my scramblings & ramblings
‘Twas a very pleasant day for the fair. The weather was perfect, the skies were blue and sunny. There was a nice breeze, and although it was crowded, it was still fun.
I’ll tell you what, having a wristband makes hitting the rides so much easier. I was sufficiently dizzy by the end of the night. Until I ate, that is.
The first thing Bob and I rode was something called the Space Roller.
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Friday night, a bunch of people went to Damon’s to celebrate Holly’s 29th birthday. It was a lot of fun. I got to see Tony, who I don’t get to hang with often enough at all, and Holly’s mom was there. She shared her steak with me. Our favorite quote of the night was “…about that.” Good times.
Before that, though, Aidan had a good time discovering the world of Barbie:
And I discovered a pretty flower blooming in the yard:
That’s all for now. Ohio State Fair post coming up next! 😀
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The Blurrrrrrr is something that’s been on my mind and something I’d wanted to post about for a long time.
Once upon a time, I organized my AOL address book. To make it easier to find people, I developed categories:
Okay. Here is where I want to stop. Because The Blurrrrrrr has happened and there really is no line between “online” friends and friends anymore, at least, not for me. Actually, The Blurrrrrrr started to occur about two years ago, when I realized that people I’d met at church kept Live Journals or Xangas, had AIM, and had email. We use(d) those methods as means of communication, as well as calling each other or just plain meeting up and hanging out. So now, they weren’t just “online friends” because I knew them “in real life” as well.
My mom still freaks out if she hears I’m going to “meet” people I got introduced to through the Internet. When I was flying out to spend the weekend with Amy, my mother asked “how you know she ain’t crazy?” I told her that Amy and I had talked on the phone loads of times and emailed and all that stuff. It would be okay. I also reminded her that I’d met other “online” friends, like Ivy (swankivy) and Kelle Belle (itskels) and look, I’m still alive!! And what about those people who I used to know “in real life” but who moved several states away? Our communications are mainly Internet-driven. Does that make them crazy?
It got to the point where I realized that meeting people online was really no different than meeting people at church or at school or down the street. ‘Cause seriously, I’ve met some doozies, right here in my town, and then I’ve met perfectly cool people online. People are complicated, and there are good ones and bad ones everywhere.
I started thinking about that today when I realized how comfortable I am giving my number out to people I’ve emailed with or talked to for a while online. How exciting it is to meet them face to face. Seriously, meeting mandywriter and the gang this weekend was awesome. I’m addicted to meeting people face to face. There is just something about hearing their voices, interacting with them without a screen in front of me, being able to hug them and actually SEE the LOLing that makes it magical. And since we’d been talking online, it’s not weird or awkward because we know we can carry on conversations.
For me, it’s to the point where I say “friends are friends, who cares how we were introduced.” The lines are Blurrrrrrred now, and honestly, I LOVE it that way. Can’t wait to meet more people!!
What are your thoughts?
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[X-posted at bananagirl19]
Hello! I am back from an amazing, exhausting, completely fun weekend in Chicago! The Chicago-North RWA chapter is incredible, and so are the people I met there.
FRIDAY
Mandy (mandywriter) picked me up from the airport and it was like we’d been friends forever, which we pretty much have. We started talking and joking right away. She took me to the hotel and chilled out while I unpacked in my VERY NICE hotel room. Let me tell you about this room. It was more like a suite. 25 inch TV, desk, easy chair, couch with a foldaway, king sized bed. Beautiful. I’d ordered strawberries and champagne, but I didn’t open it right away, and I’m glad I waited. More on that later. 🙂
Mandy and I registered for the conference (we were the first two!), then went out to lunch at a place called RAM. I’d never heard of it, but it was pretty nice. Of course, I got the messiest meal ever, but it was really yummy. By the time we got back to the hotel, Sara (sbennettwealer) was there! We went up to their room and hung out for a while, then headed down to the conference. I spotted Dia (agentobscura) right away, so we went to say Hi. She gave us all a group hug and seriously, we all hit it off right away. I felt like I’d been hanging out with these women my whole life.
The first thing we did was attend a “panel” of sorts. Four authors, open dialogue. It was interesting. Alesia Holliday, Mary Alice Monroe, Jennifer Crusie, and Bob Mayer spoke and it was funny and really nice. Afterwards, I went to Alesia to introduce myself and she recognized my name from the Yahoo! teenchicklit loop. She was awesome, and here I am with her:
We had a HUGE break, so Sara, Mandy, Gail and I went to an Italian restaurant. It was yummy. I got a half order which turned out to be a good decision, because it was the perfect amount of food. When we went back, there was class. Sara and I went to “Get Out of Deadwood” where we met Stephanie Hale (stephhale) and a really cool girl named Carmen. We went and had chocolate at the Chocolate Reception (um, check out this damn sign:)
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This might be TMI for you. Heh.
So, yesterday, Aidan had been getting sick all day. Out of both ends. He fell asleep around 8:10pm, and I’d thought he was out for the night. Not so much. Holly and Robert were over and we’d decided to play this game of “so-&-so or so-&-so,” using the names of people from our past–people we’d hung out with or seen when we used to all live together at Harrison House.
ANYWAY, we all got loud and laughing, and that woke poor Aidan. He came downstairs, a little bit cranky, but mellowed out and got super hyper for some reason. He played and jumped and I was sure he was feeling better, even though his fever hadn’t gone completely down yet. Holly and Robert left, and Aidan decided he wanted to cuddle with me. I held him and did some stuff on my laptop, when Aidan coughed and PUKED all over my computer. I put him down and yelled “OH MY GOD AIDAN JUST PUKED ON MY LAPTOP!” I ran to get some paper towels, Aidan ran for the bathroom so he could finish throwing up in the toilet. I cleaned the best I could. Luckily, there was no damage. My function keys are a little bit sticky, and the screen could use a better cleaning, but the other “sticky” keys are fine. WHEW.
Um… just randomly–cute vintage clothing here: http://www.sassypantsvintage.com
I know one of the models on that site–the one with the long, luscious hair. Some of the sweaters are super cute, and I WANT THEM.
Anyway. I just read a book called Hard Cash by Kate Cann, and I’m reading the sequel now, called Shacked Up. They’re from the POV of a British guy. Very interesting. There is a third one too, called Speeding, which I already have in waiting. I love books. In case you didn’t know. 🙂 I was just thinking about how ridiculous my passion for books is. I have several bookshelves that are packed full. But there isn’t room for everything, and I have books all over the floor, stacks here and stacks there, some in the bathroom, some in the kitchen. All rooms need at least one book in them. It’s just how it has to be.
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