OK, I’m finally weighing in with more on the weekend. I’ll be short(er) this time. Er, maybe not.
Had a blast back at the Ramada Friday night. It was great seeing all my Doper friends again and meeting even more Dopers in person. I enjoyed rolling a bathrobe clad Weirddave around on the patio in that big plant pot. I especially enjoyed all the Scottihugs[sup]TM[/sup] I received that night, as well as the rest of the weekend. I’m glad we managed to not get thrown out of the motel this past weekend. We would’ve had to crash at Shayna’s.
Some random, disconnected thoughts and thanks:
Kyla, I had forgotten about your airport incident. I’m so glad you were able to make it down.
That CJ’s place has some big-ass omelets.
I learned how to pronounce SeaDiver’s name properly. Separate the dipthong. I really dug that leather thong of yours. BELT, I mean. Belt.
Great to see you again, beatle. Sorry I didn’t wear anything for you to stuff dollar bills into this time. beatle’s the first Doper I’ve met IRL, almost two years ago during a layover in Houston on my way to Atlanta for Christmas vacation.
Great to meet you, JimB. You’re a helluva nice guy.
I enjoyed meeting y’all, Fran and Alex. I’m glad things worked out with the motel.
Thanks so much, slackergirl for driving us to Aloe Vera Street and Hollywood Saturday. Neat little marketplace there at Aloe Vera Street. We also got to see Zorro’s house. Thanks also for not waking me up from my nap on the way back to the Ramada.
I like the new “scaffolding” decor around the front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre.
Many thanks to Padeye for getting the rental car, driving us around, and making the extra trip to pick me up at Lot C when I got in Friday night.
Checking out UncleBill’s Harley made me want to learn to drive a motorcycle. Speaking with Padeye about it made me not want to learn to ride a motorcycle.
Major kudos and thanks to Shayna for setting up our big-ass dinner reservation Saturday night. And thanks so much to Jodi for the booze. Lord knows I took full advantage of it. Wish I would’ve gotten the opportunity to meet you there, Jodi. Hope that pneumonia clears up soon.
thinksnow, I’m completely out of ideas for what to write on your T-shirt.
Esprix is too calm and reserved. Thanks for making up the name tags. Great job!
It was great to finally meet Ruffian and DeathLlama in person. Ruffian’s been a bit of an Internet pal since I signed up in April, 1999. I’m glad you and DeathLlama were able to make it out. Hope you’re feeling better.
Sue Duhnym, great to meet you, young lady. So attractive and such the charmer.
porcupine, we mistook each other for being in our mid-20s. Yay for us! Oh wait, you still are in your mid-20s, aren’t you. 
Diane, it’s Hermosa Beach, not Mendosa beach, you silly 'Murkin. Although I see you got it right on page 2. Also…uh, you know.
I had a great time with Diane, beatle, Heloise, Coldfire, Shayna, Spiny, and deb2world at Hermosa Beach Saturday night, even if it was about a 10 mile walk ;). Thanks so much, beatle, for picking up the bar tab, and to deb for picking up the cab tab. I’m glad I was able to spend some time with Coldfire and Spiny Norman since, compared to most of the other Dopers, there’s a very small chance I’ll ever get to see them again IRL.
Also had a blast up at Venice Beach Sunday with Padeye and Diane. Believe it or not, there are a lot of weird people at Venice Beach. I think the one who really took the cake was the guy wearing a helmet and walking his log (not a typo).
I wish I’d had more time to get to know more of the Dopers better. It’s tough with a crowd that size. Y’all are a great bunch of people.
I found my driver’s license. It was jutting from beneath my keyboard, waiting for me when I got in Monday morning. Someone must have found it on the floor and stuck it there. I imagine it fell out while I was doing expense reports Friday. It has since been placed in a more secure location in my wallet. Now I can continue to carry around an eight-year-old license with the wrong address and a picture of a 23 year-old Strainger on it. Whoo hoo!