MeFi 19th Birthday meetup at cortex's place!
posted June 28, 2018 4:50 PM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Sat July 21 at 1:00 PM, cortex's place
6005 N Lovely St, Portland, OR, USA (Map & Directions)
Hey, MeFites of Portland and Portland-adjacent places! Haven't seen some of you in a while, and others of you literally ever, so, heck, let's do something about that on Saturday, July 21st, with a relaxed, no-biggie meetup at my place in North Portland to celebrate 19 years of MetaFilter!
Secretariat and I have 1. a house people can be inside of, and 2. a back yard people can be outside in, so we're good to go no matter the weather. We'll do up a spread of food (meaty and otherwise) and beverages (alcoholic and non); you can bring a preferred snack or beverage if you like, but it's totally fine to just bring your dang self!

First-timers welcome; long-time-no-sees likewise! I'd love to see some new faces and some familiar ones.

So swing by and say hello and chatter (or listen in if you're more the shy type, everybody's welcome!) about this weird website we all like and whatever the heck else the conversation turns to.
posted by cortex to Meetup (66 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite

That sounds really great! My wife and I will do our best to be there, assuming nothing last minute like migraines get in the way.
posted by Caduceus at 5:01 PM on June 28, 2018


Yay! I guess we could always set up a migraine misery pit of despair in the detached garage, if that's more people's speed.
posted by Secretariat at 5:05 PM on June 28, 2018 [1 favorite]


That's literally a day after my own 10th anniversary of joining Metafilter, so how could I refuse!?
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:32 PM on June 28, 2018


I take that back - it's a few days before, but same diff.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:37 PM on June 28, 2018


Ooh rad. I've never done an IRL before but I'm psyched to meet you fine folks!
posted by hishtafel at 8:19 AM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]


Woo!
posted by Sibrax at 8:57 AM on June 29, 2018


I was looking forward to this until I saw the date which happens to be the day that my dumb nephew is getting married. We have to do dumb family stuff all day on some dumb beach. I hate sand.
posted by nickthetourist at 9:35 AM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]


I am hoping I can be there. If so, I will bring brisket.
posted by mrzarquon at 9:38 AM on June 29, 2018 [1 favorite]


hishtafel: woo!

mrzarquon: yesssss

FREAKIN NEPHEWS
posted by cortex at 10:09 AM on June 29, 2018 [3 favorites]


I will continue my usual custom of having forgotten almost everyone's name and ask you again your username and real name which will promptly fly out of my memory banks and I'll just refer to you all as "dude" for the rest of the party.
posted by bendy at 2:03 PM on July 1, 2018 [3 favorites]


I was just going to post an icecream social for July 21. Now I don't have to; I will just bring ice cream! or a watermelon or something. Looks like blackberries are almost in season. omw
posted by aniola at 3:16 PM on July 1, 2018


Oh yeah!! Ice cream, watermelon, blackberries, calling people dude, and being social are all definitely welcome! Although I also saw this comment on the way to posting a proposed icecream social and I think I'm still gonna do that just because.
posted by Secretariat at 3:49 PM on July 1, 2018 [1 favorite]


IMPORTANT QUESTION. Will you be serving steamed hams?
posted by hishtafel at 12:56 PM on July 2, 2018


*glances at oven* OH ye GODS
posted by cortex at 1:17 PM on July 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


Sounds like fun. I was surprised when I saw the map; I used to live in that area a looonnng time ago. Even went to Roosevelt High then and lived in Columbia Villa. Went to University of Portland as well but that was after I moved away.
posted by aleph at 8:32 AM on July 3, 2018


No kidding? If you can make it, I’d love to hear about it, aleph. Both cortex and I grew up in the Portland Metro area, but not this part of town. We’ve only been here for 10 years.
posted by Secretariat at 9:11 AM on July 3, 2018


I will try and make it. (Hopefully) See you there.
posted by aleph at 2:59 PM on July 3, 2018


Strudel and I would like to stop by... we have an infant though, would it be a problem if he came? We'd probably only stay a little because of said infant, but it might be good for me to get out of the house and also to see ya'll! Also, I totally understand if an infant would harsh the vibe so feel free to say no :-) Hope you are all doing well!
posted by FireFountain at 6:19 PM on July 3, 2018 [1 favorite]


As long as the baby doesn't set literal fire to the house or try to scam beers off anyone, I've got no worries; we'd love to see all three of you!
posted by cortex at 6:32 PM on July 3, 2018 [2 favorites]


I'm willing to get a beer or two scammed if it results in this sort of thing.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:56 PM on July 3, 2018 [3 favorites]


What! Of course, absolutely bring little baby Spattercone!
posted by Secretariat at 7:05 PM on July 3, 2018 [2 favorites]


baby Spattercone

*erupts in approval*
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:55 PM on July 3, 2018 [2 favorites]


I want to meet the baby!

The rest of y’all are ok too.
posted by sutureselves at 8:59 PM on July 6, 2018


FireFountain! It wasn't that long ago that we all came to your house for Bojack Horseman. I look forward to meeting Spattercone(??!!!) and hearing the story behind that nickname.
posted by bendy at 2:26 AM on July 8, 2018


So far, the nickname "Spattercone" is my unrequested gift to this baby- I made it up at approximately 7:04:25 PM on July 3rd. No idea if this is a name that suits him, I was just playing off of "FireFountain". :)
posted by Secretariat at 12:51 PM on July 9, 2018 [5 favorites]


tonebarge has *yes, another procedure* on the 19th. If he's feeling up to socializing by Saturday, we will definitely come and he will show off his mad cookie-baking skillz!
posted by Lynsey at 2:28 PM on July 12, 2018


When newcomers come to these things, what do they usually do? What would I do? I'm embarrassed and shy!
posted by gucci mane at 7:32 PM on July 12, 2018


Just show up and wave and say "hey, I'm from MetaFilter" and then we are all like hey, hi, what's your name! And then we sort of proceed in awkward friendly nerd fashion from there. It's totally okay to show up and say "hey, I'm embarrassed and shy!", people will absolutely understand and be right there with you.

We will probably have some nametags in old-school meetup fashion since it'll be a bigger and more-newbies crowd than usual, so you can also sort of show up, slap on a HELLO MY NAME IS, and just hang around being shy and quiet while you warm up to the whole thing.

But, basically, just show up and be! Shy awkwardness is pretty much the whole formula, and it's a lot more fun to do it together and laugh nervously together about laughing nervously together. And then start talking about MeFi stuff and internet stuff and what you're up to stuff and...
posted by cortex at 7:44 PM on July 12, 2018 [6 favorites]


All I can offer is this: From the very first meetup I dared attend I've been treated as an agreeable companion. Meetups are low-pressure and new folks are always happily received.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:08 PM on July 12, 2018


Darn, I wish my flight home weren't Friday afternoon. Alas.
posted by jferg at 2:27 PM on July 13, 2018


I’m mostly embarrassed bc I’ve had the name of a black rapper for years (due to the fact that I was afraid of my roommates back in 2013 finding me, so I picked a totally random name) when I’m a white guy, and it feels like blackface for me. I definitely want to come, I just hope you all don’t skewer me. I’d love to show up though!
posted by gucci mane at 8:21 PM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


You are nowhere the top 100 list of regrettable usernames, don’t worry about it.
posted by cortex at 10:46 PM on July 13, 2018 [1 favorite]


Okay cool, I’m planning on showing up with my girlfriend. It’s fairly close to our house, we can basically take the 75 over in a straight shot.
posted by gucci mane at 10:52 AM on July 14, 2018


I hate to tell you this, but I'm not a horse. A username chosen for similar reasons- I wanted to be fairly anonymous, couldn't think of anything funny so I picked something random that I'd recently been reading about. Much to my dismay, I now realize that non-english speakers don't think of the horse, they literally think of the word secretariat, and think maybe I'm a secretary or something. Since I registered a gmail account based on this username too, I sometimes get copied on random french-speaking companies' emails. But hey, it stuck, now it's me!
posted by Secretariat at 11:01 AM on July 14, 2018 [5 favorites]


Ok, ok, fine, I'll come put some faces to names.

Definitely looking forward to meeting y'all irl. We'll see whether my social anxiety lets me talk to people that day...
posted by Gaz Errant at 1:52 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Talking to people is pretty optional too. Companionably lurking is a-ok.
posted by janell at 2:47 PM on July 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


Yeah, plenty of mefites I've met have some level of social anxiety, including me and cortex. We'll both be on our home turf and probably a little more "on" than usual because we're hosting, so it might not show, but trust me, I feel that.
posted by Secretariat at 6:49 PM on July 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Shoot, got guests that weekend, otherwise I'd shoot on down the 5 for this. Next time, me hopes.
posted by missmobtown at 12:34 PM on July 16, 2018


Aw, dang, missmobtown! Next time indeed.
posted by Secretariat at 9:32 PM on July 16, 2018


Just a note that folks might want to avoid I-5 going to or from the meetup this weekend.
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:17 PM on July 19, 2018 [3 favorites]


When newcomers come to these things, what do they usually do? What would I do? I'm embarrassed and shy!

I will be super social and especially after a couple beers I'll come sit in the corner with y'all and tell you dirty jokes until you smile.
posted by bendy at 8:44 PM on July 19, 2018


Ahhhhh so excited to see y’all tomorrow!

And if you’re generally not so much a meetup type and you’re teetering on a “well maybe...but maybe not...?” I just want to reiterate that I totally feel you, and that I think you should come on out anyway. You can be quiet and chill and take off whenever, it’s a total no biggie situation. I’m just happy to meet/see folks from the MeFi community.
posted by cortex at 10:52 AM on July 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


I will make it, gosh-darn it! My spouse will be working, but I will try to persuade him to come out after work if the shindig is still on going at that time.
posted by vespabelle at 2:15 PM on July 20, 2018


For the first time in my life I regret living off the east coast. Have a groovy time drink some ouzo for me. Bring plenty of ice if you show up late!
posted by vrakatar at 6:07 PM on July 20, 2018


We will have a bunch of sandwich stuff (mostly meat and cheese, some vegan), various veggies, chips, dips, bread, jam, beer, wine, iced coffee and iced tea if I remember to make it, and sparkling water. If you have a favorite beverage or snack you want to bring- hooray! But don’t feel like you need to bring anything. We are also conveniently located close to a 7-11 and a New Seasons if it turns out we don’t have the thing you really wanted!
posted by Secretariat at 6:15 PM on July 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


Can I bring this goat?
posted by vrakatar at 6:40 PM on July 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


As a fursona? Yes. As a +1? Yes. As a beverage or snack? Uh....
posted by Secretariat at 7:23 PM on July 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


I just noticed that goat is Gompeii, the WPI mascot! Sure, but you’re still not getting any alumni donations.
posted by Secretariat at 7:55 PM on July 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


I am still in Hillsboro (and in the fab, even), and have a couple of things to do here still so I expect I'll show up close to 2pm.
posted by janell at 12:07 PM on July 21, 2018


We will also be a bit late - baby feeding delay!
posted by FireFountain at 1:07 PM on July 21, 2018


I'm also running late. You'd think I would have learned not to check in at work on the weekend, but here we are.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 1:20 PM on July 21, 2018


Heh, no worries, we’ll be here for hours. Struggle on in when you can!

We'll be a mix of inside and outside, so if you don’t see anybody up the driveway just come on in the front or back door.
posted by cortex at 1:23 PM on July 21, 2018


I've been delayed by Baby Errant... just wondering how long this is gonna go on?

*Edit* oops, probably should have refreshed the page before posting
posted by Gaz Errant at 1:32 PM on July 21, 2018


Yes! Also I meant to write straggle up there, but social anxiety is super real so hey.
posted by cortex at 1:56 PM on July 21, 2018 [1 favorite]


Will do, sorry to miss you!
posted by cortex at 3:24 PM on July 21, 2018


CRAP! I totally forgot about this. 😢
posted by bendy at 4:21 PM on July 21, 2018


MetaFilter: freaking out your uncle with your feminist tweets
posted by cortex at 7:59 PM on July 21, 2018


As always that was lots of fun, and it was nice to meet some new folks. Thanks for hosting, cortex and Secretariat!
(also, photo added)
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:07 PM on July 21, 2018 [3 favorites]


Great meetup! Thanks for coming, it was so good to meet/see you all!
posted by Secretariat at 11:05 PM on July 21, 2018 [3 favorites]


That was super swell! Looking forward to the next get together.
posted by vespabelle at 7:59 PM on July 22, 2018 [1 favorite]


Posted a few photos via the sidebar link! If others happen to have pics, please share! (And while I think(?) I was pretty obvious while I was taking photos, I didn't always ask- so please let me know if there's anything there you'd prefer I remove.)
posted by Secretariat at 10:09 PM on July 22, 2018 [2 favorites]


It was so great to meet and re-meet you! Thanks so much for having us, Cortex and Secretariat, and of course, happy 19th birthday, Metafilter!
posted by Lynsey at 5:53 PM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]


Great photos, Lynsey! So glad you caught that one of mini Specklet, I could hear that he was having a good time in the basement but never made it down to check it out.
posted by Secretariat at 9:46 AM on July 24, 2018 [1 favorite]


Hi all, added Tonebarge's photos to my photo stream today, so there are 34 in all now. Sorry for duplicates but I think we got pretty much everyone who was there when we were. Note: the group shot is hi-res, if anyone wants to download/save/print, be our guest! Mini-Specklet and Baby Errant really made it into a wonderful, family-friendly event and we're so glad we came! Please add any names/tags you wish and thanks for a fun time!
posted by Lynsey at 10:14 AM on July 24, 2018


Thanks! I’ll add a few names in comments. The littlest guy is actually Baby Strudel (aka Spattercone)- although I believe there is a Baby Errant who was not in attendance.
posted by Secretariat at 7:12 PM on July 24, 2018


Got a few photos added!
posted by cortex at 4:48 PM on July 29, 2018



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