Although I was
excited at the prospect of meeting a fellow
everythingite my SO was not. She was plagued by the sort of worries you get after watching an
ABC after school special or a
Dee Snider movie. I had to trick her into attending. We went
shopping, and then I sprang it on her. "Sorry baby, we got to be at the
Hilton at nine."
Her apprehension only increased when she discovered we were meeting
Quizro and his engaging
wife in the
Star Trek themed location previously mentioned. "You're such a
dork."
I didn't share her particular fear of this meeting, but I am a
cautious man. We arrived at quarter to nine, and I quickly scouted the open seating area of the bar and restaurant for a man who may have vaguely resembled the picture from his
home node. I didn't spot Quizro and retreated to the nearby
gift shop.
The glass facade of the gift shop presented me with an unobstructed view to the entrance of the
restaurant. I waited at my post and fended of the occasional inquiry from the tall
Bajoran managing the store.
When I witnessed the approach of the man I was expecting, accompanied by the woman I presumed to be his wife, I exited my blind and approached, timidly inquiring if they were in fact the ones I was waiting for. It was odd to hear someone call me by my
alias.
After a brief round of introductions we were seated and the fun began. I had really been looking forward to this. I won't lie to you, I was a little bit
jealous of all the groups that have managed to meet before and spent so much time talking about it. It all sounded like so much fun. I wanted in on that.
We ordered drinks. Quizro ordered an appropriately themed beverage. I opted for a "Space
Corona." My decision pleased me after I saw Quizro's fruity colored beverage. "It's beer" he claimed,
I don't believe him, it was blue.
I purposefully attempted to keep our conversation from alighting on topics of
E2. I had already attempted to explain our little community to my SO and she wasn't
receptive. She just rolled her eyes and said "whatever, dork." Talking about E2 seemed like it might not be the best idea, so instead I briefly mentioned that one of my harrowing encounters had already been "recorded", or "written down," I avoided using the word
Node.
The Klingon thing really bugged me. I was half a breath from saying something rude and doing something that would embarrass my SO, when the daft bitch finally left.
Stupid Klingons.
The most boggling part of the evening was discovering that I already knew Quizro's parents. My previous
girlfriend had been the campaign coordinator for a local
politician and Quizro's parents had donated
office space out of their business for her to use. I had met his parents on several occasions and had even
interviewed for a job with their company. That discovery left me temporarily
speechless, something I am not accustomed to.
All in all I had a wonderful evening. Quizro is a real nice fellow and I hope we can get together again sometime. For that matter I wouldn't mind meeting any number of people I have met here. On the way home I asked my SO if she had enjoyed herself in spite of her initial objections. "Yeah, I had fun," she replied, "they were real nice people,
not weird at all." That, my friends, is a glowing appraisal indeed from one as easily
intimidated as she.