Hey all~
Taking a step out of the Event for a minute to flash back to a really cool thing that happened at the end of March. Addicts Meet and Greet. Woohoo!!
This concept of a Meet & Greet was started with the idea that we love to see the interaction on our sites with all the fellow Players. It makes us think of all those times you invite people to your house to play video, board, or card games. Things are always a lot of fun when you get a crowd together. So why not do the same with the silly lil games we play? So Meet & Greets were started.
This most recent Meet & Greet was a blast. Again, we went into it with more the thought of just a Thank You to YOU… the Readers for just coming round to our sites and hanging out with us and your other fellow players. We wanted to offer a place where you could mingle with other fellow players, share tips and tricks of your own, your personal gaming experience, and show off your games… in person. Our treat. Just like our sites. It was like the Open Thread Live and it was a blast. We all play this game. You come here seeking help. So why not do that exact same thing, but in a fun setting face to face with other fellow players? Instead of waiting moderation, you can ask and share help right away, and show each other on the device how to. Such a fun way of interacting with others that play the game and think alike too.
We loved sitting down and personally chatting with each of you. It is really funny how we all came to be involved in these lil games. A lot of us had a silly way of stumbling on to the game, yet alone the Addicts sites. Of course there was food, drink, and prizes. What is a party without fun gifts, right? (Not to mention that really cool personal message from Matt.)
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
I LOVED when I was younger just getting a group together to hang out and have fun. Many fond memories of inviting the entire neighborhood over to play indoor/outdoor games all day and late into the late late night (usually turning into a mass sleepover).
When we got our first gaming system, would we have competitions to see who could get the farthest. Or battles with each other. Such a blast. (A Gamer Girl paradise.) To this day I love inviting a big group people to my house to just take a break from work and stress. Do something that is just fun. Gets us all laughing. Enjoying each others company and life in general. Life should be fun. Too much hate and sadness in the world, so why dwell on it all day every day and turn your life into nothing more than a grumpy grouch that complains about people being too happy? Seems silly to me. Who wants to go through life upset and angry all the time? I don’t. What a waste. I am also one that loves to give and share what I have in life with others. At times it may not be much, but still… that Pay It Forward mentality is with me everyday. 😉
Keeping all this mind, I wanted to do in person what we do on line… Pay It Forward. Keep the happy going. Offer people a place to go, talk, ask questions, and just have fun with others just like them that a silly lil game brought together. I love seeing the relationships and friendships start, blossom, and then grow into so much more than our silly lil games. It is amazing to watch. People making friends worldwide they may have never spoken with. A Community.
Those of you that came to the Event were amazing. You guys cracked me up so much. I saw a lot of the same kindness in you too. Watched as you interacted with one another the same as you do here. All these strangers, in a strange place, talking like you knew each other a lifetime. Though I think with some meds, you all may have learned TOO much about me. 😉 So much laughter. So much sillyness. So much fun. I can’t wait to do it again. I do apologize I was under the weather and couldn’t fully enjoy it or talk too long to some of you. (For those of you that asked… I ended up with the Flu, later turned Pnuemonia & Bronchits with a side of Laryngitis. But I just keep pushing on. Blame the passionate spirit inside of me to never give up, especially when doing something for someone other than yourself.)
I wanted the fun to continue on into the night, but knew you all may have other plans and places to be (that and I don’t think Alissa would have let me and Wookiee have a sleepover. Lol.) It is a true sign of something that is great when you don’t want it to end. Maybe next time we can get the Laptop to cooperate better so we can watch some Episodes and you can show of your game play for others on the Projection Screen. Maybe even play the Simpsons Hit n Run? Mess round with some 2D n 3D art? Lol.
On another side note (I used some silly names instead of your real, in case you didn’t want them out there):
Armyjoe- I hope you and your friends had a blast. Thanks for talking with me a while. 😉
Catalina- I had so much fun talking to you. You are awesome. 😉
zackbender- So sorry on the age thing, and that we didn’t get a chance to see you too long. We owe you dinner 😉
James- I still think we had the coolest outfits there! 🙂
Ken & Julie- you two are adorable. Still can’t believe you gave us those. Hope to get a chance to write something up for you soon. 🙂
Brian (not the dog) & “the girl that got Lois, HA HA”- you two made me giggle. I am still laughing she got her. 😉
Dave- Thanks for getting a dying girl a drink. Lol. (Stupid cough) 😉
Brad- Sheesh you say a lot. All you did was talk talk talk. 😛
Sarah- HAPPY… oh wait… we already did that 😉
“Our Two Twitter Stalkers”- I didn’t get to talk to you two very much before you left, but you two were great fun 🙂
“Mom that made her daughter spend her bday with us” & “not 21”- I am so glad you guys made it. What a journey. Just in time too. 😉
Matthew- You don’t seem like you gone mad to me. Lol. I didn’t get to spend too much time chatting with you, but glad you won that bag. I went through a lot to keep it safe. 🙂
lekittynoir- I for one am glad you didn’t leave when you originally planned. Just think of all the fun you would have missed 😉
“The Accountant” & “Furrball Fan”- You two were so sweet. I am glad you guys had fun. I know Wookiee was giddy bout it. 😉
And a HUGE MASSIVE THANK YOU to LardLad737, for her amazing artwork and creative donuts she made for the Addicts Readers. I am still blown away by them. So much time and work went into these great pieces of art. I know many of you went home with at least one of her items. Check her out online. Some amazing pieces any Addict would love to have in their homes!!
http://giddygirlie.storenvy.com/collections/262436-all-products/products/9042061-homer-oooh
http://giddygirlie.storenvy.com/collections/262436-all-products/products/9042022-mister-sparkle
I will leave all the fun additional details of the trip to my fellow furry friend, Wookiee
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
Hey hey hey… So Alissa and Bunny asked me to write down my thoughts about the Addicts Meet & Greet and here I am, a week later, finally getting around to typing up some words. Thankfully I’m the nerd that jots down notes to help me out with recollecting my memories lol.
So I left out on Friday and honestly, it was all just very weird. I’d lived in Joisey before but it’d been over a decade since I’d been on terra firma there. Sooooooooo strange to be flying there for a hang out with people who only knew me from a silly little blog I write for. I know I’ve said it before, but I started this journey in August 2013 with no idea what to expect. Nervousness and trepidation come to mind to describe my feelings. I love the Simpsons and thoroughly enjoy writing about them but was I really getting on a plane to hang out with two different people who I blog with but had only hung out with once before? I’ll be completely real when I say I still didn’t believe anybody else would show up to hang with us. I mean, we’re certainly not celebrities of any sort and the idea that tappers from the Northeast would take time out of their weekend just to come hang with us just seemed far-fetched.
Of course, I got there and was ecstatic to see Bunny and Alissa. They actually were a little late courtesy of Newark Airport traffic so I tucked and rolled and got into Lis’ car. A slice of pizza and a backyard fire that took 30 plus minutes to light and the only word to describe the reunion is hilarity. No surprise because us three fuzzy nuts always crack each other up. Of course, it was late so the ladies were tired. Too funny that I was 3 hrs behind them and wide awake at midnight. Fun times and despite the homebrew beer trying to take my eye out like a Red Rider BB Gun, I was actually in Jersey.
On Saturday we got all our prep done and were ready for the event. Still not sure how it all was gonna go, my heart lifted as the first Addict, Lekittynoir, arrived. The rest was all a swinging good time. While some folks couldn’t make it for assorted reasons, we really had an amazing turn out that defied my expectations. Delicious grub, free drinks, trivia and prizes and ultimately just some really great camaraderie. If even half of the readers on our site are as cool as all the people we now can put faces too… there really is no doubt that this site is one of the best communities ever. As a bonus, I now have some new TSTO neighbors who I sort of kind of know.
The weekend was so much fun. I’m truly humbled to have had the chance to fly out for a mini-vacay to the East. The meet-up event was so cool and I still can’t believe how great it went. If that wasn’t enough, add a geek trip with Bunny to Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, some amazing food including a Philly Cheesesteak in Philly, sightseeing, jokes with my two sistas from different mistas and no frostbite courtesy of the fraking cold, cold weather (don’t listen to Alissa’s claims of a warm streak… pure poppycock). I might just be one of the luckiest. Fuzzballs. EVER. My friends and family still can’t believe how a ridiculous pastime like writing for a mobile game has morphed into opportunities like this. Not sure I believe it either but my daughter has pinched me and I’m still in this reality.
To summarize, thanks to everyone who made the trip so special and thank you to ALL of the Addicts on this site who made it all possible. Hopefully more goodness like this can happen in the future. Maybe it’ll be in my neck of the woods next time. Jebus knows the weather is better. Much love and all that good stuff. Stay classy and thanks again. TTFN… Wookiee out!
To round out the trio, here is a lil something from Alissa.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
I’m going to keep this short and sweet…as you guys read enough words from me each day 🙂
It was so great to get to meet a bunch of my fellow Jerseyans and East Coast peeps! We had a blast hanging out and chatting with many of you and we can’t wait to do it again!
Thank you to everyone for coming out and having fun with us! And a special thank you to LardLad737, aka giddygirlie, for donating some simply AMAZING Simpsons themed prizes for the Meet and Greet! You all should seriously checkout her work at www.giddygirlie.com! Thanks again Lardlad737!
Can’t wait to do it all again soon!
There you have it. An Addicts Meet & Greet. Just basically doing what we all do here, but in person. So much fun.
Special Thanks to all YOU that took time out your day to come be silly with us all. Hope you thoroughly enjoyed it!!!
Now for a few more fun pics (sorry not many taken, I was a lil out of it and when you are having so much fun you forget to do things… like take pics). If you have some you took you would like to add, feel free to email them to us. I still want to see images of where those Wiggle Bunnies ended up at YOUR house, or you put some of the silly gifts you got. 😉
tstoaddictsblog@gmail.com
AL
Can’t wait to do this again!!! Where do YOU think we should all hang out next time?
Alissa, Bunny, & Wookiee
