PwebCon/Gatherings/Shindigs/Meet-Ups

[Luet]

Oh yeah, what is the due date?

[Rei]

27 October, so we've got a bit of time yet.

[locke]

Congrats!

[Eaquae Legit]

Thanks!

[Mich]

First thread I saw with the news! Awesome crazy stuff! Woo!

[mr_thebrain]

day before my birthday. it's a great time to have birthdays. especially as a kid. what with halloween and all.

[Gravity Defier]

This thread will be needed soon.


For a simple recap thus far, the visit so far has played out rather like a night in chat room. Lots of ball talk. Teresa has felt me up every which way, so I feel like maybe I have had sex, and some random person on the...thingy (public transit) did a rather funny breakdown of who each of us were in our little group (you know, if this were tv or a movie and everyone had a role or whatever).

Oh, it is freezing here.

And stuff. (I'll expand on that later. Or someone will. There will be expansion. And it will be interesting.)


I need to shower and sleep, since I've been up since 4AM.

Mostly very at the moment.

[thoughtreader]

so I feel like maybe I have had sex, and some random person on the...thingy (public transit)

The MAX! its super sweet to ride

The husband and I are having a great time!

[Gravity Defier]

I know the name of it but what is it? Light rail? No clue on that.

[thoughtreader]

it is indeed a light rail

[Petra456]

I could only stay through tonight, and I just got home. I had an awesome time!

Although, this sucks. I miss my pwebbers : (

[Gravity Defier]

I'm still in Portland, so no long posts detailing every last minute (as if I'm going to remember them all anyway) quite yet but have a picture:



That is zero at the bottom, true story. We are surrounding Guinness World Records' tiniest park (Mill Ends Park). No swings, very sad.

[thoughtreader]

That is zero at the bottom, true story

Like for reals yo

[Petra456]

I don't remember the puppy...

[Gravity Defier]

I think it came out of the park at the last minute...

[Jayelle]

TEASES! Come on zero... show your face...

[Luet]

I know! Dude, you could have gotten a homeless guy to pose there. Well, one with decent pants and sneakers.

[Jayelle]

It's pretty hilarious that you guys are all squinting into the sun, too.

ETA: Except Alea. Probably because she's used to the sun.

[Luet]

I didn't notice that but you're right! Wow, Alea has super sun-gazing powers.

[Mich]

For the record, Will possibly isn't squinting, either.

[Luet]

Well, yeah, but he still needed sunglasses. Alea didn't need anything with her superpower.

[thoughtreader]

It's pretty hilarious that you guys are all squinting into the sun, too.

ETA: Except Alea. Probably because she's used to the sun.

what is this sun you speak of hides from the big burning orb in the sky It burns IT BURNS!!!!!!

I'm happy to report that Portland is back to its damp, gray, easy to see in self today.

[Gravity Defier]

Disclaimer: This, of course, is how I remember things (or don't, as the case may be), so the others are welcome to jump in and fill in any blanks or tell me I was in a bizarro-Portland if they don't remember things happening in a similar fashion.

The trip for me started on Thursday; I always fly out of Phoenix or San Diego, since it usually auto-adds around $200 to fly out of where I live. Add gas and possibly hotel and that's still cheaper than flying out of here. So, Thursday, to Phoenix. I left right after work, got to the hotel, got ready for bed and attempted to sleep by 11:30. And I did, surprisingly fast! But that didn't last. I woke up a bit after -about an hour and a half- got a great idea in the stage of not asleep/not awake and went crazy with it for about an hour. Did I mention I had to be at the airport by 5:30ish, since I'm paranoid and do the 2 hour before flight check-in? Thanks to airport shuttle schedules, I was awake and getting ready by about 4:15. There was no sleep.

Then there was a problem with my ticket that got worked out fairly painlessly, thankfully, but I was starting to panic before we got to the "Here's your boarding pass, have a safe flight" part. A layover in Seattle later, during which time I discovered there is no sun in some places of the world, I texted Fred and Mich to let them know I was in their neck of the woods (basically, "prepare yourselves").

When I landed in Portland, I called Fred to see where they were and they had just gotten to the airport, so I was told to meet them outside. Only, I missed the "we're outside in the car" bit somehow, so I told them I didn't see them inside. Stupid Thing I Did This Weekend #1. Once I figured out they were in a car, we found each other, Fred stepped out of the car, and I got a hug. It was a great hug; I love them, really. I hopped into the car and there was Wil (driving) and Teresa and her husband (in the back with me), so I attacked Teresa with the hugs and got buckled up.

At this point, Mich texted me to say that there was a percussion section of a band in Pioneer Square, the place we decided to all meet up. "We're on the way!" I text back, all excited. Music! Mich! Music and Mich!

Things were pretty comfortable immediately for us in the whole meeting process but maybe that just happens when you've known the people for 7-8 years, as the case was here. There were sex/ball/lesbian/threesome/etc jokes immediately and constantly. Chat, come to life.

Anyway, getting excited about adding Mich to the mix, we head towards Pioneer Square and get...turned around. A lot. We got a great tour of some rooftops and bridges and Will got to display his varied vocabulary, which included such gems as "f***!" and "I hate driving in Portland."

We finally got into the part of town we wanted to be in, managed to find some parking after a good amount of circling, and headed off to the Square, where poor Jeff was melting away from starvation. (Jeff will be Mich or Jeff as my brain sees fit; I apparently can't decide on one or the other.)

Once he spotted us, which was well after we spotted him, we did the whole "Nice to meet you now hug me" thing and guys, he's taller than I expected and not so skinny as I expected. I was a little taken aback. The first thing we did was eat.




We had, in honor of Ed (for me, at least), cheesesteaks - he insists they weren't Philly cheesesteaks (and in a sense he was right!) but the sign says it, so it must be.




As we're eating (some of us dropping bits into bras...to save for a snack for later, duh), I tell them, "We have to go back to the airport and be there by 7:20ish." They give me confused looks, so I assure them I'm not trying to leave, we're just getting one more person. "A Pwebber?" Uh...no. I'm randomly inviting AZ friends up here. "Yes." "Who is it?" "I'm not at liberty to say." And so that is out there. We decide we should probably not sit on the steps all day waiting for surprise Pwebber visit. We don't really have a place in mind, so we walk and come across this bubbler




(it's a drinking fountain -I later drool into one on accident: Stupid Thing I Did #3- but looks like it should be called a bubbler, right?), some otters




and then Teresa decides she wants to find a particular mall centerpiece/decoration/art thing. We head inside a mall to see if it's the one we're looking for. In the meantime, there are fun things on the floor of the mall we're in, so we play with that.




We also learn the floor has a map of the rivers and do a full tour of the food court. Fun times are had by all but this is not the mall we are looking for. As we exit, this man is playing with his balls.




From there, we decide to head to the riverfront and when we get there, we discover the geese have beaten us to it. I take a picture (you're welcome, Jan ) and then we West Side Story dance fight the geese; we totally won, for reasons that include we can snap and we're better dancers.




Look, Teresa shall demonstrate some of her moves:



Walking, walking, there's lots of walking, we come by this sign:





I guess I'm in Portland, I think to myself.

And then there's this sign:




That is not couch, as in, thing you sit on. It is "cootch," as in...cootch. We thought the more local people were pulling our leg but on Sunday I heard the bus-lady voice say it as cootch, so if it's a joke, it's a terribly deep one that the Portlanders are trying to pull off.

I guess the cootch/Couch talk made us hungry for things with holes in them because next thing I know, we're off to grab a live show




and some doughnuts.







Well, one of the two, anyway. While there, we saw a bird who we decided was a hobbit (massively hairy/feathery feet for a bird) but who used this to his advantage with the human ladies; "Poor bird, I'll just give him food to take his mind off the fact that he looks lame!"

We finish the doughnuts, do more, wait for it, walking, and stumble across these:







The dinosaur, we decided, was pregnant and we immediately think of Kirsten.

We wander by the Big Pink




and into China town




where we discover an Elvis shrine




and a barcade.






Games are played, bathroom signs are noticed, we leave and head for Powell's.




On the way in, we talk about the Whisk




and decide it is either a penis or something deep about man's something or other. We settle on penis.

Once inside, we make a beeline for the Rare Books collection, which is closed but then stumble upon a Shel Silverstein alphabet book "for adults", which isn't all that racy. We take the challenge upon ourselves to do a better version and thus wander the aisles saying what the letters all stand for. Teresa and Mich won, if there was winning to be had.

We then stalk the OSC books, take a picture,




attempt to take a more centered one,




then take one last, centered one that I didn't like as much as the first.

We glance at the clock and lo and behold, we have to go pick someone up! We hop on the Red and off to the airport we go. Once we got there, we looked on the board for the flight; I knew the number, so I just checked to see what gate it'd be coming out of so we could wait outside of that area, or at least as close to it as the security checkpoint would allow. So we wait. And wait. And now it's about 20 minutes after the flight got in and no word. "Can't you call them?" Not really..."Can we page them?" Uh...P. Webber, party of 5 waiting for you? "Maybe we should go to baggage claim, we might spot them." ...ha, yeah, not happening. I draw a hat guy from XKCD and Mich starts walking around holding it up but no luck. Thankfully, we get a text saying they are in fact at baggage claim, so we rush down. The others are curious and I'm about to throw up, so, woo.

I see a person straight ahead who I'm mostly sure is our surprise guest but I want to send a text before I rush said stranger, so we all stop and stare and stand but before I even get to the proper window on my phone, person is heading over like they know us, so I assume it is in fact who we're looking for. It is! "Guys, this is zero." Introductions are had and now it's time to head back into the city.

We're not on the light rail for long when this man walks on and ask/tells us "TGIF?" and follows it up with a question about whether or not we're on a high school reunion sort of thing. He then tells us who we are within the group.

To Teresa: (I think he says) you are the quiet, reserved one (WRONG)
To Jeff: you are the one who holds everyone together (RIGHT)
To me: you are the one who surprises people after two drinks (NO COMMENT)
To zero: you are the troublemaker (FAIR)
To Will: you are the one who doesn't know why he's here (PROBABLY)
To Fred: you are the one who keeps Will in line (DEFINITELY)

Get off the light rail, amused at how not far off this guy was, and start walking. Decide to go to a pub that requires us to get stamped (like the Jewish or like the people in 1984, depending on who you asked)




We learned zero has a name (no really, he does!), they ate, I tried to not get overwhelmed by all the noise. We eventually left, decided to go to Jeff's to see the skyline, and off we went! So. Much. Walking.

But, although the picture sucks, it was worth it.




After not too long, we decided to split up for the night, so zero stayed behind with Jeff (and they video-gamed, I hear) while I went to my hotel and Fred and Will went to theirs (and they slept, I hear). I played on Pweb, showered, and slept.

And was up at 4:30. After posting, chatting, eating, and more waiting, we finally started day 2 at about 10 in the AM at the Saturday Market.

We were serenaded by this "intense" guy




When Teresa met up with us, we walked (shocker), I got my Chai (which was disappointingly authentic -read: not as tasty as I like), saw some interesting hats and art and general toy-like fun stuff and a limeaide sign! (Note: zero has an arm!)



While a few of us eat and Jeff ditches us, we make plans to go to the Chinese gardens, which we do.




To get around paying full price, we do the family package; Teresa and her husband are the students, zero and I were the "adults." What a modern family we were.

After having our fun there, we walk back to what I called the "Ugly Bridge", took some pictures,





then some of the ones who didn't eat at Saturday Market got hungry, so we decided on the food court (same as the first day).

Jeff rejoined us there, then off we went to do more, wait for it, walking. Because, hey, still in Portland.



We make it to Portland Art Museum, see some MLP stuff:




(Okay, I just think that's Celestia related)

and ET picking his nose:




I didn't get a picture of the big bacon and fork/pepper...so sad. I failed so bad at pictures. Only 151 taken, which is nothing compared to past trips.

We walk around some more, find Tiny Park, then decide to find Forest Park.

The entire way there, of the walking portion, Jeff is telling us "We're close." To which we all think, "You keep saying that...are we lost?"

Kind of are but not exactly.

See? We found it:




By the time we get there, we're kind of like, "F*** the trees..." but we still get enough energy to take a look, poke around, see some sort of slug that eats penises to show sexual dominance. (Why, yes, I do remember all the sex stuff that came up.)

Exhausted, we head back the way we came, which took precisely 5 minutes compared to the much longer trip there; or so it seems.

Food time! How about we have some Chinese. Anyone know where we can get that?



At this time, poor Will is feeling terrible, so he and Fred have to leave soon. They go back to get their car while we order our food and walk back to Jeff's.

We take the food up to the roof, start to chow down, and Jeff gets the only non-group picture of me there is:





It's a keeper.

Eventually Fred and will return, they sign my book (or Fred does and Will adds "& Will" to hers), we hug, Teresa accidently grabs my crotch, and then there were four.

We head back upstairs, I have to do an interview (seriously, who works on their vacation? I do, apparently), and then Teresa had to go for the night.

And then there were three. We watch some MLP (poor Jeff, he never stood a chance), then some Arrested Development. And then it's bedtime. I got to enjoy Jeff's couch, as public transportation wasn't as user friendly as Will and Fred transportation.

Sleep stuff happened, morning came, we had to get zero on his way. He ate, he signed my book, and then we walked him to the light rail. I'm actually not sure why I didn't volunteer to ride with him there. Chalk it up to tired-brain.

Anywho, he actually missed the first light rail he was supposed to catch, so we waited for the next one and enjoyed Portland's wise words




The light rail came, zero went, Jeff chased after it, then we returned to Jeff's to make plans for the rest of my time there.

First up: get my stuff so we can meet Teresa for lunch on the good side of town.

One wrong stop, directions from Teresa over the phone, and 3 miles later, we find my hotel.

Jeff looked upset




even though I wasn't. We were both sore, so that was the worst of it. Otherwise, great company...what's to be upset about?

I checked out, we ride the bus back, and head to Pizza Schmizza




to meet Teresa.

We eat, then, zombie-like at this point, walk back to Jeff's,



play around on the internets, and before we know it, I have to leave for the airport.

We get distracted by these creepy face sculptures and stop to take pictures (I will upload these later...too lazy now and this has taken forever to type out)...which results in me just barely missing my light rail.

They wait with me for the next one, they give me advice to stay safe ("Don't talk to strangers," etc.), then run after my light rail as I pull away from them.


I make it to the airport, buy my dad a postcard, and have just enough time to post one thing on Pweb (I'm not addicted...) before my plane starts to board.

Great flight. It took 5-10 minutes. At least, that's all I was awake for.

I landed in Phoenix, my dad finally found the right terminal, and I came back home. Only a major accident delayed us a bit, so I got home after midnight, despite being in AZ since 8:30 and the drive from Phoenix being a 2.5 hour drive.



I'm sore. I have to give it to Portland; I don't think I'm out of shape (I am squishy but active) and Chicago, CO, and Philly couldn't break me but this time, I am rather astoundingly sore.


But it was worth it. It was immediately comfortable and so much fun, so thank you once again for letting me go visit, guys, and feel free to add in or correct anything.


ETA: I forgot to mention Stupid Thing I Did #2: I tried to pick up a glued-down quarter at some point. It was funny. Laughs were had.

[starlooker]

Sounds like SO MUCH FUN. Loved reading about it and looking at the fabulous illustrations!

And I love the pregnant dinosaur with the killer heartburn. (Or it could be a dragon -- nah. I'm going with the killer heartburn.)

[Luet]

While there, we saw a bird who we decided was a hobbit (massively hairy/feathery feet for a bird) but who used this to his advantage with the human ladies; "Poor bird, I'll just give him food to take his mind off the fact that he looks lame!"

And you didn't get a picture of this freakish bird for me?! Where is the love?!

Just kidding. Awesome write up!

[Gravity Defier]

And you didn't get a picture of this freakish bird for me?! Where is the love?!

Not that it's at all helpful but I did say, after I shoved my camera back into my back pocket as we walked away, that I should have taken a picture of Frodo.

[Petra456]

I'm pretty sure some of us got married at the Elvis shrine... Still not sure.

[steph]

So jealous!!!

I wanna know what zero looks like and verify that he has an actual name!

[LilBee91]

Finally got around to reading this. Loved it. It sounds like an awesome trip and I am incredibly jealous. I want to go to Portland. And I can't believe zero is real and I'm not. He doesn't even have a real name!

[VelvetElvis]

I'm not real either, if it makes you feel better!

[LilBee91]

A little bit.

[Wind Swept]

Uh oh, Fred doesn't look too good. I think I've seen this condition before.

[Petra456]

Uh oh, Fred doesn't look too good. I think I've seen this condition before.

That is totally what happened.

Also, I totally ate 1 item!

[zeroguy]

so zero stayed behind with Jeff (and they video-gamed, I hear)

Yeah, were bro'ing out for a bit with some gamecube. Mich tells me he always takes his pants off to play gamecube.

saw some interesting hats and art and general toy-like fun stuff and a limeaide sign! (Note: zero has an arm!)

Oh for the love of... it's "limeade" right there in the picture! (Also, for the imageboard denizens, I'm totally going for a "dubs guy" look, there).

Also yeah, that was fun! I was amazed at how short certain female pwebbers are. I mean, I'd heard people mention it before, but... I do apologize for how often I probably brought it up, but it did take quite a bit of willpower to not mention it and giggle like every five minutes.

Edit: Someone look at the voodoo doughnuts logo and tell me they're not an evil corporation taking over portland. Everything I've seen about this company tells me that it's an antagonist from an Earthbound-ish game or something.

[Wind Swept]

Also yeah, that was fun! I was amazed at how short certain female pwebbers are. I mean, I'd heard people mention it before, but... I do apologize for how often I probably brought it up, but it did take quite a bit of willpower to not mention it and giggle like every five minutes.