northern

I got back from the gala a few hours ago. I'm very tired, but my brain won't stop until I write this entry.

And, as with other recent entries, it'll be shorter than past gala recaps.



It was nice being able to stay in downtown Toronto, near the gala, for a change. Didn't have to worry about traffic getting there.

One minor hiccup before going to the pre-gala dinner was that I somehow forgot how to tie a tie. I went to a private high school, so I got lots of practice, but that was a heck of long time ago, so it's only once or twice a year that I have to tie a necktie. And this time, I couldn't remember. I spent about 15 minutes trying to get it right. I even looked it up on Wikipedia, but the explanation was more complicated than I could follow. Thankfully, just as I was about to give up and go tieless, I figured it out.

Walked to the restaurant, and being early, stood outside waiting, hoping that if other people showed up, I'd actually recognize them. And that's what happened. First one, then another, and another. By 7pm, there was quite a crowd waiting outside. The funny thing is that once we went inside and were directed to the second floor, I don't think anyone else showed up. Maybe people didn't know there was a second floor?

Before sitting down, someone yelled "Hi!", and I looked and it was a terribly cute woman directing the greeting to me. I was momentarily stunned, like a deer caught in headlights. I looked at her, and couldn't figure out who she was. Generally speaking, I'm not accustomed to beautiful women yelling hello. After what must have been either 3 seconds, or 3 minutes, I returned the greeting and asked who she was. Suri. Someone who I was aware existed on the site, but had never actually spoken to. Once the initial shock wore off, I was very happy to have had a pretty stranger say hi.

Dinner conversation was enjoyable, though my nachos were not. It's always a great pleasure to see Adair, and this year, to meet her boyfriend.

After dinner, I did my usual gala tradition of tagging along with radiofrank to help set up at the club.

Some people wonder why I would volunteer to spend the first couple hours of the gala giving out door prize tickets and nametags. Honestly, for someone as shy as I usually am, it's something that gives me a 'job' that requires me to at least briefly speak to virtually everyone who comes in the door. I get to see most people writing their names on the nametags, and though all the names tend to get jumbled up in my head by the end of the night, I still learn at least a few new names.

Speaking of which, hello to AmeTsuki. You're both stunning and friendly. And even though you explained your name, I forgot. Thank God for the guest list being posted or I would have had a hell of a time remembering the exact spelling.

I lucked out this year and got a photo of AmeTsuki with Agy and Raynne. Two years ago I mentioned Agy in my gala recap, and last year I mentioned Raynne, and I managed to get a picture of all three together. But, this year is different because I've actually spoken to AmeTsuki before mentioning her in the recap, whereas I only said hi to the others after the gala.

I've known of Schuldig for years, but have never actually spoken to her, even online, so it was nice to finally say hi to her.

As long as I'm mentioning people I saw at the gala, hello to Renna and Vesta, two people I've never spoken to, but I have to mention them, cuz, well, they're very pretty.

And hello to Elizabethgypsy. At least I think that's your name. I know your nametag had the word 'gypsy' on it, and this is the only name on the guest list with that word in it. It was very nice of you to make sure the bartender served us in order, rather than by beauty. Wish I were less shy so I could have talked more.

Speaking of shy... there are a couple people I always feel a bit more shy, or even intimidated by, and therefore barely speak two words to. Lucy and Martini are two of those people. And the funny thing is that both of them have a lot of mutual friends with me, so you'd think I'd be less shy. It was great to speak to Lucy for a few minutes. Hope it happens again. And Martini is great. I love reading her blog. Everytime I read it, I think, yeah, this is someone I really want to be friends with. And for some reason I always either get shy and don't say anything or I overcompensate and say too much. I'm working on finding a balance.

Oh, a funny thing at the gala... I saw Mneylu arrive and I thought to myself, she's a lot taller than I remember. It was only later that I noticed she was wearing boots with heels that must have added several inches to her height. Yup - I'm very observant.

Finally, near the end of the gala, I kept noticing this one women, who looked amazing, but I couldn't read her nametag. I kept glancing over to her, trying to figure out what it said. Now I think I did a pretty good job of not staring, so maybe this is just a happy coincidence, but a couple minutes later, she came up to me and introduced herself. So hello to Friskey. Thanks for telling me who you were. It was brief, but a real pleasure to meet you.



Then on to the post-gala brunch. I got there early, and was amazed to find a few people were already there. And once again, thankfully I knew who they were. Unfortunately because of the weather (a bit chilly with the threat of rain), we didn't takeover the back patio, but instead were spread out over various tables and stools all over the restaurant.

And yay me, I got to sit across from Suri. She is absolutely charming. She's from the US, so the whole group of us were talking about food products that were unique to Canada, so she and her husband could buy some to take home. Things like different flavours of chips, and different types of chocolate bars. Though I'm not sure they really believed us when we mentioned buying bags of milk. Honest - there are videos of it on YouTube, demonstrating how we use them.



Of course, gala is not worth mentioning unless I point out how fantastic it is to spend a bit of time with my buddy Flit and her girlfriend Dusti_n. I sometimes feel like I have to apologize to Dusti_n for all the attention I give Flit. It's a serious shame that I only see them about once a year. Actually, it's more than a shame, it just plain sucks.


And hi to everyone else. I promised a shorter recap than in past years, and I think I may have lied, at least slightly, so hello to everyone else!!


Finally, I must thank radiofrank and AandP for all the hard work they do to pull the gala together. They don't get paid to do it, and as you may know, they plan it many months in advance. So big hugs to you both!!

The gala really is worth the long drive to Toronto. Always makes for a difficult drive home, knowing that I won't see all these great people for another year.


By the way, here are a few pictures.