Chicago DU Gathering Prattle.

[XNASA]

Quite a crowd, huh? Must've been 25 of us there at one point.....

Lot's regulars in attendence: Susang, forradalom, greataunt, wndycty, mkuhl, ProfessorGAC, prolesunited and your's truly.

Also, there were a few folks that I'd been anxious to meet, they post quite a bit but hadn't come out for any gatherings: mopinko, chiburb, rschod...am I forgeting anyone?

And even a few newbies, antiwar warrior and a few others whose names escape me right now.

Special kudos to Blue-Jay, who drove in from Dayton OH, just to hang with some DU'ers on a windy Sunday afternoon in the city by the lake.

It was also quite a treat seeing The Magistrate, though we didn't find time to chat. I did capture an image of him that I hope to have posted soon. Got one of the Professor too, though he assures me that his image not be on file next time I check.

It was great seeing everyone. Let's do it again. Soon.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Yes it was great.

There also were Chiburb, DustMolecule, mohinoaklawnillinois and my lurker friend. Terrya posted earlier this morning that he was sorry he missed it, but was sick.

As I am today. Have now totally lost my voice and am lazing around, mostly in bed.

[never cry wolf]

2. Go ahead everyone, make me feel worse!!

Please tell me what I missed. I had a friend I had to talk through a personal problem and couldn't make it and I am PISSED!!

Yes, again, soon! I even have another friend I am trying to join DU who told me late last night that lots of beer and bush bashing sounded like a great night to him!

[chiburb]

3. I agree, a WONDERFUL time!

I'm usually not much of a 'socializer', but what a great bunch of people. Nice, liberal, Democrats... what more could you ask for?

So, officially being the 1st to leave (take THAT Prof!), how late did y'all stay? And what did I miss?

[XNASA]

4. I stayed until almost 8.

I had to get home in time to watch "The Practice".

There were still a handful of people there when I left.

[ProfessorGAC]

33. Late To The Fray!!

Hey, i was still the last to leave, permanently. You left and came back in!

Actually, i saw you with your coat on, and that made me look at my watch. Based upon what i told my wife, i had 50 minutes to make it home. Where i live, that was already a "no way"!

So, i had to run, get to the car, call her and tell her i was going to be a half-hour later than i thought.

That'll teach me for having a good time.

Thanks to all.
The Professor

[DustMolecule]

5. It was a real pleasure to meet everyone

and put some faces to the 'names'. It was a great time with some great people! Thanks for arranging everything GreatAuntofTriplets (it was nice to see a pic of those beautiful triplets too)! Hope that you feel better soon.

(btw Chiburb, I left shortly after you did. It was a school night for me too ;-) )

[chiburb]

6. I second the thanks to GAOT !!

Let's do it again (in nicer weather)...

DustMol...

Were there idiots heading West on the expressway last night? Or were they gone by the time you were on the road? Jeez... it was like the Stevenson 500.

[madrchsod]

9. the ike was the same way

we left right after you did,i guess everyone was in a hurry to get home!!!!

[DustMolecule]

16. Yep, I was running into (not literally) the same idiots...

...they must've circled back around ;-) Seriously, almost witnessed an accident right in front of me (at the Austin exit???) Good thing we all had good brakes and quick reflexes! I was glad that I only had Pepsi - which I think I forgot to say 'thank you' for - so thanks.

[chiburb]

17. My pleasure...

Any time...

:-)

(To answer your sig line: "treasury")

The word thesaurus is New Latin for treasure; coined in the early 1820's.

[DustMolecule]

23. Ding, Ding, Ding...

...we have a winner for the 'answer the sig line question' (although I believe the origin is Greek - from thesauros). But now I had to change my sig line! I had to think about it allllllll afternoon (and I'm still not happy with it). Perhaps I should conduct my first 'poll' and DUers could pick my new cig line .... nah, that would prolly be waaay too dangerous.

[Bat Boy]

22. Was I there?

Sunday is a bit blurry for me. Did I have fun? Have they set a court date?

[mopinko]

24. court date is

april 1. i'm pretty sure you had fun. i know you outlasted me.
it was a great time.
next time goose island. trust me, they will take good care of us.

[Doctor_J]

7. Sorry I couldn't make it

Glad you all got together. I WILL post my pic at some point, so you'll all know what I look like. Picture young Paul Newman, only with even bluer eyes.

GOt it? OK, I look nothing like that - much more like Peter Falk, or maybe Walter Matthiau.

Thanks to the organizers, let me know when the next one is.

[madrchsod]

8. my wife and i had a good time

nice to meet people i`ve "read" for the last two years. we are looking forward to the next meet when its warm outside..

[Whitacre D_WI]

10. DAYTON?!

Blue-Jay is from SPRINGFIELD!

[XNASA]

11. He said he drove in from Dayton.

Took him 4 and a half hours.

Maybe he was on vacation, in Dayton, and decided to cut it short to hang with us.

Or, maybe I was drunk and just hearing things.

[Whitacre D_WI]

12. Well, Springfield IS very close to Dayton.

[chiburb]

13. I heard Dayton too...

But maybe XNASA was drunk and I was hearing things...

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. That must be where his band played Saturday night.

He did tell me that he drove here straight through after his gig.

[Whitacre D_WI]

15. That would make sense.

[Bushfire]

25. Maybe I can carpool with someone for the nex Chi DU party...

:hi: :toast:

[nickgutierrez]

18. I heard Dayton

And I wasn't as drunk as they would make it appear :evilgrin:.

[XNASA]

20. Of course you weren't.

We have to maintain your squeeky-clean image. After all, we have BIG plans for you.

[Susang]

27. I made the first move last night

In a John Kleeb thread, no less. }(

Now, if only I'd had some pictures to post! You and Proles better get cracking!

[nickgutierrez]

28. There are no pictures

*Jedi hand wave mind trick thingy*

[Susang]

31. These aren't the droids I'm looking for?

Move along?

[Blue-Jay]

36. There ARE too pictures!

"Your Jedi mind tricks won't work on me!"

I remember XNASA trying for 10 minutes to teach you how to look "pensive", young padawan.

[Bat Boy]

29. And the wheels turn a wee bit faster...

It's your destiny, my lad.

Or density. One of the two. I was a bit wobbly at the time.

[nickgutierrez]

30. He could have said Orlando

for all you remember :).

[Bat Boy]

32. Possibly...

I do remember sharing a Guiness with a cartoon mouse.

Then again that might have been XNASA.

[XNASA]

34. Here's why you may be confused.

It's was a cartoon mouse. But he was wearing a spacesuit.

[Bluzmann57]

19. Glad you all had a good time

Grrr, wanted to make it, but Neil Young was here in town and we've only waited a lifetime to see him, so thats where we were. Hopefully next time though.

[XNASA]

21. Late afternoon kick.

[The Magistrate]

26. It Was Great Pleasure To See All You Good People

And to have an excuse to drink much more Guinness than usual and get a bit tiddly in such excellent company....

Daughter loves the buttons, Ms. Pinko! Thank you very much.

[prolesunited]

35. I have PICTURES!

Although I haven't had a chance to download them yet. I've been a little preoccupied. :evilgrin:

I'll get to it tonight. Anyone NOT want their picture displayed? Please PM me and let me know. Unfortunately, I don't think I made it around to get everyone but I am CERTAIN I have one of the Professor. Doesn't matter if he can't be captured on film — it was a digital camera. :P

As always, I had a great time. It was wonderful seeing everyone I knew and meeting new people as well, especially the legend-in-the-making who is antiwarwarrior. With the weather warming up, we certainly need to plan more gatherings.

Thanks to greatauntoftriplets for coordinating everything and SusanG for suggesting it in the first place.

[Blue-Jay]

37. Just got home.

First order of business: You Chicago DUers rock! Everytime I visit the area, it makes me want to move back there. I miss the city and I miss the the people that live there.

Random thoughts on the meetup & Chicago in general:

*I almost got a lap dance
*Nice to be around a bunch of music geeks with whom I can talk about guitar pickups and they know what I'm saying.
*Beer is expensive in Chicago, but the atmosphere is worth it.
*DUer "wndycty" reminds me of Dave Attell, except, he'll kick your ass. (forgive me if I got the signon wrong)
*The shortest measure of time is between when the light turns green and the cabbie behind you honks the horn.
*It took me about 15 minutes to remember how to cut someone off and not feel a damn bit bad about it.
*Professor GAC reminds me of my college Wind Ensemble director, alothough his mystic powers are already making me forget his existance.

Finally,

*I apologize for not mingling more. Despite my jolly demeanor, I get shy around crowds until the "liquid confidence" sets in.

-Jay-

PS. You Ohio DUers need to stop being dead-asses and plan on a meetup soon. Trust me, it's fun and well worth the time expended. We can discuss politics or not, but it's wonderful to be in a room of like-minded people, having a few adult beverages.

:P

[greatauntoftriplets]

38. Hey, Blue-Jay!!!!

The going price was more than a buck! LOL. Great to have met you.

[Blue-Jay]

39. Yeah, sure....

I could've had you convinced for a buck-fiddy!

Seriously: It was great to meet you too. Maybe I'm a little biased, but DUers (in person) have never disappointed me. We're the best of the best. How wonderful is it to have the most knowledgeable, thoughtful yet still the most fun-loving people in one room? Words fail me. Chicago is the best.