at the Firefly preview showing

Of course! Wow, that was almost 10 years ago. There were quite a few Bay Area Buffistas during that one. I remember being envious of you guys having a Buffistas fannish community right there in your city.

DC was my first occasion meeting any of the Buffistas, at all. And you were all exactly who I already knew.

Yes! I remember being struck by that in Chicago, too. Aren't meet-ups of internet fan groups supposed to be awkward and eye-opening (in a bad way)? That first F2F was like going to a family reunion where you'd known everyone forever. There was some stumbling with the less photographed among us (pinning a name to the lovely faces), but in terms of personalities? All exactly as expected.

I will never forget that trip, not just for the F2F awesomeness, but for the most embarrassing airport experience I have ever had. For the first and only time in my life, I was pulled aside and had my luggage searched by hand. No idea why. But do you have any idea how insanely embarrassing it is to have some jowly middle-aged stranger pawing through your luggage and encountering pleather, corsets, glitter, a tiara and a rubber stake?

I've had customs agents cracking up upon finding a Bobby Orr doll in my carry-on luggage for a return flight from an All Star game in Canada. I did not learn to be unapologetic in my fannish enthusiasm from ita, but it was nice to have a friend who exemplified that approach to life.

On our domain contacts...

ita: If we do decide to go the domaindiscover route, Jesse, it's simple to set me up as technical contact... but then we have to supply an organizational, an administrative and a billing contact. Billing is easy -- what about the other two?

Jesse: I was going to say I'd do it, but would be equally happy with others.

DavidS: Jesse's the "do that" girl.

Beverly: Frodo!Jesse

ita: I can be Legolas!ita, right? Right?

DavidS: I don't know...

Can you punch an Orc in the throat with an arrow, then draw and fire that same arrow in one smooth motion killing a second orc? And look pretty while doing it?

ita: Dare you to tell me I can't.

DC was my first occasion meeting any of the Buffistas, at all. And you were all exactly who I already knew.

Yes! I remember being struck by that in Chicago, too.

Thirding that. Social events make me miserable, but the F2Fs were so ridiculously easy. And when they weren't, there was always a quiet corner to sit in, and if you sat down near another quiet person you could just sit and be quiet near each other and it was still good. Yeah, still good.

Still like you, still coming.

Tom, I love you, and because I do, I am not making any of the "that's what HE said!"-type jokes I thought of.

I only made it to the SFF2F, and I never met ita, but she was still a force in my life (especially since we emailed each other a lot after... "Blood Ties", I think it was? Some Buffy ep triggered me, and she was awesomely supportive).

Juliana, you were in Seattle too, weren't you? Or did I hallucinate meeting you?

(In all seriousness, Tom, I'm so very glad you're here.)

sj, you're right. I can't believe I spaced thst.

Still like you, still coming.

Backatcha