I declare the Bay12 Meetup at the Irvine Spectrum a smashing success. In attendance were HugoLoman, IronyOwl, Lorducket and...acetyl...ace..actet...checking the thread...OH! "Acetech." Is that what you guys were saying? I must have heard the name half a dozen times and it sounded like you were saying something different every time.
*ahem*
And now, my nominations for...
Most event-appropriate outfit
* HugoLuman. This was an user meet. Somebody is supposed to wear something unusual. Hugo did not disappoint.
Most awkward moment
* The staring. Wow, that lasted a while, didn't it? I'm glad we managed to get past that, because I was running out of ice breaker material.
Crowning moment of awesome
* The swordfight. Kudos to acetech for going down four times yet not once flling into the fountain. I didn't really think anyone would, but after that time you feel backwards and landed with your lower body on the edge of the fountain and your upper body not on the edge of the fountain, I started to think you might.
Crowning moment of daww
* When IronyOwl commented on the shrieking children at the adjacent table, and I walked over to their table and put an end to their shrieking, and their parents thanked me for it.
Crowning moment of funny
* When...while huddled under the awning with that family and IronyOwl proposed we find a Target to procure a board game to play, but didn't have a phone with web search features so he inquired if anyone else did so we could find a Target, and nobody but me did...so I pulled out my phone to find a Target and then succeeded in finding a Target, but was slightly sketchy on where the Target was because it was sort of in a weird area of Irvine that I wasn't familiar with, and so IronyOwl proposed that we all take one vehicle to the Target so that nobody would get lost, and then after agreeing to to take IronyOwl/Acetech's car to the Target and then asking where their car was...it turning out that their car was parked next to the Target...at the Irvine Spectrum.
Crowning moment of sad
* Turning onto the freeway going south and realizing that Hugo was on a bike and he showed up 45 minutes late. Therefore he presumably had at least a 45 minute bike ride home...possibly in the rain. Sorry, I really should have offered you a ride home even if I was going in the opposite direction. Maybe net time let's meet closer to where you live.
Favorite innocent bystanders
* Those two girls who were running and sliding in the rain. That looked fun. If I'd been wearing different shoes I totally would have joined in on that.
Favorite guilty bystander
* That blonde girl giving me dirty looks when I walked up to her party and asked for venue advice, resulting in the two guys she was with no longer paying attention to her.
Least favorite food item
* Whatever those CPK appetizers were. I think this is the only user meet I've ever attended with at least one starving college student where the "free for all" appetizers were left uneaten.
What I'm most thankful for
* That the proposal to steal me away, murder me and bury my body turned out to not be a serious suggestion.
Best moment of bonding between fellow bay12ers
* Sharing hair care tips with IronyOwl
Best Zombie Apocalypse hideout
* Barnes & Noble. I know we talked about the Target but really now that I think about it those glass doors were way too big and the insides were way to open. And I'm not sure those aisles were movable. The Barnes & Noble also had glass doors but they were smaller and I'm certain lots of the bookshelves were mobile, so we could have barricaded the doors. Plus there was an upstairs area to fall back to in the event of breach. Though the Target probably had more food that the coffee shop at the Barnes & Noble. But we could have gone on food run sorties. It wasn't far.