Wednesday, June 27, 2007

All the birds sing words and the flowers croon

Well, we survived 26+ hours on the road in a rented Impala, and miraculously, all four of us are still friends. If that's not a successful road trip, I'm not sure what is. I mean, we made it through Chicago road construction traffic-induced squirrelly-ness (I may have actually attempted to claw my way out of the rear passenger-side window at one point), seemingly unending rounds of The Question Game, minor digestive issues, and a punch-drunk over-enthusiastic sing-along of The Lonely Goatherd that our sole male travel mate was particular unamused by, and we all still returned home unscathed. I should take more road trips, really. Yay us.

I am a little disappointed to report that I was not offered the key to the city or any such similar honors, but I had a fine time in Columbus nonetheless. I'll post some photos on Flickr eventually. It's been a busy couple of days since my return.

I got back just in time to meet Noelle of The Daily Tannenbaum last night. She was in town visiting some college friends, and -R- and I met up with her (and three of her lovely and charming friends) at my favorite local tiki bar. Long ago, I dubbed this spot the "official place to take visiting bloggers," but I didn't actually expect any of them would ever make it here. Thank you, Noelle, for being the first to meet me in the not-so-frigid north. So sorry it was approximately 117 degrees during the course of your stay.

I haven't done this blogger meet-up thing very many times yet, so it's still a wee bit nerve-wracking, not unlike a meMarmony or Match date, except that I actually care what the near-stranger thinks of me and that I am quite confident neither of us is contemplating sex with the other at any point in the future, near or far.*

Personally, I had a fine time, and I only hope Noelle et al did as well. It was one of those times when I was well aware that I was rambling near-uncontrollably and doing so at my usual approximately 300-words-per-minute pace, and yet I was unable to either stop nor slow down. I should have known I was heading down that path when I gushed over Noelle's pretty, pretty skirt before even properly introducing myself, and yet, I ordered a potent tiki drink and the requisite Minnesota deep-fried cheese curds and persisted anyway. To Noelle, Penelope, Dude the Girl, and The Grey Boy, I am sorry if my verboseness frightened you. (I'd apologize to you too, -R-, but frankly you've hung out with me enough that you should really just expect it at this point.)

Anyway, all social awkwardness aside, I say that enjoying tiki drinks, fried cheese, and juice-box wine with similarly bespectacled friends is a fine way to spend a warm summer night, and from the looks of this photo, I hope these two agree.

Noelle, R, and me

-----------------------------------------------------------
* I could have left this comparison out, of course, but I'm sort of angling for a more scandalous rating than my current PG-13, and I figured the word "sex" could only help.

Parents Strongly Cautioned

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my word, welcome back! You were sorely missed!

Also, just try typing an entry of all the dirty words you can think of. That bumped my PG rating straight up to an R! Woot and double woot!!!

Michelle | Bleeding Espresso said...

Fun fun! And now I'm convinced that I'm going to have to forego my contacts if ever a blogger meeting in Minnesota should arise.

3carnations said...

Sounds like a great time (the trip and the blogger meetup).

Again, a picture of you and your lookalike sister. You look like the slightly older sister this time.

What is -R- drinking? It kind of looks like a juice box...Is that what they serve in the bars in Minnesota? :)

Stefanie said...

Abbersnail--I know; your string o' curses cracked me up, and I figured maybe I should do the same. Really I just want to know how far they go back for the rating. I got a PG-13 for typing "hell" and "kill," but what about all the "For fuck sake"s I have typed over the years? Surely those warrant inclusion in the rating as well! (Fuck, fuck, fuck) :-)

Sognatrice--Indeed. Clearly the nerdy girl glasses are a prerequisite for these sorts of gatherings.

3Cs--Well, I am slightly older, so I guess it's OK if I look that way. And R is drinking a box o' wine. Awesome, no?

lizgwiz said...

You can get a quick NC-17 by simply using the words "poop," "shit," and "puke" a lot. That's what did it for me. Ridiculous, really...I talk about nearly dying in a sort of drug-related way, and that's okay. Blather about cat poop, though, and bam! NC-17.

The road trip sounds fun, as does fried cheese with bloggers!

-R- said...

High on a hill is a lonely goatherd!

I had a good time, but damn, it was hot! (The damn is to help you with your R rating.) From now on, I shall only drink wine with a straw. I am sure the other guests at the wedding I'm attending this weekend will be impressed by my class.

-R- said...

PS What the hell does "thumbs of drunk moms" mean that apparently someone was searching for on your site? Does the thumb of a drunk mom look different than the thumb of a sober non-mom?

L Sass said...

I just asked -R- if you were at Psycho Suzi's!! I want to come next time I'm in the 'hood. Maybe after the Twin Cities Marathon... ?

Stefanie said...

Liz--"Poop" is worse than "fuck"? This rating system is steadily losing credibility, I say.

R--Do you think if you brought a wine box with straw to work in your lunch bag, you could pass it off as a juice box around your co-workers? (The wheels in my head are turning at the thought...)

R again--I have no idea either, but clearly I must be the Internet authority on it!

L Sass--That would be great! Do marathon runners eat deep-fried cheese before or after the big race?

metalia said...

Welcome back! Yay for blog dates. :)

I just checked, and my blog rating is R for the words "shit" "ass" and "hell"...as well as "STEAL" and "PAIN". I must say, I was unaware that those last two were R-worthy. I mean, the former actually renders the 10 commandments as rated R. Live and learn, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

Awww! You guys are so cute.

Have I told you how much I adore the Sound of Music? Awesome.

shelleycoughlin said...

Ms. Noelle is quite the blogger meeter! I feel like I'm the only one that hasn't yet met her... I'm making it my mission in life. Maybe next time I'm passing through NY on the way to Rochester.

Also, you guys look so cute. Glad you had fun!