If attending your first book club meeting is like going on a blind date, then flying to a different country to meet internet friends is like shipping yourself off as a mail-order bride. Which is what I've done this year. Twice.
Most recently, I spent at weekend in San Francisco, staying at Jennie's place after inviting myself to do so only meeting her in person when she picked me up at the airport. Y'all, I was neeeervous about how this trip would go. Yes, Jennie and I get along so well online, and meeting Posh and Mandy C. for the first time was amazing. BUT BUT BUT what if Jennie and I end up hating each other IRL? Will we need to divide her place down the middle à la I Love Lucy? AND WHAT OF OUR PLANS TO EAT ALL THE DELICIOUS FOOD?!?!
Obviously, I was worrying for nothing. If only I could assure my past self of three important details.
There Will Be Copious Giggling
Not only did I have great company the entire time, but my host and I somehow decided to stream the Youtubez to start off each day.
What began with the best Disney parody song of our time...
... quickly turned into a search for Shirtless News. We scoured the world over in our (mostly NSFW) quest for hotness: Scotland for the Outlander wedding; Florida for Magic Mike; Australia for the Thunder From Down Under; and any country that has a Chippendales troupe. We were thorough, y'all.
The New Orleans stop (The Originals) in the international tour of shirtlessness.
Lest you think these were entirely shallow endeavours, you'd be correct Jennie and I were actually conducting v. important research! Without those fact-finding missions, we never would have discovered our new BFF, CJ.
Who is CJ, you might ask? Why, he's the good-natured resident hottie who sits in on the Cosmo meetings, occasionally offering input and almost always wearing no shirt. (CC: FYA HQ suggestion box.)
I mean, seriously. Doesn't this just bring a smile to your face? (It does for Burlesque Geena Davis.)
There Will Be Tasty Business
Delicious food in San Francisco isn't so much a matter of if it'll happen, but rather, how much you can fit into your stomach. Macarons, ice cream, macarons with ice cream, and a meal that required four months of pre-planning, an hour of standing in line as a backup plan, and a couple more of hanging out at a bar that serves "Fuck Art, The Heathens Are Coming" -- and was worth every second. Suffice to say, my food odyssey was a total success.
And, of course, there was the famed Two Sisters -- home of legendary deviled eggs and (also legendary) SF FYA.
There WIll Be Book Club
Shortly after I told Jennie that my flight was booked, she passed the word along to the rest of SF FYA, who sure knows how to make their guests feel special. Just look at this awesome SF FYA visitor care package!
Token Boy Prince Mike was also responsible for my spiffy VIP badge -- with a souvenir concert lanyard from his recent European escapades -- pictured at the top of this post! (And clearly, the pumpkin butt cheeks were all Jennie's doing.)
The meeting itself was a lot of fun, and I loved seeing all the familiar faces from #YASummerShowdown (and the non-Showdown faces, too!). Somewhere between gushing over Friday Night Lights and toasting with deviled eggs, we actually managed to talk about, y'know, the book, Anna Dressed in Blood. Everyone (who actually read it -- hi, Diana!) was down with the goriness, but not a single person bought the romance.
(Oh, and to answer Gussy's question of which has been my favourite FYABC pick so far -- which I failed to answer several times, because omg you guys, I'm really bad at answering questions about favourites -- I'd go with either Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (November 2011) or The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (May 2012). Keep in mind that I haven't read all of them yet, and I have huge gaps like Code Name Verity and The Raven Boys. I know; huge oversights!)
Afterwards, we embarked on a deviled egg crawl (and gave the bar back to Two Sisters, since we literally cleared the place out on multiple occasions -- once, because we invoked Gilmore Girls (appropriate, since clearing out an establishment with the sheer personality seems like a very Lorelai thing to do)). Alas, our eggs-cellent* plan was foiled by a zillion simultaneous local events, resulting in packed restaurants as far as the eye could see -- or, at least, as far as the feet could walk. Fortunately, the feet could also stand, which is what they had to do at the only place that would have this group of weary, would-be deviled egg crawlers. No deviled eggs there, but still super tasty.
*I HAD TO.
Finally, we made our way to the movie theatre to see Gone Girl. For context, this was the opening weekend, and Jennie and I had, er, boned up on what to expect in the movie. Which is why she brought weenie confetti for the festivities, to deploy at the relevant moments. (And by "the relevant moments", I also mean Mike earlier in the day.)
Anyway, the movie deserves all the weenie confetti. Our panel of four book readers and one newbie loved it, and we book fans were thrilled that it was good as a movie and as an adaptation.
#GoneGirl verdict from 4 #SFFYA members + 1 interloper: Freaking AWESOME.
— Forever Young Adult (@4everYA) October 5, 2014
I had such an amazing trip, although I would warn my past self of one thing: there won't be enough time. A weekend is seriously not enough for hanging out with Jennie and the fine folks of SF FYA.
Funny enough, my obscured face is the only thing messing up this group photo. Guess I'll have to go back to SF for a retake, OH DARN.
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