Pajama and Kurta

Because he’s so funny that even thinking about him is making me giggle a little bit right now. This is a guy I need to sit down with over a couple of beers. Matt – having seen your art skills – you definitely need to make som ATC’s. Anyone who can draw that horrendous sentence michal gave you has a true gift.

He can tear a bathroom to pieces with his bare hands! Like, down to the studs! And then he can go to a party and a bar later that same night!

Also, he’s incredibly funny. He has an ironic sense of humor which doesn’t make me laugh out loud as much as snort with hilarity. which is better, in my opinion.

Also, his wife is similarly clever, plus an accomplished sketcher of all manner of weirdness. And surprisingly good at making sense of my own really horrid pictures.

Oh, and according to my hubby, he wears an eyepatch . . . at least that’s how he (hubby) drew “Lazlo.” He said it’s because Lazlo is a Hungarian name . . . like that explains anything.

And finally, he’s more competitive than he lets on. . . .

I kind of expected, from wembleyhead’s pictures, that she would be a fun person. And she is! Just . . . really, really fun. She’s a good sport with a great sense of humor, and also considerate (she put up another attendee, and scanned in pics for my hubby and me), and obviously smart. If there was a “worth meeting” button, I’d click it!

Because she is exactly what I expected: peaceful but not bland; fun but not superficial; gracious but not superior; welcoming but not invasive; and self-sufficient but not cold. In short, I felt more balanced just from being in her home and spending time with her. I really look forward to spending more time together in the future.

She knows some really cool games, including the crazy picture-story-telephone game. I played a variation on this once before, but it wasn’t this fun at all. Also . . . she is sweet! She brought cd’s for everyone! Hopefully next time we get together she won’t have to arrive late, and I won’t have to skip any part of the festivities, so we’ll have more time to hang out.

Making the trip to my second Chicago 43T meetup was much more relaxed than it had been to make the trip to my first one. This is most likely because I relied on public transportation. I was looking forward to seeing RuthG’s domicile, and it turned out to be just as tasteful and charming as I had thought it would be. When I walked into the dining room where everyone was gaming, my view of PaK was somewhat obstructed by that of wembleyheads and PaK’s husband. I didn’t really focus on her until she said her name, and then her voice clicked from our phone conversations.

PaK was much smaller than I expected, both in terms of height and width. She looked… fragile, as if her bones were like those of a bird. But I know, from those phone conversations, that she definitely has a mind strong as steel, and according to her own admissions, some have found that mind as cold as steel as well.

PaK did not let much of herself out to play during this meetup. Somewhat ironic, considering she was the one who got the ball rolling for the meetup in the first place. Her presence was subtle. It is important to note that what she did let us see was witty and fun. Enough of a taste to make me wish for some one-on-one time with her in the future.

The meetup happened in two parts; there was the gaming, and then a smaller group of us went to a nearby bar. PaK and her husband opted not to join the bar group. This saddened me a bit, because I was looking forward to talking with them more, but it was all right. It’s my understanding that a second gaming meetup is going to happen again before too long. I definitely hope PaK will be a part of it!

We played board games. She’s very smart. She won Rigamarole, and not only did she win, but she won by laying out pennies onto this grid of squares and stuff and totally demolished it. (It’s kinda hard to explain the puzzle, but basically she got it right away). And she’s very interesting and insightful.

To play board games! Yes! And PaK makes super cool artist trading cards, wants to see ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,’ and she is environmentally friendly. Hooray!

Because she’s earned the admiration of so many cool people . . . she must really have it going on!