Tag: tweetup

#oneaday, Day 160: Tuesday Tweetup

It was another Tuesday Tweetup today. I know it’s Saturday. But… look, just don’t argue, all right?

It’s always curious to meet these people in the flesh after, in some cases, not having seen them for quite some time and in other cases, never having met them at all. Despite a relatively low turnout, though, it was a good evening in the gorgeous weather at Victoria Country Park. There was picnicking, complete with ant invasions. There was drinking. There were doughnuts. There was flinging a frisbee around a bit slightly half-heartedly. And there was a scavenger hunt around the park, which was good fun, even if no-one quite got the concept that there were some items on the list which weren’t intended to ever be found. A snow globe? In a country park? Don’t think so.

Victoria Country Park is really nice, actually. I’ve never been there before, but there’s a really nice mix of wide open space, foresty goodness and waterfront beachiness. I actually wish I’d taken more photos than I actually have, but never mind eh. I know where it is now, so I can always pay it another visit on an occasion where I’m not expected to be sociable.

It was nice, though. As I’ve said many times before, social situations like that often make me feel all awkward and weird, but the people at this meet? Awesome. Set me at ease completely. It helps that I know a couple of them very well, of course. But I even found myself getting along well with some of the new people. At least I think I did, anyway. Didn’t make that much of a dick of myself, I don’t think!

Anyway, tomorrow will be spent writing, writing, writing as a result of that trip I took the other day. I have lots to do. But it should be good, and hopefully lead on to great new things. Let’s hope so, anyway. Fingers crossed and all that.

Sorry for the crap entry, I’m pretty tired. I’ll leave you with some photos taken with the new iPhone camera so you can take a peep at the quality. The digital zoom is blurry and crap, but digital zooms always are. The regular pics are pretty damn sharp, though – I’m impressed.

#oneaday, Day 86: Tuesday Night Tweetup

Brief post tonight as it’s late, I’m tired and a little drunk.

Went out to meet strangers tonight. This is weird, as it’s something I’m not good at.

Fortunately, said strangers and I had something in common: Twitter. Yes, this was a “tweetup”, a fine example of some Web 2.0 shit happening all ova yo’ face. Or something. Numerous Twitter types from all over Southampton came together in the pretentious purple basement of “Dock Gate 4” to exchange polite greetings, drink things and gradually divide into “the iPhone corner” and the “not-iPhone corner”.

I had a great time. I’d just recently started chatting to a couple of very fine and lovely ladies known as @neicey and @Amy_Walker thanks to our mutual love of pointless but super-addictive geocaching game/tourism thing Gowalla, and they convinced me to come along. Actually, for once, it didn’t take very much arm-twisting. I often have a spaz attack at the last minute when presented with social situations – particularly those involving strangers – and decide that no, I don’t really want to put myself in that uncomfortable position, thank you very much.

Tonight was a bit different though. I arrived and people were chatting. People chatted to me. I had things to say that people were interested in. (At least they seemed interested, anyway.) There were enough people there that there was a nice mix of different interests, but not so many that it turned into a Heavy Rain crowd scene with me having to hold down R1, X and batter the Triangle button to keep my cool. Which was nice. Apparently sometimes there are a lot more people there, but I feel that now I’ve gone to one and met some of these people (and now follow them on Twitter, naturally) I could face that same experience with a few more people there. Which is good!

Funny stories were told. Private jokes previously confined to the online realm were shared. And everyone was in agreement that the urinals in Dock Gate 4 are spectacular. They have a damn water feature behind them, for God’s sake. One shudders to think where the water to produce this effect is recycled from, however. Perhaps it’s best not to think about it too much.

Anyway. I feel it is time for my bed now, much as I would love to beat @neicey in another game of #stayingupthelatest. My eyes are closing of their own free will and the amount of Strongbow I drank is causing a pleasantly cloudy sensation in my brain. So on that note, good night to y’all.