What Happens When Bloggers Meet?

So for a while now, some of my blogger friends and I have talked about getting together and meeting. Writing is the perfect occupation for introverts because you can say what you have to say without having to actually look at your audience, but it can also be isolating and lonely.

I know what you’re saying. Those of you who know me know I’m not really an introvert. However, I’m not exactly an extrovert either. I like to call myself an introverted extrovert. I love to be the center of attention to a certain degree, but once my energy level is zapped, I need to be alone to recharge. Being “on” completely drains me. I actually avoid social situations for exactly that reason. I just don’t like that drained feeling I have after I’ve had to be “on” for a while.

But back to writers. Even though they tend to be introverted, they also form tight bonds in the online community. Several of us have gotten to know each other in this way. We read and comment on each other’s blogs and we friend each other on social media. Four of us decided to get together: M.L. James over at Wayward Sparkles, Sarah over at Fresh Hell, and Amy whose blog I’m not going to mention because she may or may not want more readers now. If she changes her mind, I’ll come back and edit this so that you can find her blog.

Unfortunately, because I now apparently work at Satan’s Butthole Jr. (that’s a story for another time…), I was unable to take off from work to spend the first day and a half with our little group. Amy flew in and Sarah drove in on July 4th while I was apparently communing with Jose Cuervo in my swimming pool. They were staying in an Air BnB in one of the older parts of Tulsa on the edge of the Pearl District. Their first adventure was to go watch the fireworks down on the River, which I hear were pretty spectacular.

However, I texted my friend Lori over at Come Hell Or Highwater Blog and said, “Lawdy, I hope they don’t get mugged!” Let’s just say that the part of town they were staying in has been somewhat shady in the past. And yes, I should’ve probably said something sooner, but I really didn’t want to ruin the adventure these cool chicks were on. Besides, they are gentrifying so many of those old neighborhoods, that I had high hopes this old home they were staying in would be among those that have been gentrified.

The cool 1950’s era stove that didn’t work says otherwise. But at least they got to laugh about making soup on a grill. Until they ran the microwave and it blew the breaker, because you apparently can’t run the microwave and window ac unit at the same time.

Anyway, the only thing the ladies ran into on their evening stroll to the river was a homeless guy trying to bum a cigarette.

M.L. came into town Friday night, and it seems her exit was blocked due to construction so she ended up driving all through downtown Tulsa at 10:00 p.m., looking for her destination. She tried calling me, but I had passed out gone to bed early after declaring the week to be a total dumpster fire and resolving to adjust my attitude so that I could have fun with them the next day. Somehow, she managed to find her destination anyway and had a good story to tell.

I FINALLY got to come see them on Saturday and we spent the day together. I didn’t realize until that night that I didn’t get any actual pictures of them, but got a few pictures of the things we did. I guess I was mostly into the moment, instead of preserving it in photos, which may make me a fun person but not a very good blogger. I had the ladies send me their photos so that I could beef up my post a little more. I still didn’t get many of the ladies, though. M.L. prefers to keep her anonymity and the others just don’t like having their photos taken, so you’re mostly going to get photos of places and things here instead of people.

So the day started off with brunch, because if you know me, then you know that my life revolves around food. Like the fat ass that I am, I’m eating one meal and dreaming of the next one. I was literally eating my brunch and telling the group about places to eat for dinner. Luckily, they are nice people and didn’t call me out on my fat ass ways food addiction.

Anyway, back to brunch. We went down to the Cherry Street District in Tulsa, which I feel has a cool, laid-back funky kind of vibe. There’s a great Irish Pub called Kilkenny’s where you can have a pint or just eat some delicious Americanized Irish food. Chef Ramsay would not approve of the outdated decor or pages long menu, but I enjoy the little alcoves where you can sit and enjoy the company you’re with.

Next door is the Peace of Mind Bookstore, which caters to the more Spiritual readers out there. There’s something for everyone from Christianity to Kabala to Wicca to Tarot Reading. I think M.L. even found a book on UFO’s. I just like the vibe of the place. You have to climb a steep staircase that feels like you’re about to have a Matrix moment and someone is going to offer you a red pill or a blue pill and you have to decide if you want to know the “truth” or just go back to living a boring life, happily unaware that reality isn’t real.

The vibe inside is quiet, like a library. You can play a game of chess by the fireplace or have your aura read in the corner. Or you can watch someone talk into her phone like she’s Captain Kirk barking orders into his communicator. At least, that’s what I did instead of looking at books.

It was definitely time for a coffee stop after this. We decided to drive down to the place where we were going to sip and paint later and leave the car, then walk back down to the coffee shop. I completely misjudged how far the coffee shop was from the painting place, so I’d like to apologize now for making you ladies walk so far in the Oklahoma heat/humidity. I realize I’m used to it, but you probably are not. Thank you for not spontaneously combusting while under my watch. That would’ve been hard to explain to your families.

Luckily, Coffee House on Cherry Street (CHOCS) is well air-conditioned. While Amy and Sarah were brave and went for the hot coffee drinks, M.L. went for the iced tea and I had an iced mocha. This is my second time at CHOCS and I just love the atmosphere. It’s so much more intimate than a chain coffee shop and the coffee is actually good.

The only snafu was that I tried to use the ladies room and it was occupied so I waited and waited and nobody came out. If you read my recent post about needing to pee, then you know that this did not sit well with me. What can you possibly be doing for twenty minutes in a coffee shop restroom???? I finally decided to let one of the staff know that somebody was either overdosing on heroin or having a horrible case of Montezuma’s Revenge. Either way, an ambulance might be in order.

Instead, it just seems somebody locked the restroom door behind them as they exited and there was not actually anybody inside.

Real cute, people. Real cute.

We headed back out into the Oklahoma heat to go to Pinot’s Palette for some boozing and artsing sipping and painting. I have always wanted to do the whole sip and paint thing but never had an opportunity, even though we have a Pinot’s Palette right here in Broken Arrow. I ordered a glass of Cupcake Moscato (my favorite!) and settled in to see if this old dog can actually learn new tricks.

It’s fun to watch the painting come together as you start with literally just punches of color that you stipple onto the canvas. I had to stop and take a picture at the midway point, though, because I was definitely feeling very Georgia O’Keefe at this stage.

What makes me laugh most about the whole Georgia O’Keefe thing is that I had to write a paper on her when I was a senior in high school and that’s when my Mom explained to me that her paintings were said to all look like vaginas. I really don’t know if I was more shocked at the thought of someone’s paintings all depicting vaginas or the fact that my mother actually used the word vagina in front of me. I’m pretty sure it’s the only time in my thirty-eight years with her that I ever heard the word “vagina” come out of her mouth.

You may be wondering how she ever had “the talk” with me if she didn’t use the word vagina. Well, “the talk” was very brief. It consisted of Don’t do it and Use birth control.

I guess that’s one way to avoid uncomfortable words.

In the end, I did not have a painting of Lady Parts. I had a very scraggly tree that looks totally wrong to me, but I’m told is a decent effort.

By this time, it was raining. Of course. Because Oklahoma. We hurried out to the car and tried to Google stuff to do that didn’t involve being outside in the rain. I finally decided to take them to a funky little place on Route 66 called Soul City.

Soul City is a gastropub that really comes alive at night with live music, but we were much too early for that. We got there some time between the 4 p.m. old people dinner rush and the people looking to eat actual dinner before the live music crowd got there. I don’t mind, though, because I feel like we got to see the place in a way we couldn’t if it was packed with people. Eclectic is the best description of it. Funky decor and art abounds.

There’s a cute little shop in the corner where the co-owner and some artist friends of hers sell their art, which means everything from mosaics to jewelry to this lamp with a very well-placed switch!

We had fun doing a little shopping and chatting with Amy, the co-owner before making our way to a table where we made quick work of our appetizers and sandwiches. I think the best part of our time at Soul City was the conversation, where we talked about writing and writing groups and blogging in general.

Sometimes, it’s just nice to talk to other people who do the same thing you do and understand the hurdles we all face!

I dropped our little group back off at their Air Bnb with lots of hugs and well wishes. They thanked me for hosting, but I didn’t so much host as I drove us around in circles and pretended I knew where I was going. Maybe some day when The Husband Dude and I are finally able to move into a house more of our liking, we’ll have a better space for guests and I can treat you ladies to the ‘burbs around Tulsa next time around!

As an aside, I would like to thank M.L. for pointing out that I completely missed the fact that River at River’s World nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award a while back. I don’t feel like I deserve an award, especially after being a crappy blog reader and missing that altogether, but I’m going to try to write a post for Friday that’s all about the award and answering the assigned questions. I was also nominated recently for a Liebster Award by Paulette over at Petite Font, which has some of the same criteria as the Sunshine Award, so we may be combining it all into one big post.

Thank you both for your consideration!

Have a great week, y’all. Stay weird, my friends. Normal is boring!

Hey, M.L…I posted this at 12:01 just for you!