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My First Meet & Greet - what a bunch a great people!Mar 15 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Very worth while. You can make some new friends and trash-talk your enemies...LOL Not to mention, get some cool EPINIONS stuff!
Since I have only "really" been writing reviews since August of 2003, I felt the need to go to the LA Meet & Greet so that I could network with fellow writers and just take a break from the hell that is my garage re-organization! Having said that, my second thought was that I have a (here comes a shameless plug for one of my reviews) GMC Envoy XUV with ample room for carpooling. Since I know that 'Suzer' lives just over the "hill" from me, I asked if she'd be interested in joining me and my friend. After a few email tag sessions 'Waynio' filled the remaining spot and off we went. Almost 60 miles South. To Orange County? I guess that's why it was called the LA Meet and Greet and is NOW the Southern California Meet & Greet. Sneaky, Garrett! The trek was filled with a colorful debate and a pinch of gossip about other Epinion folk. Well, without hesitation or stress, (oh boy, another shameless review plug) my new Magellan Roadmate 700 got us to Dave & Buster's with precise driving directions. Mind you, I had never been to a Dave & Buster's so I had no clue what I was in for. For those of you who aren't familiar... picture a mixture of a family restaurant, a casino and a video arcade in one establishment. Off in the back, by the pool tables, was the colorful Epinions banner and scads of Epinions figures all over the room. Christal greeted us at the ID badge table and then we joined the party. While my three carpooling buddies started to mingle, I went straight to the food table. I must say, I didn't expect much from the food spread, but I was pleasantly surprised here as well. It consisted of beef skewers, chicken nuggets, shrimp, veggies and a veritable cornucopia of tasty morsels. Beer, wine and soda flowed to our heart's content. The servers were very attentive - some restaurants should take notes on service skills from the Dave & Buster's staff. Garrett seemed to be more concerned with the writer's needs than his own. That was nice and I felt very important. I circled the room and extended my handshake to everyone there. It was great to put a face with a name that I have admired or put on my WOT list. Funny, since the party, I have read more reviews from these particular people than most others and the great thing...they have read mine more often as well. About five of them even added me to their WOT and I'm honored. So for about three hours, we shared stories of Epinion drama, likes and dislikes of writers or reviews and a few stories of stalkers...ewwwwww! The Epinion folk also passed out Dave & Buster's "Power Cards" for us to play video games. That was a blast and very generous of them - I must say. In addition to the games and food & drink, they gave us Epinion beach towels and Epinions figure sets. I have to say, those figures are so damn cute. I put them on a shelf...they are all waving at me as if to motivate me to write even more reviews. My dogs are just waiting for the next earthquake so they can add to their toy stockpile. Between bonding with my peers and shooting zombies or bad guys... I had a blast! Don't laugh...I worked up a sweat doing it...I had to save the world! And now...some shout outs! Suzer: Great to finally meet you and thanks for your guidance in my "newbie days." Waynio: You're a good guy and I hope we can shoot a few rounds of pool soon. Garrett, Christal, Sarah and Alexis: Thanks for making Epinions flow like it should (can't wait for a few "bugs" to get fixed though)) and for being so gracious. Petra: To my fave Epinion member basher - You're the bestest! PenguinLady: You're a nice person and I'm glad I got to meet you too. 29th Candidate: Sorry for your stalker issue....but you tell a great story! Lynus: You rock! BadKittyM: If you're sexy and you know it...clap your hands...LOL. And to everyone else I got the chance to meet... Thanks for making Epinions such a worthy hobby / addiction. Final Thoughts: I had my pre-event doubts about this gig but I was pleasantly surprised in every way. It was great to meet some of the Epinions & Shopping.com management as well as my peers.  |
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