An interesting story: Encounters of the blog kind

Last evening I spent a delightful 5+ hours in the company of a captivating Irishman who now calls South Africa home - the one and only Lurch Adams (whom many of you likely know through his unique take on HNT).

He told me a few weeks ago that he was going to be in Calgary on business, and that we should meet up. It had sort of slipped my mind until he sent a message from Heathrow saying he was on his way to Canada and didn't I owe him a beer?

Sure enough, arrangements were made for me to meet him at a local pub near his hotel for said beer. Unbeknownst to me when selecting a rendezvous point was the fact that Lurch hails from Dublin originally, and so I selected a traditional Irish pub - The James Joyce. It wasn't until I sat down next to him that I first picked the dreamy Irish lilt in his voice - although a bit muddled with a hint of the charming South African inflection (did I mention I'm a sucker for accents? No? Well, I'm a sucker for accents!).

I was beyond nervous while walking to the pub. Why? some might ask. Well let me try to explain... I was going to meet a strange man in a pub, a man I've only been corresponding with for just barely a month, a man I was having a hard time convincing myself that I would recognize in a crowded pub, but in addition to all of that, this man has:

1. seen me in varying states of disrobe via my HNT participation
2. drawn me in said state for his HNT participation

The nerves lasted only as long it took for me to find him (almost as soon as I entered the building), and say hello. That was it, everything from that moment on was utterly engaging.

Three pints each and several hours later, the pub staff was going about thier closing for the night routine, and we decided perhaps it was time to leave. The weather has been simply gorgeous the last few weeks, and what started as walking a few blocks together to continue the conversation, turned into a stroll through the deserted streets of downtown Calgary, an impromtu photo prowl, and analyzing who was winning a never ending chess match, all of which wound up with me being delivered at the door of my apartment building. Which, I was informed, is the role of a gentleman - to see a lady safely home (I guess I must not be much of a lady or I don't know many gentlemen, because I normally walk myself home just fine). A lovely gesture - I just hope he managed to find his way back to his hotel (you did didn't you?) - perhape I should have been the one to walk HIM home since this is my city after all.

It was really a nice evening, despite my trepedation at the early end of the night. I can see now, that the sense of community one reaches through contact on blogger (or the internet in general) can easily extend into "real" life. So, if anyone is coming through Calgary, please send me an email - we'll go for a beer!