And now, the obligatory individual shoutouts that most new meet goers do. I'm doing this mostly by order of the group photo as a reference:
- Garr/Rylan, bunkmate, big man, garrgameface.jpg, you were a great person to meet. Easily one of the people I was able to fall into good friendship with. It was always easy to just randomly strike up a conversation with you. You were also easy to spot at the airport. Team Newark 4eva.
- Radez/Andrew, my tequila compadre. You are a wonderful individual who is not afraid to express himself and I salute you for this. If I was not-straight, I'd hit that. Lets drown the meet house next year in the river of Don Julio that we started this year (I totally love the fact that we convinced like 10 people to drink tequila with us, f yeah).
- Deni/Lucas, you were one of the biggest surprises at the meet this year. You were always quite skeptical of the meets and so I never expected you to actually attend one. I am glad you did, because it allowed all of us to see the real you and allowed you to see the real us. All in all, you were entertaining to have around and a basin of knowledge in many subjects. Glad to see you're considering coming back.
- Acer/One of many Chrises, hey buddy. Playing Brawl with you was fucking hilarious and you were always a good source of amusement and wit. You were one of the few whom I interacted with a fair amount prior to the meet and your personality translates exactly how I expected. Don't ever change. Also watch out for kamikaze mice.
- Shade, fuck you (see what I did there).
- Q, my nemesis. You and I chatted a lot in IRC, but when it came to the meet, it took a bit before you and I really got a chance to talk. Once we did though, I felt like you and I had been good friends forever. The bowling competition made candlepin bowling totally worth it. Next year, my amigo, you and I break the tie.
- Omagnus/Ben, we didn't really talk much before the meet, and we didn't really talk much during the meet. This may just be that we were usually in seperate groups most of the time, but shit happens. Hopefully we'll be able to talk more next year. From what I did experience, you're a fun gent to hang around with, and its always fun to have a brit around to pronounce words in funny ways.
- Sousuke/Tai, for the longest time I thought you spelt your name "Ty" which really threw me off during the beer tasting event. Regardless, it took nearly half of the meet before you and I actually started to communicate, but once we did, it was good times. We'll definitely need to play more Catan.
- Packrat/Trevor, eat a fucking cheeseburger. No but seriously, you are an intelligent person who had a dry wit about him that I could truly appreciate. Your shirts were even cheesier than mine, which can be tough to do, so hats off to you on that. Also you're the only person I know who'd bring a soldering iron to a meet.
- Pang/I don't think I ever actually got your real name, another 180 from the online world. I saw a lot of myself in how you acted, in that you were very quiet around large crowds, but really lightened up when drunk. I used to be the very same. I hope you are able to open up more given time, because you're a great guy. You have such lengthy and intelligent posts online, so it was interesting to see the quiet demeaner you held. I hope we're able to talk more next year, cause you seem to have quite a bit of knowledge and I'd love to just bullshit with you.
- Hito/Cody, the gourmet chef himself. You have spoiled me forever on your cooking. I thought I was good at cooking, but I can't hold a flame to you. I can't wait to be able to taste your cooking again next year. I also hope to volunteer to perhaps whip up some breakfasts since that seems to be the only territory you don't venture into at the meets.
- Sheep/Patrick, quite literally the snappiest dresser at the meet. Every event at the meet is documentated between you and Dave. You have taken some really awesome photos and I can't wait to see them all in their full sized glory.
- Dull/Yen, I am sad to hear you may not be attending next year's meet, but totally understand the want to use what vacation time you have on other places as well. Your vast taste in music is awesome and your knowledge in vinyl blew my mind. I look forward to seeing how much your collection grows.
- Mo0/Jay, you have literally the thickest skin of anyone I've ever met. I've never met someone so casual about jokes aimed at ones self. You're a blast to hang out with and easily one of the people I was able to talk to constantly at the meet.
- Skills, you fucker. One of the chat brigade. We had talked here and there, but never really clicked. You were a huge source of entertainment and took jokes like a fucking champ. You, sir, are a fantastic addition to the meet. Hopefully next year your glasses won't break.
- Temari, I can't say much about you. We interacted a little bit, more so later on as we got close to your leaving, but we never really got close. Hopefully we can change this as time goes on.
- Lurker/Sarah, you lush. I had joked forever that you'd always be too tired to meet up with me since that time you visited Portland. I think I interacted in chat with you the most of all of the meet people. I'm glad to finally see you in person and really get to know you. Next year, we'll collaberate on the beer tasting more so we can make it flow more smoothly and make it truly awesome.
- Shorty, darlin'. Before the meet, I wasn't even sure you liked me, let alone knew I existed.
But you turned out to be one of the two people I clicked with first and fastest. You are a doll and I enjoyed the time you were around. Next year you are coming full time and I will gladly get you plastered on mixed drinks all week long.
- Dope/Other Chris, we didn't interact too much, but it was fun playing Rock Band with ya and the occasional conversation.
- Sass/Danielle, we had passing conversations, but I didn't spend a lot of time at the outside table, so you and I didn't converse much. You definitely have the 'motherly' approach to the meet and I think its very much appreciated.
- Seris/Abby, I keep wanting to put an extra e in your nickname. You and I didn't really talk much during the first half of the meet, and I'm saddened by that, because you are a great person to interact with as I found out during/after bowling. You're adorable and peppy. After meeting you, I can't quite grasp the negative attitude you have toward yourself in your journal entries :P
- Plaron/Greg, shadow man. You are a hoot and joy to be around. Late night beach runs and pool treasure diving will always stick around in my mind. <3
- Rasputin/Erik, fellow Portlander. Its amazing that we live within miles of each other and have never hung out. Goes to show how little I actually communicated with people prior to the meet. We will definitely need to fix the lack of hanging out.
- Nutty/Nathan, another person I didn't talk much to. Passing conversation. You're fun though and the shots at Mo0 will never get old.
- Sprout/Dave, the man himself. Thank you for taking the lead on the meet this year. It sucks you had all that crap fall on you during the meet, but you did a great job getting everything going and keeping things sane. Though you and I didn't interact nearly enough, I truly appreciate what you've done. Plus your photos are fantastic. <3 cell phone writing.
- Sim/Jason, we played a lot of games together. It was fun. I was also happy to see you came and visited with other groups as well, and that you came out to the pool to hang out as well. You're an amusing guy, just stop beating yourself up over things.
