Geekfest Day One

So in this massive event, I was able to meet my buddy and attach to him for a good long while. Then he had some friends meet him and I went off to meet the new podcast icons to whom I've been deeply digging. That was successful in a strange way.

There are four of these icons, and I've named them after the Fantastic Four, so I'll use those names here. Out of the four, only two came to the geekfest; Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch. The Invisible Girl (who is not a girl at all, but a bare-knuckled, hard drinking, uncensored bear of a man) and the Thing was not going to make it. The Thing is the podcaster who visits this blog sometimes after he requested to do so. I don't think he realized what this blog was when he asked. Then as I issued the warnings to him, he'd already asked and didn't want to say no, so I told him. At that point in my mind, we were friends because--well, you guys know what goes on here. So far, we're still friends--I haven't exactly squeemed him out of trading messages and posts with me back at his place, but I definitely have failed in getting to meet him in person.

At this point I'd like to apologize to all you guys who read this blog and through one way or another, I've managed to make you uncomfortable enough to blow my chances of every meeting you face to face. That is truly my loss and I regret it deeply. But I can't be anything but honest here. I need to be honest if my blogging is going to work--even though it might cost me the chance to meet some really great people, which I think you all are.

So having said that, The Thing missed the geekfest and I wanted to meet him the most. However, I did meet the Human Torch and I kind of hung out with him for about ten minutes before I told him who I was (remember, I communicate with these folks through the internet and I don't usually have an exact picture of me that they can use to identify me). And of course, I hesitated telling him because I was feeling the fear factor. If I were to walk up and just introduce myself, would a veil of fear or revulsion cross their face and then would I have to make a squirmy exit strategy? But the Human Torch instead had a shocked reaction that I was who I was and seemed very glad to finally have met me. And yeah, that's the way these introductions go, as I tell it, but let's not forget that the endings also wind up being less than uplifting too. It's like the online me (my picture for the dating sites or my typed words of opinion and encouragement) are much more attractive than the real me in person.

So I tagged around with the Human Torch for a while until Mr. Fantastic came to to geekfest, and he too had that "Glad to finally meet you!" reaction. He had come shortly before the geekfest was closing for the evening so they were going to have to go to their hotel. I had given them the location of the designated bar for evening festivities, which they did not have. (Yay me, facilitator of the stars!) Now, at this point, there was another geek who I had met last year, who had just moved into NYC from the midwest, and as it turned out, he was at the geekfest alone and hanging out in Podcast Alley. So as I headed out, he stayed with me. My earlier Buddy Geek had called to say he left to get some food and he would meet me at the designated bar at the designated time. So the two of us (me and transplanted Geek went to the designated bar at the designated time to find out the place had been closed by the board of health a few hours earlier!! HAHAHAHAAA!!

So now I discover that Buddy Geek had left me messages reporting this when he had discovered it and so he'd gone home. The Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic would not discover this until they returned from their hotel room. I had given Mr. Fantastic my cellphone number earlier so they could inform me if they were going to change their minds and I would just know. So myself and Transplanted Geek went to a bar two blocks south with plans to receive the phone calls of those who would also discover the closed bar.

Mr. Fantastic had said how much he hated cellphones when I gave him my number and he clearly meant it, because he did not call. Buddy Geek had called me from home to see what I was going to be doing the next day (today). So it was just me and Transplanted Geek. and we had a nice time! I had another of the best in bar food that I've ever done (previously it was salmon at the NY Times' bestseller's bar gathering) and we talked about politics, his vegetarianism, TV sitcoms, Doctor Who, comicbooks. All great Geek faire. and then, to our reward, a real live barfight broke out!! One scrappy little guy saw a MUCH bigger dude hitting up on his girlfriend and commenced to swinging! This I ascertain because while they were locked in a clench Lil' Scrappy kept saying "Tha's my GIRL!! That's my GIRL!!" It was crazy good! They kept going back and forth across the doorway that separated the restaurant section of the bar where we were sitting, and the bar proper. You could see several brawny men trying to break it up. I couldn't imagine the bigger guy need it, but the little guy was like a bulldog. And he sounded crazy furious. Just snarly and lethal. I bet when Lil' Scrappy and His Girl got back home they had INSANE sex.

Eventually everyone was made calm by attrition and we finished our meal and took the same train uptown.

And so now here we are at Day Two and I'm still home. I have the faint patina of failure hanging about me, but I know I wasn't actually ditched by anyone at all because the designated bar failed all of us. I'll go back today and they will all be funny and welcoming and then there's a big dinner planned for the evening.

And Transplanted Geek is a smart guy who's company I actually enjoyed, so there's that! A new friend in an unexpected manner!

So that's alright then!