Saturday 14 May 2011

Twitterfests and Apple Beer

If you read the last post I published, you'll know that I had planned a Twitterfest (or rather, Otterfest, if you will) in order to meet some the awesome people I talk to on Twitter. It was absolutely brilliant. I had a splendidly magnificent time, and I'd like to thank @JenClone, @Oddtwang, @SuperRetroid, @TheNatFantastic, @Trishie_D, @JennieSue and @nicelittlestory for making that possible. We came up with some incredible in-jokes during the time I spent in Leeds and Oxford, and thankfully I managed overall not to embarrass myself too much (I think, although I do recall doing a robot dance as we exited a pub which probably wasn't the coolest or most impressive thing I could have been doing). In addition, one of our crew made little badges with otters on them, to commemorate this special occasion, which was a wonderful and very sweet thing to do. I felt like otter royalty.

There was one moment of humiliation, which I've already enjoyed telling people about, during the brunch meeting on Sunday, when we were all standing in the queue for Bagel Nash in Leeds. I was standing between two people taller than me so I was trying to keep track of the conversation as it flew over my otterhobbit head, as well as deciding what kind of bagel I was going to have. Therefore my thoughts were rather preoccupied when a slight tilt of my head encouraged my floppy Bieberhair fringe to fall into my eyes. My immediate reflex was to flick my head to the side, swinging the hair back from my face in a dignified if slightly camp manner. Unfortunately, I had momentarily forgotten that I was standing very close to a chiller cabinet. What actually happened, instead of the graceful L'Oreal Cheryl Cole style hair whip I had intended, was that I stupidly banged my skull against the side of the cabinet, in front of everyone. From a distance, it must have looked as if I could no longer stand the chat going on around me and had decided to suddenly end my existence in a very longwinded and painful fashion. What's worse, this was the response I got:

Jen: Oh my god! Are you okay? It's fine, I don't think anyone saw - hey, everybody! EVERYBODY! Did you see what Otternator just did?!

In addition to this wonderful memory, we had many exceptional moments of banter and learned some very important life lessons. Jen brought up an instance when a man on a dating website sent her an introductory email that was entirely based around watersports. Thus, the following conversation happened:

Jen: It was awful. Really. Not a good start.

Me: You know, I've always found the name very misleading. Because there are actually proper water-related sports. Jetskiing, surfing, that kind of thing. They should call it something else. Like.....WeeSports. WAIT! NO!

SuperRetroid: If you invite people round for WiiSports, you better be very clear on exactly what you're planning. Otherwise that's just embarrassing for everyone.

Oddtwang: Exactly.

In summary, I highly recommend Twitterfests. Just be certain no one's an axe murderer and be sure to take extra socks. You'll thank me later.

13 comments:

  1. Just popping over from your guest post on KLZ. Loved it! We sing Christmas Songs in our house year round. I feel like to only sing a quality tune for a month is a total waste.

    Keep on dancing and singing!

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  2. Otternator,

    Sent here by KLZ. Your Rudolph post is seven kinds of awesome.

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  3. I loved the Rudolf post.

    I actually ended up in a conversation with a friend about bullying & singled out Santa's reindeer. We both agreed that the song would be better if Rudolf had punched Comet in the junk or shivved Blitzen to get respect. You gotta stand up for yourself.

    "Fuck Her Gently" is among the sweetest songs of all time - passed, perhaps, only by "I really fucking miss you." What's great about them is that you don't realize just how dirty they are until you stop & think about the lyrics. The other day, Pandora, set to a kids station, played Carol Brown, by Flight of the Conchords. It's a pretty song - but then I started singing "Sugalumps," which my kids started clapping to (they love anything with a strong beat) before I realized just how inappropriate the song was.

    And don't get me started on "Fuck you" by Cee-Lo.

    And remind me to turn down invitations to attend a Twitterfest invite from you if video games are to be played . . . unless I'm in a really kinky kind of mood.

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  4. Stopping by from Taming Insanity! I got such a kick out of your post, I have similar feelings toward the cartoon version.

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  5. Here from Taming Insanity. It was like I was getting a peak in to my own mind! Not too many people can connect how I get from A to P.

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  6. There's never a wrong time to sing "Baby it's Cold Outside."

    Ever.

    You and your other half?

    Rock my world.

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  7. p.s. Just followed you on Twitter - because I love the Pit and Pendulum and also a good Twitterfest.

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  8. I too Would have cracked my head. It's genetic.

    Thanks for guest posting.

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  9. How can I not love someone who has cannibalism and nerdsplode as tags??

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  10. I can tell I'm gonna like you! I'm glad KLZ introduced me to you.

    Excellent points about those snotty reindeer.

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  11. You guys are AMAZING! Thank you all so much for your lovely comments. They totally made my day/week/month/year/life. I'm kind of overwhelmed - so much praise for such a small otter :)

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  12. Over from KLZ. And as I appreciate people who drink while sizing up reindeer societal politics, I plan to visit again soon.

    Also, the second toe on each of my feet is WAAAAY longer than each of my big toes.

    (What? You shared your life, it's only right that I share a sliver of mine. BUT JUST A SLIVER.)

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  13. Ooh, a sliver! But it's never enough. Soon the craving will begin *flourishes cape dramatically*

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