store. So I went over to the Bell World store at the Eaton Centre [sub]in the middle of Yule rush :eek:[/sub] and they faxed the form to Bell… but warned me that it could take up to five days for the account to be processed. But I got home, and fired up my PC, put in the settings, and decided to test the connection, expecting to be denied access. But it connected! And now here I am back at the SDMB, cruising in luxury with Konqueror on SuSE Linux 7.3. :slight_smile:

**Okay, I know that’s not Italian. So sue me. :smiley:

7

Huh! Maybe I should have skipped that business trip.

While you were all having a great time, I was trying to get home from Saskatoon. Via Calgary (!), then Winnipeg, then Hamilton. (Jeez, I wasn’t expecting all that much travelling.) I finally made it back to my home two hours later than I had planned. Not early enough to make it anywhere for a Dopefest, but still, later than I had planned to get home (3:00 a.m. Saturday, actually).

But I did get to see the spectacular display of Northern Lights in York Region, so that made up for it a little. Sounds like you all had a great time though–hope I can make the next one!

8

As previously stated, thanks again to all for coming out, and for the great time!

Yes, I did. And, on that topic, here is what I have to say:

My husband is very, very happy. Some gifts just can’t wait until Christmas. And Doc Johnson has a really great new product, and damn, they make a great product.

Also on the topic of shopping - D18 - your recommendations were very impressive. I checked out all of them, and spent way too much money - Thank you!

We hadn’t even ordered yet. No harm, no foul.

Dinner was excellent, despite our being hustled out of the restaurant. And finding each other was actually easier than I had anticipated. I guess you just look around for the other people who look a little lost. And discovering that Cerowyn and I share the same surname was interesting!

Well, I believe you did put back more beer than anyone else, having that long subway trip ahead of you to sober up on. Pretty impressive, considering that you managed to actually scare the waiter away from our table at least once at Tortilla Flats!

Yep. I did make it back to Scarborough prior to the house going into lock down mode, in spite of the incorrect directions that my brother had given me on getting to the Garndiner. For the record: People on the Don Valley drive like maniacs. Especially the police.

And now I’m back home in Windsor. I’ll take that film in for developing today, and see what I get!

Thanks again, everyone!

9

I’m glad all of you had a good time! I’ve got to get to the next one! And KimKatt, I’m glad that the shopping met your (and especially your hubby’s) expectations!

10

Film? :eek: Oh dear. I forgot about the photographs. [sub]whimper[/sub] So, KimKatt, how would you, um, like a free copy of an, um, image-editing program with an erase function?

11

No need to worry, Sunspace. Only three pictures were taken (I believe) and for one of them, everybody was looking away from the camera. :smiley:

So, when are we doing this again? :wink:

12

Sunspace, you may want to make that offer to Cerowyn. I believe he was more successful in getting photos than I was :smiley:

13

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What are you gonna try and bribe me with Sun? Software?!?

HA!

14

Well, lessee… I’m busy tonight…

Okay, seriously, I did talk about the Great Toronto Dopefest[sup]tm[/sup]. Some brief thoughts:[ul][]It will be after the winter, probably late spring, early summer (May or June perhaps).[]We’re going to try and arrange as many Dopers from as many different parts of the world as we can.[]It’ll be at least a Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening and Sunday morning affair.[]We’ll try and arrange as many cheap/free accomodations as we can (I already have some thoughts and leads in this direction).[*]Volunteers for co-organizers being gratefully accepted. :)[/ul]I’ll start a new thread sometime in the new year to get the ball rolling formally.

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I’ll help anyway I can Cero.

16

Not bribe, Cerowyn: erase. It’s the picture with everyone looking away from the camera that concerns me…

Re: overnight accommodations:
I hereby offer an air mattress an the floor to one Doper in need… although by the time the DopeFest rolls around this will probably have been upgraded.

Re: organization:
Anyone need an organizational password-protected web page?

Let’s pick this up in the new year…