Blogger Happy Hour Virgin... no more

Kathryn and DC Cookie sponsored a Blogger Happy Hour at Gazuza. This is my first Blogger get together, which means I am no longer a Blogger Happy Hour virgin!

Miss Chatter and I decided to team up and attend this event together since it was a first for the both of us. We both wanted to hit home prior to the HH to freshen up after the grime of a Friday. So we agreed to meet at the Dupont metro at 7:15ish.

I had googled Gazuza for the address and read a few reviews. The common thread was “It’s a place to see and be seen in Dupont.” I fretted over what to wear since I’m no fashionista, but that didn’t last long. I decided to be myself and in the end I didn’t change from work. I even stuck with my huge shoes, which could double as a weapon if necessary. I was, of course, going into the District, which is in a “Crime Emergency” status.

I arrived first, which is very unusual since I can’t seem to time things right and I’m usually fashionable late. I left Miss Chatter a message, as I was riding the escalator, that I was outside the south exit. When I arrived at the top and was gathering my bearings as to where I was I realized there were a few people standing around. Since I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself I decided to move to the back behind the newspapers and wait.

I had a blast watching people. I hadn’t been downtown in sometime and I hadn’t been in Dupont for YEARS. I had wondered how the young, chic, upwardly mobile (YCUM) in downtown looked and acted. I realized they weren’t so different. I was surprised how many more people joined to wait for someone outside the metro. It reminded me of the airport. People would emerge from underground and find someone waiting for them and there would be hugs and kisses and sometimes awkward moments. One woman stood around and finally realized the dude she was looking for was standing there the whole time watching her. They laughed and she hit him before they did the kiss on the cheek greeting. One woman walked out and right up to a parked car to use it as a full body mirror to check and adjust herself.

A man approached me and whispered “What is everyone waiting for? Is someone going to hand out chocolate?” He completely caught me off guard but I had to laugh because I was thinking the same thing. He said he was satisfied with my response since he was just looking to make me laugh. I couldn’t help but think this could so be a Missed Connection moment. I will be sure to check for it. I had to resist my urge to pull out my little pad of paper and start writing all of this down. Seems I remembered it all just fine… so far.

We arrived at Gazuza about 7:15 walked in and… nothing. We don’t know what these people look like except for the few photographs. I thought for sure I would recognize Kathryn right off. We were hoping someone would recognize Miss Chatter with her Nats baseball jersey. First things first and we grabbed a beer. As we were talking I get tapped on the shoulder. “I’m here to meet a group of bloggers and I have no idea what they look like.” Ahh, that’s us too. We have met Jay Gatsby. He isn’t a blogger…YET, but he is a commenter. After Jay’s third drink we send him over to the other side of the bar to look for more bloggers. We didn’t want to just approach random people, but after Jay had loosened up he was willing. It wasn’t but a few minutes when he came back to tell us they were all in the back. We grabbed a second beer and headed over.

First we met Kathryn who pointed out a bunch of people and the blogs they write including Grateful Dating, Looking to Live and Home Improvement Ninja. We spoke to a few others but it was so difficult to hear. I tried to read lips and would catch bits and pieces and get by. Miss Chatter and I were feeling very out of place and grabbed some seats on the couch and just watched. She made a very good point that since she was married she was out of practice on approaching people. This was my cue that it was up to me. I thought I saw Kassy so I grabbed Miss Chatter and over I went. She recognized my blog… how exciting! She had roses for all the ladies. I asked if these were courtesy of one of the guys hanging out her window from her dancing episode? She laughed and introduced us to more bloggers, including Wendy who writes Harmony Music. It was so difficult to hear that we couldn’t get details on everyone.

Miss Chatter and I excused ourselves to hit the bar again. I asked Kathryn if Velvet was there. Yeah, I finally got to meet the famous Velvet. We chit chatted about each other’s blog and she asked about Mini Red. Mini Red is starting puberty so there should be plenty to write about... With Mini Red's approval, of course.

9:30 was approaching and I couldn’t finish the beer I had or I would surely be a mess. Miss Chatter needed to get back cause the game was on at 10. We made our departure and agreed to do this again. I very much enjoyed the evening and it was nice to put the faces with the blogs and find out REAL names. I've found more blogs to check out too.