I don’t have a lot of time to blog this morning, but the first Balloon Juice get together last night was a smashing success. My iPhone camera didn’t work in the relative dark but commenter Raven took some great pictures with a real camera and I’ll have those up later when I get them.
Great to meet everyone last night! (I’m not sure if I should mention commenters’ names since there will be pictures of everybody later.)
dr. bloor
Meet up? Pictures? OH MY GOD…BALLOON JUICE IS PEOPLE!
jrg
Come to Raleigh!
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
I heard a rumor that you were moving to SF, is this true?
If so, I will expect you to put me up whenever I come to town. I used to live in San Bruno and then I had siblings in SF but now I have nowhere to crash up there.
ellaesther
Can I make one quick suggestion?
I wouldn’t mind having my picture up (indeed, I only wish I could have been there…!), but some might.
Could you give people a chance to say “Hey, please don’t post my picture,” just in case some of the folks who were there last night might be uneasy about it?
/Debbie Do-Gooder.
lol
Any interest in a DC-Metro meetup?
Zifnab
Woo! Post’m if you’ve got’m.
Mrs. Peel
@ellaesther: Um, don’t you think that subject just might have been brought up at the time there was a camera flashing in everyone’s face?
Eeeesh. There’s one in every crowd.
Rathskeller
Did you like Thirsty Bear? I am very fond of that place. Sometimes mediocre food, but I’ve had some very exciting dishes there over the years.
Hob
Pictures are OK with me, even though I probably look like a zombie. A hungry zombie too– I was looking forward to having some food there, and then I got distracted with a beer and then their kitchen closed, so I had to just have some chocolate cake.
The Grand Panjandrum
This is quite cheerful news after Cole’s disastrous audition for the Ice Capades.
West of the Cascades
Do one in Portland!! Do one in Portland!!
Either Portland, but definitely the Oregon one!
SGEW
Hey DougJ – any chance you’ll stop by NYC sometime? There are quite a few B-J regulars (and all y’all lurkers) here, methinks.
First drink’s on me.
ellaesther
@Mrs. Peel: Eeeesh, no I don’t. I think that people are not always 100% aware of what is going on around them all the time, and that it is common courtesy to ask people if they would mind having their pictures posted in a public forum seen by God knows how many people all around the world.
I even mocked myself for my polite suggestion, that wasn’t good enough for you?
John PM
Let me know when you are coming to Chicago!
Mrs. Peel
@ellaesther:
polite suggestion/control freak – potato/patahto
SGEW
@ellaesther:
You can say that again. Especially when th’ booze it be flowin’.
[I, myself, am particularly sensitive about such things, however; there are quite a few Facebook pictures of me with a hand in front of my face.]
jeffreyw
@Hob:
Here ya go.
DZ
@West of the Cascades:
I’m a Portlander (Republic of Cascadia variety), and I would be there
Colette
@jeffreyw: Damn, now I’m really hungry. Sammich looks awesome.
That was indeed a great time last night. I’m looking forward to the pix – and no worries, we were all asked if we minded being photographed and displayed online before the cameras came out.
ellaesther
@Colette: Excellent! Sorry to be careful (this is apparently an issue for some…), but I know people who have been horrified to find themselves posted, not even realizing they were being photographed.
On the other hand, I didn’t necessarily need to leap into the fray of an event that I didn’t attend so I have no idea what was said or not. Hmm.
Dearie me, I’m becoming a pain in the ass. I will stop by switching topic, to:
@John PM: There was talk yesterday about getting some folks together in the fall, when SiubhanDuinne will be coming this way for a high school reunion (read the comments in this post), but I have the sense that if someone wanted to organize something sooner, folks would be happy about it.
DougJ
SGEW:
Yes, I will definitely set one up in NYC. Maybe in June?
DougJ
Thirsty Bear was ok but not brilliant. A little loud.
Kevin K.
Woo hoo! Sign me up.
SGEW
@DougJ: Count me in.
Lit3Bolt
Pictures of people and not pets? Has the whole world gone mad? What does Philosopher-King Tunch think of this?
ET
@lol: Yes. I live on the Hill.
DZ
@Li3Bolt:
Tunch is far above this mundane BS. He’s a cat
Adrienne
@DougJ: Count me in for the NYC get together. That would be loads of fun!
Chris
@jrg
Hey..I’m two hours out in the sticks, but I’d roll in to hang with some Juicers…
geg6
I think since John Cole is often in Pittsburgh and Tim F. lives here, we should have one of these shindigs in the ‘Burgh.
Yes, I am jellus.
Hob
@jeffreyw: Thanks, but too late, now I’m hungover enough that food isn’t very appealing
Hob
@Lit3Bolt: Hey, some of us can be pets too.
gbear
So how many BJ’ers makes a ‘smashing’?
fraught
Is Brooklyn part of NYC? Or can we flip-flop between two sides of the river?
Bad Horse's Filly
@jeffreyw: Oh man, that looks good. I haven’t eaten in two days (quite under the weather – ugh) and that made me hungry. Must be on the mend.
Notorious P.A.T.
Post all pictures! The innocent have nothing to hide! just kidding. Wish I could have been there.
16 shells from a thirty aught six
Portland!
Also Tunch T-shirts! (From the other thread)
Dreggas
Let me know who wants to have one in the L.A./Orange county area.
Third Eye Open
Balloon-Juice college tour? Welcome to Tallahassee…yes, we are the capital.
DougJ
Count me in for the NYC get together. That would be loads of fun!
Great!
Tsulagi
You sure it wasn’t just you there meeting all your spoof identities? Reason you don’t have pictures because you were shaking hands with yourself? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
chrome agnomen
a million BJ march!
Paul in KY
If any of y’all would like to hit Louisville (maybe for Derby, say), it would be great to have a meet-up. I’m in the infield each year (tarps, chairs, awnings, liquor) and any of y’all would be more than welcome to party at our spot (which is right in front of the giant TV screen on the right).
Sounds like a great time was had by all.
geg6
@Paul in KY:
OMG, that’s a crazy place and time. In the 80s, a group of friends and I would rent a Winnebago and go to the Derby every year (we did it for about 10 years). The infield is just nuts, but in a good way. Best.party.ever. Too bad I’m too old to do that now. :-(
Annie
@chrome agnomen:
Count me in. Then everyone can come to DC…my home.
For the march, we can wear our Tunch t-shirts (and thongs as someone else proposed), Tunch baseball caps, and carry our Tunch coffee mugs and signs. Lily and Charlie can lead, with Smudge, Raven, Shadow, Chompers, and all the other BJ darlings following close behind.
Third Eye Open
@DougJ: I vote for Atlanta, lets hit the Brick Store.
williamc
@Third Eye Open:
I love the Brick Store Pub! I used to live in Decatur (an ATL suburb) and wasted many a night spending too much money on all the BEER they have in stock there.
ummmm beer…its Friday and sunny here in Atlanta, I’m going drinking, meet up or not…
Third Eye Open
@williamc: I am always amazed at the rare selections in there, and their perogies are some of the best I have ever had. If it weren’t for case law briefs and some research design homework, I would be up there drinking this weekend myself. Oh well, soon…
JD Rhoades
@jrg: \\Yes! Raleigh! Yes!
jibeaux
@jrg:
That’d be nice. Sadly, we are probably not hip enough.
Paul in KY
geg6, glad you had a great time. The spot we stay at is well away from the college debauchery that goes on (so I’ve uh been told..) in the 3rd turn area.
Since 9/11, they cracked down on some of the stuff you could bring in & it seems to have driven off some of the wildest partiers. You would probably think it was a bit tame, compared to the times you went.
Col. Klink
Have you ever considered doing one in Romania? I’ll host!
Something Fabulous
@Col. Klink: Ooooh! The land of my people! Always wanted to check it out! Roots and a mass-BJ [erm, what are you calling this phenom, Dougj?]; what could be better?
Tax Analyst
@ #13 ellaesther said:
Besides, they might be “Wanted” by Federal, State or Local Authorities as well. This IS Balloon Juice, after all.
Tax Analyst
@ #38 Dreggas
Well, I answered to that last night, but I might not have sounded all that enthusiastic, so let me rephrase:
Although my hours are horrendous for the next month or so, I would still be glad to show up at an L.A. area meet, if it was at all feasible time & location-wise.
However, I see there has been a notable lack of LA-area responses to this both last night and now today. Is it something I said? Or are most L.A. Balloon-Juicers just too laid back for this kind of soiree?
Geezus, I still ask too many damned questions, don’t I?
asiangrrlMN
Fuck yeah, the Twin Cities, Bitchez. I can think of half a dozen people off-hand who are from around here. Hell, you don’t even have to come in the winter if you don’t want.
P.S. I did not think ellaesther’s request was unreasonable. I hate having my picture taken, and I would appreciate being asked before someone else put it on the web.
Steeplejack
@Third Eye Open:
Memories! I was on a consulting gig in 2000-01 for a small telecom company that had its offices on the second floor above a store just one or two down from the Brick Store. Great place to
suck down beerreplenish those vital electrolytes while hashing out gnarly technical problems after work. Good times.Col. Klink
@ Something Fabulous
Yo! Where are your people from in our great Vatra?
I’d guess Iasi or Moldova if you’re posting on this blog, with a 20 percent chance of being from Bucharest.