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She's in town, and we tried to get together last night, but she had the flight from hell and got in late. So I scooted over to a restaurant where she and her work friends were having drinks.
The restaurant is downtown in an old, narrow brick building, and the dining room is actually on the second floor. So when I walked into the restaurant, there was a bar and some high tables and chairs. No waiters, just a group of people enjoying some drinks.
I didn't have GV's last name. So I just walked over to a nice-looking older man and asked, "Is this a private party?"
He looked a bit strangely at me and said, "Well, not really. Sort of."
I figured my chances were pretty good for it being the right group. So then I asked, "Well, I'm looking for (GV's first name) who is from out of town."
He and another woman stared at me hard, like they were trying to figure out if they should reveal GV's identity, or call the police on me! I couldn't figure out what to say that would sound at ALL reassuring (oh yeah, like it would help for me to try to explain "I just know her from the internet...") so I just brazened it out. They must have decided I looked fairly harmless and reluctantly pointed her out to me.
By this time, most of the people in the room were watching. I introduced myself, and to my INCREDIBLE relief, got a huge hug from a very sweet GV. She introduced me to everyone and said, "This is my other Omaha friend and it's her birthday!" (Which it is.) And then they all relaxed and were nice and friendly.
And GV offered me a chocolate martini, but it was a bit strong for my taste. I don't drink much, but it did seem rather silly to have just plain old water on my birthday. So the waitress talked me into a strawberry daquiri. Haven't had one of those in ages. :)
GV and I sat and chatted about you all--how sweet you all are, and how fun it is to get to know you on the boards here. And she heavily recruited me to come for The Birthday. I'm not sure I can actually afford to come, with plane and hotel fare, but it would be awfully fun.
Anyway, it was great to meet her in person! It made me miss all of you! :)
Thanks for the drink, GV!
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