Does it feel ILLICIT when you meet other DUers in person? Huh? Does it?

[Bouncy Ball]

I've met DUers. Yeah, I have.

It feels illicit. Kinda forbidden. Like we're taking this world we have here and just EXPOSING IT TO THE CRUEL LIGHT OF DAY.

Suddenly we're all standing around awkwardly in someone's living room or pulling up a chair at a Tex-Mex restaurant thinking, "DAMN I only know these people by WEIRD names and funky avatars."

Then people start introducing each other and because we are basically normal people, we say "This is Steve. This is Mike." "Hi Steve, hi Mike, I'm Cathy" or whatever.

And you order your margarita or take a seat on the couch and think "When the hell is anyone going to bust out the name tags so we can identify ourselves by our fucked up screen names?"

How strange do I feel saying, almost apologetically, "I'm Bouncy Ball?"

How much weirder is it when we suddenly feel more comfortable and yell "OH SO YOU'RE BUSH_SUCKS_ASS!!!! I LOVE YOUR POSTS!!!"

Do you KNOW what this shit sounds like to neighboring tables in restaurants?

When my friends and I left GOPisEvil's Super Bowl party Sunday, my friends, who are not DUers, but are liberals, started telling me "It was like y'all were speaking another language. You'd sound all normal and then suddenly someone is talking about 'freepers' or 'PMs' or 'matcoms'" and I had to tell them matcom is a singular thing, thank God.

[gordianot]

1. You mean there are real people out there?

I never suspected.

[Bouncy Ball]

2. The truth is out there.

Praise Jesus.

[gordianot]

44. I saw a DU bumper sticker on a car in September

I waved and jumped up and down, the lady in the car looked kinda scared and just drove on. I think we need a hand signal, like Bush's hook em horns so we can recognize each other.

[fujiyama]

37. LOL

It's all some kind of extremely advanced AI, that simulates real people!

:tinfoilhat:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. The Minnesota DUers have had several gatherings since June 2003

It's really fun to see what everyone looks like in real life.

[KG]

4. GOPisEvil had a SB party and i didn't get an invite?

that's it! he's off my xmas card list! :(

[RevolutionaryActs]

5. I've never met another DUer........

:evilfrown:

[pres2032]

6. it's ok, neither have I

though i know someone who lurks.

[RevolutionaryActs]

12. You know a lurker! Bah.... I only know Duers and non-DUers.

x(

[pres2032]

17. hehe, well this person doesn't have a username

so i guess that qualifys him as a non-DUer? :shrug:


Actually I think I might know a DUer because a thread was posted related to a thing we're doing with the theater.

ya know we could always road trip. we're only, what? 3,000 miles away? that's a day trip! :P

[Wapsie B]

36. Neither have I.

But it would be great to attend a gathering sometime.

[yvr girl]

7. OK, what did you do at this party that you feel so 'dirty' about

Did you paw my man? I might need to rumble with ya.

[bettyellen]

8. it feels illicit and surreal and yes, dirty. i am so bad at names

i was really greatfull that Faye and WillPitt were just that so I didn't have think to much, i hadn't gotten too much sleep and i felt like dorothy at the end of Oz when she realizes the characters were family. you know, everybody haviing two identies. i met a whole bunch in the same day, and they were lovely people, every single one of them. it blew me away. i gotta get those pictures from selmo.


edit to add dirty, because i'm baiting yvr

[yvr girl]

16. It's about time somebody played with me today

Threads sinking like stones - I hate that.

You didn't tell me that 'dirty' things happened in DC. I can't believe you were holding back on me.

[bettyellen]

19. DC is the new vegas. LOL.

good to see ya.

[yvr girl]

21. No fair, I was in DC and nothing worth hiding happened

I wish I was a bit more Heddy Lemar and a little less Doris Day.

[bettyellen]

23. Aww, who were you with in DC.? I was with my Mom in Donegal and not

a hell of a lot happened! It's all in the company you keep.
I saw that pic of you on some tropical island with flowers in your hair, you could have 1/2 of DC eating out of your hand if you wanted.
i used to horribly shy and a few people who got to know me better said that at first they thought i was really stuck up. i felt really bad about it and vowed to be warmer to people, and i am. i've outgrown most of my youthful misanthropy i guess,
i hate groups though,and it freaked me out to be meeting one. i didn't want to.

[yvr girl]

25. It was a business trip - I was at a tradeshow

I could have gone out and played with a couple of our salesmen, but I knew I couldn't keep up. They were at some biker bar until all hours and rolled in about 5 am. I had to be at work at 8 am.

You liked my Cook Island picture? Thanks, baby.

[bettyellen]

27. you look gorgeous, what in the world were you doing there. i'm not even

sure... is that the so pacific?

[yvr girl]

29. The Cooks are in the same timezone as Hawaii

They are as far below the Equator as Hawaii is above. I was on holiday - I highly recommend them.

It was the flowers what can I say.

[yellowdogintexas]

9. When some of us in NoTexas went to the theatre with aQuaRius

a couple of weeks ago, all we knew was that she got all our seats together, and really weren't sure how we would know each other, except for that. So we just introduced ourselves to the people sitting next to us by our DU names.

"Hi, I'm Yellowdog"

" YOU'RE Yellowdog??? I'm Crispini"

it was fun! We were not with any non DU folks so the conversation flowed fairly well for a first time meeting, and we got introduced to one of the other actors as "my Democrat friends" and the actress says
"Yayyyyyy"...so that was fun too.

I can see how being mixed in with a group of non DU folks would make them think they had landed in some sort of alternate universe

[bettyellen]

11. wow, you met crispini! i love her, aw, i woulda asked you to give her a

hug from me! is she really that funl in real life?

[yellowdogintexas]

31. yep

[PartyPooper]

10. I've never met another DU'er in the "real" world.

But, I can imagine the flustered "other" folks who witness such "reunions".

:D

:hi:

[LynzM]

13. Only one

Briarius and I met up with BeHereNow while she was on a trip through Terre Haute last year. We had lunch, it was cool. Other than that, I have yet to meet a DUer in person (well, aside from my husband and the guy whose house we're staying at, you know...) LOL. I'd imagine it would be a little weird with names at first, but it could be really cool! :)

[New Earth]

14. hehehe

i have it so easy, i'm always Faye :D

oh, and i met about 13 or 14 DU'ers. it was not only surreal, it was FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! both times!!!

[Jamastiene]

15. I'd give anything

to get to meet some DU'ers in real life. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I'd probably giggle like the nutcase I am from uncontrollable happiness. Guilt? Shame? Illicit? I would relish in the occasion and savor the moment blissfully. I no longer feel guilt when it comes to avoiding people not like the people on the DU and I'd definitely enjoy getting to meet some of you.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. Now I didn't say anything about guilt or shame! LOL!

[bettyellen]

22. neither did i, but did you say dirty...

i said dirty, but i didn't really mean it. LOL. i felt virtuous and quite content myself.
wow, so you met the infamous GOPis evil. Whoa. Did worlds collide?

[TroubleMan]

20. I see one three or four times a week

My Mom is on DU as Scarletlib.

LOL....I guess that doesn't count does it.

[EC]

24. Did your non-Duer friends then want to become Duer's?

Maybe this summer I'll be able to meet some...I know there are some here in town and at least one in Zion...so I'll put my DU bumper sticker on, after I get a chance to wash all the salt off of bumper or is the back window a better place?

[Bouncy Ball]

26. No. They are losers.

Just kidding, they aren't losers. They just aren't into discussion forums AT all. And seeing as they are expecting twins in May, they probably won't have much time to, anyway.

[elperromagico]

28. None of you exist. I've imagined you all.

Therefore, meeting any of you is an impossibility. :D

[EC]

30. Describe us...what does each of us look like in your

imagined world?

[elperromagico]

32. You all look like dancers in Robert Palmer and Shania Twain videos.

And you all play guitars, though none of you seem to know the chords...

[EC]

39. I can live with that, if I don't have to keep that non-responsive stare...

[elperromagico]

41. As you don't truly exist, it's not really your choice.

:D

[EC]

42. Right.....n/t

[qnr]

33. You don't tend to run into many in Winnemucca, Nevada or

Cordell, Oklahoma, so I wouldn't know.

[Lisa]

34. I KNEW there was a good reason why I picked such a boring screen name!

I'm reading Bouncy Ball's description of shocked/mystified eavesdroppers at a DU gathering, and laughing out loud.

Thanks -- it's been a stressful week so far at work.

[JohnKleeb]

35. A lot of the people Ive met up with

are people I talk to outside the boards on like AIM. Hell my first time getting drunk, high, learning how to play poker, first thing even the remotestly resembling a date, etc was with friends of mine who are DUers,

[fujiyama]

38. I've never met a DUer

but it sounds like it would be a fascinating experience.

[Lorien]

40. Nah. I even went on a vacation with three of them

had a great time, too!

:hi:

[SarahB]

43. My DU meetings have all been rather innocuous.

:shrug: