Update [2005-3-7 3:5:25 by Maryscott OConnor]: Monday, March 7, 2005, circa Ungodly Hour of the Night
Hi there! Well, I guess you've linked here from the "CHEERS & JEERS: Meretricious Monday" diary? In the extended text, you'll find the short summary of the Encino 7's first get together last month. Unqualified success, I'd have to say.
After that, I'll post the promised Picture, and a brief description of when and where we in the Los Angeles area will be meeting next time. Heh -- you gotta read it or scroll, baby. Read it or scroll.
Well, I've been waiting for Kate to email me the pictures, but if I don't write this now, I'll lose interest in it.
So, we here in rain-addled Los Angeles set the date a while ago and Barbara H. organized a wee get together at the Jerry's Deli in Encino, California on Saturday, February 19.
From left to right:
Tom/Historicus; Shockwave -- "Call me, um, Bruce"; Barbara H.; Cheryl; Maryscott; Kate; and Adam. (No, not my husband. He stayed home and took care of the kidlet, as well he ought.) Incidentally (I almost feel guilty indulging like this, when no one else can -- but, fuck it) -- um, it really was raining a lot. I do NOT have big hair. Ordinarily. So there.
At first, Barbara, Cheryl (unregistered lurker), Kate and I thought we would be the only ones who braved the
rivers water-logged streets to make our rendezvous... but eventually we were joined by Adam (whose handle is... Adam), then "Shockwave," who declined to give his true name. (Though he let it slip once, I'll never tell). Last we met Tom, another unregistered lurker who is also known as Historicus on
spendingliberally.org.
First, a few observations about the folks I met yesterday:
Barbara is an Olympics-level talker. I was awed by her ability to talk a blue streak with seemingly no pauses for air. Fortunately for all, she actually has something to SAY. This is not your maiden aunt who can send you into a coma with her in-depth recitations of the various merits and drawbacks of Hummel figurines versus lighthouse replicas.
Barbara, who once wrote for sitcoms and still does the occasional screenplay, has her own business, begun on something of a whim 10 years ago and now a thriving international gig, as she stormed England last year with her custom-designed light switch covers. (Apologies, Barbara, if this description doesn't do it or you justice. Feel free to bearte me at length in the comments.)
Cheryl, Barbara's partner, is as laconic as Barbara is loquacious. Which is not to say that she doesn't have quite a bit to say -- when the timing and the topic call for it, Cheryl doesn't mind making her opinion know. (She wore her brand-new "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kerry" t-shirt.)
Kate, Barbara's co-conspirator in the planning of this get together, is also a rather restrained young lady in temperament. I am guessing, but I THINK she was the youngest of the gathering -- looks to be about 24? But she's a professional camera operator (and she does something involving those ribbons of information across the bottom of the screen, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it's called or what the ribbons I'm picturing really are). Kate prefers to shoot sports, but has been known to work on a reality show here and there...
Of course, the quietest of all was Adam, who came all the way from Westwood (that's a freeway trek from the COOL part of Los Angeles into the VALLEY, otherwise known as the Armpit of Los Angeles -- or, where the Carefree Single Life goes to die, for those of you unfamiliar with the terrain out here). He MIGHT be younger than Kate, I'm bad at ages. Suffice to say the both of them look like they're in their early 20s, which is at least a decade younger than the rest of us. [editor's note, by Maryscott OConnor] Turns out he's just turned 30.
I couldn't BEGIN to tell you what Adam does, but I know he's originally from Iowa -- and looks it. : ) Apparently, raised in a very nice Christian church, Adam was taken aback when he got into the big wide world and discovered that many, MANY Christian churches are populated with nutbags, hypocrites, pharisees and just plain evil NON-CHRISTIANS masquerading as such -- like, um, George W. Bush? That's as much as I was able to glean from the 19 words Adam seemed to utter all morning.
Next to arrive was "Shockwave" -- that's his handle. He said to call him, um, Bruce or something -- but that's not his real name. Very secretive, Shockwave works in the computer industry and had many fun anecdotes to share about spying on the job -- and a long life full of encounters with people like Ralph Nader and the editor of CNN Online -- to whom he was attempting to sell some computers when the phone interrupted the sales pitch... apparently George Soros wanted a correction of a quote attributed to him and called up the editor personally.
I get the feeling that Shockwave could regale one with fascinating stories until the day Daryl Hannah gets her Irving Thalberg Award...
Next was Tom/Historicus. He and Barbara have a lot in common -- Tom runs spendingliberally.org, Barbara runs AdNausea.org.
Tom spends 12 hours a day monitoring Fox News to maintain an extensive list of its advertisers for purposes of boycotting them... and Barbara spends a good chunk of HER time monitoring Sean Hannity's television and radio broadcasts to keep up her list of HANNITY's advertisers... for purposes of boycott.
And then came I, Maryscott O'Connor (and, I kid you not, upon introduction, both Adam and "Shockwave" did a doubletake and said, "THE Maryscott O'Connor?" Whereupon I blushed a colour only found in the red-hued section of the Big box of Crayolas).
I'll leave it to the others to describe my corporeal persona, except for this: I am not a breviloquent person online, nor am I known for reticence in conversation in real life encounters -- but in the company of Barbara and Shockwave, champion talkers both, I was relieved to spend a goodly portion of the morning and afternoon listening and occasionally waxing eloquent for a few minutes at a time. And, you should have confirmed by the others, I do NOT swear as often or as LOUDLY as one might be led to believe by my Daily Kos comments and diaries. So fucking there.
We, the Encino 7, have decided that the gathering was such an unqualified success (it lasted from 10 am till 1pm), it bears repeating on a monthly basis.
Due to complaints from people who we must assume are young and tend to drink heavily on Friday nights, we have decided that the Monthly Meet-Up of the Los Angeles Kossacks in the Valley of Death will take place at 11 a.m. from now on.
The next gathering will take place at 11 a.m. on March 26, at Jerry's Deli the home of eyeswideopen aka Kathlyn (forgive me if I got that wrong, Kathlyn).
Everything is subject to change, depending on whim, weather and wont.
We haven't settled everything, but if you plan on joining the festivities, drop me a line at maryscott.oconnor@gmail.com and RSVP; that way I'll be able to transmit directions once I, um, have them.
One more thing: We all decided we want to lobby for the Annual Daily Kos Convention to be in Las Vegas -- because flights are cheap there from everywhere.
And one final note, to those of you who got here through the C&J thread, and may also have seen the Bankruptcy diary (before the fascist main pagers eviscerated it, sucking out the marrow of my profanity and leaving only the polished, shiny bones of the piece... (YES, that's a fucking joke, I kid):
I'm SURE I'll get over this obsession with the boxes -- eventually. Just now, I'm completely enamoured. HTML is FUN!
Now get back to C&J -- what are you THINKING, dawdling here this long? There must be 453 comments by now!
--Maryscott