Meeting random internet friends in real life...

So last month, a regular poster on the Fatwallet.com off-topic forum posted that she was going to be in the Aberdeen, MD area and was wondering if anyone wanted to hang out. I live pretty close to the area, and figured it would be cool to meet an online poster in the meatspace, so I agreed. She got a few other nibbles, but nobody else committed.

So on Monday, I drove up to DuClaw in BelAir to meet SpitFireSuz. I was a little apprehensive, since I'm not known for my crazy people skills, not to mention the whole idea of meeting random people online. Besides, what would I have to say - could a shared interest in deeply-discounted merchandise fill an hour or so of conversation with a stranger?

It actually turned out pretty fun, though - she was one of those bubbly, outgoing people who is really good at starting and carrying on conversations, and we ended up covering a ton of topics, from work to cats to cars to food to family. I left my camera in the car for this, but she took a couple pics and promised to forward them to me when she gets back home.

It was definitely more fun than my usual Monday night activities, which usually consist of watching Law and Order and surfing the web. It also gives me a minor boost to my generally lacking social skills - I can actually talk to people I don't know.