I need your help ASAP! This Saturday marks a monumental day for us west coast PF bloggers. Many of us, in and around the Orange County area, are meeting up for a little lunch gathering. I’m really looking forward to having face to face time with some pretty cool bloggers.
But now that we are one day out from the meetup, I’m starting to feel a little self conscious. What if they don’t like me? What if I’m 20 years younger than everyone else? What if they all use obscure words I don’t understand? Holy crap, this could be the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life. What was I thinking?
Not only do I have to worry about NOT looking like a total jacka$$, but I should also concern myself with NOT being murdered. It’s not very often I just meet up with a bunch of random people in a city I’m not very familiar with. Sounds like the perfect recipe for someone to kidnap me and cut my skin off so they can wear it. Hey, I’m just sayin’ I have nice skin.
This is a big step for me as, I obviously do my best to keep my identity secret. Maybe I should go wearing a Ninja mask or something? What do you think?
All kidding aside, I’m really excited about the meetup. Hopefully, I will walk away from it with some super profound blogging/financial wisdom . And who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to contribute a little nugget of knowledge to the group. I have no idea what we will talk about, what the awkwardness level will be, or if it will be worth the hour drive, but I’m all for trying new things and meeting some pretty cool peeps.
When’s the last time you met a bunch of strangers? Or better yet, when’s the last time you met a bunch of INTERNET strangers? Anything you want me to talk with the group about? Hook me up with some obscure words I can use to appear smarter than I actually am (i.e. ideopraxist)?.
p.s. If there is no blog on Monday, it’s because Len Penzo kidnapped me and cut my skin off…. I’m serious…Notify the authorities.
p.p.s. I love you mom <—- potential last words
I learned a new word today while listening to the radio lab podcast: Defenestration.
The act of throwing something out the window. Because you clearly need a word for that, right?
Ha! Was that last weekend’s cartalk? I smiled when I heard them use it.
I personally like “frugalism” because not only is it not a real word, but it is also one of the few things that gets google blog hits to my site.
It’ll be interesting to see how different people’s blog personalities are from they’re real ones.
work this one into conversation: id·i·o·mat·ic (d–mtk)
adj.1. a. Peculiar to or characteristic of a given language.
b. Characterized by proficient use of idiomatic expressions: a foreigner who speaks idiomatic English.
2. Resembling or having the nature of an idiom.
3. Using many idioms.
4. Peculiar to or characteristic of the style or manner of a particular group or people.
Example: the PF bloggers idiomatic use of frugal/debt paydown/savings catch phrases is a great SEO opportunity…discuss amongst yourself.
Ninja, relax!!! I’m sure it’ll be fine 🙂
I actually met my bf online, talked for about ten months (he was in deployment) then he flew over to meet me. Omg I was nervous as heck, so I can relate to how you’re feeling! But, it all worked out – we both turned out to be nice, decent people so I guess that’s good 🙂 come march it’ll our 4th year together.
I’ve attened meet ups w online/net friends whom I knew fr forums etc, and these meet ups had been pretty awesome and fun.
So, stop feeling vomituous , which is a word I made up to describe feeling like vomiting and throwing up due to nervousness and or fear.
U’ll be fine. If someone is nice on the net, chances are they are nice in real life too 🙂 hv fun at the meet up!
You’ll be fine!
Relax, have a good time!
Relax, Ninja, and have fun!
Spatter your conversation with fun owrds…and dazzle them all! Some words are not ‘weird’, they are just fun to say, such as uvula or ungula. Other words are just odd because well, who knew something had a word to describe it eg., aglet, meaning the plastic piece at the end of a shoelace. Then there are the weird regional words: gut-foundered (meaning to be hungry, common in eastern Canada)
You will not be a pronk and will demonstrate your lamprophonic skills.
Sounds perfectly safe. Kinda. I guess…
Can you try to finish the PDITF-Thousandaire Rap collaboration before lunch today? (just in case)
Aren’t you a super secret ninja spy g-man? Doesn’t that mean you have all kinds of homing devices disguised as sunglasses/quarters/cell phone? I say get your spy friends to hook you up with gadgets….or implant something into your big toe? Just sayin’….we don’t want to lose you!
I met some of my husband’s friends he met on WOW. I thought it was going to be really weird, but a bunch of our friends were there too. We had a great meal & played pool after. The weren’t as weird or creepy as I though they would be (especially where he knew them from…I was definately expecting a bunch of 40 year old men that still lived in their parent’s basement). Hope you have lots of fun.
p.s. bring wife ninja just in case you have to throw her to the murderous mob so you can get away & keep writing PDITF.
maybe you should bring a body guard!?!
Well, killing you would certainly improve the Alexa rating of anyone higher that you. You might want to avoid those in the low 110Ks. Something to really think about.
Love ya back! Just show them your pearly whites and all will be well!
Because what’s not to love?
I have no idea how I haven’t been murdered yet! I have went to look at apartments I found on Craigslist by myself. I have met people on CL (platonic personals ftw) by myself, although always in a public place. I even flew halfway across the country to meet a male internet friend I had been emailing for two years. I sold numerous items on CL and given things away via Freecycle, which involves complete strangers coming to my house. I have participated in meetups, though feel those are the less threatening of everything.
I have also found some awesome apartments/roomates and made some awesome friends this way.
You’re lucky, I would love to have a little blogger meet up! Have fun! I have a question though, are you guys meeting at a frugal place? 🙂
Super sketchy. You should probably quit while you’re ahead. Or should I say while you still have a head (pun intended).
Ohhhhhh Ninja. Your last words are “I love you mom”???? What about “I love you WifeNinja”.
That’s okay, you’re just a newlywed. Rookie mistake.
I was going to agree with you until I realized that living with Wife Ninja gives him the advantage of telling her he loves her to her face – Mom Ninja only has the computer and/or phone to keep in touch. So I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that his last face to face words were to his wife. Poor thing – she’s so young to be a widow 🙂
Well just think Wifeninja will be rollin in the benjamins! She probably sole beneficiary set for life!
Yeah Wife Ninja might not want me to come back 🙂
Last time I met a BUNCH of Internet strangers? 2001, I went to a Livejournal meetup in San Francisco. Talk about awkward: 90% of the group were absolutely complete strangers, 10 years older than me, and basically ignored me after the initial introductions. Since then I’ve stuck to meeting Internet strangers one-on-one.
I’m sure you’ll be fine. Your ninja skills should keep you alive.
I’ve been to a bunch of Internet get-togethers too, and there have been all kinds of axe-murderers, perverts, junkies, people who use sesquipedalian words, people of interdeminate sex, Martians, and anthropopagi. I wouldn’t sweat it, Ninja. After the first time you’ve been murdered by an Internet psychopath you learn to take it in stride.
Yes, Larry. This was quite possibly my most favorite comment of all time. It literally left me laughing out loud. I’ll let you know how the whole dying thing goes.
Dude, so THAT’s what you look like! Your secret is out!
Good Luck, you’re gonna need it! lol. You’ll be fine.
Oh Ninja, the weirdest part of all is when you walk into the place and you don’t know who you are even looking for. So you’re looking around at everyone, but trying not to act like you’re looking at them, and hoping they know you. So the best thing I can suggest is to do something by which you can identify yourself. Like, wear a bright yellow shirt with flowers on it. No wait, that won’t do for a ninja. Maybe just the mask then. But then everyone else in the place will be looking at you funny like you’re about to rob the place. Maybe you can put your hair up in a ‘hawk like J. Money. 🙂 So anyway, my suggestion is to share ways to identify one another in advance, or you could also have a sign up by your table that says West Coast Bloggers Meeting. I am sure you will be just fine, you’re a ninja after all.